Emilie Babcox

Comments:

• I have a good friend who never wanted to go to college while she was in high school. No one in her family had attended college, and she didn't like studying or classes. Nevertheless, she signed up for a bus trip to visit a nearby college simply because it was free and meant a day away from school. During the tour, she was unimpressed by everything the group learned about classes, professors, dorms, cultural events, etc. It all seemed irrelevant to someone who assumed she would immediately begin working 9-5 in a shop or factory after graduation, just like everyone else she knew. Then the group walked through the student center/cafeteria. My friend was astounded to see people about her own age laughing, eating, smoking, and having fun in the middle of the afternoon. She instantly decided that she would go to college after all. Though she freely admits that she went to college mainly to have fun (and she pursued that path diligently), she ended up with a career in social work and helped hundreds of people before she retired. But she always maintained that she went to college in order to be able to sit around with friends and smoke cigarettes every afternoon without being forced to hurry back to a job.

  Post: Ranking Colleges

  Link to comment from October 1, 2024

• I worked at the Lake Forest Oasis (Fred Harvey's) summers and weekends in the late sixties. Got the job the second I turned 16, and worked as many hours as I could until I left for college. One of the last of the Harvey Girls. I was recently remembering that it was very common back then for people to order a small glass of tomato juice before dinner - not a tomato juice cocktail, just a small glass of tomato juice. I haven't seen those on menus in decades. BTW, my salary was 65 cents an hour, which was also the price of a hamburger. :)

  Post: Food for Thought by Ken Cutler

  Link to comment from October 1, 2024

• I don't quite understand. Does living in a CCRC impinge on one's independence? I know many people who live in CCRCs, and they seem quite independent to me. A couple are in their 90s and have lived very happily in a CCRC for almost 30 years. Perhaps you are thinking that they have invested most of their money in the initial fee and then will not be able to afford to leave if they discover that they don't like the place, or it changes. I suppose that is possible, and detailed advance research is needed before making a move to a CCRC. But how many people want to make a big move in their 80s or 90s? And the same thing could happen to you if you are living in your own home and have a medical situation - except that you might not be able to choose your own place of residence in that case. Someone else might be forced to decide where you will live and receive care, and you may not have much input.

  Post: I Know Your Blind Spot

  Link to comment from August 17, 2024

• I was planning to retire in 2020, but when my employer moved to all remote work during the pandemic, I decided to keep working because one of the things I least enjoyed about work was the daily commute into Philadelphia on SEPTA, especially when weather was excessively hot/cold/snowy/rainy. On nice days I enjoyed the 45-minute train ride and 10-minute walk from 30th Street Station. However, working from home was a breeze! Why retire just when there was nothing much else I could do anyway during the start of the pandemic lockdown? This turned out to be a great decision for our finances, as well. I finally retired at the end of 2022, at the age of nearly 71, having made nice gains in my pension and my SS benefit. I was even able to put the maximum amount into my 403b during that last year of work, something I had never been able to do before. I told my manager early in 2022 that I would retire at the end of the year. Because I was the only person in the company doing my particular job, during most of that year I met once a week via Zoom with a small team, explaining and mapping out exactly what I did, so that 1) together we could look for ways to improve processes and 2) I would leave behind clear instructions for a successor. This process was very enjoyable. I had planned to work until December 31, but in the fall HR informed me that everyone retiring before December 1 would receive a 4% pension increase for 2023, and I would be wise to take advantage of that, so I did. We had a nice little retirement party in person in November. All in all, it worked out very well, largely thanks to a generous employer and great colleagues. Everyone knew that I would be retiring for about a year before I actually did, and the only downside to that that I can think of is that I became aware of a few people who really wanted my job and made it known, and I knew that some of them would inevitably be disappointed. It really was a great job.

  Post: How Did You Announce Your Retirement?

  Link to comment from August 14, 2024

• I have an American Express Cash Rewards card with an annual fee of $95. We use it mostly for groceries because it gives us 6% cashback at US grocery stores. It's 3% or 1% for other things, but we use it almost exclusively for groceries. Last year our cashback reward was $290, so we have been a little more consistent about using the card this year, and so far our 2024 cashback is up to $331. I plan to claim it at the end of December, when it will make a nice difference on our January CC bill (which we always pay in full, so there are no interest charges to interfere). Seems like a reasonably good deal to me. The initial bonus for signing up was really great, too, if I remember correctly.

  Post: Are Credit Card Usage Fees out of hand? Ben asked, Connor obliged.

  Link to comment from August 9, 2024