Daily Living - Coping with a Broken Right Arm

I wrote a blog post back in June 2010 on this topic. This week I met a friend - Anne Sowden from Here's Looking at You - who has suffered a similar incapacitation. Her suggestions are below and my original Blog Post follows hers.

General Comments from both of us:
Don’t go to hospital/fracture clinic appointments alone. Take a relative or good friend who can ask the right questions and intervene on your behalf, if necessary. Even the most intelligent of us need that kind of help when we’ve suffered a major injury. This advice also applies for medical issues.

Comments from Anne:
I broke my right wrist while on a secret mission and had a plaster and fiberglass cast on my arm from my knuckles over my elbow for four weeks. Like Heather, I learned a number of coping mechanisms that I’d like to share:

Personal Hygiene:
If you don’t want to get an electric toothbrush, get an “End Tuft” brush. The small bristles on the end make it easier to brush, especially those hard to reach places. You also don’t end up with as much toothpaste all over the place.

Flossing is impossible with one hand, so get yourself an Access Flosser. It’s like a toothbrush with a U shaped head containing floss.. All you have to do is work the floss between your teeth. And, it’s easy to replace the floss with one hand. In addition or as an alternative, chew gum.

With a huge cast over my elbow, I discovered baths were easier than showers. I didn’t have to worry about keeping my balance and a long soak in bubble bath before bed was relaxing.

Fingernails grow a lot in four weeks so I became a “regular” at my local nail bar—a habit that still continues even though my cast is off.

What to wear:
I totally agree with Heather about shoes. High heels are impossible with a cast. My go to shoes were rubber soled flats with Velcro on the straps.

Long sleeves were a challenge but fortunately winter weather was delayed and I was able to go outside wearing one of my husband’s sweaters. Yes, it was big and bulky but I’m told the colour looked amazing on me! The trick to putting on a sweater or jacket is to get the sleeve over your cast first. However, consider cardigans rather than pullovers and definitely sit while dressing.

Eating:
I was lucky that I had someone to cook and wash dishes. However, we learned that I made less of a mess while eating if my food was served in a bowl or deep sided pasta dish, except for soup. That was definitely best eaten from a mug.

While I could stab food with a fork, my favourite and most effective utensil was a spoon.

Anne Sowden, AICI CIP
Here's Looking at You
P: 416-429-8028
www.hereslookingatyou.ca

Original Post from Heather:
Back in June 2010, I was having wild and passionate sex and swinging from a chandelier. No one told me you had to reinforce the chandelier first ... and the next thing I knew, I had a displaced fracture of my right humerus. If you prefer version 2, I was out walking and tripped, lost my balance and fell off the sidewalk and broke my upper right arm – so that it was in two pieces.

This started the process of not having any use of my right arm for almost three months. I was lucky and didn’t need surgery, for all but 3 weeks got to wear a plastic (Sarmiento) cast as opposed to an “old fashioned” plaster cast. However, my arm was held to my side with a strap and held in place with a sling that I was not allowed to remove (24 hours a day).

There were loads of coping mechanisms that I learned – and here some of them are. Please feel to pass them on to anyone you know who might find them useful.

PERSONAL HYGIENE:
• Did you ever try to brush your teeth with your left hand? It was humorous. An electric toothbrush came to the rescue!
• With only one functioning arm – I discovered the easiest way to put on powder was with a powder puff.
• To wash myself, I switched to liquid soap and a face cloth from the bar soap I had used before. (I didn’t drop the soap and I didn’t have to chase the bar soap.)

DRESSING:
• For the first three weeks, I needed to wear my top over the plaster cast – off to Value Village to buy some extra large men’s shirts with buttons up the front. Once the cast was changed, I could put my arm through the sleeves, but still needed a men’s shirt to fit over the cast – and the buttons as I couldn’t put anything over my head. Fortunately it was summer and short sleeves were fine – and I didn’t need a sweater or jacket.
• Pants – I couldn’t do up the zippers on my pants – so I needed pants with elastic waists. I went one step further and bought scrub pants as they have loads of pockets and therefore I didn’t need to carry a purse.
• Shoes – I converted to rubber soled loafers. My balance was off, so the flat shoes were essential and the loafers were easier to put on one armed.

Men – you can skip the next point:
• As for bras – if you can get away braless or with a sports bra – that would be my recommendation. You can also try bras that fasten in the front. I went with a size larger and assistance to put them on.

FOOD PREPARATION:
• I converted to preparing foods that only required heating with a microwave and that didn’t require much cutting. I also purchased shelf liner to put under my plate to prevent it from sliding around. I used a pizza cutter instead of a knife as I could do it one armed.
• My left arm was not strong enough to pour from containers larger than one litre – so I had someone pour liquid into single serving containers.
• When it came to washing dishes – I bought a smaller container of cleaner and used a protector in the bottom of the sink so that I could wash one handed.

SUMMARY
Now that it’s almost a year post injury and I’m able to do almost everything I could do before the accident, my main suggestion to everyone is to do all of the exercises recommended and find a good physiotherapist. I’ve spoken to a number of people who had much less serious injuries and lost a lot more mobility than I did. So - persevere with your exercises. If you have any additional suggestions – please let me know and I’ll pass them on.

Heather Freed
Insure Your Freedom
416-806-5478
www.freed.ca

More Year End Tax Tips

Giving gives back!
Your donations to CRA registered charities generate a 15% – 29% tax saving. Make sure to ask for an official receipt as you will not be refunded without it.

Public Transit pays off!
If you use public transit to get around, you and any eligible dependents that you have may be entitled to a 15% non-refundable tax credit. Environmentally friendly AND financially rewarding, public transport is taking you places!

Keep your receipts
No need to send your receipts when you NETFILE your tax return, although the CRA may send you a request later for:
• Medical expenses
• Charitable donations
• Child care expenses
• Spouse or child support payments
• Moving expenses
Use a big envelope or shoe box as your "official tax slip holder" and keep all tax related information there.

Save for retirement and save on your taxes!
If you invested in your RRSPs in 2011, your contributions are exempt from taxation as long as they stay in the plan. Invest early in the year to gain tax free interest on your investment and make your money work for you.

Important tax dates for tax season 2011
• Feb 13, 2012 – NETFILE Services are open
• Feb 29, 2012 - RRSP Deadline
• April 30, 2012 – Tax Filing Deadline
• June 15, 2012 – Self Employed Tax Filing Deadline
• September 30, 2012 – NETFILE services close for tax season 2011

Additional CPP Changes effective January 1, 2012

Several changes are taking effect on January 1, 2012 that may affect you. You will not be affected by these changes if you started receiving a CPP retirement pension before December 31, 2010, and you remain out of the work force.

If you are between 60 and 65, receiving CPP and still working, you and your employer now must contribute to CPP. The additional contributions will count towards a Post Retirement Benefit (PRB).

If you are between 65 and 70, receiving CPP and still working, you and your employer now have the option to contribute to CPP. The additional contributions will count towards a Post Retirement Benefit (PRB).

If you are between 60 and 70 and not yet collecting CPP, the adjustment factor that will be used will change. For those taking the benefit before December 31, 20110 the adjustment was 0.5% per month above or below age 65. This percentage will gradually increase to 0.7% per month for those taking late retirement and 0.6% for those taking early CPP . These changes will take full effect by 2016.

In addition, the number of years with zero earnings that are automatically dropped from the calculation of the CPP pension will increase.

Starting in 2012, contributors no longer have to stop working or significantly reduce earnings for two consecutive months to receive the CPP retirement pension before the age of 65. This will make it easier for Canadians to make a gradual transition to retirement.

For more information, you can check the Service Canada web site or give me a call.

Service Canada has a retirement calculator on their web site to assist you in calculating your benefit.

2011 Tax Planning Tips

Tip 1 - Tax loss selling
The deadline for selling securities this year is December 23, 2011 if you need a tax loss to offset a capital gains realized earlier in 2011. Be mindful of the "superficial loss" rule when you sell an investment to realize the loss. If you buy the investment back within 30 days, the CRA can deny the loss and add it back to the adjusted cost base of the repurchased security.


Tip 2 - RRSPs / RRIFs / Annuities
Have you turned 71 in 2011? If so, you must convert your RRSP to a RRIF or an annuity before December 31, 2011. In addition, any final RRSP contribution must be done by December 31, 2011 as well. Talk to me, if you want to make an over contribution to your RRSP for this tax year.


TIP 3 - RESPs
If you have a child or grandchild who turned 15 in 2011, December 31, 2011 is the last chance to contribute to their RESP (if they do not have one already) and be able to collect the Canadian Education Savings Grant (CESG). The child must have a minimum of $2000 in their RESP by the end of the year they turn 15 in order to collect the government grants.

