Medicare can be a bit complicated. There are several different Medicare coverage options, each of which comes with its own pros and cons. Once you do pick your plan, it can be a challenge to fully understand what’s covered by it and what’s not.

If you’re looking for Medicare answers, you’ve come to the right place. Keep reading to find the answers to the top 10 most frequently asked questions about Medicare.

#1: How Do I Sign Up for Medicare?

Signing up for Medicare is very easy. You’ll be enrolled into original Medicare automatically if you are already receiving Social Security benefits. Medicare will mail everything that you need to know about your new coverage to you about 3 months before it begins.

#2: When Do I Sign Up for Medicare?

Most people sign up for Medicare around the time that they turn 65. That’s true whether Medicare signs you up automatically or you decide to do it yourself. Your Medicare coverage will begin on the 1st day of the month that you turn 65.

#3: How Much Does Medicare Cost?

Most people don’t have to pay a dime for Medicare Part A premiums. That’s because you paid into the system throughout your whole working life. The Medicare Part B premium is currently about $150 per month but will rise slightly every year.

#4: What Are Medicare Advantage Plans?

Medicare Advantage plans are offered by private insurance companies. They’re meant to expand upon the coverage that’s offered through Original Medicare.

#5: What’s a Medigap Plan?

Medigap plans are similar to Medicare Advantage plans, but they work with Medicare instead of replacing it entirely like Medicare Advantage plans do. But each will give you access to more healthcare coverage in exchange for higher monthly premiums.

#6: What Do I Do About Medicare If I Work Past 65?

If you work past 65, you might be able to delay enrolling in Medicare. It could also be the case that you need to enroll in Medicare during your normal enrollment period to avoid late penalties. The answer depends on your employer and the coverage they offer.

#7: How Do I Get Dental and Vision Coverage with Medicare?

The easiest way to do this is by signing up for a Medicare Advantage (Part C) plan.

#8: Is Medicare Mandatory?

No, you don’t have to sign up for Medicare. But if you enroll late you will have to pay a penalty fee.

#9: Can I Get Help with Paying for Medicare?

Yes, you absolutely can. There are many different financial assistance programs for people who need it. Some of the most popular options include Medicare Savings Programs and Medicaid.

#10: How Do I Know Which Medicare Coverage Is Right for Me?

Researching your coverage options online is the best way to figure this out. But that can be complex. If you’d like some help with the process, consider contacting a licensed agent who is a Medicare expert and can help you figure out which coverage option is right for you.

Not only is there a lot of information available that may overwhelm you, but there are so many parts to Medicare available for you to choose from. Choosing the right Medicare plan for your needs takes time, effort, and energy.

If you have any questions about Medicare, please contact a licensed agent who specializes in Medicare. They’ll be able to break down key concepts of Medicare so you’ll feel confident in the coverage decision you ultimately make once you or a loved one becomes eligible to enroll, as well as for those of us already enrolled in Medicare.

Are you on Medicare? Where do you look for current information on available Medicare options? Have you had help in choosing your insurance plan? Please share any question you might have about Medicare.

Is there anything better than getting your hair cut and/or colored, leaving the salon and feeling like a supermodel? No, we don’t think there is. But because of the current climate, seeing your hairstylist might not be as easy and getting your split ends cut off or your roots done might just be a quick in-and-out appointment without all the fun. That’s one reason why we’re so obsessed with actors and influencers who switch up their look on a dime. We’re jealous, sure, but it’s also aspirational AF. So, we’re rounding up the best celebrity hair makeovers of 2021 as they come so you can drool with us.

Though, it’s not just about drooling over these looks. Saving this page and referring back to it at the hair salon can help you decide if curtain bangs or a bob is right for you. Hairstylists actually love when you show them photos because they can get a real feel of the vibe you’re looking for and can adjust the look into something that suits your wants and needs. This goes for color, too. Did you ask for balayage when you really meant a shadow root? It’s easier to just give examples of what you want.

Some of these celebrity looks aren’t permanent. Stars love to play around with wigs, extensions and faux bangs. But there’s nothing wrong with that. Real or faux, we’re taking inspo from our favorites to figure out our next look for 2021 and beyond.

Our mission at STYLECASTER is to bring style to the people, and we only feature products we think you’ll love as much as we do. Please note that if you purchase something by clicking on a link within this story, we may receive a small commission of the sale.

