Search found 47 matches

by ChessFan
Thu Jan 18, 2024 9:31 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Medicare - Medigap Plan Question
Replies: 7
Views: 612

Medicare - Medigap Plan Question

I read the following in an AARP paper: "While Medicare has the authority to cover some preventive care services, such as mammograms and colorectal cancer screenings, original Medicare hasn't been authorized to pay for routine blood work" -- meaning you'll get the bill for this. I'm relatively new to Medicare. I have a Medigap supplemental plan to go with my Medicare. Does this mean if my doctor ordered routine blood work as a preventive check, I'd have to foot the bill? Or would a Medigap plan cover the cost for this? I'm specifically interested in answers regarding Medigap, not so-called "Part C" Medicare "Advantage" plans. I have a Part G Medigap plan and thought it would pretty much cover everything reasonab...
by ChessFan
Wed Dec 27, 2023 8:53 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: House Maintenance Question
Replies: 6
Views: 1198

Re: House Maintenance Question

Hi,

Yes, that is what I meant by "capped". They wrap the board in aluminum to protect it. My concern is if the board is really worse for wear the aluminum cover won't prevent it from eventually wearing out anyway. And you won't know it's happening
by ChessFan
Wed Dec 27, 2023 5:09 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: House Maintenance Question
Replies: 6
Views: 1198

House Maintenance Question

There are some trim type boards high up on the sides of our house. They are at the roofline. There are no gutters on the sides of our house. The gutters are only on the front and back of the house. So, I believe the trim boards I'm referring to are called fascia boards, though they are not supporting gutters. My issue is, much of the paint on these boards has either peeled off or is peeling. I'd like to have these boards capped so I don't have to deal with this in the future. However, would it better to have the boards painted first, or painted instead? A complicating factor is the electric powerline coming into the house is somehow pinned to one of the fascia boards before it runs down the side of the house to the electric meter. This mean...
by ChessFan
Wed Nov 09, 2022 2:53 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Confused about picking a Medicare Part D plan
Replies: 12
Views: 1640

Re: Confused about picking a Medicare Part D plan

Thanks everyone for your replies! I gleaned some really good points.
by ChessFan
Tue Nov 08, 2022 5:51 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Confused about picking a Medicare Part D plan
Replies: 12
Views: 1640

Confused about picking a Medicare Part D plan

I do not understand what to look for when selecting a Medicare Part D drug plan. For example, I look at these 2 plans for my area: Cigna Secure RX - premium $38 Cigna Saver RS - premium $12 My inclination is to go with the more expensive plan because, surely, it's good protection for seriously expensive illnesses. I ran some comparisons. I used drugs I'd had occasion to need over the past several years. I see little difference in the costs for the drugs between the plans. This goes for all the different "coverage phases" - for example, costs before deductible, costs "in the coverage gap", etc. I had expected to see the more expensive plan provide much lower prices once you got into phases like "in the coverage gap&q...
by ChessFan
Wed Nov 02, 2022 5:16 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Question about a spouse inheriting a 401k
Replies: 3
Views: 620

Re: Question about a spouse inheriting a 401k

"A surviving spouse can manage the inherited 401(k) as the deceased spouse’s account owner. The surviving spouse can defer withdrawals or withdraw from the 401(k), and they are exempt from the IRS early withdrawal penalty if the surviving spouse is younger than 59½ at the time of death."

Thankyou!
by ChessFan
Wed Nov 02, 2022 3:18 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Question about a spouse inheriting a 401k
Replies: 3
Views: 620

Question about a spouse inheriting a 401k

Say I am retired and old enough to withdraw from my 401k without penalty but my wife is considerably younger. Well under age 59.
Suppose I pass away and she is the beneficiary of my 401k.

