Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/657283
Irecentlyreceiveda heartbreaking letter from one of my readers, which resulted in the following email con- versation. She gave me permission to share our conversa- tion: DEAR MARY: I have been a Debt- Proof Living member for longer than I can remem- ber. I own every book that you have written. Sadly, I ignored your advice on how to prevent thieves from stealing debit card information. We recently went on a cruise. Not wanting to use a credit card for our travel and vacation expenses, we put the money for our trip into our checking account. To my horror, five days prior to departure I dis- covered that someone had stolen our debit card num- bers and drained every last cent. We couldn't even buy groceries, let alone pay for the cruise. When will I learn? — Learning the Hard Way DEAR LTHW: Oh, I am so sorry. What is your bank? Have you reported this breach? Please don't beat yourself up. We all learn from our mistakes, and I'm sure you won't have to learn this a sec- ond time. DEAR MARY: Our bank is Regions Bank in North Fort Myers, Florida. The attendant that we re- ported to advised us to file a police report, which we did. She also gave me in- formation on what to do when your identity is sto- len. Knowing that we were almost done with cruise, she jumped through hoops to see that the money was replaced in our account. You are absolutely right: that this is one lesson I won't have to learn twice. — LTHW DEAR LTHW: Knowing what to do if your iden- tity is stolen is useful, but I hope you will look into identity theft protection, such as LifeLock. DEAR MARY: I recently tied this to an event that happened a couple years ago. Someone filed a tax return in my husband's name. Consequently, our tax return wasn't ac- cepted. We got that mess straightened out, but it took a lot of work. I wonder if there is a link between these epi- sodes. In fact, we just re- ceived a notice from our mortgage company ac- knowledging our change of address. But we haven't changed our address. This time I am not caught off guard; it's clear that some- one changed our address listed with our mortgage company so they can re- ceive our statements with account information. They have everything they need to apply for a second mort- gage on our home. I am really frightened. What can we do to stop this? How do we keep our information totally private and make sure it doesn't happen again? — LTHW DEAR LTHW: Un- less you live on another planet, it is pretty impos- sible to keep all of your in- formation completely pri- vate. That's just the nature of technology these days. However, you can take steps to ensure that no one can impersonate you to open new credit accounts, empty your bank accounts or steal tax refunds. Don't let them ride on your good name and reputation. I highly recommend that you sign up for a Life- Lock Ultimate Plus mem- bership, immediately. This is the only company I know that actively moni- tors, routinely detects and stops fraudulent activity to restore your good name. That's quite a promise. I've witnessed another com- pany fulfill its promises like LifeLock does. They even rescued my staffer, Max. I hope this advice re- stores your peace of mind as it has for me, my family and my staff. Wouldyouliketosend a tip to Mary? You can email her at mary@ everydaycheapskate. com, or write to Everyday Cheapskate, 12340 Seal Beach Blvd., Ste. B-416, Seal Beach, CA 90740. EVERYDAYCHEAPSKATE Scaredandlearning the hard way A name change can have an impact on your taxes. All the names on your tax re- turn must match Social Se- curity Administration re- cords. A name mismatch can delay your refund. Here's what you should know if you changed your name: Report Name Changes. Did you get married and are now using your new spouse's last name or hy- phenated your last name? Did you divorce and go back to using your former last name? In either case, you should notify the SSA of your name change. That way, your new name on your IRS records will match up with your SSA records. Make Dependent's Name Change. Notify the SSA if your dependent had a name change. For example, this could apply if you adopted a child and the child's last name changed. If you adopted a child who does not have a Social Security number, you may use an Adoption Taxpayer Identification Number on your tax return. An ATIN is a tempo- rary number. You can apply for an ATIN by fil- ing Form W-7A, Applica- tion for Taxpayer Iden- tification Number for Pending U.S. Adoptions, with the IRS. You can visit IRS.gov to view, download, print or or- der the form at any time. Get a New Card. File Form SS-5, Application for a Social Security Card, to notify SSA of your name change. You can get the form on SSA.gov or call 800-772-1213 to or- der it. Your new card will show your new name with the same SSN you had be- fore. Report Changes in Cir- cumstances when they happen. If you enrolled in health insurance coverage through the Health Insur- ance Marketplace you may receive the benefit of ad- vance payments of thepre- mium tax credit. These are paid di- rectly to your insurance company to lower your monthly premium. Report changes in circumstances, such as a name change, a new address and a change in your income or fam- ily size to your Market- place when they happen throughout the year. Re- porting the changes will help you avoid getting too much or too little advance payment of the premium tax credit. Each and every tax- payer has a set of funda- mental rights they should be aware of when dealing with the IRS. These are your Taxpayer Bill of Rights. Explore your rights and our obligations to protect them on IRS. gov. TAX TIP Changeyourname?It can affect