just4moms.netExciting News Every Mom Should Know…

The Town of Amherst is in sound financial health with the exception of two anxiety-provoking problems that could result in major tax increases or a cash-flow crisis if allowed to fester. one involves a potentially devastating legal claim. the other involves spending in the Highway Department.

A complicated personal injury claim involving the town and a state agency accused of deceit and conspiracy could decimate the town’s general fund reserves within two years, according to Thomas P. Malecki, partner in the Drescher and Malecki accounting firm that released the preliminary findings of the town’s 2011 audit on Monday.

“At some point in time in 2012 or 2013, you’re going to run out of cash to advance to your self-insurance fund,” Malecki said.

The decade-old Bissell case, which involves a $23 million judgment, has resulted in the town paying out a personal injury claim to the tune of $3.2 million a year beginning in 2011. the next payment is due next month.

The town, which is self-insured, is currently on the hook for $13 million of the total claim. Its excess insurance carrier covered the remaining $10 million. two courts have stated that the State Insurance Fund must reimburse the town, but the state agency has refused to do so.

“You either collect the cash from the State Insurance Fund or there will be a tax levy at some point in time,” Malecki said.

Supervisor Barry Weinstein responded, “There will be a $13 million hit to the taxpayers.”

“That’s correct,” Malecki said.

The general fund — the town’s largest fund—broke even in terms of revenues and expenses. but be-

cause of the Bissell case, more of the town’s general fund reserves have been declared “non-spendable” because that money has been tied up to cover the Bissell case judgment, Malecki said.

The town currently has $4.4 million in unrestricted general fund savings at the end of last year. but after next month, general fund reserves will be down to about $1.2 million. More borrowing may be possible to offset this decline, but Weinstein said he was reluctant to “kick the can down the road.”

In regard to the town’s troubled highway fund, Malecki said, the town’s Highway Department has used up much of its highway fund reserves over the last two years with expenses outpacing revenues. the fund dropped from a year-end, unreserved fund balance of $5 million in 2009 to a mere $500,000 at the end of last year.

“This is a fund that’s going to need consistent monitoring,” Malecki said.

Highway fund savings stands at 4 percent of the fund’s total budget—well short of the 10 percent minimum the town requires for most of its funds.

Weinstein pointed out that the town raised taxes for the highway fund in the 2012 budget by 10.75 percent, which is expected to generate an additional $860,000 in revenue. but Malecki said that will not be enough to improve the highway fund’s health overall.

Comptroller Darlene a. Carroll said higher-than-anticipated gas and oil costs, as well as overtime and salt costs for a difficult winter at the start of 2011 contributed to highway expenses.

stan@buffnews.comnull

State Opposition leader mark McGowan criticised Mr Porter for putting his personal ambitions ahead of the State’s finances.

He said abandoning his portfolios, particularly that of Treasurer when the State Budget was yet to be passed by Parliament, showed a “major disrespect to the Parliamentary process, to the State’s finances, to the future of Western Australia”.

“My view is that the State’s finances are more important than any single person’s ambition,” he said.

“I don’t think he’s a bad person. But I don’t understand why, in the middle of a Budget process you would put your personal ambition above the State’s finances. There are greater responsibilities than just you.”

Mr McGowan said Mr Barnett needed to provide a better explanation for why Mr Porter had resigned so suddenly.

He believed Mr Porter could have kept his portfolios until the next State election and “save all that turmoil”.

“Four treasurers in four years is too many. it is not acceptable for the State to suffer that sort of turmoil in the highest offices in the land,” he said.

“There is more to this set of events than is being revealed. “In politics there’s often wheels within wheels. It’s just very unusual that the Treasurer would resign the Treasury and Attorney-General portfolios, go and sit on the backbench for the next nine months before retiring from State Parliament.”

Mr Barnett, as Mr Porter did earlier today, dismissed any suggestion the pair ever discussed a succession plan and said he would continue as Premier should he win next year’s election.

Mr McGowan said a vote for Mr Barnett was a vote for Transport Minister Troy Buswell, who he tipped would be re-instated as Treasurer.

However, he said Mr Buswell was not up to the task and had been a “disaster” as Housing Minister.

“It is obvious that Troy Buswell, if Mr Barnett is re-elected, will be the next premier of Western Australia,” he said.

“There is no one else in the Liberal Party.

Mr McGowan said Mr Porter was “one of the brighter people in the State Cabinet” and the Government would have trouble finding a replacement.

“I think Mr Barnett needs to be clear – who is going to be the Attorney-General, because this musical chairs has gone on for long enough,” he said.

FF’s Elisa and VillarrealUSA’s Allen get into the deep, dark finances of Spanish Football.  Enjoy!

TRANSFERS

ALLEN:  so I think the topic of today’s chat is: no one in Spain has any money!

ELISA:   well, we have seen that money or lack there of, has affected transfers thus far.

ALLEN:  yes, we have.  It’s interesting how quiet the market has been so far.

ELISA:  most of the transfers have been very cheap or on a free.

ALLEN:  yes, and they were players that were rumored to be moving for €2-3m a year ago (Chori Castro, for example).

ELISA:  see Guardado, Emre (has been), Cebolla Rodriguez, Joao Pereira, and Diego Lopez.

ALLEN:  well Guardado’s deal was tied up last year, but Diego Lopez is a good example.  a year or two ago Villarreal could have gotten more for him, it’ s not just that they were relegated–it’s the market.

ELISA:  Exactly!  but I expect to see more of those type of transfer deals.  also Laftia and Abraham are cheap buys.

ALLEN:  What’s happening in Spain (and to some extent elsewhere as well) is the biggest clubs–RM and Barca–are off in their own world somewhere.  they are wheeling and dealing at the €20-30m/player level, competing with Man Utd and Chelsea (and Man City), but for most everybody else the wheeling and dealing is at a very cheap level.  There is no middle any more.

