Joan’s Boomer Blog

I recently discovered Groupon and it’s a great way to save money on restaurants, entertainment, spa treatments and more. How does Groupon work? You sign up for free for the city or cities of your choice and then each day one business offers a special deal which saves you anywhere from 50% to 90% for dinners, yoga classes, massages, bowling, or just about any service or business you can imagine. The deal is emailed directly to you each day.

If you want the Groupon deal, you can purchase a printable coupon and off you go.

The idea behind Groupon is that if lots of people group together and take a deal, it makes it worthwhile for the business to offer it.

Groupon.com is not specifically a senior discount site but it sure helps seniors stretch their dollars. Yesterday I bought a Groupon certificate for a local restaurant. The deal was $25 worth for $12. So the next time we visit Habenaro’s Mexican Restaurant, our first $25 is already paid for with more than a 50% discount.

The only drawback to Groupon is that you have to live near a major city but more cities are being offered all the time. Plus, think of Groupon next time you travel. You always have several months to use the deal after you buy it. You can also buy Groupon coupons to give as gift certificates so if you have a friend or relative in a major city, sign up for their city and view the deals!

Visit Groupon today and save.

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These days everyone is concerned with online privacy. Has someone put negative comments or reviews online about you, your company or your brand? Reputation Managers can help you create a positive online presence or help you remove negative comments from search engines.

When people do a search for your company or brand, what do they find? Has some dissatisfied customer, a disgruntled ex-employee or even a business competitor put unfavorable and unfair comments about you and your business out there for anyone to see? Is it even possible to get these removed from the web and help create a more positive reputation for you?

Yes, it is possible by using Reputation Managers to help you.

Changing negative comments on the Internet is not an instant process. It can take from one to six months to get that positive image up higher in the search engines and get rid of the negative but it can be done. Reputation Managers are there with you every step of the way.

Take control of your online presence by getting a free evaluation from Reputation Managers. See for yourself how they can help you create a positive online presence for yourself, your company or your brand.

The author was compensated for this posting.

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Are you concerned about your online reputation or the reputation of your company? Managing your online reputation was just made easier with www.reputationmanagers.com

When potential customers want information about your company, four out of five people will do an Internet search. What will they find out about your company? Will they read comments or reviews by disgruntled customers or former employees? Perhaps they will even find negative comments put out by your competitors. How is your company keeping their reputation positive, putting out information you want them to see instead of negative comments put out by others?

You can find help with www.reputationmanagers.com. Their company can create a reactive reputation management campaign for you, your brand and your company which will actively push down negative sites. Another option is to take control of your online reputation with a proactive campaign to help you achieve a positive Internet presence. This is a great option particularly if your brand is new and you want to get the word out.

How long does it take to see results? Usually about one to six months.

Get a detailed evaluation and customer quote with no obligation at www.reputationmanagers.com. They will guarantee that they can improve and help protect your online reputation.

The author was compensated for this article.

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Want to go organic but don’t like the high prices? You can get organic food coupons for many of your favorite products to help save you money. If you know where to look, you can find coupons for organic milk and yogurt, organic meat, organic baby foods and more.

Organic food coupons.com offers links to printable coupons for everything from organic dairy products to organic pet food. The website also has a handy listing of local supermarkets so you can browse their ads for organic foods. Chose an item, like organic free range eggs, and get a list of website to find coupons.

MyGroceryDeals.com is another site where you can find organic food coupons and it also compares in store sales at supermarkets in your zip code. If you search for “organic food” and then go to “category,” it gives you choices such as bakery, fruits and veggies and juices. You can also clip and print coupons on this site.

Another way to find organic food coupons is to visit the site of the company which sells organic foods and see if they have printable coupons. For instance, Laura’s Lean Meat offers a $1 off coupon for organic meat and Stoney Field where you can get coupons for their organic yogurt, milk and ice cream.

Organic Valley organic milk also offers coupons on their website for their organic milk, half and half, cottage cheese, butter and more. Print them out and take them to the store with you to save big on these organic products.

Most of these sites require registration, but it’s free. You can sign up for newsletters and email info too if you’d like and many of the articles are very informative.

Coupons.com sometimes lists coupons for organic foods too. Print out several if it’s a product you like. Recently, they had a $1 coupon for Muir Glen organic tomato paste. Since one can costs $1.79, I got more than 50% off the can.

