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 »

So while we look for a new vlogger to take over where Clint left off, here is a video about how to buy life insurance from my new favorite how-to site, Howcast.com.

Video credit: Howcast.com.

Are you like me… one of the reasons I went back to work after retiring was to acquire health insurance. I’m a long way from Medicare. Or do you work at a specific employer solely because health insurance is available?

I even took a job with an employer that doesn’t pay as good a wage as others of the same category because they offer it and the others don’t.

Part of the Administration’s plan to fund Health Care Reform has had the idea tossed out that the portion of health insurance premiums paid by your employer that are currently non-taxable to you become subject to tax. At the same time a possible tax credit or minimum income before you are required to pay for what may be National Health Insurance.

Currently the employers share is non-taxable… and that also includes Social Security Tax  which I’m sure most people are not aware of … not just Income tax.

It would amount to a windfall for the Social Security Administration but that is being REALLY ignored by Washington in the hopes of it slipping past everyone. Read the rest of this entry »

and some thoughts on extended warranties and insurance.

Well my emergency fund has just been killed… luckily, somehow, I wasn’t!

Background:

On the way home from work Sunday morning, May 31st about 5:45 AM, I was coming up on my turnoff when I was rear ended on my motorcycle by someone street racing. Instinctively, I curled into a ball and went into a roll as my bike was knocked out from under me. The only thing I really remember is the horrid scraping sound my helmet made on the asphalt during one of my tumbles… the helmet was ruined and has a large gouge in it… so the first thing I want to tell everyone:

If you ride a motorbike wear your helmet!!

I might have died or been really hurt without it.

Anyway, I hadn’t heard or felt anything break and managed to get up… that was racing through my mind… get up before another car hits you! It was pitch black and the city hadn’t been maintaining the street lights (six lane road yet) and that stretch of road was still pitch black. Read the rest of this entry »

I started reading a lot of money blogs after an unfortunate bicycle injury. I remember lying in the middle of an intersection thinking “I don’t want to move”. It was a peaceful moment that felt like time had been put on hold. But shortly after, I heard the commotion of people yelling, saw multiple hands and arms dragging me onto the sidewalk and finally heard that familiar sound that had never been applied to me until this moment. The ambulance.

If you fall within the estimated 25% of gay and lesbians who do not have health insurance, then you can probably feel my pain. I didn’t have health insurance at the time. I had heard so many horror stories of people without health insurance paying insane amounts of money on trips to the Emergency Room. Even though I was bleeding all over the sidewalk and missing a few teeth I said “I’m not getting in there if it will cost me money”. I remember repeating this phrase numerous times, but the paramedics assured me it would be okay and that I really needed to go to the ER. So off I went!

To make a long story short (and after 2 visits to the ER), I had a broken jaw and needed it wired for a few weeks before any work could be done on my teeth. At this point, I was more concerned about how I was going to pay for all of this! Surprisingly, there were some extremely helpful people at the hospital that advised me on financial assistance. I’m sure each hospital is different, so be sure to check your hospital’s website for information. Read the rest of this entry »

Last week we got some very bad news: our friends’ home had been burglarized and over $34,000 worth of computer equipment was stolen. Fortunately our friends had renters’ insurance, although that hasn’t made the pain of their loss any easier. One of them is a web developer and IT specialist who works from home. The other is a computer engineering graduate student. While they wait for their insurance company to process their claim, both of them have had to put their lives on hold. But at least they were insured.

Our friends’ loss was a wake up call for my partner and me. We’ve been talking about renters’ insurance for months, but we’ve never done anything about it. This week we’ve gotten busy and started looking into the different policy options. Here’s what we discovered:

Renters’ insurance from Geico is $204 a year for $20,000 coverage with a $250 deductible. The same coverage from Progressive Insurance is $494 a year. State Farm offers $25,000 coverage with a $500 deductible for $210 a year. We haven’t made a final decision about a carrier yet, but we have started to collect the serial numbers for our laptops, TV, and other property items. Read the rest of this entry »

Oh! Can I here the snickers and giggles now. Let’s start with a definition of a “manbag.”

