If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, STYLECASTER may receive an affiliate commission.

If you’re using retinol on your face but not your body, we need to talk. While transforming skin with retinol is mostly left up to the visage, next level body care is getting yourself a lotion with retinol in it. Vitamin A is my best skin care friend, so I make sure that all of my skin is covered in it.

Medix’s 5.5 Retinol Cream combines anti-aging ingredients with natural antioxidants to help decrease the look of wrinkles and fine lines, while natural ferulic acid targets sun-damaged skin. This well-reviewed body care product (it’s up to almost 30,000 reviews on Amazon—and counting) quickly transforms skin and brings life back to you. You can also use it on your face if you don’t already have a retinol in your skin care routine. Bonus points for the chamomile and botanimoist AMS, which helps increase your skins hydration by almost 88%. Your skin will feel hydrates and moisturized, on top of feeling oh so smooth.

Courtesy of Medix.

Medix 5.5 Retinol Body Lotion Moisturizer Face & Body Cream

This Medix 5.5 Retinol Body Lotion Moisturizer Face & Body Cream is a great moisturizer for skin that feels crepey, wrinkles, sagging skin, and sun damage. It’s vegan and cruelty-free, so it’s not tested on animals.

Reviewers love and rave about this body lotion, claiming that it erases the appearance of crepey skin almost immediately. One user said, “In the past two years, the back of my hands had developed crepey dried skin that looked like shiny cracked earth. It was very noticeable. Although I am 63, my face and body look 20 years younger but my crepey hands look at least 10 years older! I wore moisturizing gloves with lotion on at bedtime but not much improvement had shown. I purchased Medix. The first three days I was able to see drastic improvement. A week later my skin had gotten so smooth there was no traces of crepey skin at all. Thank you Medix! I shall recommend this product to all my friends and family.”

It can be easy to make mistakes when it comes to Medicare. This is because our health is often overlooked or pushed to the bottom of our seemingly never-ending to-do lists. Thus, we do not allow ourselves the proper amount of time to dedicate to learning how Medicare works and what mistakes we should avoid.

However, when it comes to Medicare enrollment, you may want to think twice about skipping steps or enrolling at the last minute.

A Medicare mistake can become a costly burden many do not anticipate and are unprepared for. Worst case scenario – you could end up with no coverage or a penalty you are stuck paying for the rest of your life. We do not want this to happen to you.

So, we have compiled a list of the top 5 Medicare mistakes you should avoid if you want to have a worry-free future with Medicare.

Missing Vital Medicare Enrollment Periods

Enrolling in Medicare comes down to understanding when you can and cannot apply for coverage. You can only enroll in Medicare during specific enrollment periods, and not everyone is eligible for each enrollment period. So, to enroll in coverage, you must know when you qualify.

When you become eligible to enroll in Medicare, you have an Initial Enrollment Period. This window allows you to enroll in Original Medicare (Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B). Once you have registered in Original Medicare, you become eligible to enroll in Medicare Advantage (Part C) or a Medicare Supplement plan. However, you must choose between the two plan types as you cannot enroll in both simultaneously.

Suppose you keep your Original Medicare or enroll in a Medicare Supplement plan. In that case, you can enroll in a Medicare Part D plan to provide you with prescription drug coverage. Remember, many Medicare Advantage plans offer drug coverage, so if you enroll in Medicare Advantage, you are not permitted to enroll in Medicare Part D.

If you miss your Initial Enrollment Period, there are additional enrollment periods for you to utilize throughout the year. Other enrollment periods include:

• General Enrollment Period
• Annual Enrollment Period
• Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period
• Special Enrollment Period

As you can see, Medicare enrollment works as a chain reaction. Once you enroll in one part, you may enroll in the next, and so on. Thus, missing one step in the enrollment process may halt future Medicare enrollment. Plus, if you delay Medicare benefits without creditable coverage, you may incur a late-enrollment penalty that can increase your costs in the future.

Ignoring Your Plans Annual Notice of Change Letter

Each September, your Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage plan providers will send you an Annual Notice of Change letter containing all the changes your plan will undergo for the upcoming year.

This letter is not one to be thrown out with the junk mail pile. It is essential to read and understand this letter thoroughly as it may contain vital changes that could impact your coverage. If there are changes in your plan that do not align with your healthcare needs or budget, you will want to review and enroll in a new plan during the Annual Enrollment Period.

Enrolling in a Medicare Advantage Plan That Does Not Cover Your Doctors

Enrolling in a Medicare Advantage plan can sometimes be a gamble if the plan involves networks. A doctor can leave or join a plan’s network at any time. So, if your doctor accepts your plan when you first enroll, there is a chance they may not take your plan in the future, and you would be forced to pay higher costs for care or find a new doctor who accepts your Medicare Advantage plan.

