Vanguard has been touting their lending program lately too. My holdings are all in broad-based index ETFs, I'm not sure if those appeal to people who want to bet on a sector. Is there any problem with lending from an IRA? The securities would effectively be removed from the IRA briefly and then returned.
I rarely use cash anymore. Two of the places where I do use it don't take credit cards, and the only other one has a surcharge for cards. My checking and savings accounts are with Capital One. Not only do I not use their branches, I've never even seen one. I use the fee-free ATM in a nearby Wegmans supermarket when I need to get cash. I have the POA for my brother, who's in assisted living. When I need to get cash for him, I use the same ATM, even though his bank has a branch in the Wegmans parking lot.
The difference in ages between you and your wife makes me wonder if it will make sense until you have both retired. For me, I decided the best time to start converting was when I had stopped working but wasn't yet required to take RMDs. This probably doesn't apply to most people, but I eventually realized that I had converted too much. My only close relative is my younger sister, who won't need any inheritance from me. We have discussed it and both plan to leave most of our estates to non-profits. While I'm living, I plan to donate as much as prudent through QCDs. I'm almost 76 and my traditional and Roth IRAs have over $1 million each. It seems unlikely that I will exhaust my Roth during my lifetime so much of it will go to non-profits. Since they won't pay any tax on it anyway, the amount I spent paying taxes on my conversions will be wasted.
I didn't really realize it until after my father died, but he rarely talked about his childhood. His mother died when he was 7 and my grandfather, who he wasn't particularly close to, was the only relative on that side who I had ever met. My grandfather's family appears to have been very close until sometime when my father was young and then my grandfather and all his siblings seem to have stopped talking to each other. I later met 3 of my father's cousins who didn't remember him, even though their father was my grandfather's twin. They had even lived in the same duplex as the family of one of my father's uncles on his mother's side. I also found from my father's insurance papers that he had had polio as a child. I still don't know any specifics. My mother said that she had guessed it but they had never discussed it. Our own family was fairly harmonious, nobody ever shouted. My mother got along well with her family, but she was much younger than most of her relatives because she wasn't born until her parents were past 40.
I don't have many close relatives, just a brother and a sister. I opted not to leave my brother anything in my will because he's already in assisted living and any significant inheritance could affect his VA benefits. Instead, I've included some money for my sister as a beneficiary of my Roth IRA that she can use to help support him if needed. I've asked my sister not to leave any significant amount to me in her will, I'm not sure if she has. Neither of us is likely to outlive our money in any case. If my brother dies before I do, I'll redirect most of that money in my IRA to charities instead. She's also included in my will for relatively modest amounts. I was aware about having to specifically disinherit relatives. It may depend on state law but the respected elder law attorney who drew up my will didn't suggest specifically disinheriting my brother even though he knew about the situation. I assumed that was because my brother would have no legal claim on my estate anyway. I didn't really want my filed will to say that I was disinheriting him. Since my brother is in assisted living and I have his POA with my sister as the alternate, there wouldn't be anyone to file suit anyway.
I'm 76 and live alone. My only close relatives are my brother and sister. My brother is already in assisted living, and I would not expect my 66-year-old sister to care for me. They both live within 15 miles of me, and I don't wish to move to a different area. Despite the generally excellent health facilities locally, there are no true CCRCs. I am considering moving to an independent living community which is almost across the street from me. They are on the campus of a hospital but are separately managed. The independent living community has associated assisted living and memory units but no nursing home. They post their rents on their website, and they are quite reasonable. The non-profit which owns the hospital does have a nursing home on the same campus. That nursing home is named for the family which owns the independent living community, I don't know what the connection is. The assisted living place where my brother lives is owned by the same family but is managed by a different company. Luckily, I'm in a financial position where, barring several years in a nursing home, I'm unlikely to outlive my money.
I'm not sure what the "ancillary services" that you mention consist of. That seems more like a skilled nursing home price. My brother is in a local assisted living facility, and I have his POA. The current total monthly cost is $5175, about $85 of that is optional for cable TV and Internet. For the first 3 years he was there, the entire bill was paid by his Social Security, VA benefits, and a small ($500/mo.) pension. This year the total cost is a little more than his income and I expect that my sister and I will need to start paying a modest portion sometime next year after his assets are depleted. The facility is not non-profit, and we have been pleased with them so far. My sister and I originally selected them with the help of a senior advisor, who operates somewhat like a buyer's agent for purchasing a home. We looked at a couple of other facilities that had fees in the same range. A more upscale facility with the same owner, but a different management company, lists their assisted living fees as "from $5995". We live in New York State; the regulations are anything but sparse. The facility where my brother is changed their management company and the state took well over 6 months to approve the transfer. The facility notifies me of even minor falls. Like just about everywhere, they do have issues hiring staff, but they appear to pay competitive wages. I'm not aware of any significant issues with the quality of their care.
