Author: Crystal Oculee

I read a very interesting article the other day about inflated medical bills that many patients end up receiving, and the overall skyrocketing costs of medical care in the last several years. This reminded me of my recent visit to the doctor. A few weeks ago, I went to see my dermatologist at UCLA, and when I got the bill, I noticed that there were a few hundred dollars extra added to the total! I could not, for the life of me, figure out what these additional charges were for, so I finally decided to call the billing department.

Well, it turned out that all of a sudden, because the dermatology office is in the UCLA building in Westwood, Los Angeles, that they are now charging a minimum of $150 just for “facility usage!” ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? As if the bills are not high enough! Do they pay me when I have to sit there forever in the waiting room? How about a “slow service” credit? Or how about “The doctor couldn’t give me the right diagnosis, so I shouldn’t have to pay” credit? How come we never see any of those show up on our bills!? And I know I’m not the only one who is super annoyed with these kinds of things. I’ve had lots of clients regularly complain about unexplainably high costs of medical care.

So I decided to do a little digging and came across an article that I think everyone should read. It basically explains that because Medicare and private insurance companies won’t pay more than what their contract agreement with the medical facilities stipulates, the medical facilities just jack up the prices so that they can get more money from somewhere. That “somewhere” is usually our wallets! They’ll do this by lying about the charges on the bills, like charging multiple times for the same service or item, or by concealing low cost items behind high-tech names, such as $12 for a “mucus recovery system” — commonly referred to as a “tissue!” But the reason why this just continues is that most of us don’t even question the charges on the bill, and we just pay what we’re asked.

This is especially upsetting because it has a disproportionate effect on older consumers because they simply go to the hospital more often. So they already have a limited income, and because Medicare doesn’t cover everything, they end up having to waste their retirement savings on completely ridiculous charges! 

If you’re interested in reading more, click here to download the article. Read it, pass it on to your friends and family, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, start questioning your bills so you won’t pay your hard-earned dollars for fake or inflated charges! 

I am very passionate about finding ways to build small (and therefore easy!) habits in our lives that can lead to big positive changes! One of my favorites is the MoneyFast diet! Trust me, it’s a lot easier than most of the diets you’ve heard about, because you’ll still get to you eat what you want!

The MoneyFast is one easy trick that can save you lots of money. Here’s how it works: when you’re considering making an unnecessary purchase (i.e. a big ticket item, flat screen TV, iPad, that “I’ve just got to have it” outfit, etc.), go to the store, look at the item, but instead of buying it, write down the exact item you’d like, the date you saw it, the price, and of course, don’t forget to estimate the sales tax! Then, walk right back out of the store without buying it and wait 30 days. If after those 30 days you still want to make the purchase, then you can go ahead and buy it (assuming, you know… that you’re not mortgaging your house to do it. Hey, just because I wrote down “Bentley” in my notebook doesn’t mean I can buy it just ‘cause I waited 30 days!).

Click here to download the 30 Day Money Fast!

Now, 30 days may seem like a really long time to wait, but what the MoneyFast is designed to do is to help you identify those items that you genuinely want, versus those that you would have bought on a whim just because you thought you wanted it, in the moment. Sometimes, we see something and we get excited about how great it would be to buy it. But because we’re excited about it, we’re not really thinking through all the costs and benefits. When you give yourself a little time to let the excitement settle in, you’ll make a more rational decision that’s truly right for you. I’ve used the MoneyFast myself on a regular basis, and have gotten feedback from clients who literally save hundreds of dollars every month doing this!

If you practice this on a regular basis, you will find that you’ll save more money that you can either then spend on things you really do want, or set aside for retirement! There is a lot more satisfaction when you’re not wasting your hard-earned dollars on things that you don’t even appreciate after a few days or weeks. Not to mention, when you are being selective in your spending habits, that means you are paying attention to your finances, which creates wiser and smarter overall decisions that get you to your goals faster. It’s all about setting forth the right intention about your future. Remember, starting with these small changes, you will regularly move yourself closer and closer to reaching your goals – even if they’re tiny baby steps, every step counts!

