The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

White mugs being recalled by Lifetime Brands due to burn and laceration hazards

Lifetime Brands is recalling about 150,000 Fitz and Floyd Nevaeh white can mugs in the United States and 3,500 in Canada.

The mugs can crack or break when used with or filled with hot liquids, posing burn and laceration hazards.

Lifetime Brands and Fitz and Floyd have received reports of seven incidents where the mugs cracked after holding hot liquids with one report of a consumer receiving minor burns.

Top places to travel for July Fourth 2019

For a list of unique places to celebrate the Fourth of July, see Trip Advisor’s “10 Ideal July 4^th Destinations to Celebrate (With or Without Crowds).”

1. New Orleans
2. Washington, D.C.
3. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
4. Boston
5. Philadelphia
6. Jackson Hole, Wyoming
7. Sonoma, California
8. Newport, Rhode Island
9. Camden, Maine
10. Brian Head, Utah

Copyright 2019, Rita R. Robison, Personal Finance Writer

July Fourth facts and figures for 2019

Source: WalletHub

Celebrate July Fourth with these safety and health tips

Do you want to have a Fourth of July that’s fun yet safe? Check out these tips from the Environmental Working Group.

Holiday barbecue

Before you head to the grocery store, check out the EWG’s resources on the healthiest foods, the cleanest produce, and the safest and most humanely produced meat and dairy. While you’re shopping, check out the hot dogs. To avoid nitrates and nitrites, which can cause cancer, choose natural hot dogs, or select a different protein. You can also make safe, healthy menu planning easier with EWG’s Healthy Living App, which lets you check in the store how well a product rates.

In addition, make sure you avoid charring meat to decrease your risk of cancer, and use a food thermometer to make sure it’s fully cooked so you can avoid food-borne illnesses such as E. coli.

Baby boomers start the summer with thoughts of politics, health, and stuff

It’s summer at last with spring rains lessening and warm days turning into hot days in many parts of the country. Politics are heating up, too, with the debates for 20 Democratic presidential candidates drawing substantial interest.

For Tom Sightings from Sightings Over Sixty, the heat has finally come in full force – in both the weather and in politics. Dial in to “Summer Heat” to find out how he's slowed down and started doing summer activities for little or no money, including watching a couple of debatable programs on television.

It was difficult for Meryl Baer of Six Decades and Counting to avoid the hype for the great event of the past week – the two-night Democratic debate extravaganza. Baer settled onto her couch with comfort food – ice cream – and spent four hours of her precious time watching politicians talk…and talk…and talk. She commented on the spectacle in this week’s post “Democrats Debate, Discuss, and Dream.”

Other boomers are writing about health.

For Rebecca Olkowski with BabyBoomster.com the topic is emotional eating. Emotional eating is one of the main causes of weight gain in women over 50. Olkowski is trying out a weight loss program that’s an app on your smartphone. It holds you accountable to yourself and gives you support and education on how to deal with psychological issues that are packing on the pounds. 

On my blog, I wrote about a request by consumer and health groups to put a warning statement on alcoholic beverages labels to increase consumer awareness of the link between alcohol and cancer. Half of Americans aren’t aware of this link.

Then, there’s the topic of what to do with all your stuff. Organizing spaces is a topic covered by two other boomer blogger.

What happens to our stuff when we don't have children to leave it to? And what happens to our nostalgia? Those are questions Carol Cassara of Heart•Mind•Soul asks in her post about stuff and nostalgia.

Jennifer Koshak of Unfold and Begin wants to know if you have a soul loving space.  A place that nourishes you, calms you, and helps to soothe your soul? A space in which you feel creative? Or, a space in which you feel connected with your family? For details, see the article “How to Create a Soul Soothing Space.”

This is the Best of Boomer Blogs #603. Be sure to take a look at these great boomer articles. And, leave a message to join in the conversations.

