The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Baby boomers ponder the holiday season and prepare for it

Thanksgiving has come and gone and it’s finally December. Now it’s O.K. to sell holiday stuff and show those holiday movies on television.

Our boomer bloggers are either contemplating the holidays or getting ready for them. They’ve posted articles on:

• Special shopping opportunities, from Black Friday to Cyber Monday, occur but Giving Tuesday may be the best.
• How holiday shopping advice such as make a budget, compare prices, avoid impulse items, keep receipts, and more can reduce holiday stress.
• Why the season is really all about gratitude and counting our blessings.
• Gratitude that a move from Connecticut to Florida is going well.
• How life in California has changed and isn’t what it used to be.
• How hearing John Lennon sing a song saved Christmas.

Tom Sightings from Sightings Over Sixty reports on these articles in the Best of Boomer Blogs #625. Click here to get the links to the articles. And, be sure to join in the conversations. Boomer bloggers enjoy getting comments from readers.

Copyright 2019, Rita R. Robison, Consumer and Personal Finance Journalist

TV junk food advertising aimed at kids continues to increase, study shows

An analysis of 72 hours of children’s television programming in 2018 found that junk-food marketing hasn’t decreased since 2012, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer advocacy group. Almost all the food and beverage advertisements reviewed during CSPI's analysis were for unhealthy products, as defined by nutrition standards developed by a federal interagency task force. The lack of progress comes despite the adoption in 2013 of uniform nutrition standards by an industry self-regulatory group.

In 2018, CSPI researchers recorded six hours of children’s television programming on each of the 12 biggest channels that offer it. Twenty-three percent of all the ads during the six hours were for foods or beverages, up from 14 percent in 2012. Restaurants were the top category of food and drink advertised to kids, 35 percent; followed by candy, 22 percent; breakfast cereals, 12 percent; beverages, 10 percent; and snack foods, 6 percent.

Ninety-nine percent of the food and beverage ads – 362 out of 364 – were for items that wouldn’t have met the nutrition standards developed by the Obama administration’s Interagency Working Group on Food Marketed to Kids, whose voluntary recommendations were abandoned due to intense industry lobbying.

Shop smart this holiday season with these 10 tips

With Black Friday as just the beginning, retailers are flooding the airwaves, internet, and newspapers with “deals.” To help consumers get through the holiday spending season, Jack Gillis, executive director of the Consumer Federation of America, offers 10 tips top to help shoppers make good choices and keep from overspending.

1. Make a list: Decide how much you can spend this holiday and stick to it. When you make your list, include an amount for each person and, if you know what you’re getting them, what you expect to pay for the item. Adding your list up at the kitchen table can be an eye opener – so make adjustments early rather than when you’re running through the stores or typing on your keyboard. And when you’re shopping, keep a running total of your spending – it’s amazing how keeping tabs on your total will protect your wallet as it fills with receipts!

2. Shop around: You can easily save 10 percent, or considerably more, by comparing prices. When shopping around online, be sure you purchase from a secure site, review receipts for accuracy, and be mindful of shipping costs. If free shipping is available with a minimum purchase, be sure the additional items are really needed and don’t put you way over the “free shipping” requirement.

What not to buy on Black Friday

In order to get the best deals on Black Friday, be sure to make a shopping plan in advance. In addition, you also need to know what not to buy on Black Friday. Not every deal is a good deal, even on the biggest sales holiday of the year. So, before you start shopping, check out the following list from Dealnews.com on what not to buy on Black Friday:

Winter clothing

There's a 15 percent tariff on many products imported from China, including most clothing and textiles. That means even the best deals will probably be more expensive than they were last year.

Winter apparel may be an even worse buy on Black Friday, as retailers won't start clearing out winter gear until late in the season. You'll likely see better sales for winter wear in January than November — but due to tariffs, you can still expect to pay a little more.

Best Black Friday gift card deals for 2019

Interested in getting gift cards for the holidays for those hard-to-buy for friends and relatives? Dealnews.com offers this list to help consumers compare offerings. 

