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"MOM. How could you?" We hear it all the time from our kids when they are upset with some Mom-ism we've said or something we've done. We might answer with this Mom-ism, "I do not need you telling me what to do!" But we try not to get defensive and reply that way.  It may be because we heard our aging mothers say this to us when we told them they needed to eat better, see a doctor, stop driving, consider downsizing to one-story homes or stop critiquing us.  It got us thinking about all the clichés and verbal lessons...

  Oh, the things we do to save money. We both cling to our hard-earned cash and might even be considered thrifty or tightwads. Often, we will do some offbeat things to cut costs. Barbara refuses to pay for valet parking and would rather park miles away than pay a big sum. Rather than buy a book unless she knows it’s one she wants to reread, she will often check them out from her library. When she eats out, she’ll rarely order one of the more expensive entrees and prefers two appetizers. Margaret, who reads eBooks on her iPad, can...

Resilience. We all have it in different degrees. Just think about the past two years. We all lived through a pandemic and adjusted to wearing masks, practicing social distancing, wiping off newspapers and groceries and mastering Zoom gatherings in lieu of in-person meet-ups. Pat yourselves on the back for being resilient. However, we're still going to need heavy doses of resilience as we enter year #3 of the pandemic. Who knows what lies ahead. At the same time, we face rising inflation with unprecedented prices at the pump and the realities of a war in Ukraine that could escalate with...

  It's tax time-ugh!-which got us thinking that we might want to engage in some smart financial planning, not for each day, week or month but an overarching plan so we can enjoy each day without worrying about money and what lies ahead. Many of us have dreams: going on an African safari to see animals in their natural habitat, swimming in the oceans off the coast of Australia, owning a second home in Paris where we can eat and sip wine under the stars, having a surgical full facelift or eyes tweaked or a buying a cute Audi convertible...

When was the last time you received a compliment? For most of us, quite a while. It’s easy to do, it doesn’t cost a thing and it makes the recipient feel oh, so very good.  “I love your haircut.”  “That dress you wore looked great on you.”  “The dessert you served with a big bowl of fresh red raspberries and freshly whipped cream was just the best.”  As we retreated to our homes and hunkered down with family during COVID-19, we lost some of our social civility and forgot how nice it was to have someone recognize something about us...