Source: Instagram

Selena Gomez

In an Instagram photo promoting her beauty brand, Rare Beauty, in April 2021, Gomez showed off her newly dyed blonde hair. The picture saw the former Disney Channel star light blonde tresses and dark roots. She most recently dyed her hair blonde in 2017 in a color dubbed by her hairstylist Nikki Lee as “Nirvana Blonde.” Gomez’s 2021 color was also done by Lee and Riawna Capri. “We’ve been doing Selena’s color for over a decade now. She typically keeps it pretty natural, but this time she went for a big change. This blonde is unique to her as we had to make sure there was an equal balance of cool and warm for her skin tone. It’s an edgier look and perfect for summer,” the hairstylists said in a statement.

https://twitter.com/eolsenarchive/status/1372591228886396930

Elizabeth Olsen

At the virtual launch of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier miniseries, Olsen debuted a totally different look from her usual copper-blonde hair. The bangs! The darker color! So chic.

Source: Instagram

Chrissy Teigen

We love how Teigen is playing around with wigs lately and experimenting with hair color. Although she only kept the silver shade for a day, we hope she brings it back. It looks amazing on her.

Source: Instagram

Kristen Bell

It seems like Bell is dressed up in character to film a TV show or movie but we’re loving these piecey bangs on her and we hope she keeps them up IRL.

Source: Instagram

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

While filling us in on the Covid-19 relief package, AOC showed off her adorable new haircut. When followers commented saying they loved the chop, she replied, “Let’s not start another national crisis over it, right?”

Source: Instagram

Gigi Hadid

The model mom returned to the runway, walking in the Versace fall 2021 show. Hairstylist Panos Papandrianos wrote “Ginger for Gigi” on Instagram, making us believe he really did dye the model’s hair this gorgeous red shade for the occasion.

Source: Instagram

Olivia Rodrigo

The ‘Drivers License’ singer jumped on the curtain bang trend thanks to hairstylist Clayton Hawkins. They’re subtle but make a big difference in her look. One interesting note: Sabrina Carpenter has them too.

Source: Instagram

Lana Condor

The actress looks so great in this pastel pink wig, maybe she’s considering doing it IRL? “Get ‘Anyone Else But You; to 5 mil streams and I’ll keep it,” she wrote on Instagram. Though, she told STYLECASTER last year, “I don’t know that I’d ever dye dye my hair. I think my mom would kill me, you’d know?”

Source: Instagram

Ashley Graham

The model had everyone thinking maybe she got a pixie cut but her hair is actually the result of new growth post hair loss. “Postpartum baby hairs come through!” she wrote on Instagram.

Source: Instagram

Emma Roberts

A new color and cut for the birthday girl! “Emma always looks and feels her best blonde,” said her hairstylist and Nine Zero One co-founder Nikki Lee. “We decided to keep her a warm blonde and went for a ’90s supermodel vibe. With a new baby and a big birthday, we went out with a bang! Lisa Satorn added extensions for length and fullness. I kept her haircut free and flowing with piecey layers around the face.” Lee keeps her client’s hair healthy with the In Common 3 Step Treatment System ($105 at In Common).

Source: Instagram

Katy Perry

Why not start with one of the biggest hair chameleons? Though she’s been ultra-blonde for a while, we can’t help but miss a brunette Katy Perry. It’s classically chic and fits her personality. So, when we saw these photos of backstage at Jimmy Kimmel Live, we were so excited to see the long brown hair. But it seems it’s a wig and she’s already back to blonde.

Several years ago, I wrote an article on why men should be emotionally honest with women. The reader response was overwhelming. The article garnered more than 2,000 comments overnight, a number typically reserved for articles written by movie stars.

My name on the article was irrelevant. It was the topic that sent thousands of readers on the warpath. The responses were literally split 50/50 along gender lines.

One thousand women unanimously shared the sentiment, “Of course men should be emotionally honest with women.”

One thousand men also shared a unanimous sentiment, “Are you crazy?”

I wasn’t a rookie regarding this topic because I’ve been in a men’s group for more than 30 years, led workshops for men and written a book about men’s groups. A major aspect of the work I’ve done in groups and workshops is related to emotional honesty and developing the ability to speak from the heart.