If you child is over 10 and you have unused RESP contribution room, consider making a contribution in 2011 to collect the CESG.


Tip 4 - Investment expenses and deductible interest
To deduct these expenses in 2011, they must actually be paid by December 31, 2011.

For more tax tips or clarification on these, give me a call.

Canadian Debt Levels

The average Canadian had $1.49 of debt for every $1.00 they earned in the second quarter of 2011. (This debt includes mortgage and consumer loans.) Are you one of the many spending more than they earn? If so here are a couple of steps you should take to evaluate your spending / savings patterns.

The first step is to track your spending for a month – and yes, that includes all of the items that you buy with your spare change (such as coffee). Until you know what you spend your money on – it’s impossible to change your spending patterns. If you would like a template to track your money, let me know and I can send you one by email or snail mail.

Once you know what you’re spending your money on, you need to analyze your spending habits. Do you really need two Grande Starbucks Lattes every day?
You need to start paying down high interest debt. Start with your credit cards and take the money you’re no longer spending each month on frills and put that extra into your payments.

After each pay check – you need to arrange for a certain percent / amount to go directly into a savings vehicle – whether that’s an RESP, RRSP, TFSA or a Savings Account will vary depending on your financial plan. This is what your parents told you to do when you got your first job and it makes as much sense today as it did then.

Do you need help with any of these steps – give me a call and we can arrange to get together.

Keep on top of your money

Back in May 2009, I came up with a "Tweet" of a Financial Plan - Control debt. Review insurance to protect lifestyle. Monitor spending. Save. Be tax smart. Develop & audit plan. Update will. Review planRecently, I saw an article in the Toronto Star - Improve your finances in just 30 minutes.

Both can be summarized the same way - be organized, have a system in place and stick with it. We'd all like life to be easy and not have to think about money and the "what ifs", but unfortunately, that's not reality. So the real question is how do you take care of your finances for both the planned and unplanned expenses in life without the planning getting out of control.

The system I recommend is to set aside some time every week or month to do these tasks. When you receive your mail, put all of the financial related items into an envelope or file folder. Similarly, take all the receipts out of your pockets and wallet and put them into the envelope as well.

Sit down regularly to go through this package and to ensure:
· There are no mistakes / unexplained charges on any of your bills
· Have a file folder for receipts you need to keep - items you'll declare as expenses on your taxes, warranty items, bills for repairs, etc.
· Once you've matched receipts to your bills for items like groceries, discard them

I use software to keep track of my expenses. I download my statements directly from my financial institutions and categorize everything. This way, at tax time, I can run a report and have summary numbers for all of my expenses.

At the same time as you are reviewing your statements, pay your bills. Most on-line banking systems let you date a payment for the future. If you pay by check, write it out and have it ready for when you want to send it out.

At the same time, set up a monthly rotation to review ongoing expenses such as your home and car insurance, life insurance, saving plans (RRSP, RESP, TFSA, etc), budget, etc.

Using a system ensures that you use a minimum amount of time for these tasks, and that you don't have to worry again.

Making a claim on your insurance

This summer I have assisted several clients making an insurance claim. Like everything else in life, they seem to come in batches. While none were happy to be making a claim, they were all pleased to receive the insurance proceeds.

Life insurance claims are straight forward – the insurance company needs a death certificate and a claim form. The money in most cases is paid out in less than a month from when you notify me. In both cases this summer (even with a mail strike), I managed to deliver the checks to the beneficiaries in about 2 weeks.

Disability claims require more time and more paperwork. The client I am working with is an employee at one of the groups I insure. I was called as soon as he was off work. The employer and employee have completed their paperwork; we’re just waiting for the doctor to submit theirs.

Do you have long term disability coverage? If you’re an employee – look at your pay stub. If you show an amount deducted beside LTD – you have Long Term Disability coverage that probably starts if you’re off work for 17 weeks. If you have an amount listed besides WI (weekly Indemnity) or STD (Short Term Disability), then you have Short Term Disability as well. As opposed to health and dental benefits, disability only protects your income and not that of your spouse.

You should review your coverage whenever there’s a change in your life. Whether you require Life Insurance to protect your family, Critical Illness Insurance to receive a lump sum payment should you get a life threatening or life altering disease or Disability Insurance to pay you monthly while you are unable to work or a combination depends on your specific situation.

Give me a call. I’d be pleased to walk you through the calculations to determine how much insurance you need and what type meets your specific need.