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Volume 2, Issue 2 February 2007 |
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| Shari's Opener | ||||||||||
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Not only is it Valentine’s Day on Feb 14, February is also Happy Heart Month. I attended the kick-off meeting at The Coast Bastion on Feb 1. Dr. Poteryko was the guest speaker. He gave us healthy heart tips and a tape measure to check our waist measurements. That part was not so great! Kidding aside it is important that we take care of our bodies – it is the only one we have! Do you know of anyone who has suffered a heart or stroke? I know several and most have all survived due to the advances from the research the Heart & Stroke Foundation has made. If you get a chance to donate – it may make a difference to someone you care about. I will be taking the Diva Club to the streets in May to participate in the Big Bike ride in support of The Heart & Stroke Foundation – I will keep you informed. In the spirit of Valentine’s Day and Heart month – My guest contributor this month is Kim Switnicki. Her article is entitled “Dream for Sensual Success” in celebration of Valentine’s Day and heart month… enjoy! The deadline for RRSP’s is March 1st at midnight – I will be here if you need me! Remember that a quick fix at your bank may be okay to get the RRSP in before the deadline, but depending on your time line for retirement – make sure you pay attention to this investment – you do not want to go broke safely! Make sure your savings are working for you. I recently had a client come in that had run into the bank at the last minute to get an RRSP – promptly forgot about it and then when we went through his existing portfolio and had a look at it… it was making 1.5 %. If you take into account inflation and taxes – he was actually losing money! Call me if you want a free consultation or advice on this. I recently attended the 4th annual World Critical Illness Conference. Please see my article below on illness protection. Appropriate this month since Dr Barnard and his brother performed the very first heart transplant. I have attached a flyer of a
presentation that I will be participating in on elder mediation for
older parents. Also please read the article on aging parents. Enjoy the regular columns and I wish you all a happy Valentine’s Day! Cheers,
Shari |
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| Illness Protection | ||||||||||
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I recently attended the Fourth Annual World Critical Illness Conference in Victoria. Dr Barnard – who invented Critical Illness – made his fourth and final appearance. He and his brother Dr. Christian Barnard performed the first heart transplant back in 1969. As a doctor, he was keeping his patients alive physically. However, his client’s lives were not the same. In most cases, they could not go back to their jobs or had to go back to work because they needed the money. He felt he was doing his clients an injustice and so he approached the insurance industry to invent an insurance product that paid upon diagnosis of a critical life changing illness – such as heart attack, stroke and cancer – to help with either diagnosis, treatment, survival and the ever increasing medical costs. In fact the cost of medical care has increased in the last 10 years by 24%. This is due to the advances in medicine such as breast cancer research and stem cell transplant, just to name a couple. In 1950 only 11% of stroke victims survived. Today that number is 70%. Of those, 10% will recover completely, and 53% will be dependant on others. Who will take care of you? Do you have the resources to afford home care? Can a loved quit their job to look after you? These are suddenly questions that have to be addressed. A critical illness has a ripple effect on the loved ones around you. Who do you know who has had a critical illness such as heart attack, stroke or cancer? Did they plan on it? Was there unplanned emotional or financial impact or strain on the household or business? Would cash have helped? What is so great about this insurance is that it was not designed by an insurance company – but by a doctor. In fact whose problem is it? The answer is … the doctors! It is their solution, better diagnosis and early treatment available that is saving lives. Critical Illness is designed to help you recover…. How about a year off for your spouse to take care of you (wherein the spouse would not qualify for a disability)? How about a year of no mortgage payments or being able to pay off the mortgage? How about the effect on your retirement income, would you like to not have to worry about your nest egg? Critical Illness gives people a financial net. The average age of all claimants is 41. I bet you thought it would be higher. Take Lance Armstrong, fit, healthy, a superstar athlete who was diagnosed and almost died from testicular cancer at 25 years old. He sold some of his art and cars to get through the costs of treatment. It helped that he had just won several races and had earned a lot of money. Christopher Reeve “Superman” is another example. He was blessed to have a friend named Robin Williams who financially supported him till the end – it did not take long to go through all the money he had earned in his career. Sadly, Dr Barnard is dying from cancer. He made the long trip from South Africa to encourage us