All posts by Barbara Nevins Taylor

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Funeral Homes Hiding Fees

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It’s really tough to haggle when you arrange a funeral. It’s the last thing that you’re likely to want to do. Yet funerals are expensive and it’s important to find out what the funeral home charges in advance. It is a business and every service done for you, however routine or small, comes with a fee. These fees add up quickly.

Federal law requires funeral homes to disclose fees so that you can make decisions about what you want to buy at this very difficult time.

You should get an itemized general price list when you sit down with the funeral director before you look at caskets, or anything else. A funeral home is prohibited from requiring you to buy a casket, or a particular item, as a condition of getting other funeral services.

 The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) monitors funeral homes to make sure they comply and in 2013 sent undercover investigators into funeral homes in eight states.

Investigators found 32 of the 124 funeral homes failed to disclose prices.

VIOLATORS NOT NAMED

The FTC says it’s not disclosing names of funeral homes that violated the law because it doesn’t release names of those under investigation. Most of the funeral homes agreed to take a three-year remedial training course offered by the National Funeral Directors Association instead of facing an FTC lawsuit and civil penalties.

Here’s where the FTC found funeral homes failed to provide price lists:

  • 2 of 19 in southern Connecticut and northern New Jersey.
  • 1 of 8 in Palm Springs, California.
  • 8 of 17 in Monroe, Louisiana.
  • 2 of 19 in Baltimore, Maryland.
  •  5 of 15 in Dayton, Ohio.
  •  2 of 14  in Portland, Oregon.
  •  6 of 19 in Amarillo, Texas.
  •  4 of 18 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The FTC makes regular undercover visits to funeral homes. But obviously they don’t get to all of them.  So it’s in your interest to make sure that you speak up and get the information that you need from the funeral director if it’s not offered to you.

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Aging Parents And Events That Change Everything

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Sometimes events make choices for us.  Superstorm Sandy devastated thousands of homes and caused many on Long Island and New Jersey to think about assisted living for the first time.

My family knows a great deal about aging parents and events that change everything.   Most recently, the storm uprooted my uncle and aunt and their Baby Boomer children suddenly had to help.

 

In Babylon, my  Uncle Murray and Aunt Phyllis’s home of more than fifty years was flooded.

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The pond in their backyard,that gave them so much pleasure, flowed over the lawn into the house and ruined the electrical system and the flooring.

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Sure, others had it much worse.  Uncle Murray and Aunt Phyllis could repair their beautiful home. But he’s 91-years-old and she’s 87.  The challenge was huge. They had no heat and couldn’t live in the house.  Thankfully, a long-time friend invited them to stay for awhile. Their daughters, Jeanne and Laura, had been visiting from Oregon when Sandy shook their world. They helped with the cleanup right after, went home and then came back again. They encouraged their parents to sell the house. You can imagine Phyllis and Murray’s despair at the idea of a natural disaster forcing a decision upon them.

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Maybe they were thinking about selling their home some time in the future.  But they didn’t have a firm plan about when and where to go. They had deep roots in the community.  Uncle Murray is a doctor and until recently he volunteered at the hospital.  They have friends, a Temple nearby, things to do.  Aunt Phyllis enjoyed her book club. Murray loved his garden. They weren’t quite ready to give up their home and inevitably some of their cherished possessions.  But the storm left them adrift. Neighbors suggested they sell the house. The children asked them to move to Oregon. They resisted. Yet as they went over and over the options, the negatives stacked up against them. In a place where you need to drive, suddenly they couldn’t. Their two cars were flooded.  One was totaled.  They are smart and sensible people and after a couple of weeks of visiting their unheated, cold, dark house daily to sort and protect their possessions, they reached a decision. They would  fix the house and put it on the market for sale. They decided to move to Ashland, Oregon where their daughter Laura and her family live.  It is not a plan they like or really want to follow.  Their daughter Jeanne returned to help them to pack up and select what they want to keep, give away and sell, and Laura returned to finish it all up. It isn’t easy for any of them.  Sitting in a diner over a cup of coffee Aunt Phyllis said, “Everything changed so quickly.  We never imagined. I never thought we’d lose our home.”

 

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Military Members Get Refunds

We applaud the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) for taking military members’ complaints seriously and going to bat for them. Since July 2011, the CFPB investigated more than 14,000 complaints from service members, veterans, and their families about harassing debt collectors, fake attempts to clean up credit reports, mortgage schemes and bad banking services. 