ELISA:  plus the vultures are going after Sporting, Villarreal and clubs who are desperate for money IE Espanyol, etc.

ALLEN:  Who has money in Spain?   Malaga, I guess, when the sheik actually visits.  Athletic?  well, they will only buy Basques (as defined). Valencia seem to think they do, or at least they continue to churn a third of their club every year.

ELISA: …and the big two. Hopefully the other clubs will stick to their guns if a non Spanish club or the big two come calling and ask for full transfer value. I will be interested to see how much Jordi Alba goes for.

ALLEN:  well, Alba is a perfect example.   he goes either to Barca or RM, or to a big club overseas.  but the tragedy is guys like Isco and who is the other youth star Valencia still have?  I forget his name but apparently Malaga want him and now Barca wants Isco.

ELISA:  well I don’t think Malaga will sell Isco, unless they get big bucks. he is their most improved player and the future.

ALLEN:   (Btw the Nou Mestalla deal is, I believe, in real trouble now that Bankia has been nationalized and wants more money)

ELISA:   well that is par for the course.  I mean Valencia is still in the US, trying to make as much money as possible.

ALLEN:  Yeah, plus the Houston stadium I guess is sponsored by BBVA so there is a tie in there.

ELISA:  back to VCF, Bernat is being wooed by Rayo Vallencano on loan.  Alcacer is wanted too.

ALLEN:  Paco Alcacer, that’s the name I couldn’t remember.

ELISA:  I hate to say it but, VCF and Sevilla really don,t know how to develop talent.  It’s crazy how Valencia are selling Tino Costa and Topal.  Matthieu, Pablo, who isn’t for sale?

ALLEN:  Sevilla has developed some, but sold them off.  at VCF if you don’t become a huge star quickly, they just sell you on, it seems to me.

ELISA:  VCF are like Real Madrid, one chance and if you don’t shine then boom bye bye!

THIRD PARTY OWNERSHIP

ALLEN:  I will also be curious to see if the match-fixing probe causes problems for Serie a clubs.  before this came out, I was thinking Italian clubs to be very active this summer

ELISA:  Exactly, who wants to go there now?  Have you noticed that cheap stars from Portugal and France are the latest craze?  Speaking of trends, the Doyen Group will be getting more involved with clubs again. looks like Depor will be another active party using third party investment.

ALLEN:  My sense is what we are seeing is the Spanish economy just dragging everyone in the league down, and everyone has to either cut their budget or come up with creative ways to acquire players, like Doyen.

ELISA:  so true, so many people out of work in Spain.

ALLEN:  I mean Doyen are being linked with so many clubs now, even Espanyol.

ELISA:  Banks are unwilling to loan monies anymore.  Doyen always had Espanyol players on their website.  Alvaro Vazquez is the flavor of the month, being linked with everyone

ALLEN:  Sure, I think it was pretty clear last year the banks had put pressure on Sr. Roig to separate his business loans from Villarreal (which is why he converted his ‘advances’ to equity)

ELISA:  It’s a slippery slope.

ALLEN:  yes, Doyen had players on the website, but I think I see more teams willing to use third parties.  it is a slippery slope and UEFA/FIFA are really concerned about this.  what incentive do you have to manage your team properly when you can pull a deal like Zaragoza did for Roberto?

ELISA:  FIFA and UEFA have so much to do in so many matters, they are reactive not proactive.  The betting corruption shite has hit the fan!

ALLEN:  Remember 3rd party ownership started in leagues that had lots of talent that was probably going to be eventually exported, but very little money (Brazil, for example).  is La Liga going to become like that?

ELISA:  unfortunately yes.  Thankfully the cantera, and youth structures in Spain are superb.

ALLEN:  or, is it going to become a league where the super agents like Mendes have such a large stable of players they can control, where a lot of talent goes?  probably, yes again.

ELISA:  well yeah, both.  but what scares me is competition.  is it manufactured in that type of league?  is it easy to fall prey to betting business models and more corruption.  But I digress…

ALLEN:  Exactly, how do you know what is going on when Atletico and Getafe pay and say half the players out there are owned by Doyen Group or repped by Mendes?

ELISA:  That’s why I asked Ravi to do his agent by club stats analysis on Spain, we might see more big players agent wise per club.  We might see a monopoly.  Serie a has farm clubs IE Juve, Udinese, the other striped team.  In La Liga you have Real Madrid – Getafe – Castilla.  Atletico – Rayo.  Then you have the agents.

ALLEN:  I think we will.  I go back to what I said before when we did the podcast–the problem is Spain’s judicial system has not caught up with the “Wild West” mentality in sports these days

ELISA: The league nor the judicial system.  Did you know that Zaragoza B also stayed up in Segunda B?

DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY MONEY IN SPAIN?

ALLEN:  well, the league is simply the big two, really…they make the decisions.

ELISA:  Exactly, but do you agree with what Raul said that in England or Germany the big two, would still be the big two?

ALLEN:  well, not totally.  in Germany there is much more of a “we are all in this together” mentality–the Bundesliga really does try to keep itself solvent as a league and make decisions for the benefit of all its members.

ELISA:  Bayern is still the man.

ALLEN:  Sure, but Bayern’s strength is due to their business acumen as much as it is the players on the pitch.  That seems pretty fair to me.

ELISA:  and their past glories or competitive edge.  Some would say the marketing power of the big two makes a huge difference.

ALLEN:  Sure, but they, RM, and to a lesser extent Barca, lead the way when it comes to revenues from sponsorship deals.

ELISA:  but the tv revenues as we all know is the key.

ALLEN:  Yeah, but they are not as big a key for the big two as they are for everyone else.  RM especially has a really good revenue stream between match day revenues/TV/sponsorship.  they market themselves very, very well.

ELISA:  oh I know, but they are highly dependent on the monies, as part of the equation.

ALLEN:  TV is critical for a team like Villarreal or many of the mid-level teams in the Primera that have limited match day revenues, and aren’t going to get the big sponsorship deals.

