When you are ready to purchase a deep freezer, there are two important decisions to consider: the brand and the type of freezer. Perhaps after some research, you have decided on the brand but are still undecided if a chest freezer is better for you or an upright one.

Igloo chest freezer and the brand’s upright models are both quality products. But the style of the freezer can offer distinct benefits and you need to assess those benefits in light of your household needs. Here are some advantages of using an Igloo chest freezer instead of the company’s upright models.

Chest freezers are more energy-efficient as you open them from the top. The chest shape allows the cold air to remain trapped inside every time you open the deep freezer. However, upright freezers have doors that open outward and easily allow air to escape. This is a significant reason why most families opt for chest freezers over upright freezers. It is possible to store more food in chest freezers due to their shape. This makes chest freezers more convenient than upright freezers especially for large families. For instance, if you buy an Igloo chest freezer, you can store large cuts of meats easily in it along with other food items like fruits, vegetables and nuts.

Usually, chest freezers are less expensive to buy than upright models. This may vary for different brands though. But overall, you can save money on the purchase of a chest freezer and also keep its operation cost low.

Drawbacks

No doubt, chest freezers have some drawbacks when compared with upright freezers. Chest freezers require more space than upright freezers. You usually need a basement or garage space for your chest freezer. In comparison, you can fit an upright freezer in small or narrow spaces. But this space problem can be easily remedied as most houses have some areas that can accommodate at least a medium-sized chest freezer.

It is also a bit cumbersome to store and find items in a chest freezer. In contrast, upright freezers have many shelves for easy storage. But now you can buy food organizers to use in a chest freezer for your ease. And it is easy to remove extra storage baskets if you need to store a large cut of meat or several packets of vegetables.

Defrosting and cleaning a chest freezer can be a bit inconvenient in comparison to upright models. However, freezers that require manual defrosting are less expensive than frost-free models. If convenience of cleaning doesn’t matter to you as much as the initial cost factor of buying a freezer, you can invest in a chest freezer. The advantages of owning and operating a chest freezer far outweigh the small inconveniences of using it.

As and when an individual start aging, there are rising needs for health care. With more than 25% of expenses moving towards dental services, it is of utmost importance to take dental care more seriously. Some of the recent reports show that many seniors avoid dental care due to heavy expenses that come with it. Firstly, it is important to go for regular dental visits in order to be sure that you do not fall prey to any dental disease.

It is always advisable that dental maintenance should be at par with other health checkups. Secondly, senior citizens require special dental care as they are susceptible to dry mouth, root decay, thrush which is the overgrowth of fungus in the mouth, loss of the structure of the teeth caused by mechanical forces, etc. These specific dental problems can lead to further health issues that affect the ability of a senior citizen to sustain a healthy lifestyle. The dental problems also adversely affect the ability to chew or eat, pain in the gums, cavities and tooth decay. Therefore, it is must to have a good quality and comprehensive dental insurance for senior citizens.

It is interesting to know that dental insurance is not typically a part of most of the medical policies. You can choose a separate dental plan to cover your dental expenses but you might not get one included in your health insurance cover.

Types of dental plans for seniors
Out of all, there are two major types of dental plans that can be opted by seniors. These are:

Indemnity plans
Indemnity plans have a pool of providers and you can choose from a list of dentists to go to. Here, the dental plan acts as a reimbursement plan where the patient has to pay the entire amount of the dental treatment or services. This amount gets reimbursed once you file a claim for the covered dental process.

Managed-care plans
These plans are a part of health insurance where the in-network providers help you with dental services at reduced costs. The in-network providers also help in sorting out necessary paperwork on your behalf.

There are a few dental plans that enroll you into your spouse’s dental plan. If this is the case with you as well, then see if you are eligible to do so.
You can also research on the internet and look for an alternative to dental plans for seniors such as dental saving plan, which is also called a discount dental and is not an insurance plan. These plans are pre-negotiated rate plan with dentists, which act as a substitute to costlier plans.

Understanding gout and its possible treatment options
A gout is a form of arthritis which occurs when there are high levels of uric acid in the blood. This excessive uric acid creates crystals which gather around the joint. This can lead to gout attacks, i.e., unexpected episodes of sharp pains and inflammation in the joints. Rise in uric acids is caused due to multiple reasons and therefore every individual has to take specific measures to deal with it. For instance, it could be due to excessive alcohol consumption, obesity or due to the kidney’s diminished ability to process the uric acid. Irrespective of the causes, high level of uric acid is something that can be efficiently tackled by an anti-gout diet.

An anti-gout diet will not only offer you with the fast relief but will also lessen the risk of frequent gout attacks. While dealing with gout, your first job is to consult a doctor to receive an accurate diagnosis. Based on the nature of the case, your doctor will prescribe you with appropriate medications and other treatment options. After the medical analysis, you can start designing your anti-gout treatment. To help you get a precise direction, here’s an anti-gout dietary checklist that must be followed.