Can she immediately make withdrawals without penalty from the inherited 401k? Or does she have to wait until age 59 1/2, or whatever the appropriate age is, to avoid early withdrawal penalties?
by ChessFan
Sat Oct 15, 2022 12:04 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Medicare Medigap Plan G vs Out-of-pocket max
Replies: 8
Views: 1188

Re: Medicare Medigap Plan G vs Out-of-pocket max

Thanks to everyone who replied! "Maybe the OP is thinking about the costs associated with Part A hospital stays longer than the 365 lifetime reserve days. Or the limit placed on foreign travel emergencies. In both these cases, I guess you could spend more out of pocket." This reply is getting at what I'm trying to understand. I'm wondering if there are scenarios where you can get a huge expense with Plan G that some other options would you protect you from. What sparked my question was something I received in a snail mail from AARP. There was a chart that said "6 Ways Medicare Will Cost You". #2 on the list said this: "Out of Pocket Limits. Annual spending caps prevent an illness or injury from devastating your fina...
by ChessFan
Fri Oct 14, 2022 11:47 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Medicare Medigap Plan G vs Out-of-pocket max
Replies: 8
Views: 1188

Medicare Medigap Plan G vs Out-of-pocket max

I am really confused regarding something in Medicare. I do not understand Medigap Plan G. I had thought this was the safest plan for my purposes. Setting aside the Part B deductible... my understanding is that if a medical expense is handled by Medicare, Medigap Plan G will cover the rest of the expense not paid by Parts A and B. On the other hand, I just heard that Plan G does not have an out-of-pocket max beyond which you pay nothing. But Medicare Advantage plans do, along with Medigap Plan L. And that this an actual advantage over Plan G. Why would you need an out-of-pocket max for valid Medicare expenses for Plan G? Doesn't it cover all expenses valid under Medicare? How is an out-pocket-max relevant to Plan G? Am I missing something?
by ChessFan
Sun Aug 21, 2022 8:31 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Should I be concerned about an impending fraud?
Replies: 6
Views: 1603

Should I be concerned about an impending fraud?

We opened a checking account with TD bank back in June. This is our only account with them. The account is supplementary for us and we fund it with small direct deposits each pay period. The bank card for this account has never been used for anything except making a few small check deposits into our account and a couple of ATM withdrawals. We have not given our account# out to anybody. Nor have we made, or set up, any payments online with our account#. Last Saturday, 8/20, I was looking at our account online and noticed a pending "Direct Debit" charge for $0 from MICROSOFT STORE dated Friday, 8/19. I called TD bank about this on 8/20. The person I reached didn't seem disturbed by this but put a Stop Payment on. Thinking now, I don...
by ChessFan
Thu Jul 14, 2022 1:34 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Stumped about Vanguard Fees [401(k) fees]
Replies: 13
Views: 1388

Re: Stumped about Vanguard Fees

Wow. Thankyou everyone!!

I had no idea about this having to do with her company! I saw Vanguard's name on the statement and assumed it was all them. I don't know half as much as I thought. I must say I find financial stuff so complicated and tricky. You really have to understand the full complexity of what is going on.

So, I will have my wife take it up with her HR and see what they say. Thanks!
by ChessFan
Thu Jul 14, 2022 1:11 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Stumped about Vanguard Fees [401(k) fees]
Replies: 13
Views: 1388

Stumped about Vanguard Fees [401(k) fees]

My wife started a new job during the first quarter of this year. Her new firm pays a type of bonus each year. The money goes into their 401k with Vanguard. My wife enrolled in the company’s 401k so she could receive this money. She did just the minimum. She contributes 1% of her pay to the plan and is in a “target retirement fund” for some future year a long while from now. I’m looking at her statement for the 2nd quarter of this year. It says this year she made about $170 in contributions and paid about $70 in fees!! That strikes me as outrageous. The statement also lists a market/gain loss of $7. So the fees really must be fees, not investment loss. This sentence appears on the statement regarding fees: “May include recordkeeping, adminis...
by ChessFan
Wed Sep 23, 2020 10:08 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Conflict with 2 Vision plans?
Replies: 1
Views: 188

Conflict with 2 Vision plans?

Hi, I recently retired and have Vision insurance with VSP from my former employer. I will be going on Medicare and signed up for a Plan G Medigap plan with Blue Cross. I just noticed this plan includes Davis Vision “discounts”. This surprised me as I didn’t realize Medigap Supplements had extras like Vision coverage. This whole Medicare thing is new to me. My big question is – will having 2 plans covering Vison matters cause conflicts/problems when I go to an eye doctor? Even if I don’t mention the Davis Vision thing, I’m sure my eye doctor’s office will figure it out once I give them my new Health insurance. If there will be issues with having 2 Vision insurances, can I somehow have Blue Cross drop the Davis Vision discounts from my Mediga...
by ChessFan
Thu Sep 03, 2020 1:05 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Medicare Plan G vs. Plan L
Replies: 3
Views: 535

Re: Medicare Plan G vs. Plan L

Thank you so much for your reply. I've always had an aversion to dealing with bureaucracies. Paperwork and rules matter so much in the retirement/age-65-world and I find myself feeling insecure about whether I understand the intricacies involved.