ELISA:  That is why Malaga is choking. I think their new deal will help along with Europe.

ALLEN:  Malaga’s problem is they are where Chelsea was years ago and where Man City was a couple of years ago.  if they can build on CL, get out of the group stage and start developing a larger fan base, they can probably challenge Valencia for 3rd each year!

ELISA:  That too, but the 12M TV revenues probably was a shocker this year.

ALLEN:  That’s right.  if Malaga were in the EPL, they’d have 50M+ TV revs, and I saw today the sheik says he’ll spend 40-50M.  so basically he is kicking in the TV money they would get under a better system.

ELISA: looks like the Dubai group have disappeared for Getafe.

ALLEN:  yes, Getafe Team Dubai seems to have gone away.

ELISA:  well I expect a lot of turmoil this year in La Liga.  I read that athletic club made 16M from europa league, not bad!

ALLEN:  16M sounds awfully high for EL.  Villarreal got 10M last year (OK, we lost in the semis) but we were the only Spanish team in the last 8, I think.  The market pool runs by country and all the teams in the country that are still playing split it, and it’s not an even split–the team finishing 5th in La Liga gets more than the team that was 6th.

ELISA:  The thing with Athletic is that they always had a full house and top rivals.  plus Europa monies have increased this year.  also, Athletic build ticket demand with this whole scarcity tactic.  it is so hard to buy Athletic tickets!

ALLEN:  The key thing for me is going to be do players like Llorente, Muinain (and Falcao for Atletico Madrid) stick around, or do they leave for England or somewhere?

ELISA:  I think the most likely player to move could be Javi Martinez.  I don’t think he likes to play at center back, so it could be Bielsa dependent.  Athletic doesn’t need to sell. they are pretty financially sound. Atleti need to figure out how to keep Falcao at the club, because they owe a lot of money to Porto.  they need to sell some players and replace them with cheaper versions.  Well I expect a lot of turmoil this year in La Liga.

ALLEN:  Yeah, turmoil for sure.  Actually I think we may have seen the blueprint for this year, in last year’s competition.  The big 2 are off in their own world, the other 18 are pretty much competing against each other.  Yeah, there are some teams with better players than others (Valencia, Malaga), but in the end… back to Falcao and Llorente, if players like that leave, then La Liga starts to become a development league.  As long as there are still stars being developed here who stay here, the league will be OK.

ELISA:  BTW, Diego is not returning to Atletico.  Right now La Liga still has the biggest payroll in the world, but yes that whole development league moniker is slowly becoming a reality.

ALLEN:  Yeah, I saw Diego was leaving.  AM has the problem of the money owed the government.  Maybe in Spain you can keep the taxman at bay forever, but I wonder…

ELISA:  The LFP and government talk as if they are going to keep 30% of transfer fees to cover debt owed to the taxman, but that’s why there are third party groups, another tax loophole.

ALLEN:  La Liga has the biggest payroll, but take out the big 2 and then look at it.  Sevilla have cut their budget by 30m; Villarreal the same.  Espanyol says they have to cut their budget, Valencia already have cut salaries and probably will again.

ELISA:  Atleti need to cut too.  Athletic can handle their payroll and they have very little debt.

ALLEN:  Yeah 30% of nothing is going to be nothing.  and Osasuna want to pay off their debt over 50 years!!  Right, Atleti need to cut.  I guess Athletic are really about the only club in the “liga Justa’ that have no financial worries–plus they are moving into a new stadium.

ELISA:  Interesting times to say the least, take out the big two, and there is parity and competition. Osasuna are considered to be a well run club for La Liga.  But you won’t see the big players coming there if the money disappears, as you said earlier, a development league…

ALLEN:  That’s right.  (I guess Malaga don’t have financial worries if the sheik visits often enough; that seems to be the only time people get paid).  Osasuna owe a bunch to the taxman though.

ELISA: How much is that?

ALLEN:  Osasuna–I forget, but I know they presented a repayment plan that stretched for 50 years!

ELISA:  well, most clubs have a payment plan til 2020.  i didn’t think Osasuna’s was that big, my bad.

SEGUNDA TALK

ALLEN:  Segunda will be interesting with RM Castilla, Barca B, and Mirandes along with Villarreal and Sporting.

ELISA:  La Liga will be stronger too with Depor and Celta Vigo.

ALLEN:  I think Celta is financially OK, though they went bankrupt awhile ago. Depor I don’t know. Hercules and Valladolid, if they make it, are basket cases.

ELISA:  Celta and Depor are not big spenders, but crafty and develop talent well.  Depor is not in Ley Concursal aka administration.  The Primera playoffs, well I would like to see a new team like Cordoba come up.

ALLEN:  yes they do.  You know Iago Aspas wanted to come to Villarreal last summer, Celta would not let him go.  Depor as I recall ran a breakeven budget the last year in Primera.

ELISA:  Celta is smart, don’t sell your crown jewels like Mallo and Aspas.

ALLEN:  Cordoba have been playing well but Valladolid have been the most impressive, at least the two games I saw against Villarreal B.

ELISA: The playoffs are a crap shoot.

ALLEN:  Celta have an excellent attacking midfield and front; defense is only OK.  yes, the playoffs are always iffy.  Alcorcon could get in, they have had a good run of late.

ELISA:  Yeah that would 5 madrid teams in the top flight!  Hmm, Florentino has one more chance to make good with Castilla and the cantera in Segunda a, as well, but I worry that Mendes might get his grubby hands all over it!

ALLEN:  Time to wrap our chat. Here’s my parting thoughts:  It’s going to be interesting for me to watch the Primera with my team not in it, and I think this could be a watershed year for the league depending on what happens in the EU.   La Liga’s foundations may be built on sand, I’m afraid.  I hope not, but if the economy implodes…..  I worry about Mendes and his ilk too. and Doyen.  I just think Spain doesn’t understand the danger (competition, betting, etc) these sorts of things set them up for.

