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The Savvy Senior: Important Legal Documents All Seniors Should Have
By Jim Miller
Dear Savvy Senior,
What kinds of legal documents do I need to prepare to help my family after I’m gone? I would like to get my affairs in order but could use some help.
Almost 75
Dear Almost,
All adults – especially seniors – should have at least four essential legal documents to protect yourself and your family. These documents will make sure your wishes regarding your estate are legal and clear and will help minimize any conflicts and confusion with your family and your health care providers if you become seriously ill or when you die. Here are the key documents you need, along with some tips to help you create them.
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One Thing or Another: 2020 Vision
By Mark McNease
It’s always One Thing or Another… a lighthearted look at aging, life, and the absurdities of it all.
Two months into a new year and this one feels different. Depending on your preferred echo chamber, America is either experiencing a renaissance of greatness restored by the last presidential election, or crumbling into a sinkhole of authoritarian despair. The earth is slowly catching fire while the ice caps melt, or it’s all a conspiracy to make us vote for liberals. The extremes are increasingly extreme, and now, as we hurtle toward an election many people are declaring the most significant in their lifetimes, it’s all too much, like a hangover breakfast at a diner after a party you never wanted to attend. We live under sustained assault by social media and a news cycle that stopped knowing how to shut off back when the Indian head ceased displaying on our TV screens from midnight till 6:00 a.m.
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One Thing or Another: 2020 Vision
By Mark McNease
It’s always One Thing or Another… a lighthearted look at aging, life, and the absurdities of it all.
Two months into a new year and this one feels different. Depending on your preferred echo chamber, America is either experiencing a renaissance of greatness restored by the last presidential election, or crumbling into a sinkhole of authoritarian despair. The earth is slowly catching fire while the ice caps melt, or it’s all a conspiracy to make us vote for liberals. The extremes are increasingly extreme, and now, as we hurtle toward an election many people are declaring the most significant in their lifetimes, it’s all too much, like a hangover breakfast at a diner after a party you never wanted to attend. We live under sustained assault by social media and a news cycle that stopped knowing how to shut off back when the Indian head ceased displaying on our TV screens from midnight till 6:00 a.m.
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25 Great US Cities and Towns for LGBT Retirees
By Dave Hughes, RetireFabulously.com
This article is an excerpt from Dave Hughes’ new book, The Quest for Retirement Utopia: How to Find the Retirement Spot That’s Right for You.
When it comes to choosing a place to live during retirement, LGBT people want the same things that everyone else wants – safety, reasonable prices, agreeable climate, cultural and recreational amenities, and good healthcare.
However, LGBT people have a few additional factors to consider. Those include how tolerant an area is, the presence of a gay community, and healthcare providers that are welcoming towards LGBT people. Sadly, instances where LGBT patients are treated poorly and same-sex partners are denied visitation rights or decision-making rights in hospitals and nursing homes are still all too common.
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Gay Travelers Magazine: Virgin Voyages – No Nickel and Diming Cruising Arrives in Florida
Reprinted with permission from Sunny Harbor Publishing
By Steven Skelley & Thomas Routzong
SCARLET LADY, the first ship of Virgin Voyages brand by Sir Richard Branson is cruising to Florida where it will offer “no nickel and diming cruising” where tips, wifi, food and group workouts are all included.
Here is what you need to know:
Virgin Voyages’ first ship, Scarlet Lady, will arrive at PortMiami in 2020 for her inaugural sailing season where she will sail to the Caribbean hosting more than 2,770 sailors and 1,150 amazing crew from around the world. Virgin Voyages will offer a mix of itineraries.
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Featured Book: The Quest for Retirement Utopia: How to Find the Retirement Spot That’s Right for You, by Dave Hughes
He’s done it again! The fabulous Dave Hughes of Retire Fabulously has recently released his third book on the ups, downs, ins and outs of retirement.
The Quest for Retirement Utopia: How to Find the Retirement Spot That’s Right for You, “will provide you with the resources you need to properly evaluate the places you are thinking about retiring so that you can make the most informed choice. The Quest for Retirement Utopia is not just a quest for the most beautiful or most economically advantageous place, it’s a quest for the place where you can live an optimal, fulfilling, and wonderful life. The Quest for Retirement Utopia will help you find the retirement spot that’s right for you!”
