When does frugality become a financial threat? Here are five warning signs that it has gone way overboard and is doing more harm than good.

READ: Four Red Flags that Lead to Bad Financial Decisions

1. Always buying items on sale

Do you think you’re always getting the best deals when you buy during sale season? Think again.

Snagging an item for half the price can be a good thing if you need it to begin with. However, deciding to buy just because of the offered price deduction or just because you have a discount coupon can be financially harmful.  Regardless if you bought an item for 80 percent less than the original price, it’s still not a wise move if there’s no need for it in the first place.

Making smart buying decisions should be grounded on your needs, wants, and how much you have allotted for each type of purchase. Buying an item on sale should only be considered a bonus, not the main priority.

2. Spending so much time on being frugal

If you spend hours clipping coupons or adjusting your budget to “cut down”, you are taking frugality to the extreme. If you’re so obsessed with finding ways on doing every single thing on the cheap or looking for ways to get stuff for free, you are actually wasting time that you can allot for other important things such as working or spending time with your loved ones.

Spending too much time on trying to be thrifty may cause you to spend more, too. For instance, you chose to do home repairs on your own rather than hire a professional in order to save money. So you went to the hardware store and gather the tools you need.

However, you realized that it’s a failed attempt and the outcome didn’t turn out the way it’s supposed to. Eventually, you ended up hiring someone to do the job.  So apart from wasting hours on your DIY project, you also lost dollars on tools that you should never have brought had you decided to hire a professional from the beginning.

Your time is worth so much more than you think. So don’t devote too much of it doing something that can be financially harmful in the long run.

3. Taking your health for granted

Another sign that frugality has gone overboard is when you choose to forego a doctor’s visit because you’re avoiding the fees and the expenses that come along with it.

It can be tempting to skip a doctor’s check-up because you have a high deductible. However, it’s wrong to think that this is a good strategy to boost your savings. Remember, spotting a condition and treating it on the on-set is way better than finding out about it when it’s already in an advanced state.

Quality of life is not only measured by how much money you have, but also by how much you’re enjoying life—and you can’t do that fully if you are in a sickbed. So invest in your health and make sure that you do the necessary steps to stay in good shape. Don’t hesitate to spend dollars on doctor’s visit and treatment.

4. Purchasing too little insurance coverage

Experts always warn about buying too much insurance coverage that you don’t need. However, purchasing too little insurance coverage can also have its drawbacks and may result to huge out-of-pocket payments in the future.

Let’s say you’re looking at purchasing long-term care insurance and you saw that inflation protection increases the cost of your policy. Since you’re in a budget, you decide to drop this feature in order to reduce your premiums. However, this move may not work in your best interest, especially if you’re still young and years away from making a claim.

Inflation protection keeps your insurance benefits leveled with the changes in the cost of care services. This means what this feature grows your insurance benefits so that they will stay sufficient to cover your care expenses even if cost of care increases over the years.

Shopping around is essential when purchasing insurance policies as this allows you to look at different offers and rates available in the market. As you go through this process, keep in mind that the policy with the cheapest price is not necessarily the best. Ultimately, deciding on the right amount of insurance coverage to purchase is about knowing your needs, what risks you want to cover, and how much of your assets you want to protect.

READ: 6 Must-Have Insurance Policies

5. Feeling bad about enjoying life

Money should not only be spent on needs, it should also be spent on things and activities that you want. If you feel bad about spending on an occasional treat for yourself or enriching activities such as travelling or vacation tours, then you are being too frugal.

Don’t miss out on life’s beautiful experiences. Spend a few hundred dollars, go out there and see the other parts of the world. Travel to see family and friends or attend a loved one’s milestone such as a wedding or graduation.

Make sure that you allot money for enjoyment in your budget. Being frugal is not about depriving yourself of life’s pleasures. It’s about having control over how you spend your money.

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The post Five Warning Signs that You’re Being Too Frugal appeared first on Long Term Care Primer.

RELATED: 6 Insurance Policies that are Necessary to Have

If you’re looking into including long-term care insurance in your financial plan, here are nine tips to help you as you shop around and make smart decisions during the whole purchasing process.