The bureau followed up on 14,000 complaints and as a result military members got, or are scheduled to get, refunds of more than $1 million.

The CFPB says it gets about 250 complaints a week from military families from every branch of the services and from every state. It’s not surprising that the top three complaints of service members and their families mirror those that plague the rest of the nation’s consumers.

Debt Collectors

Aggressive and deceptive debt collectors top the list. Debt collectors often threaten or actually reach out to a military member’s supervisor and try to use the chain of command and threats of a loss of a security clearance for intimidation.

Student Loans

Student loans are also a big problem. Service members frequently get the wrong information from loan servicers and are repeatedly asked to provide the same paperwork showing their military status.

Payday Loans

Payday loans are supposed to be illegal for military members and their families. The Military Lending Act (MLA) prohibits interest rates above 36 percent on some types of loans, including certain payday loans, auto title, and tax refund anticipation loans, to active-duty military, their spouses, and dependents. Yet the CFPB says it appears that some lenders are skirting the law.

Mortgages

Mortgage servicers fail to provide accurate information about programs created to help service members who are having trouble making mortgage payments.  CFPB Director Richard Cordray said, “Military families make enormous sacrifices for our nation and deserve to be protected.” His agency accepts complaints about banking, mortgages, credit cards, debt collection, debt reporting, debt repair, loans, payday loans and money transfers. If you have a complaint, it’s a good bet that they can help you. http://www.consumerfinance.gov

 

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Medicare Increases at Center of Budget Talk

President Obama’s 2015 budget proposal is far from Medicare friendly. It aims to reduce federal Medicare spending, over ten years, by about $371 billion with premium hikes and to raise about $53 billion by charging so-called high-income Medicare beneficiaries more.

Who Pays More?

Right now, if you have an income of $85,000 or are a couple with $170,000 income using Medicare Part B, you pay 35 to 85 percent for your doctors’ visits, lab work and other services. You pay about the same for prescription drugs in Part D.  In comparison, most Medicare beneficiaries pay 25 percent of their costs.

But people with lower incomes could also be affected. According to Kaiser Health News a 2012 analysis  by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that if a plan “…to have a quarter of all beneficiaries pay the higher premiums were implemented last year, beneficiaries with incomes at or above $47,000 for individuals and $94,000 for couples would be paying higher income-related Medicare premiums.”

That was last year.

This new proposal puts a bigger burden on Baby Boomers who turn 65 in 2017.

New To Medicare-You’ll Pay More

The plan calls for  an additional $25 charge per year, starting in 2017, for Part B deductibles.

Medicare Supplemental or Medigap Will cost more

In 2017, if you’re new to Medicare you’ll pay more for Medigap, or Medicare Supplemental plans. The budget proposal calls for a 15 percent surcharge on the average premium. This apparently is an effort to discourage people from “over-using” expensive services.

In addition, the budget proposes a 1.9 percent cut in Medicare Advantage payments to insurers. Medicare Advantage is essentially the Medicare-managed care plans offered by private insurers. 30 percent of Medicare recipients are enrolled in these plans, according to the consulting firm Avalere Health.

As you can imagine, the industry group America’s Health Insurance Plans opposes the cut and has launched a vigorous campaign to try to defeat the proposal. It claims an analysis shows that if the plan goes forward, Medicare recipients face premium reductions and benefit increases of $420-$900.

PRESCRIPTION DRUG BONUS

On the good news side, for prescription drug plans the President proposes speeding up the timetable for reducing the “donut-hole,” the gap that occurs after you hit a limit in spending. In 2014 it is $2,850. After you reach the limit you have to pay almost 50 percent of the drug’s cost. If the proposal goes into effect you’d pay 25 percent in 2015. It’s important to note that drug makers oppose this reduction.

There is opposition on a number of fronts. Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate have different budget plans that also include cuts to Medicare.

 Medicare advocates are lining up to object to fee hikes.

Joe Baker, president of the Medicare Rights Center, called some parts of the president’s plan alarming and said he’s “…deeply concerned by proposals that would shift the burden of higher health care costs to older adults and people with disabilities living on low or modest fixed incomes.”

 

Comment and let us know what you think. Add your voice below.

