Balanced Living

December 2006

Buying Safe — And Fun — Toys

December is Safe Toys and Gifts Month

One of the neatest things about being a parent is that you get to pick out all sorts of fun toys for your children. But while that revives the child within us, it also should remind us that without our adult discretion, those joyful toys can pose a very real hazard to our children.

It may take some of the joy out of giving, but toy-related injuries send tens of thousands of adults and children to the emergency room each year. Most injuries occur when parents give their children toys meant for an older age group.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says a good toy should be safe for that child's age, well-constructed, and durable, appealing and interesting to the child, suited to the child's physical capabilities and suited to the child's mental and social development.

Experts advise you to always supervise your children, and be cautious around:

• Toys with long strings
• Toys with small, removable parts, sharp points, or edges
• Toys that make loud noises, like toy guns
• Propelled toys -- darts and/or projectiles
• Electric toys -- only give to children 8 and older

So what's left to give a kid? Try some of these age-appropriate toys:

Infants to 1 year olds: activity quilts, stuffed animals without button noses and eyes, bath toys, and squeaky toys.

1 to 2 years old: books, blocks, fit-together toys, balls, push-and-pull toys, pounding toys, and shape toys.

2 to 5 years old: non-toxic art supplies, books, videos, musical instruments, and outdoor toys like a baseball tee stand.

5 to 9 years old: bicycles, crafts, jump ropes, roller skates, and sports equipment.

10 to 14 years old: computers, microscopes, board games, and sports equipment.

Play doesn't have to be with formalized, bought toys. Play can be provided quite cheaply, and the best toys can be played with in a number of ways.

For more info:
http://www.preventblindness.org

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Dealing with Debt

Don't let the holidays
get you down!

Are you having trouble paying your bills? Are you getting dunning notices from creditors? Are your accounts being turned over to debt collectors? Are you worried about losing your home or your car?

You're not alone. Many people face financial crises at some time in their lives. Whether the crisis is caused by personal or family illness, the loss of a job, or overspending, it can seem overwhelming. But, your financial situation doesn't have to go from bad to worse.

Consider these options:

• Realistic budgeting
• Credit counseling from a reputable organization
• Debt consolidation
• Bankruptcy

How do you know which will work best for you? It depends on your level of debt, your level of discipline, and your prospects for the future.

Developing a Budget
The first step toward taking control of your financial situation is to do a realistic assessment of how much money comes in and how much money you spend. Start by listing your income from all sources. Then, list your "fixed" expenses - those that are the same each month - such as your mortgage payments or rent, car payments and, insurance premiums. Next, list the expenses that vary, such as entertainment, recreation, or clothing.

Writing down all your expenses - even those that seem insignificant - is a helpful way to track your spending patterns, identify the expenses that are necessary, and prioritize the rest. The goal is to make sure you can make ends meet on the basics: housing, food, health care, insurance, and education.

Your public library has information about budgeting and money management. Low-cost budgeting counseling services that can help you analyze your income and expenses and develop a budget and spending plan also are available in most communities. Check your Yellow Pages or contact your local bank or consumer protection office for information about them. In addition, many universities, military bases, credit unions, and housing authorities operate nonprofit financial counseling programs.

Contacting Your Creditors
Contact your creditors immediately if you're having trouble making ends meet. Tell them why it's difficult for you, and try to work out a modified payment plan that reduces your payments to a more manageable level. Don't wait until your accounts have been turned over to a debt collector. At that point, the creditors have given up on you.

Dealing with Debt Collectors
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is the federal law that dictates how and when a debt collector may contact you. A debt collector may not:

• Call you before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m.
• Call you at work if the collector knows that your employer doesn't approve of the calls
• Harass you
• Make false statements
• Use unfair practices when they try to collect a debt

Debt collectors must honor a written request from you to stop further contact.

Credit Counseling
If you aren't disciplined enough to create a workable budget and stick to it, can't work out a repayment plan with your creditors, or can't keep track of mounting bills, consider contacting a credit counseling service. Your creditors may be willing to accept reduced payments if you enter into a debt repayment plan with a reputable organization. In these plans, you deposit money each month with the credit counseling service, which in turn pays your creditors.

A successful repayment plan requires you to make regular, timely payments, and could take 48 months or longer to complete. Some credit counseling services charge little or nothing for managing the plan; others charge a monthly fee that could add up to a significant charge over time. Some credit counseling services are funded, in part, by contributions from creditors.

