Information And Benefits Of Home Insurance

fungue Home insurance is the type of property insurance designated for private home owners. In this article, we are going to discuss the positives of having this type of insurance, or in other words, the advantages of having home insurance. So anyone who wishes to know these things concerning this type of insurance, do continue reading; you will not regret it! For instance, one advantage of having home insurance would be that one would not have to worry too much about paying for damages done to anything inside the house, as the company for the insurance will cover most of the expenses.

Again, home insurance is insurance for home owners, a special type of insurance on property; we are here to tell you about what to look for in home insurance, the good things you must know about it, besides the fact that home insurance companies pay for most of the damages done to your home. The other thing one must know in regards to this kind of insurance is that it is one in which both property and liability are covered by the insurance company, along with the type of premium being one that takes care of all the threats. This type of home insurance is referred to as multiple-line insurance.

Benefit number two (of the ones we're discussing here) concerning home insurance is peace of mind; the knowledge that your expenses will be covered by the company if something unexpected, such as a flood or a storm, happened, and your belongings inside your house, and/or a large part of the house itself, got damaged. You'll be able to sleep more easily at night, and so peace of mind is important. Home insurance is vital for this reason, which is something most people would agree on.

Benefit number for home insurance (out of the ones being discussed here), which may actually be good to mention, is that it insures full financial protection the home owners whose home is being covered. We're not only talking about the house itself, but also the family living in it, when we say that there is protection and coverage. One having to live in an apartment while his/her own home is experiencing repairs after a fire or something else, the family is still going to be protected. The insurance company will cover for you even if something of value gets stolen from your car.

Now, as a review, the sort of property insurance that is deliberated for covering personal home owners is referred to as home insurance. There exist, in this world, three important benefits for one who possesses this kind of insurance that we have discussed in this article, other than that the insurance company pays for the expenses, and they are as follows: home insurance is a type of multiple-line insurance, meaning that both property and liability are included in it, along with an extraordinary kind of premium that covers for all risks - it is that kind of special premium; it allows for one to have peace of mind, meaning that you are covered even in the face of something unforeseen happening; lastly, there is the third benefit, the benefit of financial coverage, in which the insurance company itself pays for the expenses.

Understanding Medishield Life and Integrated Shield Plans

There is a saying that you can afford to die but not afford to get sick in Singapore. This is true regardless if we are poor or rich. Unless you are extremely rich, hospital bills will be a problem for most of us here. Once we are diagnosed with some major illness such as cancer or other life threatening illnesses, it will probably wiped out most of our savings.

An important part of financial planning is insurance. In fact, getting insurance should come before starting any investments. One of the key insurance to get is healthcare insurance to cover our hospital bills as hospital bills can add up to quite a huge sum of money. In Singapore, we have social security schemes already in place such as Medisave, Medishield life, Medifund, Eldershield etc. These terms may be familiar to you but maybe most of us are not really sure what it really means and which scheme we have or to get? In this article, let me demystify the terms and break it down into easy to understand concepts.

What is Medisave?

Let's start off with Medisave. This is what all of us have as long as we are Singaporean or Singapore PR. The Medisave scheme is under the CPF. For our CPF, we generally have 3 main accounts:

1. Ordinary Account (OA)
2. Special Account (SA)
3. Medisave Account (MA)

Medisave account falls under part of the 3 main accounts in CPF. Every month, a portion of our salary going into the 3 accounts with Medisave being one of them. Our employer contributes additional to our Medisave account also. This is essentially our healthcare savings account which we can use to pay healthcare insurance premiums and also for some healthcare bills.

Medisave Scheme is a national healthcare savings scheme designed to help us pay hospitalisation expenses incurred in Class B2/C wards in restructured hospitals. Medisave savings can also be used to pay for certain outpatient treatments like chemotherapy, radiotherapy and dialysis. You can use Medisave savings to pay for your own or your immediate family members’ hospitalisation expenses, day surgery and selected outpatient treatments.

