Animal Advocates: Animals In Haiti Need Our Support Too
Posted by Michelle Moquin on January 17th, 2010
As always I have been a strong advocate for my four-legged friends…the ones with no voice, that so depend on our support. This week has mostly been about giving…and giving…and giving some more. I know for many of you, helping humans is all you can do, but I also know that many of my readers love animals as much as I do. So if you can find a few more dollars and help the displaced animals…the ones that have lost contact with their caretakers, the animals would be so appreciative. And of course so would I.
Help on the Way for Haiti’s Animals
The world continues to feel the tragic impact from Tuesday’s earthquake in Haiti, which caused a horrific loss of life and widespread devastation.
If you’ve asked yourself what you can do as an animal advocate, please consider a donation to our Red Star Animal Emergency Services™ team.
Animal emergency responders do not yet have access to Haiti, as the priority understandably remains on meeting basic human needs. However, livestock vital to Haiti’s recovery, as well as homeless and hurting pets, are in dire need of assistance. Urgent planning is currently under way to help.
In response, American Humane has joined the Animal Relief Coalition for Haiti (ARCH), a group of professional animal welfare organizations working together to achieve the best possible outcome for animals in the region. The coalition is led by the World Society for the Protection of Animals and the International Fund for Animal Welfare.
Currently, our team members are not on the ground in Haiti, due to restricted access in the country, but we are providing significant funding support to the coalition. The coalition’s plans include saving the goats, chickens and cattle crucial to people’s health and livelihoods, providing food and clean water, and vaccinating companion animals against rabies.
Please give today to help us support this crucial effort and other future disasters!
Stay up-to-date on our Red Star team’s role in ARCH.
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Readers: I’ve already done the work for you as far as checking out this charity. It is BBB accredited. 82% of the funding goes towards the programs, with 13% to fundraising, and only 5% to administrative. Sounds good to me. We donated, can you? Thanks.
Hi Larry: I am sorry that you are having a hard time expressing your thoughts. There is really nothing I can do about it…wish I could. Thanks for being persistent.
Shelia: Thanks for posting the article. I signed the petition, and hopefully my readers did too.
And speaking of fees….were back to the banks again. I hope that you read the post from Joe Biden I totally back Barack and Biden on this Responsibility Fee. I signed the petition and I hope you did too.
I know that sometimes we feel that we’re signing all of these petitions and asking ourselves, “Is this going to do any good?” But it does. as Biden says, “Change isn’t easy,” and it may be slow, but it is progressive. Don’t give up.
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)
If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the ‘Donate’ button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my ‘Donate’ page)
January 17th, 2010 at 11:18 am
Q: Can I include a request for assisted suicide in a living will, in case I am in great pain as I approach death?
A: Assisted suicide is legal only in Oregon, Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland. However, the right to decline medical treatment is a basic right, and you can be very specific about the kinds of care that you do not want to receive
. If you want to allow the natural process of death to follow its course in the terminal phase of sickness, such wishes can be spelled out in a living will. There are many types of medical intervention, so you need to be precise about which ones you don’t want and under what circumstances. And your wishes may change, making it necessary for you to update the living will from time to time.
Laws about how to set up a living will vary in each state. Consult a knowledgeable lawyer in the state where you live.
January 17th, 2010 at 11:31 am
Believe it. I am up at 5:30 AM Monday morning talking about trash cans. Mainly because I am tired of my neighbors burning trash. It is not the smoke but the things that are being burned. Some of that stuff is toxic. Let’s use the new service.
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New Trash Cart Roll-out Monday In Dededo
Guam – The Solid Waste Management Division (SWMD) is rolling out its new trash cart program in Dededo Monday.
The Dededo rollout is slated to last 5 days.
This registration will be held:
Monday January 18th through Wednesday January 20th (between 1 p.m. and 8 p.m.): Dededo Municipal Site (Old Police Station)
Thursday January 21st and Friday January 22nd (between 1 p.m. and 8 p.m.): Astumbo Gym
Current customers as well as new customers who seek weekly residential trash service must sign up.
