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Don’t miss out on this year’s Elder Justice Summit which will be held on Wednesday, June 30 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. The Keynote Speaker is Ashton Applewhite, author of This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism. Click on the link below to register for this event which is sponsored by the Area Agency on Aging, amongst others.
https://montereycty.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Qhst8E2gS6yM-evmOl6pnw
For decades, many financial planners advising retirees have recommended using the 4% rule. It states that if you withdraw 4% of your portfolio each year in retirement, your nest egg could last 30 years or longer. The problem is, if you enter retirement when the stock market is tanking and start withdrawing 4% each year while we are in a bear market, your portfolio may evaporate very quickly. Some investment advisors are now recommending taking out less than the 4% in down markets and more during good markets. San Francisco financial advisor David Yeske uses rules based on research done by Jonathan Guyton and William Klinger in the 200’s and he says that because of its flexibility, his clients are able to take out 5-6% in good years. However, in down years there will be some belt tightening so retirees need to figure out which expenses they can cut during down years.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/retirement-nest-egg-11617929631
Carmel, CA Home Care Aide (HCA) Senior Alzheimer’s & Dementia Caregiver Jobs Available (Also Aromas, Big Sur, Carmel-by-the-sea, Carmel Valley, Castroville, Corral-de-Tierra, Del Rey Oaks, Gonzalez, Greenfield, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Prunedale, Salinas, Seaside and Soledad
We have developed a reputation for having the best caregivers (Home Care Aides or Senior Companions) in Monterey County.  We are currently looking for qualified caregivers.
Family inHome Caregiving of Monterey is seeking compassionate, mature and dependable caregivers who want to improve the lives of our elderly Clients by providing in-home, non-medical care. Our services include:
Caring companionship
Meal preparation
Incidental transportation
Running errands
Light housekeeping
Medication reminders
Monitoring of safety while bathing
Information and referral services
Other services that improve the safety, security and quality of life of seniors.
If you believe you would make an exceptional Home Care Aide, we would love to hear from you! We prefer those with experience helping the elderly, disabled and others with mobility problems. Having cared for those with dementia and/or Alzheimer’s is a plus. To work for us, you must have excellent references, a clear criminal record, a good driving record, and an insured reliable vehicle. To apply, please visit our website www.fhcofm.com, click on home care aides, then careers where you can fill out an application online. We have immediate openings all over Monterey County.
With coronavirus keeping many people from being active, keeping your immune system healthy is critical. There are a number of things you can do such as getting enough exercise, not smoking, staying hydrated, having quality sleep time and eating a healthy diet. Sticking to a Mediterranean diet is a good way of keeping your good health, and it’s delicious. A study published in the journal Frontiers of Physiology found that healthy people aged 65-79 who ate a Mediterranean diet and took 10 micrograms of Vitamin D daily for a year were able to help offset age-related declines in immunity. The Mediterranean diet involves eating a lot of vegetables, fruit, nuts, whole grains and one ounce of food daily. Stay away from red meats and instead eat salmon and other fish, with modest portions of egg. Olive oil is the fat of choice, and a glass or two of red wine each night tops of the meal. Check out the local farmers market here in Monterey—they will even deliver!
https://www.cedars-sinai.org/blog/boosting-your-immune-system.html
AARP.org has some great tips for keeping your heart healthy, starting with the simple advice to brush and floss regularly. Swollen or bleeding gums can lead to microorganisms traveling into the bloodstream, which can cause inflammation and heart damage. Older adults who skimped on oral hygiene were 20 to 35 percent more likely to die during a 17-year study done by  University of Southern California researchers. Also, doing 10 minutes of resistance training each morning can go a long way. In a study which was published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, women (average age of 62) who did just 20 to 59 minutes of muscle-strengthening exercises each week were 29% less likely to die during a 12-year study than those who did none. There are also simple alterations that you can do to your diet which will help a lot. For instance, try replacing half the butter in your baking recipes with mashed avocado. Replacing saturated fats with MUFAs can help lower LDL (bad cholesterol). Try eating more bananas! A diet rich in potassium can help offset some of sodium’s harmful effects on blood pressure. (AARP Bulletin Volume 62, Number 4, Page 13).
