Affordable health insurance - it seems, especially today, those words just don’t belong together in the same sentence. Health insurance monthly premiums have become the biggest single expense in our lives - surpassing even mortgage payments. In fact, if you have any permanent health problems, such as diabetes, or have had cancer at one time in your family history, your monthly cost could easily be more than the house and car payment combined.

Shopping for affordable health insurance can certainly be an eye-opener. If you have always had a health insurance benefit where you work - especially a state or federal employee - and now have to buy your own, you may not be able to afford the level of health insurance coverage you have become used to.

Affordable health insurance, however, is definitely available -if you know how and where to look.

When you are looking for affordable health insurance, you want the lowest cost per year that will fit your budget, of course. But, even more importantly, you want a company that has a good record for paying without fighting with you on every detail. Just as there is a car for just about any budget, there is also affordable health insurance. You may not be able to afford a “Cadillac” policy - but then you probably don’t need all the frills anyway.

Shopping for health insurance on the internet is the easiest and best way to find affordable health insurance. Here are five reasons why.

1. You don’t need a local agent to help you submit the claims for health insurance. The medical provider does it for you. You save money because the health insurance company saves money by not paying the agent commission. This could amount to an 8% to 12% savings to you.
2. All the top health insurance companies are at your fingertips on the internet. Most local agents can only quote you from the few companies that they represent. They may not offer you what is best for you financially or health-wise but only what they happen to have available.
3. Health insurance companies have to be extremely competitive because it is so quick and easy to compare them with their competitors on the internet today. In the past you would have had to visit physically eight to ten agents to do a similar comparison. Most folks just didn’t have the time or desire for that.
4. You can change your coverage, deductibles, and payment options with just a few clicks rather than going through the paperwork delay with a local agent (and then finding out he/she made a mistake - more delay).
5. Charging to a credit card means you aren’t going to forget a payment and be without insurance. Also, it gives you another 30 days before you actually have to pay. Also, many companies today give an additional discount for “auto-pay”.

The key, however, to finding affordable health insurance is realizing that the purpose of any health insurance is to protect you from a major financial loss - not to protect you from spending small money on clinic visits and sliver removal. These small expenses may be cumbersome but they generally will not hurt you. It’s the $100,000 heart operation that will break you. That’s the financial disaster health insurance was originally designed to prevent.

Also, keep this in mind. Health insurance, as with any insurance, is a gamble. You are gambling that you will draw out more than you pay in. Your health insurance company is gambling they will pay out less. The odds are in their favor for two reasons. They have all the facts for millions of families to average out, so they know the risk in advance. Also, they get to set the rules and the prices. The higher you set your deductible, the more risk you take. This is not a bad thing at all. You will most likely be the winner in the long run.

Yes, finding affordable health insurance is much easier than most people think. Even if you are older and qualify for Medicare, you will often need a Medicare supplement plan.

Taking more of the risk with higher deductibles, spending a little time on the internet comparing eight to ten different companies, and deleting coverage that you will not likely need (such as maternity for many folks) will make it very possible to find your own affordable health insurance.

Did someone say free hotel night?  Well, you read that right.  Choice Hotels International is offering a free hotel night after you stay two separate times in one of their hotels.  You get to chose from 1500 choice hotels.  You know these as Comfort Inn, Confort Suites, Quality, Sleep Inn, and Clarion just to name a few.  If you are interested visit their website at http://www.choicehotels.com/ires/en-US/html/StayTwoTimesPromotion or call 1-877-424-6423.

Clean running water, an absolute necessity to our very survival, is also incredibly handy around the house. So handy, in fact, that most of us use it wastefully at least part of the time. As our growing population strains our water resources and infrastructure to the limits, costs for providing water will escalate. We can minimize those costs by employing a few simple water conservation methods in our homes.

We benefit in many ways by cutting down on household water use. Using water wisely by taking short showers, for example, or running only full loads in the washer or dishwasher results in additional savings by using less energy and less detergent.

By practicing water conservation at home we encourage our children to accept that natural resources are not in endless supply - a reality their generation will be forced to accept - a reality our generation too often chooses to ignore.

Saving water at home helps reduce or eliminate costs for infrastructure such as new or upgraded reservoirs, water treatment facilities, or sewage treatment plants. These are huge expenses which are passed on to homeowners through municipal taxes.

Enough said. Here are 12 ways to save water in your home:

1. Check for leaks. If you have a water meter, read it before and after a two-hour interval when no one is using any water. If it doesn’t read exactly the same, you have a leak somewhere in your house.

2. Find and fix leaks. Replace washers on dripping faucets. A drip rate of one drop per second wastes 1,000 liters per month (about 3,000 US gallons per year). Toilets are another common source for leaks. Check by putting a few drops of food coloring in the tank. If the color appears in the bowl after about half an hour, you have a leak. Replace worn parts. They’re cheap and the repairs are easily done.

3. Toilets are responsible for 30-40% of household water use. Avoid flushing unnecessarily. Don’t put anything down the toilet except toilet waste. Don’t be afraid to let it mellow if it’s yellow. Tissues, dead spiders, hair balls and other assorted trash belong in the garbage can, not the toilet.

4. Replace older toilets. The current standard is 1.6 gallons per flush. Toilets 10 years old or older may use anywhere from 3.5 to 7 gallons per flush.

5. Take shorter showers. If you don’t have low flow shower faucets, get one that uses less than 2.5 gallons per minute. You’ll never notice the difference. In fact, if you have low water pressure, you’ll get a better shower with a low flow showerhead. Some models have a control to let you easily stop the flow while you suds up, then resume for rinsing. What a great idea!