For the list of claims you can make using your Medisave, you can refer to MOH website here. 

What is Medishield and Medishield Life?

Medishield as its name suggests, is a shield plan which protects us from high hospital bills. The word shield will imply it is a insurance plan. Medishield covers basic hospitalisation bills in class B2 and C wards. Medishield has been enhanced with the new Medishield life which covers us for life. Medishield and Medisave are different. Medisave is our own savings money while Medishield life is an insurance plan. The claim limits and claimable items for Medishield life is as illustrated below:

Credit: https://www.moh.gov.sg/content/moh_web/medishield-life/about-medishield-life/medishield-life-benefits.html

Click image to enlarge

What are Integrated Shield Plans?

As we know from the above, Medishield Life does not cover all of our hospital bills. It is only a basic healthcare safety net. If we want to cover our hospital bills fully, there are ways to do it in Singapore. An integrated shield plan allows us to cover more or fully our hospital bills even for Private hospitals.

An integrated shield plan, in laymen terms, is the private insurance we get from all other private insurers such as AIA, NTUC Income, AXA, Aviva etc. Many of us may already have private insurance but some of us may not fully understand what coverage we are getting?

To understand more on the coverage of the integrated shield plan, let me explain a few simple terms. In an integrated shield plan, there are a few things we should look out for:

1. Is it covered "As charged" or only a percentage of the hospital bills?
2. What is the deductible?
3. What is the co-insurance?
4. Any riders we have?

The above terms may sound complicated but it can be easy to understand in the next 2 mins in this article. Let me explain further. 

As Charged

Covering "As Charged" is an important factor in the integrated shield plan. "As charged" means it will cover any hospital bills as it is charged. This means you can claim 100% of the bill as charged to you. 

Deductible and Co-insurance

Having an integrated shield plan with 'As charged' doesn't mean you can claim your hospital bills fully. In an integrated shield plan, there will always be a deductible and co-insurance portion which we need to take note. 

The deductible is the amount we need to deduct from our the hospital bills before we can make any claims. If the deductible is $3000, this means we have to deduct $3000 from our hospital bills before we can claim the remaining amount. Lets say if our hospital bill is $10,000 and deductible is $3000, the amount we can claim is only $7000 ($10,000-$3000). 

The co-insurance is the amount we have to co-pay before we can make any claims. Similarly to the deductible, we have to deduct this co-insurance portion before we can claim the remaining amount. Co-insurance is mostly in percentage so if our hospital bill is $10,000 and co-insurance is 10%, the amount we can claim is only $9000 ($10,000-$1000). The $1000 is the co-insurance which is 10% of the $10,000 hospital bill.

Riders 

Insurance terms can be confusing and it took me quite awhile to understand it as well. Riders as a word doesn't mean anything if we do not understand it for insurance purposes. To cover our hospital bills 100%, riders are the key to make it happen. As mentioned earlier, an integrated shield plan will always have a deductible and co-insurance portion. This is the portion we have to deduct from our hospital bills before we can claim the remaining amount.

Riders can override the deductible and co-insurance portion. By purchasing riders, we can remove the deductible and co-insurance portion from our plan and claim our hospital bills fully. 

How to know if my integrated shield plan covers my hospital bills fully?

The premiums of an integrated shield plan can be paid by Medisave. However, the premiums for the riders as mentioned above cannot be paid using Medisave. If you're only using Medisave to pay for your integrated shield plan, most likely you will not be able to claim your hospital bills fully. 

If you use both cash and Medisave to pay for your integrated shield plan premiums, then you may be able to claim your hospital bills fully. Check if you have a plan which covers 'As charged' and also riders to override the deductible and co-insurance. If you have all these, chances are you will be able to claim your hospital bills fully. 

Of course, there are always general exclusions in any insurance plans so check your plan properly before you incur any huge bills. Your financial adviser will be able to advise you on what your plan covers exactly and in the event of a claim, he or she will be the one helping you to process.

