In recent years, the birth rates have more than doubled for older women in their late thirties and early forties. However, advances in medical care have led more and more women to the decision to have a baby later for many reasons—including because they may be healthier and more financially sound at this point in their lives. However, as women’s bodies’ age, greater issues may arise anytime during the pregnancy, delivery and post-birth stage that can put thier health and finances at risk. And even though the majority of women over 35 experience healthy pregnancies and deliver healthy, happy babies—age can leave older women at heightened risk of certain medical complications during and after pregnancy that will cost them throughout their lives, and that their younger counterparts don’t experience quite as frequently. For instance, older mom’s need to be concerned with things like:

• Low fertility rates: which can cost upwards of $24,000 out-of-pocket for in vitro fertilization (IVF)
• Miscarriage: which can incur costs for counselling and depression
• Fetus placement during pregnancy
• Problems associated with cesarean births: which can delay the return to work and every day activities
• Neural tube defects e.g., Spina Bifida
• Still born babies
• Down Syndrome

These financial risks highlight why monitoring by a qualified physician should be maintained consistently throughout conception, pregnancy and even post-delivery. Regardless of age, every single woman should consult with their doctors if they are planning to get pregnant. This is especially true for women 35 or older with preexisting health issues, such as diabetes, anemia and high blood pressure that can affect pregnancy, delivery and even healing in post-pregnancy bodies. Your doctor will also prescribe the 6 following essential nutrients and healthy habits for older pregnant moms to keep you healthy as well as financially secure:

1. Prenatal vitamins

Upon learning that you are pregnant, your doctor will immediately prescribed a prenatal multivitamin as part of your pregnancy supplement regime to support calcium, iron, folic acid and magnesium intake, which are all vital for keeping your bones strong, skin elasticized, and baby happy and nourished. These are also worth the cost if you consider paying later in life to cover medical costs for osteoperosis or iron deficiency. Once you have been prescribed a certain brand and dosage of prenatal vitamin from your physician, you can chose to fill the prescription via an online through a Canadian pharmacy, where Canadian drugs are about half the price of those you’d buy from your local pharmacy in the U.S. Plus, your order will be conveniently shipped to your address.

2. Folic acid

Your doctor will likely also recommend a separate folic acid supplement, 3 months prior to conception (if you’re trying to have a baby), which you’ll take up to the 12^th week of your pregnancy. Folic acid has been linked to lowering the risk of neural tube defects, like Spina Bifida, which can cost approximately $52,000 in medical costs and treatments for the first year of a child’s life. You can also get a healthy daily dose of folic acid by incorporating leafy green vegetables and green organic produce into your diet.

3. Zinc

Medical research shows that inadequate levels of zinc can lead to lowered fertility, especially in women over the age of 35. This means that while you try to get pregnant, your doctor may tell you to eat foods rich in iron as well as take an iron supplement to lower the risk of Anemia and costly medical treatments associated with concieving.

4. Adequate hydration

Water is important to keep your body functioning for two at the optimal level. The recommended daily intake of water should be 8 glasses of water or more each day for pregnant women, which will keep your skin healthy, and flush away sodium retention that results in that dreaded swelling in the feet, hands and legs, and lead to more serious and costly sprains and muscle tears later on.

5. Consume a health, balanced diet

A healthy diet is the perfect balance of fresh fruits, leafy green vegetables, lean proteins, calcium-rich dairy products, heart healthy fats and complex carbohydrates that feature whole grains. Pregnant moms really “are what they eat”—that goes for you and affects your baby too. And of course, this includes cutting your fatty food and caffeine intake, and quitting drinking and smoking, which can cause significantly lower fertility rates and exposes a developing fetus to toxic carbon monoxide and nicotine as well as cut off vital oxygen.

6. Yoga and other exercises

Ensuring your body is in healthy shape, without putting undue stress on you and baby, can help prime your body for pregnancy, birth and recovery post-pregnancy, as well as the costs associated with troublesome births and post-pregancy recovery. Gentle, low impact exercise—including brisk walking, swimming and stretching exercises will put less strain on your joints. Yoga is one form of exercise that serves as beneficial form of activity during pregnancy by gently stretching the pelvic floor and core to help ease back and joint pain throughout pregnancy and aid delivery with minimal discomfort. Yoga is also helpful during the post-natal phase, which new moms can start approximately six weeks after the birth to help strengthen the abdominal muscles and pelvic floor, and help the body restore its pre-pregnancy shape.

