Queercents

Being a Canadian in America I have been asked several times about what I think of President Obama’s health care reform since it will in a way model Canada’s socialized medicine. First I’d like to say that I like President Obama. I believe he is a breath of fresh air for America. Unfortunately, he has inherited a mess of a country and he has big challenges ahead of him to try to turn this country around.

For me, I love being Canadian and I love Canada’s health care program. I would never give up my Canadian citizenship or the privileges that come with being Canadian.

As a child growing up in the province of Ontario whenever I’d get ear infections or sprain my ankle from sports or whatever accident I got into health-wise my mother or father would drive me to the health clinic that was close to our house. When there I’d see a doctor and he/she would help me and then my family would go home and my parents would NOT get a hefty bill in the mail. Growing into a teen I’d go see my regular family physician for a physical check up and I’d get test done (e.g., blood work, pap smear, x-rays, etc.) and I would NOT get a hefty bill in the mail. Similarly, when my older sister had two babies in the hospital she NEVER got hit with a big medical bill as families do in America for having a baby in the hospital. In Canada, people don’t go into debt or claim bankruptcy because of enormous health bills. Read the rest of this entry »

The Rand Corporation earlier this month put out a research study on the health care system in Massachusetts and ways the Bay state could cut overall costs. With the American public caught like a deer in the headlights on what way to go with Federal health care reform, it’s nice to take a look at hard evidence in a system that is already operating.

I’m not saying Massachusetts’ health care system is perfect, but it’s at least in place. And since we all have to pay for our health care, it’d be nice to know that someone’s trying to do an efficient job in providing us with services.

So let’s see what Rand said about where, and how, to cut costs. In the report, titled Controlling Health Care Spending in Massachusetts: An Analysis of Options, the authors divide health care saving opportunities into five categories: reform payment systems, redesign the health care delivery system, reduce waste, encourage consumers to make good health choices and change medical liability laws. Read the rest of this entry »

I’d like to add my own spin to Serena’s excellent Stretch Your Food Dollar series. One of the reasons I recently launched a mircroenterprise to feed my friends as well as my family is that I was getting into the habit of making high yield and healthy dishes to nibble on over the course of a few days rather than prepare each individual meal prior to eating it. Like most people, I want to maximize the value for the invested dollars and effort. I’ve learned that making twice as much is not twice as costly.

Of course there are twice as many raw ingredients but if you put a value on time spent in prep and clean up then you are far better off making a couple of large dishes at the same time. I’m surprised at how inexpensively I can make a large variety of healthy dishes. Often they are less than $1/serving. There is typically less waste as well. In the past, even with the best intentions, I’d frequently have to toss out the ½ onion, ½ bunch of cilantro or ½ other perishable good.

Even when I was working full time, I’d spent a few hours on a Sunday preparing meals that would provide lunches and dinners through the better part of the week. I know there are food purists out there cringing right now at the thought of 3 day old lentil salad but the secret is really in choosing those dishes that will keep, and usually improve, over time. A traditional salad, for example, without tomatoes or dressing will last a couple days in the refrigerator. Hearty greens such as kale or collards are great raw but dressed with the juice of a lemon, a combination of sesame and olive oil, salt and pepper. This easily provides a few days of nutritious side dishes for two. Read the rest of this entry »

In keeping with my recent post about how I often find myself disagreeing with the standard penny-pinching tips, I’ve got another one for you to chew on: don’t cancel your health club membership. Yes, even if you never use it. There is a bigger issue going on here that urgently needs to be addressed.
Your health is your biggest wealth factor. Why are you neglecting it? Sure, you could cancel your membership and pretend you’ll jog in the park instead, but that’s going to go about as well as your plan to Do Yoga Every Day.