To avoid this, it is essential to understand your Medicare Advantage plans network or enroll in a Medicare Supplement plan. Medicare Supplement plans are accepted by any physician who accepts Original Medicare, regardless of your plan’s carrier. This may be the best option for those with multiple doctors or who travel often.

Not Educating Yourself on the Differences Between Medicare Advantage and Medicare Supplement Plans

Contrary to what you may think, Medicare Supplement and Medicare Advantage plans are not the same. Many seniors on Medicare believe that the two plan names can be used interchangeably. However, that could not be further from the truth. Medicare Supplement and Medicare Advantage plans are two plan types with separate rules.

Medicare Supplement plans are secondary coverage that pays after Original Medicare. Thus, if Original Medicare does not pay, neither will your Medicare Supplement plan. Also, these plans have no network, meaning you can visit any doctor who accepts Original Medicare, and you will not be turned away based on your Supplemental insurance carrier.

On the other hand, Medicare Advantage plans pay in place of Original Medicare. These plans combine Original Medicare benefits with additional coverage to create an all-in-one source of coverage. However, these plans tend to have high out-of-pocket costs, more restrictions, and often require a network of doctors. This allows for more restrictive coverage when compared to a Medicare Supplement plan.

It is hard to determine which plan type is best for you as everyone is different. However, it is essential to compare all the plans available in your area to ensure you receive the best coverage possible.

Not Enrolling in a Separate Medicare Part D Plan with Original Medicare or Medicare Supplement

If you enroll in Original Medicare or a Medicare Supplement plan, you may notice a large hole in your coverage. Neither cover prescription drug benefits.

This is where Medicare Part D comes in. Medicare Part D helps cover some of the cost of prescription drugs. While it is not mandatory coverage, you may be required to pay the penalty if you do not enroll in Medicare Part D.

The Medicare Part D penalty is accrued if you delay Medicare Part D coverage without creditable drug coverage in place. Once you enroll in Medicare part D, you will be responsible for the penalty on top of your chosen plan’s premium for as long as you are enrolled in Medicare. The Part D penalty never goes away.

To avoid this additional cost, it is important to enroll in Medicare Part D coverage as soon as you become eligible.

How to Become Educated on Medicare Do’s and Don’ts

As you can see, Medicare can be confusing, and it can become easy to make a mistake that could cost you thousands of dollars or a lifetime of penalties. To avoid these mistakes, the best thing you can do is to educate yourself on all parts of Medicare.

Medicare education is essential as you become eligible for the federal healthcare program. Take advantage of free online seminars, speak with a licensed agent, and take the time to read your Medicare & You book, provided free of charge by CMS. By understanding your coverage, you become more likely to have success with your Medicare benefits in the future.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Have you ever received an Annual Notice of Change letter? Do you have a Medicare Advantage or Medicare Supplement plan? How long have you been on Original Medicare? Have you ever made one of these Medicare mistakes? Let us know! We want to hear about your experiences with Medicare!

We are all worrying about prices and the cost of energy, aren’t we? We wonder how we will cope this winter. I feel for young families in 2022. But it has made me think what life was like.

Post-War Life

I grew up in the 1950s when, post-war, there was little of anything in the shops as all factories had been making weapons for six years, so it took time for them to adapt machinery to produce household items.

My pram in 1945 was a hand down. This one pram had been used by all the babies in our large family. Only the rich had cars, so the price of petrol wasn’t an issue. We walked everywhere and, once we could ride a bike, we cycled.

For food, bread and dripping was a common snack. It gave us energy. My mother cooked stew and dumplings, liver casseroles and sausages. My father grew all our vegetables in his garden. The only outing was to the swimming pool or to play tennis in the nearby park. Otherwise, we played in the garden.

Buying a Property

Soon after our marriage in 1965, with my husband sent on an unaccompanied posting, I moved back in with my parents and found a job. I was saving for the deposit on a house, so they took minimal housekeeping.

On his return, we bought a property – a modest two-bedroom bungalow. I worked for a year before I had my first baby, and two years later our second daughter was born. During the next three years, we witnessed houses being built on a field behind our bungalow. We sold up and bought a three-bedroom house.

Into the 1960s

When I think back to the 60s and managing housekeeping on an RAF Corporal’s wage – it wasn’t enough to call it a salary – I don’t know how I did it. I had five pounds a week to feed us and, later, to buy clothes for the children.

Luckily, I had worked full-time until I was six months pregnant, after which I was due maternity pay which lasted until my baby was two months old. The week after I left work, I recall a sense of foreboding, having lost my weekly pay of about £3.50.

My parents and my grandmother visited and brought boxes of food which were gratefully accepted. My parents-in-law also brought groceries on their visits. Interestingly, my mother-in-law worked in her local supermarket, and she and my father-in-law lived on food just out of date. Their gift box often included some of these.

