OLD PEOPLE SHOULD USE FINGER SECURITY!!

Posted: September 25, 2019 | Author: | Filed under: geezerFinance, geezerSecurity, Uncategorized | Tags: , | Leave a comment »

 

Geezer’s middle finger

 

Most old people have trouble keeping track of passwords. Even when they write them down, they lose them, or have trouble typing them in to their phones or iPads.

Or, their passwords are so simple or common, that any 10 year old can hack them

There is a simple solution. Use your fingerprint as your password.

I am writing this blog after signing in using my index finger on the sign on button.

I access my Bank of America Account, (“sign in with Touch ID”) not with a password, but with my index finger. I suppose someone could cut off my index finger and access my accounts, but at 79 this is not a major worry.

Some of the newer tablets and phones have facial recognition; but do I want to smile at my iPad to sign in? And, I have a very old face.

There is voice recognition which is what Vanguard uses. I call my broker, repeat a sentence (provided and prerecorded) and have secure access to my account,

I like 2-factor sign-in, or multi-factor authentication, where you get a 6 digit number in an iPhone messages or by e-mail. This is after you have fingered your way across the threshold identification. You add the 6 digit number and you are in.

You should use this for all financial accounts.

I still like my index finger. I may insure it.

Ask your financial institution about multi-factor authentication.

THINK OLD! – THINK SIMPLE!

 

INDIVISIBLE – Grassroots political action for seniors – MAKE POLITICIANS LISTEN!

Posted: December 6, 2017 | Author: | Filed under: AGING, geezerSecurity, Uncategorized, Why Am I Here? | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment »
Politics

“Indivisible, A Practical Guide for Resisting the Trump Agenda”

A number of former congressional staffers have written this guide listing best practices to make congress listen. It contains local advocacy tactics that work.

I am interested in old people applying the lessons. In 2014  people in the US over 65, constituted 28.4% of the voting population. Check your state. How many voted? How many over 65 voted? What does your state do for seniors? What senior benefits are being cut?

The next generation of seniors will have little money to support themselves. Families are spread out. Homeless seniors may be the future unless you do something.

What do you want from your government?

Seniors are interested in preserving:

  1. Social Security
  2. Medicare
  3. Medicaid
  4. Consumer protection
  5. Savings
  6. Fraud and scam protection
  7. Their assets
  8. Their health

and a lot of other things. Seniors have more difficulty finding jobs, have more medical problems and have less time to live than the rest of the population.

Seniors must do something! Is there a grocery cart loaded with your possessions in your future?

Seniors can make a difference:

  1. Seniors have time
  2. Seniors have a life-time network of people
  3. Seniors have organizations – church, senior centers, senior services, etc.
  4. Seniors have families and friends
  5. Seniors have more skills than they know
  6. Seniors need a purpose…
  7. And, Seniors are bored and need something to do.

The bottom line is that seniors can make a political difference.

Seniors just need guidance; and, Indivisible provides it.

When was the last time you were involved, really involved, in anything worthwhile?

Indivisible tells you what works and what doesn’t. It tells you where and how to start. It tells you that you what you can do at the grass-roots level. And, if the Tea Party could do it, you can do it.

Check your precinct voting record for the last election. A small turnout? How much did the conservative candidate win by? A few votes would have made a difference. Look what the Tea Party managed to do six years ago using a lot of the techniques set out in Indivisible. How many seniors voted? How many could have voted? Would those votes make a difference?

You can go to meetings. You can ask questions. You can call your elected representative. You can organize your neighbors. You can provide a ride to the polls.

It will only take a few “old votes” to make a change.

You can buy Indivisible on Amazon.com for $3.59.

Join an Indivisible group; or start one for old people.

Then, get off your ass, turn off the TV and see how you can make a difference for yourself, for your neighbors and for your grandchildren who will be old sooner than you think.

Look in the mirror! Who do you see there and what is that person doing for the society that has benefitted him/her?

There are now over 6000 Indivisible groups in the US.

You can check out the Albuquerque Indivisible Group.

THINK OLD!

 

 

 

AUTOMATING OLD AGE – a financial umbrella for the geezer!

Posted: April 21, 2017 | Author: | Filed under: geezerFinance, geezerSecurity, Uncategorized | Tags: , , | Leave a comment »
Automatic

“Seventy-Five” may be a senior’s financial  tipping point. You have memory lapses, don’t think as clearly and worry more, or worse, don’t worry at all about financial matters. Financial planners are targeting you, beady eyes glistening in the darkness. And, of course, deep down, you are beginning to realize that you don’t trust your own decisions; and, really don’t know whom to trust. Your  financial life, like the rest of your life, has become uncertain and confusing.