That's why, given my nature, I'm drawn to Medigap plans over Advantage plans, and drawn to Plan G of all the Medigap plans. Now I just have to pick a particular Plan G.

Thanks again for your help!
by ChessFan
Thu Sep 03, 2020 9:56 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Medicare Plan G vs. Plan L
Replies: 3
Views: 535

Medicare Plan G vs. Plan L

Hi, In preparation for enrolling in Medicare I’m trying to understand Medigap Plan G vs Medigap Plan L. In several places I’ve seen charts stating that Plan G has no out-of-pocket limit while Plan L does. Is this misleading? Doesn’t Plan G cover all expenses after the Part B deductible is satisfied? So, in effect aren’t your Plan G out-of-pocket expenses limited because no matter how costly covered treatments are, Plan G pays for them? A big priority for me is to avoid bankruptcy if some day I get a horrific, expensive disease. Plan L definitely caps costs. Does Plan G in actuality do this, too? I really prefer Plan G but want to make sure it isn’t inferior in any way to Plan L in protecting against catastrophic costs. Thanks in advance for...
by ChessFan
Mon Jun 22, 2020 8:30 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Credit Card Limit
Replies: 17
Views: 1862

Re: Credit Card Limit

UPDATE:

Yes, the card in question was from Chase.
And thanks Fclevz for the link to that other thread.

I did call Chase and the rep immediately agreed to my request without any further questions. So my credit limit will stay where it's at!

Thanks everyone for your replies!
by ChessFan
Sun Jun 21, 2020 11:18 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Credit Card Limit
Replies: 17
Views: 1862

Credit Card Limit

Hi, I received a letter about my longest-held credit card. The bank said I didn’t use anywhere near my card limit in the previous 12 months and they’re lowering my limit from $18,500 to $9,200, effective in 30 days. I do use the card every month but also spread out my spending across several cards from other banks. I do most of my charging on another card that lets me apply my reward points to our mortgage. Right now, my credit rating is excellent, it’s extremely high. But this reduction will adversely affect it. My spending habits with my credit cards haven’t changed for over a decade. This reduction came out of the blue. I’m going to call the bank and tell them I don’t want the limit reduced. Do you think they will just follow my wishes, ...
by ChessFan
Sun Mar 08, 2020 2:35 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: House Reassessment
Replies: 13
Views: 1046

Re: House Reassessment

"Is there any chance that she’d be opening up a can-of-worms by asking for further review?
Could the county require her to fix the roof or repair the electrical system based on what they find during a review?"

Thanks. This is also an issue. Does anyone know the answer to this?
by ChessFan
Sun Mar 08, 2020 12:17 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: House Reassessment
Replies: 13
Views: 1046

House Reassessment

I have a sister who lives in Delaware County, PA. The county is doing a reassessment of all the residential property values. My sister just received the “tentative” assessment of her residence. Her house is old and is in bad shape. It needs a new roof (it’s old and also leaked even before it got old), new furnace, there are issues with the electrical system, threadbare wall-to-wall carpets, and things are in general disrepair (for example, water stains on the walls and ceiling). The assessment does not reflect this. The next mandated step is to make an appointment for an “informal” review if you’re not happy with that assessment. Then, if you’re not happy with the outcome of that, you have the option for a “formal” appeal with the Board of ...
by ChessFan
Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:02 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: A Death Benefit Insurance Policy I Have
Replies: 4
Views: 387

Re: A Death Benefit Insurance Policy I Have

Hi,

Regarding my need for additional insurance...

Yes, my sibling is not doing well job-wise and health-wise in recent years. She is getting on in years and has a tough, low-wage job and will be needing some costly repairs on her home down the road which she will not be able to afford. I want to leave some money for these.

