RISCARIO INSIDER: morbidity

Showing posts with label morbidity. Show all posts

December 17, 2017

Leaving Your Employer? Get Your Insurance In Place First.

When you're leaving your employer — voluntarily or not — you have much to consider about your future. You could easily forget or undervalue the employee benefits you've been receiving.

Unless you put similar protection in place, you are transferring risks to yourself. You have other options.

Health and Dental Benefits

If you act fast, you likely qualify for Manulife FollowMe health and dental without underwriting. You need to apply and pay within 60 days of losing your current coverage (sooner is safer). You can apply for FollowMe through Costco to save money if you don't need guidance.

If you'd like better coverage with fewer limitations, consider Association plans, which are only available through advisors.

Tip: If you're out of time, get FollowMe first and then compare with the Association plans.

Disability Insurance

Your group Long Term Disability (LTD) will likely end. Personal disability insurance is worth considering if you or your dependants would be heavily impacted if you became unable to work due to a sickness or injury. The cost may seem high but the benefits are valuable.

The best time to apply is while you're still working since a discount usually applies. Upon leaving your employer, a well-constructed plan allows a special one-time top-up to replace the group LTD you're losing.

Tip: Group LTD has limitations. Consider personal disability insurance as a top-up even if you're working.

Life Insurance

You likely have a right to a short period to convert your group life insurance to personal coverage (e.g., 30 days) after your employment ends. Your employer may not emphasize this option because the insurer charges them a penalty on the assumption that some of those who convert are in below-average health. Personal life insurance is likely cheaper but takes time to put into place.

Tip: If you're out of time, convert your group life and then compare with personal life insurance.

Be Ready

When you're starting out on your own and uncertain about the future, insurance brings stability and peace of mind. Waiting until you're established brings risk.

Reminder: simplified for clarity. For specific answers to your personal questions, arrange a private chat.

October 11, 2014

FIVE ESSENTIALS TO BETTER INVESTING (AND INSURING)

How can you lose by learning to invest better?

Steadyhand Investment Funds sells no-load low-fee mutual funds directly to investors.
They've prepared an easy-to-read report called Five Essential Elements To Being A Better Investor (PDF). The focus is on sound, timeless basics rather than trendy quick-fix tips.

You'll find interpretations at

My Own Advisor by Mark Seed
Retire Happy by Jim Yih
CPA Magazine (co-written by Steadyhand’s Tom Bradley)
The Globe and Mail (by Tom Bradley again)

Watch

You can also watch my chat with David Toyne, their Toronto-based Director of Business Development on Tea At Taxevity (interview #20).

An Extension

The steps to becoming a better investor also apply to becoming better insurance buyer. The following list shows the Steadyhand recommendation in bold and my interpretation for health or life insurance in italics.

Be realistic: risk happens even if you’re optimistic and we have a knack for worrying about the wrong risks
Have a long-term plan: prepare for your financial risks during your working years (disability), retirement years (longevity), throughout (morbidity, mortality) and at death (taxes!)
Commit to a routine: if your insurance gets cancelled because you missed premium payments (e.g., cheques bounced during a long vacation), you lose your protection.
Prepare for extremes: that’s precisely what insurance does by transferring unpredictable financial risks from you
Act as the CEO of your portfolio: be proactive to make sure you get the service for which you're paying. Without regular checkups, you risk having the wrong amounts of insurance and perhaps the wrong types of insurance.

The Steadyhand report is well-worth reading. You might even want to invest with them.

Links

PS Invest in yourself too. Keep developing marketable skills.

April 13, 2014

LIFE-CHANGING: THE FREE SHRI AMBIKA YOGA KUTIR COURSE IN TORONTO

Related: Find out about the next course

This year, I’ve been focusing on my health by

eating better
sleeping earlier
exercising more

The big challenge is exercise. Good intentions haven’t translated into ongoing habits,

Intentions vs Actions

Visiting a fitness club takes time, planning and waiting for equipment. Yoga looked like a good way to exercise at home before breakfast. Since pure yoga melds body, mind and soul, I wanted

sevaks (teachers) who knew the ancient ways from India but taught in English
an extended, structured course (rather than a workshop)
personalized attention (rather than a student in a large class)

Is that asking too much?