one last time ... basically to remind us, that as an advisor, it is our duty to help our clients and the general public, to not underestimate the impact on their lives and what the health care system will or will not provide for them today. Dr. Barnard just wants to go home now and be with his family. That is typical of anyone with a terminal illness. He is such an inspiration to me. I have been blessed by knowing him for the last 3 years. I will fulfill my promise to him, to myself and especially my clients, and educate people about the threat of a major illness and how this insurance protects you against that big threat that you won’t see coming. You can click on the link below to my website for more information. http://www.molchanfinancial.com/critical_illness.htm Let me leave you with these questions… If you were diagnosed with a critical illness what would your biggest concerns be? What would you want the money to do? |
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| What is the Difference Between Disability and Critical Illness Insurance | ||||||||||
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Recently, research was conducted by Manulife Financial that revealed that many consumers remain unfamiliar with Critical Illness Insurance. As a result, there has been a great deal of misunderstanding concerning the uses and benefits of this type of coverage. Many consumers feel that Disability Insurance offers them adequate protection in the event of a critical illness. This misconception has its roots in confusion regarding the difference between Critical Illness Insurance (CI) and Long Term Disability Insurance (LTD). While there are similarities between these two types of coverage, CI and LTD address entirely different needs, and each is most appropriate in the circumstances it was designed for. Knowing the specific reasons for CI and how it differs from LTD, can help you avoid a costly mistake that may affect your family's financial security. Understanding Long Term Disability Insurance LTD usually pays a regular monthly benefit to an insured individual who can no longer perform the normal duties of their work because they have suffered a disability. The amount of the monthly benefit is typically a percentage (often 67%) of the insured individual's monthly earned income before becoming disabled. Before benefits will be paid, a doctor's diagnosis must confirm the disability and the insured individual must complete the waiting period, typically 90-120 days from the onset of the disability, depending on the policy. It's very likely, for example, in the case of a mild heart attack, an individual may never satisfy the waiting period and therefore may never receive any benefits. LTD is commonly made available to people through their group employee plan at work or as individual policies set up with a benefits broker. Understanding Critical Illness Insurance CI usually pays a one-time lump sum benefit to an insured individual suffering from one of 23 critical illnesses covered under the policy. These illnesses typically include cancer, heart attack, stroke, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis. Before benefits will be paid, a doctor's diagnosis must confirm the condition, and the insured individual must complete the survival period, usually 30 days from the incident diagnosis. No disability, permanent or otherwise, is required to qualify for a CI benefit. The advantage of a CI insurance policy is that it provides cash up front, to be used for anything that the insured individual chooses. These uses can range from paying for the many indirect expenses of coping with the illness, to pursuing treatments and therapies, beyond the scope of our over-burdened provincial health care system. According to the May 20, 2002 edition of National Underwriter, two thirds of the costs to cancer patients relating to their illness in 2000 were for indirect expenses. These expenses, totaling $77 billion, included nursing care, medical care, day to day living expenses, travel to receive treatment, home health care, child care and other expenses not covered by provincial or private health plans. Expenses such as these can strain a family's finances and quickly deplete their savings. A CI insurance policy helps relieve this financial strain. It provides the insured individual with a much-needed measure of security during a trying time so they can focus on recovering, free from worries about paying for additional medical or family expenses. Here is a handy table which illustrates some of the key differences between Long Term Disability Insurance and Critical Illness Insurance:
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| Aging Parents | ||||||||||
As our parents move on in years, there will be a number of issues - both financial and non-financial- that we will have to deal with to ensure mom and dad are provided for in their old age. A financial advisor can play an important role in highlighting the financial issues such as cash flow management to estate planning - that adult children should address with their parents. Today's old timers are tough: they survived a Depression, won a world war, and rebuilt their world all while bringing up their families. Now in their 70s and 80s, they're falling prey to the ravages of old age - cancer, heart disease, stroke, and dementia. Yet, because of medical advances, these stalwarts are not going quietly into the night. On the contrary, our parents have unprecedented life spans. So what happens when our parents can't take care of themselves any longer? Often we're forced to step in and take over, sometimes with surprises and bits of missing detail to deal with. Before that has to happen, most of us would be wise to have a little chat with our parents to find out about their money and their wishes for their future. The Money Talk