Thanks
by ChessFan
Tue Jun 04, 2019 9:44 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: A Death Benefit Insurance Policy I Have
Replies: 4
Views: 387

A Death Benefit Insurance Policy I Have

Hi, I have a small whole life insurance policy on myself from decades ago. I noticed that the payout on the policy has increased over the actual value purchased because of dividends that have accrued over the years. Seeing this, I wondered if I can increase the payout amount by paying extra when my annual premiums come due. Rather than purchasing new whole life insurance can I just put in extra cash with my premiums to accumulate more value? Any death-benefit insurance I purchase now would incur a much higher premium. I have some money on hand and would like to set it apart to be used when I pass away. Knowing myself, I think putting money aside this way would be more likely to prevent it being used on other things. My idea is to increase t...
by ChessFan
Fri Oct 19, 2018 3:02 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Guidelines About Deposits on a Contractor Job?
Replies: 12
Views: 1416

Guidelines About Deposits on a Contractor Job?

I’m relatively new to home-owning and especially to hiring contractors. I just received a quote for putting in a small pavers driveway. The quote was for about $6K and said a deposit for half that amount was necessary to begin work. I’ve read some advice online that you should avoid contractors who ask to be paid before any work has been done. Is that true? Maybe it depends on the nature of the job? With my driveway made of pavers maybe the amount of money due up front is high because a lot of materials are required for the job? However, the labor cost in the quote is stated to be higher than half the cost of the job. Also, I received an estimate on a painting job and it's calling for one third of the cost to be paid up front. On the other ...
by ChessFan
Sat Oct 01, 2016 9:19 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Selling a House in a Foreign Country
Replies: 2
Views: 675

Selling a House in a Foreign Country

Hi, My wife is from the Philippines and owns a house there. She had word from her mother that someone wants to buy it for a very nice price with his own money. The potential buyer is Japanese and seems to be a man of means. He has a Filipino wife. He didn't approach us out of the blue, my mother-in-law had let it be known the house was available. This just happened quicker than we expected. The buyer has our email address and will be communicating with us. We have no experience selling a house even here, let alone in the Philippines. I know if we decide to proceed one important step is to get a local Philippines real estate lawyer. Before we reply to any communication from the potential buyer, I have these questions… 1. We’re nervous about ...
by ChessFan
Mon May 16, 2016 10:47 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Tax Records
Replies: 12
Views: 2253

Tax Records

I have all my Federal tax records going back many years. I'd like to free up a lot of storage by throwing out what I can of these records. Recently I read the IRS will never go back further than 6 years and you are completely safe keeping only 7 years of history. Does the IRS guarantee this? Is this true?

I thought I heard once that every now and then the IRS does go back more than 7 years. And not just for people who didn't file. Can't they pretty much do what they want? I'd love to hear what others have to say on this matter.

Also, on a related matter, how far back do I really need to keep PA income tax records? Is there any limit for these? Do any PA residents here have any insights on this?

Thanks in advance!
by ChessFan
Tue Aug 18, 2015 11:09 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Coming Up With Your Home's Insurance Replacement Cost
Replies: 3
Views: 586

Coming Up With Your Home's Insurance Replacement Cost

I was looking at our home insurance recently and wondered about the amount we have for replacement insurance. We set up our home insurance policy when we bought our house. Since then we’ve made some substantial improvements to the house and there has been market appreciation in our town. We had our real estate agent who helped us buy the house guess at what the house might be worth now. She thinks its value may be 20 to 25% higher than when we bought it. How do you come up with a figure for replacement cost? Back when we bought the house its market value was obviously what we paid. Should we start by just guessing what the current market value is now? To get the replacement cost should we then add some percentage to our “current market valu...
by ChessFan
Tue Aug 18, 2015 10:41 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Home Insurance [Possible damage caused by nearby construction]
Replies: 9
Views: 1329

Re: Home Insurance [Possible damage caused by nearby construction]

Thank you for the replies.

