Tips for Successful Personal Finances
If you live in one of these nine states, you may have to have a passport for air travel within the US! These states don’t have ID that is compliant with the Real ID Act of 2005 yet.
Is your state one of the 9? Read more.
For more financial tips, visit my website.
As you get ready for the upcoming holiday travel season, here’s a great article on saving money on airfare.
We specifically buy our airline tickets on a Tuesday, as it seems the prices are lowest on that day. We recently purchased airfare for almost $200 less per person, as we watched the pricing for a specific flight go up and down.
Read here and see if you can save money.
For more financial tips, visit my website.
It’s that time of year again for open enrollment for medical insurance. For Medicare you have until December 7 to make any changes to your secondary insurance and/or prescription coverage until December 15.
To enroll and/or make changes to your Affordable Care Act health insurance, you have from November 1 to December 22 in Connecticut. Check your individual state for your specific deadlines.
If you are coverage is through your employer, fall is typically the time to make changes as well. Please check with your individual state or company for possible changes to the deadline date.
If you want some general questions to think about to compare your options, here are some that you can consider when making your health insurance selection that is best for you:
1. What type of insurance is this?
2. What is the monthly premium cost and how much am I responsible for paying?
3. Are there subsidies available for us?
4. Do I have out of network coverage?
5. How much are the deductibles for both in and out of network care?
6. How much do I have to pay to see a healthcare provider?
7. Do I have medical coverage out of state and out of the country?
8. Will I be able to use my current doctors?
9. What additional benefits are included (prescriptions, dental, vision, etc.)?
10. Are preventative visits (physicals, routine tests etc.) covered without a deductible?
11. What is the procedure for going to a specialist and/or the emergency room?
12. How are disputed claims handled?
Ask these and more questions to make sure you have all the information to make the most informed choice for you and your family. Mark your calendar today to do this during your open enrollment each and every year as medical plans changes and so do your needs. If you miss the open enrollment period, you can only make changes if you have a life changing event.
After two long years of sorting of and on, we have finally sorted through all our family’s photos, slides and movies!
My mother was the avid photographer and there were many photos, slides and movies to sort through. It took me many years to be comfortable with the idea of tossing some. Now that it’s done, we have kept the best, most meaningful photos of all and scanned them. The old family movies were restored and transferred to DVD by Southtree. Really love their services as they kept us informed with emails all the way through the process. Now, will be sending them the slides to work on. Once there done, we’ll be set.
We cleaned out 4 storage plastic tubs and a full file cabinet of family photos. It was a thrill to relive memories and painstaking at the same time. Another clutter project completed.
For more resources, visit my website www.JillRussoFoster.com.
It’s summer and wedding season for us.
Our dilemma, what to wear. You may be thinking we have a closet full of clothes to choose from and you are mostly right. Lately, we have been getting rid of stuff. So here’s what we have done so far this year:
Gowns and cocktail dresses – donated to our local high school for the prom
Suits – Men’s and Women’s – lots of peoples in need for clothing in good condition
Clothing – Check out your local shelter or other organizations that are in need.
Cleaning out and giving back all in one tiny action. All this has streamlined our closets and hopefully made a difference in the life of someone else.
For more suggestions, view my resources page.
As we continue to clean out, we have donated several electronics (old computers, printers, scanners, cameras and more) to great local organizations in need.
This is really easy to do with the help of the Cristina Foundation. They have a website that you can search local non-profits in your area and see what they are in need of. If you have the item(s), you connect with them for the drop off and/or pick up. It ‘s a great way to donated and help out others in need.
For more suggestions, view my resources page.
As we clean out stuff from our home, I wanted to share with you some great resources. I like to give items to people or charities that can make good use of the items, instead of just tossing.
We had too much luggage. Yes, we travel and need both small and large suitcases as well as carry-ons, but we had too much! eBags has this great program called Trade In Trade Up. You can donate two suitcases in good condition and in return you get a $25 credit at eBags. We donated two suitcases in June and recently received our credit. This weekend, we received our new eBags items. eBags isn’t only luggage, it much more including has back to school items.
For more suggestions, view my resources page.
It’s summer and the kids are home from school, what do you do? Here are some tips to keep them entertained.
Here are 12 suggestions / tips to help you get into that savings mentality. Let me know how you save.
Here are some tips that we personally have done in our community for low or no cost. Let me know what you are planning.