Savings.com: Get a New Phone at Verizon Wireless + Win VZW Gift Cards!

This post is sponsored by Savings.com and contains affiliate links that help support this site at no additional cost to you. Thank you for using them! All opinions are honest and my own. You can read CFO's full disclosure here.

My family has been a Verizon family for nearly 20 years, because the service is always reliable and the customer service is fantastic. Plus, even though we've gone from two to four users in the last three years, our bill has remained pretty reasonable - we pay $40 per month per line for unlimited data, talk and text (including a $5 discount per line for auto-debit). Considering how much data our family uses, it's a great deal.

Plus, Verizon has the best phones! Right now, you can get the Samsung Galaxy Note 10, featuring:

• 30 minute wireless power-up 2.0 with long lasting battery life


• 512GB internal storage and expandable to an extra 1TB with an external microSD card


• Wireless PowerShare lets you pay it forward with no cables necessary


• Stream, game or download at unbelievable speeds

And starting September 13, you can pre-order the all-new iPhone 11, which will be released on September 20. Specs on the 11 are being announced today, so I don't have details yet. But as soon as the 11 is available, you can see it on Verizon's Smartphones page.

We're an Apple family when it comes to phones, so of course, I'm most intrigued by the iPhone 11 - although I just got a new phone last year, so my husband will be upgrading before me. It'll be another iPhone, so he can keep all of the same apps, and we use iMessage constantly to communicate with each other as well as other family members. Plus the Live Photo option is fantastic, and you can take free classes at the Apple Store. (I happened to be there during a photo class and picked up some cool tips just by listening in.) Best of all, through September 30, Verizon has an upgrade offer of up to $200 off and 50% off Activation!
WIN IT!
It gets better, because you have multiple chances to win VZW gift cards!

First, head to Savings.com and enter for a chance to win one of FIVE $100 VZW gift cards!


Then, RSVP for the #ChooseVZW Twitter Party, which will be on Friday, September 13th at 10AM PT/1PM ET. You could win one of (6) $25 Gift Cards, (2) $50 Gift Cards, (1) $100 Gift Card, or (1) $150 Gift Card!


Good luck!

Long-Distance Long-Term Care

This post is sponsored by Genworth Financial. All opinions are my own. Read the full CFO disclosure policy here.

As I've mentioned before, long-term care is something I think about because I see my parents and my in-laws dealing with issues related to long-term care with their parents. We've previously discussed what long-term care insurance is, whether and when to buy long-term care insurance, the cost of long-term care, and finding help for caregivers.

But what if you don't live near your loved one who needs care? This is a very real and personal concern of mine, because my mother doesn't live near her mother, and I don't live particularly close to my parents. My mother is lucky enough to have a sister who lives with their mom, so my grandmother is really well taken care of - but even then, it's difficult. My aunt has to see when my mom is available to visit in order to plan her overnight trips for work, and it's difficult for my mom to step in for my aunt since she's not there all the time and disrupts their routine.

I'm an only child, so I won't have a sibling or two (or more) to share the caregiving with. And being many miles apart makes me wonder if I'll be able to adequately care for my parents when they need me. I always have the option of moving them closer to me, of course, but I wouldn't want to do that if it went against their wishes.

Fortunately, there are some resources to help plan - and that seems to be the real key: planning. The AARP has a great recommendation for creating a "Care Notebook" with all of the important information - doctors' contact info, medical history, community resources, and so on. There's a more detailed list of tips for long-distance caregiving, and a searchable list of caregivers by region so you can find someone in the area of your loved one. And has emphasized the importance of preparing for a future that includes aging parents.

I'm lucky enough that my parents are in good health, and I should have years in which to get ready for my role as a possible long-distance, long-term caregiver. But the time to start preparing is now.

Help for Caregivers

This post is sponsored by Genworth Financial. All opinions are my own. Read the full CFO disclosure policy here.

As I see my own and my husband's grandparents needing more care as they age, long-term care has really become a relevant topic for me. We've previously discussed what long-term care insurance is, whether and when to buy long-term care insurance, and the cost of long-term care.

Long-term caregiving isn't easy, whether you have to be a hands-on caregiver, or you're more of a coordinator who ensures that your loved one is getting the care they need. That's why I like Genworth Financial's Caregiver Q&A on Facebook. Some of the topics covered are how to choose a professional caregiver, how to select a nursing home, protecting aged loved ones over long distances, and more.

There are also ways to prepare long-term caregiving, as this USA Today article mentions.

Even for those of us who are hopefully too young for this to be a pressing issue, it's good to have a few things in place for the unthinkable: A power of attorney (which gives a specified person legal authority to make financial decisions on your behalf if you're unable to do so yourself); a health care proxy (which gives a specified person the authority to make decisions regarding your medical treatment); and a living will (which should include instructions for end-of-life care).

It's important to have these documents yourself, to make things easier for your loved ones in case something happens to you. And that also gives you a nice opening for a discussion with those loved ones: I just had a durable power of attorney and living will made up, in case something happens to me. Do you have them too? Or something like that.

Think of it the way you do life insurance: hopefully you won't need it, but you'll be kicking yourself (or worse) for doing nothing if you do end up needing it.

Should You Buy Long Term Care Insurance and When?

We've previously discussed what long term care insurance is - it generally covers the cost of home health aides, skilled nursing, assisted living, and nursing homes. These are expenses not covered by medical insurance policies and Medicare, so you basically have four choices if you need long term care: 1) buy a long term care insurance policy; 2) save for long term care; 3) rely on family and/or friends; or 4) rely on government assistance.

