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New Years Resolution

December 29, 2012 by

Here at Hot Flash, we love New Years Resolutions.

Allow us to suggest one for 2013- Live within your means.

Or, since we are entering a year that ends in unlucky 13, we can rephrase this resolution in terms of luck.

It is  unlucky to live above your means. (So every time your write the numbers 13, you have a reminder, nudge, or prompt to remember your resolution to live within, or even below, your means.)

So what does that really imply?

Your “take home pay” is the focus. It is your limit, your “means.” So you can spend only the amount of money that you bring “home” in your paycheck. Not a dime more. (And you can NOT cheat by charging something on your credit card(s). Unless, of course, you pay off the total balance due when the  bill comes.)

You must be thinking…… that is so………….un-American…..so impossible.

But is it?

Hmmm. It is tough for Baby Boomers to hear this, but……………your parents probably lived within their means. (And they probably saved some money while they were doing it……. Just sayin’)

Why would you do this?

If you start to develop the skill of living within your means, you will have a more sustainable life style.

That is probably not such a bad idea, given the fact that you are likely to live longer than your parents.

So how about it?  Resolve to live “within your means.” Test yourself, and see how you do.

Here’s a short take home quiz. Find it if you can you live within your means, at least as long as you followed your diet last year? Or as long as you committed yourself to exercise every day?

Now, this in Hot Flash Financial talking to you. S0 if you try, and find out that you are not exactly perfect, use laughter as a weapon. Tell us your funny story. Share it with us at [email protected].

That way you can join us–Hot Flash Mamas–as we imperfectly march toward the next phase in our lives.

Filed Under: Budget, Income, Longevity Risk, middle age, Motivate you to ACT!, New Year's Resolution

Help a friend?

September 13, 2012 by

Do you have a sense of humor? Do your friends? Do your friends have a sense of humor about their own behavior?

Well, here is a new sweepstakes with a great idea, Help your friends. That is, help one of your friends who has some trouble with her/his finances, especially spending.

Now, the page introducing “Help a friend” clarifies that we all make mistakes and waste money. But, the one you “help” would merit, as they say,” an Olympian gold medal in money squandering.” So, the argument on the site goes, do your friend a favor and enter this friend into this sweepstakes. (At the same time you enter yourself into the sweepstakes). If you win, you get…… money.

There are videos associated with this program, and they tend to feature young, college age folks discussing the varied ways they spend money on “stuff” –memorial swords that are probably plastic, ugly designer jeans, myriad internet purchases, parties, taking a girlfriend to the “Jersey Shore” …………You get the point.

I decided to see how this works. So I pressed the HELP A FRIEND BUTTON and sent the email to myself. (I chose not to send a photo to post on the FACEBOOK  page of the site. It would show my friend posing with at least one incriminating impulsive purchase.)

I did receive an email. The email is well worded and raises some really good issues to consider. When I clicked on the  link, I was really pleased with the quiz that you can can take. It raises “your consciousness” on some spending habits that can be problematic. The  site itself has wonderful tools, such as calculators that help you budget, pay off debt, etc.

Now, I am a big great fan of NEFE—the National Endowment for Financial Education that created the site, and the Help a Friend sweepstakes. And I am a great fan of using humor to make a point.  And this Help A Friend Campaign uses humor to accomplish an important goal, help friends who waste money.

What I don’t know, is how my friends would respond. I mean, how would this work with “women of a certain age and distinction?” Would my friends be offended if I entered them into this sweepstakes? Or would they take it in stride, see that you can use humor to make some important points, and change your behavior?

What do you think?

Filed Under: Budget, debt reduction, middle age, Motivate you to ACT!, Risk, Save money, Track Spending, women and money

Social Security and you

August 15, 2012 by

You are probably going to  hear  a lot about Social Security in the run-up to the next election. Each party will be talking about what are sometimes called “Entitlements.”  It is important for you, as a woman “of a certain age and distinction,” to know who really supports specific programs, especially Social Security.

Why? Because Social Security is one of the most important sources of money for women after age 65.

Really? Yes. Because women live so much longer than men. So we rely on Social Security (and Medicare) for a greater number of years and a greater number of dollars.  As we women age, a bigger and bigger portion of our monthly income comes from Social Security!