My first men’s group meeting was more than 30 years ago with eight men between 42 and 52 in attendance. None had done any significant emotional work. Relationships were the first topic that was brought up that night and they remain the number one topic 30 years later.

When It Comes to Senior Dating, What Do Women Want from Men in a Relationship?

The question, “What do women want from us in a relationship” was on every man’s lips. Someone mentioned emotional honesty and the room erupted in laughter, albeit nervous laughter. Not one man felt comfortable in the emotional dialogue arena. The reasons varied but one reason in particular kept coming up. I mention this reason because nearly every one of the 1,000 men who commented on my article mirrored the reason mentioned by my men’s group guys – fear.

Fear exists on many levels, but like my men’s group guys, the 1,000 men expressed their fear in terms of getting dumped for behaving in an unmanly way or ridiculed because women didn’t value the quality of their emotional honesty.

Are Men Afraid of Powerful Women?

What, big tough guys are afraid of physically less powerful women? Absolutely, and here’s what so many men are afraid of. The notion of a man sharing his feelings with a woman carries a huge risk, and it’s not one most men are willing to accept more than once if their sharing goes badly.

In addition, men know that women are far more skilled and comfortable in the emotional arena than they are and that they’re at a distinct disadvantage.

What Often Happens When a Woman Asks a Man How He Is Feeling?

So, a woman asks her man how he’s feeling about her or their relationship. The man shares his feelings in terms of not feeling the same level of love or commitment the woman has expressed. Too often what he hears in return is judgment, opinion or anger because his response didn’t live up to her expectations.

Why Men Fear Emotional Questions

I believe that nearly every woman knows in her heart that when someone expresses their feelings they’re expressing their absolute truth. But in a relationship, that understanding too often takes a back seat to reacting to hurt feelings. Men fear emotional questions because they fear the reaction. It’s not unlike a woman asking a man if her jeans make her butt look big. There’s no right answer.

One-hundred percent of my date coaching clients are women over 60. Skype is the preferred media format. I write the type of profiles for their online dating pages that will garner the right kind of attention and attract the best possible men. I urge them to seek men who have an emotional vocabulary. But I also ask them not to react harshly or judgmentally to a man’s response when he’s asked an emotional question.

My experience on the emotional dialogue playing field is the first time a man feels shut down, put down, judged or made to feel inept, is the last time he will ever get enmeshed in that dialogue with that woman again. Sadly, it may be the last time he has that conversation with any woman. That’s how powerful a woman’s negative response to a man’s expressed feelings can be.

I urge women to tread softly with men who are attempting to express their feelings. Think of this verbal emotional exchange in terms of having the upper hand but not taking advantage of it. In time, most men develop an ability to hold their own on the emotional dialogue playing field. Be patient.

Do you think that men should be emotionally honest with women? What do you want from a relationship with a man? Do you agree that men have trouble with emotional conversations? What advice would you offer to other women in our community who may be new to the senior dating world? Please join the conversation.

By the time you are in your mid-70s and there has been no major health crisis, you know you have been lucky. If you have a spouse (or partner) and ‘you’ means both of you, you know you have been doubly lucky.

Now aged 79 and my husband aged 80, I have been saying to friends for a few years that we can reasonably expect a metaphorical block of concrete to fall on our heads at any time. No certainty of when or where, but it is definitely getting more possible.

Cancer? Heart attack? A nasty fall? Or, worse, some form of dementia?

Our Own Form of Bad Luck

And then that block did fall.

A few weeks ago, on Easter Friday evening, we were chatting about nothing in particular when my husband said that his eyes were blurry. It had just happened, there were no other symptoms, but it didn’t feel right.

Phone calls to a medical helpline and to an optometrist friend both elicited the suggestion he should get to an eye doctor. Both suggested a particular eye hospital, but neither hinted of any emergency.

The following day, Easter Saturday, not much was open. Even in the great metropolis that is London. Not our own GP surgery. Not the recommended eye hospital. The local optician had no appointments, but there was no eye doctor there in any case.

In brief, we went early to the best-known eye hospital in London, where a perceptive doctor feared it might be a stroke. To my eternal gratitude, with persistence, he obtained a referral to an excellent stroke unit in a convenient hospital.

