When Every Second Counts

07. Sep, 2010 0 Comments

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As an 87-year-old woman sat relaxing in her recliner mid-morning she began to feel numbness in her arm and knew something was off. Her health began to worsen and she quickly removed a small necklace located inconspicuously beneath her shirt attached to a gray button, she pushed the button and waited.

 

Moments later help arrived at her apartment in an independent living facility located in Texas. The elderly woman had just suffered a stroke and thanks to LifeFone she was receiving immediate care to treat her stroke and aid in her recovery process.

 

“Almost daily we experience similar instances in which residents find themselves in a situation that requires immediate care through the use of LifeFone to contact emergency specialists,” Alice, an administrative assistant at the elderly lady’s Texas independent living facility, said.

 

With 62 apartments and 70 duplexes within the Texas facility, it is crucial to have emergency care at residents’ fingertips. LifeFone’s medical alert bracelets and pendants provide an automatic call system to contact the emergency response center located in the nurse’s station when medical emergencies arise. Their medical alert system provides the critical and immediate response service that often distinguishes the decisive moments between life and death.

 

Having used LifeFone for two and a half years, Alice is confident in the service both she and her residents receive from the devices. Her assurance in medical alert systems however, wasn’t always as high.

 

“Shortly after I came to the facility three years ago, we switched from another service provider to LifeFone, and LifeFone has been a breath of fresh air ever since,” Alice said.

 

According to Alice, the care and customer service she receives using LifeFone is immeasurable to the service she used to receive with her former provider.

 

“I think the other company has gotten to be too big, there are too many departments and no customer service,” Alice said. “If I called the other company I wouldn’t get a response, or when they did respond they would say that they didn’t know what I was talking about, or would have to check and get back to me.”

 

With LifeFone, whenever Alice calls or sends an email, she says she always receives a prompt response regarding any questions or issues she has with the product.

 

“My contact person is the first person I talked to at LifeFone,” Alice said. “I email my contact person and within five to ten minutes I have a response, whether it be concerning billing or getting more wristbands and units.”

 

LifeFone also provides the Texas facility with extra units to keep on hand, so they are readily available when new residents move in. The units simply have to be activated, which can be done as soon as the resident is settled.

 

“Residents come in with their families for the first time and they are already nervous enough, when we have LifeFone on hand we can get them set up with their family right there, and provide that extra assurance,” Alice said.

 

Lifefone’s medical alert bracelets and pendants allow seniors to remain independent and provide caring service, security and peace of mind to users, their families and caregivers throughout the United States and Canada. Since 1976 LifeFone has been providing trusted professional Emergency Care Specialists to seniors, reducing concerns about personal safety and helping to ensure early intervention.

 

“I encourage all the residents that move in to get LifeFone,” Alice said. “It is priced right, effective and truly is a lifesaver.”

 

Alexia Cameron is a contributing writer for Search Revolutions.


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Three Keys to Successful Caregiving

06. Sep, 2010 0 Comments

Do you have what it takes to graciously rise and meet the challenge of caring for a loved one?

Absolutely!

Will it happen?

Maybe.

Sometimes effective caregiving happens by luck. However some unlucky families implode despite the best of intentions, the best efforts and access to plentiful resources.

Whoever you are, though, you can become a successful caregiver by design. And I’ll show you how.

For the past 25 years I’ve asked a simple question: why do some families flourish and others flounder when facing the stress of illness? Could I predict whether a family would rise to heroic heights or crumble under the weight of adversity?

As a practicing surgeon I could predict which of my patients had the best chance of enjoying a good medical outcome. Let’s say three people with the exact same illness need the exact same treatment. One is a healthy 50 year-old who goes to the gym 5 times a week, another is an obsess weekend couch potato and a third is a smoker with a history of two heart attacks. You don’t have to watch too many episodes of ER and House to know that the fit non-smoker with an active lifestyle has the greatest chance of sailing through treatment.

Let’s say each of these patients has advanced cancer, and each will require significant help during the six months of aggressive chemotherapy, surgical procedures and radiation therapy. The first patient is a homemaker brought to the medical consultation by her husband, who is the president of a successful business worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The second is a university professor brought in by her daughter who is in her last year of medical school. The third woman, who spends her days caring for her wheelchair-bound husband and grandchild with autism, is brought in by her son who requests a morning appointment; he’s on the financial edge and he must be on time for his job cleaning office buildings. Can you predict which family will fare best?

I’m describing three of my own patients. I assumed success would shine on an educated, financially secure professional family with access to insider medical information. And, as in this case, I would be wrong.

The third family was a collection of angels, as far as I can tell. They faced this illness with grace despite the family’s many challenges, including the intensive care requirements of dependent family members in each of three generations, limited financial means and a string of setbacks well beyond their control. Yet, everybody who crossed their paths said the same thing: this family served as a source of inspiration.

What was the magic caregiving ingredient? What did successful families know and do that the not-so-successful families lacked? More importantly, can you take a family that’s struggling and turn it around so its members are able to be the kinds of caregivers they wanted to be?

I approached this question as if I were conducting a science experiment. My research subjects were the tens of thousands of patients whom I treated as a physician, my own personal experiences as a not-so-successful caregiver and the many caregivers who shared their stories in the past decade since I left the operating room and started writing and speaking on caregiving topics.

Here’s what I have discovered. Most successful families share three qualities:
They are headed by a strong, effective family leader.
Its members know how to make a positive difference when a loved one’s having a bad day.
The family has the courage to seek joy and hang onto hope, even on dark days.
These three qualities: leadership, compassion- in- action and joy-seeking–are like the three legs of a sturdy stool that support the weight of caregiving. If the family is wobbly, it’s usually because one or more of the three legs is wobbly.

The good news is that you have everything it takes to construct the three solid legs of caregiving. That’s why I’m so confident that you can be the kind of caregiver you want to be. All you need are the raw ingredients–the desire to do a good job, the willingness to look at a situation from a different perspective and the courage to try a little something new.

I’ll provide the tools and the instruction manual.

Whether you’re caring for aging parents with Alzheimer’s, a child with diabetes or a partner with pulmonary disease, you can build a strong family that will support the weight of caregiving. You can learn how to give with an open heart and experience caregiving as love in action.

Want some free caregiving special reports? Go to www.LeadingYourWay.com to sign up. You can reach Dr. Rackner at (425) 451-3777.

Vicki Rackner MD is a former surgeon who now spends her days bringing common sense to caregiving. She solves tough health-related problems through “simplementation”–the implementation of simple practical solutions that don’t cost lots of money.

After treating tens of thousands of patients and holding a faculty position at the University of Washington School of Medicine, Dr. Vicki Rackner is now a full-time author and speaker. She’s frequently quoted in the national media, including The Wall Street Journal, CNN, USA Today, NPR and Time to mention a few. Her most recent book is Caregiving without Regrets.


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Keeping Seniors Active and Engaged

05. Sep, 2010 0 Comments

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Remaining active with age and challenging the mind are essential elements to maintaining a healthy lifestyle for seniors. After reaching the age of 70, those who are not active are more likely to develop problems walking or climbing stairs. Sharpening the mind aids in keeping the memory active, allowing the personality to shine through and improving overall health. Seniors are enjoying longer lives and with the aid of medical alert systems like LifeFone, they are cherishing their independence a lot longer as well, broadening the horizons for the activities they can participate in. The following activities will keep seniors entertained and enhance their lives through both body and mind.

Take advantage of Community Center activities: Most community centers offer organized group activities. While the majority of these activities are free, some do have a small fee. Check your local community center’s website or message board, or look through the local newspaper to get a list of what is happening in your area. Activities that may be available include arts and crafts classes, exercise classes and weekend and day trips to sporting events, festivals and shopping centers. These events provide exciting opportunities for seniors to engage in group activities and socialize with their peers.

Join a group centered around current interests and hobbies: There are an assortment of existing clubs for seniors to join that already cater to their current interests including gardening groups, RV and travel clubs, fishing organizations, volunteering opportunities with animals and sewing organizations, to name a few. Whatever the interest, there is likely a group already established.

Explore new gadgets: New electronics can provide an endless amount of possibilities for seniors and provide them with the opportunity to engage in something new. Digital cameras allow seniors to explore basic photography, make slideshows, create scrapbooks and share pictures with their loved ones, and CD players allow seniors to listen to their favorite songs and reminisce about events linked to the music they hear.

Enjoy the Senior Center: Senior centers have a variety of organized activities for seniors to engage in. There are dances often with live bands, game nights, bus trips, book clubs, current events clubs and singles groups.

Whether living independently, with a caregiver or in an assisted living facility, seniors will remain young at heart by engaging in activities that stimulate their minds and energize their bodies.

About LifeFone: Since 1976 LifeFone has been providing caring service, security, and peace of mind to seniors, their families and caregivers throughout the United States and Canada. Trusted for over 30 years, LifeFone’s professional Emergency Care Specialists are on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year — reducing concerns about personal safety and helping to ensure early intervention and allow seniors to remain independent in their own homes.

Alexia Cameron is a contributing writer for Search Revolutions.


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Quality of Life – Rudy’s Story

04. Sep, 2010 0 Comments

Throughout the years working in the elder care industry, I have had the good fortune to meet a handful of people who have positively impacted my life on both a personal and professional level.  These “life” lessons have changed my view on my own “golden” years and the true meaning of the “quality of life”.

One person that stands out the most is my beloved Rudy. He and his long time companion Helena, after spending the previous 40 years living in an apartment in NYC in a neighborhood laden with crime and danger, reluctantly agreed to move to a senior living community after much pressure from both their families. Their home had become a virtual prison, complete with bars on their first floor apartment windows and multiple locks on the door. Neither Rudy nor Helena had been able to leave their home unescorted for several years.

My first encounter with Rudy and Helena was the day they moved to the senior living community where I was working at the time. Quiet and sullen, they both appeared frightened, tired and resigned to living in “a place like this.” Helena noticeably the younger of the two, seemed to take the lead. Rudy appeared to be a shell of a man as he held his partner’s hand tightly and shuffled along through the tour of their new home.

As we approached the main resident gathering area, also known to most as the “piano room”, I was somewhat relieved knowing that our tour would end here. As we entered, Rudy suddenly stopped and gazed for several minutes at the beautiful white grand piano that was the focal point of the room. Seeing what I believed to be a sparkle in his eyes, I asked, “Do you play?” He responded “my whole life.” Seizing the moment, I asked Rudy if he would play a song for me and he readily agreed. As he approached the piano, he asked what I would like to hear and my request was “Some Enchanted Evening”.

As he sat on the bench and lifted the keyboard cover, he transformed before my eyes. Head high, shoulders back, he began one of the most beautiful renditions of the song I had ever heard. As the glorious music filled the community, Rudy drew quite a crowd that day and every day thereafter for the entire eight months he lived with us. He passed away in his sleep one night. Finding a list of songs next to his bedside, that he was to  play that day, I took great comfort in knowing he died doing what he loved to do.

For many of today’s seniors facing the prospect of moving to a senior living environment, the mere mention conjures up visions of nursing homes from yester-year. Perhaps they had a parent, other relative or friend who spent their last days in a facility that was cold, sterile and known as a place where people go to die. Convincing your loved one otherwise can seem nearly impossible. However, look for the “magic” keys such as a well stocked library; a community garden; bible group; or a creative writing club to assist with opening their minds.

This experience also taught me the importance of developing and maintaining hobbies and interests early in life,  as they may be what bring us the most comfort in our older years.

Ms. Files is a nationally recognized “subject matter expert” on the knowledge and skills needed for working with the elderly. She has over 28 years in the healthcare industry, with 16 years focused primarily on eldercare. Her background includes program development for many leading providers in the senior living industry. Rita is a LPN and holds both state and national certifications in Assisted Living Administration and is a Certified Senior Advisor® through The Society of Certified Senior Advisors™, a Member of the Case Management Society of America, and the American Society on Aging. She is the proud mother of Jessica, Rick and the late Jill and grandmother of three wonderful grandchildren – Olivia, Riley and Christopher.


Whether speaking at a national conference or working one on one with an overwhelmed caregiver, Rita strives to offer the healing touch of patience, understanding, and knowledge to make eldercare transitions a peaceful process rather than an emotional roller coaster – regardless of means.


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Retirement Planning? . . . How About an Exciting New Job?

03. Sep, 2010 0 Comments

And you thought you were all finished with work. But retirement planning these days includes so many diverse options. And one of them is to find a retirement job.

If you’re leaning in that direction because you just can’t see yourself hanging up your work shoes . . . or perhaps you wish to work for financial security . . . well, there are some fabulous opportunities just tailor made for your situation.

The good news is that many companies value having retirees on their workforce. They’re experienced, loyal, committed, on time and get along well with others. What employer wouldn’t salivate to have someone like that on board?

If you’ve decided to explore some retirement work opportunities, whether full-time or part-time, there are five benchmarks you can use to check out in advance to determine if an employment situation makes sense for you. That way you can be sure you’ll wind up in an environment that’s comfortable and productive.

1. Health benefits. The best companies offer subsidies for eldercare, tax-free health accounts, wellness programs and insurance coverage for part-time workers.

2. Recruiting. Forward-looking employers target diverse age groups. They seek out older workers, rehire retirees, and actively retain their older workers.

3. Pension plans. Defined-benefit plans, stock options, profit sharing, incentive programs . . . all these are signals that you’re dealing with an age-friendly organization.

4. Training and development. The very best employer provides career counseling, refresher courses, as well as mentoring and coaching opportunities.

5. Alternative work arrangements. Flexible workplaces with seasonal schedules, shift options, telecommuting, leave for care-giving. In other words, do they engage older workers on their own terms?

Now, where do you find such high-quality employment opportunities?

For openers you might take a look at the Nov/Dec issue (2005) of AARP Magazine. They list a number of companies that meet these high-quality specifications.

On the other hand, if you haven’t been in the job market recently, you must understand that things have changed dramatically, especially since 9/11 and Katrina.

To succeed in today’s job marketplace you need to dump the old-fashioned ways of finding a job and
discover the exciting alternative and non-traditional strategies that can guarantee you a high-paying job in as little as 14 days!

With these innovative techniques you can be sure your retirement job search planning will lead to the career adventure of a lifetime!

Paul Megan writes for EEI, the world-class pioneer in alternative job search techniques and non-traditional career advancement strategies . . . since 1985. Grab our stunning FREE REPORT: “How To Lock Up A High-Paying Job In 14 Days (Or Less)!” Click on RSS. http://www.fastest-job-search.com


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    An Affable Article

    02. Sep, 2010 0 Comments

    Are your headlines prompting prospects to learn about your products and services or click to another web site or throw away your letter? You will only make $100,000 this year if you first believe you can. If you do not believe you can you are telling yourself you want it, but it is truly not obtainable. The truth of life is that man’s limits are self imposed by what the mind is given to believe. If you expand your belief of your own abilities, you will also expand your true realm of accomplishment.

    An Affable Article

    It doesn’t really matter who you are; you definitely know something or know something differently. It is our particular sense of logic and humour that make us interesting.

    Interesting and informative articles are in big demand. Article directories meet this demand by amassing them in one location.

    Who can do this or what qualifications are needed to submit articles?

    Providing that the content is “clean”, anyone can submit, and the only qualification needed is that your article is interesting and informative, or close to it.

    How to, why to, why not to, how not to, or anything in between, should be okay. If it is easy to read and worth reading, then it should be perfect.

    Would you read it? If your answer is YES, then it is probable that others would want to read it.

    From gardening snippets of wisdom, aliens to alligators, strawberry soup to strangulated hernias, people to pigs (transformations may also be interesting), simple to sublime, technical to basic, your perspective may be anywhere from useful to universal.

    Does your English or language of choice (think global), need to be grammatically perfect?

    The short answer is NO. Specific directories have specific guidelines or terms, but the webmaster/editors of these directories usually have “worldly wisdom”, understand that your first article may not circumvent the globe and also understand that with time and some experience, others might. These people don’t want to edit everything (too time-consuming), so some effort on your behalf is always a good and rewarding goal.

    Benefits to individual contributors or writers:

    Exposure.

    More on Article Submitter Reviews at http://www.article-market.info/articlesubmitreview/index.html This exposure is limitless and articles can be submitted to thousands of directories and any site that will accept them. All articles include a resource box. This is a few lines of information about the writer and can include a web address.

    This address or u.r.l. is the key.

    When the various search engines index the directory, the hyperlink to the writers chosen site is noted. This alone improves link popularity. Incoming links from major sites (as many directories are), will improve your chances of getting search engine traffic.

    For example only; if two sites, using the same keywords and similar content are in competition (normal ), the one with links from high quality sites will be favoured.

    So you get traffic to your site because of search engines and the possibility or probability of someone reading the article, by simply clicking your link.

    Without a clear system of values for ourselves, it is impossible to believe in something with a passion that has no value to us. Once we have established our individual value system we are then able to determine how we can achieve success based on our priority of values. What must we five up in one hand to accomplish what we desire on the other. Without a value system we can never move forward for we may be trading without increasing our potential for success.

    Here is why people have success backwards especially in the area of sales and marketing. They mistakenly go about trying to sell their product or service, thinking people will want to buy from them. Instead of thinking how can I be of value to others. How can I give away my value so I receive even more in return.

    One of the main reasons for publishing articles is to generate keyword focused backlinks with appropriate anchor text. You want your article picked up by as many sites as possible.

    Double whammy shortened; search engine traffic via linking popularity and your name or associated site/program presented for perusal. Sites lacking content go to directories to find content. This is “VIRAL MARKETING” at its’ best! That is around the clock, around the year, exposure. Such exposure can theoretically last forever, where the info. is good, amusing or of interest to people on this planet.

    Brilliant! So how much will it cost? It’s FREE.

    So what should I do?

    Find or create a site to link to. Get a free one if necessary ( search engine, then, “free hosting”).

    That’s great, but I’m a nobody!

    I go to college or I’m an unmarried mother, a pensioner, a prisoner, a priest, or indeed, all five in combination.

    That is great! That means that you do know something or know something differently!

    Tell us (the world) about it.

    Tell your grand parents that someone wants to know!

    Tell your grand children that someone wants to know about your experience!

    Enhance your resume/Curriculum Vitae.

    Bring free traffic to your site.

    Develop a new skill. Before the advent of the INTERNET, it wasn’t easy or nearly impossible to get “published”. All excuses are rapidly dwindling. Indeed, they are gone!

    Maximise work already done ( you may already have a wealth of articles on you P.C.; just paste them into relevant category of directories and you can use your favourite search engine to find them).

    You may have the stories within a diary or in your head. Unleash your experience and discoveries.

    Within a local context (family, friends, work), your experience may be ignored, but the world is a different setting. Exploit it; it was never easier, and benefit from being a contributor to the INTERNET, and the people that it is meant to serve.

    Benefits to the directories.

    They amass volumes of information.

    They get traffic because of this. Their respective content is favoured by search engines.

    Summary.

    Articles favour the writers and directories that support them.

    Articles contribute to the free end of the INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY.

    Articles are VIRAL (marketing speak).

    Articles compliment sites that don’t have time or don’t have experience within a specific field.

    ACTION.

    NOW. You may forget tomorrow, what you know today so put it somewhere that it will be remembered.

    NOTE; If you absolutely need to mention your mother-in-law, then you should mention her affectionately for you’ll never know where she could read about it.

    Delete Vague Descriptions and Statements
    Statements like, “Our purpose is to connect you with
    information and resources to achieve your maximum
    potential”, could apply to a number of different
    professions. It could refer to a cooking school, a
    management consultant or an eldercare program.

    Mastery of Communication – To take charge and run your own mind. To learn the techniques of NLP and no longer allow our mind to run our lives, but rather take charge of our own mental abilities and cause them to work for our own accomplishment of success.

    FLYERS OR LEAFLETS: In the U.S.A they call it flyers in Britain we call it leaflets, they are both the same, you can reach new people offline through leaflets, write a decent,simple,short,advertisements of your business in the leaflets, give it to a printer,to print them out for you, make sure that you include your web site address and email in the flyers, then, share out to people, either through their door posts, or stand near a shopping centre where people walk past,and give your flyers to people walking past you, do not expect to get result from all the numbers of leaflets your gave out, but do not worry, you will get some few result, the few people are the people who are genuinely interested in your business,you can build your business from their on.

    BUSINESS CARDS: Make sure you have business cards that contain your web site and email addresses, give your business cards to the people you know or meet. People rearly throw away business cards,ask the people you want to give your business cards to, have you got friends? or do you know somebody who like to save money on his or her shopping bills?,if the answer is yes,give some extra cards to them,to give to the people they know. This methods of marketing works well and work everytime,it will bring you some businesses.

    Free Article Submitter Comparison Report.


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    Medicaid Asset Protection

    01. Sep, 2010 0 Comments

    As tax preparation time begins, many seniors are asking to include Medicaid asset protection as part of their tax planning strategies. For those of you not familiar with the 2005 Tax Reduction Act, some of the provisions address specific transfers by seniors under the new Medicare nursing home provisions. Under the new provisions, before a senior qualifies for Medicare assistance into a nursing home, they must spend-down their assets. These new restriction have a 5 year look-back, used to be 3 years. And used to be that each spouse had a one-half interest in the marital property, it now appears that all the marital assets are to be spent-down. I have not seen specific regulations but it appears that the healthy spouse will be left without any assets if one of them gets sick.

    Suggestions by seniors have been to transfer their assets to their children. Although this option is available, I’m not sure that it’s a good option. What if the child decides to use the asset for themselves, what if they get divorced and the judge awards assets originally intended for the parents to the divorcing wife’s decree, what if the child get’s sued?

    There are also tax implications. If the assets are transferred to the child for less than fair market value, then it’s a taxable gift. Even worse, if this type of transfer to the child is completed before the 5 years-look back, -is it a “fraudulent conveyance?”

    Medicaid asset protection has to be done very carefully. Planning in this area is evolving. There are a lot of eldercare law firms popping up all over the place. I have been approached by such a firm to send them clients. They claim that they can structure a new deal whereby the nursing home won’t be able to attach assets even after they enter the nursing home.

    I know this much, any method used to deflect assets from the original owner has to be done at it’s fair market value. For example you just can’t transfer your house from you to your child. There are tax consequences. Did you just sell your house? Or did you just gift your house? Who will determine the fair market value? Did you get a genuine appraisal? If therefore, it’s at less than fair market value (willing buyer and willing seller, neither under compulsion to buy or sell, each acting in their best interest) did you just create a more challenging problem?

    Any method whereby there’s an element of strings attached, it’s revocable and therefore you have done nothing to disassociate yourself from your asset. One can challenge your intent, to divert assets for the purpose of defrauding a potential creditor and failure to have filed a gift tax return has statutory penalties, and interest, worse- if Medicare intended, criminal?

    I am aware of only one method of disassociating yourself from your asset (personal residence, your CD’s, your investments, vacation spot) is to give it away. Period. You can gift it to your children, pay the tax and that’s it. The problem is that you no longer have any control and you are at the mercy of your child’s good intentions and a blessed spouse. Risky? You bet!

    An irrevocable trust with an independent trustee (not related to you by blood or marriage) will fit the bill.
    An irrevocable trust, is an irrevocable contract between you and the independent trustee to manage the assets for the benefit of all beneficiaries. You and your spouse can become beneficiaries along with your children and grand children.

    Timing is extremely important. If the transfer (repositioning) of your valuable assets is done before the 5 years, chances are good that it will stand-up in court. What if it’s before the 5 years are up? Is your Medicaid asset protection plan still good? In my book it’s better to have done something than nothing.

    Rocco Beatrice, CPA, MST, MBA, award-winning trust & estate-planning expert. 71 Commercial Street #150 Boston, MA 02109 tel: 888-938-5872. Click here-FREE newsletter & learn to reduce taxes, protect assets & secure privacy. Asset Protection Irrevocable Trust


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    Reverse Equity Mortgage – Is It the Right Choice For Me?

    31. Aug, 2010 0 Comments

    In common language, it’s the opposite of a traditional mortgage. Instead of you paying a mortgage payment to a mortgage company…the mortgage company makes the payment to you every month! The loan amount is based on the current equity in the home, which is the difference in the market value and any mortgage attached to the property. The loan is paid off when the home is sold.


    You will not have to pay income taxes on the monthly payments made to you. This is tax-deferred income, as interest will only have to be paid when the home is sold or the loan is paid off.


    No re-payment will be required as long as the senior citizen lives in the home. But, there are a couple of rules to remember. The loan will be due and payable in the event (1) the home is sold, (2) the homeowner moves out for longer than 12 months, or the homeowner dies. At that time, accrued interest must be paid in full.


    This type of mortgage must be recorded as a first mortgage lien. And if the current loan balance is less than 50% of the market value, this balance can be incorporated into the reverse equity mortgage…which means that the senior citizen will possibly be relieved of their present house payment.


    Who is Eligible for a Reverse Equity Mortgage?


    The borrowers (or co-borrowers) must be at least 62 years old…with no current bankruptcy. The loan is on the home, so income or credit score doesn’t matter. There is no personal liability for repayment of a reverse equity mortgage.


    Homeowners Have a Choice in How They Receive the Money


    The proceeds from this type of loan can be distributed in the following ways:


    * Lifetime monthly income


    * Lump sum for any purpose


    * Credit line for future borrowing


    There are a few major reverse mortgage lenders and they all have different programs, but all will have the following criteria to determine how much cash the homeowner can obtain:


    * The adjustable interest rate at the time the mortgage is originated.


    * The age of the youngest homeowner


    * The market appraisal of the home


    * The lenders maximum loan limit


    If you want to compare the different plans for your personal situation, the information can be found at http://www.FinancialFreedom.com. Just enter your information and quickly know how much you could borrow. Then, if you decide that this type of mortgage is for you, go to http://www.reversemortgage.org for more information and the location of a reverse equity mortgage lender in your area.


    It is always best to compare the different plans…and be sure to consult with your attorney, financial or estate planner, accountant…as well as any adult children when considering this type of plan.


    Your home can truly be your “nest egg” in your senior years!


    Questions??


    Do my heirs lose their interest in the home?

    No…they have the choice to either sell the home and pay off the mortgage, or they can keep it by simply refinancing the mortgage. Any remaining equity is theirs to keep of distribute as they wish…or as your will stipulates.


    What if my spouse is younger than 62?

    An easy way to handle this is simply to have the spouse quitclaim their interest in the home over to the senior citizen. Consult with your attorney for more possible options.


    Will this affect my Social Security benefits?

    The reverse equity mortgage should have no effect on social security, pensions or Medicare. However, if you receive SSI or Medicaid welfare assistance, you should check with your local government authority before obtaining a reverse equity mortgage. You can check out http://www.eldercare.gov for more information.

    Pam Rumley is a veteran real estate broker in the Nashville, TN area. She is a true Exclusive Buyer’s Agent. There is never a conflict of interest regarding your real estate transaction. You can be assured of receiving 100% of her attention and loyalty – 100% of the time.

    For more information, visit her comprehensive website, www.NashvilleRealEstateAuthority.com


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    How to Retain Women in your Organization, and Support Their Success

    30. Aug, 2010 0 Comments

    What group makes up half of our population, yet only 15.6% of corporate officers in Fortune 500 companies? What group holds half of all management and professional positions in the United States, but less than 3% of the CEO positions in the Fortune 500? Women!

    Moreover, studies have shown that companies with the highest representation of women (top 10%) on their top management teams had better financial performance than did the group with the lowest women’s representation. Women purchase 83% of all products and services in the United States, so it makes sense that your employees reflect your customer base. In order to be successful, companies need to recognize what they are doing with respect to women, where they’re succeeding and where they need to improve.

    What you can do. You can play a significant role in conveying the importance of the topic, assess what is being done well at your organization and what needs to be improved, and work toward implementing the necessary changes.

    In my work helping women succeed in business, I’ve found that two kinds of barriers exist: one is external, male dominated organizations with a subconscious bias against women; the other is internal, how women themselves operate in the corporate world. Much of this is based on gender socialization in the United States. Obviously, there are exceptions to all of these situations. But there has been significant research done, and I’ve witnessed plenty of it in my fifteen-plus years in corporate America. Corporations need to pay attention to the barriers to minimize them, thereby maximizing their success, and women need to be aware of how they position themselves.

    Bringing up gender biases in the workforce is a touchy subject. Some perceive it’s casting women as the victim. However, if we don’t admit it can exist, it can’t be addressed. In her book Necessary Dreams, Anne Fels cites a significant amount of research that shows women continue to receive less recognition for their accomplishments than men. This starts at pre-school and happens with both male and female evaluators. For example, in one study, two groups of people were asked to evaluate particular items, such as articles, paintings, and resumes. The names attached to the items were either clearly male or female, but reversed for the two groups. So, what one group believed was created by a man, the other believed was created by a woman. Regardless of the items, when they were credited to a man, they were rated higher than when credited to a woman. This discrepancy was consistent across male and female evaluators. What you can do. Create objective standards for success at your organization. Make success transparent, including performance measurements and competencies. When standards are objective, women succeed.

    Another result of male-dominated organizations is that many are structured on the idea that the employee (a man) had someone at home (a wife) taking care of the children and house. This is rarely the case anymore. The fact that women still bear a disproportionate burden of childcare, house care and eldercare results in an additional stress on them in the workplace, and often results in what has been termed “opting out”. See “Off-Ramps and On-Ramps” by Sylvia Ann Hewlett and Carolyn Buck Luce in the Harvard Business Review (March 2005). It offers a comprehensive overview of that phenomenon and what companies can do to reverse the brain drain of women leaving corporate America, and help women when they are ready to reenter it.

    What you can do. Support flexible workplaces, put informal structures in place to stay in contact with strong people who have left your company, and make sure someone contacts them on a regular basis.

    Talking about internal barriers that women create for themselves can bring up a different kind of resistance, as people perceive it as “blaming the victim.” Instead this approach empowers women to take control of their destinies by finding techniques that increase their success.

    Finding a voice in corporate America is still a big issue for women. The range of issues includes not feeling comfortable speaking in public (especially when being the only woman in a group) to feeling very comfortable to speaking in public, but not having your ideas taken seriously because you are a woman. In a recent Catalyst report about women on Board of Directors, a woman director confirmed that “they’re predisposed against hearing you because you’ve got on a skirt.”

    In a recent focus groups of professional corporate women, one woman stated it well when she said “If I’m 99% sure, I’ll talk like I’m 95% sure, as opposed to men who talk like they are 150% sure even when they are not. We need more confidence in our communication.”

    There are ways of communicating that decrease the speaker’s credibility, which I call “power sappers.” They are more common in women and include the following:

    Kerrie Halmi of Halmi Performance Consulting specializes in increasing women


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    How A Head Cold Got Me Married

    29. Aug, 2010 0 Comments

    And how could marriage result from a mere head cold? Why, I squirm as if caught in a velvet trap…well, I could, but my husband is standing right behind me and might ask me what I’m sitting on. Yes, it’s been nothing but high misadventure for me, especially since I lost my extremely brave and sincere first husband, a wonderful Austrian-American Jew, to combined MS and cancer in February of 1985.

    I loved him so much…even after more than a dozen intensive, fascinating, and downright roller-coaster relationships before then, my first real commitment, he was still the only man I ever truly loved (Remerio, stop looking at this over my shoulder!)

    Anyway, several eventful years and as many nerve-wracking, tumultuous, and sanity-defying relationships later, I landed in the plastic schoolroom seat in front of Remerio, my future second husband, in a five-week Certified Nurse Aide class held at a nursing home near Northgate in Seattle, next to a merrily perking and brewing coffee pot. Innocent and unknowing, I was headed for yet another high-pitched roller coaster ride.

    All my relationships, especially as an adult, have been crazy ones. My first husband thought he lucked out marrying his sexy young attendant. In his early thirties, Gary was dying horribly, often in great pain, and I was forced to fall deeply in love with his stubborn courage and what was ebbing away of his once trim and athletic youthful body. He was the first person who truly needed, wanted, and loved me. His courage lasted completely, until the very end. Oh, how I have missed his loving, gentle arms.

    After he died, I had several wild, bitter and tragically brief affairs. If I ever write about everything that happened, it would make three or four excellent trashy novels. Whatever, it was fun being single again, a vast relief from the hours of watching over Gary’s dying and emaciated form.

    But Remerio stopped my new single life cold simply by kicking the frail back of my chair in CNA class—HARD! He received all my undivided attention, distracting me from talking to a fellow classmate, a middle-aged black lady. He caught me in the middle of accidentally sniffling at her. I apparently was coming down with a major sinus infection head cold.

    Really, I would like to think ‘twas because he preferred the pretty, teasingly mid-calf length crisp white skirt I was wearing for the first time there to the pretty much bulkily pantaloned and overweight other female denizens of our CNA class. Well, Grace, the middle-aged black lady, was only sitting pat. A hard worker of several years standing, she was being “grandfathered in” as a CNA, but still had to take the class.

    Remerio may have been trying to protect her from me, as I’d been sniffling at her for the last four sessions…such was vengeance from Karen the Terrible! SNIFF!!! Or, maybe it was merely the head cold talking.

    Grace was sitting to the right front, I was seated to the rear left, and I was mildly jealous of her degree of nursing home experience. I was fitfully “taking it out” on Grace. I was casting her sidelong glances, and sniffling loudly and intermittently. It was quite embarrassing. So I started guiltily fetching her a hot cup of coffee sometimes, as the pot was brewing closer to me than her. It would’ve been hard for Grace to squeeze between the seats and fetch herself a hot, fresh cup without spilling it. I began getting her some coffee.

    Sometimes I added creamer. I even stirred it with the little red plastic stir sticks. She finally asked me to add a sugar packet, please.

    She liked the coffee, but our distantly commiserative relationship as two ladies of eldercare was rudely interrupted by the rapid-fire entrance of Remerio’s sneakered foot through the reverberating back of my nearly shattering cheap plastic chair. I’ve lovingly saved the black marks on the back of my white nursing jacket for years.

    Turning around, right after the “kick-off,” I astonishingly faced a middle-aged, awfully hate-ridden, and flatly Hispanic cold stare. This angry face, however, reminded me of a similar nut-brown countenance, a Middle-Eastern teacher I’d been attracted to ‘way back at Ohio University in 1978. Said chap always mispronounced the word “equilibrium” in a characteristic accent that could shatter a glass retort. He explained the rules of physical science to us neophyte med students in as high of a pitch as he could muster, but it was musical and alluring somehow…and this kicky guy behind me looked a lot like him.

    Remerio turned out to be a quite engaging and multi-talented Philippino/Hawaiian import, a seventh-degree black belt martial arts expert, a fabulous chef of all regional cuisines and one heck of a lip-locking rugged kisser, in approximately that order. I was an artist and writer of long standing who needed some work “on the side,” so I’d decided to take a Certified Nurse Aide training course and move in with a little old lady I knew who needed the help. It was a great free way to continue with my career without interference. But now this new guy had shown up in my life. What can you do when they come at you from behind like that? I tried out assuming there was something nice about him.

    He gradually broke down in his enmity towards me, merrily chasing me to the bus stop in his beat-up old blue and white pickup truck. He soon followed me home, and Mommy said I could keep him. Actually, “Mommy” was that little old lady, Carrie, a disabled, fellow “freckly” dwarf (you could spot her) I was working for and living with at the time. She needed extensive in-home care, and Remerio went right to work helping us move into a larger apartment, even cooking and cleaning for us. I scarcely had to lift a finger; Remerio was simply everywhere, driving us to church and generally relieving me of my cares and woes until Carrie abruptly died, peacefully in her sleep. Well, possibly those Catholic nurses gave her a lethal injection. She may have been wandering around at night and screaming her lungs out. She had a very bad knee problem, and had kept me awake nights frequently with it. Again, what can you do?

    We married a week and a day after Cinquo de Mayo, 1991. We’re still madly in love, and on Christmas day of 1994 we were blessed by a Pinay from Heaven, our little princess Angela, nut-brown as her Daddy and sporting my chipmunk cheekbones. Yes, Remerio is crazy about me now. We should be okay, as long as they don’t use the nets.

    This incident may be the only time in history that a cold-stricken gal every attracted a lonely, jealously protective guy through being an apparently obvious, blatant and coffee-fetching sniffing presumed bigot. Bigots and non-bigots alike, take note.

    I guess I’d suggest that more single white ladies, and any other intrigued parties, try sniffling (or sniffing) at nearby black people to see whose attention they furtively attract. Of course, you may inadvertently attract a black person, which might work out quite well for you, especially if they happen to be an excellent cook — as the husband of a friend of mine (who used this method) turned out to be. Hope that he or she has a sense of humor. Or, believe in whatever powers that may be.

    If so, it helps a lot if you fetch them some coffee. It soothes their tired, ruffled feathers. Seems some folks are more descendants of birds than lizards.

    Be sure and add some cream and sugar.

    Executive Director and President of Rainbow Writing, Inc., Karen Cole writes. RWI at http://www.rainbowriting.com is a renowned inexpensive and affordable professional freelance writers, book authors, ghost writers, copy editors, proof readers, coauthors, manuscript rewriters, graphics and CAD, digital and other photographers, publishing assistance and screenplay writers, editors, developers and analysts service.


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