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

In January, I began blogging for boomer consumers on The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide. In April, I was offered the opportunity to become a reader blogger for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. My blog for the PI is called the Boomer Consumer. In May, I was asked if I wanted to write weekly as a guest blogger for Boomer411. The answer? “Yes, I’d love to.”

My researching and writing about consumer issues for the Boomer Nation has brought many hours of fun and joy. During 2008, I’ve written 500 posts for boomer consumers.

Based on research for my blogs, here are my top 10 tips for boomer consumers for 2008. These tips also will be helpful to boomers in 2009: 

1. Research thoroughly any prescription drug you’re taking or a health care provider recommends you take because consumers aren’t often told about the side effects of these drugs. See www.PublicCitizen.com for details.
2. Check the Better Business Bureau’s Web site before you select a company to provide major expenditures for goods or services, especially contractors or roofers. See www.bbb.org.
3. Simplify your lifestyle by downsizing your home, getting rid of stuff, and using less energy. A new trend among boomers is minimizing, with less emphasis on things and more emphasis on rewarding experiences.
4. Consider alternative medicine for solutions to health problems as you grow older, especially if a health care provider tells you that you need to have knee replacement surgery because you have arthritis. See my article “Baby Boomers Should Try Alternative Medicine Solutions Before Opting for Knee Surgery for Arthritis.” Research carefully alternative therapies that could help you and providers as well.
5. Stop using your credit cards and pay off your card balances as soon as you can to help stabilize your financial position during the recession and these troubling economic times. Financial adviser Suze Orman is adamant about this.
6. Save as much money for retirement as you can and investigate new ways to enhance your nest egg such as buying a smaller home, moving to a less expensive community, or working part time in retirement.
7. Reduce food costs by using coupons, buying store brands, eating vegetarian meals, eliminating desserts, reducing the number of restaurant meals, inviting guests for pot luck dinners, drinking less expensive wines, and other cost-cutting techniques. See my article “35 Ways to Cut Your Food Bills.”
8. Figure out ways you can assist your children in helping to raise your grandchildren. See my article “How Grandparents Can Offer Loving Support to Grandchildren.”
9. Reduce the chemicals you use in your yard, including pesticides, and in your home, including any products containing fragrance. Since companies aren’t required to list the ingredients in fragrance, consumers aren’t aware fragrances often contain toxic chemicals such as benzene and toluene.
10. Don’t use anti-aging procedures such as Botox and plastic surgery without undertaking extensive research. See my articles “How Bad Is Botox for You?” and “Why You Should Think Twice About Having Plastic Surgery.”

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

Guest Blogger

Are you considering buying a TV set, camera, or computer for yourself or do you want to get a good price on a holiday gift?

Consumer Reports offers these 10 tips for shoppers on buying electronics in the December issue of the magazine:

1. Buying online can be better.
2. Be wary of pricy add-ons.
3. Don’t buy an extended warranty.
4. Look for deals early in the season.
5. Consider refurbished and open-box items.
6. Ask for a lower price.
7. Recognize what each retailer offers.
8. Realize that high specs might not ensure high quality.
9. Be aware that performance often runs in the family of products.
10. Recognize that you might not need top performance.

See the article “Buying Electronics” for details on each of these tips, including which online sellers and retailers were outstanding in price or service.

To read the Consumer Reports’ recommendations on electronics based on testing, get a copy of the December issue of the magazine at your local library. Recommendations are available on the Web for subscribers to the Consumer Reports’ online service.

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

Guest Blogger

With the sale of gift cards this holiday season expected to reach $100 billion in the United States, it’s likely that you’ll be buying or receiving one or more of the popular gifts.

While gift cards are often an easy way surprise the ones you love, you may find that the convenient cards have drawbacks.

In 2006, shoppers lost about $8 billion due to unused, lost, or expired gift cards, according to the article “Avoid Gift Card Pitfalls” on the site ConsumerReports.org. Problems with gift cards can include:

• Cards that lose value or expire.
• Fees charged to the buyer of the card.
• Unclear card terms and conditions.
• Problems knowing where to find the terms and conditions – on the card, the package, or the issuer’s Web site.
• Not being notified of changes in the terms and conditions. 

