The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Baby boomers collaborate to bring you more great articles

Baby boomer bloggers in our group may live in different areas of the country, but we come together to collaborate on weekly posts to share each other’s work.

Jennifer Koshak of Unfold and Begin reports that this week boomer bloggers are writing about:

• How to plan a cruise.
• How personal style and pizzazz can be mastered at any age.
• The pleasures of helping a friend.
• Healthy, tasty recipes that are easy to make.
• Whether Medicare for All would be good for younger people.

These articles make up in the Best of Boomer Blogs #596. Click here to get the links to the articles. And be sure to look at the comments and leave one yourself. Boomer bloggers enjoy lively conversations with readers.

Copyright 2019, Rita R. Robison, Personal Finance Writer

After one fatality, South Shore Furniture chest of drawers recalled due to tip-over hazard

South Shore Furniture is recalling about 310,000 Libra style three-drawer chests in the United States and about 6,900 in Canada.

The recalled chests are unstable if they aren’t anchored to the wall, posing serious tip-over and entrapment hazards that can result in death or injuries to children.

South Shore has received two reports of tip-over incidents involving the recalled chests of drawers. One report stated that a child received bruises on his leg and scratches. Another incident reported a fatality involving a two year old and an unanchored, empty three-drawer chest.

Happy Mother's Day

Daughters are about the best thing that a mom can get. I was lucky and got two of them.

I love celebrating Mothers' Day with my daughters and grandchildren. I like having the special day to remember how fortunate I am to have them and all the memories that we've made along the way. 

It seemed like no time at all that it took my daughters to grow up and leave home. Now, it's happening to my grandchildren. My oldest turned 18 and is headed to college. The twins are 15 and are amazingly tall. They'll be in college, too, before we know it. 

So, I'm thankful today for my daughters and grandchildren. They're strong new generations, making a way for themselves in a challenging world.

Copyright 2019, Rita R. Robison, Personal Finance Writer

Facts and figures for Mother’s Day 2019

While the number of people celebrating Mother’s Day is about the same as the 86 percent celebrating last year, those celebrating are expected to spend more at an average $196 compared with $180 in 2018. Consumers ages 35-44 are likely to spend the most at an average $248, up from $224, and men are likely to spend more than women at $237 compared with $158.

Newer models of gift-giving including special outings and gift cards are growing, in addition to more traditional gifts including flowers, greeting cards, and jewelry. Increased spending on jewelry represents 31 percent of the expected increase over last year.

Many of those celebrating cited finding something unique, 44 percent, as the most important factor when picking out a Mother’s Day gift, followed by one that creates a special memory, 39 percent.

Copyright 2019, Rita R. Robison, Personal Finance Writer

Top tips for first-time cruise goers

If you’ve never been on a cruise before, it’s an astounding experience. The gigantic ship, the vast ocean, exotic ports.

Although taking a cruise is exciting, it’s also expensive. The base price ranges from $100 to $185 or more a day per person plus $300 to $500 or more each for additional expenses.

The last week of March I took my first cruise to the Caribbean. We stopped in Jamaica, Grand Cayman Island, Costa Maya, Mexico, and Cozumel, Mexico.

I enjoyed the cruise tremendously, but it took me a while to figure things out.

Here are my tips for the first-time cruise goer to help make your first cruise smooth:

How to plan a cruise

Going on a cruise is quite an adventure, I learned as a first-time cruise goer in late March. It was a seven-day cruise to the Caribbean with stops in Jamaica, Grand Cayman Island, Costa Maya, Mexico, and Cozumel, Mexico.

The purpose of the cruise was to celebrate my sister’s 80^th birthday. My niece arranged the cruise, so all I had to is get out my credit card and pay. And pay I did.

Since it’s an expensive and time-consuming endeavor, here are tips to help you have the best cruise possible:

Decide where you want to go.

The possibilities are endless, with a cruise industry expanding its offerings to serve 28.5 million passengers a year. Once an unusual sight, you now see cruise ships in many major ports. The Caribbean, Alaska, and the Mediterranean are the most popular destinations.

Crowdfunding scheme operator who failed to deliver charged by FTC

The operator of a crowdfunding scheme who told consumers he was raising money to develop a high-tech backpack and other products, but failed to deliver any of the products and instead used most of the funds for himself, is being sued by the Federal Trade Commission.

In its lawsuit, the FTC alleges that Douglas Monahan and his company iBackPack of Texas, raised more than $800,000 from consumers through four crowdfunding campaigns. Monahan falsely claimed the funds would be used to develop products such as the “iBackPack,” which would include batteries for charging laptops and phones, cables, and a Bluetooth speaker.

“If you raise money by crowdfunding, you don’t have to guarantee that your idea will work,” said Andrew Smith, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “But you do have to use the money to work on your idea – or expect to hear from the FTC.”

Be careful using Angie’s List, consumer group warns

Angie’s List, an online rating service, has many shortcomings in addition to potential value to consumers, according to a Consumer Federation of America report.

Angie’s List, founded in 1995, was originally supported mainly by annual consumer subscriptions and prioritized service to these subscribers. Today, while consumers can join for free, Angie’s List gets almost all its revenue from advertising purchased by some of the local businesses that the online service lists and rates. Angie’s List recommends and gives preferential treatment to these advertisers and that can easily mislead consumers into thinking these businesses are the best ones and should be selected.

The report, “Angie’s List: An Evaluation of Its Usefulness for Consumers” shows that these profiled businesses are often not those rated the most highly by consumers and by a nonprofit rating group.

Baby boomers learn life skills over time

Baby boomers have learned how to navigate life through all its obstacles and challenges. Each time something happens, a new life skill is learned. Sometimes new knowledge comes from nowhere and is greatly appreciated. It’s what makes life interesting and how boomers survive and thrive.

Our baby boomer bloggers have been picking up life skill because they’ve had to involuntarily or have passed milestones that require them.

Rebecca Forstadt Olkowski of Babyboomster reports recent boomer bloggers articles are:

Bodum recycled coffee presses being recalled by Starbucks due to laceration hazard

Starbucks is recalling about 230,000 Bodum + Starbucks recycled coffee presses in the United States and about 33,200 units in Canada.

The coffee press’ plunger knob can break and expose the metal rod, posing a laceration hazard.

Starbucks has received eight reports of the plunger’s knob breaking in the U.S. and one report of it breaking in Canada, resulting in lacerations or puncture injuries.