The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Did you overspend for the holidays?

About 93 million Americans, or 37 percent, overspent over the holidays, and 46 million people, or 18 percent if Americans, regret at least one holiday purchase, according to WalletHub’s 2019 Post-Holiday Shopping Season Survey.

“Buyer’s remorse is especially common when a purchase is made on impulse,” said Paul Rose, interim dean of the School of Education, Health, and Human Behavior at Southern Illinois University. “Many people procrastinate when purchasing gifts, and run out of time in December to carefully consider their purchasing options.”

There’s also a cultural connection between the holidays and shopping. Three in 10 people say that spending more makes the holidays happier, while two in 10 say that the holidays are worth accumulating credit card debt for.

Baby boomers face 2019 in a variety of ways

Getting going on 2019 is creating a bit of a challenge for me. I got back from a five-week visit to Spain on Dec. 27 and was gung ho about getting started on new writing projects among other things.

Then I got a cold or the flu. That’ slowing me down.

In addition, I’m writing an article on the top 10 consumer stories of 2018. It’s taking me hours to do research on things such as how much Trump’s Tariff War is costing consumers and how many people had their data breached during 2018. I just finished Item No. 7, so it looks like I’ll be done soon.

Anyway, things looked bleak for consumers in 2018, and the government shutdown is depressing. For 2019, it looks like more of the same.

Meanwhile, here’s what the baby boomers bloggers in the Best of Boomer Blogs are writing about:

Jennifer Kosha of Unfold and Begin went through an overwhelming year last year which included one move and packing for a second move all while decorating and then undecorating for the holidays all while her mother was in hospice care. During all of this craziness, Koshak realized that she needed to simplify and decided that simple will be her word for 2019. She wants to learn how to slow down, keep it simple, and stop over complicating things. Join Koshak as she also starts a year-long program of extreme self-care starting with her January Keep It Simple calendar.

Meryl Baer of Six Decades and Counting can't believe another year is gone. In her post “Cross Off Another Year,” Baer considers how it seems that time passes at a faster rate as we age.  

At A Healing Spirit, Carol Cassara discusses the nature of being human and the best response to challenges. Everyone draws a different hand of cards and life is all about how the hand is played.

Rebecca Olkowski with BabyBoomster.com was feeling lazy after the holidays and wrote about the benefits of being lazy without feeling guilty about it. Read all about it in her article “Six Ways to Embrace Laziness and Not Feel Guilty About It.”

On Sightings Over Sixty, Tom Sightings writes about “10 Things That Are Good for Us” and “10 Things to Avoid If You Want to Stay Healthy.” Check out his articles and see if you agree with his research. Pets are on the bad list.

This is the Best of Boomer Blogs #578. Please click on the links to read the articles. And, be sure to join in the conversations. Boomer bloggers love to hear from readers.

Copyright 2019, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Nearly 1 million Ford vehicles are being recalled due to air bags that can explode and scatter metal pieces

Photo: IFCAR

Ford is recalling more than 953,000 vehicles throughout the world, with 782,000 of them in the United States, to replace air bag inflators that can explode when deployed and scatter metal fragments, which can strike, injure, and even kill vehicle occupants.

The maker of the air bags involved in the recall is Tokyo-based Takata, one of three major manufacturers of air bags. It provides air bags and other components to automakers around the world.

Included in the recall are the:

Loan servicer settles charges it deceived student borrowers about lower-cost payment plans and loan forgiveness

Federal student loan servicer ACS Education Services agreed to a $9 million settlement Friday for steering distressed borrowers away from income-based repayment plans towards other, more expensive options. It also addresses claims that ACS deceived borrowers about the availability of loan forgiveness after a borrower works for 10 years in a public-service job. 

In addition to paying penalties and restitution to borrowers, ACS has agreed not to service loans for the major federal programs or private loans for five years. Most eligible borrowers will receive between $100 and $450. 

“Students rely on college to be a ladder to success, but too often prohibitive costs and disingenuous loan servicers trap students in a quicksand of debt,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James. “ACS has systematically failed borrowers by refusing to educate them on more effective federal repayment options, and instead, pushing them towards options that padded their bottom line.”