How much do we rely on Social Security? Well, we have some figures for you. Women are who 65 and older, get more than half (or  58%) of their income from Social Security. And, as we get older, and spend down the money we had saved for retirement, we increasingly rely on Social Security for all or nearly all (90%) of the money we use to buy food, pay for housing, etc. By the time you pass your 80th birthday, many  (38% ) of you will be completely or nearly completely (90%) reliant on Social Security.

So now you have to know the facts about Social Security.  You have to know if Social Security will be there for you, your sisters, and your children. So start here, and then click on this link Social Security.

Remember, you have to think long and hard about a candidate and his stand on Social Security and other “Entitlements” So when you decide to vote for your representative in Congress, in the Senate, and for the President, make sure you vote for someone who will continue to support Social Security and so older women. Cut through the “stuff ” on those political commercials. Make sure you check out the truth about past voting behavior, key proposals (like budget proposals) made by each candidate, and cross-check with an independent fact checker.

Why? If you, or your sister or best friend, is one of the women who will rely on Social Security for 58% of her income from age 65 on through the rest of your life, you need to vote to make sure every candidate who has your backing will support Social Security.

 

footnote: I am drawing my facts based on 2010 statistics and analyzed by the  National Women’s Law Center “Women and Social Security: Key Facts” May 20, 2011. Here is the link. http://www.nwlc.org/resource/women-and-social-security-key-facts)

 

Filed Under: Income, Income, Longevity Risk, middle age, Motivate you to ACT!, Social Security, women and money Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

The Supreme Court helps Hot Flash Mamas

June 29, 2012 by

The Supreme Court’s decision on Obama’s Health Care Law (actually called the Affordable Care Act) is a win for women and families. So smile a very sweet smile and read what this means for you. This is a quick summary, designed for Hot Flash Financial Mamas (or women “of a certain age and distinction”).

If you have a parent who is elderly, you will be pleased to know that s/he will be able to buy a lot more of her/his prescription drugs at affordable prices. The Affordable Care Act (also called Obamacare) closed the “donut hole” for people with Medicare Part D. That hole was created (during the Bush Administration) once elderly people, like your mother, bought more than $2,930 of medicines prescribed for her. So, after your mother’s retail  prescription costs hit $2,931, she “fell into that hole.”  Her next prescription refill cost her much more money. She was not shielded by Medicare’s discount or recommended price. That increase in costs was really hard for elderly people whose income is “fixed” and often limited.

Today, Obama’s Affordable Care Act will continue to close that “donut hole” thanks to the Supreme Court decision. Your mother, and father too,  will  be able to pay less for their prescription drugs, so important as they age.

Wow, that is a great load off your mind.

If you  have adult children who are unable to find a job in the Great Recession, the Obama Affordable Care Act allows them  stay on your health insurance until their 26th birthday.

What a relief for moms (and dads too) to know your young adult children are covered by medical insurance until they find a job that provides medical benefits, or age 26.

And for you, and anyone you help care for, insurance companies can not kick you or your family member off of their coverage because

  1. You or a family member has  reached a lifetime dollar limit, or
  2. You or a child or any other family member has a pre-existing condition. (There is some small print in this part of the bill, a function of negotiation with insurance companies, that delays some of this benefit until 2014. But let’s use this summary to make some of the key points.)
  3. If you pay all your health insurance bills and become sick and disabled, you and your family member can not be denied coverage

More preventive care is covered at no additional costs to women. This includes mammograms.

So let’s celebrate the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold a law that must have been written for mothers and daughters, to ease their minds about the health of their family.

Filed Under: Health, health care, middle age Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Has someone stolen your identity?

June 27, 2012 by

If someone steals your identity, he can get your tax refund and have it mailed to his house. Really. He can get into your bank accounts and siphon out money. He can use your credit card account numbers and run up a big bill. He can mess with your credit score. And his  stealing, putting your name on bill and then a collection agency’s call list, can keep you from getting more credit or even a job.

(Now for the giggle part of the Hot Financial take on this issue.

No, identity thieves never steal your wrinkles, gray hair, love handles, nor muffin tops. Nope. They want your money. And if they masquerade as you, using your account numbers, they can get some moolah. Why mug you in a dark alley? It is so much less fuss and bother for an identity thief to just input your information into a computer, pretend he is you, and take money out of your accounts.

These identity theft efforts are even harder to catch than those old emails from   so-called “Nigerian princes.”)

Note to readers: this indented section  is designed to encourage you to LOL. So note the little smiley face here   🙂

Identity theft is serious. It could really put a crimp in your financial security and your future. So click on this government site  FTC Identity Theft  (you can trust it) to get some important and free copies.

