Out with a bang! – September 2022

Wow! August went out with a bang (and a few booms!) Monsoon storms and rainfall in Arizona were at levels we haven't seen in years! Our "wet" season officially starts June 15th and ends September 30th. Flooding and rainfall have been record-setting in 2022. The rest of the country is seeing rain and flooding not seen in years too.

While September in Arizona can still be a hot month, it's usually when the night temperatures start to drop. It's not uncommon to be in the 100s during the day and drop to the 70s at night. Some days can experience a 30-to-40-degree swing!

For many parts around the USA, September is the month for leaves to start changing. Lovely Sunday drives to witness nature's color in all its glory is another favorite activity this time of year.

And for all the sports-minded folk, ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL? College football has become increasingly popular versus professional sports as there doesn't seem to be as much political nonsense with college football. So, root on with your favorite team! If baseball is your thing… it's time for the playoffs!

Hopefully, with kids returning to school, parents and even grandparents are getting a bit of a break in their daily schedules.

Oh, and it's only 16 weeks until Christmas!!! So enjoy your fall!!

Why am I me

[et_pb_section admin_label="Section" fullwidth="on" specialty="off"][et_pb_fullwidth_header admin_label="Fullwidth Header" title="Why am I me" background_layout="light" text_orientation="left" header_fullscreen="off" header_scroll_down="off" parallax="off" parallax_method="off" content_orientation="center" image_orientation="center" custom_button_one="off" button_one_letter_spacing="0" button_one_use_icon="default" button_one_icon_placement="right" button_one_on_hover="on" button_one_letter_spacing_hover="0" custom_button_two="off" button_two_letter_spacing="0" button_two_use_icon="default" button_two_icon_placement="right" button_two_on_hover="on" button_two_letter_spacing_hover="0" subhead="March 2017"] [/et_pb_fullwidth_header][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section admin_label="section"][et_pb_row admin_label="row"][et_pb_column type="4_4"][et_pb_text admin_label="Text" background_layout="light" text_orientation="left" use_border_color="off" border_color="#ffffff" border_style="solid" saved_tabs="all"] By David Edge [spacer height="03px"] Can you remember the time you first went to a doctor? That experience has made you either afraid of doctors or gave you a warm fuzzy about doctors? Either way that experience was something that has made you, you! [spacer height="02px"] There are many reasons folks are afraid of doctors. That fear can range from what’s it going to cost, the thought of sitting in a crowded waiting room, to which doctor should I go see? Sometimes it’s a simple fear of something like needles to take a flu shot. Some of us are just afraid of receiving bad news, so we just pretend or ignore the symptoms in hopes they’ll just go away. These simple things can cause panic attacks or night-mares that make people simply not want to go when they need too. [spacer height="02px"] There’s an actual name for people who are afraid of doctors, it’s called “iatrophobia”. [spacer height="02px"] Folks who are generally afraid of doctors will get increased heart palpitations, wring their hands, and can actually get physically ill just with the idea of going to the doctor. If you think about it, that’s quite an issue, as the very person who can fix you is exactly who you don’t want to see? [spacer height="02px"] Some people develop the same attitude towards a doctor visit in the same category as avoiding a restaurant that they had a bad meal or got sick from the food they were served. You just don’t go there anymore. The real difference is that skipping a meal at a restaurant won’t kill you, but not going to the doctor when you’re sick can result in your death. [spacer height="02px"] So what was your first visit to the doctor and how do you feel about it? Can you remember? I know for me I was about 6 or 7 and was climbing a big old oak tree at my grandparents’ house and made it to the top, only to miss a branch on the way down. I fell the last 10-15 feet, receiving a large cut requiring several stitches. My mom wrapped me in a blanket, threw me in the car and off we went. This was an old country doctor who was very experienced and totally put me at ease by saying that “why this cut isn’t much of nothing” in a very grandfatherly way. All of a sudden my cut didn’t seem like a big deal to me as he gave me a local and the few stitches I needed. I even got a piece of hard candy he just happened to have in his lab coat pocket. So my experience at that young age left me with a favorable impression of doctors. [spacer height="02px"] Now, I just know, not everybody can relay a nice story about their first experience with a medical situation, and of course that is what makes each of us have our own fears or comforts, and that feeling makes you, you. [spacer height="02px"] So don’t find yourself wondering about your medical coverage or your share of the financial responsibilities of your Medicare plan. Give us a call, we can help! [spacer height="02px"] You might even get a piece of candy! [/et_pb_text][et_pb_image admin_label="Image" src="https://americanretirementadvisors.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Why-am-I-me-2.jpg" show_in_lightbox="off" url_new_window="off" use_overlay="off" animation="left" sticky="off" align="left" max_width="250px" force_fullwidth="off" always_center_on_mobile="on" use_border_color="off" border_color="#ffffff" border_style="solid"] [/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