1. Determine your needs.

It’s essential to know what your needs are so that you know how much coverage is ideal for you. Yes, you may not know exactly what will happen in the future, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t have a foresight of what your probable needs would be.

Look into you health, your family’s health background, and current lifestyle. See if you have any risk factors to situations that may warrant long-term care in the future.

Also, think about how much of your assets you want to protect. Do you want to leave something for your family? Are you planning to use the insurance policy to pay for all of your care-related needs or are you going to use it as a supplemental tool for a fund that you have designated specifically for long-term care?

2. Take your time when shopping around.

Two different insurance companies can have a price difference of 60 to 90 percent for virtually the same policy. If you don’t take time in comparison shopping, you may miss out on crucial details like this. That’s why it pays to allot a considerable amount of time comparing offers from different insurers.

Today, you can easily see what companies offer with just a few clicks. You can do so by requesting long-term care insurance quotes online. This is a good way to narrow down your choices because quotes sent to you are based on your own information.

3. Do your homework.

Insurance language can be hard to understand, so it’s best to be familiar with certain terminologies surrounding long-term care insurance. Also, you can ask help from a professional to explain the terms to you in a language that you can easily grasp. Just make sure that this individual is impartial and is not driven by earning a commission.

4. Buy early.

Age is a determinant of how much your premiums will be. The younger you are when you apply, the lower the rate will be. That’s why experts always encourage people to by long-term care insurance early, ideally between the ages of 50 and 60.

5. Consider your health.

You may have the money to pay for a policy, but are you healthy enough to qualify? You need to understand that insurers look at your health upon application.

If you are in great shape, your chances of qualifying are higher. Plus, you may be entitled for a health discount just for doing so. This price advantage is usually locked-in, meaning you will still be eligible for it regardless if you develop health conditions along the way.

Meanwhile, if you have pre-existing conditions, you may or may not be qualified. If you do, your premiums would be higher and the policy may not cover expenses that are triggered by these conditions. In some cases, you may not qualify at all.

6. Buy as a couple.

Insurers offer discounts to couples that are married or living together. If you apply with your partner, you can be eligible for up to 30 percent discount. In case only one of you qualifies, the insurance company may still give a partial discount.

7.Couples, consider pooling your benefits.

Long-term care insurance shared care feature is ideal for couples who both have policies. With this rider, both spouses’ individual benefits will be pooled together and will be accessible to the both of them.

Let’s say both you and your spouse have a 5-year policy with $100,000 maximum benefit. When you have the shared care feature, both of you will have access to 10 years worth of benefits amounting to $200,000.

That means that if you need more coverage than what your individual policy has, you can easily tap your spouse’s benefits. This saves time and money for applying for a new policy or prevents you from paying straight from your pocket.

8. Consider inflation protection

Inflation protection keeps your benefits at pace with the changes in the rates of different care services. Because you are most likely to make a claim years from now, it’s best to ensure that you have enough benefits to cover your future care expenses. Inflation protection will help you do exactly that.

The right type of inflation protection is dependent on a lot of factors such as your age and risk tolerance. You can ask a professional to help you calculate the best inflation protection for your situation.

9. Buy from a strong insurance company.

Your long-term care insurance will only be as good as the company who provides it. So make sure that you do business with an insurer who’s financially strong and has a good payments history. You can check an insurer’s performance through ratings provided by independent organizations and your state’s insurance department.

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The post 9 Tips for Buying Long-Term Care Insurance appeared first on Long Term Care Primer.

Some seniors believe that they are too old to exercise and they think that they should just save their energy for something else. However, that is just not true. In fact, older people need to exercise because it can improve their overall well-being and allow them to enjoy a more active lifestyle.

Below are five benefits that exercising gives to older adults.

RELATED: Senior Fitness: What You Need to Know Before Working Out

1. It prevents falls and other injuries.

Statistics show that one out of three 65-year-olds fall each year, and it results to injuries and sometimes, even death. The good news is older people can avoid their risk of falling through exercising. It keeps the bones and muscles strong and improves your flexibility, balance, reach, and agility.

2. It improves your bodily functions.

Because of the years of wear-and-tear, the body has a tendency to be more prone to sickness and disorders when a person grows older. Since that is the case, it’s important to keep your body functioning the way that it’s supposed to. Exercise can help you with that.