6. Turn down one tap rather than turning up the other one to adjust water temperature. It’s just as effective and uses less water.

7. Don’t let the water run while brushing your teeth or shaving.

8. Put aerators on all the faucets in your home.

9. Run only full loads in the washer or dishwasher, or adjust the water level for smaller loads. Choose water-efficient appliances. Front-loading washers use about a third less water than top-loading. Some washing machines are available with a suds-saver option that drains wash water into your laundry tub to be reused for another load.

10. Start a compost pile in the yard to avoid wasting water by using a kitchen sink disposal.

11. Keep a jug of water in the fridge for drinking so you don’t have to run the tap waiting for the water to cool. If you’re on municipal water, this practice has the added advantage of reducing the chlorine content as some of the chlorine escapes from the water into the air while it sits in the jug.

12. Collect the water that would otherwise be going down the drain while you’re waiting for the hot water to reach your faucet. You can use it for watering plants or cleaning.

Every year there are reports on the news about how deeply in debt people become every Christmas. It is possible to have a nice Christmas without maxing out the credit cards. Here are a few simple tips that could save you a bundle.

Hide the credit cards - By not using credit cards you are already a step ahead of the game. There’s no worry about the interest and all those payments that come due after the first of the year. If you are already using credit cards carefully you might be able to continue using them for Christmas gifts, just be sure to pay it off when the bill comes due.

Make a list - Sit down and make a list of all the people you would like to give gifts. Once the list is made, stick to it. Decide how much to spend on each person and write it beside each name. Then when you go shopping there will be a price range for each gift. It will help avoid overspending. Even a dollar over expected spending can add up if there is a large shopping list.

Draw names - Many families help cut back on holiday spending by drawing names. Each person in the family only shops for one other person whose name they have drawn. Instead of buying several gifts, even if they are inexpensive, each person can get one nicer gift. This makes shopping easier too. Instead of trying to fill a huge list, just take your time and focus on getting that “perfect” gift for just one person.

Shop ahead - Get organized and have good hiding places. By doing this you can purchase Christmas gifts all year round, taking advantage of after Christmas sales, out of season and clearance sales. Go ahead and wrap and label the gifts. This helps keep people from seeing what was purchased and you won’t forget which gift was for whom.

Lay-away - Some stores offer a lay-away program, so you can pay a little at a time each month. By doing this, you can budget things out over a period of time. By combining this with the list and budget plan, you can cut out the interest incurred using credit cards and still make a monthly payment.

Gift cards - While gift cards are convenient for gift giving, many people feel they are impersonal. Gift cards can also help you shop on a budget, if shopping ahead of time. Purchase the gift cards in the amount you can afford each week or month. Tuck them away in an envelope in a safe place until you have the amount needed to purchase the gifts. You can keep an eye out for sales on certain items this way, as well. Be sure to check to see if the cards have an expiration date. Some expire after a certain time once activated and others have no expiration date at all. Some are even “rechargeable” and more money can be added as needed.

No matter what plan you choose, the best thing is to get organized and plan ahead. Spur of the moment shopping is the worst for anyone’s budget. It’s too easy to just grab something on impulse and blow the best of intentions.

Winter is in full swing, so I thought I would share this article:

Each year hundreds of dollars are lost because homes aren’t winterized properly.  Heat escapes through leaks around doors and windows or by inadequate insulation, but there are steps you can take to stop those leaks and keep more of your hard-earned money. By following these simple suggestions, you should be able to save money and help keep your family and yourself a little warmer this winter.

Winterizing your home is not a difficult task. It is one that can help protect your home and keep you from spending so much to heat your home.  Check each of the following to see if you’re losing money in these areas:

Air leaks – Check the weather stripping around each door and window.  If it is damaged or worn, replace it.  Caulk anywhere you see gaps. Don’t forget to install storm doors and windows if they were removed for the summer. Visually inspect the entry point of pipes and ducts into the walls. If there is visible space, use insulation or weather stripping to stop cold air from entering your house. Consider adding insulation behind each electrical plug that is along an exterior wall.

Attic insulation – Probably nothing that you do to winterize will have as much of an effect as ensuring you have enough insulation in your attic. Your local home improvement store should be able to tell you how much insulation is needed in your area. Check the insulation and then add any necessary to keep the cold air out.

Heating system – After the attic insulation, the next obvious place to save money is your heating system.  Now is the time to have a heating professional check your system, before it is an emergency.  Replace any filters your unit may have and vacuum all vents.  If you have a fireplace, have the chimney professionally inspected and cleaned. Close the damper if it is not in use.

Outside the house – Take a few minutes to climb a ladder and visually walk your roof. Replace any loose or missing shingles. Clean drain gutters and downspouts.  Trim any limbs that are overhanging or touching your roof.  Check the flashings around the chimney and vent pipes and caulk if necessary.

Protect the plumbing – If you usually have problems with pipes freezing in the winter, consider adding heat tape and extra insulation around those pipes.  Learn where the whole house shut off is so you can turn the water off in case of a major leak.  If you know you won’t be using the outside faucets, drain and cover them.

Since you still have time before the really cold weather hits, now would be a great time to begin winterizing your home.  By checking these areas, you will have the time needed to make the improvements so you’ll be ready for winter.  These suggestions, when taken a few at a time, can be completed before winter strikes and you have an emergency to handle.