The most common excuse I’ve heard someone give me for why they don’t buy healthy foods when they’re out doing their weekly grocery shopping, and by healthy I mean fresh organic produce, minimally processed organic foods, whole grains, etc., is that it costs too much; especially in a family with one or more children.  Now on the surface, with nothing else factored into the equation, that mindset would seem correct.  If all you’re basing the “cost” on is what is in your cart at the time of checkout then “it cost too much” would appear to be a plausible answer. If you’re a healthy shopper like myself then you’ve probably experienced this first hand; the person ahead of you in the checkout line has a cart full of this weeks “specials” consisting of highly processed foods (high in sugar, sodium, fat, chemicals…) and their bill comes out to roughly as much as your bill (or lower), and your cart is half full.  So without giving the question much more thought, this would appear to be all the evidence the unhealthy shopper needs to prove his or her point, that is if there weren’t other factors to consider.  So lets consider them, shall we?To say it costs too much to eat healthy organic foods has only one bit of truth to it, organic foods do indeed cost more at the time of purchase.  Beyond that, it couldn’t be further from the truth.  The other variable that must be considered is health, more precisely the amount of money put into healthcare every year by the average person or family.  In 2008 the average worker contributed over $3k into health coverage for a family of 4.  That three thousand dollars only gets you in the door, it doesn’t include the co pay needed to actually see the Dr., and with health insurance becoming more and more expensive for businesses and families alike, most are choosing plans with the lowest annual premiums resulting in higher co pays.  Now factor in all of the unnecessary prescription drugs too quickly and too often prescribed by most doctors, not to mention all of the over-the-counter drugs that most people turn to at the first sign of a cold, ache or pain, and that number easily triples.  According to a number of national surveys, health care costs are one of the leading factors of debt related issues; bankruptcy, home foreclosures, etc.  And let’s not forget the thousands of dollars the average senior citizen will need in savings to pay for basic medical coverage.When health is factored into the equation and the entire picture is examined in great detail, the higher initial cost of eating healthy is dwarfed in comparison to the hundreds of thousands of dollars a family will spend on health care in their lifetime.  What if there was a simple solution, like say eating healthy organic foods, which could spare you this financial misery.  What if you knew that the average American’s unhealthy diet consisting of prepackaged overly processed foods, high in refined sugars, sodium, and toxic chemicals, was a leading contributor to this country’s biggest health epidemics;  obesity, heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, and other chronic diseases.  If you knew all of this, would the idea of paying more for healthy foods at the grocery store make more sense; nutritionally and financially?  The next time you’re out doing your food shopping think healthy, it could save you thousands in the long run!

By Preparing well now you can prevent becoming a burden to yourself and your children when you reach your old age.

By Preparing well now you can prevent becoming a burden to yourself and your children when you reach your old age.

