Category Archives: Wellness

Retirement Planning through the Years

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Retirement planning has been at the forefront of my thoughts as of late. As my 30th birthday approaches and I begin to take serious steps to plan for my future, I started doing some research on important information to consider when beginning and continuing savings and retirement plans. Below are some important milestones recently cited in Black Enterprise magazine’s investing section. Kevin Chadwick, Managing Director of Northwestern Mutual in Austin Texas, offered the following advice:

“getting to retirement is no longer the end goal, it’s a turning point onto a new road.  It’s important to know the different milestones of your life and what you can do to keep future goals on track.”

In your 20’s

  • Manage debt
  • Start a 3-month emergency fund
  • Establish a budget (mint.com is a good program designed to help you identify your expenses and create a budget)
  • Invest regularly into a 401(k) (keeping in mind that you should be saving at least 10% of your income)
  • Set money aside for a home purchase and consider life and disability insurance

In your 30’s and 40’s

  • Consider getting life and disability insurance if you’re married or have children
  • Balance college savings for kids vs. retirement
  • Continue building an emergency fund to 6 months
  • Assess long-term care needs

In your 50’s

  • Develop permanent retirement plans
  • Decide when and where you want to retire
  • Determine the maximum retirement contribution amount for your age group
  • Estimate retirement expenses

In your 60’s and beyond

  • Coordinate pension or government benefits with savings to build a retirement paycheck
  • Optimize social security (annuities) (talk with a representative of the social security administration to get full information on eligibility and benefits)
  • Consider paying off mortgage or other outstanding debts

For more information: visit www.blackenterprise.com/money

10 Facts about The Affordable Health Care Act AKA “Obama Care”

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Obamacare
  1. The official name for Obama Care is the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” or ACA
  2. The ACA has 2 Major Goals: (1) to provide more Americans with access to affordable, quality health insurance, and  (2)  to reduce the growth in US healthcare spending.
  3. Private health insurance will not be replaced by the ACA. Medicare or Medicaid will not be replaced either.
  4. Many of the provisions of the ACA have already been enacted! The rest of the program will be implemented between 2014 and 2022.
  5. Over 100 million Americans have already benefited from many of the provisions.
  6. The plan includes provisions that prevent insurance companies from dropping you when you get sick, or if you make an honest mistake on your application.
  7. The plan includes provisions that prevent gender discrimination, regulate bad practices on the part of the for-profit health care industry, and prevents unjustified rate increases or hikes.
  8. Under the ACA, employers must cover people with pre-existing health conditions.
  9. Most Americans will have to obtain health coverage by 2014, get an exemption, or pay a fee. This is called an Individual Mandate.
  10.  Open enrollment will take place from October 1st 2013 until March 31st 2014. People can enroll in their state’s marketplace. You can find your state’s marketplace here http://obamacarefacts.com/state-health-insurance-exchange.php

 

Additional Information and details on the information provided above  can be found at http://obamacarefacts.com. 

Female Genital Mutilation Continues

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I recently came across an article in the International Business Times regarding Female Genital Mutilation that I found to be quite interesting. The UNICEF (United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund) gathered data over the last 20 years to create a comprehensive report on statistics regarding female genital mutilation. Female genital mutilation also known as “FGM/C includes female circumcision or genital cutting, clitoral or labial excision, sutures, cauterization and symbolic piercings and pinpricks”.

The report focused on 29 countries (with the majority being in Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as Egypt, Iraq, and Yemen) where FGM/C is concentrated and continues. There are currently laws against FGM/C in at least 24 of these countries, but surprisingly, the practices still continue. In fact, three of the countries (Somalia, Guinea, and Djibouti) with laws strictly prohibiting FGM/C have the highest rates of practices for women ages 15-49. Statistics from the report also showed that there are 14 countries where at least half of all women are engaged in FGM/C practices.

More interesting than the numbers on modern practices are the approval rates of women and girls in countries where FGM/C practices exist. According to the report, 50 % of women Mali, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Gambia, and Egypt support FGM/C practices while a large percentage of women and girls in 19 of the 29 countries studied believe the practice should end. Discrepancies were noted within the report. Moreover, it is also important to note that serious risks associated with FGM/C practices have been reported and include a range of serious health problems from infection, to infertility, and death.

For more information regarding FGM/C and to view the actual report, visit the UNICEF official website at www.unicefusa.org . You can also visit the Orchid Project’s website at www.orchidproject.org for more information on the history FGM/C practices and other resources.

FMGC

This picture illustrates the concentration of FGM/C practices. Source: www.orchidproject.com

10 Work Rules for Success, Happiness and Progression

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Constance C. R. White, Editor-in-Chief of Essence Magazine, included a letter from the editor about working rules for Black Women in the April 2013 issue. This letter was incredibly interesting to me as a young professional attempting to navigate a pathway to career progression within the field of higher education. I think the letter is relevant to more than just Black Women and can definitely apply to any career field. Within the letter were 10 rules to live by concerning work/careers and maintaining balance within oneself. White offered the following thoughts,

“Even though a job may be essential, it should never be central to your spirit. Never lose who you are because of what you do. Your job does not make you grand and not having a job does not diminish who you are.”

