boomer discounts | Boomer 55+ Places to Live and Retire

Boomer Discount Trips

As a boomer, I have the time and I want to save the money so I plan my trips. The first thing I do is check the gas prices at various points away from my home. I do this by typing the name of the state gas prices.com. For instance “southcarolinagasprices.com”

I then put the city that is close to where I normally stop and I see where the cheapest gas prices are located and what they are. I do this several days before the trip. They may not be the lowest gas prices on the particular day I go but they will be competitive. If where I am traveling to has cheaper gas prices than where I am departing from, then I don’t fill up until I get to the cheaper station. If where I am departing from has cheaper gas prices than where I am traveling to, then I fill up the car. In the winter, I take 1 bottle of water for each passenger, each way. In the summer I double that. If we get thirsty, we can drink the 13 cent bottle of water I purchased from Costco. If someone wants a cola soft drink, most fast food places will sell you a senior drink for less than normal and the prices are all over the board.

Something else I use is Priceline for hotels and the feature where you bid for a hotel. To use Priceline and bid for a hotel, you must understand how to use it or you may get burned. Let me repeat that; To use Priceline and bid for a hotel, you must understand how to use it or you may get burned. It is kind of like fire. It is very beneficial to use it but you have to be careful with it. Biddingfortravel.com is a great website to learn how to use Priceline. For me, a 3-1/2* hotel is what I prefer but I have stayed at a 3* hotel satisfactorily. I am going to talk about my greatly discounted hotel stay via Priceline in a later blog. More Boomer Discounts

For more tips on getting the best prices and good deals visit Discount Deal Guide

Originally posted 2010-12-29 04:24:06.

Thrifty Boomers Pays Off

Baby Boomers watch their expenses carefully because this tough economy has zapped what ever retirement funds seniors have worked hard to accumulate and save, no one knows how much money they will need to retire comfortably and no one knows what physical impairment may keep them from earning an income and when that will come. Everyone wants to retire comfortably with out much worry about money or health. We are not cheap, we are just knowledgeable from years of living and watching others before us struggle with economic situations.

I get it but younger generations sometimes don’t understand and it might not be their fault. Some times you can’t understand, till you experience. Have you ever told a friend a story and they just smile and nod but they didn’t really buy into what you were telling them? I think this has happened to all of us. On a later occasion, has your friend then told you a story of something that happened to them that was quite dramatic and very similar what you told them on an earlier occasion? They may or may not even make the statement “you told me something like this happened to you but it did not sink in until it really happened to me?” Point is that sometimes, no matter the age, we don’t get the point until we experience it and it happens to us.

With age usually comes wisdom so we boomers don’t have to experience everything to make rational, logical decisions. I don’t have to jump off my roof to know I might get hurt. Boomers, those 50+, retirees, those about to retire have the time and wisdom to search for the discounts, boomer discounts, senior discounts, weekly specials, sales and deals.

Baby Boomers don’t necessarily buy cheap but many buy smart if they have been able to save money over the years. That might mean getting a name brand quality item for a great price. To save money, it usually means that they have sacrificed either time or money. Many have lived their whole lives buying low quality, inexpensive and now they can afford to step up a bit with better quality and discounts. It might be clothing, cars, housing, vacations or just gifts for the children and grandchildren.

For more tips on getting the best prices and good deals visit Discount Deal Guide

Originally posted 2011-01-03 20:38:38.

Auto Repairs Made Easier

Don’t’ you just hate it when you have a problem with your auto and you need some sort of expensive auto repair or service. We are baby boomers so we have been through a lot including aggravating auto repairs before, but it doesn’t get any easier does it.

Auto repairs can be costly but that is not the only thing making us feel a little queasy and irritated. How do we know the repair actually needs to be done? How do we know if we are being quoted a fair price or are we being ripped off by an unethical auto repair service? That’s what I am worried about more than just the price. Apparently a lot of people agree with me since a reported 66 percent of car owners believe they have been ripped off by a repair shop.

RepairPal is a company that evaluates and certifies auto repair shops based on a number of criteria. I looked into their service which offers to put you in touch with reputable and dependable auto repairs shops in your neighborhood which meets their criteria. An auto repair shop must undergo a comprehensive technical assessment by RepairPal’s team of veteran ASE certified master technicians, must meet high customer service standards which they verify by interviewing customers of the auto shop. Additionally the shops must offer a 12 month / 12,000 mile warranty and guarantee to charge fair prices within the range of RepairPal’s price estimator.

So I gave RepairPal’s web site a try. Seeing that RepairPal has a program with AARP Discounts and I am a member, I went to AARP’s RepairPal page. I entered my name, email, zip code and make of auto and clicked “Find a Shop” button. Under the button it said “This is a free service. No credit card required.” On the results screen it found 37 auto repair shops in my city and it listed the three that were RepairPal certified. It gave their name, address and phone number and indicated there would be 10% off their services for AARP members. Too easy!

I found the process to be easy and not intrusive, just putting me in easy contact with the RepairPal Certified shops in my area. The 10% AARP member discount would be a plus too. Next time I need a repair I am going to give them a try.

http://repairpal.com/aarp