Exercising strengthens the immune system, improves the condition of the heart, prevents blood pressure from shooting up, and promotes better digestion. Because exercise improves important bodily functions, it strengthens your body to help avoid chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and osteoporosis.

3. It helps in weight management.

Exercising helps boost your metabolism and allow you to burn more calories. Because of that, it helps you reach or maintain your ideal weight, which is essential to your overall wellness. It also helps avoid obesity, which is a risk factor for many health conditions such as heart disease, bone and joint problems, and diabetes.

RELATED: 4 Ways to Keep your Bones and Joints Healthy

4. It improves sleep.

Having a goodnight’s rest is essential to one’s health. If you don’t get enough shut-eye, you feel less energized and some of your bodily functions may be disrupted.

If you’re having trouble sleeping and if it’s affecting your day to day activities, exercising may improve your condition. One study shows that exercise can help people get better quality of sleep and improves your alertness during the day.

5. It keeps the brain active.

Exercising keeps your brain active and helps with performing its regular function. As a result, you are lowering your chances of experiencing memory loss, cognitive decline, and dementia.

Being in great shape is instrumental to fully enjoying retirement. If you plan on making your golden years as fulfilling as possible, look out for your health, stay physically active, and watch how your body will love you back.

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The post Five Benefits of Exercising for Older Adults appeared first on Long Term Care Primer.

Most experts and financial articles would suggest having at least money in this fund that’s equivalent to three to six times your monthly income. However, this is just a rule of thumb. There’s no set standard on how big your emergency fund should be, because the right size will be dependent on your situation and needs.

When sizing your emergency fund, here are factors you need to consider.

READ: New Year’s Resolution: Build an Emergency Fund

Expenses

The purpose of an emergency fund is to provide a financial source you can tap when you face an unexpected event such as unemployment or sickness. That’s why you need to know just how much you need to cover all your expenses in a month.

When you have a budget in place, it would be easier for you to determine how much you need to put in your emergency fund. Go over your budget and sort your expenses. Determine which ones are necessary and which you can put on hold for a while.

Necessary expenses are your monthly bills such as utilities, mortgage, debt payments, groceries, and transportation needs. Expenses that you can do without are those allotted for discretionary spending such as dining out, going to the movies, and shopping. As you create an emergency fund, make sure that you have enough to cover at least your necessary expenses.

Debt

Paying off debt is just as important as saving for the rainy days, and it can be challenging to strike a balance between both.

Experts say that if you have high-interest debts, you should prioritize paying them off first and keep at least $1,000 in your emergency fund. With this amount, you can cover most medical emergencies and other small financial hiccups you may face along the way.

Letting high-interest debt sit around for long may mean more dollars you need to pay in interest. So the best thing is to get rid of them as soon as possible so you could focus more on boosting your savings and building your emergency fund.

Meanwhile, if you only have low-interest debt, it would be safe to have an amount that covers at least two-month’s worth of your living expenses tucked away in your emergency fund. If you have children dependent on you, you can increase its size just to be on the safe side.

Other income sources

Do you have other income sources aside from your job such as allowances, investment income, and earnings from a side job? If so, you need to factor them in as well. Determine how much you can expect from them and how liquid they are.

Even if you have other monetary sources available to you, keep in mind to use them only as supplemental sources in case your emergency fund falls short of your needs. Remember that the goal is to keep your finances intact even during a financial setback, so utilize these sources only if necessary.

Having an emergency fund doesn’t prevent life’s challenges from coming your way, but what is does is keep you financially well during the rainy days. If you don’t have one, start building your emergency fund now with these important factors in mind.

The post How to Determine the Size of Your Emergency Fund appeared first on Long Term Care Primer.

1. Deciding based on emotions

Emotions have the tendency to cloud our judgment. When you let them be the main driving force for a financial decision, you putting yourself at higher risk of making a mistake. Here are some emotions that you should block especially when it comes to money management.

• Anxiety – It causes you to be more conservative and prevents you from taking steps that can boost your savings.
• Jealousy and Embarrassment – These emotions cause the fear of missing out and make you want to keep up with your neighbors. So everyone’s toting around with the latest designer bag, and you feel pressured to fit in so you want to the nearest outlet, blew your paycheck on a purse. Because you blew all that money in a purse, how would you cover your expenses until the next payday?
• Regret – Ten percent of Americans admit that their biggest mistake is something about money, research shows. When you regret and feel wistful about not saving enough or not starting early, you may feel so defeated and end up putting off saving and financial planning altogether.
• Feeling overwhelmed – Whether you’re just starting out in life and don’t know where to start or someone who’s deep in debt and need some catching up to do in sorting out their finances—it can leave you paralyzed and prevent you from doing the right thing.

When you let these emotions influence how you decide, you are about to make a misstep. Don’t add up to your agony further and set these aside and be objective as you plan to make a purchase or take out a loan.

2. Being influenced by a non-professional

Don’t get us wrong. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t consider financial advice that comes from family members and loved ones. However, you shouldn’t base your decision on their insight alone.

For instance, a friend told you about a an investment he went into and persuaded you to get on board. Because you trust him, you did. However, you eventually lose more than you gained and realized that it’s a too-good-to-be-true deal.

3. Failing to do your research

When making decisions that involve your finances, you need to carefully weigh the pros and cons of making that move. For instance, if you want to purchase long-term care insurance, you need to understand how it works, what influences its cost, and if it’s suitable for your needs. Take time in doing your homework. Remember that the effects of one financial mistake can ripple through the rest of your life.

RELATED: 5 Mistakes to Avoid when Shopping for LTCi

4. Not trusting your instincts

When you’re instincts tells you to go the other way, step back and reconsider your decision. If something in your gut doesn’t seem right, don’t ignore it. You’d rather spend more time recalculating your move, than spend time trying to recuperate from a major loss in the future.

The post Four Red Flags that Lead to Bad Financial Decisions appeared first on Long Term Care Primer.

To help you determine if a hybrid life insurance policy can work for you, here are its pros and cons that you need to consider.

RELATED: 5 Ways to Fund your Long-Term Care Needs

Pros

“What if I never need long-term care?” This is the most common concern that people raise about traditional long-term care insurance. Usually, premiums paid into this policy will not be returned in case the policyholder has remaining benefits or never made a claim.

A hybrid life insurance policy eliminates this common qualm. When you are insured under a combination policy, you have access to long-term care benefits if you need them. In case you never do, the money will still be available to your heirs in the form of death benefits. Obviously, that’s a win-win situation.

With long-term care insurance, the usual case is this: It’s either you use it or lose it. Although not needing long-term care is a good thing, all those premiums paid in a policy that you never used may still feel like a great loss.

Cons

Long-term care coverage from a hybrid life insurance policy may not be as comprehensive as that of traditional long-term care insurance. Its coverage may be only good for a few years, typically between two to four.

If you think that you will need to rely on care services for an extended period of time, a combination product may not work best for your interest and may even cause you to make considerable out-of-pocket payments in the future.

Some people are mistaken that companies that offer combination life insurance with LTC benefits don’t look at an applicant’s health. They do, but their criteria are simplified and less strict as compared to the underwriting done for a traditional policy.

Knowing the best choice

The first thing you need to determine is whether you need life insurance or not. It’s important to note that LTC benefits included in a hybrid policy are not merely incentives. So if life insurance is not suitable for you, a traditional long-term care insurance policy or self-insurance may make more sense for your dollars.

Knowing the best choice will always boil down to your choice. Treading though the different payment options for long-term care can be very challenging. Consider consulting with a professional so that you can make smarter decisions. Go for someone whose expertise includes the different products that can pay for long-term care.

The post Using Life Insurance for LTC: Pros and Cons appeared first on Long Term Care Primer.

Here are the important things you need to consider when choosing where to retire.

1. Affordability

Cost of living varies from state to state, and you need to determine how much money you need for basic lifestyle expenses such as housing, food, utilities, transportation, and taxes. Will it increase or decrease the amount you spend on necessities each month? Either way, you need to make sure that your retirement nest-egg will be enough to cover these needs.

2. Proximity to Loved Ones

Are you opting to spend time often with your family in retirement? If so, consider retirement spots that are within driving distance from them or at the very least, pick a location that’s just a short plane trip away. If you live so far off, you may end up spending huge sums on vacation and transportation expenses just to see them.