Post by Brenda

When we are younger, we do not realize the importance of money and how it can ease life in our older years. Life seems long and endless when in our youth, and sometimes we fail to see or plan for when we won’t be able to work as hard. Not all young people get the proper education on economics and what to do with their money. Sadly many of us don’t realize some of the basic economic values that could save us from financial doom. Money, or what to do with money is not something that is taught to our young people in schools and there for they never learn the value of it. Today the world has changed drastically so, my grandchildren little understand the concept of having your own company.

In this age of technology, things happen much quicker and possessions are acquired with credit cards rather than cash. I like to think that I instilled proper values and financial education to my kids, but they are as stubborn as many other people out there, and want everything they want, NOW! I’ve witnessed it too many times, they are unable to deny their kids, what all their friends have, it’s like it has become somewhat of a competition. It’s almost as if. “Well, if his friend Jimmy has it, then he has to have it”. I personally don’t understand it, and I’m sure many of you more modern people are thinking that I need to accept this new way, but it’s hard to watch people go in debt, and they think nothing wrong with it. Sometimes I think the government wants it that way, there is no other explanation for why economics is not a mandatory class in schools, when 80% of the people in this country are in credit card debt!!??

To be financially secure, it takes time and effort. It requires a plan of action for your own business. It goes in this order. Plan, budget, renovations, save, invest in new equipment for your work, and reap the rewards. It’s as simple as that. It’s all about spending less money than you make. The sad thing is that many people cannot live by this very simple rule. If you chose to live your life without rules when it comes to money, you will unfortunately live with the financial implications. It comes down to one thing!! Your choice!!!!!!

So I chose this particular book because the author, John Maxwell, is known as the leadership guru. As such, I’m interested to hear what he has to say about connecting with others. Here’s what I’ve learned.

Why Should We Connect?

Simply put, people can’t succeed in life without communicating effectively. And good communication is all about connecting. To connect, we must identify and relate to people in a way that increases our influence with them.

How Do We Connect Better?

Here are five actions we can take.

Find Common Ground

All great relationships are built on common values. This common ground must be discovered, and that takes time. So be available to others. Move into their world and search for something in their background that relates to yours.

Keep It Simple

I used to think that using big words would make me sound smarter and more sophisticated. But if people need a dictionary to understand you, then you’re not connecting!

Educators take the simple and make it complicated, while communicators take the complicated and make it simple.

Create An Enjoyable Experience For Everyone

To hold people’s interest, you should seek to be the kind of communicator you would like to hear. Some of the qualities found in good communicators are warmness, honesty, creativity, and a sense of humor.

Inspire People

Believe the best about people. People usually respond to the expectations set by others.

But don’t just help them feel good. Understanding will change your mind. Action will change your life. Call people to action and give them a game plan.

Live What You Communicate

Over time, the way you live outweighs the words you use. Know who you are, and who you’re not. We all have strengths and weaknesses. Perfection is a mask.

And deliver on your promises. Making commitments creates hope. Keeping commitments creates trust.

How Can You Tell When You’ve Connected With Others?

Here are some signs:

• People give extra effort,
• People express unsolicited appreciation,
• People demonstrate unguarded openness, and
• Positive energy is created when they’re together.

My Thoughts

Reading this, I realize that it’s my responsibility to make sure I’m connecting with others. I’m far from an expert, so I need to be the kind of person others would like to spend time with.

The good thing about Everyone Communicates, Few Connect is that there are questions at the end of each chapter to help you reflect on your current ability to connect. And of course, there are also tips to help you get better at it.

Have you read this book? How would you describe your ability to connect?

How do you decide if working overtime is worth it? It may not be an easy decision to make. Here are some factors to consider when arriving at a decision.

Pay

This is probably the most important factor. How do you know if you get paid to work overtime? Find out if you’re an exempt or non-exempt employee.

If you’re non-exempt, you’ll get paid for overtime. And not only do you get paid for those extra hours, but it’s at a rate of one and a half (1.5) times hour hourly wage. Not a bad deal at all.