The Solution

A fellow Toastmaster told us of a free 16 week course in West Toronto (Etobicoke near Kipling/Rexdale). My wife attended Shri Ambika Yoga Kutir and recommended I join. That’s a big commitment. The classes take place at 7:00:00 AM on Saturdays. I’m not a morning person and don’t like sleeping early on Friday nights. Would I have energy to travel and take a two hour class before breakfast?

I made a commitment and haven’t missed a single class despite the extreme winter. Since lessons build on each others, that’s important.

Benefits

Here the main benefits I’ve already achieved

more energy all day: the breathing exercises help you get more oxygen into your blood — especially via Kapal Bhati (shallow bellows breathing)
better posture: you tone muscles which often get ignored (e.g. in your spine and neck)
more flexibility: we don’t use positions like padmasana (lotus posture) in our daily lives

Perhaps the greatest benefit is the confidence that comes from persisting and not quitting. My life has changed and will continue to improve as I continue the yoga.

The Catch?

The course is free and that’s not a trick. You’re not put on a commercial mailing list. There are no attempts to upsell you (because there’s nothing to sell). The only way you can spend money is on the optional course materials. The best ways to repay the generosity of the volunteer sevaks is by

continuing to practice yoga
encouraging others to join (a goal of this post)

You attend to learn. Students (sadhaks) are discouraged from the usual networking and exchange of business cards.

The Format

Each class starts with all students on yoga mats facing a row of teachers at the front of the large room.

The week’s agenda is shown on a whiteboard. Different teachers explain the theory behind the new postures, the benefits and the precautions. There are demonstrations of the new postures.

Practice

We then go to one of four groups based on our age and gender. My group (males 45+) had about a dozen students and two teachers. That’s an excellent student-to-teacher ratio. As we practiced, we got personalized attention. That’s what I really appreciated since I wanted to do the exercises properly. You can’t get that from YouTube or a conventional show-up-if-you-want class.

Each student in my group had his own strengths and challenges. We weren’t competing, though. We were encouraged to do what we could. We weren’t pressured to do exercises for which we made us uncomfortable. Some exercises had variations for different needs.

Tips

For the best results in the Shri Ambika Yoga Kutir class

take notes (photography and videography is discouraged; manuals aren’t available until near the end)
practice daily (I averaged 5-6 days a week … only skipping mornings when travelling or having unusually early meetings)
invest in a proper yoga mat (e.g., the well-cushioned, nonslip Manduka BM71 with a lifetime warranty)

After you graduate, you can return anytime you want to repeat the basics or take advanced classes. If you’re interested, get details about the next course.

It’s funny how our bodies respond when we take care of them. What better investment can you make?

Links

PS I’m thinking of redoing the beginner’s class to learn the basics better and stay on track.

November 17, 2013

WHAT DO YOU LEARN FROM GETTING SICK?

Why did I get sick?

Sometimes the cause and lesson are clear. Other times we make shaky connections. Either way, what steps do we take to avoid getting sick again?

We visited the only Corvette factory (worth seeing) and ended up in a Kentucky hospital (worth skipping). We probably got food poisoning from a local restaurant.

Suspected cause: bad salad (and likely cause)
Lesson: avoid raw food in strange places
Status: learned and still followed

In school, I got strep throat as often as once a year. I thought that was punishment for eating candy.

Suspected cause: candy (likely cause: a contagion caught at school)
Lesson: avoid candy
Status: learned (easy since we rarely got or get candy)

The Latest

Recently, I had a painful tummy. After eating, I felt gassy and bloated. My stomach hurt while digesting the food. I thought the cause was eating at a restaurant but no one else in my family got sick. The only difference in our meals was that I had hot soup.

