IAD...What a great comment..."On the flip side, if you can’t afford a rent increase then you can’t afford the higher taxes and maintenance."I had never thought of it that way, but you are so right! I have no mortgage payments, and I live in NC, so the Property Taxes are moderate, but Home Owners Insurance rises annually. Again, here in NC it is still reasonable, but there really isn't much you can do to control it, other than increase your deductibles. I do like the fact of ownership, BUT my kids will never live here, as they both live in different states, so they will just sell it and split the proceeds.
David, I have nothing to offer except my profound respect for you and your wife's dedication to your son. As others have mentioned, now is the time to look for alternative living arrangements, so that when your son no longer has the two of you, he will have already experienced living "on his own," in whatever circumstances those may be. God Loves you and so do I!
50 Bips and No Guaranty = NO! Buy an immediate annuity. 0 Bips and Guaranty! YES. I taught insurance and investments for 15 years, and wrote textbooks on the same topics, after a 35 career in finance. Carriers DO NOT produce products for our benefit. ALL Financial products are produced for the benefit of the producer. If you want "TIPS Like" results...buy TIPS. If you prefer predetermined, guaranteed income streams, buy Annuities. Remember the most important of all financial lessons...TANSTAAFL!
Richard: YOUR article is fantastic and does great job of describing the benefits of Traditional Medicare. The mere fact that Medicare Advantage is being recommended by the government should be enough to cause people to know it is not in their best interests. Why do you think they are paying actors to sell this too you will falsehoods about "more benefits, cheaper costs, etc.? The bottom line is this...THE ONLY PEOPLE THAT SHOULD BE ENROLLED IN MEDICARE PART C are those who truly cannot afford Traditional Medicare and Plan G premiums. (MY OPINION.) Unless you are too poor for Traditional Medicare and the G Plan, then Medicare part C is your only option...but know this...in the long run, it will be more restrictive and more expensive. Now are there going to be some exceptions based on states and coverages? Sure...but in general, MA will never be as comprehensive as Traditional Medicare with Plan G (and Medicare D for drugs.) And starting in 2025, Plan D for Drugs, will be offering better premiums and coverage.
What an interesting article. Your articles are always thought provoking. It made me research a few ETFs, like VEA and FRDM, as I own VTI and VXUS, exclusively. (Except for a smaller holding in BRK-B.) Lower cost, better performance, and no ESG focus will cause me to avoid FRDM. VEA also doesn't improve my results so I will also stay in VXUS for now. I have actually been reducing my VXUS, because like Jack Bogle, I am not a fan of international holdings. It was recommended by my Vanguard PAS advisor so I have a 10% holding of it currently, but as I make withdrawals from my holdings periodically, I try to maximize the amounts withdrawn from VXUS vs. VTI. I recently designed a T-Shirt that is emblazoned on the front with VTI...UNTIL I DIE!
Similar experience when my step father passed, July 28th, 2018. On or about August 8th, his SS Check was deposited into his bank account. A few days later, the check was reversed out of his account. Two weeks or so later I got the first of two letters from SS. The first one was incorrect, as usual, and the second one corrected the first one. Bottom line, instead of being paid for the days you were alive in the month you died, just as SS rounds down on any dollars they owe you, they also devised a way to deprive the recipient of monies earn during the month they die. It is interesting, because Civil Service and the Department of Defense do NOT follow the same method and actually prorate the final monies earned. My dad served 24 years in the US Army and 16 years in the Capitol Police, in the US Senate. My natural father died at 53, in 1980, never receiving a penny of his Social Security, and only 6 years of his US Army Retirement, for 32 years of service. Fortunately, his wife, my step mother, did received reduced benefits from both, until her death in 2010. Keep this in mind...when Social Security, or any government agency makes a mistake, it is never their fault. If you get a notice that anyone other than you owes them money, be careful assuming any liability for the debt. In many cases, there is actually little they can do to recover the debt from a deceased person, especially if the state has been probated, or better yet, if there is not estate to probate.