I hope this article demystifies some complex terms for the healthcare schemes we have in Singapore. Hospital bills can be scary if we're not prepared. If we're prepared, then we will have a peace of mind no matter what happens. Still, it is important to stay healthy and happy in life and prevent any illnesses in the first place.

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Know About Different Kinds of Commercial Insurance

of the fact that what type of business or establishment you have, uncertainties, mishaps and calamities can happen at any time!. Thus, it's important to have proper coverage and policies to ensure the safekeeping and protection of your business. It's also important for you to know that there are different types of business insurance policies and it's important to know, which policy would meet all your needs.

However, there are different types of commercial insurance, which are of great assistance in different conditions. Before you buy a policy cover, it's important to know, which one would meet your needs. Thus, you should seek an expert's assistance. And, it's also advisable that you have an overview about different kinds of policies, which are available in the market. This knowledge will help you make an informed decision.

Worker's compensation insurance: This is one of the most important coverage. It is absolutely essential for any business. It covers the damages and medical expenses of your employees for on-the-job injuries. It ensures that there is no financial disturbance, in case, any employee seeks compensation.

Casualty or liability cover: This policy covers the loss and damages caused by acts of negligence or omissions. In case, the problem goes to the court, then, this policy also covers all the costs of lawsuits. This cover is generally paired with property cover, and is not particularly associated with life or health cover.

Property insurance: This type of cover insures an owned, leased or rented property, including its contents, against damage or loss from fire, theft, vandalism, and other disasters. It is important that you identify the details of your property coverage needs because this type of indemnity can be specific and applied to only one type of risk. It is recommended choosing the exact coverage you require.


Crime insurance: Essentially, the damages and loss of the business against robberies and even employee theft is covered by crime commercial insurance.


The fact is that depending on your need and requirements, it is better to be ready than to risk your business to any fiscal crisis. And, a commercial insurance is a sure back-up plan when business trouble arrives.

Before getting a commercial insurance policy you need to understand the type of commercial insurance policy you require. Never take an insurance policy that is not clear about the terms of coverage. Some companies offer cheap commercial insurance policy by excluding certain important covers. So understand the covers that are offered by the insurance company, and find out the premiums that you are paying to get those covers. Always remember that there are many insurance companies that offer commercial insurance policies to its customers. So try and get the best out the insurance company that you choose. Try and get as many quotes as possible and find out the covers that each of these insurance companies are offering.

Checking online for companies that offer commercial insurance is the easiest and the cheapest means of getting a commercial insurance policy. Many specialised websites send detailed quotes of various companies to your mailbox. After you have received quotes from various insurance companies, compare the premiums charged by the insurance companies. Also compare the covers offered by the insurance companies.

If the insurance company is unwilling to explain the policy details, avoid getting insurance from such companies. There are many fly by night insurance companies that may offer you a cheap insurance quote, but may become difficult to track when you approach them for claims. Therefore get an insurance policy from a credible insurance company even if you have to pay a little extra.

So be smart and get a commercial insurance policy to protect your business, from a reliable insurance company that offers commercial insurance at the right price.

reasons why you need life insurance cover

In life, insurance cover of any type is quite important. This is because it can provide compensation in case of happening of the insured policy. Most important cover is life insurance. Life is something critical and anything can happen to human body within a couple of seconds. Life insurance you have peace of mind. The policy protects the policy holder of all the dangers of life like death, paralyzed and accidents. All this are experienced by everyone at one point in time.

Taking any type of insurance cover, policy holder needs to know all about what the policy covers. In life insurance, the policy holder needs to know how beneficial the cover is to him and the family. Policy holder also needs to know for how long will the policy mature and get compensated. All this must be provided by the insurance company.

Top reasons why you need life insurance cover.

Supplement retirement. After retirement, it might be a difficult moment for people who never saved while working. An annuity which is a policy offered by life insurance companies, allow you to earn stream of income every month as long as you live.

Life insurance makes financial sense. It is considered as a financial asset as all the premiums you pay accumulate for long time. This can help you get loans and credit facilities from banks. Life insurance is safe since even in bankruptcy, creditors will never touch this policy.

