Plan at least 6 months ahead! Yes, the backlog is long so don't book your trip unless your passport is good for at least 6 months. Check the expiration date and renew early.
July 15, 2021
Need a passport or need to renew?
AAA rating of the United States government bonds at risk due to politics
"Fitch Ratings, a credit rating company, is considering downgrading the AAA rating of the United States government bonds. The problem is not the economy. In fact, the Fitch Ratings report praises the economy, saying it “has recovered much more rapidly than expected, helped by policy stimulus and the roll-out of the vaccination program, which has allowed economic reopening…. [T]he scale and speed of the policy response [is] a positive reflection on the macroeconomic policy framework. Real economic output has overtaken its pre-pandemic level and is on track to exceed pre-pandemic projections....”
"Although the report worries about the growing debt, we also learned yesterday that the deficit for June dropped a whopping 80% from the deficit a year ago, as tax receipts recover along with the economy. Year-to-date, the annual deficit is down 18% from last year."
"The problem, the report says, is politics. And it is specific." “The failure of the former president to concede the election and the events surrounding the certification of the results of the presidential election in Congress in January, have no recent parallels in other very highly rated sovereigns. The redrafting of election laws in some states could weaken the political system, increasing divergence between votes cast and party representation. These developments underline an ongoing risk of lack of bipartisanship and difficulty in formulating policy and passing laws in Congress.”
Thanks to Boston College historian Heather Cox Richardson for this blog post.
July 8, 2021
Hospitals Often Bill Uninsured the Highest Prices
Going without health insurance is NOT an option!
Insurers negotiate lower rates for same treatment, new data show, with the uninsured charging up to three times as much as patients with insurance. No wonder we have the highest bankruptcy rates in the world. My research at Utah State University on bankruptcy in Utah and that of Levi Pace at the University of Utah confirmed the role of medical debt in personal bankruptcy. Other researchers around the country reported significant decreases in consumer bankruptcy filings once the Affordable Care Act was enacted.
Writing for July 7, 2021 The Wall Street Journal, Melanie Evans, Anna Wilde Mathews and Tom McGinty provide details on a practice of multi-tiered pricing by hospitals. Those who can least afford the care are charged the most, while insured patients pay far less, depending on their specific insurance. This practice of charging wildly different rates based on insured status is nothing new.
"Hospitals typically charge different customers different prices for the exact same service, with big discounts for some but not others. Those rates—and wide pricing differences—were confidential until Jan. 1, when a new federal rule required hospitals to make prices public. The newly public prices allow
for the first time a comparison of what deep-pocketed insurers pay hospitals versus rates that hospitals set for patients who pay cash. Time and time again, the Journal’s analysis revealed, cash payers are charged among the highest prices." You can't afford to be uninsured!
"Hospitals generally offer financial aid, but policies vary widely and can be poorly promoted, leaving many uninsured, who are often also low income, to struggle with unmanageable bills."
It may take the uninsured hiring a lawyer or professional patient advocate to negotiate an affordable repayment plan.
Hospitals within the same county charge wildly different rates for the same procedures. While that suggests shopping around, ending up in the emergency room with a heart attack or stroke doesn't allow such prudence.
Just one more reason why we need universal, single-payer health insurance like the rest of the industrialized world.
June 29, 2021
Understanding the different parts of Medicare
Three Key Medicare Decisions
"While not an overly complicated benefit, initially signing up for
Medicare can be an overwhelming and anxiety-inducing process" according to John S. Traynor | Jun 16, 2021 quoting from his article: https://www.wealthmanagement.com/retirement-planning/three-key-medicare-decisions
- Part A (hospital coverage) covers things like inpatient hospital stays, some home health care, skilled nursing facility care and hospice; requires no out-of-pocket annual premiums; but has both annual deductibles and copays.
- Part B (medical coverage) covers things like doctor visits, outpatient services, X-rays and lab tests, as well as preventive screenings; carries both annual deductibles and copays; and requires monthly premium payments.
- Part C (Medicare Advantage) is a private all-in-one alternative to Medicare that covers the services associated with Parts A and B (and usually Part D). On the plus side, these bundled plans tend to be more affordable and may offer broader coverage (for example, vision, hearing and dental. Providers must be Medicare-approved. But the plans typically come with greater restrictions, and most plans act as HMOs and require plan participants to go to their network of doctors and health care providers.
- Part D (prescription drug coverage) is an optional add-on prescription drug coverage that requires monthly premiums, annual deductibles and copays. Your client will need to enroll in an approved plan and be covered under both Medicare Parts A and B (or Part C).
- Medigap is offered by private insurers to help fill any coverage gaps in Part A and Part B such as copayments, coinsurance, deductibles and potentially foreign travel health emergencies. There are 10 different types of Medigap plans—some cover more out-of-pocket costs than others.