The trick to managing your wealth, and health, is learning to apply different strategies for different situations. Once you’ve triaged your economic situation and made some plans, the very next item on your list should be a triage of your health status and imminent health issues. Your health impacts you economically in two fundamental ways:

1. Health crises incur expenses.
2. Those expenses arrive when you are usually too sick to work.

That double whammy has plunged many individuals and families into poverty. It can take decades for your health and financial state to recover from a crisis. It’s the real cause behind the financial decline of the elderly. It’s something that should worry you. Read the rest of this entry »

Recently, a friend of mine told me a horror story about a certain natural supplement. The story did not revolve around any ill-health effects of this particular supplement rather it revolved around the bad business practices of the company selling the product. Let me explain.

A few weeks ago my friend “Toni” surfed the Web reading all kinds of articles and reviews about a certain supplement that I’ll refer to as “S-RU.” Prominent people on television endorsed this product giving Toni the added confidence to order it. When she went on the company’s Website it read: WHERE SHOULD WE SEND YOUR FREE TRIAL? Enter your contact information here and we will send you a free trial of S-RU and charge you $3.95 for shipping and handling.

Toni entered her contact information and her Visa credit card number. She was charged the $3.95 that she agreed to. A few days later she received S-RU in the mail. (So far the exchange appears to be based on an honest transaction but there is more to the story.)

Every morning Toni checks her bank account online, just because. One morning when she checked her Visa online she noticed that the company that sold her S-RU charged her card $3.95 and $87.13. She did not authorize the latter charge, at least not to her knowledge. It’s a good thing Toni was computer literate because had she waited for her bank statement to arrive in the mail she would have likely missed her window of opportunity to reverse this charge. Read the rest of this entry »

MLM = Multi-level marketing

The official drink of Jesus = MonaVie

Every few years, it seems that born again Christians latch onto the latest MLM scheme and use church to establish their downline for recurring sales. Awhile back, it was Arbonne, the skin care company and apparently, now it’s MonaVie, you know, the superfruit, voodoo juice made from the seemly overexposed Acai berry.

Most recruits to MLM ventures are taught to leverage their “warm market” of friends and family members in order to grow their business which is why church makes perfect sense when looking for a greenfield opportunity.

In a recent Gallup poll, 13% of churchgoers attend church because it serves explicit social functions such as making business contacts and socializing with other members of the community.

Everyone who has tried to get me to buy MonaVie has been a born again Christian. And I don’t even attend church. Chalk one up for evangelism!

Brian Dunning at Skeptoid explores MonaVie’s business model:

Have a seat and pour yourself a glass of the newest anti-aging megafad, superfruit juice. What is it? What does it claim to do for your body? How does it work? Is it really worth up to $50 per one-week supply? Read the rest of this entry »

So you’re going to start biking to work. Good choice. Since you’ve already decided to start bike commuting, you probably know about at least some of the benefits. For those who are still thinking about biking to work here are some of the big advantages.

1. Spend less (or nothing) on gas.
Duh.

2. Less traffic.
Though cyclists are required to follow the same traffic laws as motorists, bikes are also far more maneuverable and have access to bike lanes, sidewalks or both. (Just remember to ride safely, which is something I’ll say more about later.)

3. No more diets or expensive gym memberships.
Nearly all of my coworkers are on some sort of diet but I spend the day eating as much as I want because I know that the energy from the extra food will just go to my ride. If I need to clear my head during lunch break, get outside or just move about, having my bike handy is also great for a fifteen minute ride.
My route also sends me past a gym and somehow that smug feeling of getting fit without monthly membership fees just never goes away.

4. Being outside.
My ride is 35 minutes each way, so I’m getting over an hour of cardio a day. Riding outside makes the cardio more interesting and being in the sun leads to better days. Even in lousy weather, just being outside in the open air is something of a pick-me-up. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m talking about my bicycle. It’s a simple technology that deserves much more attention than it gets in North America. Anywhere else in the world, bicycles are a major form of transportation. Our cities were built at the height of the car manufacturers’ political power, however, and so are car-dependent in many ways. Still, there are wonderful reasons to use a bike:

1. It’s cheap

My transportation budget is $300 a year, and that includes $150 in bus tickets for days when I don’t want to or can’t bike. Theoretically, I even have a few taxi rides accounted for in case I need them. The remainder I use to accumulate bicycle gear that makes riding more comfortable each year. Often, though, I don’t even use my full budget amount. Compare that $25 per month with $100 for transit and $300 for a car.

