Dr. Mauk’s Boomer Blog

Each week, Dr. Mauk shares thoughts relevant to Baby Boomers that are aimed to educate and amuse.

Guest Blog: 5 Tips for Finding a Life Insurance Policy that Works For You

In a world full of uncertainties, it is important to ensure your protection and that of your loved ones are guaranteed. A life insurance policy is a legal and mutual contract between you and a life insurance provider. In a life insurance policy, the insurer is called upon to make certain payments of money and list down beneficiaries who will benefit from the program if the insurer dies off in case of an unfortunate happening.

One of the biggest financial decisions you will ever make is signing up for a favorable life insurance policy that will wholesomely come through for you in any tight situation. The following are tips for finding a favorable life insurance policy:

1. Assess the Current Financial Situation You’re in

Before settling on a life insurance policy, you have to have a definite picture of your financial health. Assess the total amount you have that will cater for your family members, which includes:

  • Monthly income
  • The emergency funds available
  • The life insurance coverage via work
  • The retirement savings.

You may add up all the assets and find out that you are not eligible for a life insurance program. To ensure you make the right decisions, you should work with a financial planner to help you decide what needs to be safeguarded by the life insurance policy.

2. Understand What Affects Your Life Insurance Rate

When deciding on the rate, you need to pay for coverage; the key factors looked at by life insurance companies are your health and age. The younger you apply for your life insurance, the cheaper the life insurance rates are. This is because people are mostly healthy when they are young and run into fewer risks that push them towards applying for insurance policies.

The type of policy granted to you and the death benefits hugely depends on the rates paid by you. Most life insurance policies have an option for you to convert a term life insurance policy to a permanent insurance policy as desired with an increase in your income.

3. Choose an Insurance Policy Type

When planning to buy a life insurance policy, you have the option to choose between a term policy and a whole life insurance policy. A term policy is an advantageous way to help you cover bills such as mortgages or your kid’s education because they are only for a while.

However, a permanent life insurance policy is long-term with lifelong coverage. Compared to a termed insurance, permanent life insurance is expensive because of its high cash value. The cash is useful in supplementing retirement income or during emergencies.

4. Assess Your Life Insurance Goals

Every person has different goals and intentions with their insurance policies. With the aid of a suitable insurance policy, you have to formulate your goals well and ensure the amount you are directing to the insurance company can comfortably fund your goals without inadequacy. Whether it is a team or lifelong insurance, Omaha Insurance Medicare Agent ensures your assets are safe and all the goals are met at the end of the day.

A unit-linked insurance plan helps you take care of matters such as your child’s education and purchase a retirement plan that guarantees your daily expenses after retirement. Also, it is crucial to set realistic goals depending on the income you generate.

5. Name Your Life Insurance Beneficiary

A life insurance beneficiary is a person who benefits from the proceeds of your insurance policy. When choosing a beneficiary, it is important to choose wisely as this is the individual who will reap the fruits of your labor when you are not around. You can contact an independent agent to walk you through choosing your beneficiary.

When choosing a beneficiary, avoid opting for minors or infants that may fail to receive the funds. Also, avoid naming an estate as a beneficiary because it may go through tax implications, and you end up not benefitting from the insurance you worked hard to save for.

When going through the life insurance applications, ensure you have someone with your best interest in mind so that you can make sober decisions. While tapping into life insurance, you have to be intentional with the plans you have and prioritize paying the stipulated amount so that when the time comes for you to withdraw the money, you have something that can guide you to the next step in life.

 

 

By |2023-12-22T12:18:07-05:00January 29th, 2024|Dr. Mauk's Boomer Blog, News Posts|Comments Off on Guest Blog: 5 Tips for Finding a Life Insurance Policy that Works For You
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Mastering your medical paperwork: Tips from a professional organizer

By Radha at Inspire

Inspire is a leading social network for health that connects patients and caregivers in a safe permission-based manner

Mastering your medical paperwork: Tips from a professional organizer

Who knew getting sick could require the combined skills of a librarian and an archivist? For most of us, managing the paperwork that comes with medical care can be an overwhelming task.

“In so many ways, you’re powerless,” said J.J. Jackson, an organization professional in the Washington D.C. area and owner of PaperworkMaven.com. “Especially people who have a lot of doctor’s appointments, they’re really sick and just don’t have the energy to do all this stuff… It’s so frustrating and it takes emotional time.”

Getting on top of medical paperwork – mainly, knowing where things are, what is complete, and what is not – can help people reclaim some power.

