Okay, so I’m not the biggest fan of country music, but I know a wise saying when I hear one, and recently I read where country superstar Garth Brooks once said “The greatest conflicts are not between two people, but between one person and himself.”  And according to a recent study, that’s becoming more and more true for many Americans.

The Gallup Organization has been tracking people’s average daily spending habits for years, and what they’ve discovered is that whether it’s in person or online, at the grocery store or the gas station, Americans spend more money on average over the weekend days (Friday through Sunday) then they do on other days of the week.  With the typical person’s busy lifestyle, Monday through Thursday don’t offer too many opportunities for shopping or other spending, so the results don’t come as any major surprise.

What is surprising is that spending goes up dramatically during weeks in which an employee gets paid.  This “paycheck effect” is most likely due to the fact that many Americans of all income categories are living paycheck to paycheck, and can’t buy anything – including necessities – until the next paycheck clears.  Certainly part of this problem is the economy.  But a larger part is caused by the fact that most people don’t like to live within a budget.  And all of that spending, when it’s not part of your long term goals, makes weekends the worst days of the week as far as your financial future is concerned.

And that’s where Garth Brooks’ observation comes in.  We all struggle when there is a conflict between our short term wants and our long term goals.  None of us want to continue working long past the time when we should be retired.  None of us want to die leaving nothing but expenses to the ones we’ve left behind.  None of us want to have to depend on others when we’re no longer able to take care of ourselves.  So it’s up to us to create the plan for our future, and then to be disciplined enough to stick with the plan, no matter what.

At BeamaLife, we’re proud to provide you with the information and access to the tools you need to create the plan that will lead to the best future for yourself and your family.  I can’t promise that you’ll never face a difficult decision about how to spend your money, but I really believe that when you’ve got the right plan in place, and when you focus on where you want to be 5, or 10, or 20 years from now, you’ll have far fewer conflicts with yourself. Please call one of our life insurance specialists at (866) 972-3262 to determine the right kind of life insurance & financial plan for you and for your family’s financial security or please complete life insurance quote request form now.

Throughout this past election year, health insurance has been the hot topic. Politico’s used terms like “HMO”, “PPO”, and “Premium” as if everyone understood what they meant. Fact is, there are people who are lost about health insurance from the start and unless you know what it is or how it works, and it is easy to become one of the roughly four-million uninsured citizens in this country.

Health insurance is what helps pay for medical bills and medications that most of us are finding increasingly difficult, if not at time impossible, to pay for out of pocket. These expensive costs are why it is being called on for reform, however, even if getting it becomes possible, how it works will likely remain the same. That is, you will be purchasing insurance either for yourself, as part of a group.

Individual insurance is bought by you, for you, through an insurance company or agent. Your application will be evaluated based on how much risk you present the company and your cost of premium payment will be determined accordingly if you are accepted. Your cost and range of coverage will depend upon your provider and type of policy, whether it is comprehensive—covers several types—or basic—covers mostly just physical, surgical, and hospital. It is also a good idea to add into your coverage major medical in case a catastrophic accident or illness occurs. Once you are given your cost for insurance, you will have to pay your premiums in full yourself.

Most people use a group insurance through their employer of civic groups like auto clubs. These are single policies that cover the medical expenses of the group regardless of age or physical condition. Unlike individual, you cannot mold it to fit your specific needs; however, it usually covers everything you might come across. Your payments will be based off of the group as a whole; i.e. average age, occupational hazard, etc. Whether your group is small or large, it is typically less expensive than individual coverage. Individual and group insurance is the broad brush of health insurance, once you’ve figured out how you are getting it, it is important to understand what you have. The common types of insurance are HMO, PPO, POS, and EPO.

Health management organizations (HMO) cover only expenses from treatments by a physician or facility within its network. You choose a primary physician who decides whether or not to refer you to a specialist and you will pay a fixed monthly fee with co-payments for your visits.

Preferred provider organizations (PPO) do not require members to seek care from PPO physicians and hospitals like HMO’s even though you pay the same way. Instead you will see less percentage of reimbursement.

Point of service (POS) combines HMO and PPO’s. You will have a primary physician for referrals, but you can go outside of the network in trade of being covered at a lower level.

Finally, there are the exclusive provider organizations (EPO) which are basically the same as the PPO except there is no coverage for out of network care.

Once you’ve gotten your coverage, and you understand basics of your type, it is wise to read and ask about your coverage so you don’t find yourself with an unexpected bill. Your policy should mention it’s coverage regarding pre-existing conditions and non-duplication benefits, as well as things that affect benefits like deductibles, coinsurance, co-payments, family coverage, out of pocket maximums, and a benefit ceiling. Questions and knowledge about these things will help to keep you from falling victim to paying for what you thought was covered.

Health insurance is becoming more and more a necessity as it becomes incessantly harder to get and keep. Finding the best way to get coverage and what type is right for you is most of the battle, and if you find trouble affording it yourself or getting it through your employer, check for civil organizations or pray for government reform. If those don’t pan out, then I suggest you watch your step.