Suspected cause: bad food while eating out (likely cause: unknown)
Lesson: eat better and at home
Status: learned (at least for now)

And You?

Does this sound familiar? You're busy. You're not eating well, exercising or sleeping enough. You've got deadlines! You've got no time. You've certainly got no time to get sick.

Your body doesn't care and forces you to bed. Now you have time. Your priorities changed. The world continues functioning without you. That's humbling.

While sick, we're often forced to listen and change the way we behave --- at least temporarily. Afterwards, what happens? Do we continue to apply the lessons or do we go back to our old ways? There's little value in failing and getting forced to learn the same lesson again. And maybe again.

During my tummy troubles, I ate smaller portions more frequently. The food was healthier, fresher and more alkaline. More salad. More vegetables. Less wheat. Some nuts like almonds. Fewer ingredients and condiments. Almost no processed food like cereals or protein bars. Very little added sugar. More walking (almost daily). More rest. I also got Ki Therapy from Julian Hirabiyashi (who I highly recommend). I've recovered and don't want to get sick again. I’ve continued behaving well for weeks. Maybe that will last.

We may be wrong about why we got sick but we can use the experience as a nudge to change the way we behave. Learning from sickness is healthy.

Podcast 246

direct download | Internet Archive page | iTunes

PS The time we need a break is when we don't have time for a break. Enjoy the weekend!

October 26, 2013

FIVE SWEET WAYS TO CUT BACK ON SUGAR

Sugar: Consumption At The Crossroads (cover)

Sugar used to be scarce but now we’re suffering from abundance. Here are alarming findings from the Credit Suisse Research Institute:

“… added sugar is in almost everything on the supermarket shelves.”

“Today, the world daily average consumption of added sugar per person is 17 teaspoons — up 45% compared with 30 years ago.”

“The US is rated #1 in the consumption of sugar and caloric sweeteners with an average of 40 teaspoons per person per day. It’s not surprising that the country has the world’s highest rate of adult obesity (34%). “
— Sugar: Sweet With A Bitter Aftertaste

This short video explores the effects of sugar around the world.

We pay for excessive sugar consumption with our own health and as a society.

The Manufacturers

The manufacturers are tough to blame. Information about sugar is easily available online. They don’t force us to buy (but entice us as much as possible). They don't tell us how much to consume (but their packaging influences us).

Depending on your age, you may recall that soft drinks in Canada came in 10 ounce tough-to-crush steel cans. After the switch to the 12 ounce aluminum cans used in the US, we didn’t throw out the extra two ounces. That would be wasteful. Instead, we quickly learned to consume more. Children did too.

Even Worse

While normal sugar may be bad, artificial sweeteners and high fructose corn syrup look even worse.

Also manufacturers also play games with their labeling. To avoid showing sugar as the first or second item, the label, they may show different forms of sugar (e.g., brown sugar, molasses, concentrated fruit juice, dried cane sugar, hydrolysed starch, dextrose, maize syrup, honey). Sneaky, even for people who read the labels. We care about the amount of sugar, not the subdivisions designed to deceive.

Strategies

Here are five ways to reduce your consumption of sugar.

1. Eat Less

You can't take sugar out of your dessert but you can take a smaller portion (no seconds!) or eat less frequently. You can share too. Sometimes we’ll pour a can of pop into two small glasses.

2. Add Less

We're used to adding sugar to foods such as coffee and tea. We might add hot fudge to our ice cream or sugar to our cereal. We may have ice cream with our apple pie or apple pie with our ice cream. We can cut back and perhaps eliminate some of the extra sweetness.

3. Buy Less

Since you can't eat what you don't have, a simple solution is to avoid buying sugary processed food. If you wouldn't buy a product at normal price, should you buy because it's on sale and you're "saving" money?

