Jeez. I'm glad that "drove myself to the hospital for my heart attack" worked out for you, Mark, but please don't anyone try this. A very good friend of mine in his 50's and in seemingly great shape was getting ready for bed and didn't feel quite right. Recognized the symptoms as possibly cardiac related. His wife offered to drive him to the hospital and he told her to call 911. Paramedics arrive and they are talking to him while prepping him for transport when he promptly dies. Twice! Goes into full cardiac arrest two times and they zap him back with the AED. He's fine now but doc tells him if he had let his wife drive him to the hospital he would be quite dead and most assuredly permanently. Only thing that saved him was the EMTs standing right there with an AED fired up and ready to go. Always call 911 for anything that remotely hints of heart attack.
We paid it off early as a result of multiple refinancings in a declining interest rate environment. Whenever we refinanced, we just continued to make the old payment instead of the new lower payment that also came with a new and unwanted 30 year amortization. At one point the balance got too low to attract lenders for another refi so we put it on our HELOC which was variable but with a ridiculously low floor (under 3%). The end result was our 30 year mortgage wrapped up in 22 years. Never did any kind of analysis on interest savings vs potential gains sacrificed. It was always about having options at a relatively early age and one of the best ways to do that is to limit debt and fixed expenses. No regrets.
Just some related material. Read an an article recently titled something to the effect of "Why you can't exercise your way to weight loss". Cited 3 things. One, exercise is an appetite stimulant, ie., you'll want to eat more. Second, people overestimate the calories burned during their exercise routines. Third, people underestimate the calories in the "rewards" they give themselves for having exercised. They think they just burned 1000 calories walking or running and reward themselves with three cookies that they estimate at 300 calories when actually the inverse is true. The article went on to say that they absolutely do not recommend this approach due to the many other benefits of exercise such as cardiovascular, mood, sleep, etc. but that if weight loss was one's sole motivation, they'd prob have more success foregoing exercise and concentrating 100% on diet. Other authors have noted that your outward appearance is probably 80% diet and 20% exercise. I'm no expert but based on my unscientific analysis of friends and family, I'd say this is accurate. It's overwhelmingly about the quantity and quality of input into one's pie hole and not gym time. That's why all these "successful" exercise programs that are sold to consumers always have the caveat "when combined with a sensible diet". It's the diet that predominantly drives the results not the exercise.
Thanks. It's prob something we'll re-visit at some point. Just hasn't graduated from mildly annoying to full blown "This is BS!" yet. We'll eventually get there. :)
Generally agree. Unfortunately it’s a specialty and hard to find top notch practitioners so we’re gonna eat it for now since it’s generally only twice a year. We’ve talked to some friends in the medical field about the Medicare refusal and their response has been “good luck finding someone” who is as good as your current doc.
Comments
In my name only though I was going to see if I could amend to joint ownership.
Post: Vanguard’s Transfer on Death Plan Kit
Link to comment from March 4, 2026
I have the same question. My taxable account has primary and secondary beneficiaries. How is this “death kit” any different??
Post: Vanguard’s Transfer on Death Plan Kit
Link to comment from March 4, 2026
Jeez. I'm glad that "drove myself to the hospital for my heart attack" worked out for you, Mark, but please don't anyone try this. A very good friend of mine in his 50's and in seemingly great shape was getting ready for bed and didn't feel quite right. Recognized the symptoms as possibly cardiac related. His wife offered to drive him to the hospital and he told her to call 911. Paramedics arrive and they are talking to him while prepping him for transport when he promptly dies. Twice! Goes into full cardiac arrest two times and they zap him back with the AED. He's fine now but doc tells him if he had let his wife drive him to the hospital he would be quite dead and most assuredly permanently. Only thing that saved him was the EMTs standing right there with an AED fired up and ready to go. Always call 911 for anything that remotely hints of heart attack.
Post: Ambulatory Ambivalence
Link to comment from March 1, 2026
Or maybe the VG Treasury Money Market Fund - VUSXX. Current 7 day yield at 3.64%. Not subject to state income tax.
Post: High Interest Savings Accounts vs Bond funds
Link to comment from February 9, 2026
Does anyone know if there is a lender that consistently offers low cost/ no cost HELOCs? Haven’t had a chance to research yet.
Post: Advice I give to anyone who’ll listen!
Link to comment from January 24, 2026
Yes sir. But fortunately the deduction is gradually lost if you exceed the MAGI thresholds and not a cliff like IRMAA.
Post: Are Roth conversions now more complicated?
Link to comment from January 23, 2026
We paid it off early as a result of multiple refinancings in a declining interest rate environment. Whenever we refinanced, we just continued to make the old payment instead of the new lower payment that also came with a new and unwanted 30 year amortization. At one point the balance got too low to attract lenders for another refi so we put it on our HELOC which was variable but with a ridiculously low floor (under 3%). The end result was our 30 year mortgage wrapped up in 22 years. Never did any kind of analysis on interest savings vs potential gains sacrificed. It was always about having options at a relatively early age and one of the best ways to do that is to limit debt and fixed expenses. No regrets.
Post: The $8,000 Cost of Peace of Mind
Link to comment from January 21, 2026
Just some related material. Read an an article recently titled something to the effect of "Why you can't exercise your way to weight loss". Cited 3 things. One, exercise is an appetite stimulant, ie., you'll want to eat more. Second, people overestimate the calories burned during their exercise routines. Third, people underestimate the calories in the "rewards" they give themselves for having exercised. They think they just burned 1000 calories walking or running and reward themselves with three cookies that they estimate at 300 calories when actually the inverse is true. The article went on to say that they absolutely do not recommend this approach due to the many other benefits of exercise such as cardiovascular, mood, sleep, etc. but that if weight loss was one's sole motivation, they'd prob have more success foregoing exercise and concentrating 100% on diet. Other authors have noted that your outward appearance is probably 80% diet and 20% exercise. I'm no expert but based on my unscientific analysis of friends and family, I'd say this is accurate. It's overwhelmingly about the quantity and quality of input into one's pie hole and not gym time. That's why all these "successful" exercise programs that are sold to consumers always have the caveat "when combined with a sensible diet". It's the diet that predominantly drives the results not the exercise.
Post: DIET, Did I Eat That
Link to comment from January 18, 2026
Thanks. It's prob something we'll re-visit at some point. Just hasn't graduated from mildly annoying to full blown "This is BS!" yet. We'll eventually get there. :)
Post: How important is planning for Medicare premiums in retirement? VERY!
Link to comment from January 14, 2026
Generally agree. Unfortunately it’s a specialty and hard to find top notch practitioners so we’re gonna eat it for now since it’s generally only twice a year. We’ve talked to some friends in the medical field about the Medicare refusal and their response has been “good luck finding someone” who is as good as your current doc.
Post: How important is planning for Medicare premiums in retirement? VERY!
Link to comment from January 14, 2026