This is a really fun infographic that was just put out about vitamin shoppers. As we age, it’s important to stay healthy and in that vein, we all work extra hard to find the right vitamins to keep our joints, minds, and bodies strong. Review this infographic to determine if you are a typical vitamin shopper or if you shop outside the box!

We haven’t been able to post much during this election, but that’s because we don’t want to force our opinion on our audience. That said, we just found a humorous and non-bias infographic from CreditCardForum.com, that shows the spending habits of our two candidates. I’m not sure how you’ll interpret it, but for me, these expenditures give me great insight into how each candidate would run this country!

By CreditCardForum.com

Today is Veterans Day: a day to honor those who fought for us in war, died for our freedom, and those who returned home to a different life. America’s first Veterans Day (then called Armistice Day) occurred on November 11, 1919. The first time it was celebrated as a national holiday ways in 1938. Year after year, it was followed by huge celebrations, parades, and more… for awhile. Over time, the meaning of Veterans Day has been lost in politics and debate. Some years even, this day has been used as a means of protest over war.

We live in a country where our political beliefs can be challenged and debated by our fellow citizens. This freedom, is something our veterans have fought for. Whether you believe current or past wars were unjust, or you think they were a necessity, today is a day to put aside our differences and give thanks to those who sacrificed so much, so that we could go about our days in peace. Below are 5 ways to honor our veterans both young and old, this holiday.

1. Visit a Local Nursing Home – We are living in a time of war, so it’s true that there are veterans of all ages, and nursing homes focus on treating and rehabilitating anyone in need. Visit your local nursing home or assisted living facility and find a common room. Reach out and start a conversation with the residents. Ask about their experiences during war times and do the most important thing anyone can do: listen. Make sure you thank any veterans you come into contact with. It may seem like a small gesture, but it will mean a lot.
2. Help Out at a Local Homeless Shelter – It’s an unfortunate reality that many of our homeless are veterans. They fought and survived a harsh war and returned home to a lack of support. Regardless of what led them to their situation, everything they did for the country deserves recognition and honor. Volunteer to serve food to the homeless today. Say “Happy Veterans Day” with each meal you hand out. Maybe a conversation will start, maybe it won’t, but you will definitely impact a lot of lives.
3. Attend a Local Celebration – While Veterans Day celebrations are not what they used to be, they still exist. Check your local news and blogs to find out if there is a Veterans Day celebration in your area. There are many putting a lot of time into creating these celebrations, to honor their loved ones and possibly even cope with death. They will want as many people there as possible because Veterans Day is a time for camaraderie.
4. Send an Electronic Thank You – Veterans Day is a national holiday, but not a national day off from work. This means that many of you might be working today, and unable to do numbers 1-3. Luckily, we live in a digital world where you can say thanks across many channels. Go to Facebook and post a thanks to the walls of veterans you know, send an e-card to a loved one, or write an email about your thoughts on this holiday and send it to everyone you know. Ask them to send it to everyone they know.  You’ll be surprised how fast it spreads online.
5. Make a Donation – Our men and women in uniform don’t have a lot. They need better gear on the front line and better support at home. Making a donation to the USO can help benefit veterans in all stages of their service. While this is something that can be done whenever you have the opportunity, today is a day that gives reason to be extra generous.

Hopefully these ideas give you the chance to honor this important day.

Today we thought we would provide a fun way to spend your Tuesday with this infographic about Betty White. Betty White has earned herself an iconic status as a celebrity that spans generations. She has fans of all ages and has recently sparked immense popularity among Facebook users and Saturday Night Live fans. But how did she catapult to stardum? This infographic provides a timeline of her life as well as fun facts and trivia.

Born in 1922, Betty White’s acting career begain in the 40′s when she landed her first professional acting job on the stage of the Bliss Hayden Little Theater. After years on the stage, White entered the world of television with appearances on the show Hollywood on Television. Hollywood on Television was a live, variety show with Al Jarvis. While white first appeared alongside Jarvis, she eventually became the host.

In 1952, White landed her first lead role on the TV sitcom, Life With Elizabeth. She continued dominating the small screen with celebrity appearances on popular game shows like Password, before she took over the silver screen in the 1962 movie, Advise and Consent. Her fame also earned her multiple hosting opportunities for the acclaimed Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (did that just get you as excited about the upcoming Turkey day as it did me?).

Betty White went on to perform many roles on TV including a regular character on the Mary Tyler Moore Show and her own sitcom called The Betty White Show. Of course, her claim to fame came in 1985 when she landed the role of the cute, naive Rose Nylund on The Golden Girls.

In 1998, White received her own star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. She continued her career as a golden girl before taking a long break from TV in the early 90′s. White returned to television with a recurring role on ABC’s Boston Legal as well as many commercial appearances. Of course, her latest career boost came in 2010 when Facebook fans started a petition for Betty White to host Saturday Night Live. The popular TV show heard the cry of fans and scheduled White for the May 8th show of that year. At age 88, White was the oldest person to ever host SNL.

Today, White stars as Elka Ostrovsky on the sitcom Hot in Cleveland, which is now in its 2nd season. In her lifetime, she has had 50 total award nominations and wins that consisted of Emmy’s, Golden Globes, and more.

47 people, many of which were senior citizens, were arrested this morning after blocking traffic in downtown Chicago as part of an Occupy Chicago protest. The group was part of over 500 seniors that came down to Chicago this morning as part of grassroots organizations, Occupy Chicago, and the Jane Addams Senior Caucus. They rallied and protested outside of Senators Mark Kirk and Dick Durbin’s offices and then marched through the streets of Chicago.