We learned then that my husband had had a haemorrhagic stroke, resulting in an eye condition called a homonymous hemianopia (hemianopsia in the US). Difficult to spell h’s seemed to be part of the condition.

He stayed in the hospital for two nights (it should have been more, but he managed to talk himself home on the grounds that he would recover quicker with good sleep and good food – and perhaps they needed the bed).

Aftercare

The aftercare from the National Health Service (NHS) was brilliant. The day after my husband arrived home, an occupational therapist visited him at home to assess his needs and provide advice.

The stroke doctor phoned twice within the first two weeks, a senior stroke nurse phoned once to provide a helpline number and the senior doctor from the eye hospital also phoned to say they would be in touch when his eyes had settled down.

As for the patient, he was left very tired and with no disability except to his eyes. Indeed, after a few days, it was clear that he could read a newspaper slowly, go for walks and do most things. He could watch television, but with occasional difficulty (for instance, at times he couldn’t see the football in a televised match, depending on the camera angle).

But he is an avid reader, and it is likely he will be unable to read books because the slow reading means he cannot absorb the rhythm and meaning of such prose. Yes, there are audio books, but they are not the same at all.

Reaction to Misfortune

But all of the above is a preamble to what I most wanted to write about, namely our reaction to the situation, particularly my own. You never know until it happens.

OK, a block of concrete had fallen. Yes, this was likely to change the texture of my husband’s life and therefore my own. It could, indeed, shorten his life span. We were told his eyesight might improve, but it was not likely to.

Many people become frustrated and angry in this kind of situation and I was, indeed, warned that he might undergo a personality change. That was the most terrifying suggestion of the whole experience.

But he is a calm and patient man and has never expressed any frustration at all. “It is what it is,” he says, “I will learn to deal with it.” He has a wicked sense of humour and it has not disappeared, thank goodness.

I went into a period of suspended emotion – not cross, not relieved, just holding in there. Part of me certainly wanted to fall apart. To rant that this had happened and was in some way unfair. Only I knew it wasn’t ‘unfair’ because fairness has nothing to do with these events.

And my strongest reaction was that he – and therefore I – had been lucky. He could have been permanently disabled. He could have lost his speech. He could have died. But all he had was a loss of some sight.

He had got off lightly, dodged the bullet, take your metaphor of choice.

At some point, roughly two weeks after the event, I did break down and have a short but powerful weep following an exploration of whether this shortened his expected life span. A terrifying chasm opened up just briefly – enough to peer over the edge – and then closed again.

I think the psyche knows exactly how much pain you can take ­­– and when – and doles it out appropriately. I went back to a sense of calm.

The Man Down the Road

I think it is quite a common reaction to disasters of whatever kind to decide that you have essentially been lucky, that there is someone worse off than you.

Years ago, my husband’s late aunt, then widowed and in her late 70s, was flooded out of her much-loved bungalow by a major flood in North Wales.

Because of sanitation issues, she was required to live in a caravan next to her house for months while the authorities slowly cleaned up the numerous houses similarly affected. It was cramped, there were limited cooking and washing facilities and was clearly not the way she wanted to live.

Did she complain?

No, she told us she felt sorry for the man down the road, who was in the same situation but with a heart condition. “It must be really hard for him,” she noted.

I thought then – and I still think now – that there is always ‘a man down the road’. Someone worse off. Makes us appreciate what we have.

The Future

We will continue to wait to see if there is improvement. We will wait to see what resources are available for the condition.

And, in the meantime, that block of concrete can still come – cancer, heart attack, a nasty fall, or, worse, some form of dementia.

You just never know.

Have you experienced a major health crisis in your life? How did you react? Did you also feel that it could have been worse? Did you think of ‘the man down the road’ and consider yourself lucky? Please share your story!

When articles or discussions center around the question, “do you know your number,” they are usually referring to your retirement nest egg value. Specifically, how much do you need to have stashed away before you can retire and not have to worry about running out of money?

I feel like a politician when I answer, “it depends.” But in my experience as a Certified Financial Planner, the number you really need to know even before estimating your required nest egg value, is the answer to “how much do you need/want to spend annually in retirement?”

In my financial planning/investment management practice, I have worked with clients that have no trouble living on $50K/year and those that struggle to live on $200K/year. You can see how the nest egg goal number for each of them is very different.