“It definitely empowers me,” Jackson said, because tracking her information gives her a complete picture of her medical and financial situation and she can speak with confidence about tests, needs, and money paid and owed.

Organized medical paperwork can also reduce stress and even save money. If you’re struggling to keep medical paperwork organized, here are 5 easy tips from a professional organizer.1. Put everything in one place

1.  Put everything in one place

At minimum, having everything together is critical, Jackson said. This could be the point where some people stop; it might be a starting point for others to organize further. But as long as everything is in one spot – a box, a folder, a digital file – you can get to it later.

2.  Set aside time for paperwork (it’s probably less than you think)
Time is the number one thing that Jackson said gets in her way.

For someone who has regular medical appointments and a paperwork backlog of several months, Jackson estimated about three hours of concentrated work to organize paperwork into a system. However, once the system is in place, it may require less than 30 minutes per week to log and file new information. In her experience, Jackson said calling insurance companies takes up the most time.

3.  A Table of Contents is your best friend
Ideally, a system for paperwork would have an easy-to-skim main document to which related materials like receipts, Explanation of Benefits statements, medical reports, and images can be traced. This also makes it easy for others to figure out your medical picture, if necessary. It can be physical or digital.

Through her personal and professional experience, Jackson created a simple spreadsheet to track claims, a few claim details, and payments. Each line item corresponds to one day. Jackson labels related documents with the same line-item, so she knows what claim they correspond to. She won’t check off a line item until each task and payment associated with it is resolved.

“It’s about making sure you have enough detail to track things needing attention and things that are done,” she said,


Create a chart to organize and track your medical paperwork.

4.  Delegate
Many people don’t realize they can and should delegate paperwork-related tasks. But, Jackson said, consider that having your medical paperwork in order is important enough to devote resources to it.

“I think people think they ought to be able to do it themselves,” she said. “It’s ok if you don’t want to do it. If someone is sick, I think it would be such a gift to them. If they just don’t have time or energy or the emotional capability doing that, as a family member or friend, that is an excellent gift to give.”

Expert resources from organizations like the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals and the American Association of Daily Money Managers could be of use said Jackson, who enlists help for medical tasks herself. And depending how comfortable you are letting others see sensitive personal health information, hiring someone to sort, log, file, and do general paperwork-related tasks could also help.

5.  Physical vs digital systems
Digital organization and cloud storage will be the way of the future, Jackson said. The challenge right now is that medical information is spread over multiple locations and multiple types (paper receipts and reports, emails, digital image files, audio recordings, and personal notes, to name a few) and there aren’t good ways to integrate these in one system.

Jackson has separate locations for physical and digital materials but sticks to the same labeling system that corresponds to her main chart. If you’re really committed to a paperless system, a good scanner is essential, Jackson said. A robust organization system should accommodate how you like to store and track your materials and adapt to changes in health needs over time.

Except for those who enjoy detailed organization work, Jackson admits getting medical paperwork organized is not fun. Rather, it’s a means to an end.

“The feeling I get when I’m done is really satisfying,” she said. “I feel accomplished and I feel empowered and like I have peace of mind.”

 

 

By |2023-12-22T12:17:45-05:00January 27th, 2024|Dr. Mauk's Boomer Blog, News Posts|Comments Off on Mastering your medical paperwork: Tips from a professional organizer
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Guest Blog: Tools to Make Your Shower Safer

Have you heard? A new government study has revealed that falls among adults over 65 rose over 30% in the past 10 years! While a fall every now and then may feel like no big deal, it is important for seniors to recognize that even seemingly harmless falls can lead to dangerous complications like hip fractures and head trauma.

If you or the person you care for hasn’t fall-proofed one of the most dangerous spots in the home, the shower, yet, don’t miss this essential list of helpful safety tools:

Toiletry Dispenser

Are you still struggling with slippery bars of soap and hard-to-grip shampoo and conditioner bottles in the shower? Get an easy-to-install toiletry dispenser instead which can stay fixed to the wall under your shower head and dole out toiletries in your hand as needed with the push of a button.

Grab Bars

Experts recommend installing grab bars both inside and outside the shower on walls that are easy to reach and can fully support your weight when you brace against them. Similar products like bathtub bars which sit fixed on the side of a bathtub and provide a raised support to hold and steady yourself are great too for notoriously hard-to-navigate tub showers.

Non-slip Shower Mat

Not all shower mats are created equal, and for seniors taking fall prevention measures in the shower, finding one that stays in place and offers a textured non-slip surface to stand on is critical. Additional features like being antimicrobial and machine-washable also prevent the buildup of contaminants and mildew which are common to humid areas like the shower.

