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LYN’S LEDGER
Lyndon Thomas Insurance Agency
We Help You With Medicare Plans.
AEP, WHAT A GREAT TIME OF YEAR! Early October 2024
The Stand-Alone Prescription Drug Program will be affected more by these changes. Medicare Advantage plans will be affected less. You should have received the Medicare required Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) from your current plan by now. Please review your ANOC to learn the changes in your plan premium and copays. In the 10 days of October, LTIA will be sending you our personal analysis of your plans for 2025 with recommendations to continue with your plan or change plans depending on these changes. LOCAL CHANGES. Changes to three Medicare Advantage Plans here in Ventura County will require members of those plans to change plans. While those health plans will be communicating those changes to you, LTIA will also be contacting these affected members directly about your plan options. LTIA has a coast-to-coast presence, with clients in several other states. We will be contacting our members in other states with our analysis of plan changes and recommendations. Medicare Supplements: While your Part D plan may be changed during the Oct. 15-Dec. 7 Annual Enrollment Period, your Medicare Supplement (Medigap) policy is not affected during this time. In early October, LTIA will send out our analysis to each of our members’ plan changes for 2025 with recommendations to continue your current plan or change plans for next year. As a business owner, it is always a joy to hire capable and competent people to help grow your team. We have recently welcomed Kelley Rasmussen to the LTIA team. With more than a dozen years in the insurance profession, Kelley brings her love for people, her character, and her experience to our practice. I look forward to her meeting and serving a growing number of our clients. We are blessed!
This AEP is going to be one for the record books. For an insurance agency servicing Medicare beneficiaries, the Annual Enrollment Period from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7 is a cross between the Super Bowl and a marathon. This is the time of year that any Medicare beneficiary may change, add, or drop their Medicare Advantage Plan or Stand-Alone Part D Prescription Drug Program. Business surveys show that in a normal year, approximately 35% of Medicare beneficiaries shop their plan during AEP; in other words, the majority don’t take action regarding their Medicare plans. Surveys this year predict that nearly 80% of beneficiaries will be taking some kind of action, whether reviewing their plan and choosing to stay or searching for options and completing an enrollment and change plans. We believe our experience will mirror these surveys. In preparation for this unusual Annual Enrollment Period, the team here at Lyndon Thomas Insurance analyzes the changes in the plans affecting our clients and prepares a personal analysis for you. The drivers for this year’s AEP surge are changes at both the national and local levels. NATIONAL CHANGES. The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act is changing Part D Prescription Drug Programs in 2025, member out-of-pocket costs (copays) to $2,000. This cap on out-of- pocket costs will be a significant help for about 20% of seniors with very high drug costs. At the same time, however, federal subsidies for the
purchase of prescription drugs for seniors are being reduced. These increases in costs are driving significant
www.LT-ins.com –Lyn Thomas
premium increases in some plans.
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Lyndon Thomas Insurance
Easy Hacks to Turn Your Bathroom Into a Serene Escape SPA DAY ON A DIME
Everyone deserves a little pampering, but you don’t have to make an expensive trip to the spa to treat yourself! With a bit of creativity, you can transform even the smallest bathroom into a personal oasis without straining your budget. Get ready to relax with an at-home spa day using these cheap bathroom decorating hacks. Add Plants Bring life to the space by adding fresh plants or flowers. Plants bring in natural elements and a serene feel while also cleaning the air in your bathroom. To maximize limited space in a small bathroom, hang plants from the ceiling or use ledges. This is an easy and inexpensive addition that instantly elevates the room. Use Matching Bottles Keeping things clean and cohesive is the key to creating a soothing salon feel in your bathroom. Find attractive, matching bottles
to hold your shampoo, body wash, and other beauty care products, then create beautiful labels for them. You can go further and store your mouthwash in a glass decanter. Decorate Your Tub If you have a bath, turn it into a luxury experience by adding a chic wooden bath tray or caddy. Load the tray with your favorite beauty products, soaps, candles, and
a favorite book. These are small and compact, so you can leave them displayed while not in use or stow them away until you’re ready for a soak. You can also add a bath mat to the tub for a splash of color, texture, and comfort. Spruce Up Shower Curtains The shower can dominate the space in a small bathroom, so make your shower curtains an eye-catching focal point. Use curtains that feature soft colors, a cool design, or interesting textures. You can also use two curtain panels instead of one to highlight the shower fixtures and frames. With these budget-friendly tips, your bathroom will look so good that you’ll enjoy pampering yourself under your own roof. Creativity and design can go a long way in creating an at-home spa without spending a fortune. Go ahead, treat yourself!
APPS TO ENHANCE YOUR CARE AND COMMUNICATION Caregiving Made Easier
Medisafe Whether the one you care for is suffering from a short-term or prolonged medical condition, managing their prescriptions is paramount. Medisafe helps by sending personalized messages as a reminder for when medications need to be taken, when to refill them, and where best to go to fill them. Best of all, they have paired with GoodRx to provide users with coupons and discount codes for many medications. While the basic version of the app is free, the premium version is $4.99 monthly or $39.99 for a year. MindMate Declining cognitive ability and memory loss are problems for both those suffering from these disabilities and those caring for them. Luckily, simple tools can help manage mental decline and improve functioning in many cognitive areas. Over a million people worldwide use Mindmate, which provides fun, interactive games to help stimulate the brain. It also offers a daily plan of activities, managing everything from recipes to workout routines.