Meanwhile, if you’re comfortable with living far from your loved ones, you can explore retirement destinations outside the United States. However, you need to do your homework and know their laws, rules, and regulations for foreign retirees.

3. Safety

No one wants to live in a place where crime is rampant, but finding a crime-free city can be close to impossible. That’s why before you move a new location in retirement, make sure that it is relatively safe for retirees.

Do your research on the crime rate of a particular area you’re eyeing. It’s highly advisable to make a trip to the local police department and talk to them regarding the safety of the neighborhood, especially for retirees like you.

In addition, ask about their protocols in keeping the neighborhood safe. Do they deploy men in strategic places? Are they visible round-the-clock? How were they able to solve crimes committed in their city? Were there any that’s been committed against seniors? If so, were the perpetrators caught?

4. Hobbies, Activities, and Interests

Look into the culture of your desired location and see if it offers avenues that are in-line with your hobbies, interests and activities you want to do. For instance, if you want to indulge in different art forms during retirement, pick a location that’s near to different museums, and theatres.

If you opt to travel often, make sure that you live near an airport that is ideally less than an hour away from your home.

5. Transportation System

Determine the distance between your home and key places such as commercial centers, business districts, and hospitals. Can you walk comfortably to these places from where you live? Do you always need to bring a car whenever you go out?

If you are trying to save, you may consider using public transportation. Apart cost-effectiveness, you also need to consider if it’s reasonable, conducive, and safe for you.

6. Work Opportunities

Do you plan to work in retirement? If so, determine what industry you want to get a job in and find a place where the employment opportunities are high for your desired field. For instance, if you want to use your business expertise to teach college students who are headed in the same direction, consider moving near a university that specializes in business-related courses.

7. Climate

Once you know what to do in retirement, you need to find a location that has a climate fit for your activities. Consider your health as well, because moving to a place with a climate that you’re not accustomed to can affect your overall wellbeing.

8. Health Care and Long-Term Care Costs

When choosing a retirement spot, go for an area that offers quality health care. When you grow older, it’s essential that you have access to it. Yes, you can opt to live a healthy lifestyle well into retirement, but sometimes life happens and you find yourself needing medical attention.

You also need to factor in the cost of long-term care as it varies from state to state. Determine how much care services cost in your location of choice, and see how it will play into your overall financial plan.

RELATED: 5 Ways to Fund your Long-Term Care Needs

When deciding where to retire, don’t simply pick a location on a whim. Carefully consider your options and see how it will influence your financial plan and desired retirement lifestyle.

The post 8 Factors to Consider When Choosing the Best Place to Retire appeared first on Long Term Care Primer.

When planning for long-term care and retirement, one important area you need to strategize on is how you’re going to pay for possible care expenses in the future. There are several options when it comes to paying for long-term care and each has its pros and cons. Let’s explore each of them.

1. Self-insurance

To self insure means to build a pool of money or a separate account for a particular purpose such as long-term care. This approach is simple, practical and appealing because you have an easy access to your money and you will only use it as the need arises. However, your care expenses might exceed what you saved. There’s also the tendency of using this fund for other purposes since the need for long-term care is still far off.

2. Long-Term Care Insurance

Long-term care insurance is a policy that’s specifically designed to pay for care expenses. It can provide coverage for all levels of care provided in the home and facilities. Services that are vital to the overall quality of care such as care coordination and home modifications can also be covered under this policy.

LTC insurance also has protection against inflation. This means its benefits will grow as time passes so that it could remain at pace with the changes in the cost of care.

The cost of long-term care insurance is dependent on the amount of coverage it provides, and this all depends on the policyholder. In other words, you can custom-fit this policy according to your needs and budget.

On the other hand, some are anxious about purchasing this policy because they think that their premiums will be wasted when they don’t need long-term care. However, this is not a disadvantage per se, because you don’t buy insurance hoping that you will face an accident or huge expense just so you can get your money’s worth out of the policy.

If you’re still worried about premiums being unused, you can incorporate a return of premium rider in your policy, which returns your unused benefits to your beneficiaries.

