Published on July 27, 2021 DeAndrea Pruitt PMP Protecting your income could cost you less than a meal out. What’s your most important asset? Is it your home? Is it your car, or perhaps what you’ve saved away in bank accounts and your 401(k)? Actually, it’s none of the above. Your most important asset is your ability to earn an income. So, imagine for a moment you suffer an injury. Or you develop a severe illness. Either way, it prevents you from earning your paycheck for an extended period of time. Would you be able to continue paying your mortgage? What about your car payments – would you be able to afford them anymore? Would your family be able to make ends meet? The good news is there’s a solution out there: it’s called disability insurance. Think of it as protection for your paycheck. It’s an insurance policy that provides money if, in the future, you can’t work due to an injury or illness. Watch this one-minute video to learn more about disability insurance. Read on to learn more about: What is disability insurance? How does disability insurance work? How much disability insurance do I need? How much does disability insurance cost? Who needs disability insurance? How do I get disability insurance? What is disability insurance? Disability insurance, also known as income protection insurance, will pay you some of your income if you can’t work for a period of time because of an injury or illness. We say “some of” because disability insurance is not meant to fully replace your income. Instead, it acts as a partial replacement until you’re ready to return to work. Disability insurance helps by replacing some of your lost income so you can continue to pay your mortgage, utilities, childcare and other everyday expenses. The money from your disability insurance policy can also help you avoid draining your savings or retirement accounts. When you’re too sick or injured to work, it pays you a monthly cash benefit. How does disability insurance work? No one wants to think about being injured or diagnosed with an illness so severe that it leaves them out of work and out of a paycheck – but it could happen. The important thing is to be prepared. If something happens and you can no longer perform your job duties for a period of time, disability insurance can help. And if you have a policy, getting paid can actually be quite simple. Here’s how it typically works if you already have a policy in place: 1. You submit your claim to your insurance provider. 2. After your predetermined elimination period, you’ll receive a monthly benefit amount. 3. This amount is based on the benefit period you chose when you applied. Are those terms new to you? They are for most people, so here’s what you need to know: Elimination period: This is how long you have to wait before your disability insurance benefits start paying. You select this time frame when you sign up. Some disability insurance policies begin paying benefits immediately after a claim is approved, while others don’t begin until one month or even longer. Benefit period: This is the length of time your disability insurance policy will pay you a regular benefit while you’re disabled. When you choose a benefit term, you’re choosing how long benefits are payable to you — from a few weeks to one year or longer. While you’re recovering, you can use your disability insurance benefits to help you cover your regular monthly bills, like your mortgage, car payment, credit cards, groceries and other expenses. If you’re eventually able to return to work, but can’t perform the same job because of your disability, you may still receive benefits. How much disability insurance do I need? A typical disability insurance benefit is 60 to 70 percent of your pre-disability income. For example, if you earn $65,000 per year, 60 percent would be $39,000, or $3,250 per month. It’s important to remember that just because disability insurance cannot replace your full income, it doesn’t mean it needs to. It may be helpful to focus on the single greatest expense you have – your mortgage, perhaps. A disability insurance policy intended solely to cover your monthly mortgage payment could cost less than a meal out. How much does disability insurance cost? A good rule of thumb is about 1 to 2 percent of your annual income. Your disability insurance premiums (usually a monthly payment) are based on your salary and other factors such as your profession, age, gender, your health, or whether or not you use nicotine products. You also may choose to add riders – additional forms of coverage you can include in your policy – the cost of which will be added into your disability insurance premiums. Online quoters like D/A Consultations can show you how much disability insurance you need – and what it’ll cost. Who needs disability insurance? Disability insurance isn’t just for white-collar professionals like doctors, dentists and lawyers. Here’s the truth: If you earn a paycheck, you should protect it. Here’s why: According to the Social Security Administration, more than one in four of today’s 20-year-olds will become disabled before their 67th birthday. Are you still thinking, “I’m healthy, relatively young and work in front of a computer all day – why would I need disability insurance?” Accidents only account for 9 percent of long-term disability claims, according to the Council for Disability Awareness. More common reasons include musculoskeletal disorders and cancer. If one of those conditions kept you from doing your job, would you be able to pay your mortgage, student loan or credit card debt, or even cover your everyday expenses? Everyone’s situation is different. Whether you’re looking to insure all your monthly living expenses or one significant expense, you should consider disability insurance as a way to protect them. How do I get disability insurance? Many companies offer disability insurance as a voluntary benefit, which lets employees purchase coverage at a group rate. You can ask your human resources department if your company offers one of these plans, and then look at adding this type of insurance to your current healthcare coverage during open enrollment. You can also buy an individual disability insurance policy through an insurance professional. Buying your own disability insurance policy will allow you to customize it with riders – additional features – such as a return of your premiums if you never use it. D/A Consultations offers individual disability income insurance policies to fit nearly any budget, health condition or occupation – even if you’re self-employed. If you’d like to learn more ways D/A Consultations can assist you, send me an email at Deandrea@daconsultation.com. Check out our website for the many ways we can help. DAConsultation.com or give us a call (216) 235-1121.