It protects those who you love. Life insurance takes care of your loved ones and whole family. It provides them with financial aid for future living costs as your dependents. After all, they have to move on after you are gone and this is a fact.

Death should not mean debt. Life insurance helps dependents with financial responsibilities that are left to them after your death. Debt is a tremendous burden to your loved ones, but all this will be dealt with by taking a life insurance.

Funerals are expensive. In recent times, average burial ceremony cost up to seventy dollars. This is the cost your loved ones will face after you are gone. At an already difficult and emotional time your loved once face, life insurance meets all this requirements without extra hardship or stress. This will reduce stress and emotions your family and relative could have undergone.

You never know. Dying in an accident, natural cause or unexpected illness can happen to you at any time. Taking a life insurance will help your family pay mortgages, bills and other costs after you are gone. This will make life easier for those you left behind.

Peace of mind. Money can never replace a person. But life insurance help to protect uncertainties in future. Taking a life insurance is being prepared for any uncertainty in future. This must be experienced by everyone living. After all death is real and it happens any moment.

Anything can happen. If you develop serious illness like cancer and heart attacks, life insurance provide you with all the requirements from medical care to home requirements. This assist to better your situation since stress will be minimal and you will have peace of mind. Proper medication also will be made possible by the insurance company.

Life insurance is quite important to everyone living. It has more advantages to both policy holder and their families.

INSURANCE AND TYPES

Insurance is a financial instrument utilized as a part of danger administration in which the insured gets financial remuneration for the misfortune and harm of unexpected event(s).Under an insurance get, the insurer consents to repay insured against a predetermined measure of misfortune brought about by determined occasions inside a predefined period gave the premium installments are made. The regularly prescribed types of insurance by financial experts are recorded beneath:

Types of Insurance

Life insurance

An extra security approach pays out a concurred sum known as the whole guaranteed in specific situations. This will be paid to you in the event that you are for all time incapacitated or basically sick, if your arrangement accommodates this, or paid to your domain on the off chance that you are no more around. This cash is proposed to help you meet your financial needs and/or those of your dependents if these occasions happen. Disaster protection has two fundamental types of insurance to be specific entire life and term life. The entire life is a sort of approach you pay until you bite the dust while fundamentally term life is a strategy for which one pays for a specific set time of life.

Medical coverage

A mishap, ailment or inability may abandon you with some financial misfortune. To help you and your family adapt to costs at these circumstances, there are distinctive medical coverage strategies accessible. This incorporates significant therapeutic arrangements, qualified well-being arranges, and disastrous arrangements. Medical coverage ensures significant serenity in times of emergency and secures own well-being and that of one's family.

Health care coverage covers the therapeutic and surgical costs of the insured individual because of hospitalization from an illness. Health insurance frequently incorporates a cashless office at empanelled doctor's facilities, pre, and post hospitalization costs, emergency vehicle charges, everyday money recompense and so forth.

General Insurance

General insurance gives you some financial scope against a scope of occasions or misfortunes which could be endured, for instance, the loss of your effects, or harm to auto or house. On the off chance that the occasion happens, your insurance organization will pay you a concurred sum, or a sum to cover a few or the greater part of the misfortune. The distinctive types of general insurance include:

• Motor vehicle insurance:

Engine insurance covers all harms and risk to a vehicle against different on-street and rough terrain crises. A thorough strategy even secures against harm brought on by characteristic and man-made disasters, including demonstrations of terrorism.

• Home insurance:

Home is regularly the most cherished ownership of an individual and likewise, the biggest financial speculations one makes in life. Shielding the physical structure and substance of home appears like a consistent thing to do. Home insurance ensures the house and/or the substance in it, contingent upon the extent of insurance approach settled on. It secures the home against common cataclysms and man-made fiasco and dangers. Home insurance gives security against dangers and harms from the flame, robbery, burglary, surge, quakes and so forth covering the physical resource (building the structure) and assets (substance) in it.

