I don’t think it rocket science to note that anyone you talk to has financial needs. We need A Plan. You can’t get where you want to go if you don’t know where that is OR you fail to look at a map and consider the options.

Men and women deal with these needs and/or perceived needs differently. Most women will usually say they’ve not taken care of their future needs well enough, whereas many men just don’t want to think (or talk) about it. Since I’m a man, I can say that although I am not fatalistic, my inclination is to not want to think about things I have no answers to. This inclination I have to fight, because it of course makes no sense. One cannot find a solution if one spends no time seeking the solution.

When it comes to doing planning, women are often more willing to do this, despite any insecurities they may feel. Men do tend to resist doing this.

Speaking of planning … Did you know that today – there are less people with life insurance than ever in my 30 years in this business. The odd thing is that life insurance costs much less today, than it once did. And its not just life insurance where planning makes sense, but also planning for the times we are ill and suffer in some accident. That is also part of planning.

Many think that this would be too expensive, so they never really get the information they need. But if you buy a cup of coffee or other drink of some type each work day, chances are you actually will think it’s quite cheap (since it likely will cost less than the drink) – and the good feeling that one has when taking care of this cannot be described in words. You have to experience it.

I can help you plan. I can give you the information you need to make good choices that will not only protect you and your family – but also give you a peaceful feeling that you will not experience from other things.

Call me today at 209-390-1163 OR toll-free 855-MPMYERS or click the email button to the right and send me a message.

I’m looking forward to talking to you.

Michael Myers

Over the thirty years or so I have been working in sales, I have seen sales gurus come and go. Their advice sometimes has merit, sometimes it simply does not. Some are genuinely interested in helping others in sales learn what it is people want and need. Others just like the sound of their own voice.

One of the worse pieces of self-proclaimed wisdom is the strong idea that a sales person should never become “an unpaid consultant”.

I could not disagree more. Here is why:

Product – no matter what it is – insurance, financial services, legal aid, plumbing, carpentry … well, you get the idea, no matter what it is – it’s just a commodity.

Customers form their strongest relationships with people who give the most value. In today’s selling environment, what you sell — be it a product or service — is, in itself, the least valuable thing that you offer. In fact, it is probably viewed by most buyers as a commodity
But good advice is something people do not get from very many people. Good advice trumps whatever the product is by a 1,000 percent!

So ask me any question about insurance. I am here to help, even if I don’t have something that will be useful to you. The worst case scenario is I will point you in the right direction. And if I can help you, I will give you the choices you need to make a good decision you will be happy with for a long time.

Health insurance has always been something that I have advocated people talk to me about before applying.

Why?

For two simple but very important reasons;

1. People have different expectations when they purchase health insurance, and
2. Health insurance companies only give you the reasons to buy their product. They rarely discuss the thinking that goes into selecting a plan. They will give you all the legally required language (which no one reads), and they will stress the benefits, but they do not discuss things like, underwriting or how this particular health insurance plan fits into your particular goals, or how it fits into your budget (or doesn’t fit into your budget).

That is where I come in. I help a person think about those things – I provide the facts that a person needs to make a decision, before they get to the point of actually selecting a health insurance plan.

So why the heading: “Six Reasons to Apply Online” if I am telling you that you should talk to me first?

Because it’s irrelevant what I think. It’s what you think that matters. And the truth is, many people just want to do it that way.

So that is my first reason: it’s what you want to do. So in order, here are my “Six Reasons to Apply Online”:

1. It’s what many people want to do.
2. It saves time.
3. You may do it in the privacy of your home, office, or the local Wi-Fi equipped coffee house.
4. You can do it at midnight, if that is when you have time to do it.
5. Privacy.
6. It’s what you want to do.

Okay, the sixth reason is a repeat, but twice for emphasis, right? Really it comes down to the one reason. You don’t want to meet with someone, as this makes you feel obligated, and you want to just do it yourself.

I understand. And that is fine.

But remember my reasons that you should meet with me first? I’d like you to consider those reasons as being of benefit to you. And so the rest of what I write will deal with those specific things, and hopefully, what I write will benefit you. (But I am always here to help you, either on the phone or in person, should you find you need to know more).

So which of these scenarios fits your thinking best?

Scenario One: I think I’m in pretty good health. I don’t need health insurance for small stuff, but I do worry about something major happening.  California Residents Click Here

Scenario Two: I am in pretty good health, but it really hurts to have to come up with $1,500 for a doctor visit and a few lab tests! I want something that I know what it’s going to cost me if I go to the doctor just like what I use to have when I worked for XYZ Widget Company. California Residents Click Here

Scenario Three: I have some health issues and I don’t know if they will accept me. I know I can’t expect to get the same quality of health insurance I had when I worked for XYZ Widget Company, but I need to have something that will pay toward my costs if I have to go to the doctor or worse, the hospital. California, Kansas and Nevada Residents Click Here

And if you have health insurance, but would like to save money on Dental Expenses, Click Here

And of course, if you cannot find what you are looking for, or have questions, or just need some help sorting it all out, call me. I’m here to help.

