GaryW

Comments:

• I started my career in the early 1970s. My first mortgage had a double-digit interest rate, I can't remember the exact figure. I was well aware of the effects of inflation and took it into account when I stopped working full time in 2000 at age 51. Because of some semi-lucky investments, I had over $1,000,000 at the time and a lifestyle where I didn't spend much. I worked a part time job for 20 years after that, much longer than any of my "real" jobs. I invested mostly in stock index funds. I started Social Security at my FRA of 66. I've always assumed that my investments would earn 0% when adjusted for inflation, the reality has been much better than that. I'm 75 now and, despite depending on my investments for about half of my income, their value now, adjusted for inflation, is close to the same as it was in 2000 when I stopped working full time.

  Post: Hedging your bet in retirement-dealing with inflation. What’s your strategy? R Quinn

  Link to comment from October 5, 2024

• I went to Rochester Institute of Technology a few years before you went to the University of Rochester. My main concern at the time was the cost, our family didn't have much money to begin with and my father had been unemployed for most of the year before I started in the 1967-68 school year. I wanted to go into engineering, and I could commute from the nearby town where I lived. RIT was scheduled to move to a new campus that year, but it didn't happen until the following year. My first-year tuition was $2050. RIT had about 4000 full-time students at the time. It had a good regional reputation but wasn't well-known nationally. Do I think that I made a good choice? Yes, I got a good education, and the culture was right for me. I didn't know that at the time, however. RIT is a much different institution now. With about 17,000 students, it's one of the 20 largest private colleges in the country. Would I fit in now? I'm not sure, but I'm pleased with the way that it has evolved. They've forged their own path and appears to still offer a great education.

  Post: Ranking Colleges

  Link to comment from October 5, 2024

• I haven't looked at the formula for a while, but SSA takes your total income that was subject to SS tax for each year, adjusts them for inflation since that year, and adds the highest 35 years together. If you don't have 35 years of paying into SS, $0 is added for the remainder of the 35 years. Then they divide that by 420 (the number of months in 35 years). Then they take 90% of the first X dollars, 32% of the next Y dollars, and 15% of the next Z dollars and add them together to calculate your initial monthly SS payment. The values of X, Y, and Z are determined each year but only the ones for the year you begin taking SS matter for you. If your income was high enough so that you are in that 15% bracket, working more years probably won't increase your SS payments much, although if you start collecting before your FRA, the payments will be reduced. My case was complicated by the fact that for the first 8 years of my career I worked for the Federal Government, which wasn't covered by SSA at that time. I retired from fulltime work at 51, so I only had about 20 years of SS coverage. I worked another 20 years part-time at less than 25% of my previous salary. My total was still high enough to be in the 15% bracket when I began receiving SS at my FRA of 66.

  Post: How might early retirement at say age 55 affect your FRA SS benefits?

  Link to comment from September 28, 2024

• I'm 75, my brother is 78, and my sister is 65. None of us has any other close relatives. When my sister and I realized 3 years ago that our brother could no longer live alone, it was clear that neither of us would be able to care for him. We found an assisted living place for him that currently costs slightly less than his SS, VA benefits, and small pension. He is doing well there. I suspect that in a couple of years my sister and I will have to supplement his costs but it's unlikely to be a major burden on us. I will probably go to some sort of senior living facility when I'm no longer able to drive. 24/7 home care doesn't really appeal to me since I don't really have any sentimental feelings for my townhouse. I also doubt that there will be enough quality home healthcare workers available to care for all the people who want 24/7 care. That would require 4-5 workers for each patient.

  Post: How would you prepare for the staggering cost of in-home care if you ever need it?

  Link to comment from September 14, 2024

• Here's an interesting YouTube video of a scientific investigation of a painting which has been attributed to Rembrandt: eastman rembrandt - Google Search The picture, which was purchased by Kodak founder George Eastman in 1911, hung in his home in Rochester NY. The Eastman House and its contents were willed to the University of Rochester upon Eastman's death. It was stolen in 1968 and recovered about 9 months later. It now hangs in the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester, also part of the UofR. The conclusion: Nothing was found to preclude it being by Rembrandt, but it hasn't been proven either. My, very uneducated, opinion: I have seen other, better documented, paintings by Rembrandt and this painting, if an authentic Rembrandt, isn't one of his masterpieces.

  Post: Rembrandt or Not?

  Link to comment from September 14, 2024

• I'm almost 75 and live alone. My only close relatives are my older brother, who's in assisted living (I have his POA), and my 65-year-old sister. I fully trust my sister, but I don't want to burden her with my financial affairs if I'm no longer able to handle them myself. I've decided who should handle my finances if I can't. Nearly all of my funds are already at Vanguard, so I plan to go from managing my investments myself to getting a Vanguard advisor to do it for myself. There's a local non-profit, financed in part by the state and county governments and the local United Way, which will handle paying the day-to-day expenses for elderly clients. They charge a fee based on assets (I would be paying their maximum) and will also work with my financial advisor. I don't drive a lot (I never did) but I still frequently walk several miles per day and ride my recumbent trike (two wheels in the front, one in the rear, and a lawn chair-like seat if you're not familiar with them). I'll probably move to some form of senior living facility when I can't drive anymore. My conundrum is when to turn my finances to someone else. Handling them has always been something that I liked to do. I'm not sure if I will know when I'm no longer capable of it.

  Post: Taking the Keys

  Link to comment from August 10, 2024

• I'm almost 75, my only close relatives are an older brother in assisted living and a 65-year-old sister. None of us have any children. I have managed to accumulate enough such that I'm unlikely to run out of money and my sister is in a similar situation. I already have a will and IRA beneficiaries in place, most of my assets will go to non-profits. My sister won't need any assistance from me, but I currently plan to leave her some money to take care of our brother if necessary. I don't plan to leave any money directly to my brother, he wouldn't be able to manage it anyway. If he dies before I do, I'll probably redirect part of that money to the non-profits. My sister and I have discussed this, so it won't be any surprise. I would like to give as much money as possible to the non-profits while I'm still alive. My problem is trying to decide how much is prudent.

  Post: Exit Strategy

  Link to comment from July 13, 2024

• I'm almost 75 and can see the time coming when I'm no longer able to drive. I've never been particularly tied to cars, I didn't get a license until I was 22. The most that I've ever driven in a year was about 13,000 miles, and that was about 40 years ago. Now I drive less than 5,000 miles per year. I live in a suburb of Rochester NY which is reasonably walkable. It's not unusual for me to walk 5-10 miles per day. I recently started to carry a cane to catch myself if I stumble, I don't normally put any weight on it. I also have a recumbent tricycle (two wheels in the front, one in the rear, and a lawn chair-like seat). However, I still rely on my car for occasional longer trips, when the weather is bad, or when I need to buy something that I can't carry home. My only close relatives are my older brother, who is in assisted living, and my 65-year-old sister, who lives 15 miles away and has never had a license. I haven't decided what I will do when I can no longer drive, it will probably involve a senior community of some sort.

  Post: Life After Cars

  Link to comment from June 22, 2024

• I certainly learned from my own mistakes. Sources like Humble Dollar also let me learn from other's mistakes before I made them myself.

  Post: Luck Would Have It

  Link to comment from May 25, 2024

• I made some lucky investments and was able to stop working full time at age 50. Still, I think my financial success was due more to avoiding terrible decisions than making outstanding ones.

  Post: Luck Would Have It

  Link to comment from May 25, 2024