4. Buy Quality

In the quest for profits, companies switch to ever-cheaper ingredients with names we can't easily pronounce. Products with better ingredients usually cost more. Buy them and you're paying a tax for quality. That's a financial incentive to buy less, eat less and savour each bite.
Depending on your skills, you could even occasionally make treats at home. You’ll know how much sugar you're using, which can be disturbing.

5. Exercise

When you exercise regularly, you want results. Eating better helps. That means less sugar and likely less cravings for the wrong things. Besides, you have less time to eat.

What About Oreos?

Sugar has been called “addictive and the most dangerous drug of the times”. Oreos are as addictive as cocaine for rats, according to a flawed study. Rather than argue over the headlines, let’s live better. Where there’s willpower, there’s a way.

What sugar do you consume daily? How can you cut back before your doctor tells you?

(new from TED-Ed)

Podcast 243

direct download | Internet Archive page | iTunes

PS Next week is Halloween …

November 28, 2009

What happens during a paramedical exam for life insurance?

When you apply for life insurance, your health (both medical and financial) gets evaluated. This process starts with data gathering.

What's needed depends on your age and the amount of coverage. The requirements usually show on the life insurance projection you signed when you applied. Depending on your answers and test results, more investigations may be required.

The Nurse

A nurse came to my home at the appointed time to conduct the tests. She was pleasant, efficient and experienced. She also works at a hospital. She asked many questions throughout. The process took about 40 minutes.

Sometimes, the insurer requires that your examination be conducted by a doctor of their choosing. To prevent conflicts of interest, you can't use your own doctor.

The Requirements

As with a normal medical checkup, the nurse collected the basics

measures your height
checks your weight on her scale
checks your blood pressure
asks about your use of alcohol, tobacco and drugs
asks about you use of prescription medication
asks about changes in your health

In addition, I provided blood and urine samples which go all the way to Kansas City for analysis. Why there? Who knows. You'd think local testing would be faster and cheaper.

I also gave

proof of identity with my driver's license, which has a photo
the name/address of my doctor

Past health affects future health. So you're asked many questions about yourself and some about your family.

Tip: When answering questions, pretend you're on the witness stand or at border security. Be truthful. Be concise. Be quiet. You gain nothing by continuing to yak.

A final question asks if any relevant information was not provided. Clever.

The EKG

An EKG was also required because of the amount of coverage I was requesting. This does not take a visit to a clinic for testing with a huge machine. Now a small device the size of a paperback novel suffices. Ten electrodes were connected over my chest. I sat comfortably with my feet resting on a chair. The results were converted to sound and communicated to the analysis centre by telephone. The squeals reminded me of dial-up modems connecting. Or R2D2 in a foul mood.

Had the EKG identified problems, the test would have been repeated.

Ouch! The EKG sensors attach to your body like bandages with metal probes on the back. The application is easy but removal stings if you have a hairy body like mine. The nurse asked me to remove the three most toughest probes.

Initial Results

The initial results look good and mirror my executive physical four months ago. If the insurance underwriters don't agree, you face

more tests, or
higher premiums (a poor health rating costs you just as a poor credit rating does), or
no offer of insurance (you're uninsurable)

Free

There's no charge for the examinations to you or your advisor. The insurer covers the entire cost even if you are declined for coverage or you decline to purchase the coverage.

Each party loses if you don't get insured. You don't get the protection you wanted. Your advisor doesn't get paid. The insurer doesn't get revenue to cover the costs incurred. Even so, the insurer would rather lose a small amount now than to pay out a large death benefit for which you paid too little. (See why insurers won't insure you.)

Privacy

If the underwriting process uncovers medical issues, your advisor never gets the details. To protect your privacy, the results go only to your doctor and you. You can then see if you can take steps to restore your health through treatment or changes in lifestyle.

Links

Podcast Episode 45 (4:48)

direct download | Internet Archive page

April 19, 2009

Small Cars: Is 'Safer Than Ever' Safe Enough for You?

