Tanya Sam’s Printed Romper in Greece

Real Housewives of Atlanta Season 12 Episode 18 Fashion

Tanya Sam’s printed romper in Greece was bold and bright, a perfect fit for this fashionable crew. In this scene, Tanya, her romper and the rest of her cast mates participated in the Greek tradition of breaking plates, which seem super fun and therapeutic. And despite the fact that I always thought this was just a Real Housewives tradition, I can still certainly appreciate it’s actual origin just as much as I appreciate Tanya’s romper.

The Realest Housewife,

Big Blonde Hair

Click Here to See her Alexis Romper

Originally posted at: Tanya Sam’s Printed Romper

Talking to my fellow baby boomers, I’m convinced that many of us don’t realize just how many years are ahead of us – or how important healthy aging really is.

Even if we understand, “in theory,” that we have at least 20-30 more years to live, we may not have fully internalized this fact. As a result, when it comes to bad habits, like smoking or drinking too much alcohol, many of us take the position that “the damage has been done, so why change now?”

The truth is this – life is looong. Making positive changes in your life today can make the difference between living a healthy active life well into your 80s or 90s on the one hand or watching your body and mind deteriorate on the other.

Here are 4 life-destroying habits that it is definitely worth kicking after 60.

Say Goodbye to Smoking

Ok, no surprises here. You already know the negative effects that smoking has on your body. What you may not be aware is that quitting smoking after 60 can add years to your life. In addition, according to the National Institute on Aging, giving up the habit in your later years can significantly reduce your risk of cancer, stroke and lung disease. Don’t wait. Get help to quit smoking and get ready for a healthier life after 60.

Drop the Excessive Drinking

Almost everyone enjoys the occasional glass or wine or beer. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with this. In fact, several studies show that drinking red wine, in moderation, can help to keep your heart healthy.

If you are having more than a portion of alcohol a day, you may be setting yourself up for problems down the road.

Most people think of alcoholism as being a young person’s problem. We like to think of “binge drinking” as something that occurs on college campuses. In truth, there are plenty of reasons that older adults need to be extra careful when it comes to consuming alcohol.

For starters, many of us have left the workforce and have more freedom to indulge ourselves. In addition, many people who experience loneliness or social isolation in their later years turn to alcohol to dull the pain.

If you think that you might be drinking too much alcohol, please take steps to reduce your consumption. Your body and brain will thank you.

Stop Sitting

It might seem strange to put “sitting” in the same list as “smoking,” and “drinking,” but, recent research has shown that it can be just as dangerous. According to the Mayo Clinic, too much sitting can significantly increase your risk of dying from cardiovascular disease and cancer.

There are plenty of ways to kick your sitting habit, but, my favorite is one of the simplest. I set an alarm on my phone to go off every hour. When the alarm goes off, I get up, swing my arms around for a minute and take a quick walk around the house. You will be amazed how your body feels with this simple lifestyle change.

Stop Hiding

Loneliness is a major issue for baby boomers and it is only going to get worse in the coming decades. In fact, loneliness can be as damaging to your health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

As I’ve written about before, loneliness is a complex issue. It can’t be fixed by telling people to “get out there and make friends.” At the same time, while loneliness can’t be solved by pushing people to be more social, it is also our own responsibility to build active and fulfilling social lives.

We can explore our passions, get a pet, build our self-esteem and get in great shape. As we develop ourselves, we will have more energy to face the world on our own terms – and this is the best way to beat loneliness.

Life after 60 can be whatever we want it to be. Now is the time to invest in ourselves and kick our bad habits.

Let’s support each other. Let’s get in the best shape of our lives. Let’s respect and honor our bodies and prepare for decades of healthy, active life.

What other bad habits do you think we should focus on breaking after 60? What positive step are you going to take this year to improve your health and mindset? Please join the discussion and “like” and share this article to keep the conversation going!

Tarte’s Shape Tape Contour Concealer is so popular, it makes sense the brand would want to expand on the franchise. A few months ago, the Glow Wand was released and now, Tarte Shape Tape Waterproof Body Makeup just might be your new favorite. We haven’t gotten a chance to try the new body product yet but so far, it looks really legit. Although we might not all be out and about right now, the body perfector comes just in time for summer temperatures and, ahem, smaller clothes to come.

First, it’s important to note that there’s nothing wrong with stretch marks, age spots or varicose veins. We’re not supposed to have Instagram-filtered legs IRL. But beauty is all about choice and there might be an occasion you want to blur out any skin discoloration on your body. Tarte’s Body Makeup is a vegan, full-coverage formula that’s meant to look and feel just like skin. Afraid you’ll sit down by the pool and leave some leg foundation behind? Tarte promises no transferring onto clothes. (The directions just say you wait a few minutes before getting dressed.) You also get a reusable application mitt for streak-free application.

