Thanks for your article. This subject is something I have grappled with. As a homeowner in California, home insurance is always a matter of interest to discuss. I am not in a high fire danger area but as we have seen, even areas with moderate fire risk can end up with devastating fires. I also have USAA for insurance and a few years ago I discovered a new form in my policy entitled the “Home Characteristic Form”. I later learned it was a new form required by the state of California. To my surprise, the home described on the form was not my home. For instance, the home was listed as having only one sliding door when I have three. The form showed one HVAC system when I have two. The form showed all my countertops were standard laminate. I have all marble and granite. The form showed one fireplace when I have two. Additionally, since purchasing the home I had remodeled my backyard and the upgrades were not listed because I had never thought to update my policy with the remodel details. I decided to call USAA and went through the document line by line. Like you, in the end, my policy increased, but I now believe my policy is now more realistic in regards to re-building cost.
I am married and when I realized how high the tax rate might be for the surviving spouse (single filing status the year after spouse passes), I decided Roth conversions were necessary despite the tax hit.
For what ever reason, generally women are pressured to stay younger looking as they get older. Thus, the need for $300 in makeup. Not so true for men. As an example, go look at a picture of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. I was surprised to learn they are only one year apart in age.
After what I experienced during Covid, I decided to research prepaid funeral and cremation services. My mother died from Covid during the shutdown. Thank goodness she had pre-purchased a cremation policy from the Neptune Society . There were so many problems with the whole system due to the shutdown. Everything was delayed. But Neptune had to deal with them, not myself or my family. Because of her pre-planning we were able to obtain her ashes about two months after she passed and held a private funeral a year later. Because of that experience after doing quite a bit of research, I also purchased a cremation policy for myself, and a burial plan for my husband. I liked that I could purchase insurance to pay to have our remains moved to where we were living at our deaths and/or where we wanted to be buried or cremated. We enjoy traveling and we did not want my family to have to make all the necessary arrangements, while they are grieving, if either of us passed away from home. I also did not want to have the situation where a relative has to pull out their credit card to pay for everything and then later, figure out who pays what. During my research, my husband and I discovered we both had very different wishes for our burial and funeral arrangements. I want to be cremated. He does not. I want my ashes scattered in the ocean. He wants his body to be transported to another state to be buried next to his parents. Thus we purchased a preplanned burial and service package from the funeral home where his parents were buried. This took quite a bit of work! And it was not cheap. Therefore we are on a payment plan. Hopefully it will be paid off and none of our relatives will be asked to pay the remainder due upon our death . Plus, because of legislation, in most states, if you do not use the service you paid for, your heirs get a refund. In my opinion, the more details you can give to your family regarding your burial wishes, the better. And if you pre-pay some of these services, that’s even better.
Thank you Jonathan for all the knowledge you have shared through the years. Humble Dollar is my must read every morning and I have shared your site with many friends and family. True to form, I should’ve known that you would have a legacy plan.
Interesting that Chat GPT provided Vanguard Funds as an example and included an International Fund recommendation. I asked Chat-GPT to write a similar article but to identity 3 Fidelity funds. It named a similar bond fund and total index fund but instead of an International Fund it named a REIT fund.
What an interesting journey and thanks for the book list. I intend to check them out at the library to see what else I can learn. As a former social worker, who is now a retired judge I too have seen many individuals who could use a helping hand due to circumstances out of their control or due to lack of education. Your new project sounds interesting and I will keep an eye out for your upcoming website. And thanks again Jonathan for this wonderful newsletter. Their is nothing else like it and I am always learning something new.
Fun! I’m retired. So is my husband. But since he receives a pension I marked him as employed and entered net yearly income from pension. However, why do you not ask for debt from mortgage?
The scam involving telling someone that their grandchild needs money after being arrested in a foreign country happened to my mother when she was in her 80’s. Luckily, she called me to ask if it were true. This was a wake up call for me as prior to this my mother would have never believed this and would have know immediately it was a scam. After this while she continued to oversee her investments, she agreed to a system where she kept only few months worth of needed funds in her bank account. In order to transfer more money into the fund she would call her investment advisor to request and the advisor would then have to call me to confirm funds could be transferred. The system worked very well. She was able to maintain a sense of financial independence for many years while I was able to insure that the bulk of her funds were safe from financial predators.