RELATED: 5 Mistakes to Avoid when Shopping for LTCi

3. Combination Products

Individuals who are not so keen on purchasing a traditional LTCi can turn to combination products such as life insurance or annuities with long-term care benefits. Combination products are growing in popularity because they cover two risks in one policy and eliminate the risk of losing the unused benefits in a traditional policy.

Life insurance with long-term care components allow access to a portion of your death benefits to be used for long-term care expenses. What’s left will be given to your beneficiaries once you’re gone.

However, LTC coverage from these products may end up being insufficient and if your needs surpasses your benefits, your loved ones will not get anything out of the policy. Also, experts say that you should only buy life insurance only if you have a need for it. If you don’t, a traditional long-term care policy will make more sense for you.

RELATED: 4 Tips for First-Time Life Insurance Buyers

Another combination product that you can use to pay for long-term care are hybrid annuities. When you put money into this product, you will decide how much coverage you want for long-term care, which is usually two to three times the face value of the annuity. You also need to decide on the benefit duration and whether or not to include inflation protection.

Annuities have few restrictions in terms of underwriting and how you’re going to use your benefits. This can be beneficial for older individuals who are having a hard time qualifying for traditional LTC insurance.

On the other hand, you need to pay a huge amount of money upfront. More so, returns on this type of annuity are not as big as what conventional ones generate. Look into your options and determine if it makes sense for you to purchase a traditional annuity and use the returns to pay for stand-along long-term care insurance.

4. Government Programs

Medicare and Medicaid are two government programs that can provide assistance for long-term care.

Medicare only covers skilled or medically required care and it’s very limited. This program only covers a stay in a nursing home for a maximum of 100 days. It doesn’t cover the custodial aspect of care such as assistance in Activities of Daily Living (ADL), which usually make up most of a person’s long-term care needs.

Medicaid, on the other hand, has more coverage for long-term care. However, you need to meet their asset criteria, which happen to be very low. Meaning, your assets must be close to depletion before you can receive benefits from this program.

Meanwhile, owners of traditional long-term care insurance under the state partnership program can qualify for Medicaid and still keep a considerable portion of their assets. Under this program, they are allowed to keep their assets amounting to the benefit amount of their policy and qualify for Medicaid benefits once their coverage from the traditional policy runs out.

5. Reverse Mortgage

Reverse mortgage is a loan against the equity or market value of your home. In order to qualify for this loan, you should be at least 62 years old, have the home as your primary residence and continue to live there, and settle property taxes. The loan must be paid once you die, sell your home, or move out of the property.

Reverse mortgage doesn’t require underwriting and it allows you to stay in your home. However, the equity of your home shrinks as your loan gets bigger.

Meanwhile, going for a reverse mortgage may not be the smartest move for if you want to leave this property to your family once you’re gone. Should you die and your family can’t settle the loan, they may need to sell the house in order to pay back the money owed. Otherwise, they can take out a new mortgage as if they are buying a new house—which means going through the process of application and meeting the requirements such as a stable income, credit check and a down payment.

When determining which among these options is best, always go back to your needs and financial strength. Also, you can look into the possibility of combining two or more of these strategies to meet your needs. Consult with a professional and discuss which strategy is the most appropriate for your situation.

The post 5 Ways to Fund your Long-Term Care Needs appeared first on Long Term Care Primer.

However, bones and joints changes as the body ages. Bone mass and density levels decreases and mineral loss takes place as you grow older. Moreover, bone cell loss is higher compared to its production as a person grows older. This is the reason why the risk of osteoporosis increases as a person ages.

Since the skeletal system plays an important role to overall health, you should take the necessary steps to take care of it. Here are four ways to do so:

1. Include Calcium in your Diet

Calcium is essential to building strong bones and joints, so you need to incorporate it in your diet. The good news is, you need not look far because a lot of food items are enriched with calcium. Dairy products such as milk, yogurt, and cheese are sources that are naturally rich in calcium. If you are lactose intolerant, you can go for non-dairy sources like green leafy vegetables, sardines, or soy milk and fortified products such as cereals and protein bars.

Supplements can also be a good way to boost your calcium levels, especially if you’re not getting enough of it from food sources. You can consult your physician to determine the right type and amount of supplement for you. The recommended daily intake of calcium is 1,000 milligrams, and 1,200 mg for those who are 50 and older.