I always like to ask my clients, “Will your financial planner be willing to pay your long term care bills, will they have access to good quality Home Health Care Providers?” Many lawyers and advisors are now reluctant to recommend against Long Term Care Insurance for fear of law suits later on, from children, when hundreds of thousands of dollars were required to pay for their parents long term care bills. Planners who fail to recommend coverage are more times than not, unaware of the real RISK of needing care one day.
The senior has now become the GREATEST financial risk that Americans face today. The majority of them are unaware of it because let’s face it: No One wants to think about needing Long Term Care. It is going to happen to someone else!
Long term care bills are the biggest reason for financial failures among seniors today. Yet there are a lot of Financial Planners and Investment Advisors who will say that you don’t need Long Term Care Insurance. If you already have a lot of money, perhaps you don’t! The question is: Would it be a smart decision to have this coverage?
What we are seeing today are many Financial Planners split on the subject of LTC Insurance. You will hear some say that if you have any resources you should not be without it, that it is an integral part of financial planning, while others think if you have enough money you should self-insure. Who is right?
Every financial advisor I talk with would recommend long term care coverage if he knew in advance that his client would need several years of long term care.
Do the math. In a state where long term care bills are averaging $170 per day, and the average premium is $4000 a year for a couple, aged 60, and they live another 20 years, they have paid out $80,000 in premiums for the peace of mind that they will not go broke. Without the insurance, they could end up paying over $80,000 in less than two years for ONE OF THEM on the advice from a Financial Planner telling them that they DON’T NEED IT!
It must be concluded that Financial advisors who recommend against LTC Insurance figure you are not going to need care since they would recommend you obtain coverage if they knew you were going to have to spend several hundred thousand dollars. You should find out from the advisor what is the BASIS for their prediction? Also, be aware that Advisors are sales people. They are in the business of making you money. If you purchase Long Term Care Insurance, you have less money for them to manage!
The decision is yours. At this point in your life, are you more interested in making a few more thousand dollars a year or are you more interested in protecting what you have already earned from the most DEVASTATING financial risk that people face in America today? One of the biggest financial mistakes a person can make today is needing Long Term Care and having no coverage! Is this a mistake you want to take a chance on making? Seek out a LTC Insurance Specialist to help you make the best informed decision for you and your family.
Remember, your Financial Planner or Advisor is not going to pay your long term care bills. You will!

By Preparing well now you can prevent becoming a burden to yourself and your children when you reach your old age.

Hiring a caregiver to come into your home to care for a loved one can be a very scary prospect. The thought of leaving a vulnerable senior or disabled adult alone with a stranger can add extra stress to an already difficult situation. Selecting a person or agency to provide these services takes research and time. There are really two ways to bring in home health care services, hire a person you find on your own, or work with a professional agency.Professional Home Health Care service providers can basically be broken down into two different models, the registry model (Registry) and the employee based model (Agency). Both types can offer the services of home health aides (HHA’s) certified nurses aides (CNA’s), nurses (RN’s, LPN’s), companions and other services such as physical therapy (PT) and occupational therapy (OT) The question for many consumers, what is the difference and which type is right for them.Nurses registries have been around since the civil war. In this model, an agency does all of the background work, such as interviews, criminal background checks, reference checks and any other checks they feel necessary. Once a candidate has been approved, the registry will refer them to the person in need. The caregiver is considered an independent contractor by the agency and not supervised directly by the agency. This is also called the consumer directed model as the consumer is the person in charge.With the employee based model, the agency does a similar type of screening; however, instead of referring the caregiver to the consumer, the agency employs them.Each model has its’ pros and cons.Pros of the registry model include * Cost of the service is generally lower than agency model. * Caregivers usually earn more, which tend to attract a higher quality of caregiver. * Consumer is in total control. They decide what gets done, when it gets done and how it gets done. They decide if the caregiver stays on the job or needs to be replaced.Cons of the registry model include: * Person is not supervised by agency nurse. * Caregiver is not covered by WC insurance. * Family may be the employer and need to take out payroll taxes.Pros of the agency model include: * Caregivers are covered by workers comp and bonded by the agency. * Caregivers are supervised by agency nurse. * Agency is always the employer and deducts all appropriate taxes.Cons of the agency model include: * Cost tends to be higher. * Caregivers do not earn as much as those on the registry side. * Agency has control over when and where caregiver performs their duty. Agency can pull a caregiver if they need that person for a different case.You will find supporters for both sides. It is up to you to decide which type of business is right for you. There are several professional resources which can also be helpful when doing your research.To locate home health care services and read reviews about each business, go to www.caregrade.comTo learn more about nurses registries, go to www.privatecare.orgTo learn more about employee based agencies, go to www.nahc.org

By Preparing well now you can prevent becoming a burden to yourself and your children when you reach your old age.

An updated national web site, spanning America, will help entrepreneurs and established home care businesses sidestep two problems: unnecessary startup and overhead expense, and lack of ongoing agency support. The updated national site is www.qualitycompanionship.com, run by ComfortStay Assistance, Inc., a national leader in home care business consulting services.

