Empty Nest

The latest high-profile divorce is that of former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, who celebrated the end of his second term in office by announcing that he and U.S. Circuit Judge Marjorie Rendell, his wife of 40 years, are splitting up.

Philadelphia Magazine writer Lynne Gold-Bikin says,

You own a vacuum cleaner, so unlike your grandma, you don't have to throw open your windows to beat your rugs and let dust out of your house.

But why not spring clean anyway? "To get rid of stuff you don't need can be freeing," says Mason Turner, chief of psychiatry at Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco. "We just accrue way too much stuff."

Advertisers are listening to us again. But have they gotten the message?

Marketers, please don't stereotype us as either power couples or buffoons!

Nancy Shonka Padberg, CEO of Navigate Boomer Media, points out that Baby Boomers hold an astounding 77 percent of the U.S. wealth — no wonder Gen X and Gen Yers hate us.

We also spend 15 hours per week online — two hours longer than teenagers each week. She adds people aged 46 to 64 purchase: