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Consumer Information
Submitted by Executive Director, Patricia Pavelsky.
Energy Efficiency Websites
Are Financial Alarms Sounding?
Skilled Nursing Facilities: Services and Costs
Septic System Trouble Signs
Is Your Refrigerator Running?
Disability Policy
Disability Insurance
Assisted Living
Energy Efficiency Websites: Learn More about making your home energy efficient. Check out these websites.
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Are Financial Alarms Sounding?
Alarms are rigged to warn you of fire, smoke, or other impending dangers. In the same way, you need to watch for warning signs that your personal finances need attention. Ignoring such warnings in the handling of money can threaten your health and lifestyle.
Many people aren’t always honest with themselves or family members about their own financial situation. Not wanting to show their lack of financial knowledge and to avoid embarrassment, they keep their financial matters, good or bad, to themselves. Financial educators who help people get their budgets back on track often comment that, despite overwhelming debt problems, their clients often genuinely feel that they can handle their problems and do not see the shortfalls of their credit practices.
If you have a debt, credit or other financial problems, the first and most important step is to admit to yourself that there is a problem and resolve to do something to change it, even if it means getting outside help. This is a difficult hurdle to clear for most people because they feel that getting that help is an admission of financial failure. The real failure is digging deeper into a financial hole when help is available.
Take a few moments to reflect on your current financial state by reviewing the following financial danger signs. If any of them is too close to home, you may want to consider asking for assistance.
Do you use your credit cards regularly and rarely pay more than the required minimum payment? Simple mathematics makes this approach a one-way road to disaster. Eventually, your debt will become so high that you may not even be able to make the minimum payment.
Are you often or always late on regular monthly bills? Are the new bills arriving before you have paid off the previous one? If this is what is happening on a regular basis, then you simply do not have control over your finances. Monthly bills should represent your basic needs with a plan to pay them off without any problem or delay. If your pile of bills includes premium cable or other expensive subscriptions, maybe it is time to reprioritize.
Do you get in frequent arguments about money with a spouse, partner or roommate? This is usually a sign that you and the other person are overly stressed about mutual finances and probably for a good reason.
Do you purchase necessary consumable items, like food and gas, with a credit card? A healthy attitude toward credit is one in which you only use it in emergencies or to pay for important items, with the intention of paying it off quickly, usually within 90 to 120 days.
Do you know the amount of your total debt? If you can’t estimate within $500 or $1000 of your total debt, your spending is way out of control. Chances are that when you receive your monthly statements, you are only looking at the minimum payment required.
Have you recently taken out a cash advance on a credit card to pay a monthly bill? Generally, credit cards charge a higher interest rate and allow no grace period on a cash advances. They also charge a service fee.
Have you paid overdraft fees on bounced checks, on both ends, i.e. at your bank and also fees at the bank of payee? Or, have you had a checking account closed by a bank because of too many rubber checks?
If you answered yes to two or more of these questions, the financial management alarms are already sounding and probably getting louder and more persistent. Seek help to turn your situation around. Contact Consumer Credit Counseling toll free at 1-888-724-2227 (local number is 585-546-5693) or Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ontario County at (585) 394-3977 x21 for information on a free and confidential financial budgeting program.
Information for this article came from Paul Richard, Institute of Consumer Financial Education, from the CCE Delaware County Newsletter, April 2004.
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Skilled Nursing Facilities: Services and Costs
A skilled nursing home is not a hospital, although many people enter a nursing home after a hospital stay and tend to think of it as an extension of their hospital care. While medical and nursing care is provided, nursing homes try to be homes to the people who live there. Residents requiring therapies (physical, occupational, speech) or who must rely on the total assistance of staff are appropriate for skilled nursing care.
Nursing homes do not have restrictive visiting hours like hospitals. Whenever possible, residents eat in common dining rooms, not in their rooms. There are a variety of activities designed to stimulate residents both mentally and physically. Many people utilize nursing homes as a rehabilitation center so that they can learn and relearn skills and regain health to enable them to return to independent living again. Nearly 30% of all nursing home residents are discharged to homelike living arrangements.
How can you determine which nursing home is the right one for you or your family member? To learn the basics of any facility, including cleanliness, lighting, security, and floor plan, visit the facility on different days and at various times, including mealtimes. Note the number and type of staff and how they are engaged. Talk to members of the nursing staff about how long they have been at the facility. What is the staff to resident ratios? The state regulates nursing homes carefully and every facility will have a copy of their most recent survey where you can learn if they were sited for any deficiencies. Does the facility have a plan for each resident? What is in each plan and how often is it revised? Does the resident maintain his/her own doctor or is there a doctor associated with the facility?
Does it have special care units, such as those for Alzheimer’s patients? What are the features of the special care units? Who is eligible for these units?
The experiences of other family and friends, who live, visit or volunteer at nursing home facilities can be factored in to your decision, as well as the recommendations of your family member’s doctor.
Daily rates at skilled nursing homes in our area range from about $200 to over $300. This rate is calculated for every day, whether or not the resident is at the facility. If a resident must leave the facility for a hospital stay or any other reason, the resident would continue to pay the daily rate to hold the room until his return.
In addition to their room and meals, residents of nursing homes receive social services, personal laundry, and skilled nursing care for medications, diet, treatments, personal hygiene and grooming. It is wise to check on all items that are included with the daily rate and know what is not. For example, hairdressing services, privately hired aides, telephone, and cable television are generally paid in addition to the nursing home charges.
What happens if the resident runs out of money? For those who qualify, Medicaid is generally accepted by most skilled nursing home facilities, but not all. Other insurance and long term care policies may be accepted. Before you make any arrangements for care, be sure that the payment arrangements are clearly outlined.
Skilled nursing homes generally call for a lengthy application with questions on social and medical history. Complete and current financial information is required. Candidates for placement are assessed using a Patient Review Instrument that determines the level of care needed.
The Ontario County Office of Aging has information on all types of living situations for older citizens including adult homes, enriched housing, skilled nursing, assisted living and senior independent living. Call them at (585) 396-4040 or (315) 781-1321 or on the web at www.co.ontario.ny.us/aging
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Septic System Trouble Signs
Most septic systems will fail eventually because they are only designed to last for 20 to 30 years under the best conditions. A septic system should effectively accept wastewater from your house and prevent pollutants from getting into a well, if you have one, and nearby lakes and streams. Anytime your septic system is not treating or disposing of sewage in an effective manner, the system is failing.
If wastewater is backing up into your home or is bubbling up in your backyard, the system has failed. If significant amounts of biological or nutrient pollutants reach nearby surface waters or your well, the system is failing, even though it may appear to be working well.
Septic systems often don’t last due to a variety of factors. Pipes that are blocked by roots, soils that are saturated by high water tables, improper location of the system, and poor original design or installation can all lead to major problems.
Improper maintenance by homeowners is the most common reason for early system failure. When a system is not pumped out on a regular basis, it can become clogged beyond repair.
There are a number of telltale signs that signal trouble with your septic system including:
Sewage backup in your drains or toilets.
Slowly draining sinks, bathtubs and toilets, despite the use of plungers or drain cleaning products.
Surface flow of wastewater indicated by soggy areas or standing water on the ground above or near your septic system.
Lush green grass over the absorption field, even during dry weather. If you see excessive amounts of liquid from your system moving upward through the soil instead of downward as it should, this is an indicator of a problem.
The presence of nitrates or bacteria in your drinking well. If wastewater from the system is flowing into the well through the ground or over the surface, a water test will point out the problem. Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ontario County or the local Health Department can advise you on places to have the testing done.
Excessive growth of aquatic weeds or algae in lakes or ponds adjacent to your home. The growth can result from nutrient-rich septic system waste leaching into surface water.
Unpleasant odors around your house. Improperly vented or failing septic systems cause a buildup of disagreeable odors around the house.
Inconvenience and potentially high costs for replacing systems are obvious effects of a failing septic system. The most serious consequence is the possibility for serious diseases from improperly treated wastewater. These wastes can spread dysentery and hepatitis. Insects that carry diseases can breed in areas where liquid waste reaches the surface. Chemical or nutrient poisoning is a concern. Many of the products that are used in today’s households can be poisonous to people, pets and wildlife if they travel through soil to your well or on the surface to bodies of water. Plants and shrubs around your house could also be seriously affected.
What can you do to prevent problems? Make sure the system is installed correctly and located in an area with the right soil conditions. Systems should always be built at a sufficient distance from the house and within local health department codes. Once the system is in place, pump the tank regularly. Be careful of what goes down your drains. Avoid planting trees over the absorption field or covering them with patios or home additions. Conserve water wherever possible.
Thanks to George Barden of the Ontario County Soil and Water Conservation District for reviewing this article.
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Is Your Refrigerator Running?
Maybe you remember the old joke that started with “Is your refrigerator running?” and ended with the punch line, “Well, you’d better try to catch it!” The fact is that your refrigerator is running 24 hours a day, consuming about 16-20% of all the electricity used in your home, much more than any other household appliance! Older model refrigerators are responsible for spending even more of your energy dollars. Did you know that a ten-year-old refrigerator uses twice as much electricity as a new ENERGY STAR refrigerator?
You can actually reduce the amount of money you spend every month on electricity by updating your refrigerator to an ENERGY STAR model. A refrigerator made in 1972 that is a top-freezer style with automatic defrost can cost you $270 a year, calculated at $0.135 per kilowatt-hour. A refrigerator manufactured after 2001 consumes only 25% of the energy of the 1972 model with a proportionate reduction in cost. An ENERGY STAR refrigerator manufactured in 2003 or later costs even less to operate.
Federal legislation is 1987 established energy efficiency standards for certain consumer products, including refrigerators and freezers. Standards were updated and efficiency levels increased in 1993 and again in 2001.
You might balk at the idea of spending $400 or more to replace your current refrigerator with a new, more energy efficient model, when your current appliance is functioning just fine. But maybe you should. If your current refrigerator was manufactured before the energy efficiency guidelines went into effect, it may be costing you hundreds of dollar each year for electricity. Replacing it with a new ENERGY STAR model could pay you back in just two to three years. Once the new refrigerator has paid back the initial investment of the purchase price, annual savings on electricity costs becomes saved money.
What should you look for when you shop for a new refrigerator?
There are several types of refrigerators. Top freezer model refrigerators use 10-25% less electricity than the side-by-side models. Bottom freezer models consume about the same amount of electricity as the top freezer types.
The bright yellow ENERGY STAR label alerts you that the refrigerator will use at least 10% less energy than a conventional model. Purchasing an ENERGY STAR refrigerator assures that it meets strict energy efficiency guidelines set by the Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Department of Environment. Further, you can compare the energy efficiency of various brand and models by reading the information on that yellow label.
Select the refrigerator that meets your needs. To determine how much refrigerator space your family needs, allow 10 cubic feet of storage for a family of two and then add one extra cubic foot for each additional member of your household. The freezer compartment should be 40-45% as large as the refrigerator section. This translates to a 16.5-17.5 cubic foot refrigerator for a family of four.
Determine the features that your family actually needs and will use. Automatic ice makers and through the door dispensers increase energy use by 14% to 20% and also drive up the purchase price of the refrigerator.
Use the information in this article to help you make a decision about the purchase of a refrigerator that can save you money, reduce energy use and save the environment.
To locate stores that sell the ENERGY SMART appliances, call toll free 1-877-NY-SMART or go online at www.GetEnergySmart.org
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ontario County cooperates in the Energy Smart program.
