The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Fourth of July Sales and what to buy and not buy in July

What are your July 4^th plans?

This year, three-quarters of consumers plan to celebrate Independence Day, down from 86 percent in 2019, according to a survey conducted for the American Retail Federation. Much of the decline is because fewer consumers plan to go to traditional celebrations such as a fireworks show. Only 24 percent said they plan to celebrate the Fourth by attending a community celebration, compared with 41 percent last year.

Consumers plan to spend $76 on average, which about the same as previous years. And more than half of consumers expect to plan a cookout or BBQ.

Independence Day sales

July 4^th sales are underway. It’s a good holiday for discounts and brings savings on many items, according to DealNews.com.

Sign up for my newsletter and get 10 helpful financial tips each week

For several months now, I’ve been writing a weekly newsletter called “Helpful Money Tips for You.” If offers the latest information on how you can get what you want for your money.

This week, I came across a most helpful tip. It's to check your rewards cards, especially those related to travel since you might not be traveling now, and see what your balances are and what you can do about rewards.

I checked with one credit card, the one I usually use for airline tickets and travel. I only have about 1,700 points. The credit union redemption center said I’d need 2,500 points to get a $25 gift card. I’ll start using that card for groceries and other purchases to get the cash back. The points don’t expire until March 2022.

On my other card, I have about 36,000 points. That’s the one I’ve been charging my groceries and Amazon purchases on, a lot of Amazon shopping going on during Stay Home, Stay Healthy. It doesn’t have a cash back option. I can get three Visa gift cards for $100, costing 11,000 points each. Or, I can get gift cards for a specific store or Amazon, $350 for 36,000 points.

That’s exciting news. I’ll give some thought on what to spend $300 to $350 on because I’m not traveling to Spain (like in the photo above) and my daughter and her family won’t be coming this time of year to visit from Spain. And we won’t be going to Sacramento to visit my daughter and her family there in July, like we usually do.

So, this is the kind of helpful financial information you can get from my newsletter. Sign up by clicking on this link: eepurl.com/gkZ6JH. Or, fill out the form on the upper right of this page. Thanks. I look forward to getting your feedback.

Copyright 2020, Rita R. Robison, Consumer and Personal Finance Journalist

Most sunscreens provide poor protection or contain questionable ingredients, environmental group says

If you’re going to leave your home and go outside, remember to protect your skin from the sun’s rays. To help consumers select a sunscreen, the Environmental Working Group has released its 14th annual “Guide to Sunscreens.”

Researchers rated the safety and effectiveness of more than 1,300 SPF products – including sunscreens, moisturizers, and lip balms – and found that only 25 percent offer adequate protection and don’t contain worrisome ingredients such as oxybenzone, a potential hormone-disrupting chemical that’s readily absorbed by the body.

Despite a delay in finalizing rules that would make all sunscreens on U.S. store shelves safer, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is completing tests that highlight concerns with common sunscreen ingredients. Last year, the agency published two studies showing that, with just a single application, six chemical active ingredients, including oxybenzone, are readily absorbed through the skin and could be detected in bodies at levels that could cause harm.

Genetically engineered and gene edited plants face less oversight under the Trump administration’s USDA

A majority of genetically engineered and gene edited plants now will escape any oversight from the U.S. Department of Agriculture under revised regulations issued recently by the agency.

Despite comments from environmental groups, consumer organizations, biotech crop developers, and food industry stakeholders asking the USDA to eliminate a provision allowing crop developers to self-determine whether their products are regulated, the Trump administration refused to require developers to even notify the agency of products they believe are exempt under the new regulations.

“The result is that government regulators and the public will have no idea what products will enter the market and whether those products appropriately qualified for an exemption from oversight,” said Gregory Jaffe, biotechnology project director for the Center for Science in the Public Interest. “They will stealthily enter our food supply at a time when consumers want greater transparency, leading to potential consumer backlash and acceptance problems, even for safe and beneficial products. That is why many industry members supported increased transparency.”

Trump sped up spread of covid-19 in 12 ways, consumer group says

Just three months after the first reported coronavirus-related death in the United States on Feb. 29, the confirmed covid-19 death toll in the nation has surpassed 100,000, far exceeding the number of confirmed deaths in any other country.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, President Donald Trump’s chaotic and incompetent response has fueled the spread of the coronavirus in the U.S. and beyond, causing tens of thousands of preventable deaths, according to Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group.