 

 

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Safe Tax Filing Tips

 

A Twitter chat with Federal Trade Commission (FTC) officials for National Consumer Protection Week generated questions that highlight timely issues.

We asked tweeters to give us the number one tip for consumers to protect against identity theft when you file taxes.

TIP 1: 

The FTC recommends you file taxes early. At first, the recommendation sounded strange. But there’s a logic to it that also reveals what a crazy time we live in. FILE TAXES EARLY TO AVOID FRAUD It’s a kind of race to stake your claim. The longer you wait to file, the easier it is for someone who steals your identity to file in your name and steal your income tax refund. And it happens more frequently than we’d like.

Tax refund theft is one of the top identity theft-related crimes. If someone gets hold of your Social Security number and files a return before you, they get the refund and then good luck tracking them down.

TIP 2: Take when you choose a tax preparer. The Central Texas Better Business Bureau also participated in the Twitter conversation and recommends that you choose a tax preparer carefully. Some shady preparers work with other thieves and identity theft rings. The BBB recommends that you:

        • Look for credentials and choose a CPA.

     

      • Be wary of big refund promises from tax preparation services.

       

      • Make sure your tax preparer is available all year long.

       

      • Read your contract with the preparer carefully so that you know exactly what the service will cost.

        It isn’t easy for law enforcement officials to locate identity thieves, many of whom work outside of the United States.

The FTC told us it works with international partners, and we’ve reported about prosecutions especially of thieves based in Canada. But it is difficult for law enforcement to stay on top of white collar bad guys.

ADVICE FOR PROTECTING YOUR IDENTITY Don’t carry your Social Security card. Don’t give out your Social Security number. Shred your documents.

Check your credit report to make sure that no one is using your identity to open phony accounts. You can do this for free three times a year at annualcreditreport.com.    

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Call To Put Credit Scores On Credit Statements

This idea is bright ray of sunshine that takes a big chunk of the mystery out of the credit score industry. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) wants credit card companies to put your credit score on your monthly statement. Some are already doing this and recently, CFPB Director Richard Cordray asked the other top U.S. credit card companies to do the same.

Cordray says, “Making consumers’ credit scores freely available on their monthly statement or online makes it easier for them to spot problems with their credit report. We will continue to work to ensure that credit report disputes are fully investigated, errors are fixed, and consumers are treated fairly.”

The three big credit reporting companies, Experian, Trans Union and Equifax keep track of our credit activity and history. Each has a files on over 200 million consumers. The information from those files is turned into the credit score number that ranges from about 350 to 850. The higher the number the better the score.

Your credit report is available to you for free three times a year. You can visit annualcreditreport.com to get it. But one in five Americans check their credit report in any given year. And this can be a problem. Monitoring your credit report helps to protect against identity theft and allows you to discover inaccuracies.

That’s a big deal because many people, who look at their reports, find that there are serious mistakes.
The top three problems:

1. Incorrect information including debts listed as outstanding when they are already paid.

2. Inaccurate personal information.

3. Debts or accounts that don’t belong to you.
 

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Twenty-Somethings Top Identity Theft Victims


Identity theft tops the 2013 list of consumer complaints to the Federal Trade Commission and young people between 20 and 29 represent the largest number of victims along with members of the military.

In most cases, thieves used other peoples’ identities to steal government benefits, tax refunds and paychecks, commit credit card fraud or steal the use of utilities. Florida, Georgia and California take the honors as hot beds of identity fraud in the U.S.

The FTC says that more than two million people filed complaints about a variety of frauds in 2013, with a staggering loss of $1.6 billion dollars.

2013 TOP 10 CONSUMER COMPLAINTS

 

  1. Identity Fraud
  2. Debt Collection
  3. Imposter Scams
  4. Identity Theft
  5. Telephone and Mobile Services
  6. Prizes, Sweepstakes and Lotteries
  7. Auto Related Complaints
  8. Shop-at-Home and Catalog Sales
  9. Television and Electronic Media
  10. Advance Payment for Credit Services

Florida is the nation’s leader in overall frauds followed by Nevada and Georgia.

Throughout the country most people said frauds were initiated with telephone call or an email.

All this reminds us that it is extremely important to stay on top of our personal information and check for signs of identity theft.

How do you know?

