Sexually Transmitted Diseases After Age 50

Romance is alive even when you
are in your 60's!

Many younger people are uncomfortable when they think about romance and dating among people in their 50's, 60's, 70's or even older.  However, Baby Boomers know that just because we have a few more wrinkles, we aren't dead yet.  Many people remain sexually active for decades after retirement.

When you live in an over-55 community, you are well aware that many of the single adults in these communities are enjoying love and romance the second time around.  People who are widowed and divorced are meeting and enjoying the relaxed feeling of not having to worry about pregnancy, children and all those responsibilities.  However, the one thing that many of them are not thinking about are sexually transmitted diseases!

Sexually Transmitted Disease Rates for People over 50 are Going Up!

According to a CNN report dated May 10, 2011, there has been a significant increase in the rate of sexually transmitted diseases like syphilis, chlamydia and HIV/AIDS in people over the age of 50.  In fact, approximately one-quarter of the people in the US who are living with HIV/AIDS are over the age of 50!

Sexually Active People Still Need to Use Condoms

Part of the problem is that Baby Boomers are not using condoms to protect themselves from STD's.  Since they no longer have to worry about pregnancy, they feel that condoms are not important.  As a result, among men who are NOT in a monogamous relationship, the rate of condom use is about 53% for men in their 20's and only about 28% for men in their 50's.  This decrease in condom use as we age is fueling the dramatic increase in STD's among people who are age 50 and older.

Hopefully, we can all get the word out to our loved ones that they are not safe from sexually related problems simply because they are over the age of 50.  Anyone who is sexually active and not in a monogamous relationship needs to take precautions.  There are enough serious medical problems that will harm our health and slow us down as we age.  We don't need to add to our health issues by exposing ourselves to preventable diseases.

If You Have Been Exposed to an STD - Get Treated!

If you suspect that you may already have been infected with a sexually transmitted disease, do not ignore it.  Contact your physician right away to get medical attention.  Many new treatments are helping people with sexually transmitted diseases live long, healthy lives.

In addition, take responsibility and make sure that your do not pass this disease on to other people.  Make sure that a condom is used whenever you engage in sexual activities and follow your physician's recommendations.

If you are looking for more information about health issues that could arise as you age, financial planning, where to retire, changing family relationships or more, use the tabs or pull down menu at the top of the page for links to hundreds of additional articles.

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If Grandkids Call for Money - Grandparent Scam

Would your grandkids call you
if they were in trouble?

Last weekend a close friend of mine received a terrifying call from her grandson, who lives in another state.  He had rear-ended a car containing tourists from another country, and he had a sealed bottle of vodka in the car when it happened.  He was in a heap of trouble.

My friend asked her grandson details about what had happened.  He told her he had hired an attorney, and he was at the courthouse with his lawyer trying to get everything sorted out.  My friend asked to speak to her grandson's attorney.  The attorney explained what was happening, the charges he was facing, and what the judge felt her grandson should do in order to reimburse the people he had rear-ended for their out-of-pocket expenses.

After talking with the attorney, my friend got back on the phone with her grandson, and asked what she could do to help.  He told her he needed $4000 to be sent to the tourists, to cover their expenses.  Then the charges would be dropped.  He had not been drinking the vodka, and he had passed the sobriety test.  He just needed to cover the expenses.  He was very upset and embarrassed.  He begged her not to tell other members of the family, including his parents.  After discussing the situation more with the lawyer and the prosecuting attorney, to be certain that the charges would be dropped, my friend discussed the situation with her husband.  Then, she and her husband went to her bank, removed $4000, took it to a Western Union office, and had the money wired to the "victims," who were now back home in the Dominican Republic.

The entire incident was part of the well-known GRANDPARENT SCAM!

My friend lost her entire $4000, despite the fact that both she and her husband had read about money transfer scams in our local newspaper.  She simply didn't connect the financial scams reported in the newspaper with the situation she was facing with her grandson.