Information about the new service and the registration form can be found on the Guam Solid Waste Receivership Information Center at http://www.guamsolidwastereceiver.org. Click on “Solid Waste Management Division” and follow the links to the registration form and information about the cart service.
For those residents who cannot make it to these special registration events in the villages, they can go to the SWMD offices Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. located at the Department of Public Works, 542 North Marine Corps Drive. The SWMD is also holding special registration hours at its offices each Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. until further notice.
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Hafa Adai
Anna
January 17th, 2010 at 11:42 am
Hello
I have been so busy. I have been checking the blog. I miss your input ZL. I, too, follow your exercise and diet program. It has been very successful for me. My waist has benefited most. My daughter says I have too much ass already. Maybe, but a little firming up is always a good thing.
A girl just can’t sit on her laurels -:).
My little ones are growing so fast. Everything is of interest to them. They are learning what it means to be black, though. Yesterday someone told one of them that they should take their black asses by to Africa or where ever they came from. Noir isn’t the word for black they used. It seems there is a more insulting way of saying it. I won’t bother to repeat it here. C’est la vie.
Michelle, I too have had a lot of difficulty trying to post to your blog. I haven’t had time to continue to repeat my entries until I get in. So, I have not been able to post some of the things I wanted to.
Ruth
January 17th, 2010 at 11:49 am
This is to “anon” about his/her article on Zicam. The Law Firm of Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein, LLP are pursuing that case here in San Francisco.
I hope they kick those greedy bastards’ butts.
Jerry
January 17th, 2010 at 12:08 pm
I love this find on weight loss. i hope it will be of some help to others.
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The real key to weight loss
Dear Friend,
If you’re like most people, odds are good you vowed to lose a few pounds. But odds are even better that you won’t make it out of January with your promise still breathing.
There’s a reason most people can’t keep that promise: They approach a diet as a temporary situation. That’s why even when they’re successful, they fail – because once dieters reach their goal (and often earlier than that), they return to the same eating habits that made them overweight in the first place.
And when most diets encourage you to buy prepackaged and frozen meals that taste even worse than the containers they come in, it’s no wonder people cheat.
I wish I could write that there’s one secret to weight loss that will work for everybody. But that’s just not the truth – and anyone who’ll tell you otherwise is trying to sell you something.
Good nutrition and even some supplements may help, but the real key is finding a healthy eating plan that you can stick to for the rest of your life. Different people will find different answers, but most people – especially those at risk for diabetes and metabolic syndrome – do really well on low-carbohydrate diets.
After all, for most Americans, those carbs are the reason we’ve put on so much weight in the first place.
So avoid all the sugars and starches – in fact, early on you should aim to cut out as many carbs as you possibly can and focus instead on eating fresh, healthy meats that you can cook yourself. Animal fats leave you feeling fuller longer, so you’ll be less tempted to snack between meals.
In addition, watch your sodium levels and get plenty of fresh vegetables. Don’t worry so much about calories or even the amount of fat, as long as it’s from fresh, natural sources.
As you approach your ideal weight, you can start to add some healthier carbs back into your diet. But you’ll pretty much want to stay away from some things for good – especially sodas, fast food and frozen foods.
And run from anything that screams “low fat.” Just pretend it says “unhealthy,” because in most cases that’s just what it means.
Add some movement to your life – you don’t need to join a gym, but you do need to get some physical activity almost every day, ideally around 30 minutes. A long walk, a light jog, swimming, biking, hiking and even dancing all count – just stick to it and don’t give up.
One recent study published in the journal Circulation study found that 59 percent of U.S. adults did literally nothing to work up a sweat or increase their heart rates.
No wonder so many people are overweight!
And, of course, you’ll also want to make sure that even as your eating habits change, your body continues to get the nutrients it needs. In addition to a high-quality multivitamin, consider supplements for fish oil and vitamin D in particular – as well as anything else you find hard to get naturally from the foods in your new diet.
Finally, all these plans work better if you have a buddy. Chances are, a spouse, relative or close friend is also looking to lose a few pounds – so work together. Consider it a little friendly competition.
Make this year different. Don’t worry – even if you’ve already broken your resolution, you’ve got plenty of company. It’s never too late to start over.