1. You see strange withdrawals from your bank account.

2. Your bills and other mail stops arriving.

3. Strange calls from debt collectors about bills you don’t owe.

4. Strange charges on your credit card for things you didn’t buy or order.

5. You get medical bills for services you never used.

6. Your health plan rejects your legitimate claims.

7. A health insurer won’t cover you because records show a condition you don’t have.

8. The IRS tells you someone’s filed in your name.

9. You learn about a data breach involving a company where you shop.

If you see any of these signs request a free copy of your credit report. They may be a guide to suspicious activity.

1. CONTACT ONE THE THREE CREDIT REPORTING COMPANIES.

EQUIFAX 1-800-525-6285
EXPERIAN 1-888-397-3742  

TRANSUNION 1-800-680-7289
 

2.  IMMEDIATELY ASK THE CREDIT REPORTING COMPANY TO PUT A FRAUD ALERT ON YOUR REPORT.

3.  ASK THE CREDIT REPORTING COMPANY TO NOTIFY THE OTHER TWO CREDIT REPORTING COMPANIES.

Keep track of all of your conversations and your correspondence with the reporting companies. The fraud alert remains on your file for 90 days and you can renew it. So you want to stay on top of the dates.

4.  File a complaint with FTC: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0277-create-identity-theft-report

 

 

 

 

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A Gift For Aging Skin

by Barbara Nevins Taylor
My face felt dry and my skin seemed to cry out for a remedy to moisturize and revitalize it. I have a regular routine and generally take pretty good care of my skin. But the extremely cold weather, the wind and my age combined to make me feel as though I really needed help.

My nightly regimen is drying. Three nights a week I use Tretinoin Cream .025 percent to reduce the appearance of fine lines. This is a RetinA type product by Rouses Point Pharmaceuticals that, like Renova, requires a prescription. I also use Hydroquinone 4 percent along with it to try to reduce blotchiness and dark marks.

To counterbalance the drying, I apply a thick day cream from Erno Lazlo in the morning. But this winter nothing helped. It was clearly time to get a facial, something I haven’t indulged in for quiet awhile.

I got my first facial in my late teens when I worked as an assistant beauty editor at the now-defunct McFadden-Bartell magazines. During a research trip, I discovered Georgette Klinger, her salons and products and I was hooked.

I loved these facials so much that my mom always gave me a gift certificate for my birthday and I treated myself, my sister, my  aunt, my god-daughter and anyone I cared about who might benefit.

But after Mrs. Klinger died, her daughter sold the business and in 2008, it went under. The well-trained, talented facial specialists scattered. And I got out of the habit. I did have the occasional facial at a resort and locally. But nothing seemed as good as the Klinger facial by esthetician Camille Braun.

Camille was special by any measure. While she seemed to have a natural gift and hands perfectly suited for her profession, she took pride in her training. She learned the art of the European facial in Targues Mares, Romania, in 1954, after a nightmare life during the holocaust. I met her in 1979 when she went to work for Mrs. Klinger.

Not long ago, I ran into a makeup artist who worked at Klinger for years. He reminded me that Camille works several days a week at a place called Sothys on 57th Street in Manhattan.

Sothys

Then, my husband and I walked past Sothys on our way to somewhere else. I stopped and said, “Nick, if you ever want to give me a real present, give me a facial. Camille is here.”  He did.

 

 

I had a gift for my aging skin, and this was the time to use it. It was a thrill to see Camille, and even better to be back in her good hands.

As soon as she began to cleanse and massage my face, I felt relieved. After the massage, Camille steamed my skin and applied a mask. It was so relaxing, quiet and soothing in the white room that I fell asleep. Beyond the basic facial, she suggested a glycolic-salicylic acid peel, “I always say a peel makes the difference. It stimulates the skin and makes it much brighter,” she said

Barbara After FacialAnd she was right. My skin felt felt soft and supple and it glowed when I looked at my reflection in the dressing room mirror. Days later, it still feels healthier and looks much better.

This is another must-have maintenance tool. I vow to stay in the facial routine and recommend it as a gift for your skin, especially to those of us over 55.

I’m now on the quest for creams and serums that may be designed for Baby Boomers to help us protect and improve our skin as best we can.

Let me know if you have any favorites. Leave a comment.

