COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL • AUGUST 15, 2018 •
9A
Senior
News
Line
By Matilda Charles
Pinching Pennies
Whether you’re living on just
Social Security or have addi-
tional income, it never hurts to
save every dollar you can. There
are many ways to do that.
• If you have pets, look into
buying their food from online
pet stores. Often you’ll get
free shipping above a certain
purchase amount or a consider-
able discount the first time you
buy. Order enough to make it
worthwhile.
• If you’re a member of AARP,
keep an eye on its discounts.
Whether it’s restaurants, order-
ing pizza, traveling or buying
new reading glasses, AARP
might have a discount. Be sure
to carry your card.
• If you have a tablet or com-
puter, look into getting your
newspaper online. You could
save as much as two-thirds the
cost of your subscription.
• Keep up with the maintenance
on your vehicle. Put oil changes
on your calendar and get them
done, as well as having tires
checked and rotated. You’ll save
money in the long run.
• Check your local paper for
free community events such
as concerts in the park, library
events with free movies or
author readings, museum free
days and street art shows.
• Learn how to use eBay, not to
buy but to sell your belongings,
or band together with friends to
hold a giant yard sale.
• Check Goodwill and Salvation
Army for clothing and house-
hold goods. You sometimes can
find brand new-items, things
that have been given as gifts to
people who didn’t want them.
• Create a spare email account
and use it to sign up for free
offers, coupons and rewards
cards.
The bottom line is to keep
your eyes open to any and all
discounts. Often it just involves
asking for senior discounts.
Whether it’s eating at restau-
rants, buying shoes or auto
insurance, or signing up for
cellphone service, ask.
Clearing Out House
Old scams don’t go away, and
one of the scams that has come
around again is the secret
shopper scam. Most people like
shopping, and if someone offers
payment for it, many of us will
try it. After all, it sounds like
fun.
Secret shoppers often are hired
by legitimate companies to visit
one of their stores and make a
purchase. Afterward you make
a report on things like cleanli-
ness, pricing, employee attitude
and more. In For most of us,
the time eventually comes to
move out of our homes into
a smaller, more manageable
place. Some of us have a whole
house of belongings to consider.
Some of us have not only our
stuff, but much that belonged to
our parents because we didn’t
deal with their belongings -- we
simply moved it all into our
house.
Here are some ideas to get you
started:
* Even if you’re not ready to
move, clearing out the extras
and organizing the rest will
make it easier when the time
does come.
* If you have antiques, get an
appraiser to come in and give
you an estimate of their value.
* Ask for references to profes-
sional organizers. Check sites
online, such as www.mov-
ingforseniors.com and www.
nasmm.org, which is National
Association of Senior Move
Managers. Put in your ZIP code
to see who’s in your area.
* Consider selling your things
online, with help.
* Ask your children, if you have
any, which of your belongings
they’d like to have. Be prepared
for them to decline your offer.
So many in the younger gen-
erations are themselves living
in very small spaces, with no
room for extra belongings.
* By paring down your belong-
ings now, you’ll be a step ahead
should you ever need to move
in a hurry. It’s not too early to
start. you might get either a free
gift or a cash payment.
When it comes to scams, how-
ever, you’re given the payment
first. You’ll be sent a check
and will be told to cash it, and
then go shopping immediately.
You’ll likely be told to “test” the
service at the Western Union
desk, or whatever location
will transfer money. You’ll be
instructed to test the system by
sending the money you’ve just
received when you cashed the
check. What you won’t find out
for a long time is that the check
you cashed is no good. You
used your own money to send
a wire transfer, and you’ll never
get that money back.
Or you might be told to use
the cash to buy a handful of
gift cards. Again the check will
bounce and you’ll end up out of
pocket for all that money.
Warnings: If you’re ever asked
to cash a check and send some-
one else the money, it’s a scam.
Don’t ever pay to sign up as a
secret shopper, even to buy a
so-called directory. And don’t
fall for the certification fraud
-- you don’t need a certificate to
do secret shopping.
If you’re interested in having
a legitimate part-time job as
a secret shopper, go online to
mysteryshop.org to search their
database of legitimate compa-
nies. Read more at the www.
consumer.ftc.gov website about
secret shopping scams.
Tips to improve memory
Forgetfulness can affect anyone. For ex-
ample, few, if any, adults can say they have
not experienced moments when they could
not fi nd their keys. And once the keys are
found, people move on without giving
much thought to why they did not immedi-
ately remember where they left their keys.