I'm 75 and have never been married or had children. I did very well ("lucky" might be a better term") investing in individual stocks. I retired from full-time work at 51. I have a total of a little over $2 million, mostly in a traditional and a Roth IRA, nearly all in index ETFs. I have never really had a financial advisor. Vanguard used to have a program where I qualified for free financial advice. I tried it twice and both times the advisor essentially said, "keep doing what you've been doing". I feel that I'm still competent to manage my own finances. When I'm no longer able, I plan to turn my investment management over to a Vanguard advisor with a 0.3% annual fee and my day-to-day finances over to a local non-profit. The latter will pay my bills from my accounts for a fixed monthly fee based on assets and handle other transactions, like selling my home, for reasonable fees. It was set up to combat financial abuse of the elderly and is partially funded by the state, county, and the local United Way. The big conundrum is how do I decide when to relinquish control of my finances? A woman with the non-profit said that it usually becomes obvious, but I'm not sure about that. My only close relative is my sister, who doesn't require any financial help from me. I plan to leave most of my estate to local non-profits. I would like to give them as much as possible while I'm alive but am having trouble deciding how much is prudent.
I think that Social Security is a good thing. However, it's not really an insurance program and never has been. Those with low lifetime incomes get a much higher return on their FICA taxes than people with higher incomes. It's a vital security net for them.
Comments
Vanguard has been touting their lending program lately too. My holdings are all in broad-based index ETFs, I'm not sure if those appeal to people who want to bet on a sector. Is there any problem with lending from an IRA? The securities would effectively be removed from the IRA briefly and then returned.
Post: Free Lunch?
Link to comment from August 16, 2025
I rarely use cash anymore. Two of the places where I do use it don't take credit cards, and the only other one has a surcharge for cards. My checking and savings accounts are with Capital One. Not only do I not use their branches, I've never even seen one. I use the fee-free ATM in a nearby Wegmans supermarket when I need to get cash. I have the POA for my brother, who's in assisted living. When I need to get cash for him, I use the same ATM, even though his bank has a branch in the Wegmans parking lot.
Post: Have you seen your money lately?
Link to comment from August 16, 2025
The difference in ages between you and your wife makes me wonder if it will make sense until you have both retired. For me, I decided the best time to start converting was when I had stopped working but wasn't yet required to take RMDs. This probably doesn't apply to most people, but I eventually realized that I had converted too much. My only close relative is my younger sister, who won't need any inheritance from me. We have discussed it and both plan to leave most of our estates to non-profits. While I'm living, I plan to donate as much as prudent through QCDs. I'm almost 76 and my traditional and Roth IRAs have over $1 million each. It seems unlikely that I will exhaust my Roth during my lifetime so much of it will go to non-profits. Since they won't pay any tax on it anyway, the amount I spent paying taxes on my conversions will be wasted.
Post: Roth Conversion Timing and Amounts to Maximize Benefits
Link to comment from July 19, 2025
I didn't really realize it until after my father died, but he rarely talked about his childhood. His mother died when he was 7 and my grandfather, who he wasn't particularly close to, was the only relative on that side who I had ever met. My grandfather's family appears to have been very close until sometime when my father was young and then my grandfather and all his siblings seem to have stopped talking to each other. I later met 3 of my father's cousins who didn't remember him, even though their father was my grandfather's twin. They had even lived in the same duplex as the family of one of my father's uncles on his mother's side. I also found from my father's insurance papers that he had had polio as a child. I still don't know any specifics. My mother said that she had guessed it but they had never discussed it. Our own family was fairly harmonious, nobody ever shouted. My mother got along well with her family, but she was much younger than most of her relatives because she wasn't born until her parents were past 40.