The National Consumers League believes it’s important to know about these two kinds of gift cards:

• “Closed-loop” cards – Cards sold by retailers, with their logos. You can only buy items from the retailer who sold the card. The cards tend to have few or no fees or expiration dates. The retailer makes money from the markup they charge on the items purchased not from the sale of the card.
• “Open-loop” cards – Cards sold by credit card companies, malls, and banks. They can be used at any company where the card is accepted. Major credit card companies sell these cards directly. Banks and other companies also sell closed-loop cards that work on the networks of the credit card companies. Card issuers make money from (1) an up-front fee based on the amount of the card and added to the cost of the card, (2) post-sale fees, in the form of maintenance, dormancy, or inactivity fees that get charged after a given amount of time, usually six to12 months, and (3) transaction fees when the cards at swiped, which merchants pay to accept the cards at their businesses.

“Closed-loop cards offer less flexibility but are generally less expensive to buy and use,” according to the league. “Open-loop cards can be used in many more places, but consumers pay for the convenience in add-on fees.”

The league offers these tips for those who buy and use gift cards:

• Encourage those who receive gift cards to use them right away to avoid losing the value of the cards to fees.
• Ask for a gift receipt for each card purchased and give it to the person receiving the card. This way, the card can be replaced if it’s lost or stolen.
• Read all terms and conditions before buying a card. If the terms aren’t disclosed or if they’re too difficult to understand, you may want to purchase a different card.
• Be wary of gift cards sold on online auction sites. These cards are often stolen or counterfeit.
• Keep all gift cards and receipts in a safe, easily accessible place so they don’t get lost or go unused.
• Be sure to register the card soon after it’s received, if registration is required.
•  Ask if you can use also an additional method of payment, if a card’s value is too low to cover an entire purchase.
• Be aware of state laws on gift cards. These may affect expiration dates, fees, and card replacement.
• Don’t throw away depleted cards. Some merchants require a card for returns.

The league has developed a Bill of Rights for Gift Cards to improve how the cards are used. Among the changes called for are no expiration dates, fees need to be limited, and terms, and conditions should be clear.

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

Did you or your parents use layaway in the “good old days” before credit cards purchases became so convenient and piling up debt didn’t seem like a bad idea?

Layaway, a plan designed for customers who want to buy merchandise without using credit or paying the full price immediately, is appealing to consumers again.

Kmart, Sears, Burlington Coat Factory, Marshalls, and TJ Maxx are among the stores offering layaway purchases. The layaway option also is available on-line.

But you need to be careful when you make layaway purchases.

When I wrote the “Tell It to Bud” action column for The Anchorage Times, one of my complaints was about a fur stole placed on layaway. The consumer had paid about a third of the cost, but hadn’t followed through with the payments. The furrier wouldn’t give any of her money back. The company argued it had to keep the stole in cold storage, which cost money. And, in the time of the layaway, the styles had changed so the value of the stole was less.

My advice to the consumer? File a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office, and if that didn’t help she could take the furrier to small claims court.

To avoid problems with a layaway, be sure that you find out the terms of the sale, and what you need to do to complete the layaway purchase properly.

When you use layaway, you typically make a deposit – usually a percentage of the purchase price – and pay over time until you’ve paid for the item in full. In exchange, the retailer holds the merchandise for you.

To make sure the layaway goes smoothly, get the store’s layaway policy in writing, advises the Federal Trade Commission in its fact sheet “Holiday Shopping, Circa 2008: Tips from the Federal Trade Commission.” The policy should include:

• The terms of the layaway plan: How much time you have to pay for the merchandise, when our payments are due, the minimum payment required, and possible charges, such as a service fee, for using the plan. Find out what will happen if you miss a payment or if you make a payment late. Will you be charged a fee? Will your contract be canceled? Will the merchandise be returned to the sales floor?

• The refund policy: If you decide you don’t want the merchandise after you’ve made some or all the payments, you may expect a refund. But retailers’ policies differ. Some may give you all your money back, others may charge a nonrefundable service fee, and still others may offer a store credit for the amount you paid.

The article “How to Use an Online Layaway Site” on eHow offers five steps for buying on layaway on the Internet.

Other articles with information about layaway are:

“Layaway Guide” – eHow

“In Times of Tight Credit, Retailers Revive Layaway” – ConsumerAffairs.com

“Layaway Is Back” – Chicago Sun Times

“Layaway Is Making a Comeback” – The Wall Street Journal

“Layaway: Stores Use Old Tactics to Spur Sales” – The Washington Times