Whether you are deciding what job or career path to follow, making a transition or some other career change, these 10 rules can be used as a guide to help you stay true to yourself and to what you love and truly want to do:

 

  1. Think in terms of having a career you love. What makes your heart sing? What are you doing? Is this a dead-end job or a stepping-stone in your master plan?
  2. Network! Get to know people and reach out to someone who is doing what you want to do or who is where you want to be.
  3. Read the book Who Moved My Cheese: An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life by Spence Johnson
  4. Have a friend in the office. Studies show that people who have a best friend at work enjoy their jobs more and weather job difficulties better.
  5. Learn how to manage your boss! How does she/he like to do things? Who are her/his favorites? What’s important to him/her?
  6. A bad boss is the number one reason people quit or suffer stress-related illnesses. If you an abusive or bullying boss, take action. Do not suffer alone hoping the situation will improve Leave or seek assistance. But see number 7
  7. Don’t assume HR is your friend! HR is there to serve the company. Before you complain, ask for advice from a trusted coworker or mentor who can help you think through various solutions. And see number 8
  8. Document EVERYTHING! It’s helpful for clarity, it provides a handy record of what you are doing well, and it will be key if you are ever discriminated against
  9. Pay yourself first. It’s called saving
  10. Bring your best work. But make sure you nurture yourself by spending time with friends, taking regular vacations, seeking spiritual sustenance and enjoying family.

In short, “work to live; don’t live to work.”

Good Luck and much success!

Big Decisions: 7 Ways to Maximize Your Potential

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Like many people, I have big dreams that I would love to see come to fruition some day. Often times, I internally hinder myself from taking the initiative to put my thoughts into a plan of action that will help me make these dreams come true. This year, I made a promise to myself, to remain positive, motivated, and dedicate myself to taking some risks. For me, some of these risks include implementing some ideas to enhance my finances, personal, and professional development. I recently came across an article by Valorie Burton about 7 decisions that people need to make in order to help them maximize their potential, and make their dreams come true. Below are the 7 decisions and some information about each.

Decision 1: I do not downsize my dreams: In order to be successful and reach your full potential, you must start expecting more. This can come in the way of expecting more from yourself, and actually working to achieve established goals and dreams, or it can come from showing others that they should expect more from you. Whether it is personally, professionally or both, the expectations that we set for ourselves, and those set by others based on what they think we are capable of, have much to do with our success.

Decision 2: I focus on solutions, not problems: Dreaming big comes with some tough challenges. Some of these challenges include more obstacles and roadblocks. Adopting a positive attitude of success, can lead you down the right path to your vision and ultimately making your dreams come true.

Decision 3: I choose to be authentic: Know yourself. Figure out what your qualities and challenges are, and work towards honing your qualities and strengths. Do not dwell on the challenges or difficulties, especially if they cannot be fixed. Weakness fixing can lead you down a path of continued negativity and can ultimately waste time. The only person you can truly be is yourself, so be comfortable in who you are.

Decision 4: I choose courage over fear: “Fear is the most common obstacle to achieving true success and happiness”. Though it is inevitable, being able to work through it and move forward will suit you much better in the long run.

Decision 5: I choose relationships wisely and nurture them intentionally: You cannot do everything by yourself. It takes a strong and intelligent person to understand that they need a good network and even better support system to achieve success. Find those people, cultivate those relationships, and let go of anyone that does not believe in your ability and dreams.

Decision 6: I actively seek feedback and use it to grow: Your support system should also be made up of people who are honest with you. When you need feedback, you should be able to go to these people and always be told the truth. This is the best way to continually develop.

Decision 7: I know my purpose and take daily action in the direction of my vision: The best thing you can continually be is consistent. This is the key! Make a plan of action, vision board, or establish short-term and long-term goals. There should also be tangible and intangible ways to measure these goals and to reflect on your successes and failures. This will help you to continue to make progress, mitigate potential weaknesses and issues, and move in the direction of your vision.

*Valorie Burton is an expert and leading consultant in Positive Psychology. For more information visit valorieburton.com

Wellness Recharge

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A new year brings new opportunities for change. In a fast paced world with political struggles, an economy still in need of much repair, violence, social media wars, weather disasters, and recently another flu outbreak, taking care of yourself and overall wellness is becoming increasingly important. One of my goals this year is to take an active stance in increasing and maintaining my overall wellness. That means more attention and intentionality in the way of my finances, career, physical and mental health, , spirituality, and in my personal life.

 

I recently read in article by Gina Roberts-Grey that included some great advice and tips on recharging the mind, body, spirit and maintaining wellness. Below are some of the tips from the article:

 

One of the first steps in recharging yourself, if getting a clear and honest understanding of where you are now. This means taking some time to assess your overall wellness. One way to do this is to create a personal roadmap by doing the following:

 

  • Take four sheets of paper and label them with the following: “Relationship”, “Health and Wellness”, “Business and Finances”, and “Spirituality and Faith”. Make two lists for each of these categories. One list should contain things about that area that you do not love or things that need to change. From that list circle the first two things that you want to being making improvements on. It can be the two things that are most important to you. Then on the other list write down the steps that you need to take to help you achieve those goals.
  • Find an accountability partner that you can trust to keep you on track. Share your roadmap with them and establish a system of accountability. Be sure that they know that no matter what, they are to help hold you accountable!
  • Set short-term goals and checkpoints of the course of a quarter. Be very specific and realistic about these and be sure to inform your accountability partner.
  • Remember that each time you accomplish one of your short-term goals or successfully pass through a checkpoint. CELEBRATE! It is ok to boast about your success. This will motivate you to continue.

 

Personally, I have decided to use the next week to create my road map and find an accountability partner. Then I will begin on my journey to wellness!

 

Source: Essence Magazine, January 2013.