Today Is Your Day Boomer

Today is your day Boomer! Sports fan Boomers.....it is the best time of the year! Almost every sport is on TV right now. The NHL season is in full swing with my Bruins on top of the league; Canada's basketball team, the Raptors, are young, fast and filled with stars as they are about five games into their season; it is game three of the Astros/Phillies World Series tonight; the mens soccer World Cup gets going in November with Canada in for the first time in what seems forever; the CFL is entering playoffs with three straight wins needed for a Grey Cup; football to the south is about halfway through their season with Canadian fav teams Seattle and Buffalo showing winning records; curling and figure skating has started; tennis continues with our pro men, AA and Shap, making and winning tournament finals; golf is always on TV it seems, and Netflix is putting on commercials.....so, why watch that? By the way, I watch sports on TSN, Sportsnet, and the major American channels l

Today is your day Boomer! Many of us are looking for just the right place to live....the best spot to retire, but a major concern is "can I find a doctor?" Over 6 million Canadians are without a primary caregiver....that is around 25%, and I am sure it must be extremely frustrating! So, from CBC, here are some strategies to find that elusive doctor: "people should start by asking family or friends if their doctor is accepting new patients. If that isn't an option, start looking for clinics and physician groups still accepting new patients on the website for their province or territory's College of Physicians and Surgeons or other regulating body. Depending on where you live, there may be specific services available to find a family doctor. For example, in B.C. — a province where almost a million residents don't have a family doctor — the website Pathways Medical Directory is an option to help find a provider. In Ontario, residents can sign up for Health C

Today is your day Boomer! I guess the writing is on the wall Boomers....we need to make the transition to hybrid or electric vehicles very soon! 2035 seems to be the popular global target date as the EU and California have recently announced laws coming that state any "new" cars sold by 2035 must not be gasoline only. Even though environmental organizations like Greenpeace want 2028 as the date, the transition will definitely have to be gradual and, of course, cannot apply to used vehicles already on the road. Why is this so important? Check out the picture of rush hour in California and read this info blurb on the #1 contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in America: "Transportation (27% of 2020 greenhouse gas emissions) – The transportation sector generates the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gas emissions from transportation primarily come from burning fossil fuel for our cars, trucks, ships, trains, and planes. Over 90% of the fuel used f

Today is your day Boomer! It is shocking, but very real Boomers....our food banks in Canada are getting used more and more every day! 1.5 million visits last March, the highest ever in Canadian history, and here is why according to a spokesperson: “What we are seeing is the combination of long-term effects to a broken social safety net combined with the effects of inflation and high costs driving more people to use food banks more than ever." What also bothers me is that of the 1/2 million regular users, 1/3 are children....basically on the poverty line. Ahhhh. Boomers, what can we do? Two main things, I think: contribute more food on a regular basis and volunteer to work at your local food bank. I know two of my Boomer friends that volunteer and they also serve on the Food Bank organizing board. There are more than 4700 food banks across our country and they need increased Boomer support. Cheers!

Today is your day Boomer! There is a new trend in camping in North America....and I bet many Boomers are taking advantage of this new service. Instead of buying your own RV, many people are renting and asking the company to deliver the trailer to the exact camping spot! It means you don't have to maintain and buy an expensive RV and it is there and set up when you arrive. It also means you don't fill it with very expensive gas or diesel and you don't drive it over difficult highways like the Coquihalla in BC. Companies like RVshare and Outdoorsy say their rental/delivery business went way up in 2022 and the delivery charges ranged between 150-300$US.....or in some cases, 4-6 US dollars per mile. It sounds like "glamping" and it is....kind of taking away the hassle of most things associated with preparing for a camping trip. It is expensive, but certainly cheaper than going to hotels in the high-season summertime! Check out the current "purchase"

Today is your day Boomer! Checking in with my Boomer friends....many of whom are headed south for the winter, already! Arizona, California, Mexico, Hawaii: I am certainly jealous, but I will still relay travel tips from two sources to help Boomers and their ever-increasing costs! One travel blogger says you should consider hotels instead of private accommodation because places like Air BnB's have really taken a price hike! These other recommendations come from Expedia: "spokeswoman Melanie Fish says there is a sweet spot when buying plane tickets of around two months before departure on a domestic flight, which could save Canadians up to 40 per cent on flight costs. For international travel, Fish says Canadians should book at least three months in advance, as booking either too soon or too late may not offer the same savings. A recent report from Expedia also recommends booking flights on Sundays to save up to 15 per cent and says that Wednesdays are the cheapest day to

