So, here having hit the half a century mark I find myself innundated with offers to join the AARP.
Are there any members here? And what are the pros and cons for signing my life away?
Not old enough to join, but my dad was fairly upset when they came out with a political position (including lobbying and financial support of candidates that supported such) on 2nd amendment issues. My dad ended up dropping his AARP membership and sending the dues to NRA-ILA instead.
This was a number of years ago, and they may have since backed off on that. OR you may think it was a fine idea anyway. But you might look into exactly what they lobby for before supporting them with your dollars and ability to fog a mirror.
I was a member for a couple of years. They inundated my mailbox w/ all kinds of crap, plus I wasn’t too happy w/ their political agenda, so I quit.
I see your location. About 45 years ago I lived on Centerville Rd., just west of Rt. 2. I probably wouldn’t recognize the place today. It was pretty much open land back then.
If you join when eligible at age 50 they will inundate you with several periodicals full of ads and with offers to buy their life insurance-forever. You can also go with their car and home insurance with the Hahtfud and save a couple of dollars on the premiums, but only a couple. They are currently trying to explain the shrub’s drug prescription fiasco. Not worth the hassle.
Tres cool! That’s where I live now!
I never joined because of their lobbying. My dad was a member until they took a political position he didn’t support. It wasn’t that they had taken the position that irked him, but the fact that they did not poll their membership first. They claim to speak for a huge number of seniors, and their large membership probably does carry some weight. But when they decide what to lobby for with no concern for the people they represent, well, as I wrote them in answer to a request for me to join, “who do you people think you are…Congress?”
I scan the AARP magazines and learn something new in every issue. They cover health, money, travel and scams and other topics of general interest to those of us who can’t remember where we put our reading glasses. They cover politics too, and they lobby rather well from what I read.
Am I interested in every topic in the magazines–no.
Do they lobby as I would like all the time–no, but neither does my Senator.
Do you like every chick in Playboy? Probably not.
On the whole, I get my 12 bucks worth and then some–if only on the discounts my membership card brings.
I agree with most if not all of their political stances but joining would require me to join the AARP, ferchrissakes!
I joined several years ago, because they had tv commercials saying you can get health insurance through them, and the implication was that you can get insured regardless of your health status. Of course after you join, you discover that you’re not eligible for their insurance if you have less than near-perfect health.
I kept the membership anyway, because you get discounts that add up to more than the annual dues.