There's a real danger for children who know nothing about their parents' financial situations. How will they know what type of care would be affordable if a parent has an accident or becomes ill if they have no clue about a parent's finances? And if they don't ask their parents how they would like difficult situations handled, how will they know what their parents would want if they couldn't do for themselves? Without these answers, guilt and second-guessing have a tendency to take over and adult children end up tying themselves into knots trying to figure out the best thing to do. Without knowing where all the important stuff is - the money, the investments, the insurance, the safety deposit box, the will, and the powers of attorney - clients will be scrambling to unearth these financial secrets just when they're also having to cope with a parent's death or disability. It's so much easier just to talk about it. An advisor can play an important role in that discussion by acting as mediator to the conversation, advisor to both sides in terms of the impact of decisions on each party, or as a sounding board for children and their parents. An advisor's unbiased and unemotional involvement will be invaluable. There is also elder mediation available that can help families to open conversation. So what should adult children know about their parents' financial lives? To start, they need to know where to find personal and financial documents in the event of an emergency, including:
You may be reluctant to ask these questions, and parents who are still actively involved in managing their own finances may not want to answer them. For everyone involved, these questions could be perceived as "prying," so you'll need to position the context of the questions. For example, "Mom, we don't need to know what's in the will, just where it is" or "Dad, we don't need to know how much insurance, just where it's kept." The point is to know what documents to look for, and where to find them, in an emergency. Being aware of a parent's financial situation may also help adult children to ensure dividends and interest are received, insurance is paid on time, and pensions are administered appropriately, and so on, as their parents get older and less focused on their financial details. Perhaps the biggest concern for children who have yet to have this conversation with their aging parents is how best to approach them. A practical and non-confrontational tact is best. Consider using another example from the family where a child had to step in with an adult parent, such as, "Remember when Aunty Mimi had to go into a home and Suzie had no idea where anything was?" Alternatively, adult children could use an article, such as this one, or others from a local magazine or newspaper to start the conversation. Adult children should be prepared to suggest this discussion several times before they're taken up on their offer. And they may have to take several small steps toward full disclosure. If parents brush their adult children off as alarmist, they could say: "If anything happens to you, the burden of managing your health care and your money will probably end up being mine (and my siblings). I want to be able to do what's right for you and make you as comfortable as possible. Consider it a gift to me to minimize my distress by being open about your situation now." Parents who are reluctant to talk to their children may be willing to speak with a professional. The important thing is to get the details on the table since, without those, adult children could spend months tracking down even the simplest information. Adult children must be cautious that once they've got their hands on the goods, they may find holes and patches they hadn't bargained for: unpaid bills, unexecuted wills or powers of attorney, or unfiled tax returns. They shouldn't panic. Again, a financial expert can step in to help create a list of all the things that must be remedied. Respecting wishes Adult children also must be counseled to not judge the choices their parents make. An elderly mother who refuses to change her asset mix because she perceives it to be disloyal to her husband's memory isn't being difficult. She'll need clear explanations and lots of patience before she'll come around. Also, adult children may have very different goals, time horizons, and investment risk profiles from that of their parents. No matter how successful adult children have been, they do not have the right to impose their money management styles on their parents. Maintaining the cash flow Children should set up automatic debits for routine bill payments to eliminate the worry of bills going unpaid and services being disrupted. Setting up automatic deposits for dividend, pension, and other cheques will ensure that money is credited quickly to accounts. Some children may choose to set up joint accounts with their parents, adding telephone-banking privileges so they can do periodic quick checks on accounts. If clients are trending to the joint-account