ELISA:  Yeah are you really going to be excited with Villarreal in Segunda to watch Primera?

ALLEN:  yes, well, I think if Celta go up I will probably try to see how they do.   and hopefully Villarreal will get off to a decent start in the Segunda (no one has any money there either, and the B teams can’t get promoted!)

ELISA:  funny how it seems to be status quo – two B teams in 2A.

VILLARREAL

ALLEN:  it will be strange though not watching the Primera with an eye toward seeing players we need to watch out for or who we might want to acquire.  By the way, we forgot Russia supposedly Borja Valero may go to Rubin Kazan.

ELISA:  I wonder if Ravi will be enthused.  plus we have the new provider Al Jazeera. I heard you guys sold Marcano to Rubin.  Russia is a buyer for sure.

ALLEN:  Ravi’s been a fan for a long time, but I think this season took a lot out of all of us.  Yeah, supposedly we sold Marcano for €6m which is amazing if true.

ELISA:  I think the whole sponsorship transfer market like that in Brasil might come to Spain too. Yeah the end of the season for Villarreal was so very sad.  A well-run club like Villarreal going down, really makes you despise the league organization and problems.

ALLEN:  Yeah, really.  and there are going to be more cases like Racing where crooks and charlatans play trusting politicians for all they’re worth.  I still can’t believe they can’t get rid of Ali Syed!

ELISA:  That is disgusting!  When I was down there in March, the Villarreal staff was so nervous. they already had the fear of relegation.

ALLEN:  at the end of the day being well run doesn’t matter if you can’t perform on the pitch.  but it does leave a bitter taste when Zaragoza stay up and their best player (Roberto), they shouldn’t have been allowed to have.  and Granada the feeder club of Udinese….

ELISA:  We might see more setups like Granada.

ALLEN:  it seemed to me the Villarreal players were nervous from about August on.  When did we play well?  I can’t remember a match.

ELISA:  but talking doom and gloom? in March?  I really don’t like Granada

ALLEN:  well, development league is the Granada model.  None of our players had ever been through anything like this at Villarreal.  Even when Valverde got fired, the team was mid table.

ELISA:  but normally teams stay positive?

ALLEN:  I don’t like Granada either.  but I like Zaragoza less.

ELISA:  Yeah when a team (with no relegation fighting experience) gets in the scrap heap, I feel that it could all go down hill. BTW, I keep hearing that Agapito will step down at Zaragoza, but I just really doubt it.

ALLEN:  Normally teams do stay positive.  I don’t think we had a team leader though, and with Santi and Joan Capdevila gone, we didn’t have the jokers to lighten things up.  Agapito won’t leave.

ELISA:  Yeah, Agapito is king of the hill.

Military deployment can raise any number of questions an active duty soldier can’t readily answer. There’s no telling when you may be called to serve, where, for how long, or if you’ll be placed into combat. for many servicemen and women, it can also mean leaving a family back home for extended, indefinite periods of time.

One of the most important things a deployed service member has to consider is if their family is financially secure and prepared while you’re on a tour of duty. Is your current savings account enough of a safety net? Are all your affairs in order, including a last will? how about insurance policies? What about special military family benefits?

Here are a few money management tips to consider if you’re being deployed:

Set goals and budget accordingly. You may realize that you or your spouse have never sat down to figure out a budget. Now’s the time to start. if you’ve been assigned to a six-month deployment, ask yourselves how much money will your household need to live on for that period. if you have other expenses like landscaping or dry cleaning, in addition to necessities like groceries, utilities, and childcare, prioritize your finances to see what you can and can’t live without for a few months. for emergency expenses, experts recommend a reserve of around $2,000. Setting up programs like automatic bill pay can help ease the trouble of keeping up with due dates of bills.

The Military Wallet suggests that you may want to consider appointing a power of attorney to a family member you’d like to be in charge of finances while you’re gone. however, this can come with certain restrictions; consult with your Judge Advocate General’s Corp office.

Ensure you’re insured. a good life insurance policy is absolutely essential if you’ve been deployed and leaving family behind. Military Wallet says to check with your policy provider that your contract doesn’t include a clause stating your family won’t be paid benefits if you’re killed in action. It’s a terrible thing to consider, but necessary for your family’s financial future. Do you have traumatic injury protection? a power of attorney may also be helpful in deciding who’ll make your healthcare decisions if you cannot. at this time, make sure your last will and estate plan is also up to date and in order.

Also, check other insurance policies in your name—is there a car, for example, you won’t be driving while you’re deployed? if so, you could temporarily cancel insurance on items that won’t be in use, saving you and your family money. if you’re single, the Military Connection website even suggests placing your belongings in storage and paying rental insurance, saving you the cost of rent on an entire apartment.

Special military programs. You may be able to take advantage of services offered specifically for deployed service members. some, like the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, may offer you or your family a break on things like apartment leases, or delay civil proceedings. Through special considerations, the deployed military service member may also qualify for lower rates on mortgage or auto loans, or even credit cards, too. regardless, it’s best to check with your creditors about any and all breaks they can offer you during your deployment.

If you’re being deployed, check with organizations like the PenFed Credit Union for their savings and loan rates. if it’s a mortgage you’re fronting, you could qualify for special programs like the credit union’s Dream Makers Grant, available to all active duty service members.

Investments and additional income. There’s a program called the Savings Deposit Program (SDP) that you may qualify for. The Military Times says that service members deployed to designated combat zones may be eligible to deposit as much as $10,000 of their unalloted pay and allowances into the SDP. Additionally, check for other sources of income you may have coming. The Times says your family may be entitled to Family Separation, Imminent Danger, or Hardship pay. once you’ve confirmed that extra pay, the publication says to consider how your family can use that extra cash flow— the Combat Zone Tax Exclusion may apply.