Caring for an elderly loved one can be incredibly stressful and difficult, but modern technology has innovated many ways to make this challenging task easier than ever before. Using these tools makes
caring for someone else easier and makes it easier to care for yourself. Here are three apps that make caregiving more manageable. Caring Village This app was created by a team that understands what caregivers go through. Members of the team all have experience providing care for loved ones who couldn’t look after themselves. Using that experience, they created an app that offers personalized to-do lists, care plans, medication lists, calendars, a wellness journal, and more. Caring Village is one of the best apps on the market for organization, ensuring a caregiver doesn’t miss any task.
2 1211 Maricopa Hwy, Ste 222, Ojai, CA 93023
CA# 0D96309
We Help You With Medicare.
Living within your means can be a delightful challenge where you learn how to make the most of what you have (not on your credit card). The secret power move? Shifting your mindset from immediate gratification to long-term fulfillment. Here’s how you can enjoy dancing to the beat of your own financial drum without being swayed by the flash and dazzle of everyone else’s spending habits. Embrace your unique financial journey. It’s time to embrace your financial path. No two financial journeys are alike, so why waste time comparing your fiscal plot twists with someone else’s blockbuster budget? Instead, focus on your own financial goals — like building a robust retirement nest egg or investing in assets that grow over time — so you can create a personalized plan that brings you long-term happiness and security. Budget with your ‘future you’ in mind. Instead of viewing budgeting as a bummer, think of it as planning a bright future for yourself. You’re the boss; every dollar you save is a building block for your future empire, so spend wisely! A good rule of thumb is to take your monthly income and only spend 50% on essentials and 30% on lifestyle, then put 20% toward your savings or paying off debt. This isn’t about cutting out fun; it’s about increasing your future fun fund! Set goals that make your ‘future you’ proud. When setting goals, think about what will make your future self thank you. Instead of splurging on the latest designer bag or a fast car, consider how satisfying it will be to reach financial freedom. Whether it’s being mortgage-free by 50 or having a healthy investment portfolio, these goals can motivate you to stick to your While saving for the future, remember to enjoy today responsibly . Embrace the joy in low-cost pleasures like reading a great book, exploring nature, or spending time with loved ones. These activities enrich your life without deflating your wallet. Living within your means doesn’t mean denying yourself all of life’s pleasures — it means making wise choices now to enjoy even greater pleasures later. Let’s all start nurturing our future financial well-being! budget with purpose. Savor the simple joys. SKIP THE SPLURGE, SECURE THE FUTURE How to Prioritize Long-Term Financial Goals
PERFECT PEACH COBBLER
Ingredients
• 6 cups sliced fresh peaches • 1/2 cup granulated sugar • 2 tbsp all-purpose flour • 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon • 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg • 2 cups all-purpose flour • 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder • 1/2 tsp salt • 1/2 cup cold butter, cut into pieces • 1/2 cup milk • 2 tbsp butter, melted
1. Preheat oven to 375 F and grease an 8-inch square baking dish. 2. In a large bowl, combine peaches, sugar, 2 tbsp flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg; mix until blended, then spoon into prepared dish. 3. In a medium bowl, combine 2 cups flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. 4. Cut in butter with forks or pastry knife until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. 5. Add milk and stir until just blended. 6. Drop dough by spoonfuls onto peach mixture and drizzle melted butter on top. 7. Bake for 40–45 minutes or until top is golden brown. Directions
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Lyndon Thomas Insurance Agency
P.O. Box 207 Ojai, CA 93024
PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411
We Help You With Medicare Plans.
INSIDE
CA# 0D96309 | www.LT-ins.com | 805-646-6409
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AEP, What a Great Time of Year!
Budget-Friendly Bathroom Bliss
Apps to Improve Caregivers’ Efficiency
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Avoid Impulse Buys With This Smart Budgeting Mindset
Perfect Peach Cobbler
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Shoot Your Shot: Take a Picture
We do not offer every plan available in your area. Any information we provide is limited to those plans we do offer in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE to get information on all of your options.
Discover the Benefits of Photography SNAP HAPPY
Many popular hobbies pose barriers to entry. Running marathons requires fitness, skydiving requires nerves of steel, and video gaming requires skill and money. A growing number of adults in their 50s and 60s are embracing a hobby that is perhaps the most adaptable pastime in the world — photography. For those interested in creative expression, mental and social stimulation, or simply a little low-impact exercise, photography offers a path for everyone. At a stage when personal narratives become more important to many people, photography enables adults to document their life experiences in creative ways. Photographers can choose from vast equipment types at a wide range of prices,
from smartphone or point-and-shoot cameras to elaborate gear for nighttime or underwater photography. Potential genres range from landscapes and dark skies to street photography or portraits. And subjects can be found almost anywhere, from inside your home to continents on the other side of the world. Photography offers opportunities to learn about complex topics: You can express your artistic vision through a photo’s composition, lighting, and editing. Hunting for new images motivates people to get outdoors. Some photographers say they are enriched by the constant search for beauty in everyday life. Photography clubs or photo walks bring together individuals with shared interests.
Also, a high-quality photo of a family member or friend can be a cherished gift. To produce an image your subject will love, pay attention to lighting. “The golden hour” often occurs right before sunset or after sunrise, when the light is even and casts a flattering glow, says Maddy, a Boston photographer and TikTok influencer. Maddy says there is no need for a costly light meter to ensure the most flattering light. Simply hold up the palm of your hand facing you and rotate until your palm is bathed either in all sunshine or all shadow, she says. “Whatever light hits your palm is also going to hit your subject,” Maddy says. The result, she says, is “phenomenal photos of your friends, so they’ll love you even more!”
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1211 Maricopa Hwy, Ste 222, Ojai, CA 93023
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