• Limiting certain types of foods
  Before deciding ‘what to eat?’, start focusing on what food ingredients you must cut out from your diet. Avoid any products that contain refined sugars like soft drinks, processed fruit juices, breakfast cereals, chocolates, cakes, candies, etc. Such food products can stimulate uric acid build-ups, leading to gout attacks. This is especially imperative if you happen to be overweight as uric acid further contributes to intense inflammation of the joints.
  Foods containing purine can flare up gout. You must be wondering ‘what is purine?’ It is a natural constituent that is found in the human body as well as in foods. Uric acid is produced when purine is broken down in the body. Which is why you must exercise moderation while having food ingredients that are rich in purine. Meats, mushrooms, spinach, peas, whole wheat grains, asparagus, anchovies, beef, cauliflower, gravies, tuna, codfish, herring, etc. are some of the food products that contain a high amount of purine. Alcohol can surge the uric acid levels in your body, increasing the chances of aggravating gout attacks. So, while following an anti-gout diet, it is advised that you cease your liquor consumption entirely.
  Junk food is made by using processed products, so you should refrain indulging in fast food. Your anti-gout diet should strictly include meals that are prepared at home. In this manner, you will be able to customize and control your food choices that will benefit you in the long run.
• Hydration
  To eliminate the uric acid at a faster pace, you need to keep your body hydrated. A dehydrated system can aggravate gout attacks on a recurrent basis. Aim to have at least eight glasses of water daily, so that you could swiftly cleanse the system.
• Cherries
  Specific medical research projects suggest that cherries can decrease the occurrence of gout attacks. This might be because cherries contain antioxidants which reduce the uric acid levels in the blood. If you have cherry juices, then opt for the ones which are organic for maximum results.
• Low-fat dairy products
  Instead of having whole milk products, consume low-fat dairy products such as skimmed milk or yogurt. Low-fat dairy products may help to control the uric acid levels, and they can be a reliable source of protein as well.
• Starchy carbohydrates and vegetables
  Potatoes, whole-grain pasta, rice, brown bread, oats, quinoa, barley, etc. include limited amounts of purines. You can include these in your diet along with vegetables such as broccoli, Brussel sprouts, lima beans, etc.
• Fruits
  Apart from cherries, you can also consider including fruits like strawberries, oranges, apple, bananas, pineapples, grapefruits, mangoes, watermelons, papaya, etc. These fresh fruits are rich in vitamins which can eliminate the toxins as well as nourish your body cells.
• Coffee
  Chlorogenic acid, an antioxidant found in the coffee is associated with the diminishing the gout attack instances. However, this might not work for everyone. So, you must consult your doctor to gain some clarity about caffeine experimenting. Although if you already consume coffee, ensure that you have it without any forms of refined sugars or artificial sweeteners. Similarly, if you need milk with your coffee, couple it with low-fat dairy products.

When you are managing an anti-gout diet, it is crucial to comprehend that it isn’t just a temporary fix. You should learn to adopt it as a form of lifestyle. This is because if timely measures are not exercised, gout can worsen with time leading to irreversible joint damage and kidney problems. But with early intervention and care, gout is an untroublesome medical condition.

What is an individual or a solo 401(k)?
Also called as Uni-401(k) plan, an individual 401(k) plan is an Internal Revenue Code (Section 401) approved a qualified plan for retirement which is specifically designed for self-employed or sole-owned businesses. Similar to traditional IRAs, this plan offers cost-effective and tax-efficient investment options along with a few additional benefits. Although any business model which meets the criteria is eligible under this plan, it is most suitable for independent contractors, consultants, real estate agents etc. Initial funding for this plan can be done through rollover funds from traditional IRAs, SEP plans, previous 401(k) plans, profit sharing plans, defined benefit plans, 403(b) plans etc. by setting up new trust account or by transferring all the funds to the current custodian trust account.

Benefits of an individual 401(k) plan:
Taxes can be reduced on contributions and the earnings can grow by deferring the tax. Assets are tax-free until withdrawal at retirement.
As the plans and agreements are customized by self, the administering requirements are fewer and simple compared to that of traditional plans.
No complications of filing a Form 5500 unlike the traditional 401(k) plans to be IRS compliant until the plan reaches $250000.
Unlike the traditional 401(k) plan, there is no vesting schedule for the business as one would be vested immediately.
Additional tax deferrals can be made by representing the spouse of self and spouse of partner(s) as part of the business.
Funding can be a combination of salary deferrals and annual profit sharing contributions. A participant can control the way investments are made and not necessarily be an annual contribution.
It allows an individual to borrow tax-free loans from the retirement funds based on certain terms and conditions.

