Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/633768
Faithfulreadersmayre- call the story of a woman in Philadelphia who de- cided to go over her parents' phone bill only to dis- cover they were pay- ing $21 a month to lease three landline telephones — one of which they'd tossed out years ago. Failure to keep up with technology cost this family $6,000. What's it costing you? Just because you may have rented a piece of hardware in the past doesn't neces- sarily mean it's automati- cally cost-effective to con- tinue. If you have not looked closely at your monthly ca- ble and or Internet ser- vice bill lately, you should. You may be leasing a mo- dem from your service provider. It probably made sense when you signed up for the service and were asked, "Would you like us to provide the modem as part of your service?" or something like that. And I doubt if it registered with you just what that cost would be on an annual ba- sis or how long that would go on. Or that you might have the option at some point in time to provide your own equipment. Internet and cable ser- vice providers routinely provide the modem when installing cable TV and In- ternet service, then charge a monthly rental of around $10 or so. At first that might not have sounded like such a big deal, but when you consider you're paying $120 per year — ev- ery year — for a $70 item, suddenly that sounds like a big rip-off. Take the service pro- vider Comcast for exam- ple. One of the most well reviewed modems on Comcast's long list of com- patible cable modem de- vices, ARRIS SURFboard SB6141, retails at Amazon for about $69.99 with free shipping. The Arris claims compatibility with major cable providers like Com- cast/Xfinity, Cox, Char- ter, Time Warner, Media- com, Bright House (note it is not compatible with Ver- izon FiOS or AT&T U-verse as they use a different sys- tem with modems which are proprietary to their network). Now that is only one ex- ample, but let's go ahead and do the math. If you were renting a modem for $10 a month and de- cided to cancel that rental arrangement in favor of buying your own compat- ible modem for $70, in the first year you would save $50 ($120 — $70 = $50). Then $120 ($10 x 12 = $120) every year there- after. Once you have your mo- dem in hand, setup should not be difficult. I've heard from numerous Comcast subscribers who tell me that the customer service reps walked them through the setup process, made sure it was working prop- erly and instructed on how and where to return the rented unit. Other compa- nies would operate simi- larly. In all, this should not take more than a couple of hours, tops. When you think of the potential sav- ings, that's not a bad wage for the time involved, and if you already own a wire- less router simply connect it to your new modem to connect to the Internet wirelessly. If not, you can purchase a basic model for under $20. One last thing to con- sider when switching from renting to owning: Tech support issues might be more difficult to deal with if you own the modem rather than rent it from the service provider. With a rented unit, your ser- vice provider will replace a defective modem free of charge. But if you own it and run into issues, the company could conclude that it's your problem, not theirs. I only tell you this to be certain you under- stand that with ownership comes responsibility. Is this a potential problem? Yes. Is there a high likeli- hood that it will happen? No, not in my opinion. Positive and trouble free feedback on making this move far outweigh the negative. Still, it is some- thing you should consider as you look at taking a rel- atively small risk to reap a super-size reward. Wouldyouliketosend a tip to Mary? You can email her at mary@ everydaycheapskate.com. EVERYDAYCHEAPSKATE Who wants to spend $70 one time to save $120 every year? By Jennifer Cooper Social Security manager in Redding National Trivia Day re- minds us that knowledge about Social Security em- powers you and prepares you for retirement. Remem- ber, the more you know about Social Security, the more control you have over your bright future. 1. What is the average number of years someone has paid into Social Secu- rity once they start collect- ing disability benefits? A) 2 B) 7 C) 13 D) 22 Because the Social Se- curity Act sets out a strict definition of disability, our beneficiaries are among the most severely disabled peo- ple in the country. We pro- vide modest benefit pay- ments to workers who con- tributed into the Social Security trust fund before becoming disabled. The av- erage disability beneficiary today paid into the disabil- ity trust fund for 22 years before they began receiv- ing Social Security disabil- ity benefits. 2. At what age can I begin receiving Social Security re- tirement benefits? A) 62 B) 65 C) 67 D) 70 The answer to this ques- tion is not the same for ev- eryone. Depending on when you were born, your full re- tirement age will be be- tween 65 and 67. You can draw benefits as early as 62, but you will receive a lesser benefit. For more details and a handy chart, visit www.socialsecurity.gov/ planners/retire/retirechart. html. The best time for you to retire will depend on several factors, including when you were born, how long you contributed to So- cial Security, and how long you expect to live. The lon- ger you work, and the more money you earn at Social Security-qualifying jobs, the more Social Security retirement benefits you stand to receive. The lon- ger you wait to draw So- cial Security benefits, the larger your monthly payout will be. Past age 70, there is no longer any advantage to waiting. 