• Commercial Insurance

Business insurance envelops answers for all divisions of the business emerging bankrupt operations. Insurance answers for the car, flying, development, chemicals, nourishment and refreshments, assembling, oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, power, innovation, telecom, materials, transport and logistics parts. It covers little and medium scale endeavors, expansive organizations and also multinational organizations.

Finding Your Own Suitable Investment Style

Many of us may wonder what is the best way to invest our money? We see and hear many successful investors making tons of money from the stock market and try to follow their footsteps but fail miserably. How is it possible that these investors can be so successful but when we follow their footsteps, we still end up failing? The reason is simply because we did not first find our own suitable investment style. In this article, let's find out how we can find our own investment style so that we too can be successful in investing.

Finding Your Own Suitable Investment Style

There are many ways to invest and each of us have different risk appetite. Investing is partly a psychology game where if we invest beyond the level of risk we are willing to take, it can drive us crazy to make stupid decisions.

In our quest to find a suitable job for our careers, we may see many successful individuals who are in the sales line such as property agents, insurance agents etc. We may think that maybe joining this industry will make us successful too. In the end, many young people join, and many leave also.

Finding a suitable investment style is crucial in our investing journey. To know what is our own suitable investment style, we must first know the different styles of investing.

Trading in the stock market

The first and most common style is trading in the stock market. I wouldn't consider trading as a type of investing but since many people mistake trading as investing, I feel I should mention it in this article.

Trading offers the potential of high returns. Making thousands of dollars per month can be a reality. We even see advertisements where we can use a software to trade successfully then quit our jobs or use only a few hundred dollars and make thousands of dollars. Making money always attracts people to join in just as in investment scams which offers very high returns.

Yes there are successful traders around but they don't just appear out of nowhere. They have experienced failures before and learnt from their mistake. However, what made them successful is not just the skills or the experience they have but its because trading is their style. If you're a low risk taker who cannot sleep at night because of a few thousand dollars portfolio loss, then trading is not for you.


Investing like Warren Buffett

The next common style is to follow the investment philosophy of Warren Buffett, a very successful investor in his time. Many people read about Warren Buffett and are amazed that he can make so much money in investing. They try to learn his methods of calculating intrinsic value, value investing etc.

Yes calculating intrinsic value and learning value investing can help us buy companies at cheaper valuations but investing is all about business. If we blindly follow the financial ratios such as PE, PB or even intrinsic value, it won't really make us successful investors. Warren Buffet himself said that a young person should learn the skills of accounting as this is the language of business. To learn Warren Buffett's style of investing is to understand a business totally so that we can buy good business with potential. If we get bored reading financial statements in an annual report, probably following Warren Buffett's style of investing is not our style of investing


Investing For Income

Investing for income is a popular investment style in Singapore as we have the opportunity to invest in high yielding investment products such as REITS etc. There are REITS listed in Singapore which gives as high as 10% yield. If you're not sure what REITS is all about, read here.

Nevertheless, investing for income is not suitable for everyone too. It can be a slow process of seeing your money grow. If you're not a person who have the patience to slowly accumulate to grow your money, then investing for income may not be your investment style. I've been investing for income for quite sometime now and see the benefits of it as this is my investment style. It is over a period of a few years then I realise that when I patiently accumulate and buy in more while getting the yield, the investment return was much higher and more stable than when I invest using other styles.

Investing for income is not about finding the highest yielding stock which you can get out there. If it was that easy, everyone would be rich. It is about finding the right stock to get the right yield and having the patience to accumulate while getting the income from the stocks.


Investing in Funds/Unit Trusts

Investing in funds or unit trust in another way to grow our money. This style does not require us to read up on individual companies but instead, we invest in a more macro view of industry and sectors. We can also invest base on countries. A fund is made up of many individually companies which represents the industry or sector. We can view the fund performance and decide whether to invest in it.

Another popular option is low cost index funds which is easily accessible to investors now in Singapore. You can read more about index funds here.