Shower Chair

Even if you have no mobility issues at all, a shower chair may be a good investment if your space allows for it. Shower chairs make it easy to sit and rest in the shower if you suddenly feel weak or unbalanced. And specialty transfer chairs help caregivers easily get a loved one in and out of the shower without over-exerting themselves or putting their loved one’s safety at risk.

Handheld Shower Head

Quit trying to twist, turn, and contort your body when bathing yourself. A removable, handheld shower head is a must for easy, thorough washing that won’t leave you with a muscle strain in your back. Experts recommend getting one with at least 5 feet of maneuverable cord to allow for enough slack to raise and move it around your body with ease.

Outside of the shower, additional upgrades that can improve your safety and bathroom experience include automatic lights that provide consistent, bright lighting without having to flip a switch, non-slip bathroom mats, and raised toilet seats with handles.

By |2023-12-22T12:15:07-05:00January 13th, 2024|Dr. Mauk's Boomer Blog, News Posts|Comments Off on Guest Blog: Tools to Make Your Shower Safer
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Guest Blog: 5 Ways to Help Improve Your Memory

Do you often misplace your car keys? Or have trouble remembering your personal trainer’s name at your favorite gym? You are not alone. Everybody goes through moments of forgetfulness, and the occasional memory lapses every once in a while. Though it’s common to forget things when too busy or preoccupied, a recurring memory loss should not be taken lightly.

Age, genetics, and underlying mental disorders are common factors that lead to memory loss. In some instances, memory loss is manageable through diet and lifestyle changes. Read on to discover five research-backed ways to sharpen your memory naturally.

1. Get adequate sleep

Poor sleeping habits are a major cause of memory loss among the young and the elderly. Sleep enhances memory consolidation, the process where short-term memories transition into long-term memories. Sleep deprivation and irregular sleeping cycles can perpetrate cognitive impairments, negatively affecting your brain’s ability to synthesize and retain information.

Doctors and wellness specialists recommend at least seven to nine hours of interrupted sleep for an adult. Research studies show that individuals are likely to perform better in information recall tests when they’re well-rested compared to when they have sleep deprivation.

2. Reduce sugar intake and high-calorie diets

A high sugar intake is often associated with many health complications ranging from chronic illness to cognitive impairment. A 2017 study shows the linkage between high sugar diets and the development of Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers noted that a high intake of sweet beverages like processed fruit juices and soda reduces the total brain volume, especially in the regions responsible for short-term memory retention.

Reduced brain volume is often an early symptom of Alzheimer’s disease. Reducing your sugar intake will boost your memory retention and overall health condition. Whenever you develop a sugar craving, try consuming naturally sweet foods such as fruits while limiting the intake of processed foods with artificial sweeteners.

Along with cutting back your sugar intake, lowering your overall calorie intake can do wonders for your memory recall. Regular consumption of cakes, bread, cookies, and other diets rich in refined carbohydrates raises the risk of cognitive decline, reduced memory retention, and even dementia. High-calorie diets lead to gradual cognitive decline because they cause inflammation of certain brain parts.

3. Practice meditation and mindfulness

Mindfulness refers to tuning your mental state to focus on present situations and boost awareness of your feelings and surroundings. Mindfulness is a technique common in meditation, and it helps improve memory. Studies show that mindfulness and meditation enhance cognitive function by lowering the triggers for brain degeneration.

Researchers believe that practicing mindfulness can improve long-term and short-term information recall. In one study, researchers conducted a psychological survey of 293 patients where one group underwent mindfulness sessions while another group did not. Those who took part in the mindfulness sessions showed better memory performance than those who skipped the mindfulness sessions.

Besides improving memory retention and psychological wellbeing, mindfulness also lowers the risk of age-induced cognitive impairment.

4. Practice brain training

In the same way, exercise improves physical health; your brain needs regular involvement to function optimally. Mental workouts play an essential role in brain development because they enhance your problem-solving and memory recall abilities. Chess, crosswords, word puzzles, and Tetris are examples of popular brain games you can use for your mental workouts.

Recent trials show that setting aside only 15 minutes for brain training five days a week can significantly boost mental acuity. What’s more, researchers believe that brain training workouts can lower the risk of dementia among the elderly. Brain exercises are a common practice in many Alzheimer’s care programs.

5. Reduce your alcohol intake

Excessive alcohol consumption poses many health risks and negatively affects memory retention. It’s no wonder people misplace their car or house keys after a night of heavy drinking. A high alcohol intake raises your blood alcohol composition to levels that alter brain function resulting in poor memory retention.