Image: QVC.

There are eight inclusive shades available: Fair, Light, Medium, Medium-Tan, Tan, Tan-Deep, Rich and Deep. It seems Medium-Tan and Rich are popular hues because they’re both waitlisted already.

Image: QVC.

The body makeup formula contains Passiflora (maracuja oil), edulis seed oil, glycerin, and vitamin E for soft-feeling skin. To remove it, you just wash with soap and water.

Image: Tarte.

Tarte Shape Tape Waterproof Body Makeup is launching on QVC first, which works out well for all of us because the company is including the mitt for free. We have concealer for our face so why not our body, too?

Our mission at STYLECASTER is to bring style to the people, and we only feature products we think you’ll love as much as we do. Please note that if you purchase something by clicking on a link within this story, we may receive a small commission of the sale and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

Can you work and collect Social Security? The simple answer is yes. The more complicated answer is that you may not want to.

There are two reasons to wait to apply for benefits if you plan to continue to work – penalties and taxes.

Your age and how much you expect to earn will help you decide whether working, while collecting Social Security, makes sense.

What Is Your Full Retirement Age and Why is it Important?

If you have not reached your Full Retirement Age (FRA), you are subject to the earnings test. This means there is a limit to how much you can earn without a penalty.

Your FRA is the age that the Social Security Administration deems you eligible for your full Social Security benefit. It is the center point for determining the amount of your monthly payment.

If you begin collecting benefits before your FRA, your payment amount will be reduced. If you apply after FRA, your payment will be higher.

The Full Retirement Age used to be 65 for everyone, but now it depends on the year you were born.

If you were born between 1943 and 1954 your Full Retirement Age is 66. It increases as follows:

1955     66 and 2 months

1956     66 and 4 months

1957     66 and 6 months

1958     66 and 8 months

1959     66 and 10 months

1960+   67

If you begin collecting benefits before your FRA, there is an earnings limit of $15,720. You can work, but anything over that amount is subject to a penalty. You will be required to pay $1 for every $2 you earn. That is half of anything you make over the $15,720 limit.

For example, if you bring in $30,720 in a given year, that’s $15,000 over the limit. The penalty will be $1 for every $2 you earn or $7,500. The average monthly Social Security payment is $1,300. It would take nearly six months of payments to satisfy that amount.

This money is not immediately taken out of your paycheck. However, once reported, you will be expected to pay the penalty in full or your entire monthly Social Security payment will be withheld until the fine is fully paid.

You are supposed to report anticipated income to the Social Security Administration so that they can withhold penalty amounts from your Social Security payments as they are acquired. However, should you lose your job or decide to quit, it is difficult to get payments reinstated quickly. So, plan ahead, where possible.

Stopping and starting payments can be confusing for both you and the Social Security Administration. This is where many mistakes occur and, unfortunately, it may be difficult to get them straightened out.

Every year, your income is reported to the Social Security Administration by the IRS. That said, it may be several months before the Social Security Administration notifies you of the overpayment and asks for it to be paid back.

This is something you definitely need to plan for. The amount due may be significant and, if you cannot pay it, several months of your benefit may be withheld. If you continue to earn more than the limit, your payments may be suspended for years.

The Year of Your Full Retirement Age

In the year of your FRA, the earnings limit is higher and the penalty is lower than previous years. From the first of the year until the month you reach your FRA, the limit is $41,880. If you exceed this amount, you will incur a penalty of $1 for every $3 you earn.

Once you reach the month of your FRA, there is no limit to how much you can earn. There is no longer an earnings test or penalty. You can keep all the funds you make from this point forward.

You will be reimbursed for payments missed because of the earnings limit. Once you reach FRA, your benefits will be recalculated to include the months your payments were suspended. In addition, your monthly payment amount will be increased accordingly. But it is paid in small increments and may take 15 years to recoup the missed funds.

What About Taxes?

The U.S. Government considers Social Security benefits income. As a result, Social Security benefits may be taxed.

If your combined income – adjusted gross income, tax exempt interest income and half of your Social Security benefit – is over $25,000 for an individual and $34,000 for a couple, up to 85% of your benefit may be subject to Federal tax. Social Security Administration provides a benefit planner to help you determine if you need to pay tax on your payment.

In addition to federal tax, 13 states tax Social Security benefits – Colorado, Connecticut, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont and West Virginia. Each state has its own tax rate. This may be a factor when deciding where to live later in life.