For-profit college to pay more than $493 million in debt relief to students due to fraudulent practices

Forty-eight attorneys general announced an agreement Thursday with for-profit education company Career Education Corp. to reform its recruiting and enrollment practices and offer debt relief of about $493.7 million to 179,529 students nationally.

CEC currently offers mostly online courses through American InterContinental University and Colorado Technical University. CEC has closed or phased out many of its schools over the past 10 years. They include Briarcliffe College, Brooks Institute, Brown College, Harrington College of Design, International Academy of Design & Technology, Le Cordon Bleu, Missouri College, and Sanford-Brown. 

The agreement resolves a five-year investigation into allegations that CEC made misleading statements or failed to disclose information to prospective students on total costs, transferability of credits, program offerings, job placement rates, and other topics.

What to do with a poinsettia after the holidays

When I returned from Madrid, I was lucky and got a free poinsettia from church. I’ve had trouble caring for poinsettias after the holidays in the past, so I thought I’d get some information on poinsettia care to see if I could get the poinsettia to survive.

PennState Extension offers the following tips, which look complicated but worth a try:

Poinsettia are sensitive to sudden changes in temperature, improper watering, and low light. It will take a lot of care for them to remain in good condition for a long period of time.

Happy New Year to American consumers everywhere

What will 2019 hold for consumers throughout the nation? It’s difficult to say, but one thing for sure is that 2018 has been a tough year for consumers.

I’m in the process of writing my annual article about the top consumer stories of the year just passed. For 2018, there wasn’t much good news.

Deregulation efforts by the Trump administration brought the weakening of environmental regulations such as coal companies can now dump coal waste into streams. And, efforts by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to help consumers have been stymied with policies such as gutting student loans protections put in place.

USDA’s final rule on GMO foods is lacking

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has released a final rule to carry out the mandatory GMO disclosure law passed in 2016. It will allow the genetically engineered ingredients in many foods to remain hidden from consumers.

“No one should be surprised that the most anti-consumer, anti-transparency administration in modern times is denying Americans basic information about what’s in their food and how it’s grown,” said Scott Faber, senior vice president of government affairs for the Environmental Working Group.

The Trump administration has yet again put the interests of pesticide and biotech companies ahead of the interests of American consumers, Faber said.

Wegmans recalls cauliflower products due to possible E. coli contamination

Wegmans Food Markets Inc. is recalling four cauliflower products sold in the produce department between Dec. 7 and Dec. 18, because they may be contaminated with Escherichia coli O157:H7.

The recalled products with use-by dates of Dec. 11, 2018, through December 22, 2018, are as follows:

Wegmans Cauliflower Rice, 1 lb. pkg. UPC #25313500000
Wegmans Cauliflower Rice, 8 oz. pkg. UPC #25307200000
Wegmans Stir Fry Blend with cauliflower, 1 lb. pkg. UPC #25335800000
Wegmans Veggie (cauliflower) Rice Blend (sold by the pound), UPC #253162000000

The recalled products were distributed to 98 Wegmans stores in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and Massachusetts.

Wells Fargo to pay $575 million in settlement with 50 states for consumer fraud

Photo: Laimerpramer

Wells Fargo agreed to a $575 million settlement Friday with fifty states and Washington, D.C.,  due to of the bank’s illegal sales practices. Wells Fargo, the nation’s largest bank, has acknowledged opening millions of deposit, credit card, and other accounts and conducting transfers of funds without customer authorization during various periods from 2002 through 2017.

“Wells Fargo customers entrusted their bank with their livelihood, their dreams, and their savings for the future,” said California Attorney General Xavier Becerra. “Instead of safeguarding its customers, Wells Fargo exploited them, signing them up for products – from bank accounts to insurance – that they never wanted. This is an incredible breach of trust that threatens not only the customers who depended on Wells Fargo, but confidence in our banking system. As our investigation found, Wells Fargo’s conduct was unlawful and disgraceful.”

California will receive $148.7 million, the largest payment under the settlement.