Too young for AARP?
Posted on July 18th, 2008 – 11:05 AMBy Kara McGuire
If you’re too young for AARP, then try Qvisory
According to an e-mail from their PR guy:
Qvisory is an online community for young people [KM: That’s 18 to 34 acc. to them] that’s a brainchild of Andy Stern from the SEIU [KM: That’s a labor union] . It’s built on the same model as AARP, but for young people; it will help them with work, health and money issues they face with services like health insurance and financial counseling, and will advocate for their interests in DC as well.
It also acts as a social network where you can make a pact with other users to make a change– such as pay off credit card debt, move money into index funds, or start paying off grad school loans.
As for the age business, where are the 34 to 49 year olds to go? Where’s the advocacy for them? That demographic is so often lost in the talk about young people and old people. I guess I can join for two years.
A Qvisory membership costs $36 per year versus AARP’s $39.95 for five years. But with Qvisory, you get free phone financial counseling and use of handy tools like an e-safe deposit box.
2 Responses to "Too young for AARP?"
I have always been frustrated by the clout the AARP holds. As a Gen X-er, I feel that the Baby Boomers have selfishly mortgaged our country’s future, passing the bill onto Gen X, and Gen Y and beyond. The AARP constantly fights any move towards a privitization of Social Security, scaring its followers into thinking they will lose their benefits. An organization representing the interests of anyone not of AARP age is interesting, though I wonder if a profit is what’s really motivating them.
I do also fault my generation for not being as active politically. I don’t care what your views are, just VOTE! We need to get the interests of ALL Americans represented in Washington, not just the silver-haired early-bird special eating senior citizens who get their monthly Social Security checks and were lucky enough to work in an era of pensions. Those of us who work hard to save in 401k’s & IRA’s, who may never see a dime from Social Security, and who will be paying off the massive debts this country owns deserve to be represented. I say it again, get out there and VOTE and let your representatives know that you vote!
I run Qvisory and wanted to thank you for your mention. We just released a study that may be of interest to your readers called Young People: Living on the Edge. http://qvisory.org/posts/living-on-the-edge-study
People can also take our poll and see how their answers compare to the survey. http://qvisory.org/quizzes/3
In response to Chuck’s comment, our survey showed that only 32% of young people think their interests are represented in Washington and of that 32% only 6% thought the interests of young people were well-represented.
I think there is a great deal of truth to what Chuck has written: young adults in this country are inheriting a very different world than the one their parents and grandparents inherited.
At Qvisory we believe it is absolutely critical that young people get out and vote and then when the dust clears after November 4 that we roll up our sleeves and get to work cleaning up the mess that this country is in, making sure that the concerns of young adults are heard.
As for the 34-49 y-o set, we certainly will not discourage anyone from joining Qvisory or benefiting from our tools and services if they find them helpful. We know that the needs of 18-34 y-o’s, who are just getting started financially and professionally are different and therefore have chosen to focus our efforts helping them. But everyone is welcome and we value the input of anyone who wants to join our community and help us get things back on track.
Thanks again very much for your mention.
Eileen Quigley, Executive Director, Qvisory
