Supplemental or Medigap works with your Medicare A and B to provide additional coverage for a monthly premium. The most comprehensive coverage, Plan G, will limit your out-of-pocket to the Part B deductible, this year $233. This coverage can be used with any provider accepting Medicare. These policies are issued with no underwriting questions if chosen when you first take Medicare Part B. A little-known fact is you can revisit and change this coverage any month of the year, the only catch is you must answer the underwriting questions. Often it is worthwhile to re-shop to check for premium savings every couple of years if you do not have a chronic condition.
Advantage Plans replace your Part A and B benefits by providing them as part of the Plan chosen for a low or $0 premium. This type of coverage has a network of providers and can offer additional benefits beyond original Medicare like dental and vision. Plans are specific to your home zip code and county. Some plans are designed to offer extra support for low-income individuals or those that would benefit from coordinated care because of a chronic condition. Advantage plans have many enrollment periods, many people qualify for changes outside of the annual enrollment from October 15 to December 7.
Social Security offices have opened for in-person service again! I assist with Medicare education and the enrollment process, both with Social Security to get Parts A and B as well as additional coverage. Call to learn more about Medicare and consider what coverage may best meet YOUR needs.
The day we met, you’d think we were there for a celebrity as the cars were lined up around a corner on Riverdale Road. You literally run to the top of a hill to get to the destination since it is “First come, first serve.” When we made it to the top, there he was – a rescue puppy from Northern New Mexico with one brown eye and one blue eye at Lifeline Puppy Rescue.
Over the next 14 years, he became known as my “Wrigs”, Wrigley Field Rippy, and held the position of my companion and best friend. When I first got him, I was telecommuting and working from home. We would go on three walks a day, just like clockwork; morning, lunchtime and after work. If I was running a few minutes late on a break, he would bring my tennis shoes to me and let me know it was time to go and stare at me until we went.
We took camping trips in the mountains and stayed at several lakes all over Colorado. We went snowshoeing at St. Mary’s Glacier and hiked all over the state in all four seasons. We took road trips through New Mexico and Arizona. He loved cold weather and sticking his head out the window, no matter what the temperature was. He chased rabbits and frogs and loved to camp and go into ponds. His favorite thing to do was walk and just be by my side.
Together we made it through some of the hardest days. He had torn his Cranial Cruciate Ligament (CCL) in one knee requiring surgery, and tore the other knee in the months that followed, requiring another surgery. After I lost my dad, I found it difficult to go outside, let alone walk, because I couldn’t stop crying. Wrigley kept me moving forward on the days I didn’t think I could move. On April 12th, 2022, he let me know that he couldn’t move forward anymore and I had to say goodbye to my best friend on one of the hardest days of my life. ADOPT a pet. The life you save may just be your own. I know my Wrigley Field Rippy rescued mine.
This family-owned boutique, new to 204 South Main Street, is great for any type of gift-giving as well as personal shopping. The original idea for the business was to sell handcrafted and artisanal leather goods from Mexico…such as boots, purses, wallets, and other accessories.
Their vision has grown to provide a wide variety of exotic leathers as well as casual boots for everyday use for men, women, and children. To accommodate all types of workers, Mraz Boots and Accessories offers many designs and styles of work boots with varying bottoms, steel toes, and oil-resistant leathers.
Women’s footwear at Mraz Boots and Accessories, ranges from elegant to casual cowboy boots to artisanal-made sandals, heels, and even sneakers! Don’t think we’ve left out children from our store’s options! There are boots and sandals in smaller sizes for the little ones!
Although footwear is their specialty, there are many accessories to finish your leather look. Choose from beautiful artisanal purses, wallets, and belts to jewelry, home fragrances, hats, beanies and more when shopping at Mraz Boots and Accessories.
Some brands you may recognize in-store include Acero Work Boots, Rancho Semental, Tanner Mark and more. More brands will be included as time goes on. To find them online, Follow us on Facebook @mrazboots.1 or on Instagram@Mrazboots_offi cial_
Stop by today and enjoy an amazing leather-filled shopping experience!
