Well said Martin. I agree with everything you stated. I always read Adams’s Saturday posts which are always excellent, but over the past 4-5 months had found the multiple post content on the rest of the site to be somewhat off topic at times (not personal finance related) and found myself drifting away from reading the site except for Saturday.
Kinda my point about being too sensitive. There are bigger issues in the world than worrying about someone’s up or down vote on a blog. I believe the whole issue started with a few complainers about the downvotes, and it snowballed from there. The downvote issue was a non-issue until then.
I would say (at least from my perspective) that I sometimes did comment when using the down arrow, but oftentimes did not if I was in agreement with others that already said what I agreed with- no sense in cluttering up the board with similar dialogue! As I previously said, I believe doing away with the down arrows will take away the general sense of agreement/disagreement on responses to a topic. If the board moderator prefers to do so- that's his/her decision. I think some perspective is lost with the recent change, and I think it's an accommodation to folks that are too sensitive about the arrows.
I support the downvote, as it gives a person an overall sense of how the community feels about a discussion point within a topic. The main topic (not messages about the topic) is already subject to only upvotes. I personally think some folks are too thin skinned about the feedback their messages generate. I think removing the downvote will only contribute to the proliferation of non relevant topics/messages posted on this site.
My parent did pay for a portion of his care- all of his monthly income including SS, Pension and RMD paid for his care, before Medicaid paid their portion to the NH. We were only utilizing government benefits to the extent allowed by the program. In my parent's case, his monthly obligation probably paid for about 75% of the actual NH billing. The SNT allowed us to provide additional resources to my parent such as a private room and additional agency help. I don't feel you should necessarily judge the use of a government program without fully knowing the details of the family situation- each one is quite different.
I don’t have experience with MAPT, but did use a Supplemental Needs Trust for an elderly parent that did end up on Medicaid in a nursing home setting, after several years in assisted living. The move to a nursing home was needed due to a higher need for nursing care. The SNT use was suggested by the family’s elder care attorney, and it worked out the way the attorney said it would to qualify for Medicaid. The SNT preserved the assets for the family members use, but they did not own the assets. Use of a SNT may not work for all families, but it did for us. The SNT was created upon the death of one parent who had the family assets in their name at their passing.
I wouldn’t be crazy about a big fallback, but it’s why I rebalance periodically according to my IPS. Pruning my gains helps reduce impacts from a correction when it happens, though it also mutes potential gains should markets continue to run up. I subscribe to the thought that “pigs get fat, but hogs get slaughtered”…
We’ve given the gifts with no strings attached. Looking back to myself at that age, I may not have wanted significant strings attached to similar gifts - though none were given. We’ve gifted appreciated stock (index ETFs), and have been told that the stock has not been cashed in. I believe owning these gifts give each child some measure of comfort knowing it’s there as a financial backstop if needed.
We have 2 responsible adult children that are both married. We started doing low 5 figure gifts to them annually because we felt it could be meaningful in some way at this life stage, but leave it to them on how they wish to use it. We also intend to make a much larger gift as well that could be more meaningful this year. None of these gifts will impact our retirement. We look at these gifts as a down payment on their inheritance, at a time when it may be more useful.
Comments
Well said Martin. I agree with everything you stated. I always read Adams’s Saturday posts which are always excellent, but over the past 4-5 months had found the multiple post content on the rest of the site to be somewhat off topic at times (not personal finance related) and found myself drifting away from reading the site except for Saturday.
Post: Note to HD Writers and Contributors
Link to comment from April 5, 2026
Agree. Seems that some "moderation" is going on.
Post: Where are the ladies?
Link to comment from March 28, 2026
Kinda my point about being too sensitive. There are bigger issues in the world than worrying about someone’s up or down vote on a blog. I believe the whole issue started with a few complainers about the downvotes, and it snowballed from there. The downvote issue was a non-issue until then.
Post: Let the Arrows Speak for Themselves
Link to comment from March 28, 2026
I would say (at least from my perspective) that I sometimes did comment when using the down arrow, but oftentimes did not if I was in agreement with others that already said what I agreed with- no sense in cluttering up the board with similar dialogue! As I previously said, I believe doing away with the down arrows will take away the general sense of agreement/disagreement on responses to a topic. If the board moderator prefers to do so- that's his/her decision. I think some perspective is lost with the recent change, and I think it's an accommodation to folks that are too sensitive about the arrows.
Post: Let the Arrows Speak for Themselves
Link to comment from March 28, 2026
I support the downvote, as it gives a person an overall sense of how the community feels about a discussion point within a topic. The main topic (not messages about the topic) is already subject to only upvotes. I personally think some folks are too thin skinned about the feedback their messages generate. I think removing the downvote will only contribute to the proliferation of non relevant topics/messages posted on this site.
Post: Let the Arrows Speak for Themselves
Link to comment from March 28, 2026
My parent did pay for a portion of his care- all of his monthly income including SS, Pension and RMD paid for his care, before Medicaid paid their portion to the NH. We were only utilizing government benefits to the extent allowed by the program. In my parent's case, his monthly obligation probably paid for about 75% of the actual NH billing. The SNT allowed us to provide additional resources to my parent such as a private room and additional agency help. I don't feel you should necessarily judge the use of a government program without fully knowing the details of the family situation- each one is quite different.
Post: Medicaid Asset Protection Trusts (MAPTs)
Link to comment from March 19, 2026
I don’t have experience with MAPT, but did use a Supplemental Needs Trust for an elderly parent that did end up on Medicaid in a nursing home setting, after several years in assisted living. The move to a nursing home was needed due to a higher need for nursing care. The SNT use was suggested by the family’s elder care attorney, and it worked out the way the attorney said it would to qualify for Medicaid. The SNT preserved the assets for the family members use, but they did not own the assets. Use of a SNT may not work for all families, but it did for us. The SNT was created upon the death of one parent who had the family assets in their name at their passing.
Post: Medicaid Asset Protection Trusts (MAPTs)
Link to comment from March 18, 2026
I wouldn’t be crazy about a big fallback, but it’s why I rebalance periodically according to my IPS. Pruning my gains helps reduce impacts from a correction when it happens, though it also mutes potential gains should markets continue to run up. I subscribe to the thought that “pigs get fat, but hogs get slaughtered”…
Post: How Far Back Would a 40% Drop Take Us?
Link to comment from February 26, 2026
We’ve given the gifts with no strings attached. Looking back to myself at that age, I may not have wanted significant strings attached to similar gifts - though none were given. We’ve gifted appreciated stock (index ETFs), and have been told that the stock has not been cashed in. I believe owning these gifts give each child some measure of comfort knowing it’s there as a financial backstop if needed.
Post: Helping Adult Children
Link to comment from February 8, 2026
We have 2 responsible adult children that are both married. We started doing low 5 figure gifts to them annually because we felt it could be meaningful in some way at this life stage, but leave it to them on how they wish to use it. We also intend to make a much larger gift as well that could be more meaningful this year. None of these gifts will impact our retirement. We look at these gifts as a down payment on their inheritance, at a time when it may be more useful.
Post: Helping Adult Children
Link to comment from February 8, 2026