The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Number of renters 60-plus up 43 percent in a decade

As the baby boom generation gets older with 22 percent of the nation now 60-plus, the number of older adults renting, rather than owning their own homes, is increasing. Renters households aged 60 and up increased 43 percent, from 6,550,000 in 2007 to 9,370,000 in 2017. This growth was more than younger renter groups.

In more than 300 cities analyzed, 24 cities have larger numbers of older adult renters over 60-plus years of age than young renters under 35 years of age. 

In a study analyzing the growth of renters 60-plus across the United States since 2007, RENTCafe.com, an apartment news website, found:

Celebrating, traveling, and shopping on Saint Patrick’s Day 2019

In 1991, the U.S. Congress designated March as Irish-American Heritage Month.

Saint Patrick introduced Christianity to Ireland in the fifth century, and Saint Patrick’s Day was originally a religious holiday to honor him. It has evolved into a celebration of being Irish and Ireland. On March 17, 1762, New York City hosted the first Saint Patrick’s Day parade. Irish soldiers serving in the English military were featured. President Harry Truman attending the parade in 1948, and it has become an annual event.

Spending

Consumers plan to spend an average of $40 for Saint Patrick’s Day this year, according to a survey conducted for the National Retail Federation. Unlike other holidays where consumer spending has grown, the average amount consumers spend has stayed the same even as the nation recovered from the Great Recession.

Under Trump, enforcement of consumer financial laws drops sharply, especially in areas with the highest complaints

The number of publicly announced enforcement actions under the Trump administration at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is dropping sharply, according to a report by the Consumer Federation of America.

“Law enforcement activity at the CFPB has dropped precipitously under the Trump Administration’s leadership,” said Christopher Peterson, director of financial services for the federation and author of the report.

The bureau is charged with enforcing federal consumer financial law and bringing legal action against companies that violate that law. The bureau also has the authority to seek restitution for consumers and levy fines when it finds violations. The report finds that activity in both of these areas is on the decline – overall enforcement activity is down by 80 percent from the bureau’s peak in enforcement actions in 2015 and average relief to victims is down by 96 percent per case.

As credit card debt reaches a record high, do you need help getting out of debt?

Consumers racked up $67 billion in credit card debt during 2018, an all-time high, according to the “Credit Card Debt Study,” a report by WalletHub, a personal-finance website.

Since the end of the Great Recession, consumer have increased their credit card debt in six of every 10 quarters.

WalletHub also released a “2019 Debt Survey,” which highlights consumers’ thoughts about over-borrowing, including the fact that 156 million Americans admit they’d go into debt for frivolous purchases.

The current credit card debt situation is similar to the period just before the Great Recession. However, WalletHub’s analysis of the latest data indicates the nation is in for another $60 billion-plus in new credit card debt during 2019. That would push the average household’s balance from $8,788 currently to $9,295 by year’s end – higher than it has ever been.

How to buy a winter coat

Why am I writing about this when spring is approaching? Because winter coats are on sale now and it’s a good time to get a bargain.

I like long, warm wool coats, especially red ones. My niece brought the coat in the photo as a present for me. It fits perfectly. I get lots of compliments on it. However, I’m looking for a new one to have when my red coat wears out. Today I saw a cobalt blue coat at Macy’s. What was remarkable was that it had a hood. I liked it a lot, but it wasn’t long enough and it didn’t fit snugly around my neck.

Today is International Women's Day

International Women's Day, March 8, is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity.

International Women's Day has occurred for more than a century, with the first IWD gathering in 1911 supported by over a million people in Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland. Prior to this the Socialist Party of America, United Kingdom’s suffragettes, America’s suffragists, and other groups campaigned for women’s equality.

This year’s theme is Balance for Better. The IWD website explains the theme this way:

How Wall Street influenced Congress last year

Ten years after the financial crisis, a majority of members of the Congress in 2018 voted again and again for bank-backed bills that endanger financial stability, undermine consumer and investor protections, and enable racial discrimination in lending, according to a report by Americans for Financial Reform.

The report, “Where They Stand on Financial Reform,” shows how each lawmaker voted in areas affecting Wall Street and predatory lenders. It also identifies those members of Congress who most frequently voted with Wall Street or predatory lenders, and against the public interest.

“Majorities in the 115th Congress voted repeatedly for measures that benefit Wall Street and predatory lenders over consumers and investors,” said Rion Dennis, financial reform advocate at AFR. “Strong public opposition and the 60-vote threshold in the Senate ensured that many of these measures passed in the House, but not the Senate. But when some Democrats joined the solid block of Republicans – or where only 50 votes were required – dangerous deregulation became law.”

Baby boomers and the art of self-care

Winter is drawing to a close, and spring is coming. It seems people are worn out from the cold weather and lack of sunshine, and maybe even suffering from SAD. So it’s a good time to think self-care . . . and maybe even self-preservation.

This week our baby boomer bloggers offer articles on self-care: using self-compassion, reframing for a different perspective, learning to say no for self-care, processing grief, and sleeping soundly long and often without guilt. Then, there’s information on self-preservation, too: placing a freeze on your credit reports.

Tom Sightings of Sightings Over Sixty reports on these articles in the Best of Boomer Blogs #586. Click here to get the links to the articles. And be sure to join in the conversations. Boomer bloggers love to hear from readers.

Copyright 2019, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Which store has the cheapest ingredients for a stew?

Last week, I was coming home and I realized I forgot to stop at the local co-op to get the ingredients I wanted to make a crock pot stew. Instead of driving back across town, I decided to stop at Safeway and shop there instead.

My priority in buying groceries is to purchase as much organic food as I can. So, at Safeway, I set about buying organic vegetables for the stew. I was shocked when I got to the checkout and found out that the large sweet potato that I selected cost $3.41 cents.

I decided to compare prices and see if the makings for the stew were cheaper at my local co-op, Safeway, or Trader Joe’s. I’ve shopped at Trader Joe’s a few times recently because I heard an article on National Public Radio that said it had good prices and service.

Here’s the comparison for the stew ingredients:

What are the best airline frequent flyer programs?

With U.S. airlines expected to carry more than 800 million passengers on domestic flights this year, consumers are interested in figuring out how they can save money on airline costs this year.

Do frequent flyer programs help consumers cut travel costs? They’re beneficial for me. My daughter lives in Madrid, and I’ll be using a free ticket this spring with the airline miles I’ve accumulated.

WalletHub, a personal finance website, released a report Wednesday on “2019’s Best Frequent Flyer Program.” It ranks the 10 largest domestic airlines based on 23 key items, ranging from the value of a point/mile to blackout dates for rewards flights.
 
Highlights from the report are: