Gary and Nancy Doss of Burlingame, CA have been collecting Pez dispensers for two decades. They now have more than 500 of the small candy containers. The rarest product, a “Make a Face” Pez from the 1970s, is worth $5,000.
Do you have a hobby that has grown larger than you may have anticipated? You don’t have to be as dedicated as the Dosses to find yourself heavily invested in a hobby. A model locomotive could be valued at $300. One guitar can easily cost $1,500.
Whether you collect, build, or play, funding for hobbies can quickly add up to significant amounts. If you think you’ve invested quite a bit in your hobby, do a quick review.
Consider the value of your items and supplies. Is it more than $500? If you have invested more than $500 so far, you should make sure it is properly protected.
Review your insurance policies to make sure the items are covered under your homeowners or renters policy in the event they are damaged or stolen.
Keep in mind there are certain limits to most policies, and high-value items might max out the coverage. You may need to purchase a rider to add a particularly valuable piece of equipment to your insurance coverage.
If your hobby investment is less than $500, you should still make sure any high-priced items are included in your home inventory.
January is the perfect time to update this list. Be sure to add any recent holiday gifts to the inventory!
If you have any questions about your insurance coverage or needs, feel free to contact me. I’m just an email or phone call away.
Laughter May Be the Best Medicine After All
As the festive season passes, leaving behind joyful echoes of feasting and family, thoughts naturally turn to the new year and making a fresh start. New Year’s resolutions can be met with either trepidation or confidence, but why not tackle them with a belly laugh and a radiant smile instead?
“Laughter is the best medicine” may seem like a well-worn adage, but the phrase carries glimmers of scientific proof. Known to trigger positive physical and emotional changes, a good giggle not only lifts your mood but has also been found to boost the immune system and provide pain relief, according to the research of American journalist, professor, and inquiring mind Norman Cousins. Cousins and his upbeat attitude were put to the test when a connective tissue disorder left him in an almost quadriplegic state with a slim chance of recovery.
Embarking on his own treatment course, he undertook a “laughter routine” in which he induced hours of laughing, leading to significant pain reduction and an eventual clean bill of health.
Whether this medical miracle resulted from his unorthodox cure or the placebo effect, it’s worth taking a page out of Cousins’s book this new year.
An often-untapped wellspring of healing and renewal, laughter stimulates the production of the happiness hormone serotonin, leaving you calmer and better able to handle life’s curveballs.
The Life Stages of Life Insurance
How do you decide if you need to buy life insurance based on where you are in life? It’s simple: you remember the purpose of life insurance is to protect the people who depend on you financially.
That’s why children typically do not have life insurance purchased on their behalf. No one depends on income from them. The situation is similar for young single adults: if you’re newly independent, the only reason you would typically need life insurance is to pay for your own funeral costs or help support an elderly parent.
The situation begins to change as we grow up and get married. If you’re newly married, you’ll need to decide if either spouse needs life insurance. If each of you earns an income that could support one spouse without the other, then life insurance would only be necessary if you want to cover your funeral costs.
What about established families with dependents? Once you have a family that depends on you (whether a spouse or children), you need life insurance.
And it's unwise to purchase life insurance only on behalf of the partner working outside the home because the cost of replacing someone to handle domestic chores and childcare can cause significant financial problems.
Finally, do you need life insurance when your children have flown the coop? If you do not have people depending on your income for support and you can cover funeral expenses, you may be able to avoid life insurance at this stage in life.
Note, however, that if you decide you need life insurance, purchasing it costs more as your age increases. Your rates will likely be cheaper now than when you get older.
If you need assistance making this decision, we would be happy to help you. Our insurance experts are ready to walk you through your options and determine which coverage makes the most sense for your life stage.
