Newsletter, October 2005

I am looking forward to serving as President for the next year. I would like to thank Sue Starlin and Rosemary Chidester for stepping up as new board members (Vice President and Secretary), and Vicki St. Martin and Caron Garliepp for continuing to hold down the fort as our Treasurer and Webmaster. Our Directors and Newsletter committee members also greatly support the SBBA from behind the scenes, and I want to let you know, we appreciate and need you! Another big thanks also goes out to Vicki St. Martin and Virginia Graves for helping to organize the successful Retirement Plan Seminar we had on September 17th. Volunteers make our organization the great success it is!

We have some fun stuff planned for the year ahead and I encourage you to attend the meetings and events as often as possible. The more involved we are, the more support, information sharing and networking we can do. I have personally benefited greatly from the SBBA and that would not have happened if I missed the meetings. I met two of my employees at the monthly meetings, and a third was directly referred to me by member who was at my table.

It's time to start planning for year-end, which means our annual Holiday Party, and of course a lot more! We need a couple of volunteers to help organize this year's party, so please let me know if you would like to volunteer. And for the rest of the year-end planning, start now and save yourself some grief in December and January. It's a good time to:

SECRETARY'S MINUTES

The regular monthly meeting of the Santa Barbara Bookkeepers' Association was held on Tuesday, September 20, 2005, at Mulligan's Cafe.

President Jennifer Loren opened the meeting. Job announcements were made. Jennifer then introduced new members.

A seminar had been held on Saturday, September 17, sponsored by SBBA, having to do with planning for retirement, as well as how to deal with money in general. Arif M. Halaby, President of Total Financial Solutions, conducted the workshop. Several of the bookkeepers attended the session and felt there was a great deal to learn.

The winner of next month's free lunch is Brenda Richter.

The election of officers took place. Those nominated:

President Karen Mora

Vice President Sue Starlin

Secretary Rosemary Chidester

Treasurer Vicki St. Martin

Director Patti Karr

It was moved, seconded and passed to accept all those nominated.

The rest of the meeting was a social.

Since my term as secretary has ended, I would like to thank the Board and everyone in the Association. It has been good working with you all.

Paula A. Mauro

SBBA Secretary

MARK YOUR CALENDAR FOR THE ANNUAL HOLIDAY PARTY

We had another successful SBBA event on Saturday, September 17th at the Peppertree Inn. Arif Halaby and his financial advisors from Total Financial Solutions, spoke to us about Retirement Plans, Money and Assets vs. Liabilities. They asked questions like: Where are you financially? Where do you want to be financially? Then they spent the entire morning discussing various ways to achieve your personal goal. Have you ever realized that Rich and Poor are mindsets, but Wealthy and Poor are realities? They showed us how to chart whether or not we are on-track with our personal financial goals, and discussed various ways to get back on-track. They reviewed good debt versus bad debt, and how to use good debt to reach financial freedom and retirement. There was so much to cover, the event went over about an hour and most people stayed to get as much information as possible.

Mark Schneiderman Insurance

I get so many inquiries and questions about Long Term Care
insurance, its obvious the topic is on everybody's mind. So,
here are some basics to help you understand what Long Term Care
insurance is ... and what it's not.

First off, Long Term Care insurance (or LTC) is not just about
paying for a nursing home stay. Yes, that's a big, critical part
of it, because statistics show that nearly 50% of Americans will
spend time in a nursing home after age 65, and the annual cost is
more than $40,000 per year on average.

But, more and more, professional long term care services are
provided in patients' homes or in outpatient facilities -
involving help with bathing and dressing on up to skilled nursing
care.

And you don't have to be over 65 to need "long term care". At
least 1 in 5 Americans over age 50 will need long-term care
services in the next 12 months.

Second, Long Term Care is not necessarily medical care but
custodial care - meaning providing you with personal assistance
with the activities of daily living. The expense of this kind of
care is generally not paid by health insurance. There are really
only 3 ways to pay for long-term custodial care - cash, welfare
or LTC insurance.

Third, LTC insurance becomes much more expensive as you age.
Why? Because the older you get before you buy, the less time the
insurance company expects to collect premium before you file a
claim. So, if you think LTC insurance makes sense for you, check
into it NOW.

Finally, LTC insurance is generally a good idea only if you have
assets to protect and the premium you'll pay for it will not
significantly change your lifestyle. Medicaid will kick in for
impoverished people, but if you don't want to see everything
you've worked for swallowed up by long term care expenses, then
LTC insurance is worth a look.

I've only scratched the surface here, but hopefully that clears
up some of the basics that most people ask about.

Sincerely,

Mark Schneiderman

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR:
This month's Newsletter was prepared by Jo Rogers.
Next month's Newsletter will be prepared by Sandy Stites.

We need one volunteer willing to prepare the April, August & December newsletters . . . how about you?