Lifestyle Spending

Your lifestyle determines your spending needs and is one of the biggest factors (in addition to your life expectancy) determining whether you are likely to run out of money in retirement. Yet in talking with folks over the last 20 years, most people often don’t know, without spending time calculating it, what their typical expense amount is each month.

When people are willing to look closer at determining that number, I encourage them to break the monthly amount down to two categories: wants vs needs expenses. Needs are those costs in your budget that you must pay in order to provide food, shelter and transportation.

So, what must go out of your bank account each month without doing anything extra, i.e., utilities, gas, groceries, mortgage/rent, insurance, etc. The importance of maintaining your health is also why I firmly believe that costs involved with whatever you enjoy for exercise (health club cost, golfing, walking, etc.) also belong in the “need” category.

Wants, on the other hand, are those discretionary expenses that you may enjoy but also know you could cut back on if needed to save money, invest more, or to reduce your spending. You could eat out less, for example, or shop less expensively on clothing.

Tell Your Money Where to Go

One of my favorite lines from Dave Ramsey, creator of the Financial Peace University class, is “tell your money where to go, instead of wondering where your money went!” In other words, you must be aware of your income as well as your expenses so you can avoid living paycheck to paycheck and be able to put away money for short term emergencies as well as long term goals (like retirement).

Which brings us to the B word, budget. Most of us don’t like to track and monitor spending, especially on a regular basis for a variety of reasons. It takes time, at least initially to track and/or monitor expenses.

It may not be our favorite thing to do with our time or perhaps we find thinking about money in general stressful. Or maybe we know we aren’t going to like what we find (too much being spent on wants vs needs, too much month left at the end of the money, not enough activity in the areas of saving/investing, etc.)

Tallying Up

Like most things in life, there is not a one size fits all approach to tackling the budget issue. At least initially, you do need to identify categories and typical amounts involved in your spending habits. You could manually record your expenses as you spend and pay bills.

There are several Expense Tracking Sheet options available online. You could download information from your bank and credit card accounts. Or you could use a tracking service like www.Mint.com for example.

I find that just the initial experience and going through the process of determining that average monthly spending amount is often more valuable than continuing to track it going forward. If you can take an average of what happened over a period of three months, that often gives you a good ballpark to start with.

And a huge bonus of actually documenting your expenses is that you don’t leave family members in the lurch if someone needs to step in and help you with bill paying down the road. You have taken the detective work out of it for them by maintaining a list of the common household expenses.

Pay Yourself First

So, once you can see “where the money went,” now what? If you are in your working years, you want to be sure you have saving (unless you already have 3-6 months of expenses already stashed away in a savings type of account) and investing (10-20% of your income) as part of your monthly “need” expenses.

That is part of Dave Ramsey’s “tell your money where to go” advice. Automating both saving and investing is the best way to take the emotion out of the decision as well as overcome the human inertia issue of not acting on your goals. Set up an automatic transfer from checking to savings or paycheck to 401(k) for example. That guarantees you pay yourself first.

Reducing Expenses

If you are no longer bringing in earned income, you may need to have more of a focus on cutting back or being aware of the “want” expenses. Sometimes keeping it simple is the most helpful.

The cash envelope approach, for example, can be one way you target the two or three spending habits you are trying to cut back on. One couple I know put $200 in an envelope each month as their eating out budget. When it was gone, they knew they were done eating out for that month.

They did the same thing for spending on extra things for their kids. So, they weren’t tracking every expense every month, but they were working on the two areas that they knew historically put them over their monthly ballpark budget.

Another couple preferred to break it down to knowing their weekly “want” spending limit. If they kept their weekly splurges (on any category not related to food, shelter or transportation) to less than $100, they knew they were staying pretty close to their identified budget.

Both, however, also put the “pay yourself first” expenses on auto pilot (automatic sweeps from checking to savings and paycheck to 401(k)) as part of their monthly “need” expenses to identify those dollar limits for spending regardless of which tracking method they used.

Getting financially organized forces you to look at your financial health a little closer. This is often a good starting point, whether that leads you to more budget work or something else. Knowing your numbers allows you to treat yourself to your best financial health today. It pays dividends in so many ways later in life!

How do you do your budgeting? Do you have a ‘wants’ and ‘needs’ envelope? Have you implemented the ‘pay yourself first’ method? What are your budgeting tips? Please share with the community!