Here are 12 things Trump did to speed the pandemic and push the death count higher:

1. He didn’t prepare. For the first three years of his administration, he failed to take steps to prepare for a long-expected pandemic by expanding the inventory of critical medical supplies in the Strategic National Stockpile, strengthening the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and bolstering other critical components of our national public health system.

2. He ignored warnings. For several weeks starting in early January, he ignored early warnings about the grave threat posed by the coronavirus outbreak, squandering precious time needed to carry out proven measures that would have limited active community spread of the virus.

What to buy and not buy at Memorial Day sales 2020

Memorial Day sales have begun, even though stores aren’t operating like they usually do due to the coronavirus pandemic. Shop online for safety or pick up items you’ve ordered from local retail stores.

Many states have opened retail stores, including Georgia, Florida, Texas, and Iowa. However, I wouldn’t take the risk to go shopping for clothes or other items yet. About a dozen states – Alabama, Arizona, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, North Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin, and Mississippi – have opened retail stores even though their coronavirus cases are going up or have plateaued rather than dropping. See this New York Times article on the reopening plans of states.

DealNews.com suggests consumers look for Memorial Day deals on:

Most of Americans unaware of dangers of using payment apps, survey shows

Seven in 10 people rely on peer-to-peer payment apps to transfer money in a quick and easy manner, according to an AARP survey. It also found that about half believe they’re able to reclaim money sent in error.

While the platforms are convenient, the difficulty of recovering funds sent through them makes the technology, and those who use it, uniquely vulnerable to scammers, said Kathy Stokes, AARP director of Fraud Prevention Programs. This may especially be the case as more people use delivery services for groceries and other necessities during the coronavirus pandemic.

“We know scammers are already capitalizing on anxieties and fears around coronavirus,” Stokes said. “With so many people at home, consumers should be alert for possible scams on peer-to-peer payment platforms.”

Mother's Day facts and figures for 2020: What mom's want on Mother's Day

Mother’s Day is Sunday and with so many people staying home, it will be a different kind of celebration for most Americans. I won’t be in Madrid visiting my daughter and her family like I’ve done for about 10 years, nor will I be able to go to Sacramento and visit my daughter and her family there, although it’s tempting.

US Foods recently surveyed more than 2,000 moms across America to find out what they want from their families this Mother’s Day and how their plans to celebrate with their families are being impacted by the covid-19 pandemic.

A majority of moms want to spend time with family on Mother’s Day. Mom’s also enjoy sleeping in when given the opportunity. An ideal Mother’s Day would include time for mom, time with the family, and some together time watching TV and movies as well as a special dinner.

If you are looking for gifts, a majority of Mom’s said they would enjoy a gift card for an experience they can enjoy after the covid-19 pandemic has passed.

Here are more on the findings from the survey:

You can also find more infographics at Visualistan

Mother’s Day facts and figures for 2020: Best and worst states for working moms

Source: WalletHub

Women make up nearly half of the U.S. workforce, and nearly 70 percent of moms with children under age 18 were working in 2019. In 2020, those numbers are decreasing, as data show that during the coronavirus pandemic, unemployment is rising faster for women than for men.

Working moms face an uphill battle in the workplace, as their average hourly wage is only 85 percent of what men make, and only 6 percent of S&P 500 companies’ chief executives are female.

Progress appears to be taking place at different rates across the nation. Parental leave policies and other legal support systems vary by state, and the quality of infrastructure — from cost-effective day care to public schools — differs.

To find the best and worst states for working moms, WalletHub, a personal finance website, compared states on 17 key metrics. Among the items compared were child care, professional opportunities, and work-life balance.

Some of the findings are:

Foodborne illnesses increasing, CDC says, but Trump administration drags its feet on enforcement

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday infections caused by Campylobacter, Yersinia, Cyclospora, Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, and Vibrio increased in 2019 compared to 2016-2018, with progress in reducing Salmonella, Shigella, and Listeria infections stalled.

“This latest CDC data makes clear that the status quo is not working,” said Thomas Gremillion, director of food policy for the Consumer Federation of America. “The food industry can do much better, particularly when it comes to meat and poultry.”

A CDC report, based on preliminary data, emphasizes the role of chicken as an ongoing source of disease. Campylobacter, usually associated with eating chicken, remained the most commonly reported pathogen associated with foodborne illness in 2019. The rate of Campylobacter infection increased by 13 percent.