To achieve most goals in life, you need some type of strategy. And that’s certainly true for your financial goals. Since you likely have multiple financial goals, you may need to pursue several different strategies – but they all should follow a similar process.
What does this process entail? Here are the basic steps:
Fully define each goal. Like most people, you probably have a goal of someday enjoying a comfortable retirement. But have you defined what “comfortable retirement” means to you? Do you plan to spend your retirement years traveling the world, or would you rather stay close to home to be with family members? Would you like to pursue your hobbies? Open a small business? Think carefully about what this goal looks like.
Identify the costs. Once you’ve identified a retirement vision, you need to put a price tag on it. How much income will you require? You don’t have to identify a figure down to the penny, but you should be able to come up with a pretty good estimate. A surprising number of people never reach this point – more than three-fourths of pre-retirees haven’t calculated how much they’ll need once they retire, according to Four Pillars of the New Retirement, a study by Age Wave and Edward Jones.
Invest appropriately for each goal. Your investment strategy should reflect your risk tolerance and your goals. So, for example, when you’re working toward a long-term goal, such as retirement, you’re essentially investing for growth, which means you’ll accept the level of risk that always accompanies a growth strategy. But when you’re investing for a shorter-term goal, such as taking an international vacation in a few years, you may be somewhat less concerned with maximum growth and more focused on making sure that a certain amount of money is available when you need it. Consequently, you might follow an investment strategy with a lower degree of risk.
Understand the potential trade-offs of your financial strategy. Each of your goals may have its own investment strategy, but you still need to look at your goals holistically. So, for instance, if you decide you need to ramp up your investing for your child’s education, will that affect your ability to put away the amounts you’ve designated for retirement? If so, do you have the flexibility to change your retirement plans somewhat, perhaps by working an extra year or so? Of course, this might not be necessary, but it does illustrate the potential impact one choice can have on another.
Track your progress. It’s important to track the progress of your investments and investment strategies, but you’ll want to be careful about using market indexes as benchmarks. Your portfolio was designed for your risk tolerance and goals, so comparing it to an equity index (like the S&P 500) isn’t all that relevant, or helpful. Instead, measure your progress at least annually to determine if you’re on track to achieve the goals your strategy was designed to meet. When you review your progress, you may also want to determine if any changes in your family situation or your employment might affect your investment strategies. A financial professional can help you in this area.
Achieving your financial goals takes time, effort and commitment. But by following the most appropriate strategies for your situation, you’ve got a path that can help lead you to success.
This article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local Edward Jones Financial Advisor.
Edward Jones, Member SIPC
Some might say we are in the midst of navigating some unchartered waters on the current real estate horizon. While some patterns are certainly recognizable, even as recent as those which played out this time last year, there isn’t any denying that the current housing landscape in our area was dealt a couple of pretty big wild cards over the past two years with the huge loss of homes in Boulder County on top of the pandemic and resulting supply and labor shortages, inflation, rising interest rates, and ever-increasing demand for housing. According to Realtor.com and economic experts, it’s a mixed bag, but not without some positive indications as we look forward.
Yes, the construction backlog continued to grow during the first quarter of 2022, but so were there increases in housing projects under construction, up 2.3% nationwide from the previous month, and 24% over this time last year (Realtor.com). Granted, some of that was housing projects with five or more units, but that isn’t surprising considering the crushing need for more affordable housing options.
The current landscape leaves home builders at a juncture of tough choice based on varied factors—huge demand versus supply chain and labor shortages, mortgage rates that are the highest they’ve been in over a decade, and which seem poised to continue to rise. It’s not surprising there is hesitation by builders about overcommitting themselves considering the lingering memories of the Great Depression and so much geopolitical instability impacting the global financial markets. That said though, the continued drive and demand for more housing starts and market ready inventory is a powerful force, hopefully powerful enough to eventually find at least a little balance and calmer waters. One thing is for sure, it’s still a good time to sell, and with the right strategy, maximize the opportunity.
