Today I received my copy of AARP Bulletin in the mail (October 2009, Vol. 50, No. 8, bulletin.aarp.org ) and it took me on a ride on the information highway of resources. If you are an AARP member there are great benies to be had. If you are not, there is loads of information at our fingertips to make life easier to handle. For example, Reebok as well as other outlet stores work with baby boomers to give us discounts. October 7-18 they offer 40% off your entire purchase (daily it is 20%, www.aarp.org/reebok ) And I went to AARP for further information and it led me off to a great “mother lode” of resources at www.tiphero.com .

And what I really love is, it isn’t all about buying something either. It is about resourcing so we, women, can make more informed choices. Like here is one for you about retirement. That seems to be the “Nightmare on Elm Street”, right? There is a lot of negative stuff geared at hitting boomers but there are resources if only we know where to look for them. I was watching a commercial on Medicare Plan B and my confusion cycle began. What is Medicare Plan B I wondered, and is there Plan A or other Plans I don’t know about? Well sure enough there are four, Medicare Plan A (hospital insurance, Plan B (medical insurance), Plan C (Medicare Advantage Plans, like HMOs or PPOs) and Plan D (prescription coverage). And once again a resource to go to is www.medicare.gov and if you get confused they actually make it user friendly like the “retirement” information at www.socialsecurity.gov/. There are resources so that the negativity that is pumped at older Americans through the media can be fought.

Then if you need to really ask the hard questions about retirement AARP invites its members to view the Retirement Revolution series that was hosted by Paula Zahn for questions we have on retirement at http://www.wttw.com/main.taf?p=1,41”.

Why I bring these resources to your attention is because there is a lot of negative press about the fears of retirement and health care. As a baby boomer I do not want the dread of my future as depicted in the media to be the outlook I take on as my persona. I want the resources, the answers and so should you.

There is way too much negativity these days and we accept what we hear in the media as facts without realizing that while much is truth the “way” it is presented gives a “sky is falling” feeling. No, the weather has not turned into monster hurricanes. The hurricanes come every year but the urgency of televising it has made it a disaster filming daily. I don’t doubt we are in a recession, that international affairs are mess, or the environment needs our help. What I do doubt is that we have to approach these things with a doomsday mentality instead of a resourcing mentality. I was pretty excited finding more resources than I cannot possibly use in my life time and I will continue to update my resources but what I won’t do is buy into the negativity. I think I want to question everything again like I did the 1960s. And let us all find information that helps us not bog us down! Do you have resources you use you can share with me!

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