In case you haven’t heard, there is a new and very serious medical condition that afflicts primarily Baby Boomers – it’s called… A. A. A. D. D.!!! – otherwise known as Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.

Listen carefully to the following scenario – if this is something you’ve experienced, see your bartender immediately:

You decide to water the garden.

As you turn on the hose in the driveway, you look over at your car and decide it needs washing, so you put the hose down and go to get the car keys.

As you head back outside, you notice that there’s mail on the table by the door, so you decide to go through the mail before washing the car.

You lay the car keys down on the table, go through the mail, all of which is junk except a few bills, so you put the rest of the mail in the rubbish; when you do, you notice that the rubbish can is full.

So you put the bills back on the table since you’ve decided to take out the rubbish first.

But then you think, since you’re going to be near the mailbox when you take out the rubbish anyway, you may as well pay the bills first.

So…You take out your checkbook, but you see that you’d already used your last check.  Knowing that you have more checks in the study desk drawer, you head there.

Once in the study, you see that can of coke that you’d been drinking right on top of the desk, and when you start to push it aside so as to not accidentally knock it over, you find that the coke is getting warm, so you decide to put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.

As you head toward the kitchen with the coke, a vase of flowers on the counter catches your eye: they need to be watered.

You place the coke down to pick up the vase of flowers, and find your reading glasses that you’ve been searching for all morning.

You decide that you’d better put them back in their case that’s on the table next to your reading chair, and when you do, you spot the TV remote that you’d been looking for all last night.

You decide to put that back in the living room where it belongs, but on the way remember the flowers and decide to water them first before you forget…. So, you set the remote down on the table with the vase where you found your lost reading glasses, and head for the kitchen with the vase of flowers.

You start to fill the vase, but stop in the middle because the running water reminds you that the garden needs watering, so you set the still unfilled vase on the counter and head outside...

At the end of the day:

... The garden isn’t watered

…The car isn't washed
... The bills aren't paid
... There is a warm can of coke sitting on the kitchen counter
... The flowers don't have enough water
... There is still no checks in your checkbook
... You still can't find the remote or your reading glasses
... and now you don't remember what you did with the car keys.

My fellow Boomers, if you find you’ve been busy all day long, and you’re really tired, but you got absolutely nothing done, feel comforted that there is a diagnosis for your condition… A. A. A. D. D.!!! – Yes…..it’s Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder. 

Although this is a serious problem, you can get help for it…. See the owner of your favorite watering hole for more details.

You have been officially alerted…

Ageism is alive and well in product manufacturing circles.  I’ll explain.

If we believe what we see in their advertisements, we Boomers barely exist. Which is absurd even on its face: the mere size of our generation alone makes us hard to ignore.  But when it comes to major advertisers, ignore us they do unless they’re marketing any item for the aged. 

Why is this a problem, you may be thinking?  Because if marketers think we don’t count, that means the product and service sectors they represent also think we don’t count…which is why you see most products geared to young people…not us.

And you know, given the statistics, you’d think every product on the planet would be trying to get our business…after all:

• Boomers spend a whopping $2.3 trillion annually on goods and services; that’s $400 Billion more than any other age group
• We hold 65% of all disposable income

Sadly, however, the vast majority of products & services are glorifying youth while peripheralizing us….in fact, according to most product manufacturers and the 30 y.o. marketing geniuses they hire, we Boomers’ lives boil down to the following three things…

1. Taking Lots of Pills: …apparently the main things we need or use in life are medications…. Don’t get me wrong… I too want to see the complete eradication of erectile dysfunction in our lifetime – and keeping our arteries unclogged is a noble calling!  But our sperm and cholesterol counts are not all that make up our lives…  Oh, and if your idea of relaxation is sitting in two separate bathtubs on a mountainside, what a waste of a good dose of Cialis…
2. Sitting around all day thinking about Life Insurance: Apparently we’re all about to die, so we better get that insurance policy really soon or our offspring will disown us…
3. Slathering on wrinkle reducers & gray hair cover-ups: First of all, I like my laugh lines, and don’t want to eradicate them likes rats in the subway…and who knew that a few gray hairs would put even the most famous of football stars in the old-age home (remember that one???)  But, you know what’s really pathetic?  Even the wrinkle reducing creams, although clearly meant for us, are not marketed to us! The majority of models used in these commercials look to be the ripe old age of 22…How silly is that?

And, what’s not marketed to us?  What products are advertised directly to, and therefore designed to meet the needs of those ages 18-39?