Toronto Star: ... previous crash ratings for small cars are misleading

Wall Street Journal: Many small cars perform well in safety tests but appear, intuitively at least, to be at a disadvantage in collision with larger vehicles. Now a series of crash tests indicate the disadvantage is substantial, even when small cars collide with vehicles that don't seem that much larger. (emphasis added)

Forbes: ... no amount of airbags, electronic stability control or roll cages can defeat the laws of physics.

Though much safer than they were a few years ago, minicars as a group do a comparatively poor job of protecting people in crashes, simply because they're smaller and lighter. --- Adrian Lund, President, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) (emphasis added)

So all things being equal, if you're concerned about safety, you want a bigger, heavier car. --- David Zuby, senior vice president of vehicle research, IIHS

Scary words.

Cars have been on my mind this week. Fellow blogger Squawkfox and her husband were hit by wheels that came off a truck. Fortunately, they were not seriously hurt. Or worse.

Then the IIHS took three small cars rated tops in barrier tests and crashed them into midsize cars from the same manufacturer.

Daimler: Smart fortwo vs Mercedes C300
Honda: Fit vs Accord
Toyota: Yaris vs Camry

Each small car dropped to lowest possible rating even though the collision speed was only 40 mph (64 km/h). The rating of Poor means a high probability of serious injury or death.

The following videos show what happened.

Daimler: Smart ForTwo vs Mercedes C300

Honda: Fit vs Accord

Toyota: Yaris vs Camry

How Much Safer Are Large Vehicles?

The Wall Street Journal reported that for minicars

in multi-vehicle crashes: "The death rate ... is almost twice as high as that of large cars"
in single vehicle crashes: "... three times as many deaths as in large cars"

In the case of Squawkfox, the flying truck wheels were like a smaller vehicle.

The Dilemma

In collisions with bigger vehicles, the forces acting on the smaller ones are higher, and there's less distance from the front of a small car to the occupant compartment to 'ride down' the impact. --- Toronto Star

We're buying smaller vehicles to save on fuel and to help the environment. Enviable goals. But we're increasing the chances of injury to ourselves. I've never been on the road in a minicar but did talk to a Smart Car representative. She explained how safe the vehicles were --- much like sitting in the shell of a walnut. How customers in accidents felt the vehicles saved their lives and returned to replace them. Seeing the crash test provides a rather different perspective.

How Safe?
There's a limit to large, though. In a collision with a truck or tractor trailer, even a big gas guzzling, road hogging SUV is at a disadvantage. If you're driving at highway speeds, the odds are against you too.

You can't have it all. If you're after fuel economy then you want a smaller, lighter vehicle. You're compromising with safety, though. If you drive in city gridlock, speeds are low thanks to volume, cyclists and buses. I average 20-25 km/h in "rush hour". That provides additional insurance.

We may have forgotten our high school physics, but those laws still apply.

Links

Costs of a Car Crash (Squawkfox | April 13, 2009)
14 Things to do Before and After a Car Accident (Squawkfox | April 16, 2009)
Small Cars are Dangerous Cars (Wall Street Journal | April 17, 2009)
In vehicle crashes, size matters (Toronto Star | April 15, 2009)
Why Small Cars Won't Keep You Safe (Forbes | April 14, 2009)
Smaller Cars Get Low Grades (Wall Street Journal | April 14, 2009)
Crash test video (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)
The influence of size and weight on safety in crashes (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety | April 14, 2009)
Smart USA responds to IIHS crash test results (autobloggreen.com | April 15, 2009)

Podcast

direct download | Internet Archive page

December 25, 2008

Christmas in the Emergency Ward

It's Christmas Eve. We're visiting friends in Mississauga. It's about 10:30pm. Our son Jeevan is having dessert --- chocolate cake and apple pie. After a bite, his mouth feels itchy. Thirty minutes later, hives appear on his chest. He's short of breath and shivering. A severe allergic reaction. He takes Benadryl.

