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We both were raised in families by parents who said we should never talk about money except to our most intimate circle. It was gauche. That meant never sharing how much a house, remodeling, vacation or wedding cost, what kind of salary someone earned, what they might have inherited, even how much they paid for the shoes they were wearing. OK, maybe in special situations, we’d share about the shoes. Barbara had to tell several friends after she bought her revenge pair of Manolo Blahnik pumps after her former husband left her. And Margaret likes to boast about how inexpensive...

Often, when someone has a secret to share, it’s prefaced with: “I must tell you something, but can you promise not to tell anyone?”  “Of course,” is the typical offhanded response. And the person who is confiding might add, “This is really private. I don’t want anyone to know” to emphasize the importance of secrecy.   You listen and intend to keep it quiet. And maybe you honor their wish. Or, maybe you slip. You just couldn’t resist sharing it with one person. Is it the recipient’s right to take that information and do what they want with it?  The problem...

By Nancy A. Shenker* If you don’t incorporate technology into your daily life, you’re missing out. Even if we didn’t grow up with it, we can learn about it and apply it.  Do not fear technology...embrace it. More than 50 percent of today's jobs require some degree of technology skills, and experts say that percentage will increase to 77 percent in the next decade according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The National Council on Aging reports that by 2019, more than 40 percent of people over age 55 are expected to be working. On this basis, it’s important that our contemporaries get up to speed so they...

One of us is still lucky to have a Mom alive—98 ½--those half years are very important at this stage. The other one lost her mom 2 ½ years ago at age 92. And we both are Moms. One of us also got very lucky and is now a grandmother of two cuties and has a daughter who’s the lucky Mom.  Barbara's two daughters and her mother, Estelle, who will be 99 in October.  So, we know lots about this subject. And we’d like to advise skipping the gifts if you have a Mom and telling your kids to do...

We know that we are directionally challenged, especially when driving (read last week’s blog post). But the truth is we’re no picnic to have in the passenger seat, either. Think of Driving Miss Daisy, the wonderful movie with Jessica Tandy instructing her driver played by Morgan Freeman about bumps in the road, literally and metaphorically. This is not unlike our behavior when we become that annoying backseat driver even if we’re seated in front. We own up to  these “car altercations” fully and are trying to change. Barbara remembers all too well when she and her former husband rented a...