A number of years ago the company I worked for had a client that was a Women's Health Clinic. They received a grant from the Gates Foundation to provide free IUDs to women.
The impact on the entire community was significant. Unwanted pregnancy in the community decreased. As a result, the number of women using the WIC program (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children) decreased so dramatically it came to the attention of the US Dept. of Agriculture.I continue to support the Clinic's good work to this day.
Like HS - we thought long and hard after the Marshall fire. My retired Insurance Claims Manager husband began reviewing our insurance coverage and options to make sure we are up to date on our coverage. Lo and behold, getting appropriate coverage was not even a possibility. The recent correction the market made in housing values was not recognized by the insurance companies. So a home previously valued at $500,000. is now worth $700,000. and all insurance companies were unwilling to insure for more than $400,000. Now, my husband, the insurance guy, took care of this. (I let the professional deal with it.) And I don't presume to understand all the details. But we paid extra for coverage to make sure that in case of a catastrophe we would financially be in the same place as before the event.
My uncle visited with his C-PAP machine many years ago. He told me that his Dr. diagnosed sleep apnea and explained that it was a life threatening issue. Uncle laughed and said that he had never seen sleep apnea as a cause of death in an obituary. Dr. responded - they refer to it as "he died peacefully in his sleep". I followed Uncle's example and had a sleep study. Have now been using a C-PAP for over 15 years. Not easy at first, but now we go everywhere together. I have explained to my grandchildren that it is my "snuffleupagus" machine to assure them it is truly a good thing.
Our son purchased a modest house in 2007 using a small inheritance from his grandfather as down payment. This allowed him to avoid the mortgage insurance cost - did you have mortgage insurance on your first house? My brief google indicates that it was introduced in the 70's. Not a necessity, a requirement. In 2007 our daughter had the same inheritance. Then 2008. Necessity? Our son's home recently required massive repair work - sewer destroyed by roots, etc. In the process it was determined that he will also need expensive remediation for radon gas. Did we even know about radon gas and the health issues that exposure caused back in the 60's and 70's? So is this a necessity . . . or a requirement? His youngest just turned 16. When I turned 15.5 I took Driver's Ed as an elective in my public high school. At 16 I took a test and started driving the family car whenever I could get the keys. Not so today. We have learned so much about how young minds work and how to protect ourselves while on the road, etc. State laws have multiplied to respond to this knowledge and the cost of complying with those laws is huge. It will cost him thousands of $s to get yet another child in the driver's seat. One more small step to responsibly launching a human into the world. Necessity or requirement? If only he had two incomes, but he is a single father of two now. Single fathers were not very common when we were starting out. Necessity. The world has changed. But one thing that hasn't changed is that there are still people who work hard, and do the best they can.
My condolences on the death of your mother in law. May her memory be a blessing to you and your family.
Your post is so valuable, I will be adding "final arrangements" to my list.
Thank you
Thank you for Humble Dollar, and especially for these articles regarding your cancer diagnosis. I have begun working on a "digital estate" for my family. All other estate details were taken care of many years ago (upon retirement). I credit you with the nudge
Comments
A number of years ago the company I worked for had a client that was a Women's Health Clinic. They received a grant from the Gates Foundation to provide free IUDs to women. The impact on the entire community was significant. Unwanted pregnancy in the community decreased. As a result, the number of women using the WIC program (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children) decreased so dramatically it came to the attention of the US Dept. of Agriculture. I continue to support the Clinic's good work to this day.
Post: Does Charitable Giving Make Things Better?
Link to comment from January 28, 2025
Like HS - we thought long and hard after the Marshall fire. My retired Insurance Claims Manager husband began reviewing our insurance coverage and options to make sure we are up to date on our coverage. Lo and behold, getting appropriate coverage was not even a possibility. The recent correction the market made in housing values was not recognized by the insurance companies. So a home previously valued at $500,000. is now worth $700,000. and all insurance companies were unwilling to insure for more than $400,000. Now, my husband, the insurance guy, took care of this. (I let the professional deal with it.) And I don't presume to understand all the details. But we paid extra for coverage to make sure that in case of a catastrophe we would financially be in the same place as before the event.
Post: Would You Rebuild?
Link to comment from January 12, 2025
My uncle visited with his C-PAP machine many years ago. He told me that his Dr. diagnosed sleep apnea and explained that it was a life threatening issue. Uncle laughed and said that he had never seen sleep apnea as a cause of death in an obituary. Dr. responded - they refer to it as "he died peacefully in his sleep". I followed Uncle's example and had a sleep study. Have now been using a C-PAP for over 15 years. Not easy at first, but now we go everywhere together. I have explained to my grandchildren that it is my "snuffleupagus" machine to assure them it is truly a good thing.
Post: Sleep Disorder
Link to comment from October 18, 2024
Our son purchased a modest house in 2007 using a small inheritance from his grandfather as down payment. This allowed him to avoid the mortgage insurance cost - did you have mortgage insurance on your first house? My brief google indicates that it was introduced in the 70's. Not a necessity, a requirement. In 2007 our daughter had the same inheritance. Then 2008. Necessity? Our son's home recently required massive repair work - sewer destroyed by roots, etc. In the process it was determined that he will also need expensive remediation for radon gas. Did we even know about radon gas and the health issues that exposure caused back in the 60's and 70's? So is this a necessity . . . or a requirement? His youngest just turned 16. When I turned 15.5 I took Driver's Ed as an elective in my public high school. At 16 I took a test and started driving the family car whenever I could get the keys. Not so today. We have learned so much about how young minds work and how to protect ourselves while on the road, etc. State laws have multiplied to respond to this knowledge and the cost of complying with those laws is huge. It will cost him thousands of $s to get yet another child in the driver's seat. One more small step to responsibly launching a human into the world. Necessity or requirement? If only he had two incomes, but he is a single father of two now. Single fathers were not very common when we were starting out. Necessity. The world has changed. But one thing that hasn't changed is that there are still people who work hard, and do the best they can.
Post: How did it all work for us? Why not now?
Link to comment from September 26, 2024
My condolences on the death of your mother in law. May her memory be a blessing to you and your family. Your post is so valuable, I will be adding "final arrangements" to my list. Thank you
Post: Final Arrangements, a Learning Curve (from Dana/DrLefty)
Link to comment from August 19, 2024
Thank you for Humble Dollar, and especially for these articles regarding your cancer diagnosis. I have begun working on a "digital estate" for my family. All other estate details were taken care of many years ago (upon retirement). I credit you with the nudge
Post: On the Clock
Link to comment from August 17, 2024