I recently had a T-Shirt Designed. It is black and has the following printed in large white letters on the front,"VTI...Until I Die!" Article after article, book after book, study after study, and yet 94% of the time professional investors do not even manage to "beat the S&P 500." I have 90% on my invested dollars in VTI, 5% in BRK-B, and 5% in VXUS. No Bonds, because I also own annuities for safe and reliable, guaranteed income. 24 months of cash and that is my entire portfolio. SS covers 111% of our non-discretionary retirement income, so at age 74 and 70, we are quite comfortable with our future's outlook. Growth, Value, Sectors, Tilts...I own them all in one investment VTI. Life on Earth is good.
David: Your story gave me a couple of great memories about my mom. My father was a career soldier. He served in the US Army in WWII, Korea, and Viet Nam. He retired in 1974, as the CSM of US Army Special Forces. He was the highest ranking enlisted Green Beret in the Army. Throughout their marriage, my dad always had a "War Bond" deducted from his pay. (The name stuck with him throughout his career, although they weren't really War Bonds after 1946.) My mom kept those Bonds in a shoe box and over the years the box got fuller and fuller. By the time my dad retired, the box was full. I do not know exactly how much was in the shoe box, but when my mom passed away in 2010, after having been widowed for 30 years (my dad passed in 1980, 6 years into his retirement,) living on his military retirement and social security, my mother had over $215,000 in CDs, and I am pretty sure those CDs were purchased with some of those Bonds. To say my mom was frugal would be an understatement. She was a German by birth, marrying my father in 1958, after he and my mother divorced in 1956. She married my dad, who had 5 children when they married, and she raised us as her own. She had the ability to stretch a dollar in ways unimaginable today. I got my savings education from her, as well as the belief in myself that was never received from any of the teachers I had thought my primary education years. We all love our mom's but I know I loved her, at least a little bit more than most. As Bob Hope use to say, "Thanks for the Memories."
Comments:
IAD...What a great comment..."On the flip side, if you can’t afford a rent increase then you can’t afford the higher taxes and maintenance." I had never thought of it that way, but you are so right! I have no mortgage payments, and I live in NC, so the Property Taxes are moderate, but Home Owners Insurance rises annually. Again, here in NC it is still reasonable, but there really isn't much you can do to control it, other than increase your deductibles. I do like the fact of ownership, BUT my kids will never live here, as they both live in different states, so they will just sell it and split the proceeds.
Post: Forget You
Link to comment from December 27, 2024
David, I have nothing to offer except my profound respect for you and your wife's dedication to your son. As others have mentioned, now is the time to look for alternative living arrangements, so that when your son no longer has the two of you, he will have already experienced living "on his own," in whatever circumstances those may be. God Loves you and so do I!
Post: Three’s Company
Link to comment from December 27, 2024
50 Bips and No Guaranty = NO! Buy an immediate annuity. 0 Bips and Guaranty! YES. I taught insurance and investments for 15 years, and wrote textbooks on the same topics, after a 35 career in finance. Carriers DO NOT produce products for our benefit. ALL Financial products are produced for the benefit of the producer. If you want "TIPS Like" results...buy TIPS. If you prefer predetermined, guaranteed income streams, buy Annuities. Remember the most important of all financial lessons...TANSTAAFL!
Post: Longevity Income?
Link to comment from November 8, 2024
Adam wrote another interesting article addressing VXUS and the subject of international investing, recently. You might benefit from reading it.
Post: Equally Bad?
Link to comment from October 31, 2024
Richard: YOUR article is fantastic and does great job of describing the benefits of Traditional Medicare. The mere fact that Medicare Advantage is being recommended by the government should be enough to cause people to know it is not in their best interests. Why do you think they are paying actors to sell this too you will falsehoods about "more benefits, cheaper costs, etc.? The bottom line is this...THE ONLY PEOPLE THAT SHOULD BE ENROLLED IN MEDICARE PART C are those who truly cannot afford Traditional Medicare and Plan G premiums. (MY OPINION.) Unless you are too poor for Traditional Medicare and the G Plan, then Medicare part C is your only option...but know this...in the long run, it will be more restrictive and more expensive. Now are there going to be some exceptions based on states and coverages? Sure...but in general, MA will never be as comprehensive as Traditional Medicare with Plan G (and Medicare D for drugs.) And starting in 2025, Plan D for Drugs, will be offering better premiums and coverage.