Compare prices on your favorite organic products at The Find.com. I just recently discovered this fantastic, money saving website. You can put in any search term you want, for instance Organic foods which found 8,651 stores with 242,098 organic food offerings. You can compare prices, whether or not coupons are offered, or if the item is on sale or has free shipping.

The Find also offers lots of money saving articles on many different topics as well.

Other places to save on organic foods without a coupon:

Costco - Costco is carrying a wider variety of organic products these days. Be sure to break down the price per unit to see if you’re really saving money, however. Just because it’s at Costco, doesn’t necessarily make it cheaper. If you can’t use a huge bin or organic lettuce and throw 2/3 of it away, are you really saving money? On the other hand, if you can freeze or preserve the leftovers, and you can use it all in a green smoothie, for instance, you would save money on that tub of spinach.

Walmart too is starting to carry more organic options. However, be sure to check for freshness. I’ve seen organic grapes and other produce at Walmart for a good price but because not many people are buying them, half the bag is inedible.

Eating organic foods is better for your health and the environment at a whole and now you know it’s possible to get more of these nutritious foods into your diet and save money with organic food coupons.

As I find more websites offering Organic coupons, I’ll add those too so check back frequently. If you have a good source for organic food coupons or can thing of other great ways to save money and eat organic, please leave a comment and we’ll check it out.

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They Can’t Tax Voluntary Simplicity - Yet!

What is Voluntary Simplicity and How Can it Help You Avoid the Coming Economic Crisis?

Voluntary simplicity has a different meaning to each person who practices it. In a nutshell, voluntary simplicity goes against the commercial culture of America which equates material possessions with happiness and fulfillment. Advocates find fulfillment in saving money, downsizing, living simply and finding ways to do for themselves.

Many who embrace voluntary simplicity live debt free, clip coupons, cook from scratch, live closer to nature and try their hand at pass times like gardening and sewing or raising their own chickens.

Maybe this isn’t you but each of us can simplify our lives and focus on saving money, rather than making money. They can’t tax you for saving $20 with grocery store coupons but that is $20 you still have in your pocket.

Is Economic Disaster and Double Dip Recession Coming?

Life as we’ve all gotten used to it may soon end. For the past 20 years, the economy has been booming mostly, real estate prices shot up, the stock market was going great guns. Then it all fell apart. My 82 year old mother recently told me when she hears the term “new normal” in relation to the high unemployment, volitile stock market and near depression-like economy, she can’t help but think that the years of the booming economy were the abnormal years.

Most of the years of my mother’s life, she knew depression, war, pinching pennies. I grew up learning thrift and tried to teach my kids the same thing, but young people really have no clue about living through a real depression.

Are you worried about what the looming economic crisis will mean for you? Are you worried about the huge tax hike coming in 2011 to pay for the exploding national debt and President Obama’s health care plan. Perhaps you have one of those “Cadillac” insurance plans, where your companies’ contribution will now be taxed as income. Dick Morris says America is facing the same financial disaster that is now occurring in Greece.

President Obama campaigned on the promise of tax cuts for those earning less than $250,000 (really all Congress would have to do is keep President Bush’s tax cuts in place - which saved our family $2,000 in taxes each year.) Yet, on June 22, 2011, House Majority Leader, Rep Steny Hoyer, acknowledged that it would be difficult to reduce long-term deficits without breaking President Obama’s pledge to protect families earning less than $250,000 a year. (See New York Times article)

My husband wants to retire. He has a military pension and a good job, which already puts us in a tax above $88,000. Anyone earning over $88,000 will be taxed to pay for the health care of those who cannot afford it. I am trying to earn extra income to supplement our retirement but unfortunately, the more I make, the more taxes we will pay.

So what is our plan? How will we protect ourselves from economic collapse? I’ve decided that I can limit my hours of working on my multiple streams of income (which is pretty much on autopilot now) and focus on pinching pennies.

• I search coupon websites and grocery ads for the best deals, buying only what we need and what is on sale.
• I rejoined our organic food co-op to get fresh organic produce for our green smoothies.
• I planted tomato plants in pots for the first time since we moved to Texas. We are currently buying land where we can grow a bigger garden.
• I dusted off my dehydrater so I can preserve food and not waste anything.
• I bought a sprouter to I can grow fresh sprouts for our smoothies. You can grow tons of sprouts for pennies, providing fresh greens for your diet.
• I am making my own kefir with kefir starter instead of buying sugar-laden and expensive yogurt.
• My husband and I are putting major purchases on hold and going on a spending fast, after reading Jeff Yeager’s Guide to Cheapskate Living (a great book with lots of voluntary simplicity tips and advice)
• We’re buying an RV to put on the land and if we need to live in it for a year or two to save money, we can do that.

