Melody Avecilla

Vital documents: What you need and where to store them

Sunday, 15 November 2009 19:51 Melody Avecilla

IF YOU needed the deed to your home, title to your car or passport, could you quickly locate it?

We all know it’s important to organize personal documents. Knowing where certain documents are can be crucial in case of a family emergency or natural disaster. Equally important is where those documents are stored. It’s also important that other family members or a person you trust knows where your documents can be found.

Emergency – are you prepared?

Sunday, 08 November 2009 21:37 Melody Avecilla

EVERY year we face possible disasters – wildfires, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes and winter storms. If a disaster strikes your home, are you and your family prepared? Do you know where important documents, medications, and essential supplies are in case you have to evacuate? Do you and your family know how you would get out of your house, what you would do with your pets, where you meet each other if you get separated? Do you have a single point of contact you can call to let others know you’re safe?

If not, now is the time to prepare. Don’t wait until faced with a disaster to begin thinking about emergency preparations.

Earthquake preparedness tips

Monday, 26 October 2009 19:42 Melody Avecilla

LIVING in California, means living with earthquakes. They can happen at any time. Are you and your family prepared? If not, you may want to familiarize yourself with these earthquake safety tips.

The best protection during an earthquake is to get under heavy furniture such as a desk, table or bench. The greatest danger exists directly outside buildings, at exits and alongside exterior walls. Fatalities often happen when people run outside of buildings and get hit by falling debris from collapsing walls. Ground movement during an earthquake is seldom the direct cause of death or injury. Most earthquake-related casualties result from collapsing walls, flying glass and falling objects.

Are your final expenses covered?

Sunday, 18 October 2009 19:57 Melody Avecilla

ARE you worried about how your loved ones will pay the expenses incurred at the time of your death? While death is an inevitable part of life, financial questions associated with final medical bills, funeral expenses and estate settlements should not be.

According to a 2001 General Price List survey of the National Funeral Directors Association, the average cost for final expenses is $9,000. Preparing for those costs today could prevent family members from dealing with a financial burden in addition to coping with the loss of a loved one.

When bumpers meet antler

Monday, 12 October 2009 19:15 Melody Avecilla

WHEN people get ready to walk across a public road, they usually look both ways first to see if any motor vehicles are coming. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case with animals, including certain large ones.

Too often, the result is a motorist’s nightmare: a collision with a deer, moose or elk. The animal usually comes out second-best in this type of close encounter, but the toll on vehicles and their occupants can also be substantial.

Is CD laddering right for you?

Sunday, 04 October 2009 23:22 Melody Avecilla

WITH the recent volatility in the stock market, I often speak with people who are hesitant to put their entire nest egg into the market. Additionally, with the economy creating tight times for families, it’s often necessary to make sure funds are available if and when we need them. For those investors who are either reluctant to jump head first into the market or those who may have a need for cash, the strategy of laddering Certificates of Deposit (CDs) may be appropriate.

Of charmed lives

Tuesday, 29 September 2009 23:18 Monette Adeva Maglaya

"Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of York." - William Shakespeare

HAVE you ever gone through a "winter of discontent" and wondered quietly if you could trade your life for someone else’s?

If you have, don’t flog yourself silly. You don’t even have to admit it to anyone else but yourself. It’s nothing more than a normal rite of passage that allows us to imagine what it would be like if we had someone else’s luck, genetic make-up, breaks, talent, connections, relations, education, intelligence, looks, skin color, pedigree and other x factors that are supposed to tip the scale in our favor and make us happy and fulfilled. In short, these refer to those things that allow us to live a charmed life and drive our fellow men mad with envy.

Of Charmed Lives

Thursday, 24 September 2009 00:09 Monette Adeva Maglaya

"Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of York." — William Shakespeare

Have you ever gone through a "winter of discontent" and wondered quietly if you could trade your life for someone else’s?

Perception is not reality

Sunday, 20 September 2009 22:23 Melody Avecilla

WHEN it comes to American families and financial planning, perception is not reality. Although they are overwhelmingly optimistic about their financial future, their financial planning habits paint quite a different picture, according to a recent study commissioned by State Farm Life Insurance Companies and conducted by KRC Research.

The study reports that although 82 percent of Americans are optimistic about their financial futures, American families in reality are not adequately saving or protecting their finances. From saving habits and financial goals to life insurance coverage and retirement saving tools, American families have room to grow when it comes to protecting their financial futures. Americans cannot just "hope for the best"; they must take a critical look at where they are financially and lay out a clear roadmap that guides them to their hopes and dreams.