On a mission for your health,
Ed Martin
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Zen Lill that’s why I like your program you give us some options in the food department too. I have lost 37 pounds following your advice. I can not thank you enough for your encouraging intros.
June
January 17th, 2010 at 12:27 pm
Hafa Adai
I am tired of Peter complaining about what ‘s happening to Guam. I am one those new white additions to this beautiful island. The federal government is doing a lot to help this island and bring money to a poor island.
Guam has terrible roads. I like to think that may be one of the reasons the people use the right lanes as the passing lane. It is so frustrating driving here. The expression used here for stupid stuff that happens only on Guam is OOG. “It’s an OOG thing.”
Well driving on the left and passing on the right is an OOG thing. White america is here to stay Peter. Get over it.
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Guam’s roads undergo construction
PACIFIC DAILY NEWS • NEWS@GUAMPDN.COM. • JANUARY 18, 2010
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(Editor’s note: This is the first of a weekly update on road projects Guam motorists will see as the island makes way for changes before the military buildup and for a projected population boom).
Island motorists are being asked to take into account construction being conducted on the island’s roads.
The construction work means the island’s roads are receiving badly needed repairs and safety improvements, according to the Department of Public Works.
The local economy will also receive a boost, thanks to funding from the Federal Highway Administration. With the funding, DPW has embarked on a $158 million road improvement program called the Territorial Transportation Improvement Plan before the military buildup activities begin.
According to Public Works, road construction activities this week include:
Route 1, Yigo: Crews will begin installing new traffic light signals at the intersections of Wusstig Road/Marine Corps Drive and Chalan Lujuna/Marine Corps Drive. Motorists can expect daytime lane closures.
Route 2: Crews will continue to work on road markings on Route 2 in the southern portion of the island. Motorists can expect daytime lane closures. Crews will also install new guardrails along Route 2 between the Cetti Bay Overlook and Guam Veterans Memorial in Umatac. Motorists can expect daytime lane closures.
Route 1 in Dededo and Adelup, Route 6 islandwide guardrail replacement, phase II: Crews will work on Route 6 in Piti, Route 1 in Dededo and Route 1 in Adelup installing guardrails. Motorists can expect daytime work on the shoulders of the road and intermittent lane closures.
Route 4 from McDonald’s in Hagåtña to Route 10: Road excavation will begin on Route 4 at the intersection with Route 10 beginning today. Left turn movements from Route 4 onto Route 10 will be reduced to one lane. Motorists can also expect work on the shoulders and intermittent lane closures.
Route 4 to Route 16: Crews will install reflectorized markers and pavement stripes along Marine Corps Drive from Route 4 in Hagåtña to Route 16 in upper Tumon. There will also be weekend work on Route 1 between Pizza Hut and Kmart. Motorists should anticipate daytime lane closures.
Skate park barrier/Iglesia Circle in Dededo: This project is in its final stages; crews will complete the fence railing, install the final signal pole and prepare to begin operation of the new signal. Motorists can expect occasional daytime lane closures and intermittent signal interruptions.
Islandwide LED traffic signal upgrade: Crews will be completing the final cleanup items with no anticipated traffic impact.
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Peter, why haven’t you mentioned stuff like this we bring to Guam. This fixes your roads and provides jobs to the inhabitants. I’m tired of people on this blog downing white people.
Carl
January 17th, 2010 at 2:49 pm
CHEWING GUM HELPS SURGERY RECOVERY
There’s a time and a place for everything, they say — even chewing gum, apparently. British researchers have found that chewing gum after colon surgery can help restore intestinal function.
GETTING BACK TO NORMAL
If you’ve ever had abdominal surgery, you’ve been subject to the embarrassing questions from the nursing staff about whether or not you’ve successfully passed gas or moved your bowels. That’s because doing so indicates everything is beginning to operate more normally.
Post-operative ileus — the inability of the intestines to pass contents following colon surgery – is an all too common problem that contributes to pain, nausea, vomiting and abdominal swelling.
