In this online article from gobankingrates.com author Ciaran McEvoy presents a positive spin on being a senior citizen in this youth-oriented world.

The list is numbered with an easy-to-read paragraph for each positive reason to celebrate being a senior citizen.

The author begins with the easy ones we all know, joining the AARP and Medicare.

But keep reading and you get to more interesting educational benefits such as tuition waivers and auditing classes for free.

Some colleges have programs that permit senior citizens to audit classes. You’ll get to attend stimulating or interesting lectures, but you won’t have the burden of homework or graded assignments. If you feel that you have poetry in you, consider a creative writing class at your local university. If you always wanted to be on stage, audit drama and acting courses. If you wanted to learn all about U.S. history but didn’t know where to start, this is your chance.

Further down the list he talks about saving money at restaurants and hotels.  And did you know that some cities also discount public transportation?

 SEPTA, which serves Philadelphia, offers free rides to people age 65 or older. Boston, Los Angeles, New York and other major U.S. cities offer discounts to seniors who use public buses and trains. BART, which serves San Francisco, Oakland, California, and other Bay Area cities, offers seniors a 62.5% ride discount.

Travel savings on flights, cruises, and Amtrak are discussed as well as the availability of a lifetime senior pass to visit U.S. national parks, which has now gone from $10 to $80. (Talk about inflation!)

This article provides a good summary of most of the advantages we get from having survived into old age.

To read the entire article, click here.