Store/Restaurant	Buy	Receive	Offer Expires
Applebee's	a $50 gift card	a $10 bonus card	January 5
Bahama Breeze	$50 in gift cards	$20 in bonus cards	January 2
Barcelona Wine Bar	a $50 gift card	a $10 bonus certificate	December 31
bartaco	a $50 gift card	a $10 bonus certificate	December 31
Benihana	$50 in gift cards	a $10 promotional card	December 31
BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse	a $50 eGift card a $100 eGift Card	a $10 bonus card a $25 bonus card and a 20% off VIP card	January 1
Black Angus	$50 in gift cards	$10 bonus bucks	December 31
Blaze Pizza	$25 in gift cards	a $5 coupon	December 31
Bonefish Grill	$50 in gift cards	a $10 promotional card	December 31
Boston Market	a $25 gift card	a $5 bonus card	December 31
Buca di Beppo	a $50 gift card	a $10 reward card	December 31
California Pizza Kitchen	$100 in gift cards	a $20 promotional card and an extra $10 promotional card	November 20
Carrabba's Italian Grill	$50 in gift cards	a $10 bonus card	December 31
Chili's	$50 in gift cards	a $10 eBonus card	December 31
Del Taco	$15 in gift cards in-store $25 in gift cards in-store	1 coupon for 2 free tacos 2 coupons for 2 free tacos each	January 1
DSW	$50 in gift cards $100 in gift cards	a $10 bonus card a $25 bonus card	November 30
Fleming's Steakhouse	$100 in gift cards	a $20 bonus card	December 31
Fogo de Chao	$125 in gift cards $300 in gift cards $400 in gift cards	a $25 bonus card a $75 bonus card a $100 bonus card	December 31
Kona Grill	$50 in gift cards	a $10 bonus card	December 31
Lettuce Entertain You	$100 in gift cards	a $25 holiday bonus	December 30
Logan's Roadhouse	$50 in gift cards	a $10 bonus card	December 31
Longhorn Steakhouse	a $50 gift card	a $10 bonus card	December 30
Maggiano's Little Italy	$100 in gift cards	a $20 eBonus Card	December 31
Marcus Theatres	a $25 gift card	$5 Snack Cash	January 5
McCormick & Schmick's	a $100 gift card	a $20 reward card	December 24
Menchie's Frozen Yogurt	$25 in gift cards in-store	a $5 bonus card	December 31
Morton's Steakhouse	a $250 gift card	a $50 reward card	December 24
Noodles & Company	$25 in gift cards	a $5 bonus card	December 31
North Italia	a $100 gift card	a $20 eCard	January 1
Not Your Average Joe's	$50 in gift cards	a $10 appreciation card	December 31
Olga's Kitchen	$25 in gift cards $100 in gift cards	$5 Bonus Bucks $30 Bonus Bucks	--
Outback Steakhouse	a $50 gift card	a $10 promotional coupon	December 31
P.F. Chang's	a $100 gift card	a $20 bonus reward	December 31
Panera Bread	$50 in gift cards	a $10 bonus card	December 31
Perry's Steakhouse & Grille	$125 in gift cards	a $25 reward card	December 31
Piada Italian Street Food	a $25 gift card No limit	a free entrée card	December 31
Portillo's	$50 in gift cards	a $10 promotional card	--
Red Lobster	$50 in gift cards	a $10 coupon or a free appetizer	--
Red Robin	a $25 gift card	$5 bonus bucks	December 31
Roy's	$100 in gift cards	2 $20 bonus cards	December 31
Ruby Tuesday	$50 in gift cards	a $15 bonus card	--
Rusty Bucket	$50 in gift cards	a $10 bonus card	December 30
Ruth's Chris Steakhouse	$250 in gift cards	a 10% bonus gift card	--
Sizzler	$50 in gift cards $100 in gift cards	a $10 eGift Card a $25 eGift Card	December 31
Souplantation/Sweet Tomatoes	a $50 gift card	a free meal pass	--
Steak 'n Shake	a $20 gift card	a $5 gift certificate	--
STK Steakhouse	$50 in gift cards $100 in gift cards	$10 Bonus Dining Dollars $25 Bonus Dining Dollars	December 31
Texas de Brazil	a $50 gift card a $100 gift card	a $10 bonus card a $25 bonus card	December 20
Texas Roadhouse	$30 in gift cards online	a $5 eGift Card	--
TGI Fridays	$25 in gift cards	$5 in Bonus Bites cards	--
The Children's Place	a $50 gift card a $75 gift card a $100 gift card	a $10 bonus card a $15 bonus card a $20 bonus card	December 3
Tony Roma's	$50 in gift cards	a $15 bonus card	December 31

