Boomer Woman Blog: boomer

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30 September 2008

Boomers on a Budget: Household Measures

There's nothing like a Wall Street meltdown to put the family budget in perspective. While a Boomer Budget could easily center on investment strategy, I'm going to assume that you are already losing enough sleep over that. I'm going to cover more mundane aspects of the household budget.

1 - Buy my large DietCoke with extra ice at Sonic only between 2pm and 4pm, when drinks are half price and therefore less than $1. I continue to tip with whatever coins are in my car (50¢ - $1, usually).

2 - Attend movies only during early-bird hours, worth a $2 discount in my town. When I go to Harkins, I carry in my "loyalty cup," through which a purchase of soda is a mere $1. (I have found myself staring at the Senior Discount lately. I'm shy a few years.)

3 - Learn to love whatever's on sale at the grocery store. Today, Kix cereal was on sale for $1.88 (as opposed to $3-something), so that was my choice instead of Rice Chex. (When I was a child, Kix was a rare treat. I expect to feel young while eating the cereal over the next several weeks.)

4 - Reduce reliance on brand names. In our household, this means letting Tom Bold do most of the shopping for staples. He moves through the grocery store quickly, focused on low prices and blind to advertising.

5 - Resist the urge to pay off the mortgage. (Well, keep making payments, please; we're all counting on that.) I'm referring to the boomer tendency to pay off the house as quickly as possible for psychological comfort. Our last mortage was by choice a 15-year commitment, and pay-off is running ahead of schedule. But the budget-conscious choice for the next couple of years is to slow payment to the actual amount due. That will make the most use of the tax deduction that the mortgage interest permits.

© 2008 Mary Bold, PhD, CFLE. The content of this blog or related web sites created by Mary Bold (www.marybold.com, www.boldproductions.com, College Intern Blog) is not under any circumstances to be regarded as professional, legal, financial, or medical advice. Or education advice. Or marital advice. Or even a tip.

25 September 2008

Boomer Memory of Unemployment

There's a reason we're struggling with understanding the nation's need for an economic bail-out: it's been a long time since Americans experienced the type of extreme conditions that warrant such action. (It's been 75 years since the U.S. felt unemployment at 25%.)

Boomers have known inflation, stagflation, recession, boom, and bust. But for the most part, we don't understand the pressures currently on Wall Street and the economy. See chart above for the unemployment percentages boomers have known first-hand and those they've only heard about.

There is actually greater intelligence among us on the subject: some boomers in certain states remember unemployment percentages in the 1980s reaching the teens, higher than the national averages displayed above for the early '80s. But the typical boomer memory is limited to unemployment that wasn't much higher than today's. We don't share our parents' and grandparents' experience with sharp increases in joblessness.

On a personal note. I have seen a change in my investments and I have had to make an employment decision on the basis of housing costs. Daily, I am aware of the increases in gas and food costs. But I am certain I do not grasp the complexity of our financial crisis. Impending doom is still hard to get my hands around.

23 September 2008

Searching for Salaries

Calculating what you're worth in a job may not be possible but just finding out the general range of salaries of people already doing the work is do-able. These are the online resources I used to compare salaries for my most recent position and to help me evaluate some of the other opportunities I am now exploring.

1. General (but free) online calculator: SalaryExpert organizes data by geography and my test really did produce distinct answers for different locales (I used only the Broad Salary Range option).

2. More detailed (but still free): I found more focused data collection at PayScale and I especially like their "Confirm" options as they clarify the information entered. The interface also collects data according to number of hours per week, which is of high interest to baby boomers seeking a change in careers but not necessarily starting in a full-time position. At the end of data entry, look for the hyperlink for "No thanks...just show my salary report" if you don't want to create an account. (The account is free and anonymous; applause to PayScale for sharing the data without requiring that we become part of the database permanently.)

3. More complex (but still free): Department of Labor statistics are extensive for wage estimates. Where appropriate, estimates are broken down by hourly or annual salaries (looking at both medians and averages). I like to go through the State view, but the site allows just about any approach you can think of.

22 September 2008

Employment: The Telecommuting Option

Like a lot of boomers in the want-to-retire phase, I am drawn to the image of the telecommute. Me—anywhere—logging in to work for conference and communication, and otherwise working solo at highest productivity and peace and quiet. I'm not trying to get out of work. I like work. But more and more I want it to be efficient and flexible. The telecommute has promise for those criteria.

