Kristie has become a victim of our medical system. Not only has her health suffered, but now she will have to live with the financial ramifications of astronomical medical bills that very few people would be able to pay. Kristie’s story is available at http://www.carepages.com/carepages/KristieTunick/patient , you have to register but it is easy and free. The last bit of advice I wanted to pass on from Kristie is to protect your credit score.

Having a good credit score is important to your financial success. It will give you the upper hand when dealing with creditors. Your score is a reflection on how likely you are to make your credit payments on time. Not only does your credit score affect your ability to get a loan, but it will also affect the interest rate you pay for your loan. It will determine where you live, what you drive, and your quality of life. MORE

There is absolutely no way Kristie could have prepared for what she is currently going through…mentally, physically, emotionally or financially. (You can read more at http://www.carepages.com/carepages/KristieTunick/patient, you have to register, but it is easy and free.) However, when asked last week what words of advice she had for people, one of the things she said was for people to have savings.

People should pay themselves first, not last.

Here are some of my favorite reasons for you to save right now: MORE

Kristie’s story is tragic. The fact that she has had to endure so much at such a young age is awful. People tend to forget there is another tragedy here. Financially, this experience has had catastrophic effects for not only Kristie, but her loved ones as well. Something I did not mention in my previous articles is the fact that Kristie’s mother is suffering from Multiple Sclerosis.

She is in a nursing home and Kristie is not able to visit her very often. (You can read more at http://www.carepages.com/carepages/KristieTunick/patient, you have to register, but it is easy and free.) Another word of advice from Kristie is for people to consider long-term care insurance. This has helped greatly with her mother’s care.

Today I will focus on long-term care insurance. MORE

I asked Kristie while I had her on the phone, “If she knew then, what she knows now, what would she do differently?” One of the first things she said was to make sure everyone had disability insurance. 

No one wants to think about being disabled, however, the reality is one third of all American’s between the ages of 35 and 65 will become disabled for more than 90 days, according to the American Council of Life Insurers. 

What’s worse is that one in seven workers will be disabled for more than five years. This is not normally caused by a freak accident, most of the time it is caused by illness.  MORE

“If you don’t have your health, you don’t have anything…” I have heard people say this my whole life, but it has never had the same impact as it did on Friday afternoon.

That is when I had the privilege of interviewing Kristie Tunick, a 32 year old woman who suffers from an extremely rare, serious and disabling neuromuscular disease called Stiff-Person Syndrome (SPS), as well as Myasthenia Gravis and Gastroparesis.

This week I will be focusing on Kristie’s story. Today I will share some details of her painful path to where she is today. The articles that follow will focus on how people can prepare themselves financially for life’s unexpected events. MORE

Choices…One of the things that distinguishes us as humans is the fact that we are able to make choices. Have you ever noticed when you make the harder choice…eventually there is a great payoff? Like in poker, the more risk you take, the higher the payout? Now, I am not telling you all to start gambling, so, put those poker chips away. I am talking about life decisions.