Worth Reading
Learn How to Ace a Job Interview
By Alison Doyle
The Balance Careers
If you’re planning to enter the job hunt, be sure to consult this guide. It covers everything from pre-interview preparation to post-interview follow-up. It also provides samples of commonly asked interview questions. The information also includes details about proper interview behavior based on the type of interview. More: https://tinyurl.com/worth0120a
How to Hit the Gym without Leaving Your Home
By Blair Shiff
Fox Business
Virtual reality may be the key to reaching your fitness goals this year. Many companies are producing products that allow you to experience higher-intensity fitness activities, such as boxing, in the comfort of your home. These programs are designed for mass consumers, so you don’t need to worry about being technologically savvy. Many combine workouts with music, so if you’re feeling nostalgic for the heyday of Guitar Hero, you might want to check them out. More: https://tinyurl.com/worrth0120b
The 7 Different Types of Stress – and How to Ease Them
By Corey Whelan
THE Healthy
Stress is an expected part of life, and it's increasingly associated with adverse health effects. Identifying the type of stress you're experiencing can be key to determining how to treat it. This article lists everyday stressors and possible solutions. A key point: you can't always change the cause of your stress, but you can learn how to manage it. More: https://tinyurl.com/worth0120c
What Auto Insurance Do I Need in 2020?
Liability. Collision. Comprehensive. What exactly do these insurance buzz words mean, and which coverage do you actually need? The right type and amount of coverage vary by individual. To determine your personal needs, first familiarize yourself with the options available.
Liability
This protects you in the event you are held responsible for bodily injury or property damage to another party. This coverage is required by law, but the minimum amount required varies. A good rule of thumb is to carry a bodily injury liability policy with a minimum of $100,000 per person/$300,000 per accident plus enough property damage liability coverage to cover the cost of a new car. Considering the cost of medical bills and potential lawsuits today, it’s often recommended that you bump up your limits to $250,000/$500,000.
Collision
This type of insurance is not required by law, but it covers the cost of damage to your car after an accident.
If you have a new and/or valuable car, collision is typically worth the investment to protect your asset. However, as a car ages and drops in value, you may want to consider whether collision coverage is necessary. For example, if your car is worth $1,000 and you have a $500 deductible, it might make sense to invest your insurance dollars elsewhere.
Comprehensive
This coverage protects you from various damages that aren’t included under collision. Common comprehensive claims include fire and theft. If you lease a car, this coverage may be required. Otherwise, you can decide whether you’d like this extra protection and what deductible you prefer. The higher the deductible, the lower the premium.
Many vehicle owners choose to add this coverage. It’s often only a few extra dollars, but it provides peace of mind that virtually any type of damage to the car is covered. Is it time to make adjustments to your auto coverage? Feel free to contact me with any questions about your current and future insurance needs.
How to Create an Unhackable Password
With information theft now the most common cybercrime facing large organizations as well as the average Internet surfer, it’s easy to feel helpless in the face of overwhelming statistics. In 2019 alone, an estimated $2 trillion was lost to cybercrime, and 80% of hacking breaches were related to passwords.
The tide of high-tech crime may be surging, but the first and most important thing you should do to protect yourself is to create a difficult-to-hack password. Take your digital security in your own hands and craft a password a programmer would be proud of with our simple step-by-step guide.
Password length: Hackers may employ a “brute force attack,” a computer program that runs through every possible password combination. The longer and more complex your password is, the more difficult it is to crack.
Social media: Don't create a password or security answer using information you may have shared on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. That includes your birthdate, hometown, and the names of your pets!
Imagination: Long passwords are good, but passwords that include random nonsensical words are even better. Put your creativity to good use and create a variety of made-up passwords with a combination of different symbols, numbers, and phrases. It’s important not to use the same one for multiple sites.
Password manager: Once you’ve created an anthology of colorful passwords, use a password manager such as LastPass or 1Password so you don’t have trouble remembering them.
Two-factor identification: Optional two-factor identification adds a valuable layer of security by asking for periodic authentication. Once you enter your password, a secondary code is sent to your phone or email that you’ll need to unlock your account.
Our last and most pertinent tip: Stay ahead of the hackers and update your passwords as often as you can. For sensitive information, changing your password every 30 days is recommend.
Worth Quoting
This month, some famous quotes on peace:
Peace is not absence of conflict, it is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means.
Without peace, all other dreams vanish and are reduced to ashes.
For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind.
When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace.
Peace begins with a smile.
Peace is a journey of a thousand miles, and it must be taken one step at a time.