I'm concerned because a new home will be going up in a lot next to me. 2 different friends, unrelated, told me that nearby construction caused some intense vibrations and there were some cracks they noticed in their walls later that they attributed to the shaking. But there were no cracks in their foundations. My house is older than theirs and I just want to be careful. I don't have any foundation cracks. I do have some small cracks in my stucco outside and big cracks in a driveway wall.
by ChessFan
Sun Aug 16, 2015 8:22 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Cash in the house
Replies: 80
Views: 10381

Re: Cash in the house

Regarding keeping some cash on hand, several people have already said this… If something serious happens and the ATM and credit card networks are down for whatever reason, you will need cash. Sure, we may never have a long power failure or some other serious event, but why not be prudent?
by ChessFan
Sun Aug 16, 2015 8:14 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Home Insurance [Possible damage caused by nearby construction]
Replies: 9
Views: 1329

Home Insurance [Possible damage caused by nearby construction]

Hi,

Does anyone have any idea whether a standard home insurance policy in the suburban Philadelphia area covers a serious crack in the foundation? We have some construction going to take place nearby and I've been told this can cause a lot of shaking and vibrations. When I looked at my policy I didn’t see anything covering foundation cracks. If this isn't covered what can you do to protect yourself?

Thanks
by ChessFan
Wed Oct 22, 2014 4:30 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: TSA [is it a hassle to opt out of scanning?]
Replies: 42
Views: 4456

TSA [is it a hassle to opt out of scanning?]

I'm going to be flying from Philadelphia Airport soon. This is my first flight since all the hullabaloo with the new TSA procedures and scanners. I intend to opt out of the scanning. I've had enough X-rays lately.

Has anyone had any experience with the pat-down they give you? How much do they make you strip down and are they really invasive? Am I letting myself in for a big hassle?
by ChessFan
Tue Jul 29, 2014 8:49 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Zoning Issue in PA
Replies: 8
Views: 1514

Re: Zoning Issue in PA

Hi, Thanks for all the replies. I had a discussion with the lot owner. Later, as suggested in the posts, I did follow up and visit the zoning officer in our town. One thing I found out surprised me. When I mentioned that the lot’s owner said that he was going to have the lot re-zoned from commercial to residential in order to build his duplex, the officer corrected me. He made a point of saying that the lot owner had applied for a variance and wasn’t having the lot re-zoned. He seemed to emphasize this point. Thinking more about this, it doesn’t sit well with me. Am I reading too much into this, or is the lot owner having his cake and eating it, too? I have to admit all this is new to me so maybe I’m wrong? The owner is putting up a residen...
by ChessFan
Tue Jul 15, 2014 8:47 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Zoning Issue in PA
Replies: 8
Views: 1514

Zoning Issue in PA

Hi, There is an empty lot several properties away from our house. All the other properties around us have single family houses. There is also a single-family house on the far side of the lot. The lot is an odd shape. The fronts of the properties on either side of the lot make a right angle to each other. The entrance to the lot bisects this right angle. The lot is slightly larger than the adjacent properties. The houses around the lot are either split level or ranch style. The lot itself is zoned as commercial. The owner of the lot is trying to change this. He's cleared the land and intends to build a duplex, with built-in garages, in the lot. He also plans to run electric lines and a telephone pole into the lot. He's going to pave a drive ...
by ChessFan
Sun Jan 12, 2014 11:32 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Financial Threat?
Replies: 10
Views: 13621

Re: Financial Threat?

Hi,

Thanks to everyone for your replies! I feel a lot less paranoid about this whole thing now.
by ChessFan
Thu Jan 09, 2014 7:57 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Financial Threat?
Replies: 10
Views: 13621

Financial Threat?

My wife and I bought a car from one of the large, certified, “no-haggle” used car outfits. As part of the transaction they arranged a low-interest loan for us while we were there with the “Dealer Services” arm of a major bank. 4 business days later, my wife received a bizarre offer in the mail from some outfit calling themselves “Auto Finance Solutions”. It starts off with “Congratulations on your Automotive Platinum Card” and that she’s been pre-qualified for an auto loan. It includes a card just like a credit card, gives a number to call 24 hours a day to activate it and a pin to use to do this. Alternatively she can go to a web page named with her actual name dot needsaloan dot com. The available amount is 5-40k. The loan is “at a simple...
by ChessFan
Wed Dec 11, 2013 10:51 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Support Questions
Replies: 2
Views: 420