11:30pm An hour later, Jeevan is shivering and still short of breath. We go to Credit Valley Hospital, 900m away, calmly guided by GPS. I drop him and my wife, Sharmila, at the entrance of the Emergency wing. Unlike the movies, the mood is subdued. No ambulances with flashing lights and blaring sirens. No one outside. No excitement at all.

The Emergency ward has less staff due to the Christmas holidays. After 15 minutes, Jeevan is being examined at Emergency Reception. Questions about symptoms. Measurement of his heart rate, blood pressure, weight. This takes 10 minutes. We forgot his OHIP card for proof of eligibility for government health insurance but this is not a hurdle.

Registration is next. The process takes a few minutes. The paperwork goes back to Emergency Reception. After a few minutes, Jeevan is taken to a hospital bed and gets examined. Sharmila accompanies him. It's 12:05am. Merry Christmas?

I stay in the waiting area, writing this post as I wonder what's happening. I avoid touching anything for fear of catching a serious contagious disease. Three other families wait too. Everyone is calm. The scene is much like a doctor's waiting room. Another family enters around 12:25am. There are 10 of us, which fills most of the seats. There's another room full of patients. I'm not sure how many. Maybe they've already been examined and are waiting for further treatment. There's a feeling of calm. A feeling of waiting.

12:30am Four staff working. A pair each at the Reception and Registration desks. This is full capacity but I don't see more patients.

12:40am Two paramedics drop by to chat and go to the staff room. The staff are pleasant and calm throughout. The experience feels unreal, like a dream in slow motion.

12:50am Sharmila comes out. Good news! Jeevan is recovering! He received adrenaline and Benadryl. He is in a private room. Number 18. I can go in too. I see he's on two or three drips (one to treat side effects). It feels like a movie with all the machinery beeping in languages that only R2D2 would understand.

1:40am The IV drip machine starts beeping because the fluids are finished. No one is around to respond. The emergency wing bustles with activity due to more patients and more urgent cases. That's fair but the beeping is annoying.

2:00am A new IV drip. One litre of a saline solution. Previously 0.5L administered. This is going to take a while. In my drowsy stupor, I realize I'm hungry. I follow a winding path to Tim Hortons for water, hot chocolate and a cream cheese bagel.

3:00am Trying to doze. We can probably go home in another hour if Jeevan's condition remains stable.

4:00am Waiting for the doctor

4:45am Waiting for the doctor

5:10am Waiting for the doctor

5:40am The Doctor! He was with more urgent cases. All's well. He writes a prescription for an epipen. Jeevan is to take Benadryl, as required.

5:55am All the tubes and sensors are removed. I pay for parking ($14 --- nothing's free even on Christmas) Jeevan and Sharmila wait at the entrance of the Emergency wing, where we arrived seven hours earlier. Light snow flurries fall. Roads are nearly empty. How unusual.

6:20am We arrive at a Shoppers Drug Mart near home. We're thankful that it's always open, even on Christmas. Filling the prescription takes 20 minutes but feels like hours after the night's ordeal. I notice eight other customers making purchases. One leaves his Dodge Ram truck on while he shops. A woman forgets her purse in her Acura RDX and does outside to get it.

6:50am Home again after 14 eventful hours. Blinking clocks show we had a power failure in our absence. Exhausted, we tumble into bed.

---

Update at 7pm

Jeevan has recovered. Life is back to normal as if nothing happened.

Hospital service varies depending on when you arrive and how serious your condition is relative to other patients. We were fortunate to receive excellent, fast service. For free.

We weren't able to leave milk and cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve, but he remembered us. An object, no matter how valuable, is replaceable. A life is not. We got the best gift ever.

Our deep thanks to the caring, efficient staff at Credit Valley Hospital. They were separated from their own families on Christmas so ours could be together.