One of the biggest positives with starting your own business is that you get to choose your own hours of operation, working conditions, and location. As nice as all that is, it is important to remember that self-employment is synonymous with sacrifice. As the boss, you must oversee everything that goes on, and with limited employees, sometimes being only yourself; long hours come with the territory, regardless of whether or not they fit into the hours of operation. This means you must have the discipline to give up that valuable leisure time for some extra work, or substitute reading the morning paper that day, or taking a long lunch, for business calls. Staying home sick, taking days off, and going on vacation all may result in lower income, therefore making the sacrifice to work harder means more money.

Work is directly equated to profit. You have to know that the juice is worth the squeeze, especially since without a benefits package, you must provide yourself with health insurance and a retirement plan. Establishing a cash-backup for bills might prove helpful, but in order to save enough money for all these things, you need to work and maybe even learn some new skills. For some things—like accounting—it may be beneficial just to hire a professional, but taking the time to find books and software that will teach you the necessary skills may be more cost-effective, as well as more time consuming. As a self-employer the dedication to make it work should outweigh the loss of leisure time.

Initially, you may not be making much money at all. Between start-up costs, operating costs, employee payment, and possibly bank loans, the initial profit you will keep might not seem like much. If money is trickling in rather than flooding, then know that you will be the last to get paid.

For some, some cost can be saved from working at home. By working at home you will save on start-up costs, lower operating costs since you would already be paying for heat, electricity, etc., and reduce commuting time and expenses. However, working at home can hinder immediate growth since space will be limited and finding another location means refactoring in all the costs you were trying to save.

It may seem like there the bad outweighs the good, but there is one factor that tips the scales, you are doing what you love. It wouldn’t make sense to start your own business if it was something you hated and treated like a chore. So if you want to be self-employed, make sure you love what you’re doing because that will make every one of the negatives feel miniscule. In addition, you can ensure that nothing at work makes you feel otherwise because as the head of the company you get to choose who you want to work with. It is up to you to decide who you employ and what people you will work with. This means you must be able to get along with all types of people, be it employees, clients and consumers, suppliers, bankers, lawyers, or accountants, but when you get to choose them all, there should be no reason why you don’t get along while working together directly.

The bottom line is if you can work long and hard, tolerate risk and stress, cope well with potential disaster and failure, and work well alone and with others, then perhaps self-employment is right for you. If not, then perhaps you should keep that job in the cubicle.

COBRA is a federal law that allows employees, their spouses, and dependent children who lose health insurance benefits due to involuntary termination of employment to elect to continue that coverage for up to 18 months. Qualified beneficiaries are obligated to pay up to the full cost of coverage plus a 2% administrative fee. However, under the COBRA premium assistance provisions, the employee’s cost of COBRA insurance premiums is reduced to 35% of the total premium cost, including the 2% administrative fee. However, if the employer pays any portion of the premium, no subsidy is payable on that portion.

The COBRA premium reduction is available to assistance-eligible individuals (AEIs). These include the employee (and members of his or her family) whose employment is involuntarily terminated between (and including) September 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009, and is otherwise eligible for, and elects COBRA continuation coverage. The coverage subsidy is payable for a maximum of 9 months and is not available prior to February 17, 2009.

Other provisions applicable to AEIs include:

AEIs who lost their jobs between September 1, 2008 and February 17, 2009, but either didn’t apply for COBRA coverage or ceased coverage after a short time due to its cost have a new 60-day period within which to elect coverage and obtain premium assistance.

The subsidy isn’t taxable as income to the recipient, however it is phased out for individuals with adjusted gross incomes between $125,000 and $145,000 ($250,000 to $290,000 if married filing jointly).

If an AEI pays COBRA premiums for March and April, the employer may either refund the amount of premium paid in excess of 35% or credit the amount against future premiums for the AEI.

If the AEI becomes eligible for other group health insurance or Medicare, the subsidy is terminated. The Department of Labor has established a website (www.dol.gov/ebsa/cobra.html) that provides information to beneficiaries of COBRA insurance.

The premium assistance provisions also affect employers. Most importantly, the employer of the AEI must pay up to 65% of the premium to the insurer. The employer then gets credit for the amount of COBRA premium paid against payroll taxes. If the subsidy is greater than the tax liability, the excess amount is either paid to the employer or applied against future payroll taxes. The IRS has a website (www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=204709,00.html) to help employers address COBRA premium assistance requirements. Other provisions important to employers include:

Form 941 (Employers Quarterly Federal Income Tax Return) has been revised to address the payroll tax credits.

Plan administrators must communicate the availability of the subsidy to eligible COBRA beneficiaries by April 18, 2009.

Employers must maintain documentation of the AEI’s 35% contribution and provide proof of payment to the insurer (if the plan is not self-insured).