Hard at work in the office – many people who are disabled become self-employed to better care for themselvesThis post was sponsored by ABLEnow®. All opinions are my own.
There is Christmas music chasing you all over the store. Everything smells like pinecones. People are flooding the local malls and it is impossible to find a parking space. I know everyone doesn’t like that kind of thing, but come on, isn’t it a little exciting? It’s that time of the year when people are on the hunt for holiday gift perfection. We are cruising the aisles of every store, determined to move mountains to bring in the gifted gold. Everyone wants to find the perfect thing for the special someone on their list. But for people living with a disability, especially when we are unable to work or are underemployed, after taking care of basic needs, there isn’t a lot left to deck the halls with. There has been more than one time in my life when my ADHD or PTSD has left me unable to work or on disability leave from a job and I have found myself in a financial bind. Bills mount up, and medical needs get neglected. It is a really frightening place to be in.
If you’re looking for a unique and useful holiday gift, let me tell you about ABLEnow. With ABLEnow accounts, you can give the gift of stability this season. If you’re looking to give someone you love who is living with a disability a little breathing room, you can do that. Anyone can contribute to an individual’s ABLEnow account – the owner of the account, family, and friends can help them save for things that help keep their lives running a little more smoothly.
Besties for life! everybody needs friends. I’m so grateful for mine.When a friend or family member can help out financially through an ABLEnow account, they’re doing so without putting the account owner’s eligibility for benefits at risk. It is really easy to give your loved one a contribution as a present. You head to the ABLEnow website, make your contribution online or in the mail, then you select and print a gift certificate so you still have something to wrap and put under the tree.
I was so excited when I learned about this program because I had never heard of anything like it. ABLEnow accounts can be used to pay for some unique things that improve your quality of life, like health expenses your insurance doesn’t cover. Or if you need lessons to help you (coaching, for instance) or transportation to work, or respite care, or adaptive equipment, all that can be paid for through that account. So, of course I wanted to sign up and make it a little easier to stash away a little nest egg for a rainy day. Signing up for an account was really simple, I just headed to able-now.com and went through their sign up process. It was clearly worded, easy to understand, and FAST. We all know that I don’t have the patience for processes that involve a lot of paperwork and request additional info. Thankfully they didn’t make me go through a long troublesome process. I was really grateful for that.
If you, a family member, or a friend is thinking of giving a loved one with a disability a little cash to stuff their stocking with, I HIGHLY recommend considering the ABLEnow account. Your loved one can use this account to save money in a way that won’t cause conflict with any type of help they’re receiving. You heard me right, for a long time, people with disabilities were not allowed to save money because they would lose the help they so desperately needed. Thanks to the hard work of advocates who saw the need for change, we now have the federal ABLE Act and the national ABLEnow program. ABLEnow accounts are available to eligible people in all 50 states. Go get your account online at able-now.com.
Thank you to ABLEnow for sponsoring this post!
Until next time,
René
