I wish I could have financial conversations with my wife, but she is "hands-off" with our financial stuff. I occasionally share financial information with my children, primarily that our income is greater than our expenses and that our travel bug is our way of spending down their inheritance. No specific figures. They both say "we don't need your money". I do have a "time's up" document for wife and kids to access and manage the financial stuff. Because those closest to me respond in those ways, I have no inclination to share financial info with friends. Will this change as I age???
Mark: Similar to what my wife told me last week when I was mulching up the leaves in my yard. Look on the bright side! At least you got a bit of exercise raking. You might consider wearing earbuds and listening to music or a podcast.
I remember donating plasma during my college years to provide a bit of spending money, $5 for each donation. Now, I'd rather participate in Red Cross blood drives.
Good perspective! We have only had to deal with IRMAA 1 year out of the 3 applicable years while on Medicare, so that's a good thing. However, the "cliff" approach is what got us (wife's transfer of IRA $ to savings account and thus, "income"), and I wish that could be replaced by a sliding scale, even at the risk of making our tax code and calculations even more complicated. All in all, I believe in looking at IRMAA as the reduction of a subsidy rather than as a tax, and I'm glad to be in a financial situation where we need to pay attention to income, tax brackets, and such.
Good topic to raise as most all will all face this situation, one spouse passing before the other, in our lifetime. I try to keep my wife aware of our financial situation, but she either trusts me too much or simply doesn't want to get more involved. This concerns me, as I will likely not outlive her, so I share the most important components of our finances and have prepared a list of accounts, log-in and password credentials, names and contact information, etc. for her (and our 2 children) for whenever it is needed.
Same for me, although I update figures in my Excel spreadsheets instead of Quicken. I look nearly daily at my 10 accounts (2 credit cards, 5 bank accounts, and 3 Vanguard accounts) primarily to make sure no scammers have taken advantage of our financial resources. I don't have any interest in rebalancing since a good share of our investments are held in TDF's which do the balancing for us.
That has happened with our calculations also, so I agree that waiting to 70 so my COLA's are acting on a larger number works better for my wife's future income.
Comments
I wish I could have financial conversations with my wife, but she is "hands-off" with our financial stuff. I occasionally share financial information with my children, primarily that our income is greater than our expenses and that our travel bug is our way of spending down their inheritance. No specific figures. They both say "we don't need your money". I do have a "time's up" document for wife and kids to access and manage the financial stuff. Because those closest to me respond in those ways, I have no inclination to share financial info with friends. Will this change as I age???
Post: Discussing money matters with friends- a slippery slope
Link to comment from November 30, 2025
Yep, leave no doubt you're listening to something else already. Problem solved!
Post: Four People, One Stupid Observation
Link to comment from November 17, 2025
Mark: Similar to what my wife told me last week when I was mulching up the leaves in my yard. Look on the bright side! At least you got a bit of exercise raking. You might consider wearing earbuds and listening to music or a podcast.
Post: Four People, One Stupid Observation
Link to comment from November 17, 2025
I remember donating plasma during my college years to provide a bit of spending money, $5 for each donation. Now, I'd rather participate in Red Cross blood drives.
Post: Seed Money
Link to comment from November 6, 2025
Good perspective! We have only had to deal with IRMAA 1 year out of the 3 applicable years while on Medicare, so that's a good thing. However, the "cliff" approach is what got us (wife's transfer of IRA $ to savings account and thus, "income"), and I wish that could be replaced by a sliding scale, even at the risk of making our tax code and calculations even more complicated. All in all, I believe in looking at IRMAA as the reduction of a subsidy rather than as a tax, and I'm glad to be in a financial situation where we need to pay attention to income, tax brackets, and such.
Post: IRMAA 2026 Of course it is fair
Link to comment from November 2, 2025
Good topic to raise as most all will all face this situation, one spouse passing before the other, in our lifetime. I try to keep my wife aware of our financial situation, but she either trusts me too much or simply doesn't want to get more involved. This concerns me, as I will likely not outlive her, so I share the most important components of our finances and have prepared a list of accounts, log-in and password credentials, names and contact information, etc. for her (and our 2 children) for whenever it is needed.
Post: Untangling finances
Link to comment from November 2, 2025
You sure do stimulate discussion! Keep it up!
Post: Seniors are a frustrating lot. Here’s why…IMO
Link to comment from October 29, 2025
Same for me, although I update figures in my Excel spreadsheets instead of Quicken. I look nearly daily at my 10 accounts (2 credit cards, 5 bank accounts, and 3 Vanguard accounts) primarily to make sure no scammers have taken advantage of our financial resources. I don't have any interest in rebalancing since a good share of our investments are held in TDF's which do the balancing for us.
Post: I don’t know. Or care. But I will at the end of April.
Link to comment from October 28, 2025
That has happened with our calculations also, so I agree that waiting to 70 so my COLA's are acting on a larger number works better for my wife's future income.
Post: Social Security subject beaten to death, but one more time please
Link to comment from October 25, 2025
This great article is an example of why I read Humble Dollar! Thanks, Adam!
Post: The Paradox of Smart Money Decisions
Link to comment from October 25, 2025