3. How much money can I earn and still receive So- cial Security disability ben- efits? A) $500 per month B) $750 per month C) $1,090 per month D) None A worker who is disabled can earn up to $1,130 per month and still receive ben- efits. If the worker is blind or has work expenses, this amount is higher. More in- formation about working while disabled is available at www.socialsecurity.gov/ pubs/EN-05-10095.pdf. 4. Who receives the larg- est annual share of Social Security benefits? A) Survivors of deceased workers B) Disabled workers and their families C) Retired workers and their families The answer is C. About 39.5. Of the nearly 60 mil- lion people who receive re- tirement, dependent, dis- ability, and survivors ben- efits in 2015, the largest share went to retirees and their families, totaling $53 billion each month. We also paid $6.7 billion dollars in survivors bene- fits each month, and $10.5 billion dollars in disabil- ity benefits each month in 2015. SOCIAL SECURITY Test your Social Security knowledge REDDING A seasoned for- mer United Way executive from San Jose has been chosen as the new Presi- dent & CEO of United Way of Northern California, serving nine counties in far Northern California. Larry Olmstead, most recently vice president of Organizational Develop- ment of United Way Sil- icon Valley, will assume the Redding-based role Monday. Olmstead was selected from among 27 appli- cants to replace Wendy Zanotelli, who last Au- gust announced her de- parture to resume her career in the banking in- dustry. During Zanotelli's four-year tenure, United Way of Northern Cali- fornia increased revenue by more than 50 percent while implementing pro- grams to assist commu- nity members in getting connected to human ser- vice programs through www.211norcal.org and volunteer opportunities through www.volunteer- norcal.org. In addition, the orga- nization launched Pros- perity, a collective im- pact initiative aimed at improving income sta- bility for families in the region. "Larry is a well-re- spected colleague and state-wide community leader among United Ways," Zanotelli said. "His knowledge, his di- verse network of United Way leaders, and his pas- sion for improving the lives of the community mem- bers he serves will ensure the continued success and growth of our United Way. We couldn't be leaving our organization in better hands." Olmstead will work to expand United Way's an- nual payroll giving cam- paigns that support mem- ber non-profit agencies that provide social services in the region. Olmstead will oversee 2-1-1 in Shasta and Te- hama counties and ex- pansion efforts to launch the service in other coun- ties in the region. He had served the past two-and- a-half years as chairman of the board for 2-1-1 Cal- ifornia, the state associa- tion for 2-1-1s. "Larry brings strong communications, leader- ship, organizational devel- opment and project man- agement skills that are needed to take our United Way to the next level," said Greg Balkovek, chairman of the board. "We are, indeed, fortu- nate to have him." At United Way Silicon Valley, Olmstead was a member of the executive team responsible for or- ganizational change ef- forts. His responsibilities also included 2-1-1 Santa Clara County; human resources; IT and operations. A native of New York City, Olmstead attended the Bronx High School of Science and George Wash- ington University be- fore launching a journal- ism career that included stints at the New York Times and Miami Herald, where he was managing editor from 1996-2001. At both papers, Olmstead shared in work that won the Pulitzer Prize for jour- nalism. Olmstead went on to become a corporate offi- cer in the news and hu- man resources divisions for media giant Knight Ridder. After the com- pany was sold 10 years ago, Olmstead launched a management consul- tancy company. He joined United Way Silicon Valley in 2010. Olmstead has served on numerous boards for non- profits and professional associations. A tennis en- thusiast, Olmstead is a committee chairman and advisory board member for USTA Northern Cali- fornia. Olmstead is married to Michele Chandler, a busi- ness news journalist. They have two children. UNITED WAY New president, CEO named for North State Shasta College will host an informational meeting on the Shasta College Global Education Program's expedition to Indonesia for summer 6-7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 4 in Room 802 on the Shasta College main campus in Redding. High school students, college students and gen- eral community members ages 16 and up are encour- aged to attend to find out how they can participate in this for-credit program. Substantial scholarships will be available from the Shasta College Founda- tion and The McConnell Foundation to help de- fray costs. The college courses as- sociated with this expedi- tion will engage students in field biology, cultural, human and physical geog- raphy. The expedition it- self will last from June 29 to July 12. Arrive at the college early for best seating. Following the presenta- tion, refreshments will be served and there will be time for questions. While on the Indone- sian island of Sulawesi, students will take part in a week-long conservation research effort to help endangered and threat- ened species in the region. The second week of study will move to a marine site where students will focus on the highly diverse coral reefs. The Indonesia 2016 event is the second Global Education effort offered in cooperation between Shasta College and Opera- tion Wallacea, a UK-based conservation research or- ganization with 20-years of experience working in the region. Indonesia's unique nat- ural and cultural wonders, complex geographic and political climate will also be discussed at the meet- ing. For further informa- tion about this event, visit http://www.shastacollege. edu/Academic%20Affairs/ GlobalEducationProgram/ Pages/default.aspx or call 242-7520. INFORMATIONAL MEETING Study in Indonesia with Shasta College Olmstead "Larry is a well-respected colleague and state-wide community leader among United Ways." — Wendy Zanotelli Mary Hunt 4,641fans+35 this week LIFESTYLES » redbluffdailynews.com Friday, January 29, 2016 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B2