Post: Prefer the Original
Link to comment from October 31, 2024
What an interesting article. Your articles are always thought provoking. It made me research a few ETFs, like VEA and FRDM, as I own VTI and VXUS, exclusively. (Except for a smaller holding in BRK-B.) Lower cost, better performance, and no ESG focus will cause me to avoid FRDM. VEA also doesn't improve my results so I will also stay in VXUS for now. I have actually been reducing my VXUS, because like Jack Bogle, I am not a fan of international holdings. It was recommended by my Vanguard PAS advisor so I have a 10% holding of it currently, but as I make withdrawals from my holdings periodically, I try to maximize the amounts withdrawn from VXUS vs. VTI. I recently designed a T-Shirt that is emblazoned on the front with VTI...UNTIL I DIE!
Post: Built for Success
Link to comment from October 31, 2024
Being "poor" in the USA is better than being "middle class" in most other countries in this world. "Figures never lie, but liars often figure."
Post: Built for Success
Link to comment from October 30, 2024
Similar experience when my step father passed, July 28th, 2018. On or about August 8th, his SS Check was deposited into his bank account. A few days later, the check was reversed out of his account. Two weeks or so later I got the first of two letters from SS. The first one was incorrect, as usual, and the second one corrected the first one. Bottom line, instead of being paid for the days you were alive in the month you died, just as SS rounds down on any dollars they owe you, they also devised a way to deprive the recipient of monies earn during the month they die. It is interesting, because Civil Service and the Department of Defense do NOT follow the same method and actually prorate the final monies earned. My dad served 24 years in the US Army and 16 years in the Capitol Police, in the US Senate. My natural father died at 53, in 1980, never receiving a penny of his Social Security, and only 6 years of his US Army Retirement, for 32 years of service. Fortunately, his wife, my step mother, did received reduced benefits from both, until her death in 2010. Keep this in mind...when Social Security, or any government agency makes a mistake, it is never their fault. If you get a notice that anyone other than you owes them money, be careful assuming any liability for the debt. In many cases, there is actually little they can do to recover the debt from a deceased person, especially if the state has been probated, or better yet, if there is not estate to probate.
Post: That Final Payment
Link to comment from October 30, 2024
I recently had a T-Shirt Designed. It is black and has the following printed in large white letters on the front,"VTI...Until I Die!" Article after article, book after book, study after study, and yet 94% of the time professional investors do not even manage to "beat the S&P 500." I have 90% on my invested dollars in VTI, 5% in BRK-B, and 5% in VXUS. No Bonds, because I also own annuities for safe and reliable, guaranteed income. 24 months of cash and that is my entire portfolio. SS covers 111% of our non-discretionary retirement income, so at age 74 and 70, we are quite comfortable with our future's outlook. Growth, Value, Sectors, Tilts...I own them all in one investment VTI. Life on Earth is good.
Post: Growth Isn’t Enough
Link to comment from October 1, 2024
David: Your story gave me a couple of great memories about my mom. My father was a career soldier. He served in the US Army in WWII, Korea, and Viet Nam. He retired in 1974, as the CSM of US Army Special Forces. He was the highest ranking enlisted Green Beret in the Army. Throughout their marriage, my dad always had a "War Bond" deducted from his pay. (The name stuck with him throughout his career, although they weren't really War Bonds after 1946.) My mom kept those Bonds in a shoe box and over the years the box got fuller and fuller. By the time my dad retired, the box was full. I do not know exactly how much was in the shoe box, but when my mom passed away in 2010, after having been widowed for 30 years (my dad passed in 1980, 6 years into his retirement,) living on his military retirement and social security, my mother had over $215,000 in CDs, and I am pretty sure those CDs were purchased with some of those Bonds. To say my mom was frugal would be an understatement. She was a German by birth, marrying my father in 1958, after he and my mother divorced in 1956. She married my dad, who had 5 children when they married, and she raised us as her own. She had the ability to stretch a dollar in ways unimaginable today. I got my savings education from her, as well as the belief in myself that was never received from any of the teachers I had thought my primary education years. We all love our mom's but I know I loved her, at least a little bit more than most. As Bob Hope use to say, "Thanks for the Memories."
Post: He Spent, I Saved
Link to comment from October 1, 2024