approach, remind them of the deposit insurance consequences. If a parent adds the adult child's name to a joint account at a bank where that child already has accounts, any amount over the allowable $60,000 per person for joint accounts may not be covered by Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC) insurance. Where CDIC limits are an issue (for the parent, if not for the adult child), the adult child should bank at a financial institution that is different from the one that holds the parent's account. Protecting their assets For elderly parents for whom a home is their primary assets, it can be frustrating to be house rich and cash flow poor. Children may wish to look into a reverse mortgage as an alternative to provide their parents with the extra money they need to take care of health bills, do modifications to their home to make it more comfortable, or to add a cushion to their cash flow. For parents who can no longer live independently, choices will have to be made. Will they come home to live with their children? Will they seek in-home help? Will they choose a nursing home? Each of these choices has financial and emotional ramifications that need to be discussed. Children must be aware that there has been a steady growth in the number of financial scams targeting the elderly - people who may be lonely and looking for companionship. These elderly people become the ideal prospects for telemarketing fraud, trumped-up home repairs, and other cons. Should a client's parent fall prey, the adult child should not be too critical. Once the person(s) has been reported to the authorities, adult children should then calmly explain that the friendly person supposedly offering great deals might be a crook. Depending on the health of their parents, children may face considerable medical expenses. Children should check with their doctor before purchasing items for a dependent relative, since many items can be deducted if prescribed by a medical practitioner. And remind parents to keep their receipts for everything so that, should they need to prove a claim, they'll have the paperwork to back it up. Credits and deductions Wills and powers of attorney The issue of dealing with aging parents is going to become even more important as our society continues to age. Currently, the 85 and over population (sometimes referred to as the frail elderly) represents about 1.35 per cent of the total population and approximately 10 per cent of the population 65 and older. Given how quickly this demographic has been growing, it's only a matter of time before care of the elderly becomes an issue for adult children. I will be doing a seminar on elder planning at my next Diva Club meeting on Thursday March 8. |
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| Warning Signs of a Heart Attack and Stroke | ||||||||||
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DO YOU KNOW THE WARNING SIGNS?  Signs of a heart attack One or more of: • Chest pain or discomfort • Pain in arm, neck, jaw or back • Sweating • Nausea • Difficulty breathing Signs of a stroke One or more of: • Sudden weakness, numbness • Sudden trouble speaking • Sudden vision problems • Sudden severe headache • Sudden dizziness Don’t take any chances – call 911 immediately For more information check out the Heart & Stroke website |
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| Mind & Body | ||||||||||
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Follow Your Heart It Knows The Truth A number of years ago when I was being groomed for a professional speaking career, my mentor told to me to follow my heart when I am on stage and in front of an audience. When I asked why, my mentor responded by saying "your heart always initiates and acts upon what it knows to be the truth". So for the thirteen years I have followed my "heart truth" on stage. To this very day it has not let me down. I cannot say or even speculate on what your heart may regard or consider as being the truth. The only advice or inspiration I can offer on how to follow your heart is to look back upon your own successful experiences when you listened to your heart. For most of my life I have heard the words; "can’t, won’t, shouldn’t and never". Fortunately for me, I did not listen to these words of discouragement. Instead, I followed my heart and proceeded to find happiness, success, and the self satisfaction of knowing and believing that my heart knew the truth of my capabilities. If you don’t believe what I am saying, reflect back upon a time when someone questioned or doubted you and your abilities. Maybe it was when you wanted to marry your wonderful partner, pursue a career/job which was thought to be unattainable, or win a competition when the odds were not stacked in your favor. All these achievements and successes became a reality, because you had the courage to follow your heart. Well it’s time to follow you heart again, the first thing you have to do is stop listening to those negative little voices or gremlins from the past that exist in your mind. Do not let them prevent you from experiencing happiness. Sometimes we are meant to feel the pain of failure and heartache, and that is okay. As a person who has followed my heart over and over again, I want to leave you with this final thought, "please follow your heart and live your truth rather than living with empty lies and second thoughts of what could have been. You will like it much better".