Isolated incidents where people cannot
recall where they placed their car keys or
other minor bouts with forgetfulness do
not occur by accident. In fact, the Harvard
Medical School notes that they are like-
ly byproducts of age-related changes in
thinking skills. When people reach their
50s, chemical and structural changes in the
brain may begin to occur, and these chang-
es can affect a person’s ability to process
memories.
Father Time may be a formidable foe, but
people can take steps to give their memo-
ries a boost as they get older.
• Embrace recognition instead of trusting
recall. Dr. Joel Salinas, a neurologist who
specializes in behavioral neurology and
neuropsychiatry at Massachusetts Gen-
eral Hospital, notes that human beings
are better at recognition than recall. That
means people are more likely to remember
something they read, such as a note or a
list, than something they’re simply told.
• Recognize the value of repetition. The
Harvard Medical School notes that people
might be more inclined to remember
what they hear if they repeat it out loud.
Names and addresses might be more easily
remembered after they’re repeated out loud
because repetition increases the likelihood
that the brain will record the information
and be capable of retrieving it later. When
studying for exams, many students repeat
important points to themselves time and
again, and that same approach can be ap-
plied by adults who are trying to improve
their memories.
• Eat a healthy diet. A study published in
2015 in the journal Neurology found that
people who eat healthy diets with lots of
fruits, vegetables, nuts, and fi sh and little
alcohol and red meat may be less likely to
experience declines in their memory and
thinking skills. Authored by Andrew Smyth
of McMaster University in Ontario and the
National University of Ireland in Galway,
the study following more than 27,000
people in 40 countries for an average of
roughly fi ve years. All participants were
55 and older and had diabetes or a history
of heart disease, stroke or peripheral artery
disease. Those who ate the healthiest diets
were 24 percent less likely to experience
cognitive decline than people with the least
healthy diets.
• Break things down. Breaking things
down into small chunks also can help
improve memory. If tasked with remem-
bering something extensive, such as a
speech, focus on a single sentence at a
time, only moving on to the next sentence
when you’re confi dent you have success-
fully committed the preceding sentence to
memory.
Periodic memory lapses are often nothing
to worry about. But men and women con-
cerned about maintaining their memories
can employ various strategies to do just
that.
Diff erent generations can learn and
benefi t from one another
In the not-so-distant past, extended families
frequently lived in close proximity to one
another. Such families shared meals and
experiences and essentially grew up togeth-
er. Nowadays, families separate for various
reasons, such as job opportunities and cost
of living concerns.
While there are advantages to spreading
out, there are also some disadvantages,
namely that grandparents and grandchil-
dren may not see one another frequently
enough. Even though people of different
age groups may not entirely have the same
interests, the interactions between gener-
ations can benefi t both young people and
their aging relatives.
Finding renewed vigor
Senior living and active lifestyle communi-
ties provide invaluable care and amenities
for seniors. While being around like-mind-
ed individuals can be handy, it’s also lim-
iting. Seniors who continue to age in place
in mixed-age communities can extract joy
from watching youthful children and young
adults growing up, playing and socializing.
Being around multiple generations also
can spark interesting conversation, and all
parties involved can learn something from
one another.
Planning for the future
Younger generations may not understand
the concept of “hard times” or “doing with-
out” like a person who has lived through
various ups and downs. Passing along ad-
vice about economic cycles, saving for the
future and maintaining stability is one area
of expertise at which many seniors excel.
Practicing interpersonal skills
All the technological savviness in the
world cannot compensate for the power of
strong interpersonal skills. Being able to
address a group of people or speak one-on-
one is essential in the workplace and in life.
When younger generations speak to older
adults, they may become stronger at verbal
discourse and have greater perspective of
different points of conversation.
Learning new technology
Younger generations can impart knowledge
of technological devices to older adults.
People with skills are usually happy to
share their knowledge. Even if seniors
aren’t ready to purchase tablets or smart-
phones, they may be excited to have their
grandchildren teach them about the latest
gadgets.
Providing sense of purpose
Both seniors and younger generations can
realize a greater sense of purpose when
interacting with one another. That person
may be the reason the other one greets the
day with a smile. Visits from grandchildren
can reduce the liklihood of isolation and
depression in older adults. And younger
generations can discover the benefi ts of
personal social interaction rather than
communicating exclusively through social
media apps.
Fostering intergenerational connections
is a great way to broaden social circles,
improve communication and learn new
things.
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