In five trials reviewed by British researchers, post-surgical patients chewed one piece of sugarless gum (though it doesn’t have to be sugarless) for five to 45 minutes, three times a day. In comparison to those who did not chew gum, the gum chewers…
• Took on average a half-day less to pass gas.?
• Took on average one day less to have a bowel movement.?
• Were discharged from the hospital a day earlier.
Gum chewing may help by stimulating the digestive system, encouraging it to get moving once again after surgery. Daily Health News contributing editor Andrew L. Rubman, ND, explains that the vagus nerve — a key nerve that originates in the brain and extends down to the colon — is activated by the sight, thought, taste or smell of food.
This stimulates gastric juice production. The vagus nerve also controls peristalsis, the automatic movement of food through the digestive tract. While eating may also act as a stimulant, most people cannot tolerate it so soon after surgery.
Findings were published in the August 2008 issue of Archives of Surgery. Researchers note that larger, randomized studies are required to learn more about how post-surgical gum chewing can reduce the length of stay.
Chewing is a good short-term practice to help return normal gastrointestinal function, says Dr. Rubman. Yet he also recommends caution: If you start to feel cramping while chewing gum, stop and wait for it to pass. But if you feel better and find that function is improving, have another piece. This is an easy way to help yourself heal.
Source(s): ?
Andrew L. Rubman, ND, director, Southbury Clinic for Traditional Medicines, Southbury, Connecticut.
January 17th, 2010 at 2:59 pm
Wow! that’s was quick. My answer to Carl was entered and erased in a sec.
January 17th, 2010 at 3:05 pm
We celebrated Matin Luther King day in a festival.
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Residents gather for peace at King festival
BY AMRITHA ALLADI • PACIFIC DAILY NEWS • JANUARY 18, 2010
Though he delivered his message over 30 years ago, his words are as relevant today as they were in the 1960s, according to the Guam residents assembled at the Guam Federation of Teachers compound in Mangilao yesterday evening.
Martin Luther King Jr. who was a leader of the African-American civil rights movement, is someone Guam leaders should model themselves after, according to Neeti Prakash, Department of Education teachers union chairperson under the Guam Federation of Teachers.
“We’re here to spread his message of hope for the whole world, and the message of peace,” Prakash said. “We can apply it by continuing to practice non-violence, modeling ourselves after his example,” she said.
King is one of the most renowned leaders of the 20th century, Prakash said.
“Everyone knows him as someone who was a great person, great hero, and great fighter for civil rights,” she said, adding the GFT members strive to model themselves after him.
GFT’s president, Sen. Matt Rector, has likened his struggles to King’s.
Rector, in a two-part online video posted on his Web site and on YouTube in November, compared “ridiculous” complaints against him to the persecution of the late King and Mahatma Gandhi, a worldwide icon of non-violent political resistance.
“History has shown that time and time again progressive leaders who have fought against the rich and powerful and the tyranny of corporate power have been attacked and assassinated,” Rector said in a statement he released after he applied for a concealed weapon permit.
Peaceful Platform
Others who attended yesterday’s King festival used it as a platform to promote peace.
One stall set up by We Are Guåhan was pegged with posters urging residents to speak out against the buildup because there is still time to submit comments in response to the Defense Department’s draft Environmental Impact Statement.
Member Audrey Ward said it’s part of the propaganda being circulated by the military that the buildup is a “done deal.” In reality, there’s still time to stop it, she said, explaining to passers-by the contents of the Defense Department document, and encouraging them to provide their input.
Frank Matanane, who had a stall of hand-made jewelry set up at the festival, said King’s teachings apply to Guam today because the Chamorro people can relate themselves to the African-Americans in the United States who were not given equal rights. He said although Guamanians have repeatedly joined the U.S. forces to fight threats overseas, Guam’s people have not been given a chance to vote for president.
Guamanians should stand up for their rights as King did, he said.
“They were trying to find their identity as blacks, we are trying to find our identity as Chamorros against the super power,” Matanane said, referring to the United States.
The festivities continued with songs performed by students, and recorded excerpts from King’s speeches played over the speakers.
“There is something fundamentally wrong with a world that seeks to solve its problems on the battlefield,” King’s voice resounded. “We must find some alternative to war.”
