Divorce May Cause Physically Damage

 

(CNN) -- Divorce causes more than bitterness and broken hearts. The trauma of a split can leave long-lasting effects on mental and physical health that remarriage might not repair, according to research released this week.

Research shows health differences between people who are married and those who have gone through a divorce.

"People who lose a marriage take such damage to their health," said Linda Waite, a sociologist at the University of Chicago in Illinois.

Waite and co-author Mary Elizabeth Hughes, of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, found that divorced or widowed people have 20 percent more chronic health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes or cancer than married people. They also have 23 percent more mobility limitations, such as trouble climbing stairs or walking a block.

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Teach the Children - Prepare them for the Future

There is so much going on these days: concern about the economy, Presidential elections, going green, etc. Don't you wish you were better prepared? Well, we can certainly prepare our children for the future. Education is key. But, education happens at school & at home. Unfortunately, the things that we are facing today were not typically addressed in the classroom.


Money management should be taught as early as possible. A child can learn about money management while you are grocery shopping, counting coins on the dinner table, getting an allowance and starting a savings account (like the old piggy bank). As far as the election is concerned, why not point out things that are clear examples of the results of decisions of the elected officials. For example - why are your streets full of potholes when the one across town are not? Why are there no playgrounds in your neighborhood? Why does your child's school lack books? Why do you have to work 2 jobs? Why can't you get a job? Hopefully you vote and follow the decisions and actions of your elected officials. If so, you should be able to have this dialog with your child.


Again, this type of education can only come from home. Even though you may not have recieved this education yourself early enough, let's not repeat that cycle. Let's teach our children now - so that they can have a better future. These topics may seem a little tough to get across to a child. To help you along, there are children's books on all of these subjects and many more. In fact, children's books make the story exciting and come alive - and easier to understand (for us too!) Checkout http://www.colorbookgallery.com/ or your local bookstores for many exciting and educational stories. Let's teach the children and prepare them for the future.

Reading

With all the advances in the United States today, the reading levels of our children is one area where we haven’t made the advances that are critical to our future. Children’s reading levels are representative of their parents reading activities and of the literacy issues facing many Americans.

The major danger is that reading is the great equalizer and many parents are missing a chance to greatly increase their child’s chances of success. Reading will significantly enhance your child’s chances of success and can put you and your child on the same level with just about anybody, anywhere. Reading can take you places you’ll never go and help you see things you’ve never seen before. Reading can educate the uneducated. Besides, reading can be fun!

“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.” - Joseph Addison

Parents who read often have children that read, and this is a huge area of opportunity for parents. Far too many parents aren’t reading and neither are their children. So how often do you read?

A reader or non-reader, opportunity is all around you. You should be the role model for your children and with reading, it’s no different. If you enjoy reading, and consider yourself a reader, there’s a good chance your child will be a reader. And if you’re not, consider any of these ideas to get you started;

- Go to your local library and get a library card. While you’re there, ask about any reading programs; or set a goal to read a book every two or three weeks.

- Determine a subject of interest to you, and read a book on that subject.

- Find a place that you would like to learn about or visit, and read a book about that place.

- Something that you would like to learn to do, read a book on it and try to do it.

- Have a family reading time without the television.

And if you need assistance with your reading skills, seek out a literacy program at a library near you. The key is to find something to read that is interesting to you. More important than what you read is that you read!

Before you know it, you’ll discover all kinds of things that you wanted to know, and that’s only the beginning. Your child will become a reader with you as a role model. Reading can give you hope. Reading gives you the ability to learn. Reading is one of the most precious gifts that you can give your child.


Maurice Arthur is the author of " A Black Man Thinking: Volume 1 – Raising Children"
ISBN: 978-0-9788340-0-5

529 College Savings Plans: Tax Advantages for Your Student

Worried about the high cost of college for your children? This concern is certainly legitimate. On average, the cost of a college education rises by twice the rate of inflation. However, the fear of a cost increase can be mitigated if parents and students are aware of the tools available to help them cover the expense.