Once she realized she had been cheated, she reported the case to the local Sheriff's Department and the FBI, but there was nothing they could do to help her.  All the calls originated from outside the US.  The money was wired to another country.  Her grandson had not been involved in an accident; he doesn't even own a car. He was happy and busy doing other things on the morning when all this was transpiring.  He had even called that morning and proudly left them a message about a new job.  However, they were so busy with the money transfer, they didn't listen to the messages on their answering machine.

How to Recognize the Grandparent Scam

When my friend thinks back on the call, she realizes that her supposed "grandson" simply said "grandma" when she picked up the phone.  Then she responded by saying his first name.  He was upset during the call, so it was difficult to recognize his voice.  Besides, she really didn't talk with him on the phone all that often, so she wasn't sure she would have known whether or not it was him, even if he hadn't been pretending to be upset and stressed.

Despite his request to not tell anyone, my friend and her husband should have called other relatives to check on their grandson.  Even if their grandson really was in trouble, taking an extra hour to help him would not have made a difference ... and would have given them an opportunity to check everything out.  These people work in teams, often with several different people available to talk to you on the phone.  You need to get completely independent confirmation before trusting anyone who calls you.

We have already told our own children and grandchildren to not get their feelings hurt if they ever call us for money and we tell them we will call them back later ... after we have had a chance to make a few confirming phone calls.  They understand.

The Grandparents Scam Can Happen to Anyone

In case you think these types of scams couldn't happen to you, my friend is a retired teacher; her husband, who was involved in the decision and helped her wire the money, is a retired parole officer who worked for the Sheriff's Department.  They are both intelligent, very conservative and suspicious of strange phone calls.  Neither one suffers from dementia or any other health condition that would have made them easy marks.  They have a grown daughter who is a lawyer, but they didn't consult her before sending the money.  They didn't try calling their grandson on his cell phone.  They didn't try calling other family members to see if they had heard from their grandson.  Despite all their natural reservations, they fell for this scam hook, line and sinker.

My friend knows that I am making a blog post about this financial scam. We took a long walk at the beach this morning as she relayed the story to me.  She was understandably upset with herself, and angry at the loss of her money.  She also felt powerless to do anything about it.  However, she was adamant that she wanted to do whatever she could to keep it from happening to anyone else, so she asked me to post a fraud alert.  Feel free to forward this post to your friends, in the hope that we can prevent others from becoming victims of money transfer scams and other retirement scams, as well.

Although she isn't sure why they contacted her, the authorities told her that the scammers often target residents of over 55 communities, such as the one where we live.  They also scour Facebook for older people who show photos or mention teenage grandchildren on the site.  These money transfer scams are well-planned, and organized by groups of swindlers who do a lot of research to make their phone calls seem real.

Don't let the grandparent's scam happen to you!

If you are interested in staying up-to-date with other news affecting retirees, use the tabs or pull down menu at the top of this page to find links to hundreds of other articles of interest to Baby Boomers, including where to retire, financial planning, medical conditions, family relations and more.

You are reading from the blog: http://www.baby-boomer-retirement.com.

photo courtesy of morguefile.com

Multigenerational Families Living Together Again

In the past, many generations
lived under one roof!

Historically, it was not unusual for three, four or even five generations of one family to live together under the same roof.  However, during the Twentieth Century this became less and less common.  Instead, young couples began to leave their parents' homes and moved to their own houses, often in other cities or states.  As the Twentieth Century progressed, the "nuclear" family became the norm.  In most households, it was rare for there to be more than two generations in residence ... typically a couple and their children.  Usually, when the children grew up and moved out on their own, the parents continued to live in their own home.  This is the exactly the path that life has taken for my husband and me, as well as our grown children.

Multi-Generational Families are Becoming More Common

There are several reasons why this has begun to change again.  Ethnic groups who move here from other countries want multiple generations to live in the same home. The recent recession has caused many young adults to continue to live with their parents.  Baby Boomers who were not well-prepared for retirement or who lost their savings in the stock market, have sometimes been forced to move in with their adult children.

According to a report on ABC News, there are now over 51 million Americans who are living in households with more than two generations.  Since there are approximately 307,000,000 residents of the United States, this means that about one in six people are now living in multi-generational homes, which means at least three generations are living together.  Now that this has become so common again, ABC also had some suggestions for making this lifestyle work.