 

 

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Work At Home Mystery Shopper Scam Shut Down

It sounded like a perfect set-up. You could work independently from your home and visit retail stores to make money as a mystery shopper to check on store employees and then report back to their bosses. But it was an elaborate scam that took money from people who wanted to earn money and left them with very little.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says a group of companies and individuals sent text messages and advertised on the web claiming, “Mystery Shoppers Make Up to $150 a Day,” and “Make Insane Profit.” 

When people responded, the scammers used telemarketers, based in Sri Lanka, to make their pitch. The sales people, working from a script created by the their U.S. bosses, promised a list of stores close to home and said those who signed up would earn $50 for a store visit.

To participate, you had to pay $2.95 for a seven-day trial period. After that, you were charged $49.95 a month to get access to the list.

But it didn’t end there. There was another pitch. Those who signed on also had the chance to get a personal webstore, designed by one of the companies, with products supplied by another company. Again, there was a short trial period, and then another $49.95 a month was charged.

Once people realized there was nothing in it for them, the FTC says it was very difficult to get refunds and stop the monthly  payments.

The FTC charged Shopper Systems LLC, Revenue Works LLC (also doing business as Surplus Supplier), EMZ Ventures LLC, The Veracity Group LP, Brett Brosseau, Michael Moysich and Keith R. Powell with misleading consumers and deceptive practices.

The good news is that the FTC  reached a settlement that imposes a judgment of more than $40.5 million against the defendants and their companies. The settlement also bans them from participating in similar types of businesses.

In addition, the FTC filed an amended complaint adding Concept Rocket LLC and Shopper Select LLC as defendants, and Georgia Farm House Land Holdings LLC, PKP Holdings, Stephanie Powell, and Sportsmen of North America LP as defendants who profited from the scheme but did not participate in it.

 

HAVE YOU RUN ACROSS A WORK AT HOME SCHEME LIKE THIS?

TELL US ABOUT IT.

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Malware Steals Files for Ransom

Criminals are using a particularly creepy and potentially damaging malware to steals files for ransom . The Federal Trade Commission and the FBI want you to be aware of something called Cryptolocker.

The malware program goes into play, on Microsoft Windows 8, 7, Vista and XP operating systems, when you click on a link that may look harmless.

Victims report clicking on what turned out to be phony tracking notices for UPS, or FedEx.  They then discovered that a drive-by download went into gear and encrypted everything on the hard drive and in shared folders.

The FBI says this malware can also encrypt files in USB drives, some Cloud storage drives and external hard drives.

After the files are stolen the thieves send a ransom note that demands payment via Bitcoin or MoneyPak. They say they will provide the encryption key if you pay up within three days. But some victims say they paid the money and received nothing.

That’s why it’s important to back up your files as frequently as possible.

Security

Protect yourself against the drive-by downloads by upping your browser’s security setting. The FTC says medium is a good setting for Internet Explorer.

Take Care Sharing Network Passwords

Be extra careful about sharing administrative privileges. The FTC warns that, “If malware compromises one of those VIP accounts, the damage can be even worse.”

Update Your System

Keep your software, anti-virus and operating systems updated.

 Look at File Extensions

.exe is a risky extension. Hackers may add a .pdf, or jpeg to it. But take a look and make sure that it doesn’t have the .exe at the end.
Double extensions can spell double trouble. 

Don’t Follow Unsolicited Links

A little paranoia is useful. Be careful about the links that you follow in email, especially when the email comes from someone you don’t know.

If you’ve been victimized, the U.S. Internet Crime Complaint Center is the place to contact. It coordinates for the FBI and other federal agencies that will investigate.

 

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Do You Still Care About the Post Office?

Are the post office and the postal service still important to you? The Inspector General of the U.S. Postal Service David C. Williams wants to know. It’s part of his examination of the future role of a financially troubled institution that most of us take for granted.

It’s curious that the board of directors of the postal service doesn’t seem to be involved in the dialogue. At least they are not reaching out to the public in the same way. Recently the inspector general,who operates outside of the postal service, proposed using local post offices to offer some financial services.  The ideas that he and his team propose are interesting and worth talking about and taking seriously.

We’re republishing the blog from Williams’ office. He’s an oddly modest Washington official and doesn’t sign these pieces. Analysts on his team contribute to the research and the writing.

Here it is:

by the U.S. Postal Service Inspector General

“There’s no lack of opinions in Washington about what the U.S. Postal Service should do to get out of its precarious financial situation. Cut this, add that, restructure these, and so on. But what about the public? What do Americans want – expect – from the Postal Service?