The first question, of course, is whether you will actually need long term care - though common sense would seem to say that yes, unless you die a tragic and untimely death, you will at some point require assistance. As I get older, I see my grandparents' generation requiring more and more assistance. In fact, my husband and I have four living grandparents between us, and all but one receive some form of long term care assistance. The one who doesn't lives with an aunt, so there's some assistance there, though not intensive when it comes to day to day life activities. There are all kinds of studies out there, and the lawyer in me tends to be skeptical of studies sponsored by insurance companies, but it's not hard to believe statistics like at least 70 percent of people over age 65 will require some long-term care services at some point. It seems safe to assume that if we are able to grow old, we will eventually need assistance.

So assuming we'll need long term care, let's also assume that we don't want to rely on government assistance or impose on family and friends. That leaves us with an insurance policy or personal savings.

The consensus seems to be that you'll need to have at least one million dollars in assets (per person) to be able to afford retirement and long term care. If you think you'll get there in retirement savings before you retire, then you may not need long term care insurance (but keep in mind that the younger you are now, the more you'll need for retirement - more than one million if you're quite young now).

For those of us who are not (yet) that wealthy, long term care insurance may make the most sense. Unfortunately, long term care insurance is like life insurance, in that the cost of the policy goes up as you get older. But unlike life insurance, which you are more likely to need when you are younger because of dependents, you are more likely to need long term care insurance when you're older. Also, you'll need to buy the policy while you're still healthy - so someone who tends to be ill more might want to buy a policy at a younger age than someone who rarely gets sick.

The worst news is that long term care insurance costs are going up - a lot. Most states regulate the increase in insurance premiums so they likely won't be allowed to skyrocket, but they can go up 15% per year or more. That means even if you can afford a policy right now, you'll have to decide whether you can afford increased premiums in the years ahead.

Thus, whether and when you should buy long term care insurance seems like a really tricky, really personal question. But based on the way premiums increase as you get older, it makes sense to evaluate your health and financial situation and whether to buy a policy in your late 40's.

If you are currently in the market for a policy, here are some tips for selecting a long term care insurance policy, as well as some strategies to consider if you can't afford a full policy, such as choosing a catastrophic policy.

I'm grateful that I'm too young to worry too much about long term care right now, but I think I might have a chat with my parents about what's going on with them.

This post is sponsored by Genworth Financial. All opinions are my own. Read the full CFO disclosure policy here.

What is Long Term Care Insurance?

Long term care insurance is exactly what it sounds like: Insurance that helps protect against the high cost of long-term care. Long term care insurance generally covers the cost of home health aides, skilled nursing, assisted living, and nursing homes.

Long term care is most frequently required due to the normal aging process, after a stroke or vehicle accident, or due to conditions like Alzheimer's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis or diabetes.

In-home care can consist of:

• Personal Care Assistants or Companions, who help with household tasks like cleaning, cooking, and running errands


• Home Health Aides who help with personal care like bathing and dressing


• Nurses, who help with IVs, medications, and more complex health issues

Facility care can include:

• Adult Day Health Care, which offers daytime social and therapeutic activities while still living at home


• Assisted Living, which allows for independent living with on-site support for daily basics


• Nursing Homes, which provide more skilled and intense care, supervision, medication, therapies, and rehabilitation

According to one 2008 study, at least 70% of people over age 65 will require some long-term care and of those who need long-term care, 40% are under age 65. So it's definitely something to think about getting before you need it, and I'll discuss that further in an upcoming post.

This post is sponsored by Genworth Financial. All opinions are my own. Read the full CFO disclosure policy here.

Strategies for Paying for Life Insurance

Life insurance can be expensive, and I even once had a friend with wealthy parents tell me that she and her husband didn't have life insurance because if something happened to them, her parents would take care of their kids. I've always wondered if her husband would really be okay with being financially dependent on her parents if something happened to her and he was left to raise their kids alone. It's not the path my husband and I want to take, so we've agreed that life insurance is worth paying for, even if does take a real chunk of money each year.


There are two components to paying for a life insurance policy - the first is minimizing the cost, and the second is finding the money to pay for it. Here are some tips:

Minimizing the Cost of Life Insurance

1. Buy term. Term life insurance is much more affordable than a whole life policy (and I explain the difference here). Be sure to select a term that's long or short enough to suit your needs. For example, if your child will be graduating from college in ten years, you don't need a 20-year policy intended to help pay for college.

2. Buy a group policy through your employer or union. Your employer or union may provide you with a policy, or offer a group policy at a discount. If this policy is only inexpensive up to a certain amount, you can combine it with other life insurance policies.

3. Compare policies and rates. Different insurers charge different rates, so it's worth shopping around. There are lots of comparison sites out there, and they tend to be affiliates in it for the referral link payout, so do be careful when using a web site.

4. Take care of your health. The healthier you are, the more likely you'll outlive your term policy, so the lower your rate will be.

5. Don't buy more coverage than you need. It can be tricky figuring out how much life insurance you need, but overpaying is like throwing money away, since hopefully you'll outlive your policy.

Paying for Life Insurance

1. Pay your premium annually. Most insurers charge a convenience fee for allowing you to break your premium up into multiple payments. If you can afford to do so, pay your premium all at once to avoid paying extra fees.

2. Use an Infrequent Bills Account to save up the annual premium. Back in 2007, I created an Infrequent Bills Account to hold money for annual and semi-annual bills. I deposit money for those bills into the account each month, and take money out when the bills are due. It makes paying those bills a lot easier when the money for them is already set aside.

3. Use the Snowflake Method. Take all the little bits of savings here and there that you can find and save them up to pay for that life insurance premium. Or add up your coupon savings and set them aside. If you've decided you need a life insurance policy, the important thing is not to wait - you never know what's going to happen or when.

This post is sponsored by Genworth Financial. All opinions are my own. Read the full CFO disclosure policy here.