Older adults often face boredom with the extra time on their hands after retirement. Continuing education is a great way to fill time, activate the brain, and develop new interests or hobbies. Some websites provide online courses to seniors, and many colleges throughout the United States offer affordable or free courses to seniors.
Many grandparents want to help their grandchildren financially but are not sure where to begin or are unaware of the various options available to them. Whether your grandchildren are toddlers or college students, there are several ways to help start them on the right path toward financial success.
Linda Malys Yore is an influencer with a blog called “Linda On The Run”, where she writes and inspires others about travel, fitness, vegan cooking, and health. After starting her blog in 2018, she began using Instagram and Facebook as additional platforms to share her stories. Today, Linda has 73,000 followers on Instagram. Experience Beyond Measure correspondent Mike Lawson recently interviewed Linda about her transition from retirement to an influencer.
After retirement, many seniors look for purpose in life outside of work, whether that be spending time with family and friends, finding part-time employment, volunteering, developing new skills or hobbies, and more. For 82-year-old Steve Austin (otherwise known as Old Man Steve), he began making TikTok videos in his apartment in a senior living complex. After a few months of posting TikTok videos, he quickly gained popularity among young users and now has 1.7 million followers. Experience Beyond Measure correspondent Mike Lawson recently interviewed Steve to learn how he became TikTok famous and how this experience has impacted his life.
Many retired seniors often find themselves stir-crazy with the amount of free time on their hands after working forty hours per week for most of their lives. For those seeking meaningful experiences in their communities, there are numerous volunteer opportunities available that appeal to a wide variety of interests.
As seniors enter retirement or financial situations change, there are resources available to help manage budgets, track spending, and plan for expenses. According to the Survey of Consumer Finances, 60% of people aged 65 or older have some debt, including medical, credit card, and housing debt. With senior debt rising and technology growing, it is advantageous to use online budgeting tools and apps to save more, spend less, avoid financial despair and enjoy retirement.
![Simplifying the COVID-19 Vaccines [May 2021 UPDATE]](https://www.cantissimoseniorliving.com/hubfs/Canva%20images/Simplifying%20the%20COVID-19%20Vaccines%20What%20You%20Need%20to%20Know-1.jpg)
Note: This post has been updated May 17, 2021.
Even though the COVID-19 virus continues to spread, the U.S. vaccination process is cause for decreased transmission rates nationwide. Nearly one-third of the U.S. population, above the age of sixteen, are fully vaccinated, with an average of two million tests administered daily. In the last two weeks, daily reported cases of infection are down 29.7%. There are currently three FDA unapproved vaccines under Emergency Use Authorization (EUA), including the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson and Johnson’s Janssen vaccine.
The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are both classified as mRNA vaccines. Unlike other vaccines, this type does not inject the virus into an individual. Instead, mRNA vaccines create a protein that triggers an immune response to produce antibodies. Obtaining antibodies for COVID-19 protects individuals from getting infected when they come in contact with the virus.
In May of 2020, a 20-year-old man was caught on video brutally beating a 75-year-old man at the Westwood Rehabilitation Nursing Center in Detroit, Michigan. The suspect, who was also a patient at the time, was shown repeatedly punching and cussing at the victim. Although no staff members were involved in this incident, it raises concern that the staff was unaware of the incident until they saw the video.
In June of 2017, Janet Yu discovered that her 90-year-old mother was a victim of financial abuse by her financial planner at Royal Mutual Funds Inc., an RBC subsidiary and a mutual funds dealer. The unauthorized transfer of funds resulted in over $120,000. These unauthorized transfers supposedly went unnoticed because they were processed using Yu’s client card number and the assigned online banking password.
The above are only two examples of elder abuse, a growing problem in today’s society that can cost seniors their security, dignity, and even their lives in extreme cases. Elder abuse can include financial abuse, emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect. It is important to understand that abuse can occur anywhere, including in the home or a senior living facility. Often, abusers are someone that a person trusts, such as family members, friends, or caregivers. Sixty percent of elder abusers are family members, while 24.3% of elder abusers are senior living facility caregivers.
In previous blogs, I reviewed how to create and set up an account on four of the most popular social media networks: Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram.
This blog will explain a similar process for TikTok, a video-sharing social media network created in 2016. TikTok quickly gained popularity and became the most downloaded app in 2019. Today there are 689 million users, surpassing the number of users on Twitter and Pinterest.
Although TikTok is widely used by younger generations, with 42% of users aged 18-24, there is a place on TikTok for older users. Even though users aged 55 and older only account for four percent of all TikTok users, many seniors have become viral users such as @omsteve, @lindaontherun, @erikarischko, @gilbert_and_jonie, @ocdocdonecutediva, @grandma_droniak, @orifbone, @happygirlil, @charlesmallet, and more. Among other senior TikTok users, these users have reached up to 4.4 million followers by sharing comedic and heartwarming content.
In retirement, it is easy to fall into routines, and many people find themselves complacent with their positions and day-to-day life. At the same time, most people have aspirations and bucket lists for what they'd like to accomplish with their lives, or even simple plans for how they'd like to improve their daily lives.
Setting a goal is easy, but following through and reaching a goal is generally easier said than done. In today’s fast-paced world, excuses for putting off goals are right around every corner. However, using the SMART goal method provides clarity and criteria to increase the odds of achieving a goal.