Comments
Thanks for your article. This subject is something I have grappled with. As a homeowner in California, home insurance is always a matter of interest to discuss. I am not in a high fire danger area but as we have seen, even areas with moderate fire risk can end up with devastating fires. I also have USAA for insurance and a few years ago I discovered a new form in my policy entitled the “Home Characteristic Form”. I later learned it was a new form required by the state of California. To my surprise, the home described on the form was not my home. For instance, the home was listed as having only one sliding door when I have three. The form showed one HVAC system when I have two. The form showed all my countertops were standard laminate. I have all marble and granite. The form showed one fireplace when I have two. Additionally, since purchasing the home I had remodeled my backyard and the upgrades were not listed because I had never thought to update my policy with the remodel details. I decided to call USAA and went through the document line by line. Like you, in the end, my policy increased, but I now believe my policy is now more realistic in regards to re-building cost.
Post: Wherever You Live, Your Home is (Probably) Under-Insured
Link to comment from April 11, 2025
I am married and when I realized how high the tax rate might be for the surviving spouse (single filing status the year after spouse passes), I decided Roth conversions were necessary despite the tax hit.
Post: To Roth Convert or Not
Link to comment from March 4, 2025
For what ever reason, generally women are pressured to stay younger looking as they get older. Thus, the need for $300 in makeup. Not so true for men. As an example, go look at a picture of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. I was surprised to learn they are only one year apart in age.
Post: Women and men are different. Quinn’s in trouble again
Link to comment from August 20, 2024
After what I experienced during Covid, I decided to research prepaid funeral and cremation services. My mother died from Covid during the shutdown. Thank goodness she had pre-purchased a cremation policy from the Neptune Society . There were so many problems with the whole system due to the shutdown. Everything was delayed. But Neptune had to deal with them, not myself or my family. Because of her pre-planning we were able to obtain her ashes about two months after she passed and held a private funeral a year later. Because of that experience after doing quite a bit of research, I also purchased a cremation policy for myself, and a burial plan for my husband. I liked that I could purchase insurance to pay to have our remains moved to where we were living at our deaths and/or where we wanted to be buried or cremated. We enjoy traveling and we did not want my family to have to make all the necessary arrangements, while they are grieving, if either of us passed away from home. I also did not want to have the situation where a relative has to pull out their credit card to pay for everything and then later, figure out who pays what. During my research, my husband and I discovered we both had very different wishes for our burial and funeral arrangements. I want to be cremated. He does not. I want my ashes scattered in the ocean. He wants his body to be transported to another state to be buried next to his parents. Thus we purchased a preplanned burial and service package from the funeral home where his parents were buried. This took quite a bit of work! And it was not cheap. Therefore we are on a payment plan. Hopefully it will be paid off and none of our relatives will be asked to pay the remainder due upon our death . Plus, because of legislation, in most states, if you do not use the service you paid for, your heirs get a refund. In my opinion, the more details you can give to your family regarding your burial wishes, the better. And if you pre-pay some of these services, that’s even better.
Post: Signing up for pre-planned funeral services – Is it worth it?
Link to comment from July 24, 2024
Thank you Jonathan for all the knowledge you have shared through the years. Humble Dollar is my must read every morning and I have shared your site with many friends and family. True to form, I should’ve known that you would have a legacy plan.
Post: Raise Your Voice
Link to comment from June 23, 2024
Interesting that Chat GPT provided Vanguard Funds as an example and included an International Fund recommendation. I asked Chat-GPT to write a similar article but to identity 3 Fidelity funds. It named a similar bond fund and total index fund but instead of an International Fund it named a REIT fund.
Post: All You Need Is Three
Link to comment from May 27, 2024
It appears the technology does not exist to keep our personal information stored by others safe.
Post: Passing Them On
Link to comment from July 7, 2023
What an interesting journey and thanks for the book list. I intend to check them out at the library to see what else I can learn. As a former social worker, who is now a retired judge I too have seen many individuals who could use a helping hand due to circumstances out of their control or due to lack of education. Your new project sounds interesting and I will keep an eye out for your upcoming website. And thanks again Jonathan for this wonderful newsletter. Their is nothing else like it and I am always learning something new.
Post: Free to Give
Link to comment from July 5, 2023
Fun! I’m retired. So is my husband. But since he receives a pension I marked him as employed and entered net yearly income from pension. However, why do you not ask for debt from mortgage?
Post: Two-Minute Checkup
Link to comment from August 6, 2022
The scam involving telling someone that their grandchild needs money after being arrested in a foreign country happened to my mother when she was in her 80’s. Luckily, she called me to ask if it were true. This was a wake up call for me as prior to this my mother would have never believed this and would have know immediately it was a scam. After this while she continued to oversee her investments, she agreed to a system where she kept only few months worth of needed funds in her bank account. In order to transfer more money into the fund she would call her investment advisor to request and the advisor would then have to call me to confirm funds could be transferred. The system worked very well. She was able to maintain a sense of financial independence for many years while I was able to insure that the bulk of her funds were safe from financial predators.
Post: Bad Guy on Line One
Link to comment from August 4, 2022