Sharpen Your Driving Skills

Sharpen Your Driving Skills

driver safety info from The Hartford

Guidebooks are available in downloadable form or by ordering from The Hartford,
Publication Request, 200 Hopmeadow Street, Simsbury, CT 06089. Booklets from "A guide to Comprehensive Drive Evaluations" to "We need to talk: Family Conversations with Older Drivers". You can down load these at www.safedrivingforalifetime.com/publications

Be safe out there. Seems no one is watching the road. They are busy texting and talking on the phone. Also seems you can always tell, veering off the road some, looking down toward their lap instead of the road, slowing down...

Health Care Reform Bill

Here's some good news about the health care bill passed this week. Seems it can help caregivers and seniors wanting to stay at home. Cut and paste the link below in a browser to read the entire article.

http://www.aolnews.com/healthcare/article/few-know-health-care-law-has-class/19413357?icid=main|hp-desktop|dl1|link3|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aolnews.com%2Fhealthcare%2Farticle%2Ffew-know-health-care-law-has-class%2F19413357

The Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act, otherwise known as CLASS, provides for a national insurance program to help cover the cost of long-term care -- something 70 percent of people over 65 will need at some point along the way. The premiums will be much lower than those for private plans, and you won't get screened out because you've already had some health problems. Once vested after five years, enrollees unable to care for themselves will be able to claim cash benefits for as long as needed.

Elder Abuse

State of Florida has 4.36 million residents age 60 and older. Abuse includes not only physical abuse, but neglect, exploitation and self-neglect. Physical signs of abuse may include cuts, puncture wounds, burns, bruises, welts, dehydration or malnutrition, poor coloration, sunken eyes or cheeks, soiled clothing or bed, or lack of necessitites such as food, water or utilities.

Behavioral signs of abuse may include fear, anxiety, agitation, anger, isolation, withdrawal, depression, non-responsiveness, resignation, ambivalence, contradictory statements, implausible stories, hesitation to talk openly, confusion or disorientation.

If you know of anyone who may need help, call the Florida Elder Abuse hotline at
1-800-96-Abuse.

TALL

I recently helped Sheila Salyer and Beth Hollister at the Senior Center again this year with the housing day for their participants in TALL (Tallahassee Area Lifelong Leaders).

These are usually but not exclusively retired individuals still wanting to make a difference in our community or making that difference and wanting to learn more.

We visited Woodmont Assisted Living where they fed us lunch which was fabulous and also Ed Dion's Remodel for a Universal House, over on Glenview. Very impressive what this builder has done to make this older home more practical for aging, or physically challenged individuals.

It took many individuals assistance to pull off the day and I am grateful for all the help and welcoming folks we visited. If you are interested in being a part of the TALL program at the Senior Center next year, contact Hella Spellman there at 891-4000.

First Time Homebuyers

Tax time is here. If you've purchased your first home in 2009 and qualify for the first time homebuyer tax credit, you'll need IRS form 5405 to accompany your taxes.

The Internal Revenue Service has just issued its first formal guidelines for you.

Wait until later this month when the agency publishes its revised Form 5405 with the key instructions needed to get you a check from the government.




Download IRS Form 5405 in pdf at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f5405.pdf


The forthcoming version of the form will incorporate the major changes to the tax credit program made by Congress in legislation signed by President Obama on Nov. 6. These include expanded income limits, a cap on home prices, additional documentation requirements and prohibitions against claims by dependents.

In a tax bulletin issued just before Thanksgiving, the IRS emphasized that all home purchasers after Nov. 6 "must use this new version [of Form 5405] to claim the credit." Put another way: If you send in the old version -- the one you can currently download from the agency's website, www.irs.gov -- your request for the credit will probably go nowhere.

Then again, you may want your tax advisor to handle all this.

BRRRR it's cold outside.

Not the weather to want to make you get outside and do any exterior maintenance on your home, but...

When a buyer purchases a home they find by using me, I try to give them information that will help them keep their home values up. One thing I mention is to allot fundsd to do the maintenance all homes will require. A good rule of thumb is 1% of the cost of the home each year to savings for home maintenance or maintenance in general.

One of the home inspectors I recommend, Legacy Home Inspections, sent their newsletter to me with a January maintenance list that comes from weather.com so here is their January maintenance list for you!

Home Maintenance Tasks: January

Organize your home improvement files. Review warranties and product manuals to check on recommended maintenance for furnaces, equipment, appliances and tools. Mark your calendar to track scheduled upkeep and service.


Inspect furniture, cabinets and vanities for loose knobs, pulls and hinges. Tighten or repair as necessary. Lubricate squeaky door hinges with lightweight machine oil. Free sticky doors by trimming edges or shimming hinges with thin pieces of cardboard.


Fix squeaks in floors and stairs by applying weight to the area (having a partner stand on it works) and driving an 8d or 12d galvanized finish nail through the flooring into a floor joist or stringer. If you have access to the floor from underneath, glue and screw backs to the floor or treads and to the joist or stringer.


Look for bargains on discontinued appliances and tools. Before buying, make sure that warranties are valid. Make a room-by-room inventory of everything in your house.


In the event of fire, flood or other disaster, it will be important in filing an insurance claim. Photographs or video of your possessions can also be helpful.


Don't close vents to crawl spaces. If you live where pipes can freeze and the floor becomes very cold, insulate pipes and under the floor. Vents play an important role in contolling condesation beneath a house. Learn more about preventing frozen pipes...


Double-check insulation around exterior pipes that are exposed to freezing weather to be certain that water cannot seep under the insulation.

Provided by move.com