We are in the process of purchasing 5 acres of land where we can have a huge garden, raise chickens and build an energy efficient house with wind and solar power. (President Obama admitted that his cap and trade bill will cause electricity prices to skyrocket and trying to break our dependence on oil could cause gas prices to go to $7 a gallon.)

All is not gloom and doom, whether the nation experiences economic disaster or not. What each person must do is be ready to live in the worst of conditions and become more self-sufficient. Try saving, not spending money. Try saving instead of increasing your income. Give voluntary simplicity a try and you will have the satisfaction of knowing you can face whatever happens.

One thing our government officials have not considered is what will happen when more and more people are willing to earn less, do more for themselves and pay less taxes? They’ve made it the sensible solution but how will the government machine survive once they’ve destroyed our economy?

Resources:

Making your own kefir is easier than you think.

Sprouting seeds at Home

Raising Chickens in Your own back yard.

Check out the many coupons and money saving articles on this blog as well.

Learn more about Living Simply

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Being called a cheapskate used to be an insult but now guides to cheapskate living are some of the most

The Ultimate Cheapskate by Jeff Yeager

popular money saving books published. Voluntary simplicity has become a lifestyle to be proud of and Jeff Yeager’s The Ultimate Cheapskate’s Road Map to True Riches: A Practical (and Fun) Guide to Enjoying Life More by Spending Less is one of the most useful books on cheapskate living that I’ve come across.

If you’re interested in downsizing, saving money and learning to embrace the voluntary simplicity lifestyle, Jeff Yeager’s book about becoming the Ultimate Cheapskate yourself, can be a wise investment.

Do you get enjoyment from buying “things?” Do you tend to buy as an emotional choice? Perhaps you’re stuck in a good paying, but unfulfilling job and buy things, telling yourself “Why not buy stuff? I earn it?” Do you have large credit card debt and were wishing you had none? The Ultimate Cheapskate can help!

I’ve been following the advice of Jeff Yeager for nearly 30 days and I’ve found that many of the purchases I made before were not things I really needed. I love to shop and I pride myself on finding the best prices but when you embrace voluntary simplicity, you learn that it is possible to spend zero money in a week, that being debt free brings more enjoyment than buying things and that being free of “things” brings freedom and fulfillment to your life.

In America, we are bombarded with commercials just about every minute of the day. We are convinced by smart marketers that if we buy their product we will be happier and more fulfilled. If you become an ultimate cheapskate like Jeff Yeager, you can find that not spending money brings even more fulfillment - your quality of life will increase, rather than decrease with each dollar you don’t spend. Plus the book is written in a humorous, lively style that makes it a pleasure to read.

If you’re looking for ways to be happier by spending less money, whether because you’re forced to or because you see it as a better option in life, then The Ultimate Cheapskate’s Road Map to True Riches: A Practical (and Fun) Guide to Enjoying Life More by Spending Less can help you live in voluntary simplicity in a totally painless way. Order through Amazon for less than $10, plus the order qualifies for free shipping. What a cheapskate deal!

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Joan’s Boomer Blog - Joining the Green Smoothie Revolution

Recently my husband and I joined the Green Smoothie Revolution and I wanted to blog about how Green Smoothies can help baby boomers. Many people I’ve met who are passionate about Green Smoothies are young mothers who want to improve their family’s nutrition. Boomers and seniors like me are concerned with healthy aging - maintaining optimal health as we get older. We are experiencing health issues such as arthritis, high cholesterol and maybe diabetes.Maybe we don’t maintain our weight as easily as we used to.

As we age, our bodies don’t take in and use nutrients this they did, leaving us vulnerable to a lowered immune system and results of aging. Can green smoothies help us aging boomers get more out of life?

Why Drink Green Smoothies?

What is your normal daily diet? Do you eat processed foods (foods that come in a package and are full of unpronounceable ingredients?) Do you eat lots of cooked foods, with maybe a small salad for dinner to get your “greens?” Do you have health issues?