2. Pollution free.

Not only is there no tail pipe emissions, it takes up very little steel to manufacture a bicycle and they can last for decades. Bikes also take up less space on the road and don’t require highways to be built and farmland to be paved over. Bikes reduce traffic congestion too, so you not only save on the emissions that you’d produce, you help reduce the pollution generated from other people too. By burning calories instead of oil, you will become the most efficient transportation machine ever invented – even more efficient than walking!

3. Get fit

I often stop riding for a few weeks in winter when snow is on the ground. When I start again, I can feel the drag in my legs, my lungs and heart rate. Biking as a form of transportation keeps you fit in a very fundamental way. If you bike 20 minutes to work each way, every day, you are probably burning an extra 300 calories each workday. That will trim off 15 pounds a year, and/or allow a lot more room for cupcakes and chips that your current level of activity will sustain. Have you ever read those studies about people who stay fit throughout their lives and they always say they exercise 40 minutes a day – and you’re left wondering “how on earth do they DO that?” This is how. Integrating activity into your daily routine is how you keep fit year after year. Even if it takes you an extra 10 minutes to bike to work instead of driving or transit, you’ve inserted a full cardiovascular workout into your daily life for an extra 20 minutes a day. Trust me, you will see the results. Read the rest of this entry »

This past weekend I sponsored a booth at our local Wellness Festival for my financial coaching business. It was interesting to see that while some were surprised to find me there, most thought it perfectly natural. The connection between healthy finances and healthy human is growing clearer by the day.

Saving is Good For Your Health!

I’ve long known intuitively that there was a connection between financial fitness and overall well being. Now studies are starting to prove this out. The good news is that it doesn’t take much savings to reap the benefits. And the connection appears to be independent of income.

Just as striking though, were the psychological impacts of having at least $500 in the bank.Those who had less than $500 were more than twice as likely to worry frequently about money — and much more likely to report they’d lost sleep, suffered health problems or been less productive at work.

So if you needed any extra incentive to get that first $500 in the bank you know now that your health depends on it! Read the full article here.

Of course the connection is true in reverse as well. Living healthy is good for your wallet! People who “invest” in their health take fewer prescription and over-the-counter drugs, visit doctors less frequently, have fewer down days (particularly important for the self-employed) and generally spend less on food since it is the prepackaged/processed foods that tend to cost more. See Lucy’s Be Your Own Trainer series for guidance on the exercise part of the health equation.

Photo credit: stock.xchng

Water sucks, Gatorade is better

You. Must. Remember. To. Hydrate.

I have had clients pass out on me before (well, not on me, that’d be a different kind of post all together) from heat exhaustion or lack of food intake. Please, don’t pass out. That would be all sorts of bad news.

Two tips for this post:

1) Drink water.

For women, it’s recommended to drink around 3 liters of water a day. I hear people bitching all the time about “water weight.” Lades, you have hormones that flux your weight each month. Deal with it. If you’re not used to it now, then you’ll have to work on that. Men, it’s recommended that you drink five to six liters per day. So get yourselves a jug of water or a water bottle (Don’t but the 16oz throw away water bottles at the gym, they’re bad for the environment and cost you however much each time you go. Seriously, accessorize! Get a cute water bottle and refill it however many times to equal your suggested intake, did I really just say “accessorize”? ugh)

You can go for Gatorade and vitamin water but just remember how much sugar is actually in those drinks. Sometimes they do more harm than anything else. Read the rest of this entry »