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I am a retired IT executive with 44 years of experience in IT. I am originally from Virginia and have lived in North Carolina the past 60 years. My wife Judy and I have been married 56 years, and we have 2 children and 3 grandchildren. I volunteer with my church and serve on the board of 2 retiree associations, one of which has more than 50,000 members. I still enjoy golf, travel and taking care of our home and 2 acres of land.
Comments
Kudos Howard for doing this. This helps a lot of people, many of whom know very little about our tax system. Job well done!
Post: Taxing Situations
Link to comment from April 22, 2025
Question 2: We accumulated a sizable (at least for us) investment portfolio in retirement. We live off of my pension and our SS and rarely dip into our savings. But we make substantial contributions to our church and other charitable causes. Also, we have contributed to our granddaughters' college, and this past year gave our 2 children $15k each after having a tremendous investment year in 2024. We are not big consumers, but I find great pleasure in make these contributions. There are so many worthwhile causes out there and we try to be generous in this regard. We are blessed and want to share our modest wealth.
Post: Ask Me a Tough One by Jonathan Clements
Link to comment from April 20, 2025
The IRS is a whipping boy for the masses. It is easy to raise the ire of the public with comments about the IRS. Personally, I would like to see stronger enforcement of the tax laws, as long as it is not politically or ideologically motivated. I pay my taxes and want everyone to do likewise. There are too many tax cheats who cause us honest taxpayers to pay more to compensate for their tax evasion.
Post: The great uninformed and misinformed population worries Quinn
Link to comment from April 20, 2025
Well stated Dr Young. What you did not say is that many of us are lousy patients. We do not take care of ourselves and expect doctors to give us a magic pill to make us better. No doubt, yours is a challenging occupation.
Post: Screw politics, let’s talk health! Are all surgeries necessary or have we become the college tuition bank for the Doc’s children?
Link to comment from April 19, 2025
You are spot on John. I was having significant pain in my right hip and went to a recommended orthopedic. The doctor examined me and administered a steroid injection. He proceeded to give me a sales pitch for hip replacement which I thought was highly unprofessional. Six years later the hip is doing fine thanks to PT and consistent exercises. BTW, this same doctor botched the hip replacement of a friend who ultimately had a 2nd hip replacement by another doctor.
Post: Screw politics, let’s talk health! Are all surgeries necessary or have we become the college tuition bank for the Doc’s children?
Link to comment from April 19, 2025
Good advice Adam. Years ago, I heard the famous CBS newscaster Eric Sevareid say that African witch doctors were right more often than economists. I believe that is still true. Lol
Post: School Is In
Link to comment from April 19, 2025
I always use TT. I am very knowledgeable of tax regs but it is a time saver to use TT. I also do my son's taxes for his remodeling business which is somewhat more complex. Both of our taxes are a little too complex for these free services. I have tried the freebies but they did not work for me. I also use TT for state returns. Mine is included in the software cost but I pay $25 extra for my son. For security reasons, I do not connect TT to my investment accounts. I download the 1099s and enter the info manually. It does not take long and I believe it eliminates a small risk of hacking.
Post: Now it’s over, taxes are filed, but I have a question. How did prepare your your taxes?
Link to comment from April 17, 2025
I think the answer is that we may not realize it is time. I think having trusted family members monitor accounts and transactions can help avoid major issues and identify when it is time. They would need to be involved enough in our lives to see the changes. But will we accept the fact it is time?
Post: RCC asks – How will you know when it’s time?
Link to comment from April 15, 2025
I bought a new 2025 Camry in January, replacing my 2014 Camry. Toyota has added lots of safety features and many other features. It is mind boggling. There should be a training class for all the bells and whistles on the car. I refer to the manual often.
Post: Car talk- Quinn likes friendliness
Link to comment from April 15, 2025
Unfortunately, I think this was something that needs to be said because it has such an impact on our finances. A major part of the market's response is a lack of confidence in the administration to lead us through this effort. This even includes concerns about the safety of US treasuries, by both the US and world economies. These are not easy days for investing and beg caution by us all.
Post: No financial wisdom here other than ….
Link to comment from April 13, 2025