April 27, 2008

A Week In A Handicapped Hotel Suite

I'm in Ottawa all week staying in a suite hotel. For whatever reason, I got a suite for the handicapped. Ironically, staying longer restricted the choice of rooms available. I feel uncomfortable for two reasons

a disabled person loses access to the room
intruding into the inner world of a disabled person

Public Space or Private Place?
In Blink, Malcolm Gladwell notes that we can learn more about someone by spending minutes alone in their private space than from months observing their public face, stay at dinners and parties. That observation still doesn't motivate me to tidy up my office :)

The front desk assured me that the room was "normal" except modified for a wheelchair. From the hall, there's no sign that this room is different --- a nice touch.

Here's what I noticed:

wider hallways and more open space
lower counters
lower bed
bath tub with support bars
higher toilet seat
lower thermostat and light switches
lower clothes bar in closet
nothing in the kitchen's upper cupboards

To my surprise, the hot water tap spews lukewarm liquid. Protection against scalding? Actually, no. It just took time for the water to heat up and reach my room. This may be environmentally friendly, but it wastes minutes of water flow. Maybe there aren't many guests drawing water at the time. Regardless, the room itself cannot be a factor.

The Shower
The shower head is at a lower height and in the middle of the long wall. Picture a microphone on a stand. That's the height. To wash from the top of my head to my upper shoulders, I need to bend down or kneel. Each of the three walls has a support bar, which seems like a good idea for any bathroom. There are no support bars elsewhere in the suite.

Just Right
The room looks right for someone seated in a wheelchair. It great that the hotel has such facilities. I just hope that a handicapped person won't be turned away because of my intrusion.

March 5, 2008

The Six Financial Fears of Canadians

Sister says, "we're next in line"
The man he says, "that's okay."
And the Government says you're gonna pay, pay, pay
And you pay, still you pay.
--- Simple Minds, Soul Crying Out

What are your financial fears? Here are findings from a 2004 study of Canadians by LIMRA, a research organization established in 1916.

Government's ability to fund health care (88% worried)
Government's ability to continue pension plans (82%)
Cost and availability of Long-Term Care (77%)
Having enough income if critically ill (72%)
Having enough money if disabled (69%)
Having enough money for retirement (69%)

Sadly, there's plenty of overlap with the six basic fears that Napoleon Hill identified before most of us were born:

poverty (was #1): all 6 but mainly from long-term care (#3), critical illness (#4), disability (#5) and retirement (#6)
ill health (was #3): public health care (#1), long-term care (#3), critical illness (#4), disability (#5)
old age (was #5): government pension plans (#2), long-term care (#3), retirement income (#6)

Even more sad are the downward trends. Concern about long-term care worsened by 9% (from 68% to 77%) in just three years. And our population continues to age.

There are tools to help. Insufficient government funding (#1-#2) can be addressed with your vote and personal savings. Insurance is available for long-term care, critical illness and disability. For many, affordability remains a problem due to stagnant family incomes.

Links and Sources

2004 TOPIC Tracking Opinions of the Public in Canada (LIMRA, 2005)
The Six Basic Fears From 70 Years Ago (Napoleon Hill)
The Four Financial Risks

February 10, 2008

The Six Basic Fears From 70 Years Ago (Napoleon Hill)

[Update: It's now 2012, which means the fears are from 75 years ago. Here's a new video summary:

Now back to the original post]

In his classic 1937 book Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill identified the six basic fears:

1. Poverty
2. Criticism
3. Ill Health
4. Loss of Love
5. Old Age
6. Death

Are we really that different 70 years later?

We're living longer, healthier and with more money. That doesn't mean the fears are gone. Let's look at the primary fear.

#1: Fear of Poverty

"(Warren) Buffett had planned to hold onto his money until his death, but he changed his mind after his wife, Susie, died in 2004." --- Fortune, Jan 2008

The fear of poverty is widespread. Even for those with lots. Warren Buffett didn't want to donate the bulk of his wealth until his death. In contrast, Bill and Melinda Gates plan to give away 95% during their lifetimes, which is causing their children to fear there won't be enough left for them.