Why am I Me February 2017

[et_pb_section admin_label="Section" fullwidth="on" specialty="off"][et_pb_fullwidth_header admin_label="Fullwidth Header" title="Living Conditions" background_layout="light" text_orientation="left" header_fullscreen="off" header_scroll_down="off" parallax="off" parallax_method="off" content_orientation="center" image_orientation="center" custom_button_one="off" button_one_letter_spacing="0" button_one_use_icon="default" button_one_icon_placement="right" button_one_on_hover="on" button_one_letter_spacing_hover="0" custom_button_two="off" button_two_letter_spacing="0" button_two_use_icon="default" button_two_icon_placement="right" button_two_on_hover="on" button_two_letter_spacing_hover="0" subhead="Why Am I Me - February 2017"] [/et_pb_fullwidth_header][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section admin_label="section"][et_pb_row admin_label="row"][et_pb_column type="4_4"][et_pb_text admin_label="Text" background_layout="light" text_orientation="left" use_border_color="off" border_color="#ffffff" border_style="solid"] Many Americans take so much for granted when it comes to our way of life. There are many of us who take things such as clean air, clean water, and abundant food as common rights. [spacer height="02px"] I’ve been privileged enough to do a bit of international traveling, and have seen, first-hand, what living conditions are like in dozens of foreign countries. Let me tell you, there is nothing like the good old USA. [spacer height="02px"] How you were brought up and the living conditions you were exposed to, helped make you, you. [spacer height="02px"] I know there are folks who want to tell me how rough they had it while growing up poor, or with one disadvantage or another, but I can tell you this, even our poorest people in the USA have a lifestyle that millions of others would take in a heartbeat. [spacer height="02px"] Clean water at your fingertips is something we take for granted. In many countries, there isn’t enough water to spare for bathing or washing clothes. There is barely enough clean water to drink and cook with, let alone have extra. What if you had to get up every morning and walk three miles to a well that was shared by a whole village, wait in line to get a bucket of water, walk the three miles back to your house, just so you could start breakfast! Imagine doing that seven days a week! What if that well went dry and the next well was ten miles away? You’d get up and walk ten miles each way. What if you had to boil your drinking water to make it safe? Not here, we just turn on the tap. [spacer height="02px"] My guide, on a recent trip, bought his poor, farmer parents a cell phone and taught them how to call him. They thought it was too much trouble to walk to town once a week to charge it, since they had no electricity on the rice farm. Unselfishly, their daughter would borrow a neighbor’s bike to make the weekly trip just because she knew how much pleasure it gave their mother to be able to talk to her son. Ninety percent of the country’s population were farmers as had been their parents, and their grandparents. If you were born a farmer, there was a 99% chance you’d be a farmer. The difference between rich and poor was staggering. There was no middle class. [spacer height="02px"] In other words, walking three miles in the snow to get to school, or getting up at 4:00 am to milk the cows before breakfast, riding the bus, or taking the train, or some other imagined hardships help to put things in perspective. Your perspective is something that you have developed while growing up, and that makes you, you. [spacer height="02px"] Next time you hop in your car to run down the street for a gallon of milk, be glad the store is there and that there will always be milk on the shelf. We have expectations, and we are fortunate to live in a country that allows us such luxuries. [spacer height="02px"] Take advantage of what you have, and allow the folks at American Retirement Advisors to help you make the most of what you have in retirement. You can change your retirement perspective by simply getting expert advice. Give us a call, we are here to help! [/et_pb_text][et_pb_image admin_label="Image" src="https://americanretirementadvisors.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/WhyAmIMe_Feb2017.png" show_in_lightbox="off" url_new_window="off" use_overlay="off" animation="left" sticky="off" align="left" max_width="200px" force_fullwidth="off" always_center_on_mobile="on" use_border_color="off" border_color="#ffffff" border_style="solid"] [/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

