Jackie

Comments:

• Wow! Great article. Well researched, great links and well written! As I am in the same boat - retired in my early 60s and not planning to take SS until age 70, no meaningful pension, and worried about inflation, this is incredibly useful. Thanks so much for sharing.

  Post: Laying Down a Floor

  Link to comment from September 14, 2024

• I had it for a few years in my 40s. It was pricey to start with and then quickly got much more expensive. I did the math - how much I would be paying until the age when I would be most likely to need it, and dropped it, figuring I would have to self fund. Plan B: Divorce; I told my husband if I ever had a serious stroke or similar issue, to immediately divorce me so at least part of our assets would remain for him and our daughter. Not kidding. My father had it, and by the time he could have used the homecare benefit, it was very complicated to get approved. My stepmother finally managed to get the mountain of paperwork done, but my dad died shortly thereafter. So it was definitely a financial loss. But I know having the policy gave my father peace of mind - he was very nervous about LTC costs, so in that regard, his peace of mind, it may have been worth it.

  Post: Long Term Care? Who has it?

  Link to comment from September 8, 2024

• I've used Fidelity and Schwab. I prefer Schwab because you can easily see and vary the variables (inflation rate, taxes, rate of return, etc). Since I am very conservative I did a lot of pressure testing -higher inflation rate, lower rate of return, what happens if the market crashes tomorrow and stays there (decreased account values by 50% to simulate), spending higher than expected - I added a cushion of 20%. Also be very careful with spending since it can vary so much. I looked back over a year to be sure to include major repairs, tax bills, better-than-usual vacation, etc. I still underestimated for this year (unexpected new car, daughter's bat mitzvah, greater than typical health care costs, major plumbing work that will involve digging up the front yard.) I am very grateful for the very conservative estimates I made. I am still sleeping well - but only because of the pressure testing and large cushion.

  Post: Retirement Calculators

  Link to comment from August 28, 2024

• As others have said, it depends a lot on the child; some kids are more naturally mature and driven than others. My husband and I are much older parents (63 and 61 with a 12 year old daughter), so this is definitely a concern for us. We have quite a bit of money saved, so barring unexpected disasters, she could inherit a life-ruining amount of money at a young age if we don't carefully consider when to give her access to the money. We definitely want her to establish a career since this is essential for self-esteem and financial self sufficiency (in the unlikely case the money is gone when she inherits). I say life-ruining amount of money, because we have several friends and acquaintances who we feel have pretty unhappy lives because they were never forced to develop themselves. My daughter is bright and strong academically, but slightly immature. Maybe not coincidently, my husband and I are both bright, and were slightly immature. I had a great career because I was forced to persist in school in a challenging major because I had no money and was tired of being poor. Also, I could see I had no future if I didn't succeed so failure was not an option. My husband was also forced succeed to obtain the future he wanted for himself. I think if we had been enabled, we would have had much less satisfying lives - both career-wise and romantically. This is why ideally we would like my daughter to inherit 1/3 at age 35, 1/3 at age 45 and 1/3 age 55. I know this seems ridiculously drawn out, and our lawyer is against it, but we know too many people who would have been better off without the money. We will adjust the trust as my daughter matures and we have a better idea of how she is doing.

  Post: Connor asks – How young is too young to receive an inheritance?

  Link to comment from August 27, 2024

• My stepbrother, who is older, needs protection from himself due to him not being very smart and having a history of making both poor financial decisions and poor romantic choices. I suggested to my stepmother that she leave his inheritance in a trust, but to make it simple by having the trust buy an annuity for him. He has no heirs, so does not need any money left at the end, so the annuity would provide a nice income for his retirement. Because there won't be a need to manage the manage the money, it will take the pressure of whatever family member gets stuck with being trustee, plus it should minimize ongoing costs - there is really nothing to manage. Unfortunately, since I haven't managed to convince my step mother yet, I can't say how this works out in real life.

  Post: Connor asks – How young is too young to receive an inheritance?

  Link to comment from August 27, 2024

• Thanks Jonathan - very helpful. Its a nice summary of all the considerations. It makes sense not to worry too much about IRMAA considering the tax hit of the RMDs of a bloated account.

  Post: Which accounts to spend first?

  Link to comment from July 4, 2024

• I agree with what you said. but unfortunately a bachelors degree is the ticket to entry for many jobs and careers. Until that reality changes, perhaps the best route is 2 years of community college, followed by 2 more years at a state university. And, the degree should be in something that demonstrates to a potential employer that you are smart and can work hard - math and sciences, not communications and sociology.

  Post: Let’s challenge the value of attending college

  Link to comment from June 29, 2024

• That is a good one. I need to buy it for my daughter so that she can learn that fancy living is antithetical to being rich one day.

  Post: What’s the best financial book you’ve ever read?

  Link to comment from June 28, 2024

• I encourage you to act sooner rather than later. Elderly people falling prey to financial scammers is often the first sign that something is off. A friend of mine's mother appeared completely normal - she took care of the house and bills, shopped, cooked socialized. She also emptied several accounts and bought gold bars. The scammers hired someone to pick them up at her house. She lost over a million dollars and there is no hope of recovery. When her family went to court get power of attorney, she was still so lucid that the judge emphasized that the only domain her daughter could control was financial.

  Post: How do you know when it is time to step in with elderly parents?

  Link to comment from June 28, 2024

• Easy for you to say. My step brother is not smart enough to hold much more than a menial job. Twice, he has lost all of his savings to women who used him for his savings and paycheck. Unsurprisingly, he is not smart enough to plan for his future. You see it as a character flaw. I see it as bad luck when IQ points were being dished out.

  Post: Paycheck to Paycheck?

  Link to comment from June 28, 2024