Save or Starve in Retirement: The Choice is Yours

Even a Squirrel Saves for the Future

Our government saw starvation first hand after the Great Depression of the 1930s and realized a need to take care of elderly Americans with Social Security, so starvation was not the way to die. In the 1960s, Congress tackled Medicare so that lack of medical care for the elderly was not the way to die. Now, fifty years later, the Affordable Care Act helps Americans of all ages have health insurance and Social Security and Medicare are still in effect. But without careful planning, elderly Americans can still die of starvation or lack of good medical care. How could this happen?

If you don’t save money during your working years, you won’t have enough money to pay your portion of Medicare or your needs not covered by Social Security, because neither program covers all your expenses. The government intended for Social Security to cover only part of your needs, because at the time, most Americans had a pension plan at work. Company-paid pension plans are now personalized -- you have to make the contribution to a retirement plan before your employer pays any part of it. Many of us live for today and don't make the contribution. If your employer gives you free money, why turn it down?

Social Security covers 40 to 50 percent of your pre-retirement income, and out of that money must come your Part B or medical coverage and maybe Part D for prescription insurance coverage. Part A, or hospitalization coverage, has a deductible as well. If you go to the hospital, you are responsible for the deductible.

No matter how much or how little money you earn, you can save some money for your future. You need six to eight months of expenses saved in an emergency fund. This fund can also be the start of your retirement fund. We waste more money in the United States than people in many countries have to live on. We buy trinkets, junk, more clothing than we can wear, jewelry, and memberships we don’t use. Think through your lifestyle and what you need, and pare down to save for your future. It’s a horrible thought that we might die of starvation in America, but it happens. Older Americans today are choosing between food and medicine, according to the AARP Foundation.

 

Start now. 

You’ll be more relaxed with money in the bank to cover emergencies and may even live longer as a result of less stress. Have money taken out of your paycheck to cover a 401(k) or Roth 401(k), or set up an IRA for yourself by contacting your bank. I'll confess that when we were 40, we thought we had many years to build a retirement fund. Twenty-five years later, we realize the importance of saving early to let the money accumulate interest, so we don't have to work for every dime.

Spend less.

One of the easy ways to spend less is to cook at home instead of eating out. Cook vegetables, serve fruits, and don’t use starter mixes like helpers. 

Buy bleach, hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and vinegar for cleaning supplies instead of squirt bottles of something you can’t identify that is heavily perfumed. 

Shop when you need something, and don’t use shopping as your recreation. 

Go to the park, library or zoo for free entertainment, instead of spending your money on tickets for activities you may not even enjoy. 

Review your bills and cut expenses where you can. Expenses you incur every month are bites out of your future funds. Call your utility companies and ask for better rates. Telephone, cell phone, cable, electricity, alarm systems and internet services all have loyalty or retention programs to keep customers once they have them. 

Buy used.

If you need something, call thrift stores and see if they have the item available. Buy clothing at thrift or bargain stores. If you’re afraid someone may see you or recognize something you’ve bought, go to the next town to shop at their thrift stores. We frequent thrift stores and have made friends with the clerks and other thrifty people. Some of our thrifty friends own businesses, a couple are in real estate sales, and others are retired. 

Don’t pay interest.

Save money by paying for purchases in cash or paying with credit cards that you pay in full every month. It’s shocking to see how much money Americans spend on financing. Dinner out for $100 should be $100, not $125 because you didn’t pay the credit card on time. Make it your goal to pay credit cards every month or don’t charge anything you can't pay off that month. You're borrowing against your future when you charge more than you can pay this month. Your future is money you need in retirement. 

Live Modestly.

You don't need a new house or an electronics upgrade every few years. Living in the same house saves moving expenses, larger payments and contributes to your overall wealth. Pay for what you have, and appreciate it.

Think of your future every time you spend money. 

Picture yourself too old to get a job and choosing between medicine and food. It’s your wake-up call.

Rotate your Kitchen Stock Like a Business to Save Food, Money and Waste

 

Use Older Vegetables First

 

You've probably read about the quantity of food wasted in the U.S. each year in articles like this one from NPR. We waste enough food to feed us all.

 

 National Public Radio Food Waste

 

The Natural Resources Defense Council suggests that 40 percent of all food is wasted in the United States each year.

