Here in the retirement village, we buy in bulk and just signed a new contract. It's about $700,000 a year for 929 units, which comes to about $60 a month per user. We get fiber-optic internet and cable TV with hundreds of channels for that price. We hired a consultant to negotiate with the cable companies (about $25K) and he got us a great deal, We even get a $170K rebate for signing up.
Right at the moment, they're busy ripping the village up to install conduits for their fiber.
I sometimes look foolish, aware of ways to save money, but being too lazy to look into them. For example, I have been paying $20 a month to my ISP for a VoIP phone. Here at the retirement village, we are bringing in a new ISP, and they will be charging $40! This prompted me to investigate, and I discovered that for a setup cost of $120 I can have my VoIP landline for $7 a month. Why am I not really foolish? I am retired, but living on about 25% of my income, and saving the rest. My expenses may be foolish, but they're far from bankrupting me.
Yes, the stock market consists of individual stocks - each company is a separate legal entity that has its own capital, product, and sales. This is the real world
As the stock market moves away from the the real world, stocks become trading tokens detached from the actual companies doing real business. To my mind, this is not the way it should be.
But people who don't have a coupon do pay that full price, right? The store knows what percentage of customers use the coupon, and what percentage do not, on each item. They can adjust their prices based on these percentages to get the revenue they need from that item.
If the stock market is going crazy, you don't WANT to beat the index - that means you're even crazier. If you are already well off, a conservative portfolio that underperforms the index is what you want.
Well-off retirees are usually smart about taxes. If you play your cards right, you can pay less than 20% total Federal tax, including NII and IRMAA. Assuming $6500 addition premiums for IRMAA, I'm still paying about 18%.
Of course, if you first RMD is $900K, you'll pay more - a nice problem to have.
With all the liquidity available due to to the Federal deficit, there is a lot of capital looking for a home. This guarantees that stocks will be overvalued, and keep going up and up regardless of the earnings of the companies.
Comments
Here in the retirement village, we buy in bulk and just signed a new contract. It's about $700,000 a year for 929 units, which comes to about $60 a month per user. We get fiber-optic internet and cable TV with hundreds of channels for that price. We hired a consultant to negotiate with the cable companies (about $25K) and he got us a great deal, We even get a $170K rebate for signing up. Right at the moment, they're busy ripping the village up to install conduits for their fiber.
Post: Living On Autopilot
Link to comment from May 7, 2026
Ha, Dick - you should see the high-end coffees that sell for hundreds of dollars a pound.
Post: Dickie and his magic beans
Link to comment from May 7, 2026
I sometimes look foolish, aware of ways to save money, but being too lazy to look into them. For example, I have been paying $20 a month to my ISP for a VoIP phone. Here at the retirement village, we are bringing in a new ISP, and they will be charging $40! This prompted me to investigate, and I discovered that for a setup cost of $120 I can have my VoIP landline for $7 a month. Why am I not really foolish? I am retired, but living on about 25% of my income, and saving the rest. My expenses may be foolish, but they're far from bankrupting me.
Post: Living On Autopilot
Link to comment from May 6, 2026
Yes, the stock market consists of individual stocks - each company is a separate legal entity that has its own capital, product, and sales. This is the real world As the stock market moves away from the the real world, stocks become trading tokens detached from the actual companies doing real business. To my mind, this is not the way it should be.
Post: Wall Street Trap
Link to comment from May 5, 2026
But people who don't have a coupon do pay that full price, right? The store knows what percentage of customers use the coupon, and what percentage do not, on each item. They can adjust their prices based on these percentages to get the revenue they need from that item.
Post: Shopping around – you versus the grocery store
Link to comment from April 30, 2026
If the stock market is going crazy, you don't WANT to beat the index - that means you're even crazier. If you are already well off, a conservative portfolio that underperforms the index is what you want.
Post: Somebody Has to Win
Link to comment from April 30, 2026
Well-off retirees are usually smart about taxes. If you play your cards right, you can pay less than 20% total Federal tax, including NII and IRMAA. Assuming $6500 addition premiums for IRMAA, I'm still paying about 18%. Of course, if you first RMD is $900K, you'll pay more - a nice problem to have.
Post: Hidden Surcharge
Link to comment from April 27, 2026
With all the liquidity available due to to the Federal deficit, there is a lot of capital looking for a home. This guarantees that stocks will be overvalued, and keep going up and up regardless of the earnings of the companies.
Post: Driving Prices
Link to comment from April 25, 2026
Since Gen X is the next to retire, they are highly likely to side with the Baby Boomers. Together, they are a very strong voting bloc.
Post: Fixing Social Security once and for all
Link to comment from April 22, 2026
What is really interesting is that MAGI is calculated in different ways for different benefits. The MAGI for IRMAA is not the MAGI for the ACA.
Post: Tax Free Income Trap, Dealing With MAGI
Link to comment from April 21, 2026