Here's what I've learned so far about telecommuting:

1 - Web conferencing works. I have preferences (I like some video but not everyone has to be on camera) and a few strong opinions. Practice makes perfect; that's not a new concept. Everyone should be comfortable with several different platforms; that's a hard sell. Free online conferencing services are fine for a small number of participants.

2 - Hours must be flexible. The worker's efficiency goes up if the work can be scheduled in chunks. This is not just about the worker's peak performance time (early riser vs. midnight oil burner) but also the elimination of non-productive periods of traditional office workdays. As much as I appreciate the value of interpersonal communication among worker bees, I also know the amount of time that is wasted in many, many workplaces. Telecommuting has the potential for wiping out the time-waster activity. (I cannot promise it.)

3 - Some jobs are better suited to the telecommute than others. I'm working on this thesis: if the work involves submissions, telecommuters are the superior workers on the job. "Submissions" refers to an incoming product that must be reviewed (probably evaluated and maybe edited, too) and then either returned to the submitter or reported on to another entity. This style of work describes online education (in large part) and explains why instructors and students return for repeat semesters. The key is a well-defined process that is measurable. Not only is the telecommuter's progress measurable, but performance is, too.

The challenging part of the third point is understanding that if the telecommuter is the superior worker, then the resident worker isn't. More to explore there. Another day.

On a personal note: I am close to saying that I will only telecommute for the rest of my working years but I am cautious. Tom Bold predicts otherwise. What does he know about me that I am not recognizing? He has known me since 1970. Oh, my.

21 September 2008

Apologetic Boomer's Lawn Care Tips

First, the apology. I must begin with my constant apology to real gardeners. I can only hope that my confessions help you to feel superior to me and thus reduce the level of offense you must feel.

Second, the underlying purpose. While most of my words will indicate a dislike for lawn gardening, it is important that I work in the yard. The activity reminds me to make the next house lawn-free. In our last home shopping we thought we would downsize but ended up with a house almost double the size and a yard triple the size. Only through continued pain will I learn the lesson and make this my last yard.

Third, the tips. My tips for other boomers who are tending their last yard:

1 - Use a mower that operates on battery power. It is lightweight compared to gas-powered machines and doesn't have the hassle of a cord that comes with electric mowers. Now, the real plus of the battery-powered machine is that it runs for only 40 minutes. That's my limit, too.

2 - Mow at different hours of the day. People who care actually track moisture content of the lawn and have reasons for cutting the grass at just the right time. My tip is much simpler: at different times of day, I find shade for every part of my lawn. I aim to be in it for most of my lawn work.

3 - When my enthusiasm for the work wanes, I remind myself that I could pay a gym for a similar amount of exercise. It also reminds of a story from a friend: "On one side of the patio door was my husband hoisting bundles of shingles up a ladder to the roof, and on the other side of the door was my son lifting weights in the air conditioned family room. Guess what I said?"

19 September 2008

Personal Technology: Dual Monitors

Screen real estate. Business has known it for years: productivity goes up with dual monitors. This photo displays my two monitors connected to my desktop computer in my home office. The small one is 15" and the big one is 27" and I can drag browser and application windows across the divide. (A computer must have the right type of video card to support multiple monitors.)

Big text for boomers. The obvious first advantage of all that screen space is that I can increase the size of text and icons to giant if I want to. (Down side of enlargement: sometimes the visual is pixel-y, meaning that jagged edges dominate.)

Spread out spreadsheets. But the real advantage comes in being able to spread out one's work, just as if on a desk in the old days. My pattern is to place my email window in the smaller monitor, and then spread out Excel and Word on the larger monitor. Most of the time, those applications can sit side by side. Occasionally, an Excel spreadsheet runs long (meaning, wide with many columns) and overlap occurs. That's when the "windows" feature of the operating system does what it was built for. Stacked windows are easier to manage on large monitors because you can keep more of each window visible around the workspace edges.

Alt-tab through life. My favorite keyboard command is Alt plus Tab. That keeps you toggling between windows.

18 September 2008

HIPAA: Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act

COBRA, bridge with no breaks: COBRA bridges health insurance coverage from old group plan to new group plan, or from old group plan to new individual plan. It may be tempting to forego the bridge, especially if money is tight. Living with no insurance is an obvious risk in terms of immediate health care needs and it also can have long-term consequences for pre-existing conditions when the time comes to sign up for new coverage.