So I’m always trying to figure out ways to help my clients budget better and save more money, and the other day I read a great article on earth911.com that really made me think about how wasteful we all can be sometimes – even when we think we’re not! Now, I don’t mean buying yourself an outfit that you know you shouldn’t, but do anyway, and then pretending like it wasn’t really wasteful. Instead, what I’m talking about is wasting small amounts of money on a regular basis without realizing it at all! The thing about small wastefulness it that the amounts are barely noticeable, so they don’t really register in your mind, but over a few months, or a year, they can add up to big bucks! And before you do anything, please relax, and ease your grip on that Starbucks cup in your hand – I’m not here to take away your latte. Instead, I want to talk to you about something truly wasteful: buying food you never eat and just end up throwing in the trash, and forgetting to use coupons!

Here’s the problem: an average American family spends about $151 on grocery trips every week. Now, that is the average amount, and some families spend more than that. But think about how much of what you buy ends up going into the trash. A little bit of spoiled milk here, and some rotten eggs there, then there’s that cheese you forgot on the countertop overnight, oh and let’s not forget the strawberries and the bananas – those LOVE to be the first to spoil! (It’s almost like they’re competing in the Tour De France of growing mold, and are taking performance-enhancing drugs, like a certain rotten egg we all know!)

So for example, from that weekly shopping trip, let’s say $10 of it (about 6.6% of the total $151) is being wasted because you either let the food expire or didn’t bring a discount coupon with you. That adds up to about $500 a year that you’re just throwing away in the trash! Literally, pull out a $10 bill out of your wallet, and imagine what it would feel like to just toss it away as some useless scrap of paper! No way, right!?

Now, imagine that you actually save that $500 every year, and are growing it at a rate of just 3% annually… That’s $5,700 after 10 years, or over $13,400 after 20 years! Do you think that’s worth it?

Now that is just savings from groceries! Think of other areas where you could do the same thing! This is so important, because I talk to women every day and I hear the same thing: “I live paycheck to paycheck. I only spend on essential items. There’s nowhere that I can cut back on.” But in reality is there are many places that all of us can cut back on. A little savings here, a little savings there, setting it aside to earn a little bit of interest, and all this “a little” adds up to a whole lot over the long term. And it doesn’t even have to be difficult. It’s all about developing the right habits – actually just one habit: asking yourself two questions every time you open your wallet “Do I really need this?” and “Is there a way to buy this cheaper?” (Oh, and specifically for those of you that may feel embarrassed by clipping coupons, there’s actually a great third question to ask: “If I run out of money after retirement, become a bag lady, and am pushing around a shopping cart with all of my belongings… Will that be less embarrassing than using coupons at the store?”)

The reason why I bring this up is because I want every woman to enjoy and love every moment of her “Life Vacation” (your retirement). But it takes smart work to do it right, not just hard work. Because there are many hard working Americans that are trying to reach their retirement goals, but end up running out of money eventually. So ladies, it’s all about starting small to get to the bigger goal. And once you get to that bigger goal, you make an even bigger one after that! So during your next grocery shopping trip, be sure that every item on your list is actually needed and will be used. And if it’s not, then every time you throw something away, like a carton of expired milk, literally think of it as actual dollar bills that you’re tossing away. Really… I am serious; the next time you’re about to throw away those old rotten eggs, bread or apples, I want you take out a dollar bill, crumple it and toss it in the trash! How does that make you feel? NOT GOOD, right?

So remember, it’s everything we do and all of our actions that determine our future. What you do when you’re tossing all that food away, or forgetting to take a few minutes to look for the right coupon, is telling the universe that you don’t care about money and you’re totally fine with throwing it away! Well, guess what? Next time, money just won’t flow your way! It will instead run away as far as possible because your intentions are telling it that you don’t care for it at all. SO BE WISE in all your shopping habits and be true to your intention for a happy retirement – if you do indeed want it to be a happy one.

This is a great example of why everyone should be concerned about building their own retirement income, and really making sure that you are fully covered without counting on any government retirement plans, like city pensions, or even Social Security for that matter. 

Let’s look at it this way; in 1950 Detroit was known as “Motor City” and had one of the highest per capita incomes in the country! About 60 years later (officially as of 7/18/2013) it filed for bankruptcy, with debt of approximately $19 billion! Today, this city has one of the highest crime rates, more than 18% unemployment rate, and ongoing problems with public utilities, including a large number of broken street lights.

Of course, all the investors, bond holders and vendors are all worried – but the biggest concern comes from the City workers who are obviously depending on their pension funds to be able to survive during retirement! Apparently, the City has consistently failed to give enough money to its pension plans. And now, with $2 billion in claims, the city workers’ retirement structure is actually the biggest unsecured creditor of Detroit, followed by the second largest unsecured creditor: the police officers’ and fire fighters’ pensions!