Our office commissioned focus groups across the nation, speaking with scores of people young and old, from rural areas and big cities. The goal was to gauge perceptions of the Postal Service to understand what Americans not only want from the Postal Service, but also need from it. The results are compiled and analyzed in our new white paper, What America Wants and Needs from the Postal Service.

One key finding was that (a), many participants mistakenly believed that the Postal Service receives taxpayer funding, and (b), when they learned the Postal Service is in fact self-funded, much like any other business, nearly everyone’s views and expectations began to soften, allowing for greater flexibility and compromise on service.

Photo by ConsumerMojo.com

Overall, we found that Americans were most willing to accept a reduction in a particular service they are currently pleased with. For instance, most rural participants were open to – even excited by – the possibility of shifting to cluster box delivery because it could provide more security in locations where mail theft and mail box vandalism are common. Reduced number of delivery days was also acceptable to almost all participants.

Among other key findings, all but two of the total 101 participants said they would, in general, be affected to some degree if the Postal Service were to disappear. And rural participants viewed post offices as community centers, while urban participants saw them as a convenience.

The big take-away: We found that what Americans need from the Postal Service is much less than what they want, and they are willing to make trade-offs to maintain a certain level of service. What America Wants and Needs from the Postal Service [link] details the trade-offs, highlighting some of the different preferences that emerge when urban and rural populations are compared. And yet, among the differences, a common theme is also evident – Americans still value the Postal Service.”
Tell us your thoughts:

What do you need and want from the Postal Service?
Did you know that the Postal Service is self-funded?
Does that knowledge affect your opinion or expectations regarding Postal Service services?”

You can reach them at https://www.uspsoig.gov/blog

readmoreUse The Postal Service Instead of a Payday Lender

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Better Save For Your Funeral

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Cousin Marilyn died a few days short of her 90th birthday. Marilyn never married and had no children. About seven years ago, she asked me to take care of her while she lived and handle her affairs after she died. It was my pleasure, and sometimes not, to help her.

Marilyn July 4th 2013

But like everything that’s not particularly pleasant, you don’t dwell on the details of what comes at the very end until you must. I’d forgotten about the cost of funerals. And this time, when I tallied everything up, I was again surprised about how expensive it is to die and have even a modest burial.

 

The take-away for me and for everyone is that you’d better save for your funeral.

Marilyn was in a rehab nursing home and we hoped she would get better. She’d been hospitalized with pneumonia and recovered from that. She was feisty and strong-willed and really seemed to want to live. But during the last weeks, she just wore out and faded away. I saw her an hour before she died and she was clearly going and ready.

A few days earlier she said, “I’m fed up.” And then she asked, “What am I supposed to do?” I said, “Just be.”  She repeated, “Just be,” and shook her head.

It wasn’t a surprise when the nursing supervisor called me with the news. We agreed that I would contact a funeral home to get her.

I called the Greenwich Village Funeral Home in our neighborhood. The funeral director, Peter DeLucca, was lovely and professional. He assured me they would pick up Cousin Marilyn and handle all of the details. The funeral home was three blocks from the nursing home. And I felt comfortable.

The next day, I visited the funeral home to go over the details with Gregory Zanitto, the funeral director assigned to us.  Although Marilyn had loving cousins and good friends, most were far flung or not healthy enough to attend a cold weather funeral. Consequently, we decided against a service in the funeral home chapel and scheduled a graveside ceremony. 

The rabbi from the temple I sometimes frequent was unavailable and Gregory suggested Rabbi Charles Rudansky. He’s the director of pastoral care at Metropolitan Jewish Hospice and had visited my Aunt Ethel in the hospice, and at home, when she was dying and then conducted her funeral. He was wonderful and this was great news.

Then Gregory and I went over the bill. 

No item really stands out. 

Transferring the body from the nursing home to the funeral home was $675

The hearse to the cemetery was $650

Supervising and other stuff was $595

The modest casket was $2195

We also had a Jewish ritual washing that included a burial shroud that added up to about $375

And there were more charges including the transportation permit and the death certificates, which the funeral home paid. That all came to $1,949. 

The total funeral home bill was $7,605.

The cemetery fee was separate. It cost $1,564.

