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    • My wife and I both purchased LTCI in our early 30s back in 2000 with an initial $200 daily benefit, a compound benefit increase rider and a lifetime benefit option. We opted for a 90-day waiting period in an effort to keep premiums manageable. Our daily benefit has grown to 645.00 due to the compound interest rider. This is a very healthy daily benefit when compared to average LTC cost per day for facilities in our area (you can lookup average cost in your area using the Genworth cost of care survey). Our purchase of coverage, admittedly at an uncommonly young age for LTCI, was tied to witnessing three of our four parents (and a handful of aunts and uncles) each requiring some form LTC as they aged. Both of her parents ended up requiring long term care in their late 50s / early 60s before they passed. Initial premiums back in 2000 were pegged to our ages at the time of purchase (quite low compared to those purchasing coverage in their 50s or 60s). Despite significant rate increases every other year or so since, our current annual cost is still manageable with both of us still working and in our late 50s. Granted, after we retire things make look a bit different, as we just realized a 20% increase in our premiums for 2025. Our LTCI insurer has offered some options to reduce premium cost by:

      1. Removing the compound benefit rider -or- swapping it out for a simple interest rider (a swap-out may be an viable option to consider later on)
      2. Reduce benefit period from lifetime to 5 yrs or 2 years (the 5 year benefit is plausible, but not right away)
      3. Increase our waiting period for benefits to begin from 90 days to 180 days or even 1 year (neither is particularly appealing...at least not yet)
      For now, we are going to hang on with our plans as-is (our LTCI cost combined is currently $5,400 per year). Based on premiums we've heard quoted by family and friends who bought LTCI coverage later in life, we almost feel lucky to pay the amount we do for our coverage. After we both retire, tweaks to our plan as outlined above may be back on the table for discussion. Given our family health history, there is significant peace of mind that comes with these premium payments.

      Post: How Are You Planning to Pay for Potential Long Term Care Expenses?

      Link to comment from February 5, 2025

    • It's may be somewhat redundant with a few items in the list, but I've always equated having enough money with choice. The freedom to choose how much I spend, where I spend it, when (and on whom) I choose to spend it. Delivering pizzas past midnight in the cold of winter back when I was 19 was not a choice - it was a financial necessity. In my late 50s, given our long-term investments and cash savings, I have the choice of never needing to do that type of work anymore. Just one example of the freedom of choice that money provides me.

      Post: What Drives You? By Jonathan Clements

      Link to comment from January 24, 2025

    • Similar to others, I use Quicken (Premier edition), which auto-updates most of our investment account balances daily with real-time share #s and the prior day's NAV. Quicken also updates our HH net worth daily, showing the net worth total at the bottom of our account list on the left side of the page. The idea of using a brokerage company's website to aggregate and update the values for our multiple investment accounts makes me more than a little bit skittish (call it "big brother" paranoia, if you like). I don't want to risk the chance of information from our investment accounts (in particular, the accounts we hold elsewhere) being data-mined and potentially used for future marketing efforts by our current brokerage company. Added Quicken bonus: reconciling all our cash accounts (including checking / CC / MMKT) is a breeze. Any occasional errant transactions posted to our credit card jump out quickly, in contrast to days of old, when we would manually review each end-of-month CC paper statement. Most importantly, our son (who serves as our backup POA & executor) has our Quicken password in case of my premature demise. Living half a continent away, he has access to a backup copy of our Quicken data (the data file updates and "auto-saves" each day to an encrypted / password protected family cloud account). Should my departure occur sooner than hoped, he can readily assist my wife with any account questions and financial decisions, with both parties looking at the same Quicken data. We have done yearly test runs on this exercise (a fire drill, so to speak) and had no issues to date. Time is my most treasured asset in this phase of life. After 30+ years of using Quicken, I couldn't possibly keep track of everything with any degree of accuracy and consistency, absent my investing significant hours to build-out an excel spreadsheet and then perpetually update the various spreadsheet account values. For simplicity and added peace of mind, Quicken is the best $95.88 we spend each year.