The 529 prepaid tuition and savings plans are among the weapons parents and students can use to cover the cost of college tuition. The 529 plans, also known as “qualified tuition plans” are designed to encourage families to save for higher education. They provide incentives to save, and also allow for additional financial and tax benefits that can make the process easier for families who plan ahead. All 50 states sponsor at least one type of 529 plan, so there are options available for any citizen in any state.

Note that there is a difference between the 529 prepaid tuition plans and the 529 college savings plans. The 529 prepaid tuition plans allow parents and students to purchase credits for tuition at a chosen university and sometimes even room and board. The price of tuition, room and board is held fixed, with no inflationary changes for the duration of the investment (in other words, the cost of tuition doesn’t change for you like it does for everyone else). Most of the plans are sponsored by the state government and also have some kind of residency requirement. In exchange for meeting these requirements, the state government will provide a guarantee for the investment made in the 529 plan.

The 529 savings plans are similar to the prepaid tuition plans, with some mild variations. The plans allow an individual (usually the parent) to set up a plan for another individual (the student) with the goal of paying for the student’s educational expenses. The plans allow plenty of flexibility in choosing the beneficiary, and you can even choose yourself as the beneficiary. The funds are not guaranteed by the state or federal government and you are given an array of investment options for the funds you’ve deposited into your account.
The tax advantages of 529 plans are quite strong. While rules can vary by state, you are not typically required to pay state and federal taxes on earnings from the 529 plan. The only requirement is that any withdrawals from the plan are being used to pay qualified college expenses. Withdrawing the funds to pay for items not related to the cost of college attendance will lead to a 10% penalty in addition to any applicable federal and state income taxes.

Here is a mathematical example to help you understand the financial impact of avoiding taxation on investments in a 529 college savings plan. Assume Teresa invests $1,000 per year in her son’s 529 college savings plan from the time he is born until he is 18-years old. Also assume that her investment earns an annual rate of return of 8%, which is relatively easy to earn on a well-diversified stock portfolio (you can simply ask your investment company to give you a mutual fund that matches the risk and return of the rest of the stock market). She doesn’t engage in stock picking. She just puts her money in a simple mutual fund and leaves it alone.

How much will Teresa have contributed to the account over an 18 year period? $18,000. How much will she have available to pay her son’s tuition when he leaves for college? $37,450. That is more than double the amount she invested in the plan over the 18-year period. Not being taxed on the income gives Teresa an extra $5,000 (roughly speaking) to pay college tuition that she would not have had by investing without the tax benefits of the 529 plan.

One thing that Teresa must remember is the fact that the average tuition increase is 8% per year. So, this increase is going to match dollar-for-dollar the increase in Teresa’s investment portfolio. So, the truth is that she is going to have swim forward just to keep up with the current. This match in growth rates is what makes prepaid tuition plans roughly the same in attractiveness as prepaid savings plans. Had Teresa invested in a prepaid tuition plan (instead of a savings plan), she would have found herself paying tomorrow’s tuition at today’s prices. So, either way, she is going to pay tuition, but investing with tax benefits makes it easier.

My thoughts on the issue? Prepaid tuition plans are the safest bet, as long as you are sure that you don’t want to leave the state to attend college. While you are allowed out of the deal in most cases, there is a penalty for doing so. Savings plans are better for those who want to have a bit more flexibility in attendance options, as well as the chance to possibly outrun the cost of college tuition. Remember: Teresa earned 8% per year on her investment, but the average rate of return on the stock market has historically been around 12%. Therefore, an average portfolio over 18 years would have likely given her more than the cost of tuition.
The key is to remember that the greatest investment in this process is the one in your child. Your child’s greatest investment is the one in his/her educational future. Also, there are a litany of financial aid options available in addition to 529 savings plans. Money should not be a hurdle to building a great future.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Finance Professor at Syracuse University. He is also the author of “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about College”, and “Financial Lovemaking 101: Merging Assets with Your Partner in Ways that Feel Good”. He is also the founder of YourBlackWorld.com, one of the top black news and commentary sites in America.