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Monday, December 19, 2011 – Daily News FEATURES Penniless parent pursues picayune pelf Dear Annie: I am a sin- gle mother of three, trying desperately to make ends meet. My paycheck is nor- mally gone before I get back to work on Monday. I've been trying to find a part-time job to supplement my income, to no avail. Since my annual salary is right above the poverty line, I do not qualify for government assistance. What little money my ex gives me is not enough. When I ask him for more, he sub- tracts it from the next month's support. Now that the holiday sea- son is here, I'm sinking deep into depression. I have no extra money for a Christmas dinner, let alone presents. when no one is willing to help? — Need a Bigger Piece of the Pie Dear Need a Bigger Annie's Mailbox by Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar Piece: Can your child sup- port be increased through the courts? It might be pos- sible to adjust the pay- ments. Is there a food depository in your area for which you are eligible? Can you talk to your doctor about your medical bills or medication costs? Are your relatives aware of your There are several members of my family, as well as my ex's, who are well off, but no one offers or even asks if I could use some help. These people know my situ- ation is difficult. Many days I go without eating, and sometimes I can't cook dinner because there's nothing in the house to prepare. I've tried not to be bitter, but I can't help wondering what I have done in my life to be scrimping and barely able to get by when I see people in the grocery with carts full of food. I'm under a doctor's care for depression, but my situation is really starting to get the best of me. I've been turned down for a raise at work. I'm not asking for handouts. What's a mother to do financial situation? People don't offer to help if they don't realize help is needed or wanted. Also, you might be able to fine-tune your monthly budget with some assistance. Talk to your family, and also try the National Founda- tion for Credit Counseling (nfcc.org) at 1-800-388-2227. Dear Annie: I have had it, umm, with people who, umm, cannot get a sentence out without saying "umm.'' You would think educated peo- ple would not do this, but they seem to do it just as much as those with less education. I've heard both celebrities and college pro- fessors using "umm'' when inter- viewed on the national news. Any suggestions? — Against Umm Dear Against: People tend to say "umm'' as a way to process their thoughts before speaking, but it can become so habitual that they don't realize they are doing it. In order for this to change, a person must be aware of the habit and make an effort to stop. Unfor- tunately, we don't see this happen- ing anytime soon. Sorry. Dear Annie: I would like to add my comments to the letter from ''Saddest Man in the World,'' whose wife died sudden- ly while on vacation. He said peo- ple often say they know how he feels because they are divorced. I would first like to extend my condolences to him. I, too, recent- ly lost my husband very suddenly. He was 49. The comments I hear all the time are, ''I know how you feel. I lost my mom/dad/dog/etc.'' While I understand that people mean well, please do not tell me how you feel unless you planned to spend the rest of your life with your mom or dad. You do not go to bed with them every night, get up with them every morning, become intimate and prepare for a future together. I, too, have lost both my par- ents, and while each of their deaths was difficult, my husband's is so much different. To those who say they know how I feel, I truly hope you never do. — Thinking of You in N.D. Annie's Mailbox is written by Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar, longtime editors of the Ann Landers column. Please e-mail your questions to anniesmailboxcomcast.net, or write to: Annie's Mailbox, c/o Creators Syndicate, 5777 W. Century Blvd., Ste. 700, Los Angeles, CA 90045. 6 year-end tips to reduce 2011 taxes The Internal Revenue Service today reminded north- ern Californians that there is still time to take action to lower 2011 federal taxes. Here are six steps that you can take before the year ends to save on your 2011 taxes: 1. Make Charitable Contributions - Donations must be made to qualified charities no later than Dec. 31 to be deductible for 2011. Taxpayers must have a canceled check, a bank or credit union statement, a credit card statement or a written statement from the charity show- ing the name of the charity and the date and amount of the contribution. Donations charged to a credit card by Dec. 31 are deductible for 2011 even if the bill isn't paid until 2012. Clothing and household items donated to charity must be in good used condition or better to be deductible. 2. Install Energy-Efficient Home Improvements - Homeowners still have time this year to make energy- saving and green-energy home improvements and quali- fy for either of two home energy credits. Installing ener- gy efficient improvements such as insulation, new win- dows and water heaters can provide up to $500 in tax savings. Homeowners going green should also check out the Residential Energy Efficient Property Credit, designed to spur investment in alternative energy equip- ment. For details see Special Edition Tax Tip 2011-08. 