Separate but equal. In the case of a military deployment, one can’t understate the need for joint accounts between you and your spouse. Setting up separate accounts in your name, and your husband or wife’s name, allows your spouse to easily take care of expenses while you’re away. This can clear up confusion over money matters and makes managing your finances easier for the whole family. It’s bad enough to deal with the stress of a high-risk deployment— don’t let your family fall into debt over a money discrepancy.

Active duty deployment means you’re serving your country when it matters most. It’s an assignment that any enlisted soldier can be proud of. it can be both an exciting, yet uncertain opportunity. Deployment is hard enough that worrying about your family’s finances shouldn’t be a cause for concern. by following these simple tips as a start, you can make sure that your affairs, your money, and your future as an active duty service member are in order.

Paul Sisolak writes for www.GoBankingRates.com, which provides readers informative personal finance and investing content, as well as the best interest rates on financial services nationwide.

A new survey by Aviva USA, in collaboration with Mayo Clinic, has found the primary factor contributing to stress for men in the US is their financial situation.

The survey also reveals a strong correlation between high levels of stress and dramatic weight gain among US males.

Two out of three men reported they were stressed, with finances the top contributing factor for a third of the men surveyed.

In addition to the linkage between stress and finances, 45% of men also reported gaining weight over the past 10 years and according to the study, the correlation between weight and stress is pronounced.

Specifically, men who indicated a large decrease in weight over the past 10 years tended to be less affected by stress, whereas men who were extremely stressed were more than three times as likely to have had a dramatic increase in weight over the last decade, compared to other male respondents.

Additional key findings related to men are:

One in four men questioned rarely or never exercised.

When asked to identify the factor that most contributes to their stress, 34% of men said their financial situation, 17% said family / relationships, 12% said job stability, 10% said the fast pace of life and 8% said their health.

Sixty-two percent of men who were extremely stressed were also uncomfortable with their financial situation. in contrast, only 21% of those who said they are not stressed claimed to be uncomfortable with their financial situation.

Even though men identified “financial situation” as the biggest factor contributing to stress, half of all men surveyed said they rarely discuss finances with anyone.

Aviva USA’s survey was conducted by Ipsos and involved 2,000 US adults.

Category: Aviva News, Health Insurance News, Insurance News, Life Insurance News

The need for capital investment as part of an urgent and sustainable resolution to the economic difficulties in the Euro Area has been set out in the Scottish Parliament today by Finance Secretary John Swinney.

During the debate Mr Swinney stressed the need for stability in the European economy.  he pointed out that balancing austerity and boosting economic growth was essential not just for the Scottish economy but also for the global recovery.

He warned that there is clear evidence that the current difficulties cannot be addressed by austerity alone and that a co-ordinated stimulus to capital investment is required across the Euro Area.

Finance Secretary John Swinney said:

WOONSOCKET, R.I.—The Woonsocket City Council has asked the state to appoint a budget commission to take control of city finances and help close a budget deficit in the School Department.

The Council voted 5 to 2 on Sunday. Members Roger Jalette and Albert Brien opposed the move.

The Providence Journal reports that Brien and Jalette proposed bringing in a state-appointed receiver who could provide more options.

Rhode Island Public Radio reports that Mayor Leo Fontaine said the school department could run out of money in two weeks, even with a fast state school aid payment of $3 million.

Woonsocket officials said Friday they expected a state takeover of the city’s finances after a proposed tax increase failed to reach a vote in the state House of Representatives.

© Copyright 2012 associated Press. all rights reserved. this material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Most families I know are shocked when they first hear what it costs to adopt a child.  It isn’t cheap.  In case you didn’t know, it can cost anywhere from $15,000 – $50,000 to adopt a child.  Domestic adoptions can run higher if PAPs are paying for the birthmother’s expenses.  (Exception: adopting through the US foster care system is almost always free.)

I would guess that many families considering adoption see those numbers and initially abandon the idea. The amounts seem overwhelming. They certainly did to us. But don’t let the fear of financing an adoption stand in the way of providing a family for a child in need.

Funding an adoption isn’t easy, but it is possible –even for middle class, pay-check to pay-check families (like ours). When my husband and I first started the process to adopt we had almost no savings to pay for an adoption. I heard people who had done it say, “Just move forward, the money will come.” That sounded good, but I was pretty nervous about putting it to the test.  I’m not proud to admit that even though we’re Christians, and deep-down believed the funds would come, I still tended to worry and fret about finances during our first adoption.  Every time a payment was coming up I would lay awake at night freaking out because we didn’t have the money in the bank.

It took me a while (a long while!) but finally I started to see what was happening – we were praying and asking God to provide the funds for this adoption, and each step of the way, He was providing it!  I learned that He wasn’t always just going to drop the money into our laps (though sometimes He did).  He wanted us to do our part to work for it.  but what we couldn’t come up with, He sent.  sometimes it didn’t come in until the very last second, and it often came in ways we weren’t expecting, but by the time every deadline arrived, so did the money.

We knew God wanted effort and sacrifice from us to come up with the extra money, so there were no extras purchased during that time period.  We saved as much as possible from each paycheck.  No movies, fewer dinners out, no extra shopping, etc.  I took on a second part-time job.  It didn’t pay a lot, but the money went straight into our adoption fund.  My husband started doing some extra projects at work.  We borrowed money from a family member which we later repaid on a monthly basis after we got home with our son.  We found and were given a small adoption grant.  We started selling t-shirts I designed (that part was fun!), friends and family handed us checks at church and in the grocery store and we found money in our mailbox.  We got two no-interest adoption loans, one we paid back with our tax refund and one we’re still paying on monthly.

Some people wouldn’t blink an eye at going into debt for a house or vehicle, but refuse to consider an adoption loan.  For us, getting our child home was so much more important than a new house or car.

In a one-year period we were able to come up with about $20,000 to adopt our first son. At the end, when we were home and looked back on it all, we could hardly believe how miraculously it all came together, just like people assured us it would!

