Money saving ideas

Many years ago, we were warned that inflation was going to come back, and it would come back with a vengeance. In the past when we had inflation, the money we had in savings or in stocks was protected. However, today the banks are raising interest rates on borrowing but not on savings, and the stock market is struggling to keep in positive territory. Many of us are worried about running out of money in retirement. Inflation is soaring, stocks are crashing, bank interest rates on savings are stagnant and to top it off, we are living longer. All of which means your money has to work harder to last. Here are some ideas:

There are stages to your retirement, in the early years we treat every day like it’s Saturday, we take a few extra vacations and trips with family and friends. This was fine when inflation was not going crazy. Now is the time to rein in your expenses or if you can a part-time job to supplement your income or to look for better places to save your money.

It’s natural to want to help your children and grandchildren out, but make sure before you do that you can look after yourself. My grandfather would pass money on to his children to help out, but he always made sure that he could cover his needs. So, before you book that cruise for the entire family or give your child the down payment for a home, make sure you can afford to do this. You may have to learn to say no, at least for now. Make sure you have enough cash in the bank to live comfortably in retirement, and then lend a helping hand.

Some people go into retirement with the intention of downsizing to a smaller home. Don’t treat the equity in your home as a windfall. If you need it, count it as an income stream you can live off of in retirement.

Close to 70 percent of Americans 65 and older will need long-term care in their lifetime, according to the Urban Institute and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Some have family members to rely on, but close to half will need to pay for long-term care on their own, and many have no plan to do so. If you can add long-term care coverage to your retirement savings plan.

Lingering or new debt can be a big blow to your retirement savings. Try not to bring any debt with you into retirement. If you do, work on paying it off and resist accruing new debt.

Finally, remember that the great wealth-eroding factor has always been inflation. Your investments have to work harder to hold their value over the long haul. With inflation soaring, a portfolio checkup may be in order to ensure your investments are allocated properly. 

Protect yourself in an economic downturn

 We are in an economic turndown; inflation is here and some of us are wondering what to do. Based on past experience one thing that many people will do is panic. The investment community will tell you that the stock market is neutral and unemotional. That is not true, because stock prices are driven by humans who are emotional and who do things that are not logic. If you are invested in the stock market, either inf mutual funds or stocks, don’t Panic. Historically, those who remain calm and stay the course with their investments are rewarded with a big bounce in due course.

Remember that in the past few years your stocks have gone up. The percentage of loss in this cycle is nowhere near the great percentage of gains from the past few years. We can not predict what will happen, but acting calmly is bound to serve you well. Do not panic is the first rule of protecting your long-term financial health in a downward trending market.

If you experience losses in retirement investments, you are not necessarily in the poor house, especially if you consider alternate sources of wealth before selling stocks that are down. We are facing a labour shortage especially of skilled labour, so if you can think about working longer or going back to work to bridge through the economic downturn. If your investments are your only source of income, then if you can borrow from your home equity, or assess some of the other best and worst sources of emergency money.

It is almost certain that you are much better off in a market downturn if you have already created a highly detailed and completely personalized retirement plan. Just make sure that if you have a plan, that you ignore the markets and keep to the plan. A plan enables you to quickly run different scenarios and really assess the impact to your near- and long-term financial health.

Now may be the time to make some minor adjustments to your future projections. You may want to raise your inflation assumptions slightly, lower your anticipated rates of return a bit, and maybe even look at spending.

As part of our plan, we may have decided to withdraw a fixed percentage from our investment accounts throughout our retirement. However, it may be a better idea to adjust your withdrawals depending on economic conditions. If:

·   Stocks are high and inflation is low, you can withdraw more

·   The market is down, and inflation is high, then you will want to withdraw less

July is Breaved Parents Month

 The following is from the Hand to Hold parent support group. I was not aware of the fact that July is annually recognized as Bereaved Parents Awareness Month.

It is a month dedicated to raising awareness of the support necessary when one endures the loss of a child. Over the years Hand to Hold has had the bittersweet pleasure to feature the heartfelt words of parents who have walked this path and shared their stories so others will feel less alone. Here is a collection of those stories.

If you are a parent who has lost a baby, wherever you are in your grief, we want you to know that you are not alone. There is a community of families ready to support you, whether it is today, a month from today, or a year from today. There is a community of families ready to support you, whether it is today, a month from today, or a year from today. Parents who have experienced a loss may request a peer mentor at any time for support from someone who has been there. For more information, visit our bereaved family support resources.

