grow older better

Tag: Oregon

  • There’s Something About Portland [Oregon]

     my-moorage

    10 years ago I bought a house, actually a floating home, in Portland Oregon.

     

    At the time when I was told things would need replacing or work would need to be done in 10 years, and I thought to myself:

    “Who cares, I won’t be here.”

    FYI – I never stay anyplace more than seven or eight years.”

    Well – here we are 10 years later and I am still in that very same house. In fact this is the longest I have stayed put in one house since I moved away from New York City – and that’s 50 years of moving!

    There is obviously something about Portland that has kept me here. I had to stop and think about it and I’ve come to the conclusion it’s

    • my neighbors
    • my house
    • the river
    • the city itself
    • the friends I’ve made here
    • the love of beer wine and dogs
    • and lots more

    And another thing I do think about as I have aged 10 years since I’ve lived here – is that I feel safe. Moorages are pretty safe, there’s people around most of the time and it’s just a friendly, neighborly situation where we all watch out for each other – so it’s a very safe place to grow old[er.]

    The downside, though, of staying put for these 10 years, is that those things that I was told would need fixing – now need fixing.

    When you move every seven or eight years, you don’t have to deal with a lot of repairs on houses, new appliances, or other things that might need being done. You go out and buy another house that meets your new requirements.

    Well here I am, and I guess it’s time to start remodeling this house,

    because frankly – I really don’t feel like moving again.

     

    Thoughts? Comments?

    Thank you!

  • Oregonians! Scam Jam Might Be For You

    With the coming of the Affordable Care Act [ACA or Obamacare,] holidays, and wet weather “roofing experts” – it might be good to learn how to protect yourself from scammers.. and for those not yet “elders” it never hurts to learn about self-protection.

     

    This event is co-sponsored by the organizations and agencies listed at the bottom..

    ****************

    Whether it’s bogus investment or insurance deals, the Grandparent Scam, Medicaid fraud, or the newest ID Theft ploy – sophisticated con-artists are busy at work coming up with new ways to get you to hand over your hard-earned money. It’s important to keep up to date on the latest scams and schemes to help protect you and the people you care about from getting duped. You can if you attend Scam Jam at the Oregon Convention Center on Tuesday, October 22.
    Learn to protect yourself and your loved ones
    Get the most up-to-date information on what to look out for from Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum and AARP Washington State Director Doug Schadel, author of Outsmarting the Scam Artist, as well as other experts and leading consumer advocates.
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    ©iStockphoto.com/00001945974
    		Scam Jam
    Tuesday, October 22, 2013
    9:00 am – 12:30 pm
    Resource tables and registration begin at 8:00 am     Oregon Convention Center
    777 Martin Luther King Blvd.
    Portland, OR 97232     Map It

    Register
      
    Sponsored by AARP Oregon, the Oregon Department of Justice, and the Oregon Division of Consumer and Business Services. Scam Jam is an educational and entertaining program where you can learn about today’s scams and schemes.

  • Boomers! Welcome to my world!

    On January 1, 2011 the first wave of baby boomers started turning 65 and are now eligible for Medicare…

    Some worry there won't be sufficient funds in either Medicare or Social Security to last for the rest of their lives.

    Many boomers will not yet retire as they can not yet afford to do so!

    Medicare may be a good plan but the cost of participation tends to increase both on the Government side and the private sector side.  Medicare Advantage programs are not free…even to some say they are … you get what you pay for…

    And Social Security?  We are into the second year of no increase in the monthly payout.

    To add to the worries, if you live in Oregon – you have another concern if you are in a senior care facility.. or wind up in one….because Oregon elder care has glaring lacks!

    Federal law requires states to have an ombudsman to protect the rights of people in long-term care. The average state has one ombudsman monitoring 2,220 beds. Oregon has just one for 6,692 beds.

    Oregon relies on volunteers..but if everyone needs to keep working to afford to live – who will be the volunteers taking care of and looking out for Oregon's elder population?

    Scary thoughts to start your 65th birthdays!

    Thoughts? Comments? Thank you for posting below….

  • Oregon Bank of Cascades Phishing Scam

    Attention Oregonians

    From Attorney General John Kroger
     
    The Oregon Department of Justice Consumer Hotline today has received a surge of complaints about telephone calls from an entity claiming to be from the Bank of the Cascades. The caller is telling consumers that their bank records have been compromised and that they need to verify the consumer's bank account number. This is a phishing scam.
     
    Never provide your bank account number over the phone or by email. No legitimate financial institution will call you and ask you for your bank account number or other sensitive financial information. The scammers are trying to trick consumers into turning over their bank account numbers to they can empty the bank account.
     
    The Consumer Hotline has received more than 20 telephone calls from Central Oregon about this scam. At least one consumer fell prey to the scam and lost $515 immediately after providing their bank account number. This is a significant number of calls for such a short period of time.
     
    Anyone who believes they have been approached by a scammer should contact the Oregon Department of Justice Consumer Hotline at 1-877-877-9392 or www.oregonattorneygeneral.gov.

    cross posted from http://lynnsrants.com