Our next two adoptions were mostly paid for out of our adoption tax refund (see the link on that below), fee reductions due to SN, and a large grant that was given because of the kids’ SN.   Though I still had some occasional bouts with worry about funding, I was more relaxed throughout the process because I had learned that that God would provide.  As someone said to encourage us during our time of fundraising – God funds what he favors. And He certainly did fund our adoptions.

There are so many resources and ideas for funding an adoption.  Don’t think because you don’t have $20,000 sitting in the bank that you can’t do it.  You can!  Look for resources listed at the end of the post.

Ongoing costs of parenting our special needs children:

We’re parenting two SN children.  Thankfully, we have fairly good insurance.  Our daughter has a significant physical disability and while she hasn’t had a lot of medical costs (doctors visits, hospitalizations, etc) we have the cost of PT/OT, adaptive equipment and modifications of our home/cars, etc to accommodate her.  These things haven’t been much of a burden thanks to some creativity and amazingly generous people.  Her wheelchair (specially designed & outrageously expensive) was paid for mostly by insurance.  We were faced with a $3,000 co-pay that the mobility store graciously waived because “they heard her story and know that adoption is expensive.”  Amazing!  PT/OT is covered by insurance, ramp modifications to our house are being done by family and friends so we don’t have to pay anyone to do them, and we’re regularly given gas cards to help with the cost of getting to appointments.  I know people find it surprising but we’ve really had very little extra out of pocket costs due to Jovia’s special needs.

Our little boy has different SN that require many doctors’ appointments and other services.  His care costs more right now simply because his primary nutrition source is Pediasure and wow, is that stuff expensive!  Thankfully, insurance has been paying for it.  There are programs that would pay for his food if we couldn’t afford it and were willing to accept their assistance.  His therapies and doctor visits are almost completely paid for by insurance.  His medical needs have not been a financial burden for our family.

There are many services and help available for families parenting SN children.  Advocacy and networking are key to tapping into these resources.  Birth-to-three programs are wonderful (and free) for those with little ones.  Early Intervention is free here.  Our local EI has been great to work with and has loaned our family equipment so that we don’t have to purchase several very expensive items (SN stroller, standing frame, walker, etc).  For families that can’t afford co-pays there are, in most states, assistance programs to help those with SN children afford medical care (for example, BCMH in Ohio).  There is the Ryan White program for HIV+ children and prescription cards for medicines.  PT/OT/Speech is provided in many (all?) public schools to children once they hit school age.  There are many programs and resources available to help families with the financial aspect of caring for their special needs child.   Examples of these resources are listed below.

Some families I know would like to share how they afford and parent their special needs children. I hope they’re an encouragement to you:

“I was in line for a domestic adoption and SPECIFICALLY told my agency I couldn’t (wouldn’t) do special needs. (My son) was born perfect appearing and came home at 2 days old. but at two months old, I knew something wasn’t right. To cut a longer story short, he has Septo Optic Dysplasia. He had to see four medical specialists (above and beyond his pediatrician) for his first three years. we started Early Intervention when he was just 18 months old and he had four therapies a week until he was three. I also see two separate alternative medicine docs who are not covered by insurance. Then there is (my daughter). she has HIV but no other real services at this point. she has four appts a year at the PID and then her usual pediatrician appts. all of that is pretty covered by insurance, other than the copays (normal) or out of pocket maximums. The good news is that (early intervention) (for the kids) is severely reduced thru the state. it is a sliding scale based on income, the MAX of which is $200 a month, even if you’re a millionaire. so some people pay nothing and the most is $200 for TONS of services. as you know, people have to ADVOCATE for their children to get into these things. (My son) wasn’t so far behind when I started screaming, but my mama’s intuition told me he wasn’t right. I pushed until they said yes and then I pushed some more. Those first three years are critical — particularly because it’s free but also because their brain is developing so fast.”

“we are moving forward with our special needs adoption with faith that God will provide. It’s more a concern for the actual adoption process than anything else. we feel confident that our insurance will cover his needed surgeries…then Shriner’s hospital where we will go frequently has a habit of writing off the excess so there is no burden to families. Still there will be the cost of flights and such, but we trust God for all things, why not this too? he is calling us to this child, we believe He will provide!!”

“I will share briefly…about our experience with the financial aspect of SN adoptions. we have been blessed in this area. our first two adoptions, were domestic, and they both had medical cards (through their birthmother) until our adoption was finalized. They have prenatal drug/alcohol Exposure, but nothing long term. our 3rd adoption was also domestic, and had a medical Card until finalized, but he has sickle cell disease, which can be expensive, when he has pain crisis. we have decent insurance, but still the co-pays and deductibles can add up quickly. we did not know he had sickle cell when we adopted him. our goal is prevention, and so far it is working well. He has only about 1 hospitalization per year. it is fairly financially manageable. our 4th adoption, was a domestic with limb differences. we did apply, and were granted, a non-ward IL state adoption subsidy for his medical expenses. He had several surgeries and therapies the first few years of his life, but there is nothing more that can be done for him at this point.our 5th adoption was our daughter from China, with Beta Thalassemia. we thought we knew all about this disease, but were shocked when she came home to us in heart failure, kidney failure, liver failure, and unable to walk more than a few feet. she spent 3 days in the ICU on her homecoming, and was transfused every 5-7 days for months after coming home. This was a HUGE financial burden, but God totally took care of it. we applied for assistance, through the hospital, and it was granted. Shortly afterward, we found out about a Research project thought St. Jude Children’s Hospital, and our daughter qualified. so, for now, St. Jude provides all of her Beta Thal related medical expenses, and settles for what our insurance pays. This has truly been a gift from God! what a blessing!our 6th adoption is our most challenging. she was a domestic disruption, at 4 months. she has hydrocephaly, cerebral palsy, cortical vision impairment, severe cognitive delays, epilepsy, and so on! she is basically about a 2-3 month old in a 3 year old’s body. our atty insisted that if we pursued her adoption, we had to apply for the non-ward IL state subsidy for her care as well, which we did. we were approved for this subsidy,and it therefore provides for her medical Care. our 7, 8, & 9th adoptions are a sibling group, that we took legal guardianship of in Feb. They have medical cards at this point, until our adoption is final, which should be in December. The 2 oldest are fine, no SN, the youngest has MR, Autism, ADHD, and PTSD. Still trying to decide if we should apply for the subsidy for him or not. He does require some meds, but nothing to crazy.So……bottom line for us…..we would not have been able to afford to continue to add to our family without some assistance. many people are against any form of assistance. we were at the beginning. but, several of our children would have ended up in life-long residential programs, had we declined their adoptions for financial reasons.we feel God has put these children in our lives, and we feel he has provided a way to help with their care, through the various programs mentioned above. we are a one-income family, and there are months that we are VERY stretched, but He has always provided. all of our adoptions were between $5000-32,000, and we have never had to borrow money to pay for them. He provides, sometimes in very miraculous ways!”