63 days as significant break: Boomers are old enough to remember the horror stories of people denied health coverage because of previous health problems. Our modern plans (nearly all) are covered by HIPAA as well as COBRA, and it's HIPAA that protects us from discriminatory policies or exclusions from coverage. Like most insurance rules we are familiar with, "30 days" has meaning for HIPAA but there's another time line that's important: "63 days." That span constitutes a significant break in coverage—if you go that long without health insurance, your protection from HIPAA is seriously compromised. If there's a gap between coverage (of any sort), the day count matters. So, if you reach the end of COBRA eligibility, don't allow 63 days to pass without replacing it with something, even if that's a short-term individual plan.

Taking precautions: If you use COBRA to the max and stay insured without any breaks, you'll have the best protection against pre-existing health exclusions. Hang onto all "certificates" that prove you have had coverage (insurance providers are required to send you such paperwork) and keep premiums paid. Those are the highlights but the details deserve attention, too. Find them at the Department of Labor's web page on HIPAA, COBRA, and health plan exclusions. (I have found this to be the single best web page for branching out to all these topics. But it is a long read.)

02 September 2008

Personal Heatlh Record: A PHR at Google

Boomers will live long enough to see the Internet transform most aspects of our lives. That includes our health care or, pertinent to this blog, our health care records. The 2008 launch of an online personal health record (PHR—that's a standard bit of nomenclature that's been around since the late 1970s) will spur that transformation. It's from Google, of course.

Google Health requires a log-in with a Google account (which is handy for all Google apps, anyway). The site carries the designation of BETA, indicating that some parts are still being developed. Google's history of taking web sites through a beta phase is strong—don't mistake the disclaimer for a warning of shaky software. Nothing shaky here in terms of the technology itself.

But on the subject of disclaimers, you will note that accessing Google Health requires acceptance of policies. We've all become accustomed to checkmarking "I Agree" clauses for web sites but the terms of service should remind users to enter data cautiously. The purpose of this site is data recording, with expectation that users will upload personal and health-related data. The site may suit your purpose along these lines, but we don't have any real sense of how successful this site will be in managing information. I see the data collection aspect as a harbinger for consumer relations with medical providers but, frankly, I'm still looking for a doctor's office that simply will let me make appointments online. Placing my medical records on the web is not yet my priority.

The efficiency of web-based personal records is unquestioned. Just as we have become comfortable with online banking, we'll probably soon become comfortable with online health tracking. If you've thought of the HIPAA consideration, good thinking! As the Google Health site says, HIPAA does not mandate how patients handle their own records. Google conscientiously puts the user in charge of every aspect of the data entered and that includes the user's power to limit access by others. So, if you elect to link your online profile with a pharmacy partner, you will decide if the pharmacy has "write-only" access (pharmacy can add information for you to read, but cannot see any information you have stored in your profile) or "read/write" access (pharmacy can both read your profile and also add to it).

Google Health is not the first online PHR but it certainly could be the biggest (soon). Its growth will depend on how many and what partners emerge from the health community. The number is small enough now that there's plenty of room on screen to display corporate logos. Maybe our indicator of progress past Gen 1 will be when the interface reduces partner listings to text only.

On a personal note: I liked seeing Walgreens and QuestDiagnostics on the Google Health partner list. Those are two outfits that I sometimes use. Yes, I'll track Google Health's progress in signing partners, especially hospitals and doctors and insurance providers. ~ Lida

01 September 2008

Boomers Going to Class at the Apple Store

In July I went to a west coast Apple store for iPhone class (San Francisco), and in August I went east coast (D.C. environs). The fact that I am drawn to Apple's free product trainings is no surprise. I'm a boomer.

And so are the other people showing up for class. My weekend class was at the Tysons Corner Center in Virgina where 14 other people had gathered for the training. Four couples, 60-ish to 70-ish, were there, with half of every couple taking notes. Everyone else was at least 40, by my estimation. The instructor was also a boomer and very obviously the oldest employee on site: graying hair. Is this Apple?

The web example in the training was similarly generation-typical: cnn.com. And the top tip was the "double-tap" whereby users can make the tiny type of the Safari browser big enough to read. You can't tell me a younger generation would stand for that example (or that tip). But no younger generation is attending, of course.

31 August 2008

Boomers and Their Bikes

OHM (ohmcycles.com) brings us the electric bike. Can you see its motor? At 50 pounds, the power assist is a disadvantage on a steep uphill but an advantage on whole. How quickly can resorts stock up for boomers like me? (Please add a great seat, by the way.)