Article by Michael Bortolotto
Yes, you CAN have the sex life of your dreams! Quite often people ask me if there is a magic pill to help increase their sex drive. • Do you want the secret formula to rev up your libido? • Do you want the key to unleashing your inner sex kitten? One way to start is by setting up a solid foundation by using my D.R.E.A.M.™ program. This key isn’t romantic, but it is essential - to maintain a healthy body and mind! It’s simple, but not easy. The beauty of it is you have control over ALL aspects of it! Here’s a brief overview. D is for DIET • Sexual energy (life force) or chi is in our kidneys so keep them strong and healthy. Some ways to do this include eating: molasses in warm water, well cooked tofu, walnuts, eggs, shrimp, mussels, lobster, oysters, lamb, beef, ocean fish, dark mushrooms, blueberries, olives, miso, celery • 43% more sperm is created in men that eat organic according to The Lancet proving that diet does play a key role in sexual health. • Don’t eat fried foods, creams, excess sugar, salt, saturated fat or highly processed foods. These make it harder for you to reach orgasm. Tobacco, alcohol and coffee leach nutrients from your body and dampen desire!! Doesn’t that give you even more incentive to change habits you know are bad for you? • Some foods are have an aphrodisiac effect because they are phallic like asparagus (can calm the nerves, aids in digestion) and bananas. Some are like the vulva such as oysters, peaches, figs or papaya – can you think of any others? • Magical chocolate contains phenylethylamine which raises endorphins (our natural anti-depressants). Go for the dark, organic stuff! • A diet rich in fruits, vegetables and lean protein will keep your organs in peak condition for lovemaking according to National College of Naturopathic Medicine. • When low in energy, head for the bedroom not the fridge! R is for REST • Making love helps you relax and get to sleep. The endorphins released will help to calm you. • Anne Hooper says “Sleep is a beauty treatment”. When your body is at rest is when it heals, recuperates, builds and repairs, and even removes fluids from skin so we glow youthfully. • Your habits and sleeping environment deeply affect your ability to relax and sleep - so look around your bedroom! Do piles on the floor and night table help relax you? • Get hugs throughout your day to keep you relaxed. • Snuggle and kiss before sleeping – practice doing it with the understanding that no sex will follow. E is for EXERCISE • One of the main reasons for being fit is to be sexy! Accept the incentive! • Being fit brings confidence which is #1 aphrodisiac • Sex is great aerobic exercise • You use 34 muscles when kissing • If you’re tired (not fit) you won’t want to have sex • If overweight, you are more tired, and may have body image issues so won’t want sex • Extra weight can lead to snoring, not sexy • Will keep stress, tension and depression at bay so you’ll have more sex • One of the main reasons for being fit is to be sexy! Accept the incentive! A is for AQUA • You can only survive 3-14 days with no water (there are lots of factors to account for) but you can only go for 3 weeks with no food! • We’re 90% water! It is critical to your health • Alcohol numbs nerve endings, decreases lubrication, can depress libido so try the aqua alternative • Indulge in a large glass of water before bed if you’re hungry - then you have some to sweat off! M is for MINDSET • Shared Vision-July 1999 “The sexual act not only unites men & women for sensual and emotional fulfillment but also connects us with spirit.” – I believe this applies to any gender. • Sexual energy is your life force. Blocking it impairs your emotional, physical and overall state of being. • Making love is the best anti-aging strategy I know of. Inattention to your sexuality will rob you of your youth quickly as your vitality lessens, your life force becomes weaker, your immune system is weaker, but if you pump up your love life, your ecstasy keeps you strong and vital! • Imagine yourself wearing your comfy woolies – how sexy do you feel? How about lingerie only? Lingerie under your clothes? High heels? What else makes you FEEL sexy? • Sexy is a state of mind. If you want to ooze sexy and sensuality, you can! If you choose to say NO to implementing any of these changes, what are you really saying Yes to? If you don’t make any
changes at all, what will your love life look like in one month? To find out more, join us for our FREE preview tele-seminar on Feb 8 at 7 pm PST. Details at http://www.vicoaches.org/workshops.php Please go to our website http://www.lionessforlovers.com/ to find out more about how to unleash your inner sex kitten! In my “Simple Steps” workshops and tele-seminars you receive many more tips and ways to make eating healthy foods interesting, sexy and fun! You take a quiz to see how your bedroom stacks up and then receive lovely ideas for a blissful bedroom! You’ll even develop your own that suit you perfectly! You also give you fun tests to determine your sexual fitness level and exercises to improve it! You can try the pinch test to see how hydrated you are and learn creative ways to get more water and some fun rewards for success! You also discover ways to be sensual without explicit sexual activity – it’s a great way to get the life you deserve!