What Is your investment style?

After reading on the various different investment styles, what do you think your own investment style is? It took me sometime to finally find my own investment style so be patient, it may require some trial and error to eventually find the right style that suits you.

A tip on finding your investment style is to take making money out of the equation. Once you do not think about making money, are you still passionate to learn the ropes of that investment style? If you are, then that could be your investment style which you're suitable for. Some people prefer to invest by themselves, analysing and researching on companies while some may choose to invest in funds through their financial adviser. Ultimately, investing is for the long term and should not be for any short term gains. I hope this article helps you to understand your investment style better.

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Consider your options when you lose your employer-sponsored insurance

Finding out you are being laid off is stressful, and in addition to that, you have to make important decisions about health insurance that can save you—or cost you—thousands of dollars at a critical time. It’s important to consider all your options when deciding between COBRA or buying your own plan.

What is COBRA? COBRA stands for the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, which is a federal law that allows you and any of your immediate family members to stay on your employer’s health plan under certain circumstances :

• You lose or quit your job 
• You get a divorce 
• The employee dies 
• You are no longer covered as a dependent due to your age

Only employers with 20 or more workers in the previous year are required to offer COBRA coverage. State and local governments fall under COBRA, but the federal government and certain religious organizations do not.

COBRA can be expensive. People who choose COBRA coverage must pay the entire premium, including the portion previously paid by the employer, plus a 2 percent administrative fee. Be warned, if you enroll in COBRA and later on want to switch to a health plan directly to an insurance company or through the Washington Healthplanfinder, you will have to wait until the next open enrollment period if you don’t qualify for a special enrollment.

Options other than COBRA
Before you decide to go with COBRA, find out if you can buy a health plan through the Washington Healthplanfinder and receive a subsidy to help pay your insurance premiums. You can also purchase coverage directly from an insurance company, broker or agent if you don’t qualify for any subsidies.

If you choose a health insurance plan, you likely will be responsible for a full yearly deductible. Generally, health insurance deductibles are not prorated for partial-year enrollees, no matter how few months are left in the plan year. Individual or family qualified health plans operate on a calendar year, from January through December. There is no way to transfer the money you spent toward another plan’s deductible when you switch plans mid-year.

Read more about losing your health insurance on our website. Questions? Contact our consumer advocates online or at 1-800-562-6900.

For COBRA- specific laws and questions, contact:

U.S. Dept. of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration

Seattle District Office

300 Fifth Ave., Ste. 1110

Seattle, WA 98104

206-757-6781

Why Its Difficult To Have Happiness In A World Of Consumerism?

I have to admit, the title of this blog post sounds a little too depressing isn't it? Consumerism again, isn't it telling me not to spend too much money to have happiness? Why is life so hard? The fact is, life isn't hard if we know the cycle that makes us unhappy. As humans, ultimately what we do in life is to achieve happiness but somehow, we may unknowingly create unhappiness in our lives instead. Have you wondered why some people are happier than others? Let me show you how does this happen.

Happiness can be explained in psychology. The Mazlow’s Hierarchy of Needs is a popular pyramid diagram which explains the different levels of needs of a human being. The higher we go up the pyramid, the more our needs are met which makes us happy. Here's what the pyramid looks like:

There are five levels:

1. Physiological
2. Safety
3. Love/Belonging
4. Esteem
5. Self-Actualization

Cut the long story short, my point in showing you this pyramid is because unknowingly, humans are stuck at only level 2 of the pyramid which is safety. It is especially true in a world of consumerism where money doesn't seem to be enough always. In fact, people in poorer countries who have the basic food and shelter are happier than people in rich countries. 

The first 2 levels of the pyramid are easy to understand. In the first level, food, shelter, water, sleep are our basic needs. Without these, we will be struggling to survive in life. As humans progress, we get into the second level which is safety. Here, we have a job and we have additional money to do the things we like. The key here is safety where we don't have to worry much about life's basic needs. We then move on to having a family and friendships, achieving more in life in our careers, getting respect from others which boosts our self esteem then to the highest level of self actualisation where we could focus on personal growth. 

