By Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist, Blogging at The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

I just finished writing my annual post on the “Top 10 Consumer Stories of 2009.”

As a consumer writer, it’s so frustrating that the media, government, and even consumer organizations don’t write about this. I found many articles such as the top business stories, technology stories, entertainment stories, movies, headlines, most read stories, economic stories, science stories, health stories, and auto stories.

However, few organizations see consumers and their needs as important, except as they’re spenders in the economy to make money for businesses and corporations.

Consumers need to strengthen their role in the economy and in their communities.

Here are my suggestions for action steps for boomer consumers for 2010:

1. Join two consumer groups. Two suggestions – the Public Interest Group in your state and Public Citizen.

2. Sign up to receive e-mail recall information or an RSS feed from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

3. File consumer complaints with the Attorney General’s Office in your state or the appropriate state agency if you can’t get your complaints resolved with the business or service provider you worked with. See the Web site of the National Association of Attorneys General for information on how to contact the attorney general in your state.

4. Find three Web sites or blogs that offer consumer information and read them regularly. Three suggestions: The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide, The Consumerist, and ConsumerAffairs.com.

5. Make a savings plan and pay off your credit cards.

6. Contact your legislators and members of Congress about consumer issues, such as health care and finance reform.

7. Plan for retirement. See “Getting the Retirement You Want in Tough Economic Times” for information on retirement planning.

8. Do research before you make a major purchase or sign up for a costly service such as the installation of a new roof or home remodeling. Buy the magazine or online subscription for Consumer Reports for product information and Consumers’ Checkbook magazine for services if you live in the Puget Sound, Boston, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Twin Cities, San Francisco Bay, or Delaware Valley areas.

9. Figure out how to find out about prescription drugs so you know how to be informed when health problems come and you’re faced with choices about the drugs. Two sources of information are The People’s Pharmacy and Public Citizen.

10. Find a local or state group working to improve the environment and join their efforts.

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By Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist, Blogging at The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

If you’re reading this article looking for tips on what to do on Dec. 24, you need help.

Here are 10 ideas to assist you:

1. Start as early as possible on Christmas Eve to finish your shopping. You’ll probably find empty shelves at some retailers because, due to less consumer demand, they aren’t stocking the shelves as well as they usually do.

2. Consider scarves, chocolates, and book for moms. Flowers, too, but you’ll probably have to deliver them yourself at this late date.

3. Buy a gift card, but remember to find out if fees are charged and when the card expires.

4. Avoid the mall and dollar stores. They’ll be swamped.

5. Don’t bring the kids with you. You’re in a hurry. You’re stressed. Kids will slow you down, and they usually want stuff, which you don’t have time to deal with.

6. Ask for help if you’re behind in getting your Christmas dinner organized. Simplify the menu. Ask guests to bring things. Order food from your favorite restaurant or deli.

7. Buy gift baskets.

8. Buy wine, chocolates, and music.

9. Give a magazine subscription. Buy the latest issue from the newsstand and wrap it for the gift. Order the subscription when you get home.

10. Be sure to ask for gift receipts. In your last minute flurry, you may not be making the best choices.

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By Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist, Blogging at The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Are you baby boomers traveling with your adult children this holiday season?

If so, what did you decide about who’s invited and who pays what bills?

One family I know debated about whether to invite the unmarried boyfriends and girlfriends of their kids.

In “Negotiating Vacations With Adult Children” on Uptake Vacations Blog, Laura Charon writes that she and her husband decided to pay the airfare for their two adult children for a vacation to Hawaii, but not the airfares for their significant others.

The parents would pay for the condo and groceries for the meals cooked there, one fancy dinner, one rental car, and one activity they could do as a family. The kids would pay for activities, a second rental car, if needed, shopping, eating out, and other expenses that came up.

What are your travel plans this holiday season? Did you invite your kids to vacation with you and work out the financial arrangement successfully?

Have you tried vacationing with your adult children in the past? Did it work out well? Or, was it a disaster, with fights about money?

Leave me a comment below and let me know your experiences.

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By Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist, Blogging at The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Today it was 32 degrees, but I was out in my driveway raking up the downed branches and pinecones.

Why?

I’d read about a woman who slipped on a pinecone on her driveway and broke her hip.

Even though winter is upon us in much of the country and the snowstorms have begun, we need to keep thinking about winter safety.