If you’re exempt, then unfortunately you’re not entitled to overtime pay.

Purpose Of The Extra Money

If you do get paid for working overtime, do you need the extra money? What would you do with it?

Treat yourself to something nice? Pay off debt? Build up an emergency savings account? Invest for the future?

From reading Your Money Or Your Life, you know that you trade your time and energy for money. If you don’t need the money, maybe you could decline the overtime and put that extra time to better use. What about strengthening your relationships with family and friends? Getting more exercise? Working on a side-business?

Family

If you have a family, consider their input. How will they respond to your decision to work overtime?

Will they be okay with having less time to hang out with you, doing some of the things you usually do together after work? Things such as preparing dinner? Helping the kids with homework? Taking care of the parents?

If you can talk through these issues and come to a resolution that everyone feels good about, then working overtime won’t have a negative effect on your family life.

Health

Do you think the extra hours will have an adverse effect on your health? I did a Google search on working overtime, and some of the top results showed reports that working overtime may be harmful to your heart.

Personally, I can’t say I truly know how stressful working overtime could be, because I don’t like working any longer than 40 hours a week!!!

Could added stress lead to more doctor visits? Could this in turn lead to bigger doctor’s bills, and thus throw away the extra money you just earned?

Time

How much overtime are they asking you to work? How long is it expected to last? If you can get clear expectations from your boss, this may help you in reaching your decision.

Perhaps five extra hours a week for a month or two is okay for you. On the other hand, ten extra hours a week for three months may not be worth it to you.

Opportunity

Maybe this is a chance to build up your list of accomplishments. Could this lead to better opportunities in the future? When your review comes up, could you point to the extra work you completed as a reason to deserve a raise?

What other factors would affect your decision to work overtime? How would you respond if you were asked to work overtime?

This article was included in the Carnival of Personal Finance during the week of May 24, 2010. Check out Adam’s Money Relationship blog for a variety of great articles!

Nowadays, many are working more, saving less, and getting into more and more debt. We compensate by living it up on the weekend.

Then it’s more of the same the following week. How many people feel more alive at the end of the day than at the beginning? If you don’t, maybe you’re really “making a dying”.

If that’s how you feel, then reading Your Money Or Your Life will transform the way you relate to money.

The Point Of Enough

Most people think that spending money, or just having lots of it will bring fulfillment. I know I struggle with this myself. But there’s a point we reach in our pursuit of fulfillment where we’ve finally had enough.

Enough to survive. Enough comfort. Even enough luxury.

At this point, we finally enjoy what money brings into our life, and we stop buying things we don’t need. Everything beyond this point is just. . . clutter.

How Do You Get To The Point Of Enough?

The book outlines nine steps. Though all nine are helpful, there are three in particular that really stood out to me.

Step 1: Figure out how much you’ve earned over your lifetime, and see what you have to show for it.

You can do this easily by looking at your Social Security statement. I actually did this for the first time in a couple of years. And while I don’t make a ridiculous amount of money, looking over the years of my employment shows that I’ve actually earned quite a bit.

The second half of this step is to see what you have to show from your years of employment. You can do this by calculating your net worth.

Are you happy with this number? Does the stuff you bought still bring you fulfillment?

Personally, I’ve bought stuff that I haven’t used in a long time. If I sold some of it, the net worth might be higher today, and I might be further along the road to financial independence.

What Is Money?

Green pieces of paper? Power? Security? These could all be valid definitions, but there’s a simpler one.

Money is simply something we trade our life energy for.

When we go to work, we pay for money with our time. This leads to the next step.

Step 2: Track Your Life Energy

After you understand that you trade your life for money, you can calculate how much you actually trade it for.

If you work 40 hours a week and bring in $400, you may think you earn $10 an hour. But think of all the indirect expenses that are associated with your job. If you didn’t need the job, could you reduce or eliminate some of the expenses, and save some of the time expenditures?

Here’s a few examples.

Commuting – Suppose you spend 5 hours a week commuting, and $10 a week for gas.

Meals – Let’s say you take an hour for lunch. Since you don’t have time to cook, you spend $5 a day eating out. Maybe you also treat yourself to a $2 cup of coffee everyday.