There are 3 brochures on the basics :

  1. One on the basics called “What to do know and what to do.”
  2. One to help you protect your children.
  3. And the last one is for you, if you suspect their is a problem or you are “in crisis” it is called “What to do if your identity is, in fact, stolen.”

 

Take action. This is important. Hot Flash Financial Important!!

 

OH AND COMMENT BELOW.

DID YOU WRESTLE WITH AN IDENTITY THIEF? WHAT HAPPENED?

DO  YOU SUSPECT YOU MAY BE VULNERABLE TO IDENTITY THEFT? TAKE ACTION.

 

(TO PROTECT YOURSELF–DO NOT TELL US YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER, OR ANY ACCOUNT NUMBERS WHEN YOU RESPOND.)

Filed Under: Identity Theft, Motivate you to ACT!, Risk, Tax Refund, Track Spending Tagged With: , , , , ,

Want to win $50,000?

June 19, 2012 by

Get into the running for the Grand Prize of the Retirement Trivia Game!

Yes, you can win, but only if you take that important step, and start to learn about your finances and your future. Yup! You have to learn about things like social security, and creating a retirement budget. That means you  just have to find out about things that you will need to know in your future. Not a bad use of your time.

Trivia? Well it is the stuff you will be talking  about on the phone with your girlfriend, or other close person, when you reach a “certain age.” In this game, you will probably have to know precisely, what that age is for, let’s say, registering for MediCare.

How can you do this? It is free. Just take some time to learn more about retirement, on the AARP website. They have a lot of good resources that help you with retirement planning. These resources complement the Hot Flash Financial site pretty well. (So you won’t have to start from scratch.)

So what are you waiting for?

  • Click on this Link to enter the Retirement Trivia Game.
  • Read the information available, and push the red GET STARTED button.

Than win that $50,000 and add it to your Hot Flash Stash of Retirement Cash.  Brag about it on our Hot Flash Financial site (use the comments below).

 

Filed Under: Retirement Tagged With: , , , ,

Play on the internet and learn more

May 9, 2012 by

There are some really intriguing tool kits out there on the internet. They help us at  Hot Flash Financial help you  learn more, and get more control over your money and your future. So you  can become more financially secure. 

We like to recommend the sites developed by non-profits and research organizations, if not the U.S. government. They tend to be free, and they do not try to sell you anything.

Today’s recommendation: Take a look at NEFE’s (National Endowment for Financial Education) newly designed site. Be sure to explore the section called My Retirement Paycheck. This toolkit  helps you think about the kinds of  challenges you face, and the decisions you will need to make over the next 20-30+ years.

Take Social Security. We at Hot Flash  Financial encourage you to make a careful decision about the date you start your Social Security Benefits. Why, because you have more control than you probably thought you did. And Social Security is an very important part of most women’s income after age 65. So your decision about the age you start to take your benefits will have a very big  impact on your financial security. Social Security lets you decide to start to receive monthly checks when you are age 70, 66 or 62, or anywhere in between.

Why would you want to wait until age 70? Well NEFE points out that you will get a lot more dollars in your monthly benefit if you wait. How much more money? Oh, about 75% more than you would if you started at age 62. (That is almost, but not quite double the amount. So if you got $1,000 a nmonth at age 62, you would get $1,750 a month if you waited until age 70 to start your social security benefits. Now that might be worth waiting for.)

There are other really important  issues to consider. And NEFE puts them right up there for you to consider. What will be the best decisions to make about the money in your   retirement plan? What can you do about  medical insurance. What should you consider when you think about your home and  your mortgage? Pay it off? Or sell your home and downsize so you can take  the equity (or gain) and use it for income?

We at Hot Flash Financial encourage you to check out this site.  They have a format someone like ours. Ask yourself a question, and then get answers, right on the site.

So click around the web page devoted to retirement and your retirement paycheck. You will be glad you did.

Comment below so we can see what you think.

Filed Under: Housing decisions, Income, Motivate you to ACT!, Pension income, women and money Tagged With: , , , ,

What will motivate you to ACT in your self interest! FEAR? RISK?

April 12, 2012 by

FEAR? Or the knowledge that you face some serious RISKS?  Will they motivate you to ACT in your own self interest? If they do, read on. Because we, at Hot Flash Financial want you to take action to improve your finances.

