Richard:
First thing I do is get on the scale to make sure I haven't put on a few pounds! The food budget is derived from obtaining my previous years total food expense (easily obtained from the app I use) and dividing that amount by 12. Slight deviations over or under are normal. I've never had a huge discrepancy that would cause me to increase (or decrease) the monthly amount. If needed, I could up the monthly food budget and decrease the monthly surplus amount.
Richard:
Every January (believe it or not on an index card) I list my monthly expenses. Included among the approx 15 items are an emergency fund, new car fund & a combo fund for home & car repairs,vacation & Christmas spending.....these are kind of similar to escrow accounts. I then use a spending tracker to make sure that all expenses remain reasonably in line. If my monthly food budget is $800 I'll know how well I kept to the budget. Dining out is $200 per month, etc. I've been doing it so long it takes just minutes of my time each month. The spending tracker I use breaks down each expense to a percentage of my monthly income-HOA fees = 30% and so on.
Just gives me piece of mind and takes very little time once you have a system established.
How cool. Tomorrow, I am planning on booking a 10 day trip for myself,wife & 2 sons. Fortunate to be in the position to pick up the tab for my sons. Can't wait!
Regarding pensions and COLA's. I retired from employment w/ the State of N.J. in 2010. In 2011, then Governor Christie suspended the COLA provision to reduce revenue flow from N.J.'s underfunded pension system. For many years, politicians of both parties neglected to make the required contributions to properly fund the pension system. Fast forward to 2025. Still no COLA. Allegedly, when the system is 80% funded COLA's will be reinstated. Politicians failed to do their job and state retirees suffer the consequences-boo!!
For some bizarre reason the Bob Dylan lyric from It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) comes to mind "Money doesn't talk it swears". How many ways/times does money (or lack of) impact us? Could be daily if you let ir.
Greetings Richard:
Your knowledge of employee benefits/healthcare is significantly greater than mine. I do have some questions regarding your dislike of Medicare Advantage programs.
I am a retired State of New Jersey employee. My health care coverage is provided as part of my retirement package. I have Aetna Medicare Advantage-Extended Service Area. I pay separately for my dental coverage. I do not pay a monthly premium for my MA. I do pay for Medicare Part B. My MA coverage has no deductible.
I am reasonably healthy. Since starting MA in 2020 I've had Mohs surgery and this past September I had a robotic surgical procedure with a 1 night stay in the hospital. All costs (other than $15.00 copays) have been covered by MA.
Whenever I have the need to look up a provider (chiro, vision, phys therapy, orthopedics, imaging, etc) there is a plethora of choices in North Jersey. Same goes for hospitals. It is my understanding that MA is required to cover the same things as Original Medicare. I understand that if I lived somewhere else (rural South Carolina, e.g.) providers would be more limited. I have also used my MA plan during visits to Florida & NY State
I do understand that there is no "in-network" for Original Medicare. Other posts seem to indicate if I were really ill (cancer for instance) the MA plans are not good.
Just assuming I'm missing something in the Original vs MA debate. Thanks.
This bit of positivity is welcome. I remember back in the 70's or 80's when acid rain was an issue. One would have thought that all the trees in NY state (which I frequently visited) were going to die. I understand that climate change is a significant problem and that it needs to be addressed. I will continue to do what I can-using public transportation when I can, reducing food waste, energy and water usage at home, etc. Can't wait to read Ma. Ritchie's book.
Greetings Jonathan:
I think you've hit something here. I retired from employment with the state of NJ in 2010. Took one year off and then returned to part time work. First, I drove the senior bus for the town that I reside in. Learned a lot about issues facing seniors including some who hadn't prepared for retirement and needed to utilize resources such as our community food pantry, free health care clinics, etc.
Currently, I am working as a Security Officer at the local high school. I work approx. 5 or 6 days per month. Last year, I earned around $14,000. My wife, my son (last semester of law school) and myself live off my state pension and social security. We have yet to touch our retirement accounts which are now close to $600,000. My son provides most of his own support through p/t employment.
I can pick and chose my work days and can easily configure my schedule to allow for travel. We've gone to Florida the last several winters for at least 3 weeks. I'm 68 years old and will work for at least another 2 years.
Our Vanguard accounts are in several different funds. I can say that I haven't displayed the vigor that some of your columnists -tax consequences, bond ladders, equity/bond ratios, etc. but I feel the extra income provides less stress and a more leisurely attitude towards retirement. I have health care coverage through the state which also helps.
Love your site!
Just a warning about pension inflation adjustments/COLA's. I retired with a full pension from the State of New Jersey in 2010. Generally, COLA adjustments started 2 years after retirement. In 2011, then Governor Christie signed legislation suspending the COLA adjustments until the pension funds reached a certain level of funding. I believe approx. 80 % of being fully funded. After 12 years my gross pension amount remains the same. I'm fortunate to report that none of my other expenses have gone up in that time (sarcasm). So for those lucky enough to have pension COLA's be aware that they can be suspended/taken away. I am certainly grateful for the pension I earned but wouldn't mind having the COLA also.
Comments
Richard: First thing I do is get on the scale to make sure I haven't put on a few pounds! The food budget is derived from obtaining my previous years total food expense (easily obtained from the app I use) and dividing that amount by 12. Slight deviations over or under are normal. I've never had a huge discrepancy that would cause me to increase (or decrease) the monthly amount. If needed, I could up the monthly food budget and decrease the monthly surplus amount.
Post: Detailed tracking expenses and spending. Is there real value?
