October 29, 2008
Because we like self-torture around here, it’s much better than inflicted torture, the price points for a couple of my portfolio choices:
Target Retirement 2045
08/29/2008 $13.52
09/12/2008 $13.14
09/26/2008 $12.78
10/10/2008 $9.70
10/27/2008 $8.96
International Value Fund
08/29/2008 $35.08
09/12/2008 $33.13
09/26/2008 $32.66
10/10/2008 $23.78
10/27/2008 $20.64
And my asset mix is slowly adjusting to a higher percentage of bonds than stocks. We’re at a 25/75 allocation now. It’s a natural progression as my stocks drop half their value, and my tiny little Roth IRA valiantly stands up to the market’s battering.
October 28, 2008
Now this is satisfying! That’s a 1000+ page book placed for scale next to the full-to-bursting bag of paperwork I shredded in my first go-’round.
This is the second stack that I was working on this weekend:
And lest anyone mistakenly believe that I’m totally dedicated to this project, it’s 97% escapism. As long as I’m still being productive, I can justify not working on other, more important but much more depressing projects like thinking about my future. *tsk*
Then again, getting rid of that much junk so far is keeping the spirits up and inspiration on how to creatively re-locate stuff. That’s not bad, either.
Evidently, the universe cares about me getting my work done, and your collective opinions: the meeting has been canceled!
Fantastic!
About two weeks ago, I saved an acquaintance from getting a ticket. The metered spots only allow 4 hours of parking before a certain time in the evening, and she’d run out of meter time an hour before Free Time. As parking enforcement rolled up, glancing over at her car, I popped out and dropped some money in her meter.
When I drove into work last week, I used the meters because I normally commute by train and don’t have a long-term permit. Absentmindedly noted that I needed to move my car at 4:50 after parking …. then, I completely forgot until 5:50 pm. I was in agonies, sure I’d been ticketed.
Whether it be because I’d earned a little non-tickety-karma by helping someone else out or because there was construction on the street, there was no ticket on my windshield. Hallelujah for avoiding stupid-absentminded fees!
October 27, 2008
It aggravated me to no end to realize that after spending all that time organizing, scanning and shredding, I was still receiving paper statements. Well, duh. I’d not followed up by cancelling paper statements because, deep down, I don’t trust those darned companies not to try to slip one past me!
*By “those” companies, I mean all of them. I don’t trust companies. But that’s just because I’m a good steward of my money and they’re good takers of my money. Biiiig difference.
In any case, there’s no point in prolonging my pain when I know off the top of my head that, at least for my Chase credit cards, I can always download the PDF of the statement for my records.
As of tonight, I’m signing up for paperless only for my:
- Chase credit card accounts – 4 total. I only use one card regularly, so I’ll check those statements as they’re produced and I’m not worried about the other three. Any charges on the other three will come up as transactions on Yodlee so I can check out the anomalies.
- Citi credit cards – 5 consumer cards total. They’ll send me email notifications for each statement and I can download the six most recent months’ worth of PDFs as well.
- American Express – couldn’t switch because they were having maintenance issues. Bummer, try again later.
By the time I’m through scanning all the CC statements, a billing cycle will likely have passed and the statements will stop. Yippee!
Next up: cell phone bills (2), and banking statements (10). It occurs to me that a great way to simplify some of this would be to consolidate more accounts and, y’know, actually simplify my banking and accounting systems. Mmhmm…. just a thought.
October 25, 2008
After procrastinating for hours, I finally tackled another load of organizing today. While sorting through piles of folders, manila and accordian, I found some leftovers from a three year old benefits enrollment packet. Among the papers was an envelope containing information on long term care insurance. It was clearly set aside for perusal at a later time because I’ve been very concerned about long term plans for my parents since starting this blog, but had never been satisfied enough with my research on this topic to satisfy my need for information before purchasing it.
Alas, how clear is hindsight. I should have signed up for this years ago! Had I done so, at least one part of our dilemma would be less frustrating. Unless my mom is declared functionally disabled, she cannot draw any governmental benefits, and my dad cannot afford to leave her alone to go work a job with regular hours because we don’t have anyone to stay with her. Catch 22: they have very little income of their own, and now that we’re in this fix, my dad can’t go out, leaving mom alone, to earn a decent wage.