The system works this way. When people visit www.qualitycompanionship.com, they click on the “Services” tab if they are an established business or the “Opportunity” tab if they are an aspiring entrepreneur. This takes them to the appropriate page where they will have the opportunity to review the services and support offered by ComfortStay Assistance. After full review of the available services they will click on “Contact Us” to fill out a form in order to be contacted by the company. If they so choose they are able to call ComfortStay Assistance direct at 1-866-305-8320 with any questions or to discuss their project with a consultant.

The home care business owners and entrepreneurs alike have the opportunity to download and review all company disclosures, contracts, licensing agreements, information packets, etc… directly from the website. This way they have the ability to be fully informed of ComfortStay Assistance’s available services and goals.

“Our new approach saves entrepreneurs and home care business owners time and money in several ways,” says Michael J. Gultz, President of ComfortStay Assistance. “First, it allows entrepreneurs the ability to start their own home care business without the unnecessary startup costs and overhead associated with franchise offerings, but that is just for starters. Second, our approach also helps established business clients to focus on specific projects and goals that are essential to their business’ ongoing success. All of our services include ongoing business coaching and support for the lifetime of our client’s businesses helping them to focus on better serving the elderly knowing we are here to help every step of the way.” For aspiring entrepreneurs who demonstrate a genuine interest in helping the elderly and are on a tight budget, there can be additional savings, Gultz points out. “We will work with these entrepreneurs who truly want to help the elderly to determine a realistic budget and work within that budget to accomplish their goals.”

Perhaps a more critical value of the system is the pre-screening of potential clients by ComfortStay Assistance — in light of current concerns of the elder community over poor client service and price gouging by some home care businesses. “We formed ComfortStay Assistance to ultimately serve the elder community and our business clients,” says Gultz. “We screen potential clients on their willingness and ability to properly serve the elder community with the quality care and companionship that is needed today. Only the soundest, best entrepreneurs and home care businesses who share our vision and goals are added to our client list.”

Gultz’s network now embraces home care businesses from across the United States, all of whom are making a positive difference in the everyday lives of the elderly.

By Preparing well now you can prevent becoming a burden to yourself and your children when you reach your old age.

Caregivers are expected to be strong and healthy, but what happens if the caregiver gets sick? As the operator of a home care agency, I could always tell when a caregiver who was calling on the phone to order service was at a breaking point. Their voices were very stressed and they were almost in a panic. Often, as they described their situation, you could hear the tears welling up inside of them. These were individuals who have taken on a tremendous load and were in need of support. Unfortunately, they waited too long and the stress of being a caregiver had already taken its toll, but it does not have to be that way.If you are the primary caregiver of older parents or an ailing spouse, you need to be very careful not to let the situation overwhelm you. While this sounds easier said than done, there are steps you can take to prevent burnout. Here are a few points that can help. 1. Look for help. Allow others to help and don’t feel that you have to be the one to do everything. There are numerous ways to get help for your loved one depending on your needs, location and financial situation. Here are a few: 1. Contact the Office on Aging and ask about respite programs. Usually, most counties have programs that will pay for a limited number of hours of home care services, free of charge. This program is designed to give you a break and allow you to get out of the house. 2. If you qualify for Medicaid, there may be programs available which would pay for either home care or adult day care services. 3. If the person has a serious illness, consider hiring hospice. You do not have to wait until the illness is at the end stages to get help. 4. Ask relatives or close friends to help out. 2. Get some exercise. Exercise can help you reduces stress, keep your body strong, strengthen your immune system and just make you feel good. Some of the best exercises are walking or biking. These are easy to do, gets your heart rate into the aerobic zone, burns calories and gives you a chance to clear your head. Some excellent mind/body exercises include yoga, tai chi and Qi gong. Make time to exercise and you will reap the rewards. 3. Eat well. Like exercise, eating a well balanced diet helps you feel good, helps avoid being sick and gives you the energy you need to be a caregiver. 4. Learn relaxation techniques. Deep breathing, meditation and some of the mind/body exercise mentioned above can be tremendously helpful. An easy breathing technique is to inhale through your nose four a count of four, filling your belly with air, not your chest. Hold your breath for a count of seven and then exhale through your mouth for a count of eight. Do a few repetitions at a time. This can really help calm the nerves when practiced regularly. 5. Get an adequate amount of sleep. The fastest way to get run down is never getting enough sleep. If you find you are caring for your loved one at night, try to hire a person for overnights if this is possible. If you have siblings, ask them to chip in financially if they are not able to share some of the actual hands on care.While it can be very difficult to do many of the suggestions listed above, you must understand that if you get run down and sick, the problem is greatly magnified. You must be firm in demanding time to care for yourself and most importantly, you must not feel guilty. You are doing a great and honorable thing by being a caregiver, but it must not completely take over your life.If you do not know where to turn, consider hiring a professional geriatric care manager. While they can be a bit costly, it is often money well spent as their years of experience are focused on helping seniors and their families when in need.Lastly, an excellent resource for finding senior related business is a website called CareGrade, found at www.caregrade.com. Here you will find a listing of local services and be able to read reviews written by professional geriatric care managers.