While a debt repayment plan can eliminate much of the stress that comes from dealing with creditors and overdue bills, it doesn't mean you can forget about your debts. You still are responsible for:

• Paying any creditors whose debts are not included in the plan
• Reviewing monthly statements from your creditors to make sure your payments have been received
• Making sure that your billing statements reflect any agreement your creditors made to lower or eliminate interest and finance charges, or waive late fees
• A debt repayment plan doesn't erase your negative credit history. Accurate information about your accounts can stay on your credit report for up to seven years. A demonstrated pattern of timely payments, however, will help you get credit in the future.

Auto and Home Loans
Debt repayment plans usually cover unsecured debt. Your auto and home loan, which are considered secured debt, may not be included. You must continue to make payments to these creditors directly.

Most automobile financing agreements allow a creditor to repossess your car any time you're in default. No notice is required. If your car is repossessed, you may have to pay the full balance due on the loan, as well as towing and storage costs, to get it back. If you can't do this, the creditor may sell the car. If you see default approaching, you may be better off selling the car yourself and paying off the debt: you would avoid the added costs of repossession and a negative entry on your credit report.

If you fall behind on your mortgage, contact your lender immediately to avoid foreclosure. Most lenders are willing to work with you if they believe you're acting in good faith and the situation is temporary. Some lenders may reduce or suspend your payments for a short time. When you resume regular payments, though, you may have to pay an additional amount toward the past due total. Other lenders may agree to change the terms of the mortgage by extending the repayment period to reduce the monthly debt.

If you and your lender cannot work out a plan, contact a housing counseling agency.

Debt Consolidation
You may be able to lower your cost of credit by consolidating your debts through a second mortgage or a home equity line of credit. But think carefully before taking this on. These loans require your home as collateral. If you can't make the payments - or if the payments are late - you could lose your home.

The costs of these consolidation loans can add up. In addition to interest on the loan, you pay "points." Typically, one point is equal to one percent of the amount you borrow. Still, these loans may provide certain tax advantages that are not available with other kinds of credit.

Bankruptcy
Personal bankruptcy is generally considered the debt management tool of last resort because the results are long-lasting and far-reaching. A bankruptcy stays on your credit report for 10 years, making it difficult to acquire credit, buy a home, get life insurance, or sometimes land a job. However, it's a legal procedure that offers a fresh start for people who can't satisfy their debts. Individuals who follow the bankruptcy rules receive a discharge - a court order that says they do not have to repay certain debts.

There are two primary types of personal bankruptcy: Chapter 13 and Chapter 7. Each must be filed in federal bankruptcy court.

Both types of bankruptcy may get rid of unsecured debts and stop:

• Foreclosures
• Repossessions
• Garnishments
• Utility shut-offs
• Debt collection activities

Both also provide exemptions that allow you to keep certain assets, although exemption amounts vary.

Personal bankruptcy usually does not erase:

• Child support
• Alimony
• Fines
• Taxes
• Most student loan obligations

Also, unless you have an acceptable plan to catch up on your debt under Chapter 13, bankruptcy usually does not allow you to keep property when your creditor has an unpaid mortgage or lien on it.

For more info:
https://fhahelps.personaladvantage.com/debt_and_bankruptcy

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Avoid Winter Weight Gain

...and enjoy the holidays too!

Many traditional holiday foods are loaded with fat and calories. To keep your weight manageable, substitute a lower-fat food. Or, go ahead and eat a certain food you enjoy too much to give up, but have a smaller portion and conserve calories by skipping something that's not as important to you.

Here is some great advice to help you cut fat from your holiday diet:

