The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day

How will you be spending your $40 for Saint Patrick’s Day? That’s the average amount that people are spending on today’s holiday.

I’m a quarter Irish, so I’m thinking today about the marvelous trip my daughter and I had several years ago visiting Ireland. We were able to meet with modern-day members of the Baylee family, now spelled Bailey. It was a thrilling experience. They live in Kilkishen, County Clare.

We learned about them because the Anglican church, no longer in use, was being converted to a community center. The community was reaching out to descendants in the United States for support. I received an email from a woman who had researched her family tree. We had a common ancestor, Henry Baylee. She’d visited Kilkishen and put us in touch with the Bailey family.

The photo is of Laura Baylee Slingsby, my paternal grandmother.

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day and sláinte.

Copyright 2019, Rita R. Robison, Personal Finance Writer

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.

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:

Baby boomer bloggers keep writing despite winter storms

The winter storm we had in the Seattle area was our worst in decades. On the first night of the storm, my power went out at 11:30 p.m. I spent the night in the cold, then barely got out of the driveway the next morning to find someplace warm.

I drove north until I found a Starbucks with power. Then I decided to spend two nights in motels.

When the power came on, it was snowing heavily. When I was shoveling the driveway, my car got covered in snow again.

Despite all the bad weather throughout the nation, our group of baby boomer bloggers keeps on writing. Their latest articles include:

What presidents are celebrated on Presidents’ Day?

What are your plans for Presidents’ Day? Enjoying a day off? Exercising? Reading? Binge watching TV programs? Shopping? Working? Cleaning house?

I bet not many people are thinking about their favorite president today or about citizen participation to help our government work better.

Again this year, I’ve been seeing the Mount Rushmore presidents on a Presidents’ Day articles. In addition to George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, many people are adding the two other Mount Rushmore presidents, Thomas Jefferson and Theodore Roosevelt, to honor.

Happy Valentine’s Day

It’s the big day for sweethearts.

Fewer people are celebrating Valentine’s Day this year, 50 percent which is down from 55 percent last year.

Of those celebrating, 18 percent are giving the gift of jewelry; 34 percent, an evening out; 18 percent, clothing; 35 percent, flowers; 52 percent, candy; 15 percent, gift cards; 44 percent, greeting cards; and 25 percent, a gift of experience, such as an event or a trip to a spa.

What are the best chocolates to buy for your sweetheart on Valentine’s Day?

Like most people, I love chocolate – any kind of chocolate. A box of chocolate from the supermarket or drug store are fine with me. However, I really enjoy Belgium chocolate when I visit my daughter in Madrid.

So, since I’m not a chocolate connoisseur, I read a dozen articles that recommended the best chocolates.

Most often rated highly in the articles are Godiva Chocolatier, Jacques Torres Chocolate, L.A. Burdick Chocolates, La Maison du Chocolat, Lindt, Michel Cluizel, Recchiuti Confections, and Vosges Haut-Chocolat.

As Valentine’s Day approaches and throughout the year, watch out for romance scams

Romance scams are different from other scams. Fraudsters prey on lonely people looking to connect with someone, and the scam can often take months to develop to the point where money changes hands. The emotional harm to the victim can be even more painful than the money lost. 

The use of online dating sites and apps has made romance fraud easier. Victims in the United States and Canada report losing nearly $1 billion over the last three years, and the Better Business Bureau estimates there may be more than a million victims in the U.S. Because most people don’t file complaints about romance scams with the BBB or law enforcement, this may a small number of those affected.

The BBB’s study, “Online Romance Scams: How Scammers Use Impersonation, Blackmail, and Trickery to Steal from Unsuspecting Daters,” looks at how romance scams work, who the scammers are, and what’s being done to combat them.

Facts and figures for Valentine's Day 2019

Source: WalletHub

Copyright 2019, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."

"The time is always right to do what is right." "Free at last, Free at last, Thank God almighty we are free at last."

"Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'"

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."

"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase."

These are quotes from Martin Luther King Jr.