For proven expertise in establishing your home value and/or searching for a new or existing home, please call Jan at (303) 520-4340.
Whenever a person first enrolls in Medicare, he/she usually receives an application for Extra Help. Extra Help is assistance from Social Security for people with limited resources and income to help cover the cost of prescription drug plans via monthly premiums, annual deductibles, and co-pays.
Some people will not qualify at first so they might forget about this assistance if things change later in life. A death of a spouse or divorce could make you eligible for the assistance. Here are the 2022 Income and Resource Limits: • Annual Income Single = $20,385, Resource Limit Single = $15,510 • Annual Income Couple = $27,465, Resource Limit Couple = $30,950
Resources include real estate that is not your primary residence, bank accounts, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, IRAs, and cash you have. You can see full details at https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10508.pdf.
If you are eligible for Extra Help, you are given certain rights. One is that you can change your prescription drug plan or Medicare Advantage Plan once each quarter rather than only during the fall Annual Election Period (AEP).
A LOT of ads will talk about getting money for medications or getting $170.10/month back on your Social Security check. If you see these ads, they are referring to benefits that you would get by qualifying for Medicaid or Extra Help. If you have any questions about your specific situation, please call me and I can help walk you through what you may or may not be eligible for.
My entire life I have had seasonal allergies, some in the spring but mostly in the fall. Every autumn as the trees turned colors and the beautiful shades of orange and yellow emerged, so did the horrid sneezing, runny nose and itchy eyes begin. For me, it took a very hard snow to end the cycle of Kleenex grabbing. Even a light snow would not do it, until the ground was frozen solid, my allergies persisted.
Then, I met Dr. Anderson. I met him in the winter of 2012 so the following fall when it all began again, he suggested I try supplements. I was skeptical. I wanted the fast acting, caffeine induced fix that my over-the-counter stuff would give me. Besides, it was what I was used to. Nothing works permanently, right? Or we would all know about it, wouldn’t we?
Well, I am a fan of alternatives that don’t have side effects and decided to give it a try. He had me take two different supplements 3x a day. Which I also was not used to. That season went on and I battled the daily sneezing, watery eyes, and red nose, but it seemed better.
It was the next spring, and especially fall, that I discovered a miracle had occurred! Autumn arrived and my seasonal allergies did not! I was not miserable, I was not single handedly supporting the tissue industry. I didn’t have horrid fall allergies that year.
That was 9 years ago. To this day, I only have light or no allergies at all. I continue to marvel over this when I think of how bad my fall life used to be. I continue to take much smaller doses as needed of the supplements he suggested.
Right now, our beautiful Colorado springtime is full of blossoming plants, trees and grasses with aggressive pollens that attack our immune systems. There is help! Dr. Anderson does more than spinal adjusting chiropractic, he addresses many other health issues, like seasonal allergies. Give Brighton Clinic of Chiropractic a call to schedule a consultation to discuss how supplements can help what may be ailing you.
As in many May issues of the past, we’ve mentioned the number of occasions the month has to celebrate. This year is no exception.
Let’s start with Mother’s day on the 8th. What a perfect day to thank your Mother, Grandmother, or Wife for the many things they do all year to make your family life special. Do let them know how much you appreciate their thoughtfulness. Our local markets will be bursting with beautiful flowers, hanging baskets, vegetables to plant in gardens, statuary and yard art to create your 2022 outdoor sanctuary. Take advantage of all the wonderful resources in this May’s issue to find those special Mother’s Day gifts.
Another huge reason to celebrate is the opening of Brighton’s Oasis Water Park and planning for Summerfest, the first week in June. Both events bring the City of Brighton alive with fun and festivity as the Summer Season begins.
Toward the end of the month, many families celebrate graduations and look toward the next stage of education for their children. For those not yet graduating, summer vacation is on its way, and there are activities to explore in May’s issue for them.
Whatever your reason to celebrate, read through this very full issue of products, services, ideas, and resources to make your May the best yet.