Why am I Me? Jan 2017

[et_pb_section admin_label="Section" fullwidth="on" specialty="off"][et_pb_fullwidth_header admin_label="Fullwidth Header" title="Why Am I Me - Jan 2017" background_layout="light" text_orientation="left" header_fullscreen="off" header_scroll_down="off" parallax="off" parallax_method="off" content_orientation="center" image_orientation="center" custom_button_one="off" button_one_letter_spacing="0" button_one_use_icon="default" button_one_icon_placement="right" button_one_on_hover="on" button_one_letter_spacing_hover="0" custom_button_two="off" button_two_letter_spacing="0" button_two_use_icon="default" button_two_icon_placement="right" button_two_on_hover="on" button_two_letter_spacing_hover="0"] [/et_pb_fullwidth_header][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section admin_label="section"][et_pb_row admin_label="row"][et_pb_column type="4_4"][et_pb_text admin_label="Text" background_layout="light" text_orientation="left" use_border_color="off" border_color="#ffffff" border_style="solid"]   Me Time! As we go about our busy lives we sometimes seem to think that there just isn’t enough time. Well, time for what? [spacer height="05px"] Running errands is almost a constant for most of us. The non-stop list is something like this; Grocery store, pick up the cleaning, drug store , stop and get gas, we’re almost out of pet food, and don’t forget the doctor or dentist appointments! Oh, and the adult kids called and needed something that took your time to advise them or do something for them. You hear things like, “it’s ok, they are retired and have the time to help with whatever”. You can fill in the blank on that last one. But the point is you may find yourself without any “me time”. [spacer height="02px"] Working or retired you need to make sure there is some me time in your schedule. You know, that time where you can simply sit down and read a few chapters in that latest best seller, or see that movie you wanted to view? Or for Pete’s sake just lie down for a nap in the middle of the day if you feel like it! [spacer height="02px"] Point is you can fill your daily life with all sorts of things if you allow other outside forces to control or affect your daily life. At times you need to sit back and ask yourself, “now what would my kids or friends do if you weren’t there to handle that task or chore for them”? You can bet your bottom dollar that they would find another way to get that task done without your assistance. You may need to realize that the easy answer for your kids and friends can’t always be, to make you the answer to their problem. [spacer height="02px"] We recently took a few days off and went to the beach. We’re planners and each day was planned to the max to where we would go, what we would do, which restaurants we would eat at. At some point in the middle of the second day, we realized that we had planned everything except time for us to relax. After mentioning this to my bride of 34 years, she realized it was true. We put the brakes on in time to enjoy a day of just letting things be. We slept in one morning, had a late breakfast, walked to the beach, and got comfortable as we both read a few chapters of our books we had brought. Sitting there with the ocean breezes, listening to the roar of the surf as the waves rolled in with the tide, I merely closed my eyes and was thankful that we realized what we needed before it was too late. [spacer height="02px"] What you do with your schedule only needs one decision maker, you.Allow yourself time for what you want, and when it would be convenient for you to do something. Don’t allow others to dictate your free time. Now before anyone goes off the deep end of the other side, I’m not suggesting that we all turn into totally selfish, regimented self-centered people. But we do have to strike a balance with taking time out for yourself and not being afraid to say “no”. Because no is an answer, and it helps you make some “me time”. [spacer height="02px"] How you balance and juggle all the things in your life and make personal time for yourself, makes you…well, you! [spacer height="03px"] Oh by the way, when is the last time you looked at how you are spending your time? Make sure you’ve planned your retirement for all contingencies, so you do allow yourself “me time”. [/et_pb_text][et_pb_image admin_label="Image" src="https://americanretirementadvisors.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Picture4.png" show_in_lightbox="off" url_new_window="off" use_overlay="off" animation="left" sticky="off" align="left" max_width="200px" force_fullwidth="off" always_center_on_mobile="on" use_border_color="off" border_color="#ffffff" border_style="solid"]   [/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]