February is Low Vision Awareness Month. Low vision affects millions of Americans, including many older adults. Low vision can make it hard to do things like reading, shopping, cooking, or writing. And it cannot be corrected with eyeglasses, contact lenses, medications, or surgery. Vision rehabilitation, however, can help people with low vision stay independent and make the most of their… Continue reading Practical Tips About Dealing With Low Vision from Lighthouse Guild
Author: Sondra Forsyth
Annuities Offer Powerful Tax Advantages Plus Some Avoidable Pitfalls
Annuities are designed to build wealth and income for your retirement through tax deferral. Interest earned in a deferred annuity (the most popular type) is not taxed until withdrawn. Deferring taxes accelerates savings growth because interest compounds faster without withdrawals needed to pay taxes. Compounding occurs when interest is paid on previously earned interest. Most… Continue reading Annuities Offer Powerful Tax Advantages Plus Some Avoidable Pitfalls
Testing Leftover Seeds for Viability
The beginning of a new year finds many gardeners preparing for the growing season ahead. Clearing space to start seeds indoors, inventorying seeds and supplies, and ordering seeds, plants, and more are usually part of the process. While organizing, you may uncover seeds from past seasons. Do not discard these just yet. When seeds are… Continue reading Testing Leftover Seeds for Viability
How to Combat Loneliness, Especially Now
During the COVID-19 crisis, all of our lives have been disrupted. We’re not connecting with family, friends and colleagues like we used to, and it’s easy to feel lonely. To help some of the people I was coaching, I wrote down eight ways to combat this feeling and tested them on our business clients, executives,… Continue reading How to Combat Loneliness, Especially Now
13 Tips to Help Children and Teens Avoid Technology Overuse During COVID-19
Children and Screens: Institute of Digital Media and Child Development has brought together leading international experts in the fields of media addiction, parenting, education, child psychology and psychiatry to present helpful advice for avoiding problematic technology use during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. PARENTS HAVE THE POWER Setting limits on screen use—both in regards to… Continue reading 13 Tips to Help Children and Teens Avoid Technology Overuse During COVID-19
Why Women Lose Their Hair and Ways They Can Grow It Back
While hair thinning and loss is well known as a distressing problem for many men, it’s also an issue for women. They comprise about 40% of American hair-loss sufferers. And hair loss is even more worrisome for them, doctors say, because it’s less acceptable in society. Women who are losing hair typically are very distraught.… Continue reading Why Women Lose Their Hair and Ways They Can Grow It Back
4 Tips for Your Retirement Planning as a New Year Brings New Hope
COVID-19 took a heavy toll on the U.S. economy in 2020, causing millions of job losses and forcing many businesses to close. It also affected lots of retirement plans in the process. A survey by the Pew Research Center found that 36% of Americans who save regularly are saving less because of the pandemic, and… Continue reading 4 Tips for Your Retirement Planning as a New Year Brings New Hope
Winter Care for Houseplants
Holidays are filled with new plants and decorations that often find our houseplants relegated to any out of the way available space. Be sure to keep your houseplants looking their best with proper winter care. Make sure houseplants receive sufficient light now and throughout the winter. The shorter, often gray days of winter mean less… Continue reading Winter Care for Houseplants
Virtual School Means Extra Screen Time – and Added Eye Strain for Kids
This school year is continuing in much the way the last one ended, with many districts opting for virtual learning, which means children sit at home in front of computer screens rather than in a classroom in front of teachers. But that extra screen time – mixed with the screen time many children and teenagers… Continue reading Virtual School Means Extra Screen Time – and Added Eye Strain for Kids
Putting a New Nipple on a Reconstructed Breast
More and more women who have lost a breast to mastectomy now choose breast reconstruction. Reconstruction can be performed either at the time of the mastectomy, called “immediate reconstruction,” or later, called “delayed reconstruction.” Breast reconstruction can also be performed either via breast implants or with a woman’s own natural tissue. Using her own tissue… Continue reading Putting a New Nipple on a Reconstructed Breast
How to Balance a Retirement Plan in an Unstable Time
The upheaval of 2020 has upended many financial plans, causing people to reassess their retirement strategies. More uncertainty lies ahead in 2021 with regard to COVID-19 and its effect on the economy. In this unstable setting, keeping a retirement plan balanced is essential, but many people are missing an important piece – a whole life… Continue reading How to Balance a Retirement Plan in an Unstable Time
5 Tips for Sudden Home Schoolers
Many parents around the country are settling into a new role — substitute teachers for their school-age children. As an assistant professor and chair of the Department of Education Studies at Seton Hall University, I work with new teachers who are getting their sea legs in the classroom. A parent myself, I offer these tips… Continue reading 5 Tips for Sudden Home Schoolers
Bring in the Birds with These Winning Plant Varieties
Fill your gardens with beautiful plants that produce an abundance of seeds the birds will love. You’ll enjoy the flowers as well as the birds that visit to dine on the seeds. Best of all, there is no feeder to refill or clean. Sunflowers are likely the first seed-producing plant that comes to mind.… Continue reading Bring in the Birds with These Winning Plant Varieties
Expand Your Edible Garden Indoors
No matter the season, size of your garden or climate, you can inject homegrown flavor into your meals. Just clear a shelf, countertop or windowsill and get busy planting herbs, greens and even tomatoes to enjoy year-round. For quick results, grow microgreens. These nutrient packed edibles are ready to harvest in as few as 10… Continue reading Expand Your Edible Garden Indoors
Quarantined with Your Partner? 3 Common Relationship Struggles to Watch Out For
Through many years of helping couples and studying the nature of relationships, I’ve seen my fair share of relationship struggles. And let me tell you, no one’s relationship is perfect. Here are the three most common issues I see repeatedly with the couples I counsel. If any of these describe what you’re currently going through or have… Continue reading Quarantined with Your Partner? 3 Common Relationship Struggles to Watch Out For
How Seniors Can Protect Their Health and Finances During the Pandemic
Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, health officials have been clear and consistent in their message to seniors: While anyone can fall victim to COVID-19, those who are 65 and older are in an especially high-risk group. That’s why older Americans need to be especially careful and – in the case of the very elderly – family… Continue reading How Seniors Can Protect Their Health and Finances During the Pandemic
What you Should Be Doing at Home to Help Your Immune System Be Super Vigilant
The coronavirus is a virus that mutates quickly, making it unstable and difficult to contain. This also means we don’t have the typical immunity we’d have from other viruses. In addition to being cautious about social distancing and hand washing, here are some ways that you might keep your body’s immune system in top condition.… Continue reading What you Should Be Doing at Home to Help Your Immune System Be Super Vigilant
Extend Your Garden Season
No matter where you garden there never seems to be enough time to grow all the fresh vegetables desired. Planting earlier or just providing plants with some added warmth on chilly days and nights can reduce the time from planting to harvest. Southern gardeners will enjoy the additional time for harvesting heat-sensitive plants before the stifling… Continue reading Extend Your Garden Season