…We’ve done 7 international adoptions, so you can imagine the amount of “ransom” money, as we like to call it, that has been paid out to bring our children home. If you were to look at a ledger of our finances, our income and amount spent on adoption does work out in an accounting sense. but that is because that is not how God works. we have learned to trust him more and more with each adoption as we have experienced his faithfulness to us. we have seen and know that when He calls you to serve him, He provides the means….There have been many times when we were in the middle of an adoption and had no idea where we’d get the money to finish paying for it. every time, God has provided through things like unexpected work bonuses or anonymous donations.”

“Finances have always been a concern when it comes to adopting, but we have never allowed money to stand in the way of adopting a child. it is no secret to those that know us that our faith in God has moved mountains when it comes to financing an adoption. we have began each of our adoptions with very little money but by the time our fees are due the money comes together. through much prayer and faith God provides….we have never ask for help from others until this adoption, we were first only adopting one little girl but we lost her referral. (The agency) called us about 2 little boys needing a family quickly, although we didn’t have the money for two we felt they were our boys. That was our first leap of faith, the money was provided. Then God put it upon our hearts strongly that we were to adopt (another special needs little girl), we had not a penny and owed 5000 on the boys but we said yes. Praise God families have stepped forward and we now only need another 2500 to have our country fees all paid. our hearts are with special needs, and older children, ones that might be looked over by others, it has been for many years. our first adoption we wanted a healthy girl from Korea, we received our referral of a healthy beautiful little girl only to learn a few months later she had CP. The agency tried to get us to not move forward but to accept another referral, how very sad of this agency that they felt she was not worthy of a family. That beautiful little girl is now a healthy 22 year old whom graduated with honors from Mount Vernon Nazarene this past week-end and now headed to grad school to be a physicans assistant where God has called her to practice medicine in Africa. Had we given up on her who knows where she would have spent her life, 22 years ago special needs adoptions were unheard of.”

—————————————————————————Resources:

Abba FundLifesong for OrphansA Child WaitsGift of AdoptionKatelyns FundLydia FundPathways for Little Feet Room for one more ChildHelp Us AdoptShow HopeAva’s HopeGolden DawnNational Adoption FoundationOrphans ImpactOrphans RansomSea of FacesOATH Fair HopeEliya’s HeartSophie’s FoundationGrace Hands of HopeMICAH Fund (African American infants only)JSC FoundationSalvation International 

2012 Adoption Tax Credit Explained

Blogs are a wonderful resource for ideas on fundraising for an adoption.   Google Blog Search 

Reece’s Rainbow  (grants on special needs children)Project Hopeful (photolisting, grants on some children)The Morgan Project (grants & equipment swap)By State Listing of Early Interventional/Birth to three ProgramsNational Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (State resource sheets to help you find programs in your State.)The Special Parent (resource blog from a mom of special needs children)

What questions do you still have about financing your adoption?  Do you have any resources to add to our list above? 

Posted on may 30, 2012 at 8:08 am in Adoption, Adoption Series, special needs adoption, Waiting Kids   |  RSS feed |   Respond   |   Trackback URL

This blog post is essential reading, in my opinion.

Maybe a missing part of the list above is the right attitude toward money. that is, having means is a better situation to be in than being poor. I think this fits into number 3 but it is slightly more than what is said there. what I am trying to say is, having money is not a bad thing. go out and get some. Win with money.

I liked the millionaire next door and I'll see if the millionaire mind is available at the library. it sounds interesting. I have a supportive spouse and that's probably my strongest point. in the past I did very well with discipline and social skill, but I think those things have deteriorated quite a bit since college. Looking forward to reading this book.

Amen! Thomas Stanley also published "stop Acting Rich: …and Live like A Real Millionaire". it was published more recently (2009). It's sort of a rehash of the original Millionaire book, but good. I see you can pick up a good used copy on Amazon for less than $7.50.

I concur totally with the points raised in this article.

1) we still live well below our means. When we look back we see that we used to spend a lot more freely when we were worth a lot less. I am not sure why except that our "wants" are neglible these days.

2) I now manage 15 Fidelity accounts including ours and those of our three children. It's not a lot of work but it's a lot of responsibility because they total 8 figures and each have nice gains.

3) Social status has never been important to us, though living in a beautiful home in a great location and with a lovely garden is, especially since my parents were renters their whole life.

4) When I left home the day I got married I was giving my mother half of my paycheck for my board and keep – unheard of these days in the USA. I received BS and MS degrees without ever being a full time student and without any parental help.

5) our two daughters are both multi-millionaires, our son is getting very close to his first million.

6) I am no longer targeting market opportunities but I took full advantage of a great opportunity soon after I retired and marketed a mutual fund analysis program to 1601 customers of the commercial database that I use every day.

7) I was fortunate in deciding to become an aerospace engineer and never had a single day of unemployment and never a year without a nice raise – thanks in large part to the arms race generated by the cold War with the USSR.

