March/April 2017

Happy Glampers

Style Under the Stars

By Traci McBride

If you haven’t stepped foot in a campground lately, you’re in for a surprise.

Elaborate tents with strings of solar lights. Fanciful campers with flowerpots and outdoor rugs at the doorways. Extravagant treehouses. Funky yurts.

You may drag along musty, stained sleeping bags and a package of hot dogs for a few nights under the stars, but your neighbors have upped the camping game: They’re glamping.

Outdoor Style

Camping lost its novelty for many of us with memories of miserable nights, too many bugs and ash-sprinkled food. The bugs are still there, but the rest has undergone a stylish transformation.

Glamping is getting away from it all while enjoying the luxuries of home. Are you a tent, RV or Airstream camper? Spice things up with practical, traditional yet supremely comfortable details that introduce color, patterns and simple amenities to your campsite. You’re a glamper.

Details Matter

You’ll sleep better and have more enthusiasm for hiking when you’ve rested on a queen-size blow-up mattress, having spent the evening listening to a waterproof battery-operated sound system after cooking a gourmet meal.

A portable kitchenette that includes a spice rack, paper towel holder and lantern pole makes food prep easy. You are more likely to get the grandkids to join you if they don’t have to lie on the hard ground and are still able to earn some tablet or cellphone time with a solar-powered charger. Download outdoor apps (such as SkyView and the Audubon Bird Guide) to enhance your hikes. Beautiful design plus practical functionality equals the ultimate glamping experience.

Products have certainly affected traditional camping. Battery-operated portable showers, solar chargers and battery-powered twinkle lights keep everyone clean and add a little romantic sparkle.

Aging

A Key Decision

When a Loved One Shouldn’t Drive

By Paris Wolfe

The unexplained scratches and dents on Grandpa’s beige Crown Victoria made it obvious the time had come for him to give up driving. But he didn’t want to part with his independence and control. He resisted until back pain kept him from the steering wheel.

Grounding an adult isn’t easy. And with a large aging population — more than 2 million licensed drivers 85 years old and over — an increasing number of caretakers are facing that task.

A Decision with Dignity

“Chronological age isn’t a predictor of driving ability,” says Lori Cook, safety adviser for AAA East Central. “You don’t reach a magic age and stop. What counts is performance, physical and mental. I’ve seen people drive into their 90s.”

Many folks, she says, are self-regulating when they perceive diminished ability. “As we get older and wiser, we realize that speeding doesn’t get us anywhere faster,” Cook says. Other adaptations she sees are driving only during daylight as well as avoiding bad weather, heavy traffic and freeways.

“It’s not innate that people will know when to stop,” says Anne Vanderbilt, CNS, CNP, a clinical nurse specialist with the Cleveland Clinic Department of Geriatric Medicine. “Driving is complex because it’s so much of our independence and identity and autonomy.”

Signs that it’s time to minimize or stop driving include:

• Experiencing frequent minor accidents or near misses
• Being honked at frequently for being too slow or taking too long to turn
• Having difficulty reading ordinary road signs
• Being spoken to about your driving by the police, family or friends
• Getting lost on familiar roads

An eye exam and new glasses or a wide-angled rear view mirror might help. But if dementia requires a GPS to navigate everyday destinations, it’s time to surrender the keys, Cook says.

Pros, Cons and Everything In Between

The Scoop on Joint and Survivorship Accounts

The Goal for Most People? Avoid Probate.

One method:

Joint and Survivorship accounts

Got it. How does that work?

Two people set it up

When one dies, the other owns it

Good for spouses

So what can go wrong?

Multiple owners—who gets what?

Parents leave to one child, not others

Creditors of one owner can attach the account

Divorce of one owner

Lawsuits

What is better for non-spouses?

Payable on Death to Child

Transfer on Death to Child

Transfer on Death to Child or by Naming the Child the Beneficiary

It Pays to Coordinate

Financial Planning

Steve had a big decision to make.

His daughter was getting married, and he wanted to give her the wedding of her dreams. To do it, he dipped into his IRA. Although the wedding was everything he and his daughter had hoped, it pushed him up into a new tax bracket, costing him thousands of dollars in additional taxes. This caused his Medicare premiums to skyrocket by more than 40 percent for the following year as well.

Steve had the resources he needed to give his daughter the wedding she wanted, but because of a lack of coordination and understanding, he paid thousands in unnecessary taxes. His mistake was focusing on only a single aspect of a major decision.

Consider a Financial Quarterback

Steve’s situation explains why it’s important that all your advisers are connected and understand the big picture. When you make a major decision like Steve did, there will be outcomes you might not have considered.

So how do you make financial decisions that have been reviewed from every angle? Try a holistic approach to your financial health that includes professionals who will help with all of your tax, insurance, legal and financial planning needs.

New advisers should be open to working with existing advisers whom you know and trust as well. It’s important for each adviser to be aware of what another is doing. Using a network of connected advisers helps people decide which decision is right for their situation.

Coordination gives clients a peace of mind that saves time and money, and lets them focus on more important things — such as wedding plans. Your goal should be to find an adviser that will make sure every financial decision is examined through the lens of all the available options so nothing is missed.