You can find several at Urbandictionary.com or Wikipedia but the gist of it is a bag carried by a man that has a shoulder strap. A traditional style briefcase is technically one also but what everyone calls a manbag these days tend to be soft-sided and more along the traditional “messenger bag”, “courier bag” form.

I was googling around for “pens” (yeah I know… it’s a hobby, what can I say) when an interesting article from Britain popped up about manbags and the value of the contents and the fact that they are often not insured. While the article is 2 years old it has some interesting stats about what is the difference between men and women in what they carry. (And pens are a big thing on the men’s side so now you know why the article popped up!)

The thing that struck me was that the average value was 640 Pounds (then around $1300) not including the value of the bag or any cash (wallet) you might have stashed inside. Also the value of the contents is approximately 10-15% greater for a man’s bag than a woman’s. Go figure. Read the rest of this entry »

I know you are probably thinking “enough about insurance already” so I’ll try to make this one brief or at least combine two topics into one post. Most people know that health insurance is an absolute must in this country. But do you know why? Doctors and hospitals will treat anyone, insured or not. It is the cost of the health care that will wipe you out financially if you do not have at least some coverage.

Most employers offer health insurance and if yours does you are probably fine. Many enlightened employers provide coverage to your domestic partner. If yours doesn’t, ask for it. If you are covered under your employer’s group plan, you need only be careful when you are changing jobs. There could well be a waiting period for coverage under the new employer’s plan and you don’t want to be uninsured for even a short amount of time.

What if you are not employed (and not covered under your partner’s plan) or your employer does not offer insurance? Now you are treading in the murky waters of individual policies. This is not a particularly bad thing if you are healthy. There are a number of online insurance brokerages (ehealthinsurance is one) that can help you find a short term (usually 1-6 months) or a more permanent individual insurance policy. These policies are very reasonably priced, especially if you are young. Read the rest of this entry »

Let’s talk about life. Insurance that is. The primary historical function of life insurance has been the support of dependents in the event the main breadwinner of a family passes away. Grieving and financial peril are not conditions one wants to endure simultaneously. If you are the principal wage earner in your family and your partner (and/or children) are dependent on your income then life insurance is both a smart and compassionate investment. But what if you and your partner both have good jobs on a steady career path? Do you need life insurance?

Now comes the difficult part. Thinking about death is not easy for anyone especially when it concerns your better half. I cannot conceive of a life without my partner.  Logically I know it is possible but I also know that her loss would be so tragic and would so completely upend my life that I would not be able to work even though I am perfectly capable of doing so. As she feels the same way, we are in the process of securing life insurance policies so that working to support ourselves will be the least of our concerns if tragedy strikes.

Most parents I know feel the same way about their children. Life insurance policies are not typically recommended for children as they are usually not supporting the family.  Some people might choose to go back to work after the loss of a child for the distraction or the comfort of routine. If you are not one of those people, you may want to consider policies for your children as well. Read the rest of this entry »

My previous couple of posts described the use of a pyramid as a metaphor for fiscal fitness (see The Pyramid as Metaphor – Part 1 and Part 2). Insurance is a central component at the base of the foundation. Without it, everything else you build into your financial life is at risk. When people think about insurance, they often think of health and life insurance. One of the most overlooked forms of insurance is also one of the most important so we’ll cover it first. The odds of a disability during your working life are much higher than premature death. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners found that a 35 year old male employee in the U.S. has a 1 in 5 chance of experiencing a disability keeping him out of work for longer than 90 days. A woman of the same age has an even greater risk. She has a 1 in 3 chance of missing work for more than 90 days due to disability.(1)

Many employers offer some type of disability insurance which typically replaces 60-70% of your income after the elimination period (length of time before benefits begin). This is where that cash fund (see post on this topic) comes into play. Can you pay bills for the extent of the elimination period? Can you pay bills on only 60-70% of your income? Private disability insurance is also available if your employer (or if you are self-employed) does not provide coverage. This insurance can be primary or supplement your employer coverage in order to cover a larger percentage of your income. This is a big topic and well covered in this comprehensive article. Note that this is a topic for everyone whether single or coupled. Private insurance can be expensive but the potential losses associated with a long term disability are far costlier. Read the rest of this entry »