• Eat white-meat turkey, which has fewer calories and fat than dark meat. A 3-ounce serving of skinless turkey breast has 119 calories and 1 gram of fat. The same amount of dark meat has 142 calories and 5 grams of fat.
• Put gravy through a skimmer before serving, and you'll cut the calories by 80 percent. That's a substantial change: Holiday gravy that's not skimmed contains 60 to 70 calories per tablespoon (a generous helping can add as many as 500 calories to your holiday dinner).
• Serve stuffing baked outside the turkey; it has half the calories of stuffing cooked inside the bird.
• Serve at least one item very low in calories and fat, such as a fresh fruit salad or steamed vegetables topped with lemon juice and herbs. A one-half cup serving of steamed green beans has only 15 calories and a trace of fat; a one-half cup serving of sautéed green beans has 50 calories and 6.6 grams of fat.
• Serve baked potatoes instead of candied sweet potatoes. A plain baked potato has 220 calories and just a trace of fat; one cup of candied sweet potatoes has 300 calories and 6 grams of fat.
• Don't top vegetables with butter; instead, use nonfat yogurt or low-calorie sour cream. You'll save an average of 100 calories and 10 grams of fat per tablespoon.
• Serve apple pie topped with vanilla frozen yogurt instead of pecan pie topped with whipped cream. Per slice, you'll save 460 calories and 32 grams of fat.
• Substitute mustard for mayonnaise on your lunch-hour turkey sandwich. You'll save 82 calories and 8 grams of fat.
• Pay attention to what you drink. Two mixed drinks can contain as much as 500 calories, one cup of eggnog, 380 calories. But two glasses of cider or white wine have only 300 calories.

For more info:
https://fhahelps.personaladvantage.com/dieting

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Smart Dessert

... enjoy this recipe for the holidays!

Crunchy Pumpkin Pie: With only a small amount of oil in the crust and skim milk in the filling, this delicious pie is a heart healthy treat!

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 °F

To prepare crust:
2. Mix oats, flour, almonds, sugar, and salt in small mixing bowl.
3. Blend oil and water in measuring cup with fork or small wire whisk until emulsified.
4. Add oil mixture to dry ingredients and mix well. If needed, add small amount of water to hold mixture together.
5. Press into 9-inch pie pan, and bake for 8-10 minutes, or until light brown.
6. Turn down oven to 350 °F.

To prepare filling:
7. Mix sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in bowl.
8. Add egg and vanilla, and mix to blend ingredients.
9. Add pumpkin and milk, and stir to combine.

Putting it together:
10. Pour filling into prepared pie shell.
11. Bake for 45 minutes at 350 °F or until knife inserted near center comes out clean.

Yield: 9 servings, Serving size: 1/9 of 9-inch pie
Each serving provides: Calories: 169, Total fat: 7 g, Saturated fat: 1 g, Cholesterol: 24 mg, Sodium: 207 mg, Total fiber: 3 g, Protein: 5 g, Carbohydrates: 22 g, Potassium: 223 mg

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Doing Your Part to Help
Prevent Drunk Driving

December is National Drunk and Drugged Driving (3D) Prevention Month

Just about everybody loves a party. But, if your party menu includes alcohol, be a smart host and insist that your guests play it safe on the way home.

Plan a Safe Party:

• Prepare plenty of food, so guests don't drink on empty stomachs.
• Avoid too many salty snacks, which tend to make people thirsty.
• Offer a variety of nonalcoholic beverages for designated drivers and others who don't want to drink alcohol.
• If you prepare an alcoholic punch, use a non-carbonated base such as fruit juice. Alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream faster if a carbonated base is used.
• Ask guests to appoint designated drivers before the party begins.
• Be honest with guests who sometimes drink to excess. Ahead of time, tell them drinking and driving is unacceptable at your party. Insist they find alternative modes of transportation home.

During the Party:

• Never serve alcohol to someone under the legal drinking age and never ask children to serve alcohol at parties.
• Don't let guests mix their own drinks. Choosing a reliable bartender will help you keep track of the size and number of drinks that guests consume.
• Don't encourage people to "have another drink."
• Stop serving alcoholic drinks 90 minutes before the party ends. Only time diminishes the effects of alcohol.
• If, despite your efforts, some guests have too much to drink, pull them aside and explain you care about them. Then firmly insist they take cabs or let others drive them home. Or, invite them to spend the night in your home.

Spotting a Drunk Driver
If you spot a potentially drunken driver when you're on the road, take down the driver's license plate number and call the police.

These are signs a driver may be drunk:

• Wide turns
• Straddling lanes
• Driving with headlights off
• Driving below the speed limit
• Erratic braking or stopping
• Slow response to traffic signals
• Nearly striking an object or curb
• Weaving across the road
• Driving on the wrong side of the road or completely off the roadway
• Tailgating
• Accelerating or decelerating rapidly

For more info:
https://fhahelps.personaladvantage.com/content?sub=10000489