I cannot overemphasize the fact that I wouldn't be where I am today without my loving and supportive wife that I first met in 1950 in England and have been married to since 1956, the year we emigrated, first to Canada, then to the USA.

I totally agree with points raised in this book.

Most important factors for me were:

1. choice of spouse

2. Working to develop a career than happens to pay well.

3. Living well below our income (need 1 & 2 to get to this point).

Melissa,You didn't say what career path you chose. There are quite a few good ones. Healthcare is a great field with the US population aging, new technologies coming along all the time, and no danger of your job being outsourced to countries with low labor rates. You also don't have to have an M.D. to have a really great and secure job in that field, often junior colleges can provide the needed qualifications.

These days I would also be taking a good look at jobs in any branch of government, be it city, county, state, or federal. they still provide good benefits and pensions and are not nearly as prone to layoffs as companies that have to show a profit.

"I have always succeeded by hard work, not raw ability."

Funnily enough almost everyone who succeeds says this. not sure there is 'raw ability', merely people who devote an exceptional amount of time to a particular subject. If you work really hard at being an artist you'd probably end up pretty good if you worked hard and efficiently at improving yourself.

Rob: I think that's the expected, humble, thing to say. it takes a sort of arrogance to say that your talent is so far above everyone else's that it has propelled you to success without requiring as much work as those around you, even though, in many cases, it's probably true.

The only somewhat-of-a-counter example I can come up with is that I remember hearing that tennis great John McEnroe claimed that he had more talent in his little finger than his rival Ivan Lendl, but that Lendl worked harder at tennis than McEnroe ever would. that was probably just trash-talk.

Even if you're born with talent, developing that talent into something useful takes hard work.

MattJ: I'm just trying to think what you can be born with to make you a better tennis player… better eye to hand co-ordination? More agility? I'm not convinced, I suspect key early developments at a very young age where we are very responsive are mistaken for talent.

I agree that living below your means is essential. I rented this as an audio book through my work a couple years back and it had a lot of great material in it. I highly suggest it to see how the normal millionaire thinks.

I agree with Mike that choice of spouse is important — tremendously so. Romance is great (and necessary), but choosing a life partner with some practical things in mind makes all the difference as to whether your life partner is really for life.

Financial compatibility is essential. If you and your spouse have differing values, beliefs and behaviors around money, at the very least you should be willing and able to set common strategic goals and then compromise on the tactical stuff (the nitty gritty of how to go about achieving those goals). Otherwise, I feel like there would be a lot of unnecessary unhappiness in your life together.

P.S. I have been married (to the same person) for 19-1/2 years.

EM,Among my children's acquaintances I have known a few dating couples that made a "Mistake" and then "HAD" to get married because of family beliefs. These marriages often ended in divorce, and we all know the financial and emotional impact that can produce. When I was dating back in the early 50's things were very different. Even when I left England in 1956 there had never been a divorce in either of our extended families – it just didn't happen. Another thing that never happened in my youth was "living together", that would have been an unthinkable family disgrace even in the unlikely event that the couple could afford to move out. The boy's high school that I attended had a student body that was 99.7% WASP with two Catholic students and one Jewish student out of 1,000, that were excused from the prayer service that started the school day. The all girl's high school that my wife attended had a similar makeup. Today's world presents many challenges that didn't exist when I was a young man.

@Melissa: Me too!! I'm in the same boat as you with the HORRIBLE career choice. and yes, it was an awful decision (although, decades back when I chose it, I had no idea that it would turn bad), and although I've worked extremely hard, and have been frugal, I've ended up quite poor.

So, I feel your pain. I suggest that you go back to school to learn something else. I am back in college now for an accounting degree. I really hope it will pay off, despite my old age.

@ Melissa> I chose graphic design. Actually, I fell into it by accident, but it's been my career for the past decade.Just because that is what you are doing now doesn’t mean you have to continue to do it. If you fell into it then you can still make a conscious move out of it today. The book _What Color is Your Parachute?_ had a section on career changes. It’s been years since I’ve read it but I seem to remember that one of the keys was to try to find a position that uses many of your existing skills, so that you can get value from your current training.

You could start by looking at related fields that might pay better. For example, right now you probably are designing documents for your customers. could you design user interfaces for an application or web page instead? I don’t know if it pays well or not, but it can certainly add a lot of value.

I’m sure there would be new things for you to lean, but wouldn’t it be worth learning new skills to get out of a dead end job?

If there was a pill that you could give employees to immunize them against unauthorized financial activity you’d give it right?

Well, there is an inoculation of sorts that you can build into your finance and accounting staffers.  When you exhibit and train the character traits of courage, loyalty and innovation you reduce the chance of an infection from rouge financial activity.

Here are the three secret ingredients for the character vaccine known to reduce the damage from unauthorized trading, banking, contracting and spending.

Courage: you must be able to manage your fears in order to be courageous. Courage is not the absence of fear but the informed decision to move forward in spite of calculated risks. however, courage should be exhibited withing the boundaries of company policy. Being brave doesn’t mean breaking the rules.

Loyalty: Promote a policy to always keep the boss informed and not let him or her get blindsided by good or bad news. Encourage your staffers to bring news to you especially news that could cause harm to those around you. bad new is not like fine wine which gets better with age. Whales that know they might be spotted are less likely to remain on the surface. This makes it more difficult for an employee to carry out rouge activities but can have the unintended consequence of making them dive deeper to avoid detection.

Innovation: Encourage those around you to lead through ideas. the ultimate outcome is for a team to proactively address an issue with an outstanding plan of action with minimal input from the leader. however, executive oversight must be maintained to ensure compliance with company policy.

Trust but verify through training and financial controls. the effective executive must coach his team to high levels of excellence, reputation, honesty, commitment, courage, loyalty and innovation. these are powerful causes that drive the team toward desired results and reduce the chance for rouge employee behavior.

What have you implemented in your company to train for the desired character attributes among your employees?