'Senior' discounts

[Gardenarian]

FLoat On got me started looking for Senior discounts - some start as young as 50 years old.
Here is one list I found. I don't use many of the things on it, but it's a start: Senior Discounts: 100+ Stores (http://www.bradsdeals.com/blog/senior-discounts/)
The best one on the list for me is Salvation Army - up to 50% off (55+)
Anyone have some good senior discount to share?

[frugal-one]

That is a great list. In my area many of the grocery stores, card shops, St Vincent De Paul thrift stores and restaurants offer senior discounts too.

[Azure]

Thanks for the list. I'm going to save that, for sure!

[new2oregon]

Thanks for the list. I'm sorry I don't have anything else to add to it.

[happystuff]

Thanks for the list. There are one or two I may be able to take advantage of at some point.

[Float On]

Thanks for finding that. I think there was a discussion a couple years ago, but do people find AARP membership worth it?

[Tammy]

I'm almost a senior by some definitions, and I'm in my highest earning season in my career. It would feel wrong to me to take a discount when i can easily afford things. Discounts should be based on income and net worth, not age. Or base it on age, in tat young parents get it cause they are paying for kids.

[SteveinMN]

do people find AARP membership worth it?
DW is a member. I think it pretty much comes down to 1) if you really value their mission as a lobbying organization; and 2) how much money you spend on goods and services. It's not that expensive to join and taking advantage of just a few key discounts will save the annual fee. But I would review their member benefits with an eye to seeing just how many of their discounts are on things you actually would buy.

[larknm]

I belonged to AARP and got nothing out of it, so stopped. I hear the Medicare supplemental ins. is good, but wouldn't use it, so far, because it's with United Health Care, which is really crooked--we had it through DH's job and don't like them.

[Lainey]

I'm almost a senior by some definitions, and I'm in my highest earning season in my career. It would feel wrong to me to take a discount when i can easily afford things. Discounts should be based on income and net worth, not age. Or base it on age, in tat young parents get it cause they are paying for kids.

It's funny, Tammy, I feel the same. I'm age 55+, earning my highest salary ever, so I'd rather they gave a discount on a restaurant meal or other merchandise to those who could really use it. When I was much younger, divorced and without child support, it would have meant a huge difference to our lower middle-class/one income household to have gotten 10% off here and there.

[Gardenarian]

A lot of the senior discounts are restaurants, and they are really not losing anything by giving the discount. They are hoping to tempt people in who would otherwise not eat there at all, and to fill tables at slow times (older people tend to eat dinner earlier.) So I would feel no guilt at all about using the discounts. The same thing with movie theaters - most cinemas are less than half full most of the time.

Grocery and other stores offer discounts hoping that people will become loyal customers.

These are all people trying to make money; they know what they are doing and they are not doing it out of the goodness of their hearts.
I'm not a cynic, but realistically, 10% off retail is a pittance.

[Tammy]

It's not guilt I feel ... its more disgust at the entitlements given to the people who are often at the highest earning levels due to seniority. It's socially unjust.

[ApatheticNoMore]

For a few lucky people seniority may mean being at your highest earning levels but for at least as many it just means age discrimination. I mean realistically there are only so many management positions (and they don't really hire older people for management either but many are there because they've been with the company for a really long time - they got in when they were younger iow). However you can over time accumulate some other assets so older people do tend to have higher net worth.

[sweetana3]

Give me a break. Do you want people to go around with a "poor and need a discount" sign or carry a card? I dont ask but accept if given due to my grey hair. My parents really needed those discounts cause they were mostly living on SS and costs kept going up.

It is after all just an advertising ploy much like a directed sale as Gardenarian points out.

[Tammy]

Sorry for an offense. Not intended.