 

Photo by ConsumerMojo.com

Marilyn had purchased the plot next to her mother years ago and that was a good thing. Plots at Old Montefiore Cemetery sell for about $4,500 and according to the Forward there’s a black market in funeral plots at this and other Jewish cemeteries.

 

So the total cost minus the Rabbi’s fee, which I paid separately, was $9,554.

Now again, the funeral home was terrific and did everything right. Marilyn’s burial was treated with dignity and respect and the graveside service that Rabbi Rudansky conducted was touching, personal and spiritual.  I appreciate everything that everyone involved did.

It’s just really expensive to die and saving for your funeral seems to make a lot of sense.

Oh, one more thing. Old Montefiore is a relatively small cemetery. There’s one road in and the same road out. It snowed the night before the funeral and snow and ice clogged the road. We had to wait our turn to go to the grave and as we followed the silver hearse, we were suddenly brought to a halt. 

The black hearse that was leaving after another funeral got stuck in the ice and needed all hands on the road to dig it out.

Summer funerals might be easier.

 

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Insurance News, Money News

Get Health Insurance to Begin March 1st

You have until 3 p.m. today, Saturday, February 15th to sign up for Obamacare health insurance coverage that begins March 1st.

Go to Health.gov and start the process. Because of the President’s Day holiday, you’ll have to call Healthcare.gov on Tuesday to make sure your application is complete:  1-800-318-2596.

 

TIPS FOR USING HEALTHCARE.GOV

1. Use the best browser for your computer.

2. Clear the history, cookies and cache.

3. Make sure your computer will accept cookies. You’ll get a big pop-up window.

4. You may not be able to use a mobile device. Best to stick with a desktop, or laptop if you can.

IF YOU TRIED TO SIGN UP AND COULDN’T

1. Clear your history, cookies and cache.

2. Sign in with a new user name, email and password.

3. If you have a problem this time, check your junk email file for a notice.

DON’T HAVE A COMPUTER?

If you don’t have a computer at home, there is still time to apply on the phone.  You can call 1-800-318-2596, or you can call that number and find out about local people in your community who are working with others to navigate the system.

You can also call and ask for help at 1-800-318-2596.

Be aware that Healthcare.gov will be down from 3:00 p.m. Saturday 15, 2014 until February 18, 2014 at 5:00 a.m. EST because it’s connected to the Social Security Administration’s  website and that site is undergoing maintenance.

But again you can use the hotline  1-800-318-2596.

 

If you don’t make the February 15th deadline, you can still enroll in Obamacare without penalty until March 31st. So far more than 3.3 million people have signed up for insurance through the program and the Obama administration and insurers are hoping that at least 7 million sign up by the enrollment deadline. 

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Obamacare Attracts More Young Adults

Obamacare is slowly but surely attracting more young adults. Young people represent a growing number of the 3.3 million Americans who signed up, since October 15, 2013, for health insurance through one of the state marketplaces or Healthcare.gov.

In a telephone conference call, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sibelius said that 18-34-year-olds represent 27 percent of those who selected health insurance plans in January. And surprisingly, they went for the plans with more frills

Most chose silver, gold or platinum plans that offer more inclusive and comprehensive insurance coverage. Sibelius also said that overall, 82 percent who applied will pay a reduced rate because of the tax subsidies that are offered.

More good news comes from a recent Gallup Poll that indicates Obamacare is doing what it was created to do. Gallup found the percentage of uninsured Americans dropped to 16 percent so far in 2014 compared to 17.1 percent in last months of 2013.

Gallup also reports that the number of uninsured 18-25-year-olds is declining faster than any other age group. Still, 25.7 percent of these young people remain insured. They are the primary targets of the Obama administration’s marketing efforts. There is an aggressive ad and online campaign to attract them and convince their moms to get them to sign up.

If you know someone who’s young and uninsured, encourage them to take a look at Healthcare.gov.

TIPS FOR USING HEALTHCARE.GOV

1. Use the best browser for your computer.

2. Clear the history, cookies and cache.

3. Make sure your computer will accept cookies. You’ll get a big pop-up window.

4. You may not be able to use a mobile device. Best to stick with a desktop, or laptop if you can.

IF YOU TRIED TO SIGN UP AND COULDN’T

1. Clear your history, cookies and cache.

2. Sign in with a new user name, email and password.

3. If you have a problem this time, check your junk email file for a notice.

DON’T HAVE A COMPUTER?