By Preparing well now you can prevent becoming a burden to yourself and your children when you reach your old age.

 As the number of baby boomers heading towards retirement begins to increase subsequently so will the need for long-term care. Long-term care provides services that act as an essential support system for many senior citizens who require assistance with daily living activities. While long-term care is most definitely a benefit to families who need assistance caring for the elderly, it can also pose as a severe financial burden as it is generally not covered by Medicare.

Long-term care includes of both medical and non medical services. Majority of long-term care involves assisting senior citizen with daily living activities. These daily living activities can include anything from using the restroom to shopping for groceries. The care provided in daily activities such as these are considered non skilled or “custodial” care and are not paid for by Medicare. According to a study conducted by Genworth Financial in 2006, long-term care costs over $70,000 a year on average. The similar study conducted by Genworth in 2007 showed little difference in pricing for a single bedroom in a nursing home. The average annual cost for a private room in a nursing home was $74,806. With the current cost of living accumulating as it is, the expenses of long-term care for elderly family members often places a financial burden on loved ones. Majority of individuals do not possess the means for funding this care and have limited options to explore, forcing them to take out loans and obtain debt in order to take care of the family member needing the long-term care.

A solution to this problem has emerged in recent years in the form of the life settlement market. For those unfamiliar with life settlements , a life settlement is the sale of an existing life insurance policy to a third party for an amount exceeding the cash surrender value offered by the life insurance company. Once this transaction is complete, the individual is able to spend the cash received any way they see fit. The institutional investor that purchased the policy will continue to pay the premiums until the death of the insured, at which time they will receive the death benefit from the policy. There are only two other options for disposing of a life insurance policy. The individual can either stop paying the premiums and let the policy lapse, in this case they would receive nothing; or, the individual can sell the policy back to the insurance company for the cash surrender value. Offers provided in life settlements typically exceed the cash surrender value by three to four times the monetary amount.

For those who require long-term care, but cannot afford the increasing expenses that entail, a life settlement is the perfect solution. An individual is able to sell his or her existing policy and use the money received through the life settlement transaction to purchase long-term care insurance. If the individual does not qualify for long-term care insurance, he or she is able to use the cash received to pay for their long-term care needs. A life settlement can lift the financial burden off the shoulders of a policyholder and their family.

There are numerous reasons an individual would consider the life settlement option. Maybe your insurance needs have changed, the premiums have simply become too costly, or maybe you have come across some unexpected expenses. Whatever the reason, a life settlement may serve as the best possible option for individuals considering selling a life insurance policy.

To learn more about the life settlement option visit

www.milestonesettlements.com.

