When I was a kid, my Dad was in the Real Estate business. He would sometimes come home telling my mother that he had to deal with “Uncle Charlie” today on a home showing. My father would say,“Showed a house to a nice young couple today, they brought their Uncle Charlie along for the ride.”
He used to tell me that Uncle Charlie was just a representation or a nick name of sorts for the type of person he was dealing with at times. Uncle Charlie would always make sure his 2 cents were heard.
“That room is too small”
“These sink fixtures need replaced”
“This house needs painted”
“You know, this house is not in the best part of town”
“Lots of traffic on this road”
Well, you get the point. Uncle Charlie is an expert on everything, knows everything about everything, and nothing about nothing. Also, Uncle Charlie is very quick and consistent on making sure their opinion is not only heard but stated as fact. Usually, Uncle Charlie has nothing positive to contribute about the subject, and his end goal is not to be happy, but to be right. After my dad would tell me the story of the day’s Uncle Charlie episode, I would ask “What did you say to him dad?”. He always came back with the same reply:
“I would just ask “Tell me sir, which one are you coming up with – The Down Payment, or The Monthly Payment?” He said that usually shut them up for good.
I use the term “Uncle Charlie” as a representation, or nick name as well. Medicare has LOTS of Uncle Charlies. Maybe your Uncle Charlie is your hair dresser, your neighbor, your older brother or sister, your facebook friends, etc… Or Maybe, just maybe, YOU may be the Uncle Charlie at times. Uncle Charlies are very dangerous and can ruin your healthcare for the rest of your life. The real problem is that when seeking out advice on Medicare, folks naturally migrate to the Uncle Charlies before getting the advice of an expert in the field. Why would a person who was an electrician all their working life know everything about Medicare? It’s a good question, but folks will still ask the electrician’s (Uncle Charlies) for Medicare advice.
An additional problem is that Uncle Charlie has NOTHING good to say about anything. Negativity is FUN! If it weren’t there wouldn’t be news on every other cable channel with nothing positive to report. It’s sexy. We love it. It’s more fun to tell somebody else the nonfactual negative things about Medicare then to talk about how great it is when you must use it. That’s boring! So, Uncle Charlie is believed when listened to, and considered an expert.
Before you start looking into your Medicare needs, sit and think about WHO your Uncle Charlies are, and you do know who they are. Most of you reading this have already thought about that. I’m going to tell you, as you will here me talk about repeatedly, that Medicare is the GREATEST healthcare in this country. Bar none! If… you do it right. If you do it wrong, you will someday regret what you did at 65, and you will forget that it was Uncle Charlie who convinced you to do what you did. Be careful. Get advice from an expert (Like Me) or someone like me whom you like, can trust, and you know can help you. And… DON’T listen to Uncle Charlie. Trust me, he is wrong every time.
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