Support Questions

Hi, I live in PA. My sister works part time and lives with and cares for our elderly mother, also in PA. My wife and I help support them. For example, we pay all the property taxes for their house. I have a couple of questions. 1. Someone told me that my mother should transfer the title to their house to my sister. This would avoid liens against the house stemming from any medical emergencies my mother might have. Is this OK legally? Can they just transfer the house or sell it for one dollar? The house value is well below the $500,000 value that incurs any federal inheritance tax. I’m not sure about the Pennsylvania tax impact tho. The house is all paid up. Right now the title is in my mother’s name (and maybe my deceased father’s name, too...
by ChessFan
Sun Nov 10, 2013 8:14 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: A Question about Some Credit Card Offers
Replies: 7
Views: 1382

A Question about Some Credit Card Offers

I received a mail solicitation from Bank of America to sign up for a credit card. One of the enticements was that you would be awarded $100 if you spend $500 within the first 3 months you have the card. This is in addition to earning points for purchases towards getting cash back. The fine print on the offer mentioned that you “may” receive a 1099 form for the $100 cash award and that it may be taxable. Does the IRS tax this sort of money? I know they don’t tax normal cash-back money that you earn by accumulating points on purchases. Is it true that introductory cash awards like the one mentioned are considered taxable by the IRS? This is a surprise to me. Or maybe the credit card company is just anticipating possible future changes in the ...
by ChessFan
Sat Nov 05, 2011 9:27 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How Should this accident be handled?
Replies: 31
Views: 3562

How Should this accident be handled?

My 86 year old mother and my sister were going into a big chain store at night. The parking lot was rather dark and as my mother stepped up to the sidewalk in front of the store, she tripped and fell hard. She cut her lip which bled a lot, banged up an eye, and injured her hand so that it swelled up. The store and someone else called 911. Two ambulances showed up. My mother refused transport to a hospital. She, or my sister, “had to” sign some form for the local town ambulance saying she was refusing transport. The people on the ambulance provided some assistance to my mother. Maybe helping to staunch the blood flow from her lip, checking her out, and giving advice. A policeman who came also helped. One of the reasons my mother refused to g...
by ChessFan
Mon Sep 13, 2010 10:44 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Umbrella Insurance
Replies: 20
Views: 4399

Umbrella Insurance

I'm considering getting an umbrella policy to protect us from large liability claims. We have a mortgage on a house near Philadelphia that's worth about 250K. Our home insurance is with Travelers. We have one car, no motorcycles, or anything else exotic. Our auto policy is also with Travelers (but thru a different insurance broker) and we have $300,000 liability insurance with it. Our only other big asset is a 401K worth about $200K.

Does an umbrella policy make sense for us? What coverage clauses are important to look for when you get umbrella insurance -- at least in our case?

Thanks in advance for any insights.
by ChessFan
Wed Aug 04, 2010 11:21 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Use Angie's List for Home Contractors?
Replies: 15
Views: 3596

Use Angie's List for Home Contractors?

CrazyPete wrote in a post a while ago: “ … With Angie's List, as with any online search service, you need to know how and when to use it. It is not merely an advertising service for contractors. Yes contractors can pay to get better placement (as with Google and any number of other search providers). But paid placements are marked in search results. You do need to be in a market where they've reached a reasonable critical mass of reviews or else it is pretty useless”. Can anyone tell me whether the Havertown, Broomall, Newtown Square area of Delaware County in Pennsylvania has reached “a reasonable critical mass of reviews” in Angie’s List for construction contractors? Would it be worthwhile to pay for this service if you’re looking for hom...
by ChessFan
Wed Aug 04, 2010 11:13 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Hiring a Contractor
Replies: 7
Views: 1848

Hiring a Contractor

Hi, My house is in Pennsylvania. I need to hire a roofing and siding contractor to fix problems with a rotten facia board with a big hole in it and with leaky aluminum siding – all in one section of the house. And also with a leak where this section joins the rest of the house at the roof level. This section was added on years ago by the original owner (the rest of the house has stucco). Water gets thru the aluminum siding and shows up on the plywood walls in the basement (there are no drywall or concrete walls in the basement of this section). I proved the siding was leaking by experimenting with spraying a garden hose on it. Water also leaks in where the roof of this section joins the older part of the house. This water comes down between...
by ChessFan
Thu Jul 15, 2010 11:40 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Re-financing a second mortgage
Replies: 8
Views: 1547