By Preparing well now you can prevent becoming a burden to yourself and your children when you reach your old age.

Are you in need of some extra help around the house but do not have the financial resources for it, especially with the current economic recession? Be it babysitting, house cleaning, house sitting, tutoring for kids, or caring for seniors, there is one unique way on how to get help with these that is both affordable and life-enriching. Host and Care is a pioneering website that introduces a new way of forging equally benefiting bonds between various people with various needs. The website creates an online community that can connect those with certain needs with people who can provide for these needs. As a result, members benefit from the mutual exchange and create lasting relationships with one another.All over the world, household needs abound. Families need help taking care of kids or seniors, or perhaps need someone to watch the house or their pets while they travel. With the economic crisis affecting families from all over the world, along with several other problems such as unemployment, foreclosures, financial shortage, and the likes, it is hard to find help for such things even despite the availability of professional providers. Also, as an effect of tightening budgets, most parents often need to start earning for the household, but a lot of mothers are torn since hiring babysitters would cost them a lot and would offset the extra earnings they manage to get. But Host and Care has found a way to help households find answers to their needs without having to shell out a lot. The first benefit of being a host in Host and Care is that you get free services that meet your needs without the need to pay large amounts of money. Help and services can come in the form of free house sitting, free child care, free senior care, free pet care, and whatever else, all offered in exchange for free accommodation. Service providers can even provide tutorials for your kids or even language lessons, the most common of which are provided for ESL learners. Commonly, the service and care providers are students or new graduates who move to different cities to look for job opportunities. The cost of accommodation plus the challenges of unemployment and of finding a job can be a heavy burden for them, so they are often willing to trade a few hours’ work for free lodging. Some, however, may also be travellers who need affordable long-term homestay so they can travel around a single place for extended periods. As a potential host, if you need some help around the house and have extra space to spare for another occupant, Host and Care is the perfect conduit to make the connection.Aside from the obvious benefit of being able to save on some important needs in the household, hosts can also benefit a lot from the opportunity to extend help to others, which is an important thing especially in challenging times. Though such relationships usually begin with a business aspect, more often than not, host and provider are able to create a bond that enriches them both and provides a memorable experience. On top of that, the knowledge of being able to help others out who are in need is certainly one of the most enriching feelings one can have in life. With the goal of forging meaningful relationships that benefit all parties involved, Host and Care provides the perfect community for meeting people you can help and who can help you.

By Preparing well now you can prevent becoming a burden to yourself and your children when you reach your old age.

Seniors and their families throughout New Jersey and the Philadelphia area suburbs use home health care services to remain living independently in their homes. Home care services, such as live-in caregivers and hourly companions allow seniors to age in place for as long as possible. There are basically two different models of home care, the registry (or consumer directed) model and the employee based (or agency directed). Both types can offer a variety of services to consumers, including nurses, home health aides, physical and occupational therapists, and companions. Each model has its pros and cons.

For most people, their first introduction to home care is through a referral by their physician, a discharge planner, social worker or geriatric care manager at discharge from a hospital stay or after finishing rehabilitation at a sub-acute center or rehab facility. People generally are not aware of the difference between consumer directed care and agency directed care.

The consumer directed care model is fashioned after the nurse registries that have been around since the civil war. In this model, an agency completes background checks on the candidate, such as criminal background checks, reference checks, interviews, social security checks and any other checks the agency feels necessary. Once the candidate is approved the agency will then refer them to the client in need of service. In this situation, the consumer is in charge, thus the term consumer directed model. They have the power and control to tell the caregiver what, when and where they want their services performed. They also decide how much they are willing to pay for services. Since caregivers set their own rates and families dictate what they are willing to pay, one of the registries main jobs is to find a good match between the two. Because the registry takes a much smaller fee than an agency, it is usually possible to make both the consumer and caregiver happy financially, thus creating a mutually happy relationship

The other model of home care is the agency directed care model. The agency directed model evolved out of the government funded programs that pay agencies to be the provider of services. With the agency directed model, the agency recruits, hires, trains, supervises, disciplines and sets the rate it charges patients and the wages it pays the caregivers. The agency would also develop the plan of care for the patient and selects the caregiver(s) to provide the care.