A recent experience got me to thinking…

Our local grocery store is owned and managed by a nice family. The family has been in the community for over 100 years. Apparently they rely a great deal on their delivery people to “decide” what they will carry in their grocery store. I do not know why they choose to do this, but, convenience aside … I think they make a mistake by allowing others to decide what products they will carry.

Why do I say this?

Here’s an example:  My family enjoys a particular brand of Chocolate Chip ice cream.  Apparently we are not the only ones, as it is usually the first flavor to sell out at the local market.  Now, the way I see it – “supply and demand” dictates that if a product “sells out” consistently – you might want to stock more of it and less of some other flavor that doesn’t sell as well.

Not at our local market.  At our local market when the demand increased for this particular item – the ice cream delivery person simply stopped stocking it. This makes his job easier I guess.  So now, when he delivers his stock, there is not as much he needs to unload.  I can only surmise that the delivery man must be a simple wage-earner.

Now I assume my local market earns money on each item sold. But I have noticed that they follow this same logic with other popular items they sell.  If it sells well, evidently in order to not have to stock quite so often, they just don’t carry it any more.   I guess your store shelves remain filled this way, you require less personnel for stocking, and the quiet, easy going manner in which you’ve always operated remains uninterrupted.  More time for fishing that way.

Here at mpmyers.com – we do not reason this way. We are here to serve you, our client. This means we are willing to work for you.  We sell you – not what is easiest for us – rather what our clients want and we work very hard to obtain exactly what you need. We take that very seriously, and we have for 30 years.

Next time you have an insurance need – call me. If I don’t have it, or can’t get it, I will likely be able to direct you someplace where you can get it. I won’t try to sell you Rocky Road – when what you want is Chocolate Chip.

You Need a Budget

Keep reading. I promise you this makes sense and there are health insurance options for you out there.

We all need to budget.

Why?

It makes sense for YOU to be the one who decides how to spend your hard-earned dollars.

Quite likely, most have been in that situation where we feel like we’re just putting out “fires.” As soon as we have one doused we turn around and there’s something else that needs immediate attention because it’s about to burn the place down so now all of your resources are aimed at putting that “fire” out.

That’s letting the figurative financial “fires” determine how you spend your money. It’s exhausting. And consumes too much energy and resources – and all too often the important stuff gets postponed. Like health care.

Now, it’s a given – health insurance is not “cheap”. Health care is expensive too. The government continues to come up with new and innovative Band-Aids for the whole health care system.   Time will tell what will come of all of that.

Meanwhile there’s really too much at stake to postpone taking charge of YOUR health care.

One of the most affordable options can be a high-deductible, HSA-qualified health insurance plan.

What??

Why bother with an insurance plan with a really high deductible? You’ll be buying insurance AND STILL having to pay for the doctor, right?

This is what I want you to do. I want you to reframe that thought. Do you have a home? Do you make payments on your home? Do you pay the taxes on your home?

Why do you do that? Likely because you like your home and you want to keep it. You are protecting your investment – because if you don’t pay those things, you could lose it. Think of a high-deductible insurance plan as yet another way to protect your investment. If you get sick and have a major expense (and it does not take much to qualify as “major”), health insurance will keep that particular “fire” from consuming your most valued asset.

So…how do you AFFORD health insurance on top of everything else in this miserable economy?

Careful planning and choosing the right insurance policy can make health insurance affordable. You may be surprised to find that there are health insurance options that will fit your budget and and give you the peace of mind you need as one more way to protect your assets.

One option – an H.S.A.

What is an H.S.A.?

It stands for Health Savings Account. It is provided for in our tax code to allow a person to have a high deductible health insurance plan, and also contribute tax-deductible money to a Health Savings Account (at a bank). Money going into the account is tax deductible. Any money coming out of that account – when spent on health care (i.e. paying the doc from this account) is not taxable.

Another benefit to funding your H.S.A. – if you are in the 28% tax bracket, and you do fund the account and you do pay medical expenses from this account, it is as if you are paying the doctor, dentist, optometrist, chiropractor – whomever your helath care professional may be – with 72 cent dollars. I’ll bet you like the sound of that! Your health care is CHEAPER!!!!

But what if….

What if I cant do it? What if I can’t get my H.S.A. funded with enough $ in it to cover my deductible? Now what good would it be to have purchased this high-deductible insurance policy?