The point of today’s protest was to voice concern over the latest cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.  Seniors hope that new federal budget regulations will help to strengthen social programs for elderly Americans rather than weaken them. According to Mary Burns, founder of the Jane Adams Senior Caucus, “many older women, especially older women of color, would suffer the brunt of these cuts.”

Today marks the 45th day of the Occupy Chicago movement, which was bolstered greatly by the influx of seniors ready to stand for their cause. This movement provides a great example of many generations coming together for a common cause, offering seniors the chance to educate younger protestors and help to put the need for Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security into context.

Many studies suggest that we will run out of Social Security before younger generations get the opportunity to take advantage of it. Because of this, many have reported being inspired to see those who will not benefit from it, standing up for the elderly who need it now.

Although people of all age groups expressed an instinctive preference for reading the written word on physical pages, it appears that reading performance doesn’t show the same distinction. In fact, the difference is most notable in seniors, and it’s not the performance result you might expect. Seniors have been shown to read about three times faster when reading on a tablet, like iPad, compared to reading print books.

German researchers from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz want to refute the common belief that e-readers and tablets are damaging to the eyes when used for reading. Professor  Dr. Stephan Fussel had this to say:

“E-books and e-readers are playing an increasingly important role on the worldwide book market. However, readers can be particularly sceptical when it comes to e-books and electronic reading devices. The objective of the study was to investigate whether there are reasons for this scepticism. Researchers found that reading using an iPad helped people process information more easily. This study provides us with a scientific basis for dispelling the widespread misconception that reading from a screen has negative effects.”

Small, loud black birds called grackles have made a senior living home in Houston, Texas practically unlivable.

“It’s very raucous and loud,” said 81-year-old Rebecca Sealy. “It looks like snow. That’s bird poop. … It just kept getting worse and worse. … The day after I took [my car] for a $20 car wash and the next morning found it was completely covered, that’s when I lost it!”

The seniors had had enough. The grackles covered the roof, pooped all around the property and squawked at all hours of the night.

“We’re trying to relocate the birds,” said Sealy’s friend, Betty Frazier.

A company called Fal-Tech was called in to eradicate some of the birds and force the others out of the area. Falcons attack and kill birds like grackles. Fal-Tech’s Roger Crandall brought in four birds to move the grackles as soon as possible. He says the main problem is that the birds feel they are safe where they’re nesting–which just encourages them to stay, and to bring others. The falcon attacks will disrupt the grackles’ feeling of safety and drive the remaining birds out.

“We want them to retire somewhere else,” Frazier said, smiling at the pun.

Houston’s grackle problem is nothing new. Two years ago the city faced a similar situation, and employed the same methods to drive them away. A commenter on the ABC News story said,

“They’re tough to get rid of. Thirty-five years ago, couldn’t get rid of them with a shotgun. The falcons sound like a great solution. Hopefully they don’t relocate in my neighborhood.”

Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE) will debut the United States’ first full-time GLBT assisted living facility in New York City in January of 2012. Mayor Michael Bloomberg approved an “Innovate Senior Center” contract Wednesday for the center, which will be based in Chelsea but provide services to non-residents in all five boroughs of the city. Seven other long-term care facilities were awarded Innovative Senior Center contracts by the mayor and the New York City Department for the Aging (DFTA). Mayor Bloomberg said of the contracts:

“The needs of seniors have evolved since centers were created 50 years ago and now is the time to re-envision the one-size-fits-all approach that has traditionally shaped many of our centers.”

The SAGE Center plans to provide services to GLBT elders throughout the city during the day, as well as providing about 130 hot meals to seniors in need. The center is following models from similar projects in Spain and Germany. SAGE currently provides services through its SAGE Harlem location and through the city’s LGBT Community center, but the new SAGE Center will reach a new population and provide easier access to those who did not know about or could not get to SAGE’s Harlem location.

Executive Director Michael Adams had this to say:

“Opening The SAGE Center has been our dream for many years. We are thrilled to be part of a bold initiative that emphasizes innovation in aging services; SAGE is committed to building program models that can be replicated in New York City and nationwide.”

At about half the strength of the 2010 poll, the 2011 Unretirement Index shows that only 23% of working Americans are “very confident”  that they will be able to live comfortably after retiring. Additionally, one in five Americans believe they will never completely retire.

President of Sun Life Financial U.S. (the company that produces the Unretirement Index) Wes Thompson said, “This represents the most significant drop in retirement confidence we’ve seen in the four years we’ve compiled the Sun Life Unretirement Index. Although the recession officially ended in 2009, average Americans feel that the downturn has not ended for them, which is substantially eroding their trust in their retirement future.”

The following are the changes for individual categories of the index, as compared to the 2010 results:

• Employee Benefits: -31.7%
• Economy: -25%
• Government Benefits: -21.6%
• Personal Finances: -13.9%
• Personal Health: -13.2%

In 2010, both personal health and employee benefits confidence rose, so it is apparent that a major shift has occurred. Of the 54% of Americans who believe they will work past age 65, more people (16%) plan to retire around age 70 than are expecting to retire between 66 and 69 (11%).

The Unretirement Index, which was initiated by Sun Life in 2008, polled 1,499 people between the ages of 18 and 66 this year. The index operates on a score of 0 to 100, where 100 indicates the highest confidence. This year the overall index was 36, the lowest it has been since inception. In 2010 and 2009 it held at 44, and in the first year the score was 46.