Can you just imagine what must be going through the minds of all those workers right now!? I’m sure many of them worked in the City system because they thought it was secure, and now, a rug is being pulled right from under their feet! It’s truly scary! Don Taylor, who is the head of the Retired Police and Fire Fighters Association, said that he hopes that “at the very least that current retirees’ pensions remain secure and in force.” So all these people’s retirements are now at the mercy of whatever the courts decide, all their dreams are hinged on their local government and the legal system!

Unfortunately, this is just the beginning. What about the rest of the country? The economy is improving, but it’s a lot easier for it to fall apart than to be rebuilt, and we’re not out of the woods just yet. There are still many cities, states and companies that continue to deal with the aftershocks of 2008. Here, in our own state of sunny California, we’ve got issues of our own! The state has been trying to balance the budget, but guess what: the CalPERS and CalSTRS pension systems are underfunded right now!
Now, I don’t like being all about doom and gloom – I think the media already gives us enough of all that negativity. Instead, I like to think about solutions! This is why, ladies, income planning is extremely important when it comes to being independent in retirement. Let’s face it, we live longer and we definitely like to be secure, so don’t depend on anyone but yourself when it comes to your retirement income. Not on the government and not on your pension at work. You can only depend on yourself. This means estimating your future income needs and starting to save today, to have a more secure tomorrow. So that no matter what happens in our economy, or whatever decisions are made by our elected officials, you won’t have to be at anyone’s mercy.

You know, I could never understand why with all the time that kids spend in middle school and high school, they’re never really taught anything about finance! This has always absolutely baffled me. If they can spend years and years learning about English, Art, Science and Math, why can’t a little bit of time be dedicated to real financial education? Yea they’ll get a basic economics class, and some generalities here and there, but rarely will someone actually sit down with them and explain how to plan for retirement, how compounding works, and how, if they just start their retirement planning early, they can have a serious advantage in reaching their financial goals.

That’s why I was so happy to hear this recent news about two people, Julia Heath and Douglas York, who are devoting their time and energy to teaching young Americans about personal finance and the world of business. They’re setting up one of the country’s first financial education programs – training teachers to teach their students about finance. And listen to this! York volunteers his time teaching elementary school kids about finance! How amazing is this? These kids are gaining real, practical knowledge that will give them the tools to build better lives for themselves! It doesn’t matter what profession they have in the future, or what career path they follow – just having a basic understanding of how money works will help them plan better, budget better, and at the end of the day, have more money in their pockets. That’s how the next generation of kids will learn what not to do, and how to stay out of trouble – knowledge that most of us unfortunately didn’t learn until AFTER high school!

How many of you agree that our kids should be taught about finances? How many of you think that if you were taught some financial basics early on, that you would be a retirement rock star by now!? Maybe starting really young is the only way to teach the next generation how to retire comfortably!?

This news really brightened my day, and was followed by having lunch with a dear friend, who is also a client, who told me that her 20 year old son had a question about a retirement savings plan at his job! Even though he’s not my son, I was still SUCH A PROUD MOM at that moment! WOW! How amazing that at just 20 years old, this young man was already thinking about his future and his retirement!

WAY TO GO to my friend Bobbie! You are teaching your son some AMAZING lessons today that he cared enough to enroll in a retirement plan and to start contributing so early, instead of throwing that money away on meaningless stuff.

I mean think about this; many people don’t even start thinking about their retirement planning until they reach their 50’s! But by the time this young man will be in his 50’s, he might already be retired altogether!

So if you have children, here’s one of the best things you can do for them: start talking to them about money, and the importance of planning for their retirement EARLY. Or even simpler yet, at least talk to them about budgeting – it can be as simple as suggesting that they keep a log in a notebook of how they spend their money, and where. A $1.50 for a soda here, a $12 movie ticket there, a $1 pack of chewing gum – you get the picture. But as simple as it sounds, if you just get your kids to be more in touch with their financial decisions, as simple as those decisions might be at this point in their life, what you’ll do is help them build good HABITS. And these habits will stick with them as they grow up into responsible adults. (Oh, and if you’re thinking “Oh, I don’t really want to worry about it for now…,” just ask yourself how much money you’ll save in the future if they grow up to be financially responsible and won’t come to borrow money from you when they grow up! I hope a giant light bulb is going off in your head right now!)