The long fog of Covid is lifting and folks are returning to the workplace. With so much time passing, you may find that not all employees are eager to get back into the thick of things. Here are some tips that can help get your team re-engaged. Acknowledgement Recognize your staff’s hard work during the past year. Let them know that you appreciated how they maintained a high level of professionalism, during an unprecedented time. Let them know that you appreciate and value them. Reward Employees who show initiative. Employees for the most part are good at doing their job and they enjoy doing it. Acknowledge that you see their efforts and value what they bring to the team. For those individuals who really stand out a small token like a certificate can go a long way. People love to have their efforts noticed by their managers/boss. This reestablishes the fact that they are valued. Communication Nothing is more infuriating than unclear roles, rules and assignments. Poor communication can lead to disengagement, resentment and poor morale. Clearly Defined Roles, Responsibilities and Objectives. If an employee is confused about a project, how can they put their best effort forward. With everyone freshly back it would be a good time to sit down and go over what the level of expectations are. What responsibilities that person will have. What is the expected outcome and what metrics will be used to evaluate the work. Encourage participation. You hired these individuals for a reason, promote an atmosphere where everyone feels comfortable introducing their ideas. Promote an atmosphere where people feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and ideas. Let them know that if at first, they are uncomfortable speaking up in front of a group, your door is always open. Thank them for their suggestion and if the idea is one that you plan to implement recognize them at the next meeting. This will build their confidence and allow them to feel more comfortable bringing up ideas in front of the group. Camaraderie Enhance the quality of the work office. We spend a minimum of eight hours a day together, your co-workers are basically your second family. It is possible to have both a professional and fun atmosphere in the workplace. Life, whether its personal or at work can be stressful and this can affect productivity. Make time to help the office decompress. One option is to schedule an after-work meetup. It can be a time for workers to engage with each other in a more relax atmosphere. Try treating the office to lunch once a month or quarter depending on your budget. There is also the option of scheduling a potluck lunch. This allows staff to showcase their cooking talents or bring in food that shows off their tradition. Nothing better than a slice of homemade pie from grandma’s recipe. Another great option is to schedule some non-mandatory fun activities away from the office. Some good options could be paint ball, go-kart racing even a day at the beach or park. It doesn’t have to be extravagant, just something that is fun. This reassures your commitment and appreciation to the team along with creating a more unified group. Engaged employees can make an office thrive. Real engagement is great for office moral and team cohesion, it also makes good business sense. Satisfied employees create a higher quality of work and are more apt to remain with the company. These ideas are not only a good way to reengage staff, they also allow companies to introduce team building and retain their top talent. Apart from making the workplace a happier place, engaged employees just make good business sense. Not to mention the happier the employees, the less likely they are to look for a new job – and everyone wants to hold on tight to their top talent. If you’d like to learn more ways D/A Consultations can help you grow or strengthen your business, send me an email at Deandrea@daconsultation.com. Check out our website for the many ways we can help. DAConsultation.com or give us a call (216) 200- 6558.

If you're like me becoming a teacher, teachers' aide or co-teacher was never something I strived to be. However, life as it does has thrown many of us a curve ball in the form of Covid-19. The enormous amount of pressure one may be feeling is normal. I will say it, this situation sucks. But we are not powerless in this moment, it just requires us to focus, plan, organize and prioritize. Traditionally we are used to working and having time to work, meet and discuss on-going tasks for work with our co-workers, managers and customers/clients. Now that has all changed to include getting kids online for class, making snacks, tuning in to ensure that your child is focused on what the teacher is saying and not zoning out, possibly becoming an IT consultant, a lunch aide and a Zoom or whatever new school software they're using specialist. Here is where the focusing starts. We now must retrain our brains to review and prioritize our work. Some of us are lucky to have understanding bosses while some of us are not so lucky. For those that fall into the lucky crowd, remember that communication is key. Work with your boss to see if a flexible schedule can be agreed upon. Such as working an earlier or later schedule and for meetings let them know what times are best to see if a set time can be arranged. For those not so lucky, communication is still important. Make sure you stay on top of the important items and set time aside to handle the rest. Easier said than done, right? First take five minutes to compose yourself, clear your head and get your thoughts together. Once you have composed yourself, now review what all needs to be done on a big picture scale for the week and write them down. Writing down your to do list is key, because it is something tangible and easy to reference to keep you on track. Review your list and begin putting them in order of importance. Then decide on how much time is needed to complete each task. Once that is done, you can begin to assign days for when you plan on working on that task. This can help make the impossible seem less daunting and more manageable. The tricky part comes with having to combine your child's work into your schedule. Depending on the age of the child and the level of assistance needed can make some of us want to scream out loud using profanity laced imagery words that would make the saltiest of sailors blush. Take comfort in knowing you are not alone. Those of us with younger kids know keeping them engaged and on task in no easy feat. And to you I say - go with God. Seriously, working with younger kids is more challenging, but it can be managed. Work nearby, so that if an issue arises you can assist or correct it and get back to your work. Working nearby also allows you to gauge how involved your child is with the teacher. If your child seems to be wondering off, quick reminder to stay focus may help. It also allows you insight into what the teacher is experiencing. After class and after you have completed your tasks for the day, send the teacher an email letting her know what you have observed and work together to find a solution. One may be informing the teacher that when you notice that your child needs a quick break to recoup, he/she may disappear from the class for about 5 minutes to regroup. Lastly, at the end of the day when class is over, take a few minutes to regroup. Take inventory of what you accomplished and what did not get accomplished today. Pat yourself on the back for everything you did get done, no matter how little or how much that was. Review the work that did not get completed and decide if it was something that must be done or could be moved to a different day. If it must be done and the deadline is today, roll up your sleeves and muscle through it. But if it does not have a due right now deadline; move it to another day. Finally, take 30 minutes for self-appreciation. In that time frame, you need to take a moment and unwind. This could be simply sitting in silence, watching a few minutes of mind numbing tv, check your media feeds or whatever brings you a small piece of bliss. Once you have taken that thirty-minute debriefing for yourself, then wrap up what needs to be taken care of for the rest of the night and evaluate what needs to take place tomorrow. In these turbulent times, it is important to remember that this is uncharted territory for most of us, but we will get through it. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/DeAndrea_Pruitt/2844352