How to Get Along in a Multi-Generational Living Situation

First, every generation needs their own private space.  In their news story, they showed examples of families that had added onto their homes to accommodate the new family members.  In other cases, families had fixed up basement areas, or cordoned off sections of the home to create small "mother-in-law" apartments.

In addition, they suggested that everyone have clearly defined roles and responsibilities in the family unit.  Rather than everyone trying to do the same things, the family needs to decide who is responsible for the yard work, the cooking, the dishes, the laundry, the childcare, etc.  Then, there is less duplication of effort, as well as less competition, criticism and confusion.

The upside of this arrangement is that many of the family members who were interviewed said that they felt the new family arrangement not only saved them money, but also brought the family closer.

Is Multi-Generational Living Right for Everyone?

However, I recognize that this living arrangement is not for everyone.  Although we have four daughters who lived with us for a period of time spanning more than two decades, we now enjoy having our own residence.  At the same time, we look forward to seeing our grandkids frequently.  In fact, we see two of them at least once or twice a week.  Although we have no plans to change our current living situation, I believe it would be possible for my husband and I to live with one of our daughters if we had to ... as long as we had our own private space and followed the other suggestions listed above.  Because of that, I thought others might also benefit from some helpful guidelines about how to make a multi generational family work!

If you are interested in reading other helpful articles for Baby Boomers, use the tabs or pull down menu at the top of the page to find links to hundreds of additional articles about where to retire, changing family relationships, medical concerns, financial planning and more.

You are reading from the blog:  http://www.baby-boomer-retirement.com

photo compliments of morguefile.com

Save Money with Senior Discounts

One way to save money is to take
advantage of sales and discounts!

Did you know that there are a large number of discounts available to senior citizens?  Although some individual companies have their own discount programs, one of the easiest ways to access a large number of different programs is to join AARP.  

Money is a major issue for the vast majority of retirees who are living on a fixed income.  As inflation eats away at their disposable income, more and more of us are looking for ways to save money.  Unfortunately, many of us don't even think to ask for some of the discounts that are available to us once we reach our 60s and, in some cases, even sooner.

When I received my new AARP card, they mentioned some of the discounts that are available simply by showing my card.  In addition, I thought about some of the other discounts I know about, and did a little research to find those that are new to me.  There's no way that any list here can cover all the possible discounts available.  Some discounts that are currently available could be discontinued or changed. In addition, some local businesses in your area may have savings programs that I don't know about.  To be on the safe side, always be sure to ask if there is a discount for people over 55.  Even if they tell you that you will have to wait until you are 60 or 62, at least you'll know.  If they act surprised that you're even asking, take it as a complement.  It means that they don't think you look old enough for a senior discount!

Here are a few of the discounts that I have found.  Check with businesses in your area and compile a list of discounts at businesses you use frequently.  Keep the list tucked in your wallet, and you are less likely to forget about a discount when you are eating out or shopping.

SAMPLE RESTAURANTS
Denny's Restaurant - 20% off evenings w/AARP card (55+)
Applebee's - 15% off w/Golden Apple Card (60+)
Ben & Jerry's - 10% off (60+)
Burger King - 10% off (60+)
CiCi's Pizza - 10% off (60+)
Fuddrucker's - 10% off senior platters (55+)
IHOP - 10% off (55+)

SAMPLE RETAILERS
Banana Republic - 10% off (50+)
Big Lots - 10% off
Goodwill - 10% one day a week (day varies)
Kmart - 20% off (50+)
Salvation Army Thrift - up to 50% off (55+)
Rite Aid drug store - (20% off on the first Wednesday of the month)

SAMPLE TRAVEL SERVICES
Amtrack - 15% off (62+)
Avis - up to 25% for AARP members
Best Western - 10% off (55+)
Comfort Inn - 20% - 30% off (60+)

SAMPLE ENTERTAINMENT
AMC Theaters - up to 30% off (55+)
U.S. National Parks - $10 lifetime pass (62+)

There are many other restaurants, hotels, car rental companies and theaters that offer discounts.  Don't forget to ask at the local businesses that you patronize.  You will be glad you did!  In addition, if you see a discount mentioned here that has been discontinued, please mention it in the comments section.  I will delete it from the article.  Feel free to also add any of your favorite discounts as an aid to others.