A college study showed that students who consume six or more drinks within a short time exhibited delayed memory recall than those who didn’t consume alcohol.

Conclusion

Eating a balanced diet, exercising regularly, and leading an overall active lifestyle is crucial in improving brain health and memory retention. Check out the site below for more tips on boosting memory recall.

 

 

By |2023-12-22T12:14:06-05:00January 7th, 2024|Dr. Mauk's Boomer Blog, News Posts|Comments Off on Guest Blog: 5 Ways to Help Improve Your Memory
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Guest Blog: How to Help a Loved one After Surviving a Stroke

If your loved one has suffered from a stroke, physical, cognitive, and emotional challenges may develop as a result. The recovery time following a stroke is different for everybody, and it can take weeks, months, or even years. While some people recover fully, others develop lifelong or long-term disabilities. Remember that handling stroke aftermath can be tiring, but you can make substantial progress with consistent effort and patience. The following tips can help you recognize and manage common issues as you care for a loved one who has survived a stroke.

Identify Stroke Symptoms

One of the best ways of helping someone to recover from a stroke entail incorporating preventative measures like knowing stroke symptoms because instant treatment can be lifesaving. Also, it impacts full recovery chances. Unluckily, stroke survivors have a high probability of a second stroke attack. Research shows that one in every four stroke survivors will experience another one.

The risk of experiencing a second stroke is roughly 40% higher within the first five years following the first one. The good news is that medical intervention and lifestyle changes can help avoid approximately 80% of secondary strokes.

Incorporate Light Exercises

Including leg exercises to a stroke survivor is vital for a quick recovery. Although every patient should have a personalized exercise routine, you can find helpful Gait training exercises for stroke patients that are safe and easy to do at home. These stretching and low-impact exercises for stroke recovery come in handy in helping your loved ones have improved mobility.

Be Mindful of Communication

One of the leading and most annoying stroke’s side effects is the incapacity to speak or recognize speech. It is estimated that about 25% – 40% of individuals who get stroke develop aphasia, damage to the brain, mainly the left side that manages language. Therefore, if you are dealing with a loved one with this condition, you should use short and simple sentences. It would help if you also tried to be patient when communicating with them because it’s only their capability to speak that’s affected; their intelligence remains intact.

Dealing with PSTD

After a stroke, it’s pretty standard for stroke survivors to experience Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PSTD’s typical symptoms include the person experiencing disturbing events recurrently in the form of hallucinations. These nightmares are usually accompanied by the victim’s feelings of self-doubt, unyielding anxiety, and improper guilt over their condition. The best way of managing this condition involves using medications like anti-anxiety medications and antidepressants. Also, psychotherapy is essential.

Decreasing Stress and Inflammation

Body inflammation can lead to other problems. For example, a stressed body produces a hormone known as cortisol floods. This hormone affects the pH levels resulting in acidity. Extended high acidity levels kill essential body bacteria while enhancing the rise of bad ones. Ultimately, it results in a weak immune system.

The good news is that using a natural probiotic, such as yogurt is an excellent way of stimulating good bacteria in the body. Also, taking supplement drinks can boost immunity significantly. Besides balancing the pH level, incorporating stress management exercises like deep breathing, yoga, meditation, and tai chi can limit an individual’s cortisol levels.

Don’t Overlook Falls

It’s common to experience falls after a stroke. Take your loved one to an emergency room instantly if the fall is serious and leads to the extreme pain, bruising, and bleeding. It would also be valuable to visit a physician to treat your loved one who experiences slight falls more than twice in six months.

Manage Depression Before It Worsens

While post-stroke depression is common amongst many stroke survivors, it is essential to suppress it before it deters recovery. Consulting a healthcare expert to create a plan of action is advisable because post-stroke depression can enormously impact your loved one’s rehabilitation and recovery.

Be Aware of Vascular Dementia

Vascular dementia is a typical issue amongst stroke survivors. Maintaining blood sugar levels at optimal levels is advised. So, if the victim has diabetes, you must be cautious of insulin and blood sugar levels.

Professional Assistance for Stroke Survivors

The stroke recovery process is a daunting one, and it’s full of twists, turns, ups, and downs. It takes dedication and hard work to recoup physical and mental functionality after a stroke. Fortunately, the tips mentioned above come in handy in helping you recognize and overcome most challenges linked to recovery.

 

By |2023-12-22T12:13:27-05:00January 3rd, 2024|Dr. Mauk's Boomer Blog, News Posts|Comments Off on Guest Blog: How to Help a Loved one After Surviving a Stroke
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