Learn about the city’s history at the Brighton History Museum’s new exhibit “Splendid Valley and Brighton: Story of a Place” opening on Friday, April 1. The new exhibit will start with the area’s earliest inhabitants, exploring first the South Platte River Valley through successive waves of newcomers. Throughout the exhibit, visitors can see unique artifacts telling the story over time. Learn how a stopping point for stagecoaches and trains blossomed into the garden spot of the Splendid Valley. Discover how agriculture, immigrants and prosperity combined into today’s Brighton.
There are also many interactive elements in the new exhibit. Use your voice and imagination to influence the future. Children of all ages can touch historical replicas, build their own farmhouse with interlocking bricks or brush away the sands of time in our archaeology discovery table.
At the end of the exhibit, you will have a chance to hang your future vision for Brighton on a large map. Your comments will be viewed by city leaders.
To visit the new exhibit, visit the Brighton History Museum at Historic Brighton City Hall located at 22 S. 4th Avenue, Suite 206. Admission is free, but donations are welcome. Starting April 1, the museum will be open Mondays (with a special focus on school-aged visitors for “Kid’s Mondays”), Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.. New expanded hours will be announced for the summer season soon.
If you have questions regarding the new exhibit, please contact Bill Armstrong, Museum Specialist, at warmstrong@brightonco.gov or 303-655-2288.
Expectations, perception and reality often don’t align. When I first started researching a career in the hearing healthcare field 15 years ago, I was intrigued by the opportunity to help individuals with hearing loss connect with their family, friends and the world around them. With all the millions of people who had untreated hearing loss, especially among the baby-boomer generation, I figured it would be a great career that would allow me to help others while providing for my family. I expected people would be “knocking down my door” so I could help them hear better.
The reality I experienced when I started seeing patients was different than my expectations. It turned out most people don’t get help with their hearing loss. I was surprised to learn some people with hearing loss don’t want to hear better, while others don’t think they have a hearing problem. Some people do not realize they cannot hear well. Others know they can’t hear well, but are ashamed or embarrassed to admit it, while others just want to wait until it is “bad enough” to get help.
I understand where some of these thoughts come from. Before I became educated in the field of hearing loss, I thought that hearing loss was simply treated by making everything louder and, like many people, equated hearing loss with complete deafness. I did not understand that in most cases, hearing loss impacts different frequencies or tones different degrees. For many people with hearing loss, they may easily hear certain sounds like the low frequencies found in a train horn, but at the same time they have lost hearing in the high frequencies, making it difficult to understand women or children with higher pitched voices. Therefore, most people with hearing loss cannot be helped by simply making everything louder. Different sounds need to be amplified at different levels. Fortunately, today’s hearing devices have up to 24 bands that allow us to make frequency specific amplification changes.
The problem with waiting until it is “bad enough” usually means waiting so long that hearing aids are no longer effective. One critical thing to remember is that the hearing aids are designed and programmed to work with whatever is left of a person’s hearing. That includes the ears AND the brain. When a person has hearing loss that is untreated, the brain shrinks. The good news is, wearing hearing aids slows down the rate of brain shrinkage and cognitive decline. Thankfully, more people than ever are aware of the need to treat hearing loss sooner rather than later. Some hearing aids even have a function that tracks how much auditory stimulation the brain is receiving.
As always, we recommend to protect the hearing you have by using custom earplugs or muffs when engaging in any loud activity. Also, getting a hearing test is the key first step to finding a baseline to track hearing changes over time. If you are having hearing problems, it can be as simple as earwax blocking the canal, or a sign of a much more serious problem. (When we test hearing, we diligently look for “red flags” that may indicate a more serious health problem.) And finally, individuals with hearing loss, even mild hearing loss, benefit now, and in the future by wearing hearing aids as soon as possible. Remember, wearing hearing aids is not like a crutch that leads to weakness and atrophy. Instead, wearing hearing aids is like a treadmill which helps the ear and brain stay strong and active.
Offered by: Tim Roberts – Edward Jones To achieve most goals in life, you need some type of strategy. And …Read More »
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