Link to comment from March 12, 2025
Richard: Every January (believe it or not on an index card) I list my monthly expenses. Included among the approx 15 items are an emergency fund, new car fund & a combo fund for home & car repairs,vacation & Christmas spending.....these are kind of similar to escrow accounts. I then use a spending tracker to make sure that all expenses remain reasonably in line. If my monthly food budget is $800 I'll know how well I kept to the budget. Dining out is $200 per month, etc. I've been doing it so long it takes just minutes of my time each month. The spending tracker I use breaks down each expense to a percentage of my monthly income-HOA fees = 30% and so on. Just gives me piece of mind and takes very little time once you have a system established.
Post: Detailed tracking expenses and spending. Is there real value?
Link to comment from March 11, 2025
How cool. Tomorrow, I am planning on booking a 10 day trip for myself,wife & 2 sons. Fortunate to be in the position to pick up the tab for my sons. Can't wait!
Post: What Purchases Have Been Worth It?
Link to comment from February 16, 2025
Regarding pensions and COLA's. I retired from employment w/ the State of N.J. in 2010. In 2011, then Governor Christie suspended the COLA provision to reduce revenue flow from N.J.'s underfunded pension system. For many years, politicians of both parties neglected to make the required contributions to properly fund the pension system. Fast forward to 2025. Still no COLA. Allegedly, when the system is 80% funded COLA's will be reinstated. Politicians failed to do their job and state retirees suffer the consequences-boo!!
Post: Why Don’t Folks Save? By Jonathan Clements
Link to comment from February 16, 2025
For some bizarre reason the Bob Dylan lyric from It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) comes to mind "Money doesn't talk it swears". How many ways/times does money (or lack of) impact us? Could be daily if you let ir.
Post: Limits of Power by Jonathan Clements
Link to comment from January 18, 2025
Kudos....spot on!!
Post: Not Doing It by Jonathan Clements
Link to comment from January 1, 2025
Greetings Richard: Your knowledge of employee benefits/healthcare is significantly greater than mine. I do have some questions regarding your dislike of Medicare Advantage programs. I am a retired State of New Jersey employee. My health care coverage is provided as part of my retirement package. I have Aetna Medicare Advantage-Extended Service Area. I pay separately for my dental coverage. I do not pay a monthly premium for my MA. I do pay for Medicare Part B. My MA coverage has no deductible. I am reasonably healthy. Since starting MA in 2020 I've had Mohs surgery and this past September I had a robotic surgical procedure with a 1 night stay in the hospital. All costs (other than $15.00 copays) have been covered by MA. Whenever I have the need to look up a provider (chiro, vision, phys therapy, orthopedics, imaging, etc) there is a plethora of choices in North Jersey. Same goes for hospitals. It is my understanding that MA is required to cover the same things as Original Medicare. I understand that if I lived somewhere else (rural South Carolina, e.g.) providers would be more limited. I have also used my MA plan during visits to Florida & NY State I do understand that there is no "in-network" for Original Medicare. Other posts seem to indicate if I were really ill (cancer for instance) the MA plans are not good. Just assuming I'm missing something in the Original vs MA debate. Thanks.
Post: Solving the health care (cost) problem – or maybe not. What RDQ knows
Link to comment from December 6, 2024
This bit of positivity is welcome. I remember back in the 70's or 80's when acid rain was an issue. One would have thought that all the trees in NY state (which I frequently visited) were going to die. I understand that climate change is a significant problem and that it needs to be addressed. I will continue to do what I can-using public transportation when I can, reducing food waste, energy and water usage at home, etc. Can't wait to read Ma. Ritchie's book.
Post: What You Can Do
Link to comment from November 14, 2024
Greetings Jonathan: I think you've hit something here. I retired from employment with the state of NJ in 2010. Took one year off and then returned to part time work. First, I drove the senior bus for the town that I reside in. Learned a lot about issues facing seniors including some who hadn't prepared for retirement and needed to utilize resources such as our community food pantry, free health care clinics, etc. Currently, I am working as a Security Officer at the local high school. I work approx. 5 or 6 days per month. Last year, I earned around $14,000. My wife, my son (last semester of law school) and myself live off my state pension and social security. We have yet to touch our retirement accounts which are now close to $600,000. My son provides most of his own support through p/t employment. I can pick and chose my work days and can easily configure my schedule to allow for travel. We've gone to Florida the last several winters for at least 3 weeks. I'm 68 years old and will work for at least another 2 years. Our Vanguard accounts are in several different funds. I can say that I haven't displayed the vigor that some of your columnists -tax consequences, bond ladders, equity/bond ratios, etc. but I feel the extra income provides less stress and a more leisurely attitude towards retirement. I have health care coverage through the state which also helps. Love your site!
Post: Fire Meets Ice
Link to comment from February 10, 2024
Just a warning about pension inflation adjustments/COLA's. I retired with a full pension from the State of New Jersey in 2010. Generally, COLA adjustments started 2 years after retirement. In 2011, then Governor Christie signed legislation suspending the COLA adjustments until the pension funds reached a certain level of funding. I believe approx. 80 % of being fully funded. After 12 years my gross pension amount remains the same. I'm fortunate to report that none of my other expenses have gone up in that time (sarcasm). So for those lucky enough to have pension COLA's be aware that they can be suspended/taken away. I am certainly grateful for the pension I earned but wouldn't mind having the COLA also.
Post: The Waiting Game
Link to comment from April 1, 2023