If you are interested in learning more about planning a successful retirement, use the tabs or pull down menu at the top of the page to find links to hundreds of additional articles about where to retire, financial planning, medical issues, and family relationships.

You are reading from the blog: http://www.baby-boomer-retirement.com

photo courtesy of public-domain-photo.com

Retiring Former Hippies Spark a New Generation Gap

Former Hippies are Getting
Close to Retirement!

Much to my surprise, when I opened my January 30, 2012 issue of "Time Magazine" and read the column near the back written by Joel Stein, I was stunned to discover that he had devoted a portion of his weekly column to Laguna Woods Village, the retirement community in Orange County, California where I live.  The comments he made were a bit embarrassing and, I'm forced to admit, entirely true.

Marijuana Use in Retirement Communities

Somehow, Joel Stein heard about the little fuss we had in our community last year over medical marijuana plants that are quietly being grown by some of the retirees.  Apparently many of my neighbors are able to qualify for prescriptions that allow them to grow and possess small quantities of pot, and they are taking full advantage of the opportunity.  Needless to say, this has once again created conflict between the Baby Boomer generation and the older retirees who lived here peacefully without marijuana for the past 40 years!

Some Baby Boomers were growing marijuana plants in the garden center, resulting in secret night-time raids by neighboring young people looking for easy access to the plants.  The Boomers wanted the homeowner's association to hire guards!  Instead, the board told them that, if they have a prescription, they can legally grow small amounts on their own patios.  Who knows how many pots of pot are now popping up?

Generation Gap in Retirement Communities

As Joel Stein points out in his column, the issue of whether or not marijuana should be grown in Laguna Woods Village is not the only problem to come between the Baby Boomers and the older senior citizens in this and other retirement communities.  It seems that the Generation Gap that was the focus of the 1960s has reared up once again, especially in 55 and over communities! 

Remember that the Baby Boomers are the children of a generation that grew up during the Great Depression, willingly supported and fought in World War II, and were very frugal with money.  The Baby Boomers, on the other hand, are the generation that listened to Rock n' Roll, loved to travel, and (in some cases) did not support the war in Vietnam.  During the past few years it has not been unusual to see Boomers sitting in lawn chairs on street corners in our community with signs declaring their opposition to the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Beyond the issues mentioned by Joel Stein, I've also noticed that Baby Boomers and the older generation are struggling to come to agreement about how to run the community.  While the older generation is satisfied with things that are old and a little worn, as long as they are still functional, the Boomers want facilities and services that are modern and new.  For example, many Boomers are unhappy with our local community cable television station, because we are unable to access some types of programming, such as MTV and Pay-for-View.  The elderly volunteers who serve on the boards do not consider these services worth the extra cost.  Another issue has been our recently completed, elegant new golf and tennis clubhouses, which were resisted by some of the more elderly residents.  The younger residents have been able to get these new facilities built, despite the efforts to stop them, but it has not been easy.

Peace, Love and Rock 'n Roll after Retirement

Overall though, despite the bad publicity and the occasional disagreements, Laguna Woods Village (as well as the other over-55 communities I have visited) is a pretty peaceful place.  There is so much to do in these communities, that there are plenty of opportunities for people to find the types of activities they enjoy, including enjoying dances and music from a variety of time periods. 

It is also possible for residents to quietly putter around their own patios, whenever they want to enjoy some relaxation, peace and quiet.  Of course, from now on when I see one of my neighbors relaxing on their patio, I'm going to wonder if they are actually cheerfully tending their marijuana plants.  Whatever the cause, peace and love are still the rule of the day in Laguna Woods Village!

If you are interested in staying up to date with other issues important to retiring Baby Boomers, use the tabs or pull-down menu at the top of this page to find links to hundreds of additional articles about where to retire, financial planning, medical concerns, family issues and more.

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Photo credit:  morguefile.com