Copyright 2019, Rita R. Robison, Personal Finance Writer

Think safety this summer

As summer begins, millions of Americans are enjoying more outdoor activities. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission urges consumers to keep safety in mind around pools and at the beach, on the playground, when cooking on the grill, when mowing the lawn, and while riding on bikes, scooters, and ATVs or ROVs.

Pool safety

Drowning remains the leading cause of unintentional death among children ages one to four and the second leading cause among children ages five to 14. Drownings can be prevented by following some simple safety steps:

• Never leave a child unattended in a pool or spa, and keep them away from drains.
• Learn how to swim, and teach your child how to swim.
• Ensure any pool and spa you use has drain covers that comply with federal safety standards. Children can get entrapped by the suction in older, non-compliant drain covers.
• Learn how to perform CPR on children and adults.

Cancer warning on alcohol requested by consumer, health groups

The Consumer Federation of America joined other consumer and public health groups Wednesday in calling for a warning statement on alcoholic beverages to increase consumer awareness of the link between alcohol and cancer. The groups asked the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau to undertake a process to amend the health warning statement required to appear on all alcoholic beverage labels.

The letter to TTB includes signatures from the American Institute for Cancer Research, the American Public Health Association, Breast Cancer Action, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, and the U.S. Alcohol Policy Alliance.

All alcoholic beverage labels now are required to include a warning statement on motor vehicle operation and drinking while pregnant. The law requiring that statement, passed in 1988, directs TTB to consult with the surgeon general and “promptly report” to Congress if “available scientific information” justifies a change in the statement. The groups said the TTB needs to fulfill that reporting duty.

Facts and figures for Father’s Day 2019

It’s that time of year again. When the flowers bloom and the trees leaf out, it’s time to recognize those important guys in our families – our dads.

Spending

Americans are expected to spend a record amount on gifts for Father’s Day this year, according a survey conducted for the National Retail Federation. Total spending for the holiday is estimated to reach $16 billion, up from last year’s $15.3 billion.

Father’s Day spending has grown 70 percent, about $6.6 billion, since 2009. The biggest drivers of Father’s Day spending are growth in spending by consumers ages 35 to 44, and spending on clothing, special outings, and gift cards. This year, 75.9 percent of people plan to celebrate and are expected to spend a record $138.97, up from last year’s $132.82, and up from $91 in 2009.

More children’s cereals contaminated with cancer-causing weedkiller identified in new round of tests by EWG

A toxic weedkiller linked to cancer was detected in every sample of oat-based cereals and snack products in a new round of tests commissioned by the Environmental Working Group.

All but four of the 21 products contained levels of glyphosate, the main ingredient in Bayer-Monsanto’s Roundup, higher that what EWG scientists consider safe for children’s health.

The highest levels of the weedkiller were detected in General Mills’ Honey Nut Cheerios Medley Crunch at 833 parts per billion, or ppb, and Cheerios, with 729 ppb. The EWG’s health benchmark for children is 160 ppb. A child would only need to eat a single 60-gram serving of food with a glyphosate level of 160 ppb to reach the maximum dose considered safe by the EWG.

Baby boomers embrace June and summer fun

Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial beginning of summer, although it officially begins June 21. When the weather is good, people enjoy barbecues, picnics with family and friends, outdoor fun at home, and travels elsewhere.

For Memorial Day, I was in Madrid visiting my daughter and her family. The following day we went to  the Manzanares el Real Castle, 45 minutes from Madrid. Close to La Pedriza at the foothills of Sierra de Guadarrama, the castle was restored three times in the 20^th century.

The boomers in our group have been busy and start the season with ideas readers will find interesting. Articles include:

• How to create a "no" list to get time in your life for what’s important.
• How to cultivate friendships.
• Recommendations for TV shows from among those nominated for Emmys.
• The top 100 most frequently asked questions.

Meryl Baer of Six Decades and Counting writes about these articles in the Best of Boomer Blogs #599. Click here to get the links to the articles. And, be sure to let the boomer writers know your thoughts. We love, love, love to get comments from readers.

Copyright 2019, Rita R. Robison, Personal Finance Writer