From my review of the materials, assuming the new insurance company that my employer contracted with last year honored the same basic requirements, mom would be eligible to claim benefits now, thus freeing my dad to work a more regular job and support at least the two of them.
For future reference, a typical set of triggers for benefits eligibility, according to the California Department of Aging, would be based on the inability to perform at least 2 of the 7 activities of daily living (ADL) listed below, or on impairment of cognitive ability:
- Bathing
- Dressing
- Continence
- Toileting
- Tranferring
- Eating
- Ambulating
She’s definitely suffering from impairment of cognitive ability, and at least 2 of the above 7 ADLs. I did have some sense of urgency when I was in my first year of employment, but it fell by the wayside because money was still too tight. Now that it’s too late to help mom, I need to take a long hard look at the application for my dad because if anything happens to him, too …….
In the state of California, consumers are protected by the following regulations (also from the California Department of Aging):
1. Guaranteed Renewable or Noncancelable Protection: Every long term care policy sold to an individual must be either guaranteed renewable or non-cancelable. Guaranteed Renewable means that the company cannot cancel your policy or change any of the benefits, unless you fail to pay the premiums. Insurance companies are allowed to increase premiums for a “class” of policies, but not for you individually. Non-cancelable means that your coverage cannot be canceled or the benefits changed, and the premium cannot increase as long as you continue to pay on time.
2. Continuation or Conversion Coverage: If you purchase a long-term care certificate through a group, you can continue or convert your coverage if the group cancels the master policy or terminates coverage. Continuation means you keep the same coverage if you pay the premium on time. Conversion means you get an individual policy of insurance with identical or equivalent coverage without health screening. In each case, your premium can change when you are no longer in the group.
In other words, if your group leaves the company, you’re still ok. If you leave the group, the company is not bound to continue offering you the same policy.
3. 30-day Free Look: Every applicant (except purchasers in employer or trade groups) has the right to return any policy or certificate within 30 days of receipt, for any reason, and have all premiums or fees refunded. The 30 days begins on the day you get the policy or certificate.
4. Forbidden Requirements: Policies sold after 1990 cannot require you to be in a hospital before benefits will be paid in a nursing home, or to get skilled nursing care before personal care services are covered. Companies can’t refuse to pay you benefits because you weren’t in a hospital or nursing home before you needed covered home or community services. Companies also cannot refuse to pay covered benefits to people who are diagnosed with a mental illness or cognitive impairment, including Alzheimer’s disease, if they meet the eligibility trigger in the policy.
Duties of Agents and Companies: California law requires agents to comply with certain standards when selling insurance and to give consumers certain information at the time they make a sales presentation. If you are replacing a policy, agents are required to give you a fair and accurate comparison of any policies you may already have with one you are considering for purchase.
If you are buying any long-term care insurance, you must be given a “Long-term Care Insurance Personal Worksheet.” This form gives you important information about any rate increases the company has had, and asks you to consider certain other issues related to buying long-term care insurance and your ability to pay premiums over time. If you do not complete this form, the company is required to contact you before issuing coverage to make sure the agent showed it to you, and that you meet their standards for income and assets to purchase this product. The Personal Worksheet is intended to help you purchase the right type of policy and an appropriate amount of coverage for your particular circumstances. Insurance agents have a duty of honesty, good faith, and fair dealing to all consumers. They are prohibited from using high pressure tactics to sell you insurance and are not allowed to sell inappropriate coverage or excessive amounts of insurance. Advertisements and other marketing materials used by agents and by companies cannot be misleading. Violations of these standards should be reported to the California Department of Insurance at 1-800-927-HELP (4357).
I do wonder, though, how these protections change if the person paying the premiums move, or even if the beneficiary of the insurance moves out of state. Do you retain the protections of the state in which you purchased/initiated the coverage?
October 23, 2008
How bad is it when you’d rather work than go to lunch with higher-ups because you know that the outcome of the lunch has already been determined, thereby negating the need for the lunch? I mean, it’s gonna be good food and good food is my weakness.
But I’d rather be at my desk, having a lunch of herbs. Sad.