• Most cars (other than the Toyota Venza)
• Most clothing (other than Ann Taylor)
• Almost all cosmetics
• Vacation destinations
• Fitness Clubs
• Electronics
• Jewelry

My fellow Boomers, you are being given the shaft by the very products we need and use…which as a result are being designed to meet the needs of a younger consumer, from packaging print that requires a microscope to read, to hotels designed to look quite hip at the expense of comfort – great for kids, bad for us…  Ageism.

Here’s what to do about it; it’s simple and easy.  Use your considerable purchasing power to buy the products, and use the services of those companies smart enough to market directly to us – because by doing so they have proven their dedication to us and our specific needs, and deserve our dollars.

A good place to start is with these four businesses that have on-going campaigns targeted directly to us: Dove, Hardrock Hotel & Casino, and the aforementioned Toyota & Ann Taylor.

You have been officially alerted.

Those of us known as the “leading edge” Baby Boomers have begun to turn 65 this year. If you're one of them, I recommend that high on your to-do list be the following items for ensuring you get the most out of your Medicare & SS benefits:

First, Medicare:

• Sign up for it on time.  You can first sign up for Medicare beginning three months before the month you turn 65.  For those of you whose birthday is on the first day of the month, your coverage can start as early as the first day of the month prior to your birthday.
• If you don't sign up for Medicare Part B during this initial enrollment period, your premiums may increase by 10 percent for each 12-month period that you delay enrollment. 
• If you are still working and covered by a group health insurance plan, sign up within eight months of leaving the insurance plan to avoid the penalty.
• Then, schedule your free physical. Beginning this year, Medicare !provides a one-time free physical exam within the first 12 months you have Part B coverage.  This can include a review of your health, vision and blood pressure screenings, and counseling about preventive care services covered by Medicare. Other preventive services you may be able to get at no out-of-pocket cost include cardiovascular and breast cancer screenings, bone mass measurements, and flu shots.  Important note: always ask if your physician accepts Medicare before making your appointment – unfortunately an ever growing number of physicians have stopped taking new Medicare patients.
  

Now, onto Social Security

• While full Medicare eligibility begins once you turn 65, full Social Security benefits do not.  Boomers who claim Social Security when they turn age 65 will get about 93% of their full monthly benefit, because, according to the new formula, full benefits don’t kick in until age 66. 
  
• However, for each year you delay Social Security payouts, your monthly amount increases, up to age 70.  That sounds good, but our advice…  If you don’t need your SS check to live on, rather than letting Uncle Sam hold it with no interest accruing, take it anyway as soon as full benefits kick in, and invest it in a great interest-bearing mutual fund -some have returns as high as 12%, paying monthly or quarterly dividends.

Here's a link to the social security website for more information.

You have been officially alerted…

These are from a  2009 MetLife Study titled New Realities of the Job Market for Aging Baby Boomers:

1. Continuing to do what you were doing before: This refers to Boomers who continue on their previous career path, even when it’s a dead-end; instead, research and take advantage of fields/industries that are growing, therefore doing all the hiring, and highlight how you have those needed skills.
2. Believing that your experience speaks for itself:  Older job seekers cannot assume that hiring managers – particularly younger ones - will automatically recognize their value and match it with today’s jobs.  Instead, be able to explain how you are going to make the company successful
3. Using the past as an indicator of the present: Things in the job market change rapidly, so don’t rely on the way things were done in the past – everything is different now, from the interviewing process to the way resumes are written.  Stay current!
4. Thinking “I don’t have time to figure out w.” Lots of older job seekers do not take the time to link their skills to the things they really care about - a big mistake, and here's why.  Going after jobs that use the skills you enjoy most doesn’t just lead to a more satisfying job – it greatly increases the likelihood of finding a job because it’s the right fit.
5. Misusing a recruiter or career coach: These are great resources for getting feedback and a fresh perspective – but the job seeker – not the recruiter or the career coach -- still has to secure the job by acing the interview and having the right skill-sets for today’s job market.  Remember, rely on #1….
6. Jumping into consultancy…or a job that looks like it will be easy
   Many job seekers make false assumptions and jump into things for which they are poorly prepared, or jobs that turn out to be or a very poor fit, easy or not.  You won’t last long in either…
7. Thinking you’re good with computers because you know Windows 98: Boomers who do not continually update their technology skills create huge barriers for themselves in the job market.  Boomers are the most educated generation of all on the planet right now, so use that great brain to develop basic proficiency in all the latest technology.

You have been officially alerted.....