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Hafa Adai
Anna
January 17th, 2010 at 3:10 pm
The right is back pushing their messages of hate. Now they are slamming Islam while claiming true holiness for christianity.
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The truth about the bloody
teachings of Islam
Dear Fellow Conservative,
When terrorists strike at home or abroad, and PC propagandists rush to assure us that jihadist terror doesn’t reflect “true,” “peaceful” Islam, they’re not only wrong, they’re dangerous — because they lull America and the West into letting their guard down against their mortal enemy. And not only do self-appointed “experts” lie elaborately and persistently about Islam — they have also replaced the truth about Christian Europe and the Crusades with historical fantasy designed to make you ashamed of your own culture and heritage — and thus less determined to defend it.
But there’s a remedy: in The Politically Incorrect Guide™ to Islam (and the Crusades), Robert Spencer reveals all the disturbing facts about Islam and its murderous hostility to the West that other books ignore, soft-pedal, or simply lie about.
Now, for a limited time, HUMAN EVENTS is making The Politically Incorrect Guide™ to Islam (and the Crusades) available to you absolutely FREE. CLICK HERE to get your FREE copy of The Politically Incorrect Guide™ to Islam (and the Crusades).
Sincerely,
Thomas S. Winter
Editor in Chief, HUMAN EVENTS
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If it weren’t for the greed of christianity trying to swallow up Africa, there probably wouldn’t be a religion called Islam. Evil begets Evil.
Mike
January 17th, 2010 at 3:14 pm
Michelle
Now they are trying to allow corps to pollute the planet for a few dollars more.
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Dear MoveOn member,
Earlier this week, we learned that the Senate is about to vote on a bill to block the Clean Air Act’s limits on global warming pollution.
Now, it’s been discovered that the sponsor of the bill, Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, received nearly $250,000 in campaign contributions from the electric utility industry last year—and let one of the top utility industry lobbyists literally write the bill to roll back the Clean Air Act.1
Can you call Senator Dianne Feinstein? Tell her to vote no on the Murkowski amendment to block President Obama from enforcing the Clean Air Act’s limits on global warming pollution.
At stake is a crucial section of the Clean Air Act that requires limits on global warming pollution. If the Murkowski Clean Air Act rollback passes, nearly all the progress that President Obama has made on global warming would be overturned.2
Ethics watchdogs like the Center for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, Public Citizen, and the Alaska Public Interest Research Group have raised serious questions about the appearance of corruption in the writing of Sen. Murkowski’s bill.3
Sen. Murkowski is the top recipient of campaign donations from the electric utilities in the entire Congress, and former Bush administration official Jeffrey Holmstead is one of their top lobbyists.4 Two of Holmstead’s biggest clients—Southern Company and Duke Energy—are among Sen. Murkowski’s top contributors.5 And Federal Election Commission reports show that PACs for six other Holmstead clients and Holmstead’s lobbying firm pumped money into Murkowski’s campaign as well.6
“This is the sort of pay-to-play politics that makes Americans so suspicious of our elected leaders,” said Melanie Sloan, Executive Director of the Center for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.
We can stop this, but we have to fight back now. Please call Senator Dianne Feinstein and tell her to vote no on the Murkowski amendment to block President Obama from enforcing the Clean Air Act’s limits on global warming pollution.
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We need to contact our representatives on this one.
Janet
January 17th, 2010 at 7:44 pm
Michelle
The right is gathering foam from the mouths of their followers by predicting the win of the Massachusetts special election for the Senate.. Of course they are asking for donations. I think it is proper that the sick bigots should be fleeced.
Oh, and Carl, I am white too. But when my race or any other race shows the kind of depravity mentioned in this blog, they should be called out. And I would prefer calling these racists biggots as rhymes with maggots. You get the picture.
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Carl if you can’t see the wrongs practiced by this groups, you can’t be helped. So pissing you off is pointless.
Mike
January 17th, 2010 at 8:02 pm
Hafa adai
Mike
Thank you for speaking the truth. The fact is the US military is attempting to turn Gum in the the whorehouse they made of the Philippines. They would subject our women to the sexual manipulation and abuse they forced upon the female women and children of the Philippines.
