Saturday was the perfect day to do the leaves here - sunny and no wind. My neighbor did his. However, the township's leaf pickup is scheduled for the week of November 24th, and I also checked the weather forecast for Sunday (yesterday) - cold with 35mph wind gusts. I looked outside at 7am on Sunday to see leaves flying everywhere, mostly down our driveway because the wind funnels everything in the cul-de-sac to our house. Of course this is beside the point of your post, Mark, but sometimes it's good to wait. I'll spend a good few hours doing leaves this coming weekend, and anything that gets to our yard after that can stay until Spring. Oh, and no neighbor comments for me. I'll be using a gas-powered leaf blower and wearing ear protection. I tried raking the leaves in our first year in this house, and after a day of raking I'd cleaned up maybe 10% of the leaves, and had blisters. I bought the leaf blower next time it went on sale and never looked back.
My father-in-law still worked part-time until a few months before he died at age 85. My mother-in-law, who never worked in the US, currently gets $3516.80 per months in SS, after Medicare fees are taken out. That's a pretty good survivor benefit. She's 96 and in good shape. For us, it's not just about the survivor benefit, although that is a consideration. We also have to do the math on Roth conversions, taxes, IRMAA surcharges, and the opportunity cost of drawing down our portfolio for eight years before taking SS at 70.
That's my main concern with claiming early. Most of our investments are in our 401(k)s, and it may be better to do Roth conversions for as long as possible before claiming SS.
My favorite comfort food at the moment is baked ziti pizza from one of our many local Italian restaurants. My wife knows that fine dining is completely wasted on me, so I happily send her off to eat with her foodie friends while I stay home and enjoy not spending $$ on something I have no interest in. Now when it comes to chocolate, again we're opposites. She can happily eat Hershey's, whereas I've been known to spend a day on a personal chocolate tour of NYC (stores such as La Maison du Chocolate, Jaques Torres, Teuscher, Neuhaus, Royce, Leonidas, and Laderach.)
I work for a financial company, and I suspect they purposely limit the available funds in our 401(k) to drive people to funds run by their business partners, with high expense ratios.The fund selection is terrible. There isn't even a total market index fund such as VTI or FZROX.No big deal, though, I'll be retired in a couple of years and will just move everything to Fidelity.
Hi Rick, yes, once we retire I will consolidate everything at Fidelity. I have a few household accounts there already, and I've been happy with their customer service. I work for a financial company, and I suspect they purposely limit the available funds in our 401(k) to drive people to funds with high expense ratios, and of course their own business partners.
Comments
Saturday was the perfect day to do the leaves here - sunny and no wind. My neighbor did his. However, the township's leaf pickup is scheduled for the week of November 24th, and I also checked the weather forecast for Sunday (yesterday) - cold with 35mph wind gusts. I looked outside at 7am on Sunday to see leaves flying everywhere, mostly down our driveway because the wind funnels everything in the cul-de-sac to our house. Of course this is beside the point of your post, Mark, but sometimes it's good to wait. I'll spend a good few hours doing leaves this coming weekend, and anything that gets to our yard after that can stay until Spring. Oh, and no neighbor comments for me. I'll be using a gas-powered leaf blower and wearing ear protection. I tried raking the leaves in our first year in this house, and after a day of raking I'd cleaned up maybe 10% of the leaves, and had blisters. I bought the leaf blower next time it went on sale and never looked back.
Post: Four People, One Stupid Observation
Link to comment from November 17, 2025
Or you can go on ebay right now and buy a 100 Trillion Dollar bill from Zimbabwe for a whopping $12.50 and be richer than Elon!
Post: I think billionaires are under appreciated
Link to comment from November 17, 2025
My father-in-law still worked part-time until a few months before he died at age 85. My mother-in-law, who never worked in the US, currently gets $3516.80 per months in SS, after Medicare fees are taken out. That's a pretty good survivor benefit. She's 96 and in good shape. For us, it's not just about the survivor benefit, although that is a consideration. We also have to do the math on Roth conversions, taxes, IRMAA surcharges, and the opportunity cost of drawing down our portfolio for eight years before taking SS at 70.
Post: The Messy Human side of Social Security Claiming
Link to comment from November 16, 2025
That's my main concern with claiming early. Most of our investments are in our 401(k)s, and it may be better to do Roth conversions for as long as possible before claiming SS.
Post: THE REAL RETURN ON DELAYING SOCIAL SECURITY
Link to comment from November 13, 2025
Neuhaus is my sweet spot for price vs satisfaction. I won't eat Hershey's milk chocolate even if it's the only chocolate left in the house.
Post: Three Peas and a Reality Check. (A Very Tiny Rant)
Link to comment from November 5, 2025
I must keep an eye out for that. I'll be in Ireland for a few weeks in December.
Post: Three Peas and a Reality Check. (A Very Tiny Rant)
Link to comment from November 5, 2025
My favorite comfort food at the moment is baked ziti pizza from one of our many local Italian restaurants. My wife knows that fine dining is completely wasted on me, so I happily send her off to eat with her foodie friends while I stay home and enjoy not spending $$ on something I have no interest in. Now when it comes to chocolate, again we're opposites. She can happily eat Hershey's, whereas I've been known to spend a day on a personal chocolate tour of NYC (stores such as La Maison du Chocolate, Jaques Torres, Teuscher, Neuhaus, Royce, Leonidas, and Laderach.)
Post: Three Peas and a Reality Check. (A Very Tiny Rant)
Link to comment from November 4, 2025
I work for a financial company, and I suspect they purposely limit the available funds in our 401(k) to drive people to funds run by their business partners, with high expense ratios. The fund selection is terrible. There isn't even a total market index fund such as VTI or FZROX. No big deal, though, I'll be retired in a couple of years and will just move everything to Fidelity.
Post: How do Couples Rebalance with Multiple Accounts
Link to comment from November 1, 2025
Hi Rick, yes, once we retire I will consolidate everything at Fidelity. I have a few household accounts there already, and I've been happy with their customer service. I work for a financial company, and I suspect they purposely limit the available funds in our 401(k) to drive people to funds with high expense ratios, and of course their own business partners.
Post: How do Couples Rebalance with Multiple Accounts
Link to comment from November 1, 2025
We plan on avoiding Medicare Advantage like the plague.
Post: John Oliver does a complete show skewering Medicare Advantage
Link to comment from October 31, 2025