Here are the symptons that Hill identified

Indifference

lack of ambition
tolerance for poverty
mental and physical laziness
lack of initiative, imagination, enthusiasm, self-control

Indecision

letting others do the thinking
sitting on the fence

Doubt

excuses to cover up, explain or apologize for own failures
envy or criticism of the successful

Worry

finding fault with others
spending beyond earnings
neglect of personal appearance
frowning; nervousness; lack of poise
self-consciousness
excess use of alcohol or other drugs

Over-caution

seeking out negatives
knowing all roads to disaster but none to avoid failure
pessimism leads to indigestion, bad breath and a bad disposition

Procrastination

putting off until tomorrow what should have been done last year
working on excuses rather than finishing the work
refusing to accept responsibility
compromising

Links

Melinda Gates Goes Public (Fortune, Jan 7, 2008)
Fear #2: Criticism
Fears #3-6
The Six Financial Fears of Canadians
The story behind the Six Fears video (new)

(You can download Think And Grow Rich for free. However, many sites use the book as a lure to sell you something. I couldn't find a link to recommend.)

January 27, 2008

Dusting Off Resolutions from 1995

New Year's resolution: something that goes in one Year and out the other --- Unknown

Going through old paperwork (my wife's "suggestion"), I came across my New Year's resolutions for 1995:

no bedtime snacking (don't eat during the two hours before sleeping)
proper sleep (by midnight and until 7:30am)
proper exercise (3-4 times a week)
proper budgeting (daily)

Scorecard
It's now 2008 and those same items remain challenges. The list is even longer. Do you have the same challenges doing what matters most? Since habits are said to take three weeks to become part of our lives, you'll likely know by now.

Baby Steps
I've made progress, but in areas related more to business than health and family. The first three items are still priorities. I've got no intention of budgeting daily. Too boring. A pay-yourself-first type of savings plan is a simpler alternative.

Exercise looks like the "magic bullet" that synchronizes with diet and sleep to change our lifestyle. We joined a family fitness club after reviewing our options. Our membership starts next week. Let's see how long that lasts.

Links

Budgeting is Boring (here, June 2007)
Habit Building: Laying The Foundations (Organize IT, Sept 2007)
Recover Your Abandoned New Year's Resolutions (Life Optimizer, Jan 16, 2008)
Fitness Club Options (here, October 2007)

October 8, 2007

Fitness Club Options

I would not join any club that would have someone like me for a member. --- Groucho Marx

Please accept my resignation. I don't care to belong to any club that will have me as a member. --- Groucho Marx

Health is wealth. My dad passed this message along --- fittingly --- during childhood walks. But do you really want to exercise outside in the rain, on a frigid day or in the scorching sun? Maybe you'd like to use exercise equipment too. A fitness club can help.

Better to hunt in fields for health unbought than fee the doctor for a nauseous draught. The wise for cure on exercise depend. --- John Dryden

The Cost
A reader of my earlier post Fitness Clubs Exercise Your Wallet suggested a cheaper way to join a fitness club: a corporate membership. You or your spouse may qualify. You may even have a facility where you work, but family members may not be allowed.

If you're the type to join a club and stop going, pick the cheapest place :)

Rule of thumb: Eat for what you're going to be doing, and not for what you have done. Don't take in more than you're willing to burn off. --- Lee Haney, former Mr. Olympia

Links
(Here are links I found while researching nearby clubs we were thinking of joining.)

Fitness Club Sales Leave Members Out of Breath (Toronto Star, Sept 1, 2007)
What Is It With Fitness Clubs? (Ellen Roseman, Sept 14, 2007)
The Premier Fitness Empire (Hamilton Spectator, Nov 13, 2004)
Premier Fitness Mississauga (RipOff Report, Jan 2007)
Competition Bureau reaches settlement with Goodlife Fitness Clubs in advertising case (federal government, Feb 9, 2005)
GoodLife Membership Deal (Is this good?) (RedFlagDeals.com)
Fitness Clubs (RedFlagDeals.com)