Thanks for the additional replies! That's a good point about applying all my extra payments to the loan with highest interest rate. I didn't even think about this! My primary mortgage rate is a full percent lower than my second mortgage. When I got my primary mortgage I set up the automatic payment to apply extra principal. After adding my second mortgage I never went back and changed this. Now I will stop the extra payment on my primary mortgage and apply that money to my second mortgage. I should've caught this! That's the beauty of forums like this -- you find out things you missed. Given the hassles involved that were pointed out, I don't think I'll bother investigating re-financing my second mortgage any further. I have more pressing/r...
by ChessFan
Wed Jul 14, 2010 8:50 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Re-financing a second mortgage
Replies: 8
Views: 1547

Hi, Thank you for your answers! I am thinking of re-financing only my 2nd mortgage and leaving my first mortgage in place. When I first posted I was just ball-parking my yearly savings in payments. It would be actually be $336. The monthly payments for my current 2nd mortgage are also higher because it was originally for more than $30,000. I’ve paid down some of the principal to get to about $30,000. This is why I’d have $336 savings in payments per year instead of $300 (1% of $30,000) if I re-financed. The point about the equity is a potential issue. I hadn’t thought of that. My loans together are probably over 80% of the value they think the house has. The 2nd mortgage did improve the value of the house (we put in central air/heat-pump, a...
by ChessFan
Tue Jul 13, 2010 11:55 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Re-financing a second mortgage
Replies: 8
Views: 1547

Re-financing a second mortgage

Hi,

I have a 2nd mortgage for about $30,000 for about 19 more years. The interest rate is 5.375%. I’m not having trouble paying it off. But my primary mortgage lender just sent me an email quoting loan rates that are about a percent less. This would save me about $30 a month in payments.

Does anyone have an idea what would be reasonable fees for a 20 year mortgage for $30,000? What should I watch out for if I look to re-finance? I guess I need to compare $360/year savings vs. whatever the fees are. Any thoughts on this are welcome. Thanks!
by ChessFan
Fri Oct 09, 2009 10:39 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: A Basic Question About Loans
Replies: 4
Views: 1331

A Basic Question About Loans

I’m in the process of getting a loan (a "second mortgage" I guess) for some home improvements. I’m getting a fixed rate loan for a 20 year term. There is no penalty for paying the loan off early. But my question does concern paying it off early. My original mortgage (my "first mortgage") allows me to pay down principal early. If I do this, I avoid paying interest on the paid-off principal. However, a while ago I took out a loan from my 401K and it turned out that paying it off early did not decrease the total interest I paid. The total amount re-paid remained exactly the same as if I had not paid any of the balance early. I would like to make sure of something with the loan I’m now getting: If I pay off some of the princ...
by ChessFan
Mon Oct 13, 2008 8:37 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Moving Funds to other Companies (better rates)
Replies: 11
Views: 3184

Thanks!

DaveTH,

I see I'll have to be careful with how I handle this.

Thanks for your reply and for the information!
by ChessFan
Sun Oct 12, 2008 11:16 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Moving Funds to other Companies (better rates)
Replies: 11
Views: 3184

DaveTH wrote: Some banks and other financial institutions will pull a credit report as part of the account opening process. I would ask if they will be doing a "hard inquiry" credit check because that will ding your credit score temporarily by about 5 points.
Hi, I'm curious... Can you further define what temporarily means? Does it mean a few weeks, or more than a month, several months, or even half a year? I'm thinking of buying a house soon and am also going to rollover an old 401K to an IRA at Vanguard. I never realized opening a new account could ding my credit score. Thanks.
by ChessFan
Sun Oct 12, 2008 1:23 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Vanguard Retirement Svgs Trust vs Vanguard Prime Money Mrkt
Replies: 0
Views: 1197

Vanguard Retirement Svgs Trust vs Vanguard Prime Money Mrkt

My company has Vanguard for its 401K. Back in February or March (?) I was spooked when the Fed met on a Sunday and lowered the interest rate half a percent. I figured they knew something and the next day I pulled most of my money out of stock funds and put it into the Vanguard Prime Money Market Fund, VMMXX. Most of the rest of my money was already in the Vanguard Retirement Savings Trust (the Stable Value Fund). Now with this crisis we're in, I'm wondering which is better. Is the Money Market safer? I am scared and want to put my money in the safest place. Or are both funds about the same safety-wise? If so, is the Stable Value fund a better place?? I don't know how to judge the risk for this fund by reading its prospectus. My number one c...