 

Copyright 2019, Rita R. Robison, Consumer and Personal Finance Journalist

Facts and figures for Thanksgiving 2019

Provided by Nationwide

Copyright 2019, Rita R. Robison, Consumer and Personal Finance Journalist

Baby boomers get ready for the holidays and look beyond

I’m stressed. The holidays are coming, and I’ve been working on my book about my journalism career instead of getting ready. However, I put on a “full court press” and have sent out my holiday cards and presents. Whew. It was a big job to do in a couple of weeks.

Many in our baby boomer blogging group are also thinking about the holidays, but some also are addressing other issues and events.

Since it’s Thanksgiving this week, Meryl Baer of Six Decades and Counting began to think about holiday trivia and traditions past and present, universal activities as well as annual events that take place closer to home. She summarizes her holiday musings in this week’s post “Thanksgiving Trivia.”

Laurie Stone of Musings, Rants, & Scribbles admits it...she likes simple. That’s why Thanksgiving appeals to her. Yes, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and the Fourth of July all have perks, but, for her, there’s something unassuming and lovely about Thanksgiving. Here are eight things she adores.

During the holiday season, grief can be especially difficult because grief holds on tight. It's a time to be even more supportive to those who have lost a loved one. In "Do You Wonder Why the World's Still Standing," Carol Cassara at A Healing Spirit talks about some ways to be supportive.

Jennifer Koshak of Unfold And Begin asks the question: After that last crumb of pumpkin pie has been eaten this year...what's next? Do your children or grandchildren immediately turn their thoughts to what they will get from Santa this year? Is there more "wanting" than "giving" in their Christmas talk?  And, how can you help them to think about Christmas as more than just a time of getting more? This week, Koshak shares a guest post from one of her friends that includes holiday Vision Board craft activities to get your children/grandchildren focused on the season of giving.

In “What Are We Doing?” Tom Sightings from Sightings Over Sixty takes a look at his coastal environment. Unfortunately, the one word that comes to mind is: plastics.

Rebecca Olkowski with BabyBoomster.com is excited to announce that she’ll be appearing on a new live stream TV show for Awake TV called “Now It’s My Turn: Unstoppable Women Over 50” on Nov. 24. If you miss it, the video will be available online on the show’s website. It will be hosted by Lana McAra. For more information about it, click here.

This is the Best of Boomer Blogs 624. Click on the links to read the great stories offered by boomer bloggers. And, be sure to leave a comment. Boomer bloggers love to hear from readers.

Copyright 2019, Rita R. Robison, Consumer and Personal Finance Journalist

Best places to shop on Black Friday 2019

I gave up on Black Friday years ago. I went with my daughter in Sacramento. It was my idea to go to the mall and get some great deals. However, we didn’t do any research, so we didn’t “happen into” anything great. I told her on my next visits, I’d rather go for a hike than go shopping again.

However, you can score deals if plan ahead. See my article “Get Prepared for Black Friday With This Strategy Guide” for tips.

Another source of information is “2019’s Best Places to Shop on Black Friday” by Wallethub analysts.

The following is a list of the best places to shop for Black Friday:

Get prepared for Black Friday with this strategy guide

Black Friday can be an exciting time; however, it also may be overwhelming. By being prepared for Black Friday, you won’t miss the best deals.

Dealnews.com recommends these strategies to help you have a smoother experience:

Make a budget now

The first step is deciding how much you can afford to spend this holiday season. Determine the items you absolutely must have, including gifts and other purchases you've been saving for. And be sure to leave room for incidentals, such as pop-up holiday parties or friendly gatherings. After you’ve made a list, calculate the maximum amount you can afford – and be prepared to stick to it.

Skylight recalls power adapters sold with digital photo frames due to electric shock hazard

Skylight is recalling about 65,000 series I power adapters for Skylight digital photo frames in the United States and about 159 in Canada.

The power adapter casing can break when plugged into an electrical outlet, exposing its metal prongs, posing an electrical shock hazard.

Skylight has received eight reports of adapters breaking and exposing their metal prongs, including one report of an electric shock to a consumer.