2. Bask in some Sunshine

When your body absorbs sunlight, it produces vitamin D, which is essential in calcium absorption. If you’re anxious about damaging your skin due to sun rays, don’t fret. All you need is an average of 10 to 15 minutes of sun exposure for three times in a week to produce the amount of vitamin D that your body needs. You can also use sunscreen to avoid skin damage.

Vitamin D can also be found in food sources such as salmon, mackerel, tuna, and egg yolks.

If going out in the sun or getting vitamin D from natural sources is hard for you, you can turn to vitamin D supplements to get the recommended intake. The recommended daily intake of vitamin D is 600 to 800 IUs.

3. Exercise

Bones become stronger when they are active, so take time to perform exercises that can build and strengthen your bones such as brisk walking, dancing, aerobics, swimming, and biking. Working out also avoids obesity, which can be harmful to the bones and joints.

Before you enter a workout or exercise routine, consult with your doctor first. Some exercises can worsen existing conditions such as arthritis.

RELATED: Senior Fitness: What You Need to Know Before Working Out

4. Practice Good Posture

Bad posture habits such as slouching, cocking your neck to the side and wearing high heels can be harmful to your bones and joints and can contribute to bone and joint degeneration overtime.

Be mindful of how you perform activities and make sure that you maintain good posture as you do them. Some of the good posture habits to maintain are distributing weight between two feet while standing, sleeping on pillows of appropriate height, and wearing comfortable shoes and clothes.

Being able to take part in different activities is fundamental to living a fruitful life, and maintaining good bone health is essential to this. So whether young and developing your bones or aging and trying to preserve your skeletal system, practice these four ways to keep your bones and joints in great shape.

The post 4 Ways to Keep your Bones and Joints Healthy appeared first on Long Term Care Primer.

When you’re about to purchase a policy, you will have to think about uncomfortable topics such as death, which can be quite challenging and off-putting. A comforting thought, on the other hand, is that life insurance will protect your loved ones from the financial impact of your unexpected loss.

If you’re buying life insurance for the first time, here are four tips to help you make the right decisions as you go through the process of acquiring a policy.

RELATED: 6 Must-Have Insurance Policies

1. Determine what type of life insurance is right for you.

Basically, life insurance has two types—whole and term. Whole life insurance is designed to cover you throughout your lifetime, while term life insurance will only provide coverage for a specified number of years. The best choice between the two is dependent on your needs.

If you have people who will likely rely on you even as you grow older, whole life insurance can be the right choice for you. However, if your dependents will no longer need your support at some point, term insurance can be the better option.

2. Decide on how much coverage you need.

It’s hard to determine how much coverage you exactly need, because nobody can predict what’s going to happen in the future. There are calculators that could help you estimate how much coverage to buy, but you need to understand that each person’s needs are unique. More than anything else, these should be the main basis as you decide on the value of the death benefit you will purchase.

Talk to your family or dependents and discuss your needs with a financial advisor. Professionals can help you better estimate the right amount coverage that matches your needs and budget.

3. Buy from a good company.

Your insurance policy is only as good as the company where you purchased it from. You may have the most comprehensive coverage on print, but it will all amount to nothing if your insurer is not strong enough to provide your benefits when you eventually need them.

Remember that you will pay into your policy for 30, 40, 50, or even 60 years, and you need a company who will remain stable even as time passes. Go for an insurer who has a good track record and solid financial strength.

Do your research before you make a deal with an insurance company. See their performance based on their ratings. Independent firms that rate insurance companies are AM Best, Fitch, Moody’s and Standard and Poor’s. It’s also advisable to check if there are any complaints filed against a company and how they acted on these issues, if any.

4. Figure out if you actually need life insurance.

Life insurance is advisable, but that doesn’t mean that everyone should buy it. Yes, it serves a very good purpose but before you make your first premium payment, make sure that you actually need this policy.

Those who need life insurance are individuals who have someone who is financially dependent on them. If you are the main provider in the family, then this is a must for you. However, if you’re not financially accountable to anyone, whether a relative or not, you might want to pass on this policy and consider other options.

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