fitover50

I am seeing a gimmick showing up in my mail from time to time that has begun to disturb me. Credit card companies are sending out these little congratulatory checks for small amounts of money, oh, say $8.50 or $9.25. They encourage you to cash them. It’s their gift to you.

Problem is, if you read the small print, when you cash these checks you have, in effect, signed up for some sort of “credit protection” policy that will be billed to your credit card to the tune of something like $64.99 semi-annually. So, for a whopping $8.50 you are now responsible for a basically useless charge that will keep recurring from now until the end of time.

Now, I consider myself to be savvy enough to realize that if something looks too good to be true, it almost certainly is. In fact, I am not so desperate for $8.50 that I will automatically grab at every dollar bill that comes my way. However, not all adults are so wary of “free gifts.”

I know of an elderly woman who cashed one of these “gifts” before her more astute daughter found out about it. The daughter has spent the last three months trying to get this ridiculous protection plan removed from her mother’s credit card. To add insult to injury, the woman is now receiving these gifts of “free money” on an almost weekly basis. The daughter is on high alert trying to make sure her elderly mother does not fall prey to this trickery again. They poor woman still does not quite understand just how deceptive and injurious this situation is in her life.

I received one of these checks in my mail today. I automatically shredded the paper. Thinking over the situation now, the next time I receive one of these checks, I think I will turn the matter over to the attorney generals office. They have a division to handle deceptive practices. Anytime someone is tricked into a purchase they did not intend to make, I call that deception.

Being Fit Over 50 means being prudent with our finances as well. For many of us, this time of life means watching over the affairs of our aging parents, those who must struggle much more to be Fit Over 50 (70, 80, 90 . . .) We need to watch over our elders. Hopefully someone will be there to watch over us when the time comes.

I have a friend who, like so many people in the current economy, has lost her job. She is intelligent, talented, educated, motivated, experienced, dedicated, honest and loyal. Doesn’t that sound like everything an employer could want in an employee?

So, why is she having such a hard time finding a new job? Sure, times are a little tough right now and everyone is having to work a little harder than ever to find employment. But, my friend has one characteristic that appears to be working against her in, oh, so subtle ways. She is 52 years old.

No, I didn’t say 102, I said 52. By all forms of logic she will likely remain in the work force another ten to fifteen years, minimum. And, with the way social security and the cost of living are going, she may well be working quite a bit longer than that.

This lady, if she found the right job, is not interested in gaining enough experience to put on her resume so she can go out and find something better, as is the case with the majority of 22 year olds in the job market today. No, she wants to give her heart and soul to a company that will appreciate her efforts and reward them with long term employment. The lucky employer who hires this woman will not have to re-train her replacement until sometime past the year 2020.

For some reason, the 22 year olds are being snatched up and put to work, even though the statistics tell us that they will have anywhere between 7 and 15 different jobs in their lives and are, therefore, not likely to be employed with the same employer three or four years from now.

I’ve got to tell you - give me a solid 50 year old any day of the week. I want to work with a person who understands their role as an employee and is not feeling entitled to a large salary, great benefits, and an abundance of perks just because they walked through the door.

I want the employee who shows up every day and puts in eight good hours. I want the employee who is seasoned enough to know what it takes to work in their lifetime, expects to work in their lifetime, and is excited at the opportunity to work in their lifetime.

I want the business world out there to wake up to the strength and power of the mature, experienced worker. Take a look at what you are letting get away. And, three years from now, when you have the position open again that you just filled this week with a 22 year old, remember that a 52 year old woman could have been pumping out the work for you, never missing a beat, and would have been there for you on Monday morning doing the job for you instead of leaving a vacancy that you are, once again, stuggling to fill (with another 22 year old??).