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| Wine & Dine | ||||||||||
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With the cold and flu season upon us and raging through Nanaimo here is a wine that may help you get through the season… The word "mulled" simply means heated and spiced. Many liquids can be mulled - mead, cider, and of course wine. Mulled wines have a long history. In medieval times these wines were called Ypocras or Hipocris, named after the physician Hippocrates. They were thought to be very healthy, and indeed, with wine at the time being far more sanitary than water, these heated drinks did keep people healthy through the cold winters. So until spring finally arrives try a mulled wine and enjoy! Lemon Orange Mulled Wine 1/2c water 1/2c sugar 1 orange 2 lemons 3 sticks cinnamon 12 cloves 2 bottles red wine Simmer (but not boil) the water, sugar, cinnamon and cloves for 10 minutes. Add in the wine. Peel the orange and lemons and add in the peels. Let sit for a length of time to seep in the flavors, without boiling. Strain out the larger bits and serve warm. Brown Sugar Mulled Wine 2 bottles dry Cabernet Sauvignon Peel of 1 orange 1 cinnamon stick, broken into halves 8 whole cloves 1 whole nutmeg 1/4 cup packed brown sugar orange slices Pour wine in slow cooker. Wrap orange peel, cinnamon stick halves, cloves, and nutmeg in cheesecloth. Add to slow cooker. Cover and cook on HIGH 2 to 2.5 hours. Discard spice bag; ladle into glasses. Garnish with orange slices. Mulled Wine with Cinnamon & Cognac 2 1/4 cups water 2 Tbsp sugar 2 whole cinnamon sticks 2 bottles red wine 1/2 cup Cognac Lemon twists Bring water, cinnamon and sugar to a boil in a large saucepan. Add in the wine, heat slowly until hot again. Stir in the cognac, and remove from heat. Add lemon twists to each serving. For more information about: Phone (250) 741-0777
Oysters, avocados, chili and even porridge are aphrodisiacs, but remember, it's not what you eat, it's the way that you eat it. We have certain expectations of Valentine's Day, the least of which is getting supper. While some cooks prefer the hands-off approach of being wined and dined in a restaurant, some of us relish the prospect of making a meal for someone we love. And whether cunning, mischievous or just downright hopeful, there are few of us who will be tempted to slip in an aphrodisiac or two. I like to believe in the power of certain foods to evoke lust. But really, it's not what you eat that is sexy, it's the way you eat it. While some must ply their partners with oysters and asparagus to guarantee attention, others need do nothing more than slowly lick a stray crumb from their lower lip. The list of aphrodisiac foods is longer than you might think, but they fit loosely into one of three categories; Those that contain natural stimulants such as the phenylalanine in chocolate, those that are sensuous in the mouth such as oysters and ripe figs, and those to which legend is attached. While chilies and ginger firmly get my vote, others swear by broad beans and brazil nuts. I have heard applause too for avocados (phenylalanine again) and porridge (oats are thought to raise testosterone levels). Yet studies by Dr Alan Hirch at the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago have shown that nothing gets a guy up like the smell of freshly baked pumpkin pie. Cardamom does it for some - and with good reason. The little black seeds contain not only two androgens (the hormones that increase sexual desire in men) but cineole, a compound known to stimulate the central nervous system. Ginger, a close relative, is the food world's Viagra. So have a fabulous Valentine’s feast – plan your menu! by Susan Newman
(Co-Owner/General Manager) |
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Understanding
how Critical Illness Insurance and Disability Insurance Differ
D.R.E.A.M. - Simple Steps for a Sexier
You!
Mulled Wine
Valentine Aphrodisiacs