If you haven’t prepared your home for winter yet, here are steps to consider:

• Make sure everyone in the family has a warm coat, boots, gloves, and mittens.

• Think through what you’ll need in case of an emergency – first aid supplies, medications, a battery-operated radio, warm clothes, blankets, several flashlights, canned food, and water.

• Have your furnace check to make sure it’s in good working order.

• Remove dead plants from the garden and flowerbeds. Rake up any leaves that may be harboring pests. Prune diseased perennial shrubs. Prune branches that may be too close to the house.

• Make sure all your cars have emergency supplies, including warm clothes, blankets, chains, and a shovel. Keep up with car maintenance and check the pressure in your tires.

• Avoid using cruise control in winter driving conditions.

• Keep a copy of “What Should You Do If a Water Pipe Freezes?” handy.

• Put away garden tools.

• Clean up your patio. See “Speed Cleaning: Pack Up Your Patio” for details.

• Clean gutters to make sure leaves aren’t blocking them.

• Drain water hoses and put them in the garage or shed.

• Get snow shovels, snow blowers, and salt ready.

Good luck this winter. Instead of rain, here in the Pacific Northwest we’re having freezing weather. We’ve had it for a week. Right now it’s 22 degrees.

I’m looking forward to rain this weekend so I can finish up several things on the list. I kept waiting for a warm day to rake up a few of the remaining leaves, but it kept getting colder and colder.

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By Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist, Blogging at The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

What do you do at work when the latest versions of e-mail and word processing programs are installed? Jump for joy? Or scream and cry in frustration?

A new study shows that baby boomers have a unique relationship to technology – different from any generation before or since – and they’re actively shaping the devices, software, and services of tomorrow by the choices they are making today.

That’s what AARP and Microsoft found out when they offered a series of focus group discussions with baby boomers in four U.S. cities: San Francisco, Phoenix, Chicago, and New York. The report about the findings from the meetings is “Boomers and Technology: An Extended Conversation.”

What do boomers, who came of age before most of the software applications and devices now considered essential were invented, want in the technological devices they use? Rob Sinclair, director of accessibility at Microsoft, said:

Baby boomers are savvy consumers who expect technology to be safe, easy to use, and flexible enough to adapt to their individual needs. When new technology products enter the market – products that are well-designed and can help create the life baby boomers want – they are enthusiastic early adopters who help lead the way.

Baby boomers have the numbers and the economic clout to make their technology choices matter. Consumers in their 50s show the highest intent to purchase consumer electronics among any age group.

And baby boomers want technology that reflects their values and helps them express those values with greater purpose, meaning, and impact, the report indicates.

Author and futurist Michael Rogers, who worked with boomers in the focus groups, makes these predictions about the future of technology by the year 2019. Baby boomers will:

• Be wearing sensor-equipped exercise clothing and GPS-enabled running shoes during workouts to monitor their physical condition, track the calories they burn, and upload the information automatically for storage and analysis.

• Have prescription glasses that connect wirelessly to the Internet or other networks and display information in the lower half of the lens.

• Carry mobile devices that can function as electronic wallets, offer full telepresence, and project large-format images on the wall.

• Use technology to help them care for their aging parents – employing sensors that alert them to changes in behaviors or routines that could signal problems – and to manage their own health with tools ranging from low-cost gene scans to implanted microchips that contain their health records.

• Use computers to control energy use in their “green” homes and to redefine when, where, and how they work.

Does that sound great to you or intimidating?

It seems to me that these days, it’s easier to use the new technology. When I first worked for the state of Washington, I disliked intensely any changes in software. I complained loudly when the state switched from WordPerfect to Microsoft Word. Changes in the Windows platforms also were a bother.

Recently, however, I’ve learned how to use an iMac, a video camera, a digital camera, and a scanner.

When I wanted to replace my cell phone due to high levels of radiation, I was disappointed that I couldn’t get a BlackBerry. It’s too expensive to pay $30 a month more to connect to the Internet.

However, there’s one thing I haven’t mastered. That’s using my DVD player. I bought one with a hard drive so I could edit my videos on it. Either I couldn’t figure it out how to do it or the DVD doesn’t perform that function. In addition, I haven’t been able to figure out how to record TV programs. However, that’s not a big problem because I seldom watch television.

How about you? How savvy are you about electronic gadgets? Do they make your day or add to the stress and frustration to your life? Leave me a comment below about your tech life.

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