Rules for withdrawing from the plan:
An individual should either end the employment or retire to be able to make any withdrawals.
A penalty of 10% will be levied for withdrawals made before the age of 59.5.
All distributions other than RMDs, hardship withdrawals, and direct rollovers will be subjected to a 20% federal tax withholding.
One must start to take an annual RMD from the age of 70.5 if he/she owns 5% share in a business. Failing which, a penalty of 50% on the total distribution will be applicable.
The contribution is limited to $54000 ($60000 for those above 60 years of age) for the tax year 2017.
An annual IRS form 5500 is required to be filed when the assets become equal or greater than $250000.

Funding deadlines:
For Solo 401(k) plan establishment- 31st December or end of FY, whichever is earliest.
For salary deferrals- End of the business tax year.
For profit-sharing contributions- Tax filing date of the business (Any extensions will be added).

Wine is almost universally accepted alcoholic drink with a lot of romantic inclination. Most of the women prefer wine instead of any other alcoholic drink because of the low alcohol content in wine. That is the reason; wine is not required to be diluted with water or any other carbonated drinks. Storage of wine is important depending upon the actual requirement. There might be households with a number of members that like to consume wine frequently, and there would be some places where only a single person would be a chilled wine lover. So, according to the frequency of wine consumption and necessity of storage, the buyers can select affordable wine coolers from the available range.

Selection of the most suited and affordable wine coolers depend on various considerations. Apart from the size and type of installation of the wine coolers; there are some other considerations that need to be made while making a choice for the wine coolers.

Compressor-based wine coolers would have the refrigeration system based on some gas agents that would flow through the walls of the wine coolers and extract heat from the working volume of the coolers. However, these wine coolers would be quite noisy though they would be one of the affordable wine coolers.

Another option would be the thermo-electric cooling mechanism that would not have the compressor, and thus the noise produced while operating the cooler would be very less.

Another classification of the wine coolers would be made according to additional temperature zones. Aspirants can have single zone wine coolers or dual zone wine coolers as per specific requirement.

Aspirant wine lovers whose choice of flavors and brands is limited, such as red wines or white wines, single zone wine cooler would be enough for them. Most of the people that like to enjoy wine at home can have a single zone wine cooler that would retain all the bottles at a specific temperature range. Single zone wine coolers would be the cheapest wine coolers because of simplicity in operation and some other technical reasons.

Some people like to have a collection of different brands and types of wines in their wine cooler. However, unless we are in the business of serving wine, or we might have the privilege to collect expensive varieties of wines, it would not be advisable to go for a dual zone wine cooler.

Dual zone wine coolers would be suitable for the people that would possess adequate knowledge about the wines they store. These wine coolers would have two different compartments with two different temperature ranges. The user would get plenty of storage space. He must know about the storage temperature ranges of different wines to keep them separate systematically. Some temperature range may be better for some specific wine while the other range might spoil the wine. So, the user needs to be careful about the details and the implementation of storage as well.

Milk has recently come under scrutiny for its high lactose content. The human body has no problem with lactose when young. However, as one gets older, lactase, an enzyme that breaks down lactose into simple sugars, decreases. This makes it difficult for the body to tolerate milk sugar. Therefore, lactose intolerance is a common problem.

People that are lactose intolerant can go with lactose-free milk products, which contain lactase to help digestion. Many brands sell lactose-free milk, but here are the best of them.

Westsoy unsweetened soymilk
Certified by USDA Organic, a certificate granted to all organic agricultural products, Westsoy unsweetened soymilk is high in protein. It contains no nuts and gluten, and most importantly, is free of lactose. It is made from natural organic ingredients that are as good and healthy as the ingredients in regular milk. Also, it doesn’t contain additional ingredients like sweeteners or additives and is a good source of potassium as well as iron.

So Delicious coconut milk
With over 30 years of experience in dairy-free spaces, So Delicious sells frozen desserts, melty shreds, creamy yogurt alternatives, and smooth plant-based beverages and creamers. Its coconut milk is lactose-free, gluten-free, and contains no artificial flavors or colors, hydrogenated oil, and trans fat. It is certified vegan and is a great substitute for dairy milk.

Silk almond milk
This almond milk by Silk is low in fat but is a good source of calcium, making it great for the bones. It also doesn’t contain saturated fat, cholesterol, almonds, and fructose corn and is an excellent source of iron, potassium, and vitamin D, A, and E. It has a bit of vanilla flavor as well, providing 450 mg of calcium per cup serving, which is 50% more than regular dairy milk.

Califia Farms oat milk
This oat milk tastes delicious and feels just like dairy milk. It has less sugar than sweetened plant milk and is an excellent source of calcium and omega-9 fatty acids. Like all the other milk products on this list, the Califia Farms oat milk doesn’t contain gums, stabilizers, or carrageenan. There’s no nuts, soy, gluten, and preservatives in it either.