 

Arriving home with the groceries may be the end of the shopping trip, but is just the beginning of the organization required to run an efficient kitchen. You need to rotate your stock so you don't have all the new purchases in the front or on top. Old cans can swell and burst, and the mess can be worse than you imagine, in addition to the loss and waste of food. Fresh fruits and vegetables lose flavor and spoil over time, creating more food loss and money spent needlessly.

 

An easy way to rotate your pantry stock is to pull all the old products to the front of the shelving and place the new items in the back.

 

Remove the fruits and vegetables from the crisper drawers and place the new items in the bottom. When you buy fresh vegetables and fruits, chop the old ones and place in the freezer, or cook something that uses the older produce. Chop older celery and bell peppers and freeze in plastic zipper bags for seasoning for soups and stews. Tomatoes can be chopped and frozen as well. Use apples and citrus fruits in a fruit salad.

 

Your frozen food can be handled the same way. Freeze your newest purchases, then place them on the bottom or behind similar items that are older. Your oldest products will be on top and easy to locate.

 

Make country fries or scalloped potatoes with the older potatoes. For country fries, wash the potatoes and slice lengthwise unpeeled. Place a single layer on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet with a tablespoon of oil. Season and bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes.

 

Peel the potatoes for scalloped potatoes. Slice and season in a greased oven-safe baking dish. Add some milk and Velveeta or similar cheese to cover the potatoes. Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour until the potatoes are tender. We have an ebook on Amazon with tips and recipes if you'd like more recipes and information about frugal living.

 

Efficiency and frugality in the kitchen starts when you come in from grocery shopping. In addition to rotation of stock, ignore most date codes and dates on food products. These codes are for manufacturers and retailers to identify recalls and rotate the shelf stock, not for you to discard the products after the "best by" date. The federal government regulates coding on some baby food, but all other codes are optional. Use your senses of smell and vision to determine if foods are still palatable. Most are good long after the "sell by" or "use by" dates.

 

Wasting food is wasting money and contributing to the landfills. You can save money, food and the environment when you return from grocery shopping. Your kitchen will be better organized and you may save yourself some cleanup.

See you soon!

Linda

cajunC

Collecting Coins as a Hobby is Inexpensive, Educational and May Help You Save Money

 

 

New Quarters and Pennies are Collectible Coins

 

Collecting coins may sound like an expensive hobby, but it doesn't have to be, and is an educational adventure to pursue with or for children or grandchildren.

 

You don't have to buy coins to collect. New coins are collectible and cost only face value. Collecting last-years minted coins is a good place to start.  As a consumer, you can pay cash for small purchases and save the change. Dump your coins into a bowl and sort occasionally by denominations.

 

Children can learn to count and learn about mint marks and coinage at the same time. Most children can read the date and mint mark for Philadelphia or Denver without a magnifier -- while, at our age, we may have difficulty sorting quarters from nickels without glasses and a magnifier.

 

Here are some collecting ideas:

 

Collect states quarters and the new extra ones like Mariana Islands. Folders for collecting states quarters are available, and these are handy because they identify which coins were minted, and the mint locations. Folders aren't necessary, though, as you can get the information you need from the U.S. Mint here:

 

http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/50sq_program/

 

The "P" minted coins are more difficult to find than "D" and we have a few sets completed and others with just a few "P" coins missing. You may have the same luck, but sometimes it depends on the region. If you live close to the Philadelphia area, you may find "P" coins easily, and if you live near Denver, the "D" coins may show up in change. We live in Texas, and don't find as many "P" coins here.

 

Save all the new coins from the past few years. These aren't uncirculated coins, but over the years, the condition will be better and the value will be greater than coins that have been in the marketplace. Coins from 40 years ago or so that we collected when our daughter was young no longer show up in pocket change. She learned about American coinage, mint marks, how to count, how to save money, and the coins are still in great condition.

 

Save the presidential dollar coins, first released in 2007.  The U. S. Mint is producing $1 coins honoring presidents. The presidents for 2014 release are Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt, but the series started in 2007 with George Washington.

 

You can learn more about the presidential $1 coins here:

 

http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/$1coin/

 

Collect the Native American $1 coins first released in 2009. Sacagawea is on the front and each release has a different reverse. Here's information about the 2014 coin:

 

http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/nativeAmerican/?action=2014NADesign

 

Collect new pennies, dimes and nickels and any old coins you find in change. These coins are usually available about a year after minting. We find 2013 coins in change, and save them. They have little wear but won't stay in that condition unless we rescue them. Silver-based coins made prior to 1964 have greater silver content than coins after that date. Older half-dollars are valued higher than face value. You can read about the metal melt-down value here:

 

Coinflation

 

Collecting coins this way is not expensive. You're saving money, not spending money like so many hobbies -- scrapbooking, crafts, and other collecting ventures. Your coins will never go below face value, and can always be turned into dollars if you need. If you only pay face value for the coins by saving your change, you'll never lose money. Your family can learn about United States coins, and children can experience the anticipation of finding a coin needed for a collection.