While some of my contemporaries returned to some form of flexible working soon after their second child, it was practically impossible for me to do the same. My husband worked shifts that varied every week. By Thursday, I was often broke, and we ate beans on toast. Worse, I remember no money for the baby’s tights as autumn set in. But I had blankets.

Finding and Saving Money

When I look back, I have always worked my way out of financial hardship, even when I had toddlers. This 2022 cost of living crisis has reminded me how I scraped money together and worked at bringing a few pounds in every week, even saving some money.

For a start, I made all my children’s clothes, something that is easier with girls. They were the first children in our neighbourhood to have little shift dresses because my dressmaking skills were limited.

I bought material on markets and raided shops for remnants. I had empty matchboxes in a kitchen drawer into which I put one or two shillings each week. Labelled ‘holidays’, ‘Christmas’ and ‘birthdays’ they were a source of great amusement to my father-in-law who described me as ‘tight’.

Working Mothers

My next-door neighbour had grown up in Oxford, and, by the time her little boy was six months old, she was leaving at six o’clock every morning to drive to work, leaving her baby with her mother. In our village and among the RAF community in Brize Norton, a working mother was rare.

Within a year, they sold their bungalow and moved closer to her parents. My friends from the National Childbirth Trust classes carried on meeting in each other’s houses for cups of tea and sharing ideas on how to make ends meet, our babies sitting with toys on the fireside rug.

Earning Money

When my daughters were aged four and two years old respectively, I took on an Avon round. I walked around my allocated area with the girls taking turns to sit in the pushchair. They would help push the next catalogue through the doors of all my customers.

My round included the RAF married quarters near home. Most of the married quarters were occupied by families fresh from overseas postings and, having had no access to shops selling cosmetics, they had become accustomed to Avon products.

By January 1973, I was expecting my third child, but I continued my Avon round, sometimes taking the car to move around areas on the large RAF base. There was a lot of interest in my third pregnancy and my two little girls who accompanied me often. I kept the round going until I was eight months pregnant by which time I had the thirst for earning.

Scanning the local paper, I found a job requiring the use of a car, possible for me because my husband walked to work. The job was managing a weekly free paper round delivering papers to the boys and paying them.

The thirst for earning continues but now focuses on writing.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

What was your life like in the 1950s? Did you face financial hardships? How have you earned money when your children were young?

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, STYLECASTER may receive an affiliate commission.

If you’re using retinol on your face but not your body, we need to talk. While transforming skin with retinol is mostly left up to the visage, next level body care is getting yourself a lotion with retinol in it. Vitamin A is my best skin care friend, so I make sure that all of my skin is covered in it.

Medix’s 5.5 Retinol Cream combines anti-aging ingredients with natural antioxidants to help decrease the look of wrinkles and fine lines, while natural ferulic acid targets sun-damaged skin. This well-reviewed body care product (it’s up to almost 30,000 reviews on Amazon—and counting) quickly transforms skin and brings life back to you. You can also use it on your face if you don’t already have a retinol in your skin care routine. Bonus points for the chamomile and botanimoist AMS, which helps increase your skins hydration by almost 88%. Your skin will feel hydrates and moisturized, on top of feeling oh so smooth.

Courtesy of Medix.

Medix 5.5 Retinol Body Lotion Moisturizer Face & Body Cream

This Medix 5.5 Retinol Body Lotion Moisturizer Face & Body Cream is a great moisturizer for skin that feels crepey, wrinkles, sagging skin, and sun damage. It’s vegan and cruelty-free, so it’s not tested on animals.

Reviewers love and rave about this body lotion, claiming that it erases the appearance of crepey skin almost immediately. One user said, “In the past two years, the back of my hands had developed crepey dried skin that looked like shiny cracked earth. It was very noticeable. Although I am 63, my face and body look 20 years younger but my crepey hands look at least 10 years older! I wore moisturizing gloves with lotion on at bedtime but not much improvement had shown. I purchased Medix. The first three days I was able to see drastic improvement. A week later my skin had gotten so smooth there was no traces of crepey skin at all. Thank you Medix! I shall recommend this product to all my friends and family.”

Lisa Barlow’s Burgundy Arrow Ski Suit While Skiing

Real Housewives of Salt Lake City Season 3 Episode 5 Fashion

Based on the previews for this week’s episode of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City things appear to go downhill very quickly between the ladies during a ski day. But not as quickly as the stock of Lisa Barlow’s burgundy arrow ski suit will be going, so ski scroll on down below.

Fashionably,

Faryn

Click Here to Shop Her Cordova Ski Suit on Sale in 3 Colours

Click Here For Info on Her Sunglasses

Originally posted at: Lisa Barlow’s Burgundy Arrow Ski Suit