Free Legal Forms Online
While geared toward college students, the following online forms can be helpful at all stages of adult life. Free high-quality legal templates and information are provided online by FormsPal.com
Special thanks to Daphne Moore!
Just say no to Extended Warranties for Cars
Extended Warranties for Cars Are ‘Fraught With Peril for Consumers’
"While reputable options exist, the robocalls are almost certainly scams, an industry group warns. And for consumers who feel they have been ripped off, there is no guarantee anyone will help" writes
What's the Deal with Social Security for Women?
What's the Deal with Social Security for Women? is a new book by Marcia Mantell.
The following is quoted from: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/whats-the-deal-with-social-security-for-women-marcia-mantell/1133342938
"As a woman nearing retirement, you may be delightfully surprised to get your own Social Security check. But you probably have questions. Questions such as:
- How much money will I actually get from Social Security?
- How soon can I retire and start collecting my Social Security?
- What are my options for claiming?
- Do I really get benefits on my spouse or ex-spouse?
Drawing on the author's expertise and sharing the personal stories of real women, What’s The Deal With Social Security for Women
opens the door on how Social Security works regardless of your life's
journey. It's for you if you’re married, divorced, widowed, or single
and will take some of the mystery out of this complex yet critical
income source. Read this book discover how important it is to:
- Make smart decisions about when to claim Social Security
- Receive more monthly income by claiming after age 62
- Learn the facts about Social Security's future
- Balance time and money when deciding when to retire"
Who is more susceptible to financial scams: Seniors or young adults?
We all know that financial scams target seniors and that they are the most susceptible to the bait. Right? think again...
"Stop it with the ageism and delusions of invincibility. Young adults often don’t recognize the bad checks coming at them, or fake job offers, either" writes Ron Lieber for The New York Times.
"For years now, the Better Business Bureau’s survey research has shown that younger adults lose money to swindlers much more often than the older people you may think of as the stereotypical victims. The Federal Trade Commission reports similar figures, with 44 percent of people ages 20 to 29 losing money to fraud, more than double the 20 percent of people ages 70 to 79."
It's not the Nigerian prince or pfishing scam. "The targeted activities vary widely, from the online shopping that these victims may do nearly every day to their once-in-a-blue-moon handling of paper checks. Illegal schemes also target the student debt payments they must make and the jobs they seek to afford them."
"Pet and pet-supply scams have historically made up 25 percent of the online purchase scams reported to the Better Business Bureau."
"Given its size, con artists try to impersonate Amazon more often than any other company’s brand."
Employment Scams: never give your date of birth or Social Security number online.
Fake check scams “Sorry, this is an accidental overpayment” or “Please use some of the money to perform mystery shopping of online money transfer services.”
Student Loan Scams: Once the moratorium on repayment ends, "expect a flood of thieves offering “free extended forbearance” or “Biden
forgiveness plans” that do not exist. "Then they’d try to redirect
victims’ payments or use their personal information for identity theft.
Or both."
How much to invest to have $1 million by retirement
Start early to attain your goal.
Starting at age 20:
- Assuming a 6% return, compounded monthly, you should aim to invest $364 a month toward retirement to reach $1 million in savings by age 65.
Starting at age 30:
- Assuming a 6% return, compounded monthly, you should aim to invest $704 a month toward retirement to reach $1 million in savings by age 65.
Starting at age 40:
- Assuming a 6% return, compounded monthly, you should aim to invest $1,444 a month toward retirement to reach $1 million in savings by age 65.
Starting at age 50:
- Assuming
a 6% return, compounded monthly, you should aim to invest $3,439 a
month toward retirement to reach $1 million in savings by age 65.
How to retire a millionaire
June 17, 2021
How much are you spending on bottled water?
The Story of Bottled Water
For those of us who remember life without bottled water, it is sad, pathetic, and frustrating when consumers spend money on water packed in a throw away plastic bottle. The bottle is made from petroleum and shipped across the country (wasting more petroleum), and then 80% of the bottles end up in landfills or incinerators. Even worse, much of the supposedly recycled bottles are shipped to developing nations like India (wasting more petroleum in the process) where they add to the pollution problem. While consumers routinely claim to be immune to advertising, bottled water is a classic example of “manufactured demand,” using scare techniques and images of pure fantasy to entice buyers. Pepsi’s Aquafina and Coke’s Desani are simply filtered tap water sold at 2,000 times the price of tap water! Despite its advertising claims and images of pristine sources, Fiji water is lower quality than Cleveland’s tap water. Imagine paying 2,000 times the price of gas for your car! Yet consumers succumb to this insanity daily.
Logan, UT has some of purest water on the planet coming out of our taps. Don’t be a schmuck.
Save your money and the environment; use a steel water bottle.
Watch the 8 minute video and kick the bottled water habit: http://storyofstuff.org/movies/story-of-bottled-water/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)