Power can be generated through use of brakes (think Prius) but most users will need to re-charge the battery with an electric plug-in, too. How quickly can park systems install charging stations on long bike trails? Will my city offer free electric outlets on streets?

A boomer woman friend rides a scooter to work and I admire her (and her $4/month gasoline bill). And the last couple of deans I had (also boomer women) rode motorcycles to work. Clearly, our generation is open to bikes of all sorts. I predict we'll adopt the electric bicycle, too.

29 August 2008

Impact of Boomers on the Air Travel Industry

My usual observation around air travel is the changing pace at airports. Not just the slow-down that comes with security lines—but the slow-down in the concourse that comes with an aging population. The conveyance system within terminals is as complex as the one outside on the tarmac. Airports design for our needs today and also for our needs 20 years from now. So, there's vertical conveyance (escalators and elevators) and also the horizontal type: moving walkways. The purpose is two-fold: reduce the distance that aging travelers must walk and also maximize flow throughout a terminal. Airport design also supports increased use of assistive motorized carts as well as the personnel to manage them. The demographics of air travel is clear, regardless of the rising energy costs: more older people will be traveling.

This trip, I noticed another change: increased belt length. That's on the airplane. Yes, the seat belt.

27 August 2008

Will Baby Boomers Wreck American Society?

Really wreck society or just Social Security? Forecasting appears dire. If boomers insist on retiring early (or even on time), they will create a shortage of funds for Social Security benefits. Presumably, a nation can fund anything it chooses to, so the U.S. may continue to support retirees even if one fund runs short.

But there's another wreck coming. But it's not just the funding for retirement benefits that boomers will influence. The retirement years of note (2008 and 2011 being most discussed now but there will be more dire years ahead) are those that will deplete specific work forces. On campuses, that's called the graying professoriate. Look around a faculty meeting and count the gray hairs. A new dean may see opportunity to grow a new college; a more experienced dean may dread the upcoming upheaval.

A national treasure: I'm not one to call any generation a national treasure, but the Treasury Department has identified the baby boom generation as crucial to their work force. They hope that as current employees exit (with their federal retirement benefits), other retirees or near-retirees will enter. Through the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, the Treasury Department hopes to recruit retiring IBM workers for encore careers with the government.

Other graying areas: It's not only Treasury that faces a gap in their work force. (Treasury is just one of the smarter entities to develop a strategy to meet their need.) Across all levels of government, we now hear predictions that the most experienced workers will soon be leaving. What will happen then? I can imagine longer lines in government offices, delays in permits and applications for everything, and a general decline in services. Think DMV on its busiest day—every day.

Will government offices make good encore careers? Would you sign on? I can think of some inducements that would lure me for an extra 5 or 10 years of employment: health benefits, flex schedule, option to telecommute half the time, and a cap on total hours of, what, 20 or 25 a week? We'll see what develops.

25 August 2008

Retirement Planning: A Deficit Model

If you are feeling deficit right about now, that's probably because the conventional wisdom maintains that boomers haven't earned enough, saved enough, or planned enough for retirement. That's a common trend for humans: assume the worst. And the trend is actually a good survival instinct.

The pragmatics of retirement planning are correct: advisers plan for extremes because no one can predict the future. So, the standard assumptions are for high medical costs over a long life span with a need for 80% of your pre-retirement income. Hence, the dire calculator results of You may run out of money at age 78... or 89... or 94.

In order to moderate these predictions, resist the standard expectation that you will need 80% of your income in retirement. (Granted, health costs may be dramatic in the future but even in those terms, don't awfulize.) Instead, try building your retirement budget from the ground up.

My favorite retirement calculator is at Bloomberg.com because I can try out multiple scenarios, including setting "percent of income at retirement" at anywhere between 50% and 150% of current household income. Boomer women should also play with the checkboxes for "If you are married" and "To include Social Security."

On a personal note: Using the Bloomberg calculator, I like to play with predictions of pre-retirement household income that are below my current salary. I also check on what will happen if I make no more contributions to retirement savings...and no salary increases. ~ Lida

24 August 2008

Grocery Budget: The Cart Approach

The dual-basket shopping cart used to irritate me. I avoided it whenever possible. But now the compact model is my friend—it is my budgeting strategy. If I purchase only what's on sale, and use my loyalty card besides, I can fill the baskets for a mere $61. And since I go to the store only once a month, that's a great budget technique.

I cannot pretend that this single cart feeds the household. Tom Bold makes a weekly trek to Walmart for his preferences and the household staples.