At the end of the day, you can definitely work while collecting Social Security benefits. That said, you should consider all of the factors and talk with a tax professional before making a final decision.

Do you plan on working in retirement? Did you realize that Social Security benefits may be taxable? Please join the conversation.

Disclaimer: Everyone’s financial situation is unique, so, please check with your financial professional before making any changes to your tax, retirement or investment strategies. None of the information in this article should be considered financial advice.

My neighbor across the street lost her husband about a year ago. The huge house she now inhabits is an awful lot of work, as is the yard. The other morning after a seven-inch snowfall, our mutual neighbor was clearing her driveway, as he usually does, as I was digging out my own.

Her kids have helped with yard sales and company, but her place is Just. Too. Big. My neighbor to the north of five years ago, Marge, sold out and moved after her husband died. It happens.

I am facing much the same decision myself, albeit for different reasons. While I love my precious home of some 13 years – the longest I have ever lived in one place – I’m getting ready to sell. A smaller mountain town is in my immediate future.

When Memories Are Too Much

For 10 of those 13 years, I was involved with a man in a relationship which, putting it gently, caused me serious pain. This past year he moved in. That was a mistake. Good intentions aside, it simply didn’t work out.

Now this house, which radiates with a thousand memories, acts like an echo chamber in all the wrong ways. Just like both of my female neighbors, the house is no longer a sacred space. As much as I’ve put into the decorations, gardens, the hard work to make it my home, it doesn’t feed my soul any more.

But that’s not all.

When Is It Time to Move?

The loss of your primary relationship isn’t the only reason, although a big house and all its attendant responsibilities are certainly part of it. The other piece is when you have reached a point in your life when living somewhere new might be the kind of jump-start to reinvigorate your life.

Whether that’s setting up shop abroad in a much cheaper place to live or simply moving to a smaller city or town for a better quality of life, a move might be just what the doctor ordered.

Is It Worth It?

You might ask whether all the work a move entails is always worth it. That depends. On one hand, if we’ve been living in a place for decades, as I have in Denver since 1971, my web of connections, caregivers, and friends is both broad and deep.

I’ll be leaving the relative safety of knowing my way very well around town and all the pleasures that come with rich familiarity in my community.

On the other, that very familiarity has made me a bit stale. Combined with the massive influx of people to my state (more than five million since I moved here), Denver, and its lovely mountains, has irretrievably changed.

I can no longer safely ride a horse without being nearly run into by mountain bikers, cyclists, and others who are angry at me for using a trail that I’ve used for years. The mountains are overrun, to say nothing of the traffic.

It’s time. At least for me. It’s a quality of life issue.

I love smaller cities, the intimacy of those places. Others may prefer the sophistication of larger cities and the convenience of facilities and health care. I prefer acreage and trees around me but close enough to an airport to head out to the rest of the world.

Wherever You Go, There You Are

Part of the decision is whether you and I are running from, or running to, someplace new. And, if we are considering this, what expectations are we carrying?

Wherever we go, there we are. A new location isn’t going to make me happier. That only comes with the hard work I’m willing to invest in making new friends, getting involved in my community, and being available. What I love about the idea of shifting to a new place is all the hard work involved.

I have harbored dreams of a mountain home for decades. Selling my home in Denver allows me to realize that dream. I have to forfeit a lot to have it, but given that I’m 66, I don’t have a lot of time left to me to fully realize that dream while I’m hale enough to enjoy it.

The sale of my house will afford me much-needed extra cash. I can buy a nice home and land outright. Those options are, in part, driving my decision. That, and I love the adventure of making myself vulnerable in new worlds.

When I’m too comfortable, as I am now, I stop growing. A big move pushes me to expand.

The Questions to Ask Before You Decide

If you’re thinking about pulling up stakes and moving, let’s be clear it’s for the right reasons. Let’s ask:

• Do I think a new place will make me happier?
• Do I expect to leave my troubles or hurt behind me?
• Will moving to a new place offer me a different kind of life, one that I want?
• Will a shift provide me with options I don’t currently have?
• Am I willing to put the work into making this new place a real home?
• What are my expectations, and are they reasonable?

Moving is both a matter of the heart and the pocketbook.

For my part, the moment I knew it was time for me to leave was when I was speaking with my best friend’s husband. They’re thinking of moving too but are leaning towards staying. As I listened, I realized that if I stayed it would be for fear-based reasons.

That’s when I called the realtor. She’s coming tomorrow at 2 pm. I’ve already started packing.

I can’t wait.

What would make you consider moving late in life? Have you made the decision already? If you have moved, what worked and what didn’t? What advice do you have for those considering a big move later in life? Please share your experience with those of us who can make use of it.