Post: Estrangement & Estates
Link to comment from July 12, 2025
I don't have many close relatives, just a brother and a sister. I opted not to leave my brother anything in my will because he's already in assisted living and any significant inheritance could affect his VA benefits. Instead, I've included some money for my sister as a beneficiary of my Roth IRA that she can use to help support him if needed. I've asked my sister not to leave any significant amount to me in her will, I'm not sure if she has. Neither of us is likely to outlive our money in any case. If my brother dies before I do, I'll redirect most of that money in my IRA to charities instead. She's also included in my will for relatively modest amounts. I was aware about having to specifically disinherit relatives. It may depend on state law but the respected elder law attorney who drew up my will didn't suggest specifically disinheriting my brother even though he knew about the situation. I assumed that was because my brother would have no legal claim on my estate anyway. I didn't really want my filed will to say that I was disinheriting him. Since my brother is in assisted living and I have his POA with my sister as the alternate, there wouldn't be anyone to file suit anyway.
Post: Estrangement & Estates
Link to comment from July 12, 2025
I'm 76 and live alone. My only close relatives are my brother and sister. My brother is already in assisted living, and I would not expect my 66-year-old sister to care for me. They both live within 15 miles of me, and I don't wish to move to a different area. Despite the generally excellent health facilities locally, there are no true CCRCs. I am considering moving to an independent living community which is almost across the street from me. They are on the campus of a hospital but are separately managed. The independent living community has associated assisted living and memory units but no nursing home. They post their rents on their website, and they are quite reasonable. The non-profit which owns the hospital does have a nursing home on the same campus. That nursing home is named for the family which owns the independent living community, I don't know what the connection is. The assisted living place where my brother lives is owned by the same family but is managed by a different company. Luckily, I'm in a financial position where, barring several years in a nursing home, I'm unlikely to outlive my money.
Post: Bankruptcies in continuing care
Link to comment from July 12, 2025
I'm not sure what the "ancillary services" that you mention consist of. That seems more like a skilled nursing home price. My brother is in a local assisted living facility, and I have his POA. The current total monthly cost is $5175, about $85 of that is optional for cable TV and Internet. For the first 3 years he was there, the entire bill was paid by his Social Security, VA benefits, and a small ($500/mo.) pension. This year the total cost is a little more than his income and I expect that my sister and I will need to start paying a modest portion sometime next year after his assets are depleted. The facility is not non-profit, and we have been pleased with them so far. My sister and I originally selected them with the help of a senior advisor, who operates somewhat like a buyer's agent for purchasing a home. We looked at a couple of other facilities that had fees in the same range. A more upscale facility with the same owner, but a different management company, lists their assisted living fees as "from $5995". We live in New York State; the regulations are anything but sparse. The facility where my brother is changed their management company and the state took well over 6 months to approve the transfer. The facility notifies me of even minor falls. Like just about everywhere, they do have issues hiring staff, but they appear to pay competitive wages. I'm not aware of any significant issues with the quality of their care.
Post: Assisted Living: How Will You Choose?
Link to comment from May 17, 2025
I'm 75 and have never been married or had children. I did very well ("lucky" might be a better term") investing in individual stocks. I retired from full-time work at 51. I have a total of a little over $2 million, mostly in a traditional and a Roth IRA, nearly all in index ETFs. I have never really had a financial advisor. Vanguard used to have a program where I qualified for free financial advice. I tried it twice and both times the advisor essentially said, "keep doing what you've been doing". I feel that I'm still competent to manage my own finances. When I'm no longer able, I plan to turn my investment management over to a Vanguard advisor with a 0.3% annual fee and my day-to-day finances over to a local non-profit. The latter will pay my bills from my accounts for a fixed monthly fee based on assets and handle other transactions, like selling my home, for reasonable fees. It was set up to combat financial abuse of the elderly and is partially funded by the state, county, and the local United Way. The big conundrum is how do I decide when to relinquish control of my finances? A woman with the non-profit said that it usually becomes obvious, but I'm not sure about that. My only close relative is my sister, who doesn't require any financial help from me. I plan to leave most of my estate to local non-profits. I would like to give them as much as possible while I'm alive but am having trouble deciding how much is prudent.
Post: The Silent Compounding Cost of a 1% Fee
Link to comment from May 17, 2025
I think that Social Security is a good thing. However, it's not really an insurance program and never has been. Those with low lifetime incomes get a much higher return on their FICA taxes than people with higher incomes. It's a vital security net for them.
Post: You versus Social Security – Quinn is betting against you.
Link to comment from May 4, 2025
New York prohibits tax software companies from charging to file a return electronically.
Post: It’s 2025. Do you send checks by mail?
Link to comment from May 4, 2025