your taxes Mary Hunt MANTON EASTER BUNNY VISITS CONTRIBUTEDPHOTOS The Easter Bunny came to town on Sunday to visit the little ones in Manton. He will also make an appearance at Manton school. CORNING The Elder Ser- vices Program of North- ern Valley Catholic Social Service and the Corning Healthcare District are offering a workshop on speech and swallow ther- apy for people with Par- kinson's, stroke, and other conditions that affect speech and swallowing, 10 a.m. Saturday, April 2, Corning Healthcare Dis- trict, Meuser Building, 275 Solano Street, Corning. Dr. Shelly Von Berg will be sharing tech- niques that can help increa se voc a li za- tion and swallowing. • This interactive work- shop will explore var- ious behavioral ap- proaches to the speech and swallow changes that typically accom- pany Parkinson's disease. • The breathing, voice and swallow muscle changes that occur with Parkin- son's will be described, followed by demonstra- tions of practical behav- ioral approaches directed to increase vocal loud- ness, speech intelligibil- ity and swallow safety. • Participants and their significant others will have the opportunity to practice these approaches in the workshop. There is no charge for this event, which is being offered for the first time in Corning. Light refresh- ments will be served. For more information call Elaine at 528-7949 or Shirley at 824-5451 Brought to you by the Corning Healthcare Dis- trict and the Elder Ser- vices Program of North- ern Valley Catholic Social Service. PARKINSON'S DISEASE Ma ki ng t he m os t o f sp eec h an d sw al lo w th er ap y The Friends of the Chico State Herbarium has four workshops scheduled for April. Register in advance for each workshop. • Plant Families in the Garden and in the Wild, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday April 9 Have you ever wondered how plants are grouped into families? Every plant family is defined by a set of visible characteristics, which can be learned. Many plant families have representatives from both gardens and native flora in the wild. In this workshop, organizers will introduce some of the most impor- tant common plant fami- lies and their key charac- teristics. Live plants and herbarium specimens will be used to clearly illustrate these key traits. There will be a plant walk, to use our new skills to recognize plant families and identify plants. Emily Meigs Doe has recently taught Orna- mental Plant ID at Butte College and has worked as a field botanist for the US Forest Service. Emily is a Herbarium Assistant at the Chico State Herbar- ium. Linnea Hanson is a retired botanist from the Plumas National Forest and has taught General Botany and Horticultural ID at Shasta College. The workshop will meet in 129 Holt Hall at CSU, Chico. Ei- ther bring a hand lens and plant ID book or plan to purchase them at the work- shop. Registration is $40. • Photography Work- shop, Native Flowers as Compositional Elements, 9 a.m. Saturday, April 16 Come join Spencer Dyk- stra Photography to learn how to create on of a kind photographs. This class will gooverbasiccamerasettings for different situations, but the emphasis will be on us- ing the natural scene to cre- ate interesting and unique compositions. Spencer Dyk- stra, based in Chico, special- izes in Northern California nature photography with an emphasis on native flora. This workshop will meet in 129NoltHall.Afteranintro- ductiontheclasswillcarpool to either Bidwell Park or Ta- bleMountainfortheremain- deroftheday.Registrationis $75. • Mushroom Foraging and Identification Work- shop, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sat- urday, April 23 This workshop will be usefulforbeginnersaswell as for people with some knowledge of mushrooms. This workshop starts with an introduction to mush- rooms, then collecting in the field and finally identi- fying the mushrooms that are found. The instruc- tor, Philip Carpenter, has extensive knowledge of mushrooms and has been a member of the Fungus Federation of Santa Cruz since it was organized in 1984. The workshop will meet at the Forest Ranch Community Center and the Big Chico Creek Eco- logical Reserve. Meet at the east end of the park and ride lots at the inter- section of SR 99 and SR 32 at 8:30 a.m. The group will travel to the Forest Ranch Community Center first at 15807 Forest Ranch Road, Forest Ranch. After an in- troduction to mushrooms at the community center the group will travel to the reserve and will return to the community center to identify the mushrooms found at the reserve. The registration fee is $100. • Botanical Illustration by Judy McCrary, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday April 30 Want to draw plants and flowers? Here's your chance. Local illustrator and teacher Judy McCrary will concentrate on pen- cil and ink techniques, al- thoughothermediamaybe explored depending upon the interests of the partic- ipants. The workshop will meet in Holt 129 at CSU, Chico. Cost is $40, $30 for students and members. For more information about the workshops, visit www.friendsofthechico- stateherbarium/events- viewcalendar/. To register, call the Bi- ology office at 898-5356 or epurvis@csuchico.edu. CHICO STATE Herbarium workshops offered in April 525AntelopeBlvd,RedBluff (530) 527-5272 Mon.–Fri.8am-5pm Saturday by appointment Locally owned & operated THE MICHELIN ® PILOT ® SPORT A/S 3+ Command the road. Sumit to no season. SHIFTINTOSAVINGS Get a $70 MasterCard ® Reward Card after submission* with purchase of four new MICHELIN ® passenger or light truck tires. OFFER VALID 3/16/16 - 4/10/16. LIFESTYLES » redbluffdailynews.com Thursday, March 24, 2016 MORE ATFACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A4