 

Enjoy a hobby that doesn't cost money. That's a rare find.

 

See you soon!

 

Linda

cajunC

Shop for Medications by Phone to Pay Less for Drugs

 

 

 

Explore the Cost of your Medications

Your health insurance is changing, and you can be better prepared if you learn from others who have already experienced some of the changes. If your medical insurance now has a high deductible, you may find that you'll pay for many of your prescription drugs before the insurance pays at all.

 

We've ordered our medications from an insurer-approved mail-order pharmacy, but they did not carry one drug we needed. That's when things got interesting. I asked the doctor to write a prescription for the medication so I could shop for the best price. I've never done that before, so I had no idea what to expect. Surprise, surprise!

 

When you shop for a drug, you have to ask for the cash price. Many pharmacies want to know your insurer and are reluctant to give you a cash price until you hand over the prescription. Make telephone calls to shop for the drug you need, but have the prescription in hand, since you'll need to give the exact dosage and quantity to the pharmacy tech. You may also get a better price with the generic drug, not a name brand -- if the drug is no longer under the original patent protection.

 

I started with Walgreen, since I expected this well-known pharmacy would carry the medication. Imagine my surprise that the cash price was $700. The local WalMart had the drug for $12.08, and a WalMart in the next town had the drug for $165. I finally found the medication at a local hospital pharmacy for $7 with some unknown portion charged to my insurance.

 

I was so curious about the different prices that I called the FDA -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration. A consumer contact person told me that the FDA does not regulate the prices of any drugs, and that they have no control over pricing.

 

If your medication is still high after shopping, you may inquire about the cost of a 90-day supply or even a prescription for a different dosage. Surprisingly, some medications are the same price if you buy 25mg or 50mg pills. You can get your physician to write the prescription for the larger dose and break the pills in half to get twice as much for the same cost.

 

If your health insurance has a large deductible this year and your prescription drugs are not covered until you meet the deductible, it's time to wise up and shop for your medications. You, too, may find that local prices range from $7 to $700 for 30 pills of the same drug. 

 

See you soon!

 

Linda

cajunC

 

http://www.cajunc.com 

Read Your Health Insurance Policy Before You Visit Your Doctor

Save Money on Health Insurance -- Read Your Policy

When we talked about health insurance last month, I told you I owed $325 on lab work on a well visit to the doctor. If I had been alert and done my homework before going to the doctor, I could have saved about $260 of that amount -- but I didn't realize that until I got the bill.

 

You probably know that the codes on your medical records give a diagnosis of your condition as well as the purpose for any tests. The ICD is the International Classification of Diseases and the HCPCS is the Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System. You can read more about coding on the National Institutes of Health website.

 

My health insurance covers 80 percent of preventive care lab work without applying the deductible, but doesn't cover diagnostic lab work until the deductible is met. My doctor coded the lab work as diagnostic, and I came out with a $325 charge because I hadn't met the deductible for the year ($1,000 in personal expenses).

 

If the lab had been coded as preventive, I would have paid 20 percent, or $65 instead of $325.

 

If I had known this from the outset, I could have mentioned to my doctor that this was a well visit and that the blood work was not diagnostic. Doctors usually think all blood work is diagnostic, since they use it to diagnose your medical condition. However, if you get bloodwork before you go to the doctor, he isn't diagnosing anything -- it's a checkup.

 

Insurance is ever evolving, and some big changes are ahead of us. However, this is one change that has already taken place. A few years back, if medical care was preventive, it wasn't likely to be covered by your insurance. Now, preventive care is usually covered by insurance. 

 

The Affordable Care Act requires health plans to cover specific injections and screening tests without consideration of your deductible. You don't pay a copayment or coinsurance for covered preventive services. A list of the covered services for adults are shown on the healthcare.gov website.

 

Specific preventive services are free for women and children as well, as shown on the link on that page.

 

Lesson learned. If you go to the doctor for a checkup or well visit, tell the doctor you are there for a well visit for preventive care. The coding can matter to your financial health.