OK…let’s just come up with a hypothetical situation here. I’m not suggesting or recommending you do this – but let’s talk about this particular “what if?”

You’re self-employed.  You end up injured on your job, or that funny pain in your gut turns out to be a bad gallbladder/appendix – whatever. You land in the hospital. You have insurance, so at least they TOOK YOU as a patient right? But oh no…the deductible is terribly high.  You know you don’t qualify for any of the charity programs because you own your house and your business etc.  This sure does look like the straw that will break the camel’s back. Oh worry. Why didn’t I at least save for that blasted deductible?  Or… Why didn’t I just bite the bullet and pay for a more expensive policy? How fast can I get out of this place?! Worry. Worry. Worry.

You leave the health care facility with a payment plan – which you now add to your budget. Each month you’ve agreed to pay the health care facility $100 – or whatever. Why don’t you just put that $100 in your H.S.A. and pay them out of THAT account? $100 in (tax-deduction for you) – $100 out – paying back the debt to the hospital – no penalties for withdrawal from H.S.A. because it’s for a medical expense you incurred after establishing your H.S.A. – if you’re in that 28% tax bracket – you’re paying them back with a .72 dollar.  It’s not the best way to plan for the future – but it’s still better than NOTHING.

Did you know?

When you turn age 65 – ANY money that has not been used and is still in your H.S.A. can now be converted to an I.R.A. and used for retirement purposes.  Again:  No penalties or taxes?

I can help you with this.

Call me or e-mail me and let me explain what’s available. You might just be surprised that it actually will fit into the budget.

Check it out.

• Budget Software – I use it but I’m not affiliated with YNAB. They make budgeting EASY and maybe a little fun.
• Contact Michael about Insurance and HSA options.

It is often the case that when talking about health insurance, I am asked about dental insurance. Traditionally, excellent dental plans could be found in the over 10 employee group market, but plans were not available that I wanted to recommend to the smaller group market or individuals/families.

Why? Because the plans differed by size. Plans available to over 10 employees were benefit rich due to the ability to garner premium in sufficient quanity to deliver rich benefits. But when an individual purchases dental insurance, it is assumed they intend to use it. To get the rich benefits (in the over 10 employee market) its known that some will not use it. That is how an individual, in an emplyee group, could benefit from a richer plan. That is how insurance works. But all of this goes out the window if its just you or me wanting a plan. Therefore, I rarely showed dental plans. I just didn’t feel good about recommending a plan that cost $50 to $70 per month yet delivered relatively low benefits. But now I am able to recommend three Dental Discount Plans. They are NOT insurance. They are, as the name implies, discount plans.

This means that dentists have joined a network and if you have the services of that network, you get a reduced rate on dental services. But here’s the really great thing: the disount is often close to what an insured dental plan paid. This differs widely, but you get the idea. Under these discount plans … no one pays it. You simply pay what the reduced rate is … which as I’ve stated often approximates what you would pay if you had an insured dental plan!

The cost is low. I offer three plans, none of them more than $200 per YEAR per FAMILY (less for individuals).

You can check which dentists are on the plans, simply by entering your zip code.

How To Sign Up For A Dental Discount Plan

1. Click on Dental  
2. If you’d like to check for providers, enter your zip code. If not, go to step 3.
3. Click on Join Now
4. Choose Plan
5. Follow Links to Purchase

Call me if I can answer any questions or guide you through the process.

As an insurance agent and broker, I am driven to provide value to my clients. For this reason, I have never been real big on individual/family dental insurance.

This is because dental insurance, unlike health insurance, does not protect against the big loss. It is always capped, and usually relatively low.  A company cannot sell and service a product where what they charge cannot begin to cover what they have to pay. Simple economics. This is why groups, especially large groups, can get good dental insurance. A lot of people, relatively few use it, and so the company can pay out more than they take in (for the individual). But this is not true when it’s only an individual/family buying the plan.

At the same time, however, dental insurance is one of the most sought after – I think even more than health – insurances out there in the individual/family market. So what is the solution?

I should ask what is “a” solution? One good solution is buying a good dental discount plan. It isn’t insurance, although you may see little difference in what your coverage is between these plans and some dental plans. And they are available at a much, much, lower cost. In these, the dentists who are members give a little – like free exams (and other things) and discount other services. They do this because its cost effective for them – as opposed to advertising and other costs of gaining clients.

With that in mind, I am offering what I think could be very useful to a lot of people. Let’s just call it: REALLY GOOD DENTAL PLAN(S).

Call me if you have questions. But whether you have questions or not, could you let me know what you think? I’d appreciate it. Thanks.