One more comment: The photo above displays my favorite style of parking lot cart storage (at Tom Thumb in my town). It's low profile and maintenance free. Kind of what I'd like my whole life to be....

19 August 2008

Boomers and Their Finance Advisers

What our financial adviser said (continued from yesterday's blog). When I disclosed that I was retiring from a public university and not seeking a similar position anywhere, our adviser said, "You'll never make it!" She knew that my early-retiring husband's salary would end in 2008, and that the expected course was to rely on my income for the next 11 years. (That means pushing off any withdrawals from 401K and IRAs in order to protect them for the long term, that span of retirement that will be 25 to 30 years.)

Who is this nervy adviser? Well, it's a family member. The professional advisers at the investment companies were quietly respectful and merely said, "What accounts do you want to move where?" The in-family adviser fretted a little and fumed a little and finally started to make the projections I needed to justify this change in career. (I'll still be in education, just not on a campus.)

How many advisers does a boomer woman need? Obviously, I need more than one. (Itemization is below.) What I've determined from this recent round of career decision-making is that I like having one in the family. An in-family adviser knows my real habits, not the ones I posture for the outside-adviser. She also knows when I'm serious ("I can stop buying clothes") and when I'm not ("I can give up travel"). Most important, she is my most-motivated adviser. If my career and investments fail, she'll have to support me. Fidelity hasn't made that promise to me.

Advisers of everything. Under one big umbrella of "finance adviser," we variously mean financial planner, investment adviser, stock broker, and maybe even retirement counselor. The terms become crucial if we intend to talk to an adviser who is certified, registered, or somehow regulated. A good online resource to check is the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards; the site has a concise list of descriptions of Financial Professionals.

Being assigned an adviser. Most of us don't select an adviser. We are assigned one by the firm we contract with. I've had two personal bankers, two personal stock brokers (before switching to discount brokers), and three investment advisers. Of that number, three have visited my home and a fourth even visited my classroom (to give a lecture, not to consult with me). That's a lot of personal contact, so you would think that I would put more effort into the choice of adviser. But my association with them has been accidental. Of course, the in-family adviser might make the same argument.

14 August 2008

Health Insurance By State

Diversity among the states. That health insurance is a complex matter goes without saying. Add to the complexity with 51 different versions as documented on Georgetown University's website dedicated to the topic.

healthinsuranceinfo.net is a hard-to-read noun string but once you get to the Georgetown website, the reading becomes easier. Use the clickable map on the homepage to access information by state.

The Georgetown guides do a good job of distinguishing between Group and Individual options. I especially like the site's links to recent press clips, most of which apply to baby boomers. Read below the map for these and other updates from the University's Health Policy Institute.

On a personal note: I will leave my employer's group plan in a few weeks and start COBRA coverage. Tom Bold is already on COBRA but is enjoying paid premiums for a spell. As our COBRA premiums become known to us, I will report on them here. I already have some dissonance: my employer's HR Department told me one thing, the State retirement office told me another thing, and just this week I uncovered text from my original hiring paperwork that presents another COBRA story. I have promised myself that I will keep a log of time spent on health insurance issues. I think a complexity measure is called for, too.

13 August 2008

Boomers on Facebook

Friending on Facebook. Did you notice the fine print? "Mary has no friends." That's what happens when you visit your Facebook account just a few times in many years, never tell anyone about the account, and refrain from friending other people. Well, of course, it is also possible that I might not have friends for other reasons.

Social networking is for boomers, too. Our generation popularized instant friendship (witness the very close relationships that emerged at sit-ins and love-ins), so you might say that baby boomers set the stage for online networking. If you are GenX or GenY you might not say this and I understand fully. Facebook and earlier networks like Friendster were popularized by young people and were long the domain of youth. Today, Facebook serves all ages with the sub-title, a social utility that connects you with the people around you.

tbd AKA TeeBeeDee = to be determined: Another concept is advertised at www.tbd.com specifically for people over 40, Sharing Experience to Thrive. Notice that a reason is provided: don't just connect, thrive.

Or start your own. The next development is to put networking software into our hands, as www.ning.com does. That's not just an opportunity to start a group—it's actually programmable software whereby you create a social network. Groups at ning are impressive: a firefighters group with 22,000 members. An ASCPA community with almost 12,000 people. These are numbers that professional organizations would do anything to garner (and perhaps they should do something as simple as establish a presence on ning).

