The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Baby boomers keep on changin’

In Washington state, we moved our clocks back as we move toward winter. Now, the sun is setting about 5 p.m. The “fall back” doesn’t bother me as much as the “spring forward.” However, it’s jarring to be in the dark so early in the evening.

As winter approaches and we long for spring, baby boomers are writing about life’s changes:

• The five love languages.
• Senior sex.
• Binge-watching bliss.
• Ways to stretch your money this holiday season.
• Shelter in place when a man has a gun.

Rebecca Olkowski of BabyBoomster writes about these articles on the Best of Boomer Blogs #622. Click here 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 and Personal Finance Journalist

5 signs your marriage is over

By Adam J. Edelstein, attorney and partner, Edelsteins, Faegenburg & Brown

Guest Blogger

Relations are complicated, and when things begin to get difficult in a marriage, people wonder whether they should continue to work on it or admit defeat.

Here are five things which may show your marriage is over:

1. You don’t communicate

In one study, 53 percent of couples reported that a lack of communication was a core reason for their divorce. In any relationship, communication is crucial to build on a foundation of honesty and trust. When you and your partner won’t address relationship issues or share in each other’s joy, you’ve lost that connection. 

If this critical connection is damaged beyond repair, your marriage could be on a slippery slope toward divorce.

Baby boomers offer practical tips and talk friendship and politics

It’s so cold here in the Seattle area that I’m wearing my winter coat again. And, it’s Election Day Tuesday, another indication that November is here.

As we move toward Thanksgiving, baby boomers are writing about:

• How to reignite your passion for things that you love doing.
• What people can do when they feel overwhelmed.
• The benefits of organic food.
• How to create a blog for business purposes.
• A discussion of politics in a New Jersey.
• A visit from a friend in a dream.

Laurie Stone of Musings, Rants & Scribbles describes these articles on the Best of Boomer Blogs #621. Click here to get the links to the articles. In addition, please join the conversations. Boomer bloggers love to hear from readers.

Copyright 2019, Rita R. Robison, Consumer and Personal Finance Journalist

Baby boomers get ready for Halloween

As Halloween approaches and it gets colder and colder, baby boomers are bundling up, raking leaves, and getting ready to hand out candy. And they’re writing about:

• The tale of a long-held family possession.
• The best way to get inspired is to start working.
• A warning to beware of all the ads and phone calls hyping Medicare Advantage plans during Medicare open enrollment.
• A pitch for online dating for baby boomers.
• A tour of a historic battlefield.
• A spooky dream.

Carol Cassara of Heart•Mind•Soul writes about these articles in the Best of Boomer Blogs #620. Click here to get the links to the articles. And let us know your thoughts. It’s fun to hear from readers.

Copyright 2019, Rita R. Robison, Consumer and Personal Finance Journalist

Baby boomers ponder big challenges and everyday issues

It’s been raining, raining, raining here in the Seattle area. And, in September, which often gives us some more summer weather, we got rain instead. I wonder if the bad weather today caused a crash of four semi-trucks that closed Interstate 5 south of Olympia for nine to 11 hours.

During the bad weather, I’ve been inside working on my book, “Follow the Money: The Life of a Financial Journalist,” in addition to writing blog articles.

Meanwhile, my boomer blogger friends are writing about big challenges and everyday issues:

Baby boomers getting chilly as October unfolds

It’s that time of year. The weather’s getting cold and the “chills” of Halloween are looming on the horizon.

As we launch into October, baby boomer bloggers are writing about:

• Dealing with a puzzling rash.
• Finding interesting but completely useless information on the internet.
• Seeing failure as a great learning tool and a necessary step in learning new things.
• Examining the flaws of the new study that said eating red meat isn’t harmful to help consumers make the "red meat" decision.
• Looking at how we became a “Lord of the Flies” society.

Tom Sightings of  Sightings Over Sixty writes about these articles in the Best of Boomer Blogs #618. Click here to get the links to the articles. And, be sure to leave a comment. Baby boomer bloggers love readers joining in the conversations.

Copyright 2019, Rita R. Robison, Consumer and Personal Finance Journalist

Are baby boomers responsible?

As we enter into fall before winter’s blasts, baby boomers are looking at personal and company responsibility. With climate change, corporate wrongdoing, and social media privacy mistakes, baby boomer bloggers are writing about responsibility.

Articles include:

• Whether we’re headed in the same direction as the dust bowl of the Great Depression, except on a larger scale, due to climate change.
• The charges by a federal agency that Match.com used fake love interest ads to trick consumers into buying subscriptions and made it difficult for them to cancel.
• Whether Facebook has become too controlling in determining what we see on the site.
• Sources for learning, including online courses.

Jennifer Koshak of Unfold and Begin writes about these articles on the Best of Boomer Blogs #616. Click here to get the links to the article. And be sure to chime in with your thoughts. Baby boomer bloggers enjoy discussions with readers.

Copyright 2019, Rita R. Robison, Consumer and Personal Finance Journalist

Match.com used fake ads that tricked consumers into paying for subscriptions, FTC charges

The Federal Trade Commission is suing online dating service Match Group, the owner of Match.com, Tinder, OKCupid, and other dating sites, alleging that the company used fake love interest ads to trick hundreds of thousands of consumers into buying subscriptions on Match.com.

The FTC also alleges that Match exposed consumers to fraud. In addition, the agency alleges Match offered false promises of “guarantees,” failed to provide services to consumers who weren’t successful in disputes, and made it difficult for users to cancel their subscriptions.

“We believe that Match.com conned people into paying for subscriptions via messages the company knew were from scammers,” said Andrew Smith, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Online dating services obviously shouldn’t be using romance scammers as a way to fatten their bottom line.”

Baby boomers get ready for fall

It’s officially fall and time for leaves to turn golden and the weather to become brisk.

Our Best of Boomer Blogs writers are settling in and getting ready for pumpkins, spiced lattes, and apple cider. They’re thinking and doing a variety of things and writing about what’s on their minds. Articles include:

• Attending “Downton Abby,” the movie.
• Going to Emmy events.
• Staying healthy and fit at age 85.
• Growing a great vegetable garden.
• Determining when it’s time to retire.
• Reconnecting to your creativity.
• Considering the different expectations for men and women.

Rebecca Olkowski of BabyBoomster writes about these articles on the Best of Boomer Blogs #615. 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 and Personal Finance Journalist

What are baby boomers doing these days?

Baby boomers are living much longer than their great-grandparents or even their grandparents. The average 65-year-old American today can expect to survive well past 80. So the question is: are boomers using the additional time constructively?

That’s one of the topics our boomer blogging group is writing about this week. Other topics include:

• House sharing when you’re single.
• Ways to make a transition work for you.
• A mother’s sayings make warm memories after she’s gone.
• A rightsized way to travel.
• The joy in finding a lost car key.
• The arguments couples have over and over.
• How to reduce the amount of plastic you eat.
• What you need to set your air conditioner at in the summer.

Tom Sightings of Sightings Over Sixty writes about these articles on the Best of Boomer Blogs #611. Click here to get the links to the blog posts. And be sure to leave a comment on the articles you like or find thought provoking. Boomer bloggers love to hear from readers.

Copyright 2019, Rita R. Robison, Consumer and Personal Finance Journalist