Category: Health

Learn ways to stay healthy and to save money on healthcare costs

Health

How to Save Money on Your Dental Costs

Please note this post contains affiliate links which help to fund this blog at no cost to you. Thanks for your support!

The cost of dental care may surprise you. If you are young and are fortunate enough to have good dental health, you may not be fully aware yet of what can happen to you and the dental costs it brings. When you have taken the time to care for your teeth, you may not have to bear the surprise or shock of the cost of professional dental care. Though many dental procedures are expensive, basic dental cleaning may be surprisingly simple and it can actually save you from some of the high rates that dentists charge.

Dental costs can be steep, even out of range of your finances. Learn the different ways you can reduce your dental costs while taking care of your teeth.

Irrational fear causes most people to shy from professional dental care. More than 70% of the U.S. population skips the dentist in any given year in most states. People know they should go; they just avoid it. So the question is: “How do you save on your dental costs?” Not going to the dentist is not a very good answer. The best answer is simple: use some sort of a dental discount plan or insurance. That can save you hundreds of dollars on teeth cleaning and all other dental procedures, too.

Continue reading“How to Save Money on Your Dental Costs”
Health, Personal Finance

Why You Are Just One Step From Financial Disaster!

Being retired gives me the time to read more than I ever did when I was working every day. Sometimes being busy with a job can be a cushion from discovering some really worrisome facts that you may just hear about, but not really see the fine details. That may be the situation you are in when it comes to thinking about healthcare costs for you and your family. Healthcare costs are a reality that just might be the reason why you are just one step from financial disaster!

Many people don't realize that they are just a step from financial disaster. Healthcare costs from an illness or injury can easily push you into bankruptcy.

The Big Fear

It’s a fear that we all have, the fear that we may have to face financial ruin someday. We may not know exactly how or why, but it is something we sometimes do think about. Most often it comes when you lose your job or if you are really unlucky you might have to face some sort of natural disaster like a flood, fire, or weather event that sets you so far into debt you can’t see ever climbing out of that hole. But the number one thing that can send you into financial hell is much more devastating and personal then suffering through a hurricane.

Continue reading“Why You Are Just One Step From Financial Disaster!”
Health, More

Conquer Holiday Stress and Make It Safely Into 2019

Now that the holidays are here, you are right in the middle of experiencing the “rush” of a lot of fun and happy celebrations. But as we all painfully do know, sometimes the holidays can also bring difficult emotional triggers, such as painful memories, grief for family members who can’t be with us, or challenging dynamics with family members who are with us. Holiday stress can also involve long to-do lists and financial strain to make things even worse.

We're all susceptible to holiday stress, so pay attention to these 6 ways of managing stress to insure you have a happy holiday season!

By no means am I trying to bum out the holiday season. Quite the opposite. Whether you have specific and unique reasons or not that can interfere with a happy holiday, we all go through some kind of stress during the month of December. The reasons can be simple or complex. Time pressures, money pressures, and family pressures seem to come together into a “perfect storm” and sometimes it’s really important to take some caution so that you can enjoy and yet keep your health and sanity too. That’s why I am suggesting some self–care precautions to get us through the holiday season and make it safely to 2019!Continue reading“Conquer Holiday Stress and Make It Safely Into 2019”

Health, Retirement

Upcoming Improvements to Medicare Benefits for 2019

It’s hard to believe, but it’s that happy time again for those who have Medicare benefits and use Medicare Advantage plans when the open enrollment period begins on October 15th and ends on December 7th 2018 for 2019. You’ll get the hint I am certain when you begin seeing the massive advertising, mail, and phone calls about it starting any second, but this time around there is something to actually celebrate.

Usually the news about Medicare coverage has to do with increasing costs, but surprise, there are some improvements coming to Medicare benefits in 2019!

The good news just ahead for Medicare recipients are some potentially big savings. The over 60 million people who currently participate in the program (which has been around for over 50 years now) benefit from lower administration costs than private insurers have and that is despite the losses from fraud which it suffers from. But for 2019, things are about to get even better.