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Cathy’s Wealth of Health: Let’s Talk About the Role of Inflammation in Illness
Inflammation: Causes and Cures
By Cathy McNease, HerbalistOne of the biggest predictors of how well we age is the amount of inflammation present in our bodies. The major killer diseases, such as cancer, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s, as well as the discomforts of gastritis, arthritis, gingivitis, and the many other –itises, all begin with inflammation. When an organ is inflamed, disease follows. Over time that fire in the tissues or cells can become life threatening. Some of the best cures to reduce inflammation are found in colorful fruits and vegetables. The other vital component to fire reduction is to avoid unhealthy fats, denatured grains, refined sugars, and foods heavy laden in artificial flavorings, colorings and preservatives.
In recent years the medical world has awakened to the huge connection between diet and health. One of the measurable factors that your doctor may use to determine disease risks is your level of CRP (C-Reactive Proteins) in the blood. It is now know that this is a more reliable pointer to the possibility of heart disease than merely looking at cholesterol levels. It will also show the amount of inflammation generally present in the body.
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Lee Lynch’s Amazon Trail: What?
By Lee Lynch
The Amazon Trail
Photo by Sue Hardesty When I first put in the hearing aids, I felt a giant exhalation of tension. Though I knew of my relatively modest hearing loss, I was unaware what a strain it put not just on my marriage and public life, but on my mind and body.
Grandpa Lynch, a retired Railroad Engineer, had big clunky hearing aids. Grandma Lynch needed a pair, though her family said she could hear perfectly well when she wanted to. There was definitely hearing loss on my mother’s side, but her parents couldn’t have afforded hearing aids if they’d wanted them, which they didn’t any more than Grandma Lynch did.
Shame was attached to the very idea of needing such devices. Do people reject hearing aids out of pride? Vanity? Was it the stigma of disability? Maybe back then the new-fangled things weren’t very effective. Probably they were uncomfortable.
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Dave Hughes of RetireFabulously: The Adventure List: What it is and Why You Need One
By Dave Hughes, RetireFabulously.comBy now, you have almost certainly heard of the Bucket List. That’s a list of things you hope to experience before you pass away or “kick the bucket.” Perhaps you even have one.
I do. I think they are a good idea.
But while the concept of the Bucket List is good, it has its limitations. You probably think of your bucket list in grandiose terms. Your list is probably filled with big-ticket items and stretch goals, like taking a trip to Japan, visiting every national park, or jumping out of a perfectly good airplane.
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The Savvy Senior: Can a Debt Collector Take My Social Security Benefits?
By Jim MillerDear Savvy Senior,
Can my Social Security benefits be garnished if I have some outstanding debts? I just turned 62 and would like to start collecting my retirement benefits, but want to find this out before I apply.
Worried Retiree
Dear Worried,
Whether your Social Security benefits are garnishable or not depends on whom you owe. Banks and other financial creditors, for example, can’t touch your Social Security checks. But if Uncle Sam is collecting on a debt, some of your benefits are fair game. Here’s what you should know.
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Book Review: The Boys of Fairy Town, by Jim Elledge
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Bookworm Sez“The Boys of Fairy Town” by Jim Elledge
c.2018, Chicago Review Press $29.99 / $39.99 Canada
290 pagesDates, times, and old dead guys.
When you were in school, that’s all history was to you: a list of years and names to memorize and then forget, twenty minutes after Finals Week. So maybe now it’s time to find a history book that’s relevant to you – a book like “The Boys of Fairy Town” by Jim Elledge.
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The Savvy Senior: How To Find Retiree Travel Perks
By Jim MillerDear Savvy Senior,
What types of travel discounts are available to older travelers? I just retired and am interested in learning about travel deals for people over 60.
Ready To Go
Dear Ready,
There are literally thousands of different travel-related discounts available to retirees that usually start anywhere between the ages 50 and 65. These discounts – typically ranging between 5 and 25 percent off – can add up to save you hundreds of dollars on your next trip. Here’s how you can find them.
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Gay Travelers Magazine: Provincetown – Where LGBTQ+ Can Be Themselves
Reprinted with permission from Gay Travelers Magazine
By Steven Skelley and Thomas Routzong
Provincetown, Massachusetts stands out in history as not only the first place where the Pilgrims landed, it is constantly evolving to accept those who seek refuge, a place to be free and a place to be themselves. We asked locals to give us the inside scoop on the past, present and future of LGBTQ+ Provincetown.
How would you describe Provincetown in one sentence?
From Tony Fuccillo, Director of Tourism:
Provincetown is a place where you feel you can truly be proud of being gay; all LGBTQ+, yes everyone is welcome in Ptown and can be themselves when they are here without any judgment from anyone.