3. Contribute the Maximum to Retirement Accounts - Elective deferrals to employer-sponsored 401(k) plans or similar workplace retirement programs, such as a 403(b) plan for employees of public schools and certain tax- exempt organizations, a governmental 457 plan for state or local government employees, and the Thrift Savings Plan for federal employees, must be made by Dec. 31. However, taxpayers have until April 17, 2012, to set up a new IRA or add money to an existing IRA and still have it count for 2011. A taxpayer normally can con- tribute up to $5,000 to a traditional or Roth IRA, and up to $6,000 if age 50 or over. 4. Consider a Portfolio Adjustment - Check invest- ments for gains and losses and make sales by Dec. 31. Taxpayers may normally deduct capital losses up to the amount of capital gains, plus $3,000 from other income. Net capital losses that are more than $3,000 can be car- ried forward and deducted in future years. 5. Make a Qualified IRA Charitable Distribution - The qualified charitable distribution allows individuals age 70_ or over to exclude up to $100,000 from gross income that is paid directly from their individual retire- ment accounts to a qualified charity. The excluded amount can be used to satisfy any required minimum distributions that the individual must otherwise receive from their IRAs in 2011. 6. Don't Overlook the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit - Small employers that pay at least half of employee health insurance premiums may qualify for a tax credit of up to 35 percent of the premiums paid. An employer with fewer than 25 full-time employees that pays an average wage of less than $50,000 a year may qualify. For more information see the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit page on IRS.gov. Vaccinating boys against HPV makes good sense DEAR DOC- TOR K: I know it's recommended that young girls get vaccinated against HPV, since this virus can cause cervical cancer. What about boys? At one time I read it was not recom- mended for them, but recently I heard that this had changed. Has it changed, and why? DEAR READER: Dr. K by Anthony L. Komaroff, M.D. they are infected with the virus, they can spread it to women through sexual activity. So vaccinating boys and young men against the virus will help prevent its transmission to women. It will also help prevent some of the 7,000 You're right. The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has recently rec- ommended that boys also get the HPV vaccine. HPV (human papillo- mavirus) causes genital warts. In women, some strains of the virus cause cancer of the cervix. The cervix is a part of a woman's uterus, the open- ing into the uterus from the vagina. Vaccines for HPV have been shown to reduce a woman's later risk of get- ting cervical cancer. The discovery that HPV causes cervical cancer was a land- mark discovery that was honored with the Nobel Prize. So it's clear why the HPV vaccine is recom- mended for girls. But why is it recommended for boys? HPV can also cause cancers of the anus, penis, vagina, mouth and throat. This makes it a problem for both men and women. In fact, in the U.S., 7,000 men each year get cancers caused by HPV. When it was first approved in 2006, the first vaccine against HPV — Gardasil — was for use only in girls and young women. Although it also was approved for boys in 2009, at that time it wasn't recommended that all boys also be vaccinated. But the recent ACIP recommenda- tions are a stronger push. They actively recommend that boys should be vacci- nated at 11 or 12. Why? Obviously, males can't get cervical cancer. But if HPV-related cancers that occur in men each year. The CDC hopes that the recommendation will help make up for the fact that fewer girls than it had hoped have been vaccinat- ed. So far, only about one- third of girls eligible for vaccination against HPV have gotten all three neces- sary shots. The more people who are vaccinated against a virus, the less that virus can circulate in the com- munity. Vaccinating boys, too, helps our health as a group. This is sometimes called "herd immunity." Some parents take issue with the idea of vaccinat- ing young children against a disease that is transmit- ted sexually. This may be part of the reason not as many girls as expected have been vaccinated. Making the HPV vaccine part of routine vaccines for all children may help remove some of the stig- ma. Vaccinating kids BEFORE they might become sexually active makes sense. I know some people ask the question: Why should you vaccinate a child against a sexually trans- mitted disease he or she may never get? But there is another question I'd ask these people to consider: Why wouldn't you vacci- nate your child to protect them against a cancer that they could get? In my view, it's a miracle that we can vaccinate against a life-threatening cancer. The arguments in favor of routinely giving the HPV vaccine to kids are very strong. 3B Support our classrooms, keep kids reading. 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