Today is your day Boomer! Yes, we are the Baby Boomer Generation....born in 1946-1964, and we are the result of the biggest baby-making focus in world history! But why did our parents have so many babies? According to website boomagain.com, here are five main reasons why: "Soldiers returning from the war were eager to start families after holding off on marriage during the war. The economy was also booming after both the war and the Great Depression, so people felt in a better financial position to afford a bigger family. Pop culture—everything from movies to TV and even board games (like The Game of Life) glorified marriage, pregnancy, and parenthood. U.S.Congress passed the G.I. Bill of Rights, giving millions of veterans a chance at homeownership at very low interest rates on loans (and you had to fill all those bedrooms with somebody!). Add to that, medical advances made childbirth safer, and a unique generation was born (and born and born). Late in the Boom “the pill” res

Today is your day Boomer! And maybe it is a day that you consider buying a new car. Need some numbers to help you? Some eye-popping numbers! Here are some statistics from the website Reviewlution: the average price of a new car in Canada is 45,000$ while the average cost of a used car is 25,000$. The monthly cost of owning a car is 740$ and a new car depreciates up to 20% in the first year! OK, that article was slightly dated from two weeks ago. This is what Autotrader stated in September: "AutoTrader crunched the numbers and found the average price of a new vehicle in August was $56,078. That’s an increase of 18.3 per cent over the same period last year. The average used vehicle price in August was $37,768, an increase of 28.6 per cent." Wow...and wow again. Are you sure you want a new or newer vehicle right now? Don't forget tax on top of these prices, plus that dreaded "dealer administrative fee".....oh, and maybe new snow tires! Good luck car-shop

Today is your day Boomer! Baby Boomers, like us, get alot of flack for initiating or contributing to big ticket items like climate change and war....but today, some good news from BC Hydro. Our generation is now no longer the biggest contributor to the provincial carbon footprint. Check the picture and realize that another younger generation has taken over that infamous reputation. It is Generation X....that rising group of hardworking younger people aged 42-57. According to a recent BC Hydro survey, Gen Xers are less likely to buy electric vehicles, reduce their use of gas appliances, and most resistant to switching to newer, more effecient heating systems. Spokesperson Susie Rieder says “Gen X is moving into bigger homes that have more amenities, with many still relying heavily on things like natural gas for heating and appliances, and extras like outdoor fire pits that are powered by gas or propane." Hey Boomers, we are treading lighter than expected and maybe other gen

Today is your day Boomer! Yes, the dog days of winter are coming up quickly.....as the current warm spell of weather begins to change this week. That means snow and ice pretty soon and alot of Boomers spending more time in front of the screen....the TV screen, that is. So, many of us watch Netflix which is the biggest streaming service in the world. In fact, they have gained 2.4 million new subscribers over the summer months! That's good....I guess, but now you have a BIG decision to make. Do you want to stick with the more-expensive ad-free version of Netflix or go with the new ad-laced stream? The one with ads is about 7 bucks US, which will be less than half of the other. Hmmmmm, let me think. Is it worth it to watch all those ads? Think of radio. How many of us have given up listening to radio because of the constant ads? Many of us listen to ad-free services like Spotify or Apple Music instead. How much is your time worth? I like to think of it this way: is it

Today is your day Boomer! Hello regular readers....I took a break from my blog recently to focus on my election campaign, and thanks to many of you I was successful! Thanks so much for the support and I applaude you for actually getting informed and voting! You are the minority....it is sad to say...because voter turnout last week was a pitiful 29% across BC. Summerland was high at 36%, but other centres like West Kelowna were under 20. As a civics-social studies teacher for thirty years, this scares me. Your local-municipal politicians make important decisions on things like housing, water, sewers, schools, parks, roads, and rec facilities....issues that have a BIG impact on our everyday lives, and yet less than 1/3 of eligible voters cast ballots. No excuses either....it was a beautiful, sunny day across the province and the voting stations were open for 12 hours. Plus, there were two chances for advance voting if you couldn't make Saturday. Boomers, as a generation, I k