Browse. Click. Pay. Online shopping is just that easy.
And while there’s a lot to be said for shopping locally and supporting small businesses, there’s no denying that online shopping is super convenient.
After all, where else can you find almost anything you want, place an order in minutes, and have your heart’s desire arrive on your doorstep in a matter of days or hours?
There’s a reason why cats and dogs seem to rule the internet.
Most of us get a little jolt of dopamine when viewing pictures and videos of these furry creatures being charming, silly, and deeply endearing. There’s no denying the age-old connection between our hearts and these lovable animals.
It also turns out that spending time with animals—especially companion animals, but other kinds as well—can help people with Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia lead happier, healthier lives.
Music is, quite literally, the soundtrack of our lives.
Music is a vehicle for memories, emotions, and healing. It can lift our spirits, calm our souls, help us fall in love, and bring us to tears. Our favorite songs become part of our emotional DNA. Even long after decades have passed by, we can still sing along perfectly because each and every word and nuance of melody is imprinted on our hearts.
Music also has deep connections with memory. Just consider how hearing the first few bars of a certain song can take you back through time to your first kiss, a high school dance, your best friend’s wedding, a family road trip, or an ordinary afternoon with your toddler. In a way, creating playlists of our favorite music from different phases in our lives is like creating an auditory scrapbook.
There is something very appealing and kind of romantic about sailing off into the sunset to enjoy the golden years of retirement in an idyllic setting. It is, perhaps, the pinnacle of the American Dream.
However, selecting the perfect place to retire takes more than just dreaming. It’s a process of self-discovery, research, prioritization, due diligence, exploration, and careful planning. Which isn’t to say that it can’t also be fun.
To help you get started, we’ve compiled a list of some of the key considerations that you’ll want to keep top of mind as you navigate through where you might want to live.
According to the Pew Research Center, the U.S. population living in multigenerational households has quadrupled since the 1970s. They also report that, in March of 2021, “there were 59.7 million U.S. residents who lived with multiple generations under one roof.”
One of the most common multigenerational living scenarios is the addition of an in-law suite to accommodate an older person moving in with their grown children and grandchildren. If this arrangement is something you are thinking about, there is some appeal:
By Beth Dance
What happened to user guides?
It wasn’t that long ago when you would buy a brand-new phone, and inside the taut packaging was a crisp and clean instruction guide. It would break down everything you ever needed to know about the device. From how to turn the phone itself on to helpful recommendations on how to maintain the phone to extend its life.
By Beth Dance
Human beings are not, as a rule, good with change. Even life’s most joyful milestones and transitions tend to cause their share of stress. And when you add in difficult emotions, things get intense pretty quickly.
One life experience that is often underestimated in terms of its emotional impact is moving. I’ve recently experienced saying goodbye to my childhood home, and it wasn’t easy. Even though my brother and I spent the last several years encouraging our parents to sell their home, I wasn’t ready.
Technology and the internet provide a lot of speed, access, and convenience to our everyday lives. Unfortunately, they are also a virtual playground for a lot of bad actors who are always finding new ways to take advantage of the unwary and unprotected.
Hackers and cyber thieves can truly wreak havoc. According to the Harris Poll, the majority (59%) of Americans report having experienced cybercrime. That’s 152 million people who have had their data security compromised!
Leading security company Symantec organizes cybercrime into several categories, including computer viruses and malware, online credit card fraud, identity theft, outright scams, and others. And, in another report, Symantec found that over the course of just one year, 60 million Americans were victims of identity fraud. In dollars and cents, that translates into a consumer loss of $16.8 billion! And, sadly, according to FBI cybercrime statistics, people older than 60 are the most likely to become victims of online cons.
By Jill Brightman
Buying a home can be the most expensive and life-altering purchase we will ever make. It is where we plant our roots, grow our families, try our hand at home improvement tasks, decorate and re-decorate again to our tastes, and mostly, it’s where we make cherished memories.
However, there often will come a time when we need to decide (or in some circumstances, the decision will have to be made for us) if it’s time to downsize, move on to new surroundings, or re-think if our family home can be made safe and comfortable as we age.
By Jill Brightman
As a child, one of my favorite past times was sorting through my family’s old, black and white photographs that had been passed down from multiple generations.
I romanticized the pictures of grandfather, in his World War II military uniform, and my grandmother, his young bride. I chuckled at looking at my own father as a gawky teen and was awestruck by looking at my great-grandparents in their turn of the century attire.
Connecticut Estate Planning Attorneys Blog