You need to automate. A few suggestions:

  1. Direct deposit social security, pensions, dividends, rents and other income.
  2. Automatic  payment of regular bills, using a credit card or your checking account. Pay gas, electricity,  water, mortgages, taxes, rent, car payments, insurance, church pledge, long-term care premiums and credit cards on-line. Pay anything you can automatically.
  3. Have a geriatric mentor. A trusted person (kid) who will receive copies of all financial documents and who can monitor for suspicious activity, receive late or termination notices, and who can generally track your financial old age.
  4.  Periodic alerts:
    1. Tax filing deadlines – accountant
    2. Property taxes –  mentor, mortgage company, accountant
    3. Long-term care insurance – mentor –  You don’t want to default on this.
  5. Minimal number of accounts
    1. One credit card
    2. One debit card
    3. One brokerage account
    4. One bank account
  6. Investments
    1. Index funds
    2. Cash account
  7. Contacts – you should have habits that alert people when you don’t participate
    1. Church
    2. meals-on-wheels
    3. Mail carrier
    4. Neighbors
    5. Senior Centers
    6. Regular social get-togethers
    7. Clubs
    8. ie “Have you seen the geezer recently?”
  8. Monthly review of accounts, etc. by mentor or trusted person.
  9. Hire a property manager if you own rental units; direct deposit of rents and copies of statements to mentor.

The bottom line is that you can change any of these depending on your level of competence and how you feel about dealing with financial matters. The point is that your survival should be automatic if you don’t feel like dealing with it. You should not have to think about the basics; your financial health should be based on checks and balances.

THINK OLD!

SIX CHEAP HOME SECURITY IDEAS FOR OLD PEOPLE!

Posted: January 12, 2017 | Author: | Filed under: Aging-in-place, geezerAdapts, geezerSecurity, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | 1 Comment »

Geezer’s Solar Powered Motion Sensor Outdoor Light.

I am 76, vulnerable and cheap. A recent neighborhood burglary and  car vandalism  made me rethink our home security.

What is unique about most old people – my wife and I?

  1. We live alone.
  2. Our memories are not quite what they used to be.
  3. I am deaf.
  4. I think I am younger than I am.
  5. My support group is shrinking.
  6. I am cheap.
  7. I am fearful.
  8. Any system we use must be simple and self-operating. We can’t be bothered with any complexity.
  9. We travel and are frequently away from home.

I cannot protect us from everything; but, I can reduce the odds, my fear, and my paranoia. I can provide a video if I am the victim of a crime.

This is what I did.

  1. I turn on porch and garage exterior lights each night. My neighbors can watch. I have mixed feelings about this as there is an argument that you allow burglars to see what they are doing.
  2. I rewired the  pyracantha  along our back wall and tied the stems so that they covered the whole wall. I will let them grow taller in the future.
  3. I installed two interior lights on timers that go on and off automatically at various times in the evening. ($4.87 each.)
  4. I wired together wire tomato cages (I use these in the summer for my tomatoes. – or $2 each.) where the exterior walls adjoined my neighbor’s wall. Someone coming over the wall has to deal with the pyracantha, the wires and the cages, which they cannot see in the dark. Jail provides medical treatment.
  5. I installed a solar motion sensor light  ($29.97) over the back door. This gives off enough light to see the back yard and becomes very bright if  someone enters the yard. My neighbor can watch the burglar.
  6.  I installed a Canary Security System and Camera  ($199.95) tied into my smart phone. My smart phone beeps  if someone enters my home office. I can watch whoever is there (even if I am in Iceland), activate an alarm, or call the police.   The system records and retains the video for at least 24 hours, or longer if you subscribe. It  is quite clear even in the dark. It goes on automatically when I leave the house, but I have to click “private” when I return home or it keeps monitoring. The BIG problem with this is that the first night I did not click “private” after I returned home. The next morning I had a video of a 76 year-old, nude man, coming out of the bathroom; now, I turn it off when I am at home.

When we are really old, our kids can access the Canary from their smart phones and monitor us.  I will have to start wearing a robe.

The total cost of our security system  was $239.70, plus tax.

I could have used a commercial alarm service, but that costs a lot more, and they call a neighbor, or us, giving the burglar time to get away You put your neighbor in harm’s way when they go to check on your home. If the police are called and it is a false alarm, you may get charged depending on your town.

We travel a lot, have no relatives in town, and worry about security when we are gone. This is not a perfect system, but for the cost, I don’t see how we could do more.

The net result is that I feel better, I have not spent much money, I have a simple system that even I can handle, and I will have a video of the burglar. I may even catch him by dialing 911 and advising the police where he is in my home and whether or not he appears to be armed. The video will be evidence.

In old age the geezer needs a KISS! (Keep it Simple Stupid!)

 

Canary Camera

A six-inch Canary camera attached to my smart phone, quietly waiting for my burglar, or a 76 year-old nude, if I forget to deactivate it.

 

Pyracantha and wired tomato cages waiting for my burglar.