If you don’t have a computer at home, there is still time to apply on the phone.  You can call 1-800-318-2596, or you can call that number and find out about local people in your community who are working with others to navigate the system.

You can also call and ask for help at 1-800-318-2596.
 

 

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Still Time to Sign Up For Obamacare

There is still time to sign up for Obamacare and get health insurance that starts on March 1, 2014. You have until February 15th to apply and choose an insurance plan. The process is much easier now than it was at the launch of Health.gov.

Put aside the political noise and try the site to see for yourself.  The Department of Health and Human Services posted this story by a young Florida woman who has insurance because of Obamacare. We think it’s worth re-posting.

PERSONAL STORY

“I’m Stefania Fochi. I’m 25 years old, I live in Sarasota, Fla., and for the past four years I didn’t have health insurance.

It made me very nervous, because I work with heavy machinery when I make empanadas and pasta in my family’s business. There have been times when I’ve been using the big 2,000-pound kneader and almost caught my hand and thought: If I had to go to the emergency room, what would I do?

Also, there’s a history of ovarian cancer in my mother’s family: My great-grandma died of it, my grandma had it and my Mom had it, so I need to keep up on the checkups. But I wasn’t able to because I didn’t have health insurance. I rarely was able to go to a doctor in the four years since I quit my job with a corporation to start an empanada business. Please see my story here:

Now I have health insurance that gives me peace of mind and financial security. I logged onto the Health Insurance Marketplace at HealthCare.gov and found an affordable policy with excellent coverage. Because I was eligible for lower costs, my policy costs only $98 a month, with a deductible of $750.

I think it’s very important for 20 year-olds to have insurance even though many of them think they are too young and that nothing can happen. You never know. You could get into a car accident. Not having health insurance puts you instantly in a hole.

Having health insurance is going to help me achieve my goals of creating an empanada empire because I will have the peace of mind knowing that I don’t have to spend any time worrying about what if something happens to me. I will be able to focus on what’s important, which is going to be my business.

We opened our first pasta and empanada store on Monday. Having a business is hard. We work a lot but it is definitely a labor of love. And having health insurance is absolutely making it possible for me to chase my dream.”

A Spanish version of the blog is also available here: http://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/facts/blog/2014/02/stefanias-enrollment-story-es.html.

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Use the Postal Service Instead of a Payday Lender

Here’s a great idea — use neighborhood post offices to provide some banking services and offer a safe way to pay bills and get money to people who don’t always have access to a bank, or don’t have good enough credit for a credit card, .

The Inspector General of the Postal Service, David Williams, made the pitch in a report in late January. It was essentially overlooked until Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) endorsed the concept.

Basically, the proposal is an effort to use neighborhood post offices, make money for the Postal Service and help 68 million people in more than a quarter of American households who don’t have bank accounts, or credit cards.

This could be a big boon for people who don’t have traditional banking relationships, and resort to payday and title loans to get quick cash to pay bills.

HOW IT WOULD WORK

Inspector General Williams proposes a Postal Card that would allow you to do the following:

Make mobile and online purchases

Put cash on a card

Pay bills online

Withdraw money at ATMs

Transfer money internationally

Get small loans

The Postal Card would be similar to a bank card. You could load your paycheck on it, withdraw cash, pay bills, receive or make tax payments and send money internationally.

PAYDAY LOAN ALTERNATIVE

The card could also be used as a payday loan alternative. Inspector General Williams suggests, “People could borrow up to 50 percent of their gross paycheck. For a person who earns $18,000 per year and gets paid twice a month, that is $375. Every borrower could be required to pay a minimum of 5 percent of their gross pay from each paycheck until the loan is paid off. In this scenario, that would be $38 from each paycheck.”

The Postal Service would automatically withhold loan payments from borrowers’ paychecks before putting the difference on their Postal Card.

If the Postal Service charged a $25 upfront loan fee and a 25 percent interest rate, the borrower would pay off the loan in 5 1⁄2 months, paying a total of $48 in interest and fees across the life of the loan.

That’s a big difference from a traditional payday loan. If you were to borrow $375 in a payday loan you’d pay $520.

To make this happen, the Postal Service wouldn’t go it alone. It would partner with banks, and the deposits would be covered by the FDIC.

Right now, this is just an idea. We’re waiting to see how it can become reality.