On a personal note: This week, I asked my daughter if she had emailed a birthday message to her cousin Nicholas. She told me, I put a message on his Wall; you can do that, too. But how would I leave a message on his Wall? Well, you just friend him, and then you put a message there. Oh, I'd never do that. Nicholas is a nice kid who would think he had to befriend me, out of politeness or respect for an old aunt. I would never force that on someone. Ah, I am not well suited to social networking. (Remember, I'm the passive poster to LinkedIn.) ~ Lida

10 August 2008

Where to Retire

Search tools online. My most recent test was with AARP's Location Scout, an interactive tool that collects your preferences, then recommends retirement locations. A few years ago, a similar retirement locator recommended New Mexico environs for me. With some family members' having worked at the labs at Sandia and Los Alamos, I had a good idea of what life would be like in that state. This weekend's trial came up with a very different locale: Jackson, Mississippi, on the Natchez Trace. I don't know the town well but I've driven the Parkway several times. What a contrast from New Mexico!

AARP's search criteria now include...broadband Internet access. Would it make a difference in where I locate? Yes. Would it matter to most baby boomers? Yes, else AARP wouldn't be asking.

What makes Jackson extra attractive...Median house price under $160,000.

04 August 2008

Age as Advantage in Job Searches

Baby boomers with network ties: While age does not guarantee increased number of contacts, it does trend in that direction. I have more acquaintances in various workplaces now than I did a decade ago. That means I have more of a network to draw on in job searches.

Network ties, the weak ones, are the valuable contacts: Job seekers are best served by weak ties, the people known by name or reputation and the people known to those people. In short, jobs emerge from the contacts that don't know us very well, if at all. There must be some kind of tie, some common link, or monster.com would be more effective. (Lots of exposure possible on that job web site, but not much productive networking.) But the tie that is weak will do just fine.

Why close ties don't work: The close friend or associate is of much less help to the job seeker. Close ties don't introduce new opportunities. In fact, friends can act as a boundary separating the job seeker from the opportunities. Best to jump that boundary.

The modern version of the research: When researcher Mark Granovetter identified The Strength of Weak Ties in the 1970s, networking was largely the function of professional organizations and conferences, workplace acquaintances, and maybe an alumni association or two. The Internet expanded all those venues and invented a few more.

Social networking sites with a professional spin: LinkedIn, Plaxo, Ryze.

On a personal note. And now for the exceptions. I have enjoyed great referrals from people I consider good friends, demonstrating that strong ties can also produce employment. But that's just what Granovetter found, too. A few exceptions.

02 August 2008

Boomer/Retiree/Senior Discounts

Baby boomers earn senior status. Discounts for being old—we're finally earning them. If you remember the 1970s, you remember phrases like Senior Citizen Discounts and the now-fabled airline passes for retired people. (A couple of airlines still have plans, and a few more offer selected routes or dates.) Aging retirees actually discussed whether they would admit to being old enough to qualify for discounts. Today's aging boomers don't debate the topic. We race toward the discounts.

My confirmed happy discount from AT&T. An iPhone upgrade brought to light the availability of discount on my monthly charge from AT&T by way of membership in AARP. It is an outstanding 20% discount. If you are not quite old enough for AARP membership (50), you can still find AT&T discounts with many employers. I discovered just this week that I was eligible for a 15% discount through my university employer. (Wish I had known that for the past year.) These discounts are not easily located. But if you know to ask about the FAN list at AT&T, you can start saving within a billing cycle or two.

Scant research on the web. Even the AARP web site is lacking in information. A few informational sites present general lists. And a few offer to help you find discounts in exchange for a membership fee. Probably the most easily found discount is the lifetime pass for the National Park System. (It's the best discount, too, at $10 for access to all parks. Must be purchased at a park by the person who is 62.) Restaurants and movie theaters are common discounters. Some retail stores give a break, especially on certain days. Sometimes I am asked to show my AARP card at hotels (same with AAA card), but otherwise I have yet to be asked for proof of age.

Finding discounts: Be observant and read the fine print. And ask. That means settling on what words you want to use. Senior discounts? Retired discounts? I'm pretty comfortable with "Do you offer AARP or any other retirement discounts?" I haven't said golden, mature, or senior yet. That doesn't mean I never will. One blunt friend says this to young workers, "What are you giving us old people today?"

Stores and services like to find ways to stimulate business and so it's logical for us to be asking for discounts. But I'm expecting some of the perks to go the way of airline discounts: it will be too costly to give all boomers a break. There will be too many of us.