Do you know that you face a big risk, or even 2 risks?

  1. Because you are a woman in the U.S. today, you  are likely to live longer than a man. So you face LONGEVITY RISK. That is you RISK  running out of money before you run out of breath.
  2. Since you are going to live 30, 40, or maybe 50 years after your Hot Flashes start, you also face another risk–INFLATION RISK.  Why? Well, you know that, over time, prices always go up, rather than down. So the amount you will pay for food, electricity, cable, mobile phones and other things will go up in a decade or 3. So you will need more money 30 years from now to pay for the comforts you enjoy–electricity, heat, air conditioning and the things you have today.

Now don’t get fearful. Get ACTIVE. Work with Hot Flash Financial to combat these risks. Or at least manage these risks. 

At Hot Flash Financial we will give you a clear set of Steps to follow so that you can ACT to make you more financially secure. Use this site, use the steps we give you,

  • to increase your knowledge about your money and your finances.
  • to learn to think about your money in a different way.
  • to learn to CHANGE the ways you use money (after all Hot Flashes are also called “The Change”).
  • to begin to practice new skills, then get better and better at DOING the THINGS YOU NEED TO DO to be more financially secure.
  • to learn to laugh to release the tensions you might feel about money and the RISKS you face
  • to appreciate the joy that comes from increasing your control over money, while laughing your way to the bank and a secure future.
  • to enjoy the  the independence that money brings .

 

So work with us here at Hot Flash Financial. Set aside an hour  each week, to click on this site and  follow the steps we give you.

That is, if you want to reduce your RISK.

 

Because if you DO NOTHING, you INCREASE YOUR RISK exponentially.

Filed Under: Motivate you to ACT!, Risk Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

What will motivate you? A bargain?

March 27, 2012 by

Are you one of those girls who wants to get something for free, or at least 20% off.

Well, have we got a bargain for you!

Hot Flash Financial’s 3 step Financial Plan to improve your money situation and your future. Hot Flash Financial offers a major breakthrough. Unlike competitors who offer just one method, we eliminate the discomfort of having too little money when you are 85.

Hot Flash Financial easily removes Money Stress. It is GREAT for any woman with, or without, Hot Flashes.

 

What’s more,  Hot Flash Financial is Absolutely  Free!!! (for more than 30 days).

But Wait! If you click right now, we will give you very professional advice to improve your money situation today and in the future. 
  Advice that you probably know you should follow.
If you click on this site now, we will give you 8 Questions at no additional cost. And we will give you some hints to help you formulate your answers.Then, we will give you the steps you can take to make your life better. You will see the results in 6 weeks or more.
So click on this site now!
You can Buy One and Get one FREE. That way you Girlfriend  can start TODAY!
Who else will give you such important information that will improve your life, while not asking for money from you? Your hairdresser wants to be paid for his/her time. So does the manicurist and pedicurist, your masseuse, doctor, dentist, ….. you name it. 
We at Hot Flash Financial don’t demand cash nor credit to “make your life better.” Take advantage of our offer.”
Filed Under: Financial Plan, middle age, Motivate you to ACT!, Uncategorized, women and money Tagged With: , , , , , ,

What will motivate you? Your personality?

March 4, 2012 by

Are you  conscientious, emotionally stable, agreeable, an extrovert, who is open to experience?

If so, researchers say that you are likely to be, or  become more financially secure.

Here is a link to a summary of findings at the great  Boston College site.

 

But what if you are not all those things?

What if, somehow you lack one of those great Girl Scout personality traits? You raised your hand and took the pledge, but you knew, deep down inside that you were, well…… human.

Well, we love you here at Hot Flash Financial. We accept you and think you just have to follow the steps we give you! You’ll do fine.

 

Here at Hot Flash Financial we don’t  believe that anyone can be “perfect.”  In fact, we know we are imperfect. After all, we have hot flashes, don’t we?  We believe we have to have a sense of humor about these things. So read about  Using Laughter as a Weapon. It is a crucial part of the Hot Flash improvement plan for Your Financial Security.

So  join us.

Write a comment.

Click around this site.

And get your best friends to read the blogs, write comments and use laughter as a weapon with you. After all, Hot Flash Financial wants you to enjoy a future shared with good friends, and other loved ones, rich with laughter, as well as financial security. So bring the girls in, and start sharing the laughter now!

 

 

 

Filed Under: Financial Plan, middle age, Motivate you to ACT!, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , ,
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