Top News from Today's "Boomiverse"

Five Things You Don’t Know About Baby Boomers
Susan Reda
NRF Stores
June 2008

Overview: “Boomers spend an estimated $2.3 trillion on consumer goods and services annually, yet Thornhill claims that ‘few retailers fully appreciate today’s older boomer consumer, instead merchandising and marketing to young, less affluent adults. Retailers that fail to acknowledge boomers today — thinking they’re past their spending prime — are limiting their success’…In other words, those who think they know all there is to know about the baby boomer generation need to think again.”

http://www.stores.org/Current_Issue/2008/06/Cover/index.asp

Retirees Find Home-Price Decline Has a Silver Lining
Susan Stellin
Chicago Tribune
July 13, 2008

Overview: “What was once a seemingly unstoppable climb in home prices has given way to a plunge in value in many areas. Yet there is a bit of good news: This might be the right time to find a bargain, especially for buyers approaching their retirement years who can afford to take their time. Not only are home prices down more than 25 percent in some parts of the country, there remains a glut of inventory on the market in traditional retirement destinations like Florida, Arizona and Nevada.”

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-re-time-to-buy-retire-0713jul13,0,2276674.story

Baby Boomers and Seniors Volunteering for Peace Corps in Bigger Numbers
David Levinsky
Burlington County Times
July 14, 2008

Overview: “The common perception of Peace Corps volunteers are 20-somethings who want to see the world and do some good after finishing college. There are plenty of those, yes, but the ranks of the foreign service organization created by President John F. Kennedy are being filled with a growing number of baby boomers and seniors who prefer volunteering overseas to a retirement spent playing bridge or golf.”

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/112-07142008-1562670.html