Why are we always unhappy?

The world supports us in achieving happiness. In rich cities, everything is quite convenient. We don't just have basic food but exotic dining experiences with different theme restaurants and fine dining food. We have safety in the form of good working environments where we can get a job easily. We have the opportunity to excel and achieve something in our lives so we can be proud of and gain the respect of others. All seems well doesn't it?

However, people in rich cities are still unhappy. They rarely get pass the third level of the pyramid. The pyramid somehow seems stuck at the second level which cause us lots of unhappiness. How could this happen?

There are a few things in life that cause us to be always stuck at the second level of the pyramid. Until we realise how these things in life have been affecting us, we will not be able to proceed up the pyramid to get the happiness we want. So what are these things?

1. Going for too much convenience

Let's face the reality, all of us are in debt or will be in debt one day. Some of us get into more debt because of consumerism. Let me give you an example. Suppose we just started working and received our first paycheck. This adds happiness in our lives as we now have food and also safety in terms of a job and a paycheck. Life is good and one day, we decided its time to buy a house. We look at the houses available and want a house more than just for a shelter over our heads. Maybe we want a house where there are facilities and a security guard. This gives us more security and happiness right? Then, we feel that taking the public transport is too troublesome so we buy a car. A car boost our self esteem and even staying in a condominium gains more respect from others. Friends and family members see that we are successful and we get more happiness.

Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jbhthescots/5227664185

The story above all goes well until the pyramid gets chip off at the safety portion. Yes we have self esteem and love/belonging but there comes a problem when we worry about not being able to pay the bills and not being able to provide the basic food on the table because of the high amounts of debt we have to pay every month for the house and car. This instantly drops us back to the bottom of the pyramid and we stay unhappy until situation improves. 

2. Making our life more complicated

Basic food and safety is what makes us happy and progress up the pyramid but we stay stuck and do not progress. We make our life more complicated by going for the latest gadgets and get sucked into the world of consumerism where we feel insecure and guilty after making an impulse spending. This takes away the safety we have and makes us stay unhappy until we get out of it.

No matter how much we earn or how we think how stable our job is, we will always feel the insecurity with too much spending. Spending within our means is ok but overspending quickly becomes a habit which makes our life very complicated. 

Spending Money and Still Be Happy

Some people spend money and feel unhappy, but there are also people who spend money and still are happy. Money can buy happiness but don't allow money to take unhappiness away from you. The key is to spend the money which you have and not the money which you don't have. I have been spending more money and I feel absolutely happy as I know my finances are still in place. I don't have to feel insecure because I spend some money which I don't have. 

Happy or Not comes from our thoughts

On a parting note, our thoughts actually create happiness or unhappiness in our lives. It takes courage to think positive in difficult times. When we see people around us living a good life getting promotions and progressing well in life, we may feel sad at our own lives which has not progressed much. A happy person will take this as a motivation to say I will work harder to progress more and take it as a motivation to improve but at the same time grateful for what he has now. A depressed person will feel lousy about himself and think its impossible for him to have a better life. Same situation but different thoughts lead to different emotions. 

I continue to spend more and live my life to the fullest while progressing in life. Ultimately, our goal is to achieve happiness in our lives so every decision we make (financial or not) should lead to happiness not in the short term but in the long term. Are you making happy long term decisions today?

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Learn more about Medicare at free event July 9 in Seattle

Are you new to Medicare? The Office of the Insurance Commissioner’s Statewide Health Insurance Benefits Advisors (SHIBA) will be at the Seattle Central Library from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 9.

You will learn about:
• Medicare parts A, B, C and D
• Your Medicare benefits and options
• How to get help paying for Medicare if you qualify

Find registration and parking information for this event.

Other resources:
• Find out more events on the SHIBA calendar.
• Read more about SHIBA and how it can help you.
• Do you have Medicare questions? Call 1-800-562-6900.