Believe me, the health issues are intimately tied to you daily diet. Green smoothies can offer whole, raw veggies like broccoli, kale, Swiss Chard, and mustard greens. You can even throw beet and carrot greens in to your green smoothie recipe so you waste less food. AND these foods are uncooked which is important because cooking often destroys many of the nutrients in our veggies.

Since the foods are blended, the super nutrition is more readily available to your body to increase energy, boost your immune system, help you lose weight and be healthier. Green Smoothies are quick and convenient too, once you get your foods and a powerful blender. They keep for up to 48 hours in the frig so you can make them ahead of time.

Since I decided to start making Green Smoothies for my husband and me, I wanted to blog about the experience, offering recipes and tips to get you started and to let you know what Green Smoothies can do for healthy aging.

Many of my friends already are green smoothie converts. They’ve told me they experience:

• more energy
• improved digestion, including more regular bowel movements and soft stools
• fewer cravings for sugar and processed foods
• improved, more stable moods
• weight loss - an average of over 17lbs!
• increased desire to exercise (couldn’t we all use that!)

Others report less pain from arthritis, improved sex drive, less stress, shinier hair, stronger fingernails and smoother, clearer skin tone. All this after only 30 days on green smoothies!

How Much Green Smoothie Do You Need to Drink?

Optimum consumption is about one quart a day, four or more days per week but you can start with less.

Green smoothies are a lifestyle change. I’m going to start growing sprouts, making kefir, growing spinach and making lots of dietary changes. Check back in coming days to see how the green smoothie revolution is working out for this baby boomer.

Once I decided to embark on the Green Smoothie lifestyle, my next step was to research blenders. Green smoothies do require more power than your average smoothie blender. I look at all of them, read reports and asked friends who are already making green smoothies. Find out tomorrow which blender met the challenge.

More Green Smoothie Information and Recipes

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Remodeling Your Bathroom Increases Value, Function for Boomers

Not only does remodeling your home’s bathrooms increase the value of the property, but, for baby boomers, a bathroom remodel can increase functionality as well. Wouldn’t you love to have a beautiful, luxurious bathroom that would fit your needs as you get older?

Large, tiled showers and Walk In Tubs For Elderly offer safety and convenience as we get older and they are available in a a great variety of colors to fit your bathroom remodel. It’s easy to add a grab bar for safety as well.

Besides getting walk in Replacement Bathtubs a whirlpool or soaker tub is wonderful for those with arthritis or sore joints. Today’s new materials make cleaning easier too.

Boise Bathroom Remodeling offers a unique feature on which allows you to “build your own bathroom.” Computer generated images add different features like walk in tubs or showers, and allow you to see different styles and colors in tile or whether or not you have grab bars, soap dishes or shower caddy. Want to test colors in the bathroom, or trims like wainscot or a chair rail? Using this web page, you can literally design your own bathroom remodel and get a sense of what it will look like when you’re finished.

If you’re considering a bathroom remodel, check into the features you can add to keep living in your home as you get older. You’ll end up with the luxurious, beautiful bathroom of your dreams.

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How to Earn Multiple Streams of Income Doing What You Love

Six-Figures In Less Than A Year
Do only the things you LOVE to do, and generate multiple revenue streams!

If you could earn multiple streams of income working at home, building a profitable business based on your own passions in life, would you want to do it? Would you like to quit your current unfulfilling job and make your own schedule, doing something you love every day? If you answered yes to these questions but aren’t currently living the life you’d like to live, maybe you may just need someone who can teach you how to set up multiple streams of income, a mentor who has made thousands doing just this.

f you’ve seen the movie “the Secret” you’re probably familiar with Bob Doyle. I’ve been a member of his terrific Wealth Beyond Reason program for about 3 years and I’ve always wanted to take part in his Six Figure Streams of Income Program about building a profitable business on the internet. However, the $1300 price tag was just more than I wanted to spend. Imagine how I felt recently when I opened an email from Bob Doyle and found he was offering this same program for just $97!

The Six Figure Income Course is based on principles of the law of attraction to create multiple streams of income -helping you to find what you’re passionate about and build a profitable business around it. Work becomes play! Even if don’t currently have your own website or a product to sell, or even know how to do this, Bob’s course teaches you everything you need to know to build your own business around marketing information on the Internet.

What makes this multiple streams of income different from other business building courses? An all-important part of Bob Doyle’s course is teaching you how to overcome the resistence you’ve built up in your thinking-resistance that is holding you back from living the life of your dreams. Do you think you have to work hard to make money? Do you think money is hard to come by and only very lucky people “make it big?” These are limiting beliefs that are holding you back and Bob gives you the tools to overcome these beliefs so that anything is possible.

