Hello Jeff. We had the same problem with our gutters. We had new gutters installed with leaf guards, and all worked fine here in southeastern PA for about two years or so. Then I noticed that the gutters were overflowing at the downspout locations. Small leaf debris got into the gutters and accumulated right over the downspout connection. I then noticed that the gutter opening to the 3x4 downspout was only about 2 inches in diameter, and this was the cause of the plugging. I found the perfect solution online--there's a very inexpensive device called a funnel drain connection that is mounted to the gutter, after an approximate 4x6 inch opening is cut from the bottom of the gutter. It's called a "Wide Mouth High Backed Downspout Gutter Funnel", or "Aquabarrel". I got several of them on Amazon, and they work like a charm!! Any small debris that gets through the gutter guards gets flushed right out of the downspout--no more clogging!! It's relatively inexpensive, less than $30 each. I don't like going up on the ladder anymore, so I had a local maintenance guy install them for us, at a very reasonable cost! I think these will solve your problem!!
Hi again Ken and Richard. I just looked up the literature that was presented to me with the early retirement package. To summarize: "Your Special Payment will be made from the Service Annuity Plan-the pension plan- to the extent possible in accordance with rules established under Section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code." We were offered four options for receiving this payout (in my case 15 months salary): 1) One time cash payment-with taxes withheld); 2) Monthly annuity with a 50% Joint and Survivor Benefit; 3) Monthly Single Life Annuity; or 4) Direct Rollover to an IRA or other qualified retirement plan---this is the option I selected. The whole lump sum I received was rolled (tax free!!) into my IRA. It was a fantastic deal and has been growing for over 24 years!!
Thank you Ken! Best of luck and health and happiness to you and your wife and children in the future. You are certainly astute with all the intricacies and interactions of your spreadsheets to calculate and track financial issues that you've shared with us in previous articles!
Ken: You are totally correct. I took advantage of the retirement offer because we had saved and invested for the 30 years that I did work as an engineer. This provided a solid financial footing for us. There were other coworkers that were annoyed that the company hadn't told them that this special retirement offer wasn't announced 5 or more years earlier, as then they would have started saving more. I told them that the company wasn't providing this 'retirement offer' to be 'nice'--it was being offered for them to save money, and I was totally ready to take advantage of it when it was offered. The company had offered early retirement options several times in the 1990s, and I wanted to be ready if one was offered again--and it was in 2000! I couldn't resist the offer of my pension, health care, a lump sum 15 month salary payout which I rolled into my 401k. And we have been living 'happily ever after'!! Thanks for your kind comments!
Richard: I'm almost 75 years old now, and wife almost 74. We've always been frugal (not cheap) and thrifty--one of the points in the Boy Scout Law, and are very generous tippers! We saved and invested, didn't purchase needless items or ever waste money on junk. We aren't on any social media--I like to fly 'under the radar' so to speak. We still have the beautiful kitchen/cabinets that were built with our home in 1950, and never had to do a remodeling project except appliance upgrades over time--we love our home as it was built and still love its design and layout. We did all own landscaping and shrub/tree plantings and changes, painting, etc. I always made sure that my wife and children would be financially fit and secure if anything ever happened to me. It wasn't hard for me, and my wife has similar values. And yes, we are very financially secure today with my pension, SS, and RMDs. In fact, things have been so good since I retired over 24 years ago that I haven't had to touch any of our non-retirement or retirement investments (with the exception of required RMDs which started several years ago). We have financial 'freedom'! Money doesn't buy happiness--it gave us the freedom and options to do anything we wanted and will do in the future.
Vinicio: I was so excited when I read read your story, and wanted to share some of my experiences that I forgot to say what a nice, down to earth, and description of your life journey you provided to us! Best of luck to you and your family in retirement!!
One more thing. I invested the max in my company's 401k plan as soon as it was offered all the way through retirement, and invested in traditional and Roth IRAs every year for both and my wife!
I happily retired at age 51, have absolutely no regrets and never looked back! I was offered an early retirement with pension (and took a 100% joint survivor benefit for my wife) and healthcare after a corporate merger.Took SS at age 62 (and no regrets) because of family history with heart issues. But with today's medical advances, we've been pretty healthy so far! We just celebrated our 50th anniversary. Hope did we do it? Saved and invested in index funds! Paid off mortgage early in 10 years--and have lived in the same adorable cape cod home for over 45 years, never paid a dime in interest or had any credit card debt, put both kids through college with no debt, drove slightly used cars for almost 20 years each, do many of the chores around the house ourselves (saved money and gained satisfaction) and had (and are still having fun every day!). Traveled and enjoying life every day. Take nice vacations at the shore every summer. Started saving when I was 8 by mowing lawns, shoveling snow, painting for people, delivering newspapers all the way through high school--I always tried to learn something new and keep busy. Worked hard in college and earned a mechanical engineering degree while gaining valuable technical work experience through a co-op program. We've had a great life together and would recommend the path I took to everyone!
Thanks Ken. We're blessed to have good health, and wonderful spouses! We'll soon be celebrating our 50th anniversary, and have had wonderful experiences together all these years. She's frugal and thrifty, just like me!
Comments:
Hello Jeff. We had the same problem with our gutters. We had new gutters installed with leaf guards, and all worked fine here in southeastern PA for about two years or so. Then I noticed that the gutters were overflowing at the downspout locations. Small leaf debris got into the gutters and accumulated right over the downspout connection. I then noticed that the gutter opening to the 3x4 downspout was only about 2 inches in diameter, and this was the cause of the plugging. I found the perfect solution online--there's a very inexpensive device called a funnel drain connection that is mounted to the gutter, after an approximate 4x6 inch opening is cut from the bottom of the gutter. It's called a "Wide Mouth High Backed Downspout Gutter Funnel", or "Aquabarrel". I got several of them on Amazon, and they work like a charm!! Any small debris that gets through the gutter guards gets flushed right out of the downspout--no more clogging!! It's relatively inexpensive, less than $30 each. I don't like going up on the ladder anymore, so I had a local maintenance guy install them for us, at a very reasonable cost! I think these will solve your problem!!
Post: Home Maintenance Choices, Options, & Decisions
Link to comment from November 7, 2024
Hi again Ken and Richard. I just looked up the literature that was presented to me with the early retirement package. To summarize: "Your Special Payment will be made from the Service Annuity Plan-the pension plan- to the extent possible in accordance with rules established under Section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code." We were offered four options for receiving this payout (in my case 15 months salary): 1) One time cash payment-with taxes withheld); 2) Monthly annuity with a 50% Joint and Survivor Benefit; 3) Monthly Single Life Annuity; or 4) Direct Rollover to an IRA or other qualified retirement plan---this is the option I selected. The whole lump sum I received was rolled (tax free!!) into my IRA. It was a fantastic deal and has been growing for over 24 years!!
Post: Living My Beliefs
Link to comment from May 4, 2024
Thank you Ken! Best of luck and health and happiness to you and your wife and children in the future. You are certainly astute with all the intricacies and interactions of your spreadsheets to calculate and track financial issues that you've shared with us in previous articles!
Post: Living My Beliefs
Link to comment from May 4, 2024
Richard---Your are correct---not my 401k. I had a 'senior moment' while writing. I rolled the payout (tax free also!!) into my IRA.
Post: Living My Beliefs
Link to comment from May 4, 2024
Ken: You are totally correct. I took advantage of the retirement offer because we had saved and invested for the 30 years that I did work as an engineer. This provided a solid financial footing for us. There were other coworkers that were annoyed that the company hadn't told them that this special retirement offer wasn't announced 5 or more years earlier, as then they would have started saving more. I told them that the company wasn't providing this 'retirement offer' to be 'nice'--it was being offered for them to save money, and I was totally ready to take advantage of it when it was offered. The company had offered early retirement options several times in the 1990s, and I wanted to be ready if one was offered again--and it was in 2000! I couldn't resist the offer of my pension, health care, a lump sum 15 month salary payout which I rolled into my 401k. And we have been living 'happily ever after'!! Thanks for your kind comments!
Post: Living My Beliefs
Link to comment from May 4, 2024
Richard: I'm almost 75 years old now, and wife almost 74. We've always been frugal (not cheap) and thrifty--one of the points in the Boy Scout Law, and are very generous tippers! We saved and invested, didn't purchase needless items or ever waste money on junk. We aren't on any social media--I like to fly 'under the radar' so to speak. We still have the beautiful kitchen/cabinets that were built with our home in 1950, and never had to do a remodeling project except appliance upgrades over time--we love our home as it was built and still love its design and layout. We did all own landscaping and shrub/tree plantings and changes, painting, etc. I always made sure that my wife and children would be financially fit and secure if anything ever happened to me. It wasn't hard for me, and my wife has similar values. And yes, we are very financially secure today with my pension, SS, and RMDs. In fact, things have been so good since I retired over 24 years ago that I haven't had to touch any of our non-retirement or retirement investments (with the exception of required RMDs which started several years ago). We have financial 'freedom'! Money doesn't buy happiness--it gave us the freedom and options to do anything we wanted and will do in the future.
Post: Living My Beliefs
Link to comment from May 4, 2024
Vinicio: I was so excited when I read read your story, and wanted to share some of my experiences that I forgot to say what a nice, down to earth, and description of your life journey you provided to us! Best of luck to you and your family in retirement!!
Post: Living My Beliefs
Link to comment from May 3, 2024
One more thing. I invested the max in my company's 401k plan as soon as it was offered all the way through retirement, and invested in traditional and Roth IRAs every year for both and my wife!
Post: Living My Beliefs
Link to comment from May 3, 2024
I happily retired at age 51, have absolutely no regrets and never looked back! I was offered an early retirement with pension (and took a 100% joint survivor benefit for my wife) and healthcare after a corporate merger.Took SS at age 62 (and no regrets) because of family history with heart issues. But with today's medical advances, we've been pretty healthy so far! We just celebrated our 50th anniversary. Hope did we do it? Saved and invested in index funds! Paid off mortgage early in 10 years--and have lived in the same adorable cape cod home for over 45 years, never paid a dime in interest or had any credit card debt, put both kids through college with no debt, drove slightly used cars for almost 20 years each, do many of the chores around the house ourselves (saved money and gained satisfaction) and had (and are still having fun every day!). Traveled and enjoying life every day. Take nice vacations at the shore every summer. Started saving when I was 8 by mowing lawns, shoveling snow, painting for people, delivering newspapers all the way through high school--I always tried to learn something new and keep busy. Worked hard in college and earned a mechanical engineering degree while gaining valuable technical work experience through a co-op program. We've had a great life together and would recommend the path I took to everyone!
Post: Living My Beliefs
Link to comment from May 3, 2024
Thanks Ken. We're blessed to have good health, and wonderful spouses! We'll soon be celebrating our 50th anniversary, and have had wonderful experiences together all these years. She's frugal and thrifty, just like me!
Post: The Good and the Bad
Link to comment from November 21, 2023