There are advantages and disadvantages to both models of home care. You need to decide which type of business is right for you or your loved one. Some of the advantages of the registry model are:

Some of the disadvantages of the registry model are:

Some of the advantages of the agency model include:

Some of the disadvantages of the agency model include:

There are supporters to both the agency and registry models of home care. Each person seeking care for themselves or a loved one needs to decide which model they are most comfortable with and which meets their needs best.

By Preparing well now you can prevent becoming a burden to yourself and your children when you reach your old age.

Now we all know that the businesses that caused this problem are not taking responsibility for what they in fact did wrong. Most of the companies that are responsible for the collapse of our economy are passing the so called buck every other reason or situation by their own.

The facts are cleared the number one reason we are where we are in this country is Greed without a doubt! With all of the risky investments and decisions they made over the last few years, taking chances with money like they were in a casino and deciding like it was a choice of Red or Black. This situation may or may not have been avoidable is the issue that will most likely be debated for years to come

But the fact remains we are here and the arguing and debate continues with very few glimmers of hope for the senior who has seen their entire retirement investments disappear and they have real fears.

So what to do to relieve the some fears?

The following list is what has been gathered from leading financial experts on how to overcome some of the issues that are keeping you up at night or making you ill. The first thing to remember is the world is not coming to an end. This financial situation that the country is going to turn around when is another story.

So you need to take matters into your own hands and make a plan!

Now how to act and make a plan

Now take out that paper and pencil and make lines down the paper

First Colum is for Debt

Second Colum for Income

Third is for Totals

The problem most people have is that they never really see if on paper directly in front of them with a total monthly figure. Remember do not work with annual; break each and every payment down to monthly. This is one of the most important parts of setting up a plan.

Now that you have worked out the totals of all income and expenses to monthly payments, you now will know where you are with all positives and or negatives.

I know this is in most cases not going to be pretty, but it has to be done to come up with a place to go from here.

Now you have to look for other places to get money.

Yes the equity in your home is one place that can offer the most money of anything you have ever own in your life. Now if you could not only get the equity out of your home, but eliminate your largest expenditure on your list if you have a mortgage payment would this not eliminate the stress?

You may not have thought about this or you seen it in an ad. But it is the best solution on the planet for eliminating debt and increase money in the bank.

The Reverse Mortgage is the solution; now I know if you are like most seniors you are right about now thinking I don’t want to use my home. Well let’s look at it the way you should be looking at it now.

When you purchased your home in most peoples mind it was a place to raise your family and put a roof over your head. Is this not true?

The fact is that when you were going to buy the home the first thing that your agent or mortgage person said to you is; how much of a down payment you are going to make.

The real question should have been stated this way! How much of an investment do you want to make on this future investment. Think about this; you purchase a home with money down and in most cases you received a mortgage using OBM (other people’s money) which is the way that all investors try to purchase anything that is an investment.

Then you made payments ever month for maybe 30 years paying them, most of their return on their investment in the first 15 years then paying down the principle.

The other fact that you need to know when you paid off your mortgage you paid the lender in most cases three times what they gave you over the 30 years.

Now how to look at a Reverse Mortgage

Remember this; if you have a mortgage on your home and you are not able to make the payments now or in the future you may run the risk of loosing your home. Not with a Reverse Mortgage. So make your list and put your plan into action and if you have a short fall in on your sheet consider a Reverse Mortgage as the most important part of your financial plan. It is now time to let your home pay you back for all of your hard work over the years and enjoy the best part of your life. Without all of the stress of today’s troubled economy!

By Preparing well now you can prevent becoming a burden to yourself and your children when you reach your old age.