If you could spend your day devoted to any subject, what would it be? What are you passionate about in life? What is your hobby or what subjects are you drawn to? What do you love read about that you’d love to create a business around? Do you have a special area of expertise that you’d like to share with others? Would you like to create unlimited income around these ideas?

Bob Doyle’s Six Figure Streams of Income program helps you to sort through all that information and gives you specifics on creating ebooks, videos, and websites based on what you personally love to do to earn money through multiple streams of income.

If you’re a baby boomer facing retirement, what are you going to do with your time? Wouldn’t it be fun to make some extra retirement income doing something you have fun doing?

If you’ve ever thought how wonderful it would be to work at home and turn your own passions in to a profitable business and earn multiple streams of income, you owe it to yourself to check out Bob Doyle’s Six Figure Streams of Income Program.

Six-Figures In Less Than A Year
Do only the things you LOVE to do, and generate multiple revenue streams!

If you’re interested in the Wealth Beyond Reason program, I can tell you that since joining I’ve used and reused the information. I listen to the audios over and over and re-read the books that are part of the program. It was one of those programs I purchased that I never even once regretted or thought it wasn’t worth the money. The information is something that I use again and again.

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Add These AntiAging Foods to Your Daily Diet

As much as 90% of how well we age is related to lifestyle choices that we make every day. An AntiAging Diet can keep our minds and bodies functioning at peak capacity well into our senior years. Antiaging foods keep our muscles, joints and bones in good repair so we suffer less from arthritis and lack of balance. Antiaging foods keep our memory sharp and help ward off diseases like cancer and heart disease, which can be debilitating, if they don’t kill us, that is.

Here are some antiaging foods that you can add to your daily diet. You’ll notice the difference in the way you feel very quickly.

1.  Water - Sounds strange doesn’t it? That water is an important antiaging diet ingredient? Water keeps toxins and cancer causing waste materials flushed from your body. Joints which are well hydrated function better too. Drink 6-8 glasses of water daily.

2.  Nuts - Nuts contain heart healthy omega3 fatty acids, protein and fiber. It doesn’t take many nuts either. Sprinkle walnuts or sliced almonds on your salad or cereal daily. Contrary to popular opinion, even thought nuts have fat, it is a source of good fats that actually help our heart and cholesterol levels.

3.  Ginger - Ginger is a great anti-inflammatory food and inflammation is believed to be the cause of many illnesses and diseases people get as they age, such as arthritis and heart disease. Ginger is good for the digestion and is a good cure for indigestion. It works better than taking antacids and other medications.

4.  Garlic - Garlic helps lower cholesterol and is also an anti-viral, anti-bacterial food. Eat fresh, crushed garlic when possible. If you’re coming down with a cold, crush some garlic, let it set a few minutes and then mix it with butter and put on toast. Don’t heat the garlic. This is my go-to remedy for colds and sore throats and it works every time.

5.  Cruciferous Vegetables are among the best anti-aging foods around. Brocolli, turnips, cauliflower, and cabbage also are anti-cancer foods. Slice up a few turnips into soup or sprinkle chopped cabbage into your salad or steamed veggies.

6.  Berries - Blueberries top the list of nutrient rich, antioxidant packed foods but all berries contain antioxidants. Keep bags of them in the freezer to use in cereal, smoothies or mix with yogurt as a dessert.

7.  Chia Seeds These seeds are so tiny that 1/4 teaspoon is considered a serving. Make Chia Gel for smoothies or sprinkle chia seeds into cereal, yogurt, stir fry or just about any food.

8.  Green Tea - contains lots of anti-cancer and anti-aging ingredients. Drink 4-5 cups per day. If you aren’t fond of green tea, try some flavors mixed with fruit. Black tea is a good substitute. It doesn’t have all the antiaging properties of green tea but it does contain lots of antioxidants. Add a slice of lemon as this boosts the power of green tea by about 20%.

If you’re on an anti-aging diet, skip the sugar and processed foods. Sugar causes many of the illnesses and diseases that go along with aging and processed foods contain chemicals which can cause cancer, obesity and other health issues.

Read more about anti-aging foods you can easily add to your daily diet.

Read More about Being Healthier with Superfoods

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