If your job requires you to do a lot of sitting, make sure you take frequent breaks especially if you are diabetic. The ADA’s 2020 Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes recommends doing a light activity for every 30 minutes of uninterrupted sitting. Sitting increases insulin resistance, and it also increases blood pressure and impedes blood flow. Try taking a walk around the block! To get more information on diabetes, visit Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula, CHOMP’s, Diabetes and Nutrition website. You will find useful information about support groups, classes and more.
https://www.chomp.org/locations/location-profile/diabetes-and-nutrition-therapy/#.X9F3p9hKjcs
Another useful resource is Community Health Innovations. A full 45% of Monterey County residents have Diabetes or pre-Diabetes!
With coronavirus keeping many people from being active, keeping your immune system healthy is critical. There are a number of things you can do such as getting enough exercise, not smoking, staying hydrated, having quality sleep time and eating a healthy diet. Sticking to a Mediterranean diet is a good way of keeping your good health, and it’s delicious. A study published in the journal Frontiers of Physiology found that healthy people aged 65-79 who ate a Mediterranean diet and took 10 micrograms of Vitamin D daily for a year were able to help offset age-related declines in immunity. The Mediterranean diet involves eating a lot of vegetables, fruit, nuts, whole grains and one ounce of food daily. Stay away from red meats and instead eat salmon and other fish, with modest portions of egg. Olive oil is the fat of choice, and a glass or two of red wine each night tops of the meal. Check out the local farmers market here in Monterey—they will even deliver!
https://www.cedars-sinai.org/blog/boosting-your-immune-system.html
Unfortunately, elder abuse scams continue to abound. The latest; fake package notifications from Amazon.com, FedEx, UPS and others. With e-commerce sales hitting an all-time high due to the coronavirus, more and more email delivery alerts are popping up but they may not all be legitimate. Fake email messages often contain the logo of the shipping company, making them look more legitimate. Getting you to click on a link is the main objective of these scams. Others send an attachment with malware in it, so never click on an attachment from an unknown sender. Most come with a call to action such as purporting there is a problem with the shipping address or the payment method, attempting to get you to click through. Always go to where you made the purchase to check on the order status.
https://www.bbb.org/article/news-releases/20283-scam-alert-dont-be-fooled-by-a-fake-package-delivery-scam
An Artificial Intelligence Program, AI, analyzed the language of study participants and found it could be able to predict whether people with no memory or thinking problems would develop Alzheimer’s disease later in life. Funded by Pfizer and conducted by IBM, the program accurately predicted up to 74% of participants that were diagnosed with the disease later in life. The study which was published in the journal EClinicalMedicine, analyzed 700 written samples from 27 participants in another study conducted decades ago. Based on written samples, the study more accurately predicts Alzheimer’s disease than other research. Experts say that tracking language over time could be done as part of routine medical exams. For more info, contact our local Alzheimer’s Association in Ryan Ranch. Regular readers of my blog know that both my father and grandmother had this terrible disease when they passed away. There are great people at our local chapter of Alzheimer’s Association in Ryan’s Ranch. They also have a 24-hour hotline if you need support at 800-272-3900.
The Wall Street Journal recently posted a story about the fact that your financial portfolio might quickly start unraveling if you don’t prepare for the financial consequences of your spouse’s death in advance. Not only will you see two Social Security checks go down to one, some people have pensions that don’t have survivorship benefits and those would expire immediately. In addition, since you will have to file single, your tax rate may go up. “When that plan is disrupted by the tragic death of a spouse, there isn’t a lot you can do besides cut expenses or go back to work,†Jennifer Murray, a financial advisor, told The Wall Street Journal. The bottom line: discuss this issue with your financial planner.