Decompression – When you come home, are you energized to begin the remainder of your day? Or do you turn on the TV to vegetate for an hour with some beer and chips? Let’s say this takes up 5 hours and $10 every week.

Looking at it this way, you’re giving up an hour of your life for $6!!! Less than  minimum wage in most states!

Calculate Your Costs Using Life Energy

Now that you have your real wage, you can determine how much anything costs in exchange for your life energy. So if the iPad costs $700 and your real wage is $6, it’ll cost you over 116 hours of your life.

Step 3: Ask Three Questions To Transform Your Life

Since you can now determine how much anything costs in terms of your life energy, you can now ask the following questions to help you spend more consciously.

1) Did I receive fulfillment and value in proportion to life energy spent? Was the iPad worth trading 116 hours of your life? Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. But this gives you something to compare your purchases to.

2) Is this expenditure of life energy in alignment with my values and life purpose? This one makes you ponder about your life overall. Maybe you think you don’t have enough time for family and friends. If you do, eliminating some of the stuff that costs you a lot in terms of life energy may create that additional time.

3) How might this expenditure change if I didn’t have to work? This assumes most people would prefer not to work at their traditional jobs if they had the option. Would you need to buy all that fancy clothing? Eat out everyday?

Closing Thoughts

Not all parts of the book resonate with me. For instance, I think it’s a bit too tedious to track every penny that comes in and goes out of your life.

However, the minor issues don’t diminish the fact that there are still good points to take away from Your Money Or Your Life.

Have you tried calculating your real hourly wage? Would you spend more consciously knowing that you trade your money for your life?

This article was included in the Carnival of Personal Finance during the week of May 17, 2010. Check out Tom ‘s Canadian Finance Blog for a variety of great articles!

Asset Accumulation

This phase is the starting point in a financial journey. It usually begins when a person enters the workforce, between the ages of 20 to 25. The beginning of this phase is characterized by limited funds for investing, a pretty high amount of debt, and a low net worth. The debts may come from school loans, car loans, credit card debt, or all three and more. Since there aren’t a large amount of assets owned by the person, there is generally not much thought given to financial risks that exist.

But as a person progresses through this phase, more money is available for investing, the amount of debt as a proportion to their assets decreases, and their net worth rises steadily. Two of the most typical assets people want to accumulate in this phase are a car and a house. This phase usually lasts until the age of 50.

Conservation and Protection

This phase starts after the person has acquired a few assets, when the person reaches their late 30′s or 40′s. During this season, the person has further increased their net worth and decreased their proportional use of debt. Now, as people build up more assets, they usually become less tolerant of risk. Instead, they’re more concerned about losing what they’ve gained than on getting more. They’re more concerned with risks that they may not have considered during the asset accumulation phase. These include, but are not limited to, the risks of untimely death, unemployment, and long-term disability. As such, they start to consider the need to protect themselves from these risks by purchasing the relevant types of insurance.

Many people may actually still be in the asset accumulation phase as well, trying to accumulate more while trying not to lose what they’ve gained. This phase usually lasts for the entire time that the person remains in the workforce. And for some people, this phase may last for their entire lifetime.

Distribution and Gifting

This is the last of the three phases, and begins when a person has realized that they can afford to spend on things that they’ve never thought possible. Going through the two previous phases successfully makes this phase possible. For some, this phase may begin as early as the late 40′s.

Sizable investments, low debt, and a high net worth characterize this phase. People in this season begin to feel financial pressures declining, and look to enjoy their lives more. Life insurance premiums may be dropped and other deductibles may be raised. With their built-up wealth, these people may consider paying for their grandchildren’s college tuition and going on expensive vacations. They may also visit more often with an estate planner to plan the final years of their lives and the subsequent transfer of their wealth.

What About You?

As a somewhat recent college grad, I’m currently in the asset accumulation phase. But while these three phases are separate, one doesn’t have to reach the next phase first in order to begin navigating through it’s challenges. I’m not waiting until I reach a certain age before I start giving money to worthy causes. I’d like to make a difference with my money today. Similarly, in the asset accumulation phase, you can still plan for future insurance needs, or even long-term estate planning issues. Thinking about these things now can prevent some unexpected consequences from popping up in the future.

So what season are you in right now? Do you have any desire to reach the next phase? If so, what steps are you taking to make this happen?