Rita, I am 74 and got Lifetiime in 1970. It was sort of easier then but really awful too now that I look back. There are so many more choices available to us today. And WW has really studied nutrition and made it possible for this way of eating to be sustainable. I agree, meetings are expensive and a half hour, especially in a large meeting is not a lot of time. That said, I have given WW a priority in my small budget. I have lost 45 lbs. now and my incentive is that with less than 10 lbs. to go I will be at goal and no longer have to pay as long as I stay within 2 lbs. of goal. The range for goal is quite broad so you can choose the high end to make it easier to reach goal and free meetings and then, just lose to where you want to be. There's lots of help online and at meetings and sometimes we all find it confusing but in a short time it will make sense. If you are on Facebook then you certainly have the tech skills to use the app which has truly been a life saver for me. Just give it a try. I can send you a link for a free month if you want to message me your email. You must use that link to get the free month though. You can always drop out after you get the plan clear in your head but I'll bet you won't want to. Hope this helps.