      Post: How Often Do You Calculate Your Net Worth And Why

      Link to comment from December 1, 2024

    • Marjorie, thank you for the thoughtful reflection of your lifelong friendship. Your segue into the joys of automats in New York triggered some fond memories of my "gap" year away from college that I spent living in New York City back in the mid-80s. The old Horn and Hardart automat near the corner of 6th Ave. and West 57th (which I'm told was the the largest automat in their chain) had been converted in the early 80's into an Art-Deco style delicatessen, with a max seating capacity of more than 500! In the "city that never sleeps" the New York Delicatessen was open 24x7. I waited tables on the graveyard shift from 9 pm - 6 am. As a server, I rubbed shoulders with many notable actors, athletes, musicians, and more than a few of the "working girls" from the local area (a number of those ladies were my best tippers). What an adventure for an 18 year old new to the big city! The restaurant was mammoth in size, with a 2nd floor balcony seating area that overlooked the 1st floor dining room. It required a full kitchen on each floor during the lunch rush to serve all their patrons. The interior designers retained many of the original automat fixtures as a tribute to this location's storied history. I do wish that I had taken a few photos from back then! Sadly, time marches on, and this West 57th location is now a glass and steel high rise tower. But it's fun to reminisce around those days in NYC and the "things that aren't there anymore".

      Post: My Inheritance

      Link to comment from September 26, 2024

    • For me, the "Grand Canyon of PA", located on the Tioga-Potter county line is the prettiest little slice of heaven (with none of the crowds found at the "other" Grand Canyon). Serenity, nice people, small hamlets and some great fishing are to be had. Link (which includes a video of the canyon): https://www.visitpottertioga.com/activities/pennsylvania-grand-canyon

      Post: First Place by Jonathan Clements

      Link to comment from September 6, 2024

    • Great post, Dan - in my profession, they refer to early morning coffee clubs as the daily gathering of the "Waffle House wise men"...

      Post: My Breakfast Club

      Link to comment from August 3, 2024

    • Thank you, Jonathan - great hear that there will be someone quietly handling the prefect duties on Forum comments. I also appreciate the vote of confidence for future Forum contributions.

      Post: Raise Your Voice

      Link to comment from June 23, 2024

    • As I quickly approach the 18th tee of my "life's work", I've recently toyed with the idea of submitting an occasional column to Jonathan for HD consideration (more likely something that I'd do in a year or so, when the day job ends). The "new" HD Forums structure will likely (by necessity) be the venue for future new contributors, like me. But it will only still be around if HD readers can get past the psychological stigma of thinking that "I'm not knowledgable enough / I am not an expert". It's only a hunch, but I suspect that this psychological barrier to entry is likely what made the prior HD iteration (Voices feature) so underutilized. I'm ok with being be a little vulnerable and certainly open to constructive feedback, but the current civil discourse found within within current HD reader comments must be one thing that cannot change if this new HD structure is to survive...and hopefully thrive! The historically friendly and polite exchange of ideas found in the reader comments has been what differentiates the HD brand from so many other financial blogs that have come and gone in the internet era. As a collective group, HD readers can generally "agree to disagree, without being disagreeable".

      Post: Raise Your Voice

      Link to comment from June 23, 2024

    • Adam - your analogy of helping your clients to see bonds in their portfolio as a type of insurance was pure gold. So simple, yet the example resonated with this reader. Alternative "barbell" strategies using S&P and even when claiming SS benefits as a couple and/or annuitizing a portion of your retirement savings to allow for greater market risk elsewhere in a portfolio - these little nuggets were also quite helpful. A solid article (as is the norm). Thank you, sir!

      Post: Raising the Bar

      Link to comment from June 23, 2024

    • Dick - your thoughtful and reflective comment to Jonathan in this sad moment reinforces the humility that helps make HD such a special place. Thank you for your willingness to be a bit vulnerable. We don't always agree on matters of finance or in style of communication, but you also have been a valued part of the tapestry of diverse opinions that makes HD such a special place. An Irish prayer is offered for you and Connie as you navigate together the uncertain road ahead.

      Post: The C Word

      Link to comment from June 15, 2024

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