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Disability Policy
Getting the right disability policy that fits your needs isn’t always easy. Prices vary widely and only a handful of the big insurers even offer disability policies.
All insurance policies are legal documents and should be read and understood before they are signed. As you compare policies you might want to consider:
Is disability defined as your inability to perform your own job or any job?
Does the policy cover both accidents and illness?
Are benefits paid for partial or recurring disabilities?
Is the policy non-cancelable, guaranteed renewable or conditionally renewable?
How long do you have to be disabled before the premiums are waived?
Is there an option to buy additional coverage, without additional medical clearances, at a later date?
Does the policy offer an inflation adjustment feature?
There are about a half dozen major insurance companies that still offer disability insurance, but there are a multitude of smaller companies. If you consider them, tt is important to check out their financial statements and make sure that they will be able to pay out for any claims. You want to avoid companies that advertise coverage for only a few dollars a week and claim that you cannot be turned down. The payout on these policies is often limited to a return of the premiums you have paid, especially in the first few years, minus the company’s administrative costs.
When investigating disability coverage, you also want a non-cancelable contract. While a non-cancelable contract may be pricey, it is by far the best option because this type of a contract locks in rates and benefits and the insurance company cannot make changes unless you request them. A guaranteed renewable policy means that the insurance company can raise the rates or modify coverage. Finally, avoid conditionally renewable policies where the insurer can put any condition on the policies or raise rates at any time.
Watch for a broad definition of “total disability” in a policy, especially one that specifies “own occupation disability.” This type of coverage would pay benefits to you as a disabled worker even if you couldn’t perform your old job, but are able to work in another field. For example, you might be working in a part-time job when you cannot yet get back to your regular, full-time job. Under the definition of “any-occupation disability,” you do not get a benefit unless you are completely unemployed and unable to do any work. Most companies define disability somewhere in between.
Make sure that the policy covers both accidents and illness. Find out how they are defined and if full benefits are paid after loss of sight, speech, hearing or use of limbs from either accident or illness.
If you buy residual or partial disability coverage, you will receive benefits if you can only work at your job for a reduced period of time. If you suffered an illness and, when recovered, could only work on a reduced schedule for a period of time, partial disability coverage assist with the percentage of lost income.
Look for riders that can adjust your policy for inflation, especially if you are in your twenties or thirties. The dollar amount of coverage is not likely to be worth as much in a decade or more. Consider a future purchase option allowing you to buy more coverage at later dates. Riders and options can provide protection as your salary rises or your business expands.
Getting the right coverage for you and your family takes some investigation. Explore the options with an insurance agent to get the maximum protection for your dollars.
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Disability Insurance: What It Can Mean To You And Your Family
For most people, purchasing disability insurance doesn’t rank high in importance. Yet, a disability policy can offer protection from the serious debt that happens in an accident or illness that stops you from earning your living. There are many misconceptions about disability insurance and payments. Here are just a few of them.
Buying life insurance is more important than buying disability insurance. While it is true that the early death of a primary family earner has a huge emotional and financial impact, a disability of that same person(s) can devastate a family’s financial stability. The most important financial asset most people have is the ability to earn a living and, if interrupted or downsized, will change the life of an entire family.
If I was in a car accident or suffered a heart attack I would likely die, making life insurance more important than disability insurance. Studies indicate that workers are approximately twice more likely to be disabled than to die early. Since 1960, the frequency of death from the four leading causes has sharply decreased, while the frequency of disability has sharply increased. A combination of air bags, medical advances and emergency treatment has lessened our chances of dying.
Since I have a job that does not involve physical labor and enjoy generally good health, I don’t need disability insurance. Accidents happen and so does illness. A problem pregnancy, a broken bone or a serious depression all could prevent you from working for a period of time. In fact, about 30% of Americans ages 35 to 65 will suffer a disability lasting at least 90 days sometime during their careers, according to the Health Insurance Association of America. You are far more likely to suffer a disability than to have your house burn down and yet, virtually all home owners have fire insurance.