Already the leaders of Guam are showing that they are more than willing to prostitute their females for a few dollars more.
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Vice Speaker Proposes Adult Entertainment District
Guam – Responding to requests from Guam’s visitor industry organizations, Vice Speaker B.J. Cruz introduced Bill No. 314-30 that would establish adult entertainment zoning outside of Tumon’s “Hotel ROW.”
The bill provides that adult entertainment establishments may be operated only in areas zoned MI or M2, the zoning for light and heavy industrial uses. If enacted into law, Bill No. 314-30 would allow existing establishments up to five years to continue operations in Tumon or any area not zoned MI or M2.
This bill comes at the behest of the Guam Visitors Bureau, the Japan Guam Travel Association, and the Guam Hotel and Restaurant Association, which expressed to the Vice Speaker growing concerns over obscene signage and aggressive street-marketing tactics of adult oriented businesses.
Passage of such rezoning legislation is a part of GVB7s Five-Year Strategic Plan.
The Vice Speaker was first approached in March then again in August of last year to introduce the bill on the organizations’ behalf. After much consideration the Vice Speaker introduced the measure essentially in the same form as the draft bill submitted to him by industry organizations.
“I was initially apprehensive about introducing this bill when it was first brought to my Committee’s attention,” Vice Speaker Cruz said, “but after review of the military buildup DElS and four DElS meetings, it became clear that the San Vitores Road area must be protected for both our local families and for the visitors that come here to enjoy the family destination Guam
is purported to be.”
According to the Vice Speaker there are currently about 55 adult entertainment establishments operating along or just off of San Vitores Road
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Try establishing legalized zones of prostitution in the states and you will hear the howl of indignation. The hypocrisy of the bastards knows no end.
Peter
January 17th, 2010 at 8:11 pm
I call on the TAO to resist any efforts to interfere in the affairs of Oston wars. We will all their commander to return unharmed. We would not like to offend the EMPEROR.
But we will not accept any interference in our affairs. You have been notified.
January 17th, 2010 at 11:38 pm
How to Bounce Back from Money Misfortunes
Stephen M. Pollan
You can better cope with money misfortunes if you know in advance the major steps to take. How to handle six common financial challenges…
You can’t pay monthly bills because of unexpected expenses. Take action as soon as the problem becomes apparent. Waiting until payments are past due and collection agencies are involved will only make things worse.
Divide your expenses into three categories…
Expenses that cannot be delayed. Example: Insurance premiums.
Expenses that might be deferrable if the lender agrees. Examples: Mortgage and car loans.
Expenses that are discretionary. Examples: Eating out and new clothes.
First, eliminate all discretionary spending. Second, contact mortgage and auto-loan providers. Explain that you had an unexpected expense and request “forbearance.” Propose a specific payment plan that would make your debt manageable. Mortgage and auto-loan companies do not want to get stuck with your house or car, so they often will be flexible.
Example: A 32-year-old man faced $3,200 in travel and burial expenses after the death of his uncle. His mortgage lender agreed to accept interest-only payments for three months.
You can’t pay a large, uncovered medical bill. Explain your financial situation to the hospital’s or doctor’s billing department, and ask to set up a payment plan that fits your budget. Next, speak to hospital social workers and local family-service charities to see if any grants or loans are available to people in your situation. Ask family members and employers for financial assistance — big companies sometimes have emergency loan or hardship grant money available to help employees.
If you have health insurance but your insurer will not cover the bill, get a specific explanation why. If the insurance company claims a treatment was not necessary, ask your doctor to write a letter stating why it was necessary. There are multiple levels of appeal possible if your first request is denied.
Example: A 58-year-old widow was hit with a five-figure bill when her insurance company claimed that a colon cancer treatment was not necessary. She negotiated a $200-per-month payment plan with the hospital. Then she asked her doctor to write a letter explaining why the procedure was necessary. Her insurer eventually agreed to pay a large portion of the bill. She paid off the remaining debt in less than 18 months.
