The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Consumers need more information about how real estate transactions work, consumer group says

Two-thirds of consumers believe that real estate agents are always or almost always required to represent the interests of the home buyer or seller with whom they are working, according a survey. Yet, many agents working with consumers represent the interests of the other party or the interests of neither party.

A report by the Consumer Federation of America incorporated its research of the literature on real estate agency, its mystery shopper survey of agents, and a survey by ORC International.

“Today, many home buyers and sellers do not know whether their agent is representing their interests, those of the other party, or those of neither,” said the report’s author, Stephen Brobeck, a federation senior fellow. “Given the huge expenditure of a home purchase and the conflict of financial interests between seller and buyer, it is important that consumers know who their real estate agent is actually representing.”

FDA should ban widely used, deadly gout medication, consumer group says

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration should immediately ban the widely used gout medication febuxostat because it poses unique, serious risks – including the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease – and provides no unique benefit, Dr. Michael Carome, director of Public Citizen’s Health Research Group, said Friday. Public Citizen petitioned the FDA to ban the medication in June 2018.

The FDA convened advisory committees in response to a request from Takeda Pharmaceuticals America, maker of the brand name febuxostat product Uloric, for approval to update the medication’s labeling to include results of a recently completed clinical trial. The trial, which involved more than 6,000 gout patients, showed that patients taking febuxostat were significantly more likely to die from cardiovascular causes compared with those receiving the much older gout medication allopurinol.

Initial clinical trials testing febuxostat prior to FDA approval linked the medication to possible increased risks of serious cardiovascular outcomes, including heart attack, stroke, and death. The FDA rejected the medication twice due to these safety concerns before approving it in 2009 on the condition that the manufacturer conduct the now-completed large, post-market clinical trial to further evaluate the cardiovascular risks.

Trump’s government shutdown is disrupting agencies that protect consumers, workers, health, and safety

Consumer, worker, health, and safety protection agencies throughout the federal government are being disrupted by federal worker furloughs coming from the partial government shutdown, according to a report Public Citizen released Wednesday.

“As long as the shutdown continues, essential consumer, worker, health and safety protections carried out by these agencies are on hold,” said Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen. “Corporate lawbreakers are going unpunished, safety inspections are being postponed, discrimination charges are going uninvestigated, polluters are not being held in check, financial fraudsters are not being policed, consumer complaints are not being received and accident investigations have ceased.”

Many agencies are falling behind, and it could take many weeks for them to catch up, according to furloughed workers quoted in the report. More than 75 percent of workers have been furloughed at seven agencies dedicated to protecting consumers and workers, according to federal agency memos, and nearly 50,000 employees have been sent home without pay at the following agencies:

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

Best cities to celebrate Christmas

Christmas is a fantastic time of the year, but some places for celebrating it are better than others. That’s because America’s favorite holiday is also one of the most expensive. From decorations and food to gifts and travel, there’s a long list of expenses to prepare for during the year.

In 2018, Americans are expected to spend up to $720 billion over the holidays, according to the National Retail Federation. The average person plans to spend $1,007.24. If you don’t have a reasonable holiday budget – or enough self-control – then your Plan B should include celebrating in the cheapest Christmas destinations. Overspending is a common mistake committed by consumers during the Christmas shopping season and one of the top sources of holiday stress.

Typical Christmas activities include shopping, dining out, and attending holiday events. Many people also are likely to attend church services.

WalletHub considered these factors to determine cities where you can enjoy a great Christmas. It compared the 100 largest U.S. cities based on 31 key indicators of a festive and affordable Christmas, such as traditions, shopping, and costs.

Micromotivators: The guardrails for healthy behavior

By Louis Bezich, Health Care Executive and Author of “Crack the Code”

Guest blogger

What exactly are micromotivators and how do they help people sustain healthy behavior?

Micromotivators are those tiny strategies, feelings, and approaches that keep you on track every day, the guardrails of healthy behavior.

How can micromotivators help us baby boomers get and stay healthy at this stage of our lives?

Trump Foundation to dissolve under court supervision amid charges Trump used its funds illegally for his political, business interests

The Trump Foundation has agreed Tuesday to dissolve under judicial supervision, with review and approval by the New York Attorney General’s Office of proposed charities to receive the foundation’s remaining assets. 

This agreement follows the court decision last month allowing a lawsuit by the New York agency against the Trump Foundation to go forward. 

In addition to the dissolution of the foundation, the lawsuit also seeks millions in restitution and penalties and to bar President Trump and his three oldest children from serving on the boards of other New York charities.

Five companies settle charges that they had mobile apps that didn’t keep sensitive user information secure

Five companies settled charges Friday that their mobile apps failed to keep sensitive user information secure when transmitted over the Internet.

The mobile apps of Western Union Financial Services, Priceline.com, Equifax Consumer Services, Spark Networks, and Credit Sesame had a security problem that could have allowed sensitive information entered by users – such as passwords, Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, and bank account numbers – to be stolen by eavesdroppers using simple techniques, tests by the New York Attorney General’s Office showed. Although each company told consumers that it used security measures to protect their information, the companies failed to determine whether their mobile apps had this problem.

The settlements with the New York agency require the companies to carry out comprehensive security programs to protect user information.

Toxic fluorinated chemicals found in cosmetics, study shows

Toxic fluorinated, or PFAS, chemicals were found in high levels in nearly one-third of the cosmetics products tested, according to a study from the Danish Environmental Protection Agency.

Some of the PFAS concentrations detected “exceeded” limits that will soon be in place under the European Union’s chemical regulatory program.

PFAS chemicals are linked to cancer, thyroid disease, weakened immunity, and other health problems.