I already have disability insurance through my job so I don’t need more. Did you know that most company-issued disability insurance only provides you with 60% of your salary, with a monthly maximum of $5,000 to $10,000? For people who are highly compensated, this monthly amount can be less than 60% of their salary. Did you know that company-paid disability payments are fully taxable, which means you would be receiving a lot less than 60% of what you are used to.
If I got hurt or became ill, Social Security disability benefits would cover me. To be eligible for these payment, a person must be unable to work in any field and the disability must be expected to last a year or to result in death. Even if you meet those requirements, you are unlikely to receive more than $2,000 a month. There is no provision for partial or short term disabilities. Applying for Social Security disability benefits is a long and arduous process. Approximately only 30% of over two million yearly applicants for Social Security disability benefits are approved.
Disability insurance is just too expensive. Annual premiums can be 1% to 3% of your annual salary. Many people just don’t think that they can afford it. Prices vary depending on several factors, which will include age, gender, health history and occupation. Even with policies from reputable companies you can keep costs lower by selecting a longer “elimination period” much like a deductible on a car or homeowners’ policy. Selecting a shorter length of time when the insurer will pay you benefits can also help keep the price lower.
Think about putting disability insurance into your financial planning. Your family’s financial health may depend on it!
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Assisted Living
Two or three decades ago, the only choices open to older people with health concerns were a nursing home or a move into a relative’s household. Since then the landscape for elder care has evolved. There are almost as many choices as there are personal situations. Assisted living has become a popular selection for a growing segment of our elderly citizens.
Assisted living residents can remain independent in their daily activities but can receive help as they need it for personal care such as bathing and dressing. The tasks of housekeeping, cooking, and laundry are assumed by the staff. To qualify for an assisted living site, a person must be able to move about independently, even with the help of a cane or walker. If the person uses a wheelchair, he or she must be able to transfer in and out or it without assistance. Only people who require particular therapy regimes or who need total care are candidates for skilled nursing homes.
Within the category of assisted living, there is a range of choices. The level of help that your family member requires needs to be matched with the right assisted living facility. Finding that fit means asking questions at potential assisted living sites.
How many meals are provided each day? Are all meals taken in a dining room? If laundry services are available, do they cost extra? What is meant by housekeeping? How do residents contact staff if they, in fact, need help in their living units? What is the policy and practice for administering prescription medications? What is the admission procedure? What happens if your family member needs hospitalization or a move to a higher level of care? Does the facility have an affiliation with a particular hospital or skilled nursing home?
Ask about the availability of the living unit that is right for your family member. Some facilities offer one room studios for a single person and one or even two bedroom apartments for singles or couples. What some facilities list as a two bedroom unit is simply that: two bedrooms with an adjoining door and no separate sitting area. Make note of the storage and closet space.
Although assisted living facilities typically have a spectrum of services that include those of a beautician or barber; transportation to medical appointments and other errands; meals for guests; and cable service, you must ask to determine cost and availability. Some places have gift shops or libraries or soda fountains. Your family member can take advantage of these amenities plus a variety of social, religious and physical activities all under one roof without concern for transportation or weather.
I recommend involving your family member in a facility tour of the facility and discussions with staff. Subtle cues that can sway your decision can come from the attitudes of staff and other residents that you and your family member will meet during a tour. Is the staff patient and friendly with your family member? Is there a positive atmosphere? Does the staff speak directly to your family member or to you only, as care giver?
The choice of assisted living carries a price tag. Assisted living must be paid for privately, unless you have private insurance that will cover all or part of the cost. The costs vary widely but are generally in the range of $35,000 to $50,000 a year for one person, excluding any costs for medications, health costs or “extras” at the facility.
The combination of services needed and available, the location of the facility and the cost all figure into a final decision.
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