You’re dropped by your homeowner’s insurance company. Unfortunately, insurers discontinue various policies — especially homeowner’s policies — all the time for all sorts of reasons. Do not bother trying to get the decision reversed — that almost never works — but do make sure you are given the grace period guaranteed by your contract before it is terminated.
Then ask your accountant, attorney or real estate agent to recommend an insurance broker. Unlike insurance agents, insurance brokers work with many different insurance companies and can help you find the best rates. They often have access to better policy information than you can find quickly online.
The policies available to you might be considerably more expensive than your old coverage. Ask your broker for cost-cutting strategies. Increasing the size of copayments and deductibles often can dramatically reduce premiums. Increase the size of your emergency fund as well, in case you need to pay a large deductible later.
A parent dies with bills outstanding. Carefully go through your deceased parent’s papers, and construct a list of assets and liabilities. Keep an eye peeled for any life-insurance policies or evidence of safe-deposit boxes. (For example, the check register in your parent’s checkbook might list ongoing payments to an insurance company or a bank.) Destroy credit cards, and cancel the accounts.
When bills arrive, write “deceased” on them and send them back, with a copy of the death certificate. If bill collectors call, explain that the estate will deal with the deceased’s debts once the funds are in the executor’s control. Repeat this as often as necessary.
Surviving family members are not responsible for a deceased parent’s debts (unless the debt stems from a joint account with a surviving spouse or family member).
Some debts will have to be paid out of the parent’s estate, but waiting until that stage will at least allow you to sort out financial obligations first. Secured debts, such as auto loans signed by only the deceased, that are not paid off by the estate will result in repossession.
Your adult child needs financial help. First consider your own finances. Would solving your child’s financial problem create a financial problem for you? Would it significantly affect your retirement plans?
If you are considering making a loan, rather than a gift, calculate how your finances would be affected if this loan were not repaid. Many loans to relatives never are repaid.
If you cannot afford to make the loan, explain to your child that you love him/her but cannot give money that you do not have to spare.
If you decide to help, first insist on having a conversation with the adult child about budgets, spending and saving. Explain what he needs to do differently from a financial standpoint. Next, determine exactly how large a gift or loan he needs to make ends meet, and how much you can afford to give.
Make it clear that this is a onetime loan or gift, not an ongoing line of credit. If the gift is sizable, inform your other children that the gift will be taken into consideration when you divide your assets in your will. This will prevent concerns about inequity.
Important: Deciding whether to assist your adult child financially could drive a wedge between you and your spouse. Agree in advance to make this decision as a team.
You lose your job. If your employer insists that you sign a release form in order to receive your severance package, don’t do it right away.
It often is possible to get better severance terms through negotiation. These negotiations can be quite simple — whatever the company offers, ask for more.
If you have a good relationship with someone high up in your company, ask that person to put in a good word for you with the human resources department regarding your severance package. Insist on credit for unused vacation days and a prorated portion of any annual bonus.
Ask if you can keep your company car and/or laptop until you find a new job. Request continuation of health-insurance benefits. If continued benefits are not available, see if you are eligible to continue coverage under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), the program that allows former employees to pay out of pocket to continue their benefits for up to 18 months. COBRA coverage may be expensive, but it can be a vital bridge until you arrange other coverage.
Determine how long you can continue paying your bills out of your savings and severance pay, and decide what resources you will tap next if you have not found another job by the time this money runs out. Will you liquidate investments? Borrow from family members?
If need be, consider taking a job that you normally wouldn’t to keep money coming in, even if it has no connection to your previous experience. Sometimes these “emergency jobs” lead people into other career directions.
Don’t worry that your emergency job means you will have to schedule future job interviews around your work schedule — most interviewers consider it a good thing when job applicants are working.
Bottom Line/Personal interviewed Stephen M. Pollan, a New York City–based attorney, financial adviser and career counselor. He is a former assistant professor of finance at C.W. Post School of Business and former CNBC on-air personal finance expert. He is coauthor of several books, including Die Broke: A Radical Four-Part Financial Plan (Collins) and Lifelines for Money Misfortunes: How to Overcome Life’s Greatest Challenges (Wiley). http://www.stephenpollan.com.