Baby Boomer Men Not Sold on Going Green

Baby boomer women have a clear edge over baby boomer men when it comes to understanding what it means to "go green."

According to Crowd Science's Just Ask! opinion survey men over the age of 55 are nearly twice as likely to believe that shopping "green" makes no difference. They are also much less likely to check that their purchases come from "ethical" companies than women (30% vs. 42%) and twice as likely to believe that the green movement is just a marketing ploy (16% vs. 8%).

The survey also concluded that education plays a key role in understanding green behavior, as 21% of those with a post-graduate education will pay substantially more for green products as opposed to 12% of those with a basic undergraduate background or less.

So is this where I'm supposed to say women are just smarter than men?

New Year Brings New Changes for Baby Boomers

The first wave of baby boomers will be turning 65 in 2011. The National Council on Aging is offering a free online screening service to help boomers learn more about Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage, as well as to get information for over 2,000 federal, state, and local benefits programs for which they may be eligible.

The NCOA believes it’s a good time to use BenefitsCheckUp to find out about available prescription drug benefits, including Medicare Part D, and if you qualify for the Low-Income Subsidy (Extra Help). Using the online service, baby boomers can also discover whether they are eligible for additional benefits that help pay for healthcare, energy bills, food, and other household costs.

You can begin by completing an online questionnaire at www.benefitscheckup.org

Baby Boomers and Unhealthy Eating in North Carolina

I have discovered that I live in what is known as a "stroke belt state." People living in the “stroke belt” states eat more fried fish than people living in the rest of the country, which may contribute to the high rate of death from stroke in those states, according to a study published in the December 22, 2010, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Although we've been told omega-3 fatty acids in fish, especially fatty fish, may reduce the risk of stroke, other research suggests that frying fish leads to the loss of those natural fatty acids.

The study also found that blacks living in the stroke belt eat more fried fish than whites. The stroke belt includes the states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Louisiana. People living in the stroke belt are more likely to die from a stroke than people living in other parts of the country.

The data gathered for this study was gathered using participants across the United States, age 45 or older.

I eat fried fish at least once a month and am over the age of 50.

Who Wants Grandma's Money?

It's that time of year again when grandparents everywhere are shopping around to find the perfect gifts for their grandchildren.

There are 78 million of us baby boomers out here--many who probably have grandchildren AND money. We spend an average of $500 annually on our grandchildren and, collectively, the total amount spent by grandparents nationwide is in the billions.

According to The Grandparent Study 2002 Report from AARP, the top reasons grandparents spend money on their children are birthday gifts (97 percent), holiday gifts such as Christmas, Hanukah, or Kwanzaa (96 percent), because they enjoy buying things for grandchildren (93 percent) and to entertain or have fun with their grandchildren (90 percent).

Back in 2006, KB Toys attempted to capitalize on the booming grandparent market by offering a Grandparents Rewards Club. Anyone at least 50 years old could save 10 percent off their entire purchase at KB Toys every Tuesday, all year long just by singing up.

KB Toys has since gone out of business. Perhaps they just didn't know how to court us.

I wonder whose hit list we'll be on next this holiday season.