How to Support a Bereaved Parent. Bereaved parent and Hand to Hold Family Support Specialist Christine shares the most meaningful ways friends and family can support a parent after a loss.

Christine’s Story of Loss, Healing and Giving Back. Christine shares her personal story of loss and how giving back as a peer mentor and now a Hand to Hold Family Support Specialist has helped her heal.

NICU Parent Perspective: Acknowledging the Loss of a Multiple in the NICU. Bereaved parents in the Hand to Hold community were kind enough to share their stories with us of losing one or more children in a multiple birth – stories of loss, of grief, of healing, and of hope.

The Complex Emotions of Losing a Twin in the NICU. Guest blogger Ally Anderson shares her story of grief for the baby she lost and joy for the baby she still has.

Life After Loss: How to Start Your Grief Journey. Everyone’s grief journey is different. Guest blogger Brittany Clay shares how she was able to start healing after the loss of her son.

NICU Parent Perspective: We Have Hope in Whatever Lies Ahead. Nothing prepared Valerie for the surprise of being told she were having twins, or for the stress of experiencing complications at 22 weeks, or the pain of losing her precious baby A, Cristiano, just 22 minutes after his birth.

NICU Now Episode 13: Love and Loss in the NICU and Episode 15: Life Transformations After the NICU, Part 2.

A Letter to My Doctor. After losing her twins at just 23 weeks gestation, Melissa Vandermeer shares her raw and honest feelings on why self-advocacy is so important.

Kate’s Story of Loss. Author Kate Polley shares how the loss of one of her twins led her to a unique opportunity to give back to other parents who have lost a child.

Learning the Language of Grief: Telling a Twinless Twin About Their Twin. Kara Wahlin talks about the struggle to tell her son about his twin, who passed away shortly after birth.

Mourning a Loss That Doesn’t Quite Have a Name: Grief and Loss in the NICU. Kara Wahlin discusses how grief can play a part in our day-to-day lives.

Living with Grief: My Story of Infant Loss. Stacey Skrysak shares her difficult experience of losing two of her triplets in the NICU.

Honest Grief: From Being Strong To Being Real. Kierra Sorrells shares how trying to be strong may do more harm than good after the loss of a child.

10 Life Lessons I Learned After Experiencing Life’s Greatest Joy and Most Devastating Challenge. Charles George shares what he’s learned in the years since his son’s death from congenital heart disease.

National and International Resources for Bereaved Families

 

Time perspective 2

 “It has been said, 'time heals all wounds.' I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But it is never gone.” ― Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy

Zimbardo identified five key approaches to time perspective. These are:

The ‘past-negative’ type. You focus on negative personal experiences that still have the power to upset you. This can lead to feelings of bitterness and regret. The mind does not cover the pain with scar tissue, so the pain is still raw.

The ‘past-positive’ type. You take a nostalgic view of the past and stay in very close contact with your family. You tend to have happy relationships, but the downside is a cautious, “better safe than sorry” approach which may hold you back. The wound remains and over time you are protected by the scar tissue, and you can bear the pain with grace.

The ‘present-hedonistic’ type. You are dominated by pleasure-seeking impulses, and are reluctant to postpone feeling good for the sake of greater gain later. You are popular but tend to have a less healthy lifestyle and take more risks. The pain is driven away by time and your ability to ignore the event that caused you the pain.

The ‘present-fatalistic’ type. You aren’t enjoying the present but feel trapped in it, unable to change the inevitability of the future. This sense of powerlessness can lead to anxiety, depression and risk-taking. The sense of powerlessness causes them to rip off the scars that are being formed to protect them from the pain.

The ‘future-focused’ type. You are highly ambitious, focused on goals, and big on making ‘to do’ lists. You tend to feel a nagging sense of urgency that can create stress for yourself and those around you. Your investment in the future can come at the cost of close relationships and recreation time. The passage of time and your ambition cause you to drive the pain underground so over time it becomes dull and can be ignored.

All five types come into play in our lives at some point, but there probably will be one or two directions in which you are more focused. Identify these and you can start developing a more flexible, healthier approach.

Balance and positivity come from understanding our time perspective and finding positive and healthy ways to appreciate the present, while living in the present and making plans for our future. But how easily we time travel in our time perspective makes a crucial difference to how well we do in life and how happy we are while we’re living it.