It’s rare that I can report to you that there’s such good news, but with very little fanfare and parades, this is the case thanks to the passing of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, signed into law last February. The bill covers a lot of important and even controversial spending changes as it always does, but when it comes to changes that are lowering the cost to our healthcare and affect Medicare then bravo and thank you are in order!Continue reading“Upcoming Improvements to Medicare Benefits for 2019”

Food, Health, More

The Battle of Your Bulges: Weight Loss Programs

Whether you’re truly overweight like me, or you just think you need to lose a couple of pounds, you’ve probably been sucked into the diet phenomenon at some point in your life. After all, you’ve seen the TV commercials, maybe read some reviews, or even known people who’ve lost a bunch of weight with one of the many weight loss programs. Or maybe, like me, you’ve tried one, two…or ten of them in an attempt to improve your health and your look. So what’s wrong, if anything, that a not-so-small percentage of customers complain about failing with them? Can you actually succeed long term with any of them?

Losing weight can be difficult, but weight loss programs aim to make it easier, at a cost. I review 3 popular programs, and what it takes to lose long term.

Hey Mr. and Mrs. America, You’re Fat!

As a country, America seems to have a real weight problem, greater now than ever before. You may be or may not be actually fat, but you are still often feeling the pressure of losing a few pounds because of health or the ever-present social pressure we all live with to be thin and look “good”. As if you can’t really look good with a little meat on your bones!Continue reading“The Battle of Your Bulges: Weight Loss Programs”

Health, Money Mindset

How Your Money Obsession Can Hurt You

Got money on your mind? That’s not surprising, considering it affects so many aspects of our lives. It’s almost impossible not to think about money since we are bombarded every day with all kinds of talk about spending it, earning it, and well even just worrying about it, like your retirement planning or paying off your debts. Money obsession is real. There is almost no way to escape it except perhaps by pulling the blanket over your head and sleeping a little more, but even with that you do risk the potential of dreaming about it!

While planning your finances is important, thinking about them too much may mean you have a money obsession, and that can hurt you in many ways. Here are just some of the ways obsessing over money can have a negative effect on you.

Of course, thinking about money can be beneficial if it does lead to actions that can improve your finances and your life. But, and it’s a big but, when it becomes a preoccupation or obsession with your finances, it can also be very harmful, and I am not just talking about its mental effects either. How can your obsession with money hurt you? It can actually hurt you physically, financially, and emotionally!Continue reading“How Your Money Obsession Can Hurt You”

Health

The Cost of Hearing Aids and How to Save

For today’s guest post on the cost of hearing aids, please welcome Josh from DoctEar.

As we age, many adults find they are having problems hearing. In fact, Sarah Sydlowski AuD. Ph.D., Audiology Director of the Hearing Implant Program at the Cleveland Clinic stated in an article she published that, “Approximately 17 percent of American adults (36 million) report some degree of hearing loss, a condition in which a person is partially or totally unable to hear in one or both ears.” The good news is that most people who suffer hearing loss can be helped by using small devices commonly known as hearing aids.

The cost of hearing aids causes some folks to delay using them, but some types are more affordable than others and there are ways to save. If you or a loved one is suffering from hearing loss, it's important to look into hearing aids.

Unfortunately, there are many reasons people put off purchasing hearing aids, even after they notice they hear others speaking in an indiscernible mumble or misunderstand what is being said.

One reason for waiting may be the misconception of what it is like to be a hearing aid user. They believe that hearing devices are ugly and highly noticeable. However, hearing aid technology has improved tremendously in recent years, with devices becoming smaller, more sophisticated and easier to use.Continue reading“The Cost of Hearing Aids and How to Save”

Health

What You Need to Know: 5 Key Medicare Questions Answered

Understanding all of your choices and getting the most out of Medicare can be overwhelming. According to the National Council on Aging, more than half of Baby Boomers ages 60 and older find the program and its alphabet soup of Parts A, B, C and D very confusing. Today I’m going to answer 5 key Medicare questions to help clear things up.

Healthcare is confusing, and none are more confusing than Medicare. Here are 5 key Medicare questions answered so you know what to do to be covered.

Before we get to those questions, here’s the details you need on getting started.Continue reading“What You Need to Know: 5 Key Medicare Questions Answered”