What Happened and Where were you on July 26, 1976?

                                                               

                                                                Marjorie Evans (1976)

(yep, that's me)                                           

What Happened in 1976 Important News and Events

Apple is formed by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Nadia Comaneci scores the first ever perfect score in Gymnastics. NASA Unviels first space shuttle, Fidel Castro President of Cuba, $2.00 bill Issued, Notting Hill Carnival Riots, United States Bicentennial celebrations, First Legionnaires Disease,

How Much things cost in 1976

Average Cost of new house $43,400.00
Average Income per year $16,000.00
Average Monthly Rent $220.00
Cost of a gallon of Gas 59 cents
Below are some Prices for UK guides in Pounds Sterling
Average House Price 12,704
Gallon of Petrol 0.76



Plymouth Arrow$3,175.00
Polaroid Camera $28.00
Mens Sports Jacket $37.15
Zenith 25" Color TV $599.00
CB Radio $147.00
Micro Wave Oven $169.00

#1 Afternoon Delight - Starland Vocal Band

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Out of all of this information, I find How Much things cost in 1976 the most interesting. 
I graduated in 1976. Looking at things like a Micro Wave Oven, I didn't event know they existed! I remember the first time I saw a microwave was at work, in the break room. That was around 1983...I remember going into the break room and opening the door on the microwave..someone had placed a Wendy's burger in it, inside the foil it was wrapped in. Inside of the microwave was full of sparks!

Take a look at the cost of a mens sports jacket, almost $40.00, really?
Minimum wage, in reality was $2.30 an hour!

1976 was a mixed bag for me. I think of that time now and I really am grateful to have grown up in the time period I did...

#ThrowbackThursday

Focus: Youthful Look or Healthy, Mind, and Body Spirit?

                                               

I find myself going through "growing pains." I find myself dealing with the "battle of the bulge." Coping with "love handles" that I hate. I think I've lost weight, only to find it's just "rearranged" itself.

My closet and drawers are divided into, "fits now," "may get back into," "hope to get into again", "Big time" and "fat chance."

It's really a struggle. When I was younger, I never had to worry about my weight. With age, nothing's the same. It doesn't help to be bombarded with media signals that I should want to look 20 years younger, and what I should buy to achieve that look.

I don't want to look 20 years younger. I just want to feel good about myself, be healthy and not be self conscious about what I look like.

Our society focuses on youth ... Me, well, I am focusing on a healthy mind, body and spirit. How about you?

Moving? Should You Buy or Rent?

                                                                   

By Jane Bryant Quinn, AARP Bulletin

To rent or buy again? That is the question retirees face when it comes to real estate and downsizing.
It's zero hour. You've decided to sell your house and move to something smaller or to another town. As a homeowner, you naturally think of buying again — a house or maybe a condo. But should you? Maybe you should rent instead.

Ownership is solidly entrenched among retirees. They weren't even shaken by the real estate collapse. From the peak of the housing bubble in 2006 to the present, the rate of homeownership for people 65 and up has held steady at about 80 percent, the Census Bureau reports. It runs to over 90 percent among married couples in which one person is 65 or older.

For those 55 to 64, however, it's another story. The portion who own the place where they live has dropped to 76 percent, compared with 81 percent in 2006. Some in this age group switched to renting because they couldn't manage a mortgage anymore. Others, however, rent by choice.


That leads to the question of how to dispose of the proceeds when you sell a house. You can use part or all of it to buy another house or condo, with or without a mortgage. That pot of money is now tied up. You could tap it at some point in the future, by taking a home equity loan or reverse mortgage, but that probably isn't your plan.

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