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Roughly, $100,000 at 7% variable - Sallie Mae Signature (non-federal) private student loans $100,000 at 3% fixed (now) - Stafford consolidated (in school deferments are still available on all of my loans) Have you consulted legal aid or some other non-profit legal help group in Chicago? Have you in...

Then I guess my question is, why are you paying anything? Why not continue on disability in the US and let the lenders garnish what they can? From what I've read, hardly anyone on disability ever gets off disability. Why on earth would you say that and what are your sources? First, staying on disab...

He might also want to look into Zipcar or other car-sharing options, many of the big rental companies are now getting into this field: http://www.zipcar.com/ and perhaps some of these other options: http://seekingalpha.com/article/907501-zipcar-versus-the-competition-a-comprehensive-perspective-on-g...

I haven't researched enough to see if she can maintain the same doctors through her new employers plan. That may end up being the deciding factor... I guess the other factor is that in dollar amounts, the savings comes to ~$2000. I would like to know of any downsides/inconveniences to make sure it ...

I am currently paying around $1000 a month on student loans and am making little progress. About half goes to interest. This is a math-challenged thread. Mostly because we don't know the OP's true situation so we're all guessing. Could you elaborate on what we don't know about the OPs true situatio...

I also have "Valuethinker-style" sympathy, but agree that all mistakes weren't made at 18, and besides, isn't 18 the age at which we become responsible for ourselves? I also have "Valuethinker-style" sympathy for a family practitioner with $500K in loans and don't see it as all ...

30 Abilify ( an anti-psychotic RXd for bi-polar) tablets--a one month supply -- can cost up to $1,060.00 at Costco. Very few insurance companies cover this. I have a friend whose teenage son takes it and they pay $800 per month. The newer-- and in this category, most often better-- psychotropic med...

We found this website incredibly helpful when dealing with filing a disability claim and hiring a lawyer to successfuly pursue this claim. It's run my insurance agents but there's a wealth of knowledge and they don't always agree with each other plus there are consumers also. http://www.disabilityin...

. I suppose this is so in any profession, but indeed it is much more so amongst physicians who, I should add, are notorious for being financially irresponsible. Can you speculate why this is? My ex-brother in law wasn't exactly financially irresponsible--he just bought time shares, took flyers on s...

Speaking of Costco pharmacy prices, I have a neighbor whose spouse requires a lot of expensive prescription for her ongoing medical condition. He tells me that Costco has a "price point" at which some of their prices go down. For example, with a price point prescribed quantity of 100 the ...

Fair enough. But should I get it right this second or can I afford to wait a year? I don't know-- is the unexpected car crash or degenerative disease you don't expect going to happen in six months, a year, three years or never? You keep asking the question and you keep getting the same answer-- do ...

The one caveat if her spouse is under 65 (SS Disability) is that not all states sell Medigap policies to those under 65--there was a recent thread on this where a state only sold Medicare Advantage- and that in those that do, the policies can be much more expensive that the cost of a policy at 65. B...

The landlady wants two months deposit b/c we have a small pet. Is it common to negotiate the rent? I found this place on craigslist and then went to see it. Haven been communicating via email and was wondering if it would be okay to see if the rent will go any lower. Good idea or no? How would I go...

Again, sorry for incomplete info earlier, was trying to keep the original post at a manageable length. Our eldercare attorney has done his thing. We've got wills, POAs, even an irrevocable trust that should guarantee the kids a little bit of money (didn't count that in the 'mid-six figures' mention...

OP - the husband has "agreed" to let you manage the finances? May I suggest you look into obtaining a court-appointed "financial conservatorship and/or guardian with power of attorney rights" to manage the finances and to potentially "reverse" manic-driven spending spr...

Fair enough. But should I get it right this second or can I afford to wait a year? I don't know-- is the unexpected car crash or degenerative disease you don't expect going to happen in six months, a year, three years or never? You keep asking the question and you keep getting the same answer-- do ...

I apparently live in one of those non-average regions. Average home prices are shooting up again here in West San Jose, California. They are higher than ever. :shock: That's right. Silicon Valley is not average. :wink: I seem to recall a heated discussion here close to a year ago on whether prices ...

It appears that I qualify to have some planning advice from Vanguard. Has anyone used their planning service? (I know just enough so that I am afraid to make a mistake with asset allocation, fund choice, etc.) There's nothing wrong with planning advice from Vanguard--they're competent. But they're ...

Still - I'm closing in on 65, a couple years to go, and will be debating whether to get it, or take the risk and self-insure. Keep in mind that one surgery, one unexpected surgery and hospital stay and the attendant costs-- of hospital bill (see my note post above-- $110,000 for a 3 day hospital st...

Could you, perhaps, elaborate why her Medigap policy paid less for her bills (which seem to have been significant) than would have been the case for Cancer or Heart Disease? I thought the Medigap policies generally paid for the "gap" between the Medicare payment and the fully allowed Medi...

Nonnie, But how could I ever want us to go back to a system where the reason I could get into a specialist easily was because people who had lost their jobs couldn't afford to see one at all? I totally agree with you and tried to make that come through with my post! I'm more concerned about the hea...

This is slightly off topic but I think very germane. My partner and I have unfortunately had to see about six specialists over the past few months. In each case except one we were told, "I'm sorry we've reached our quota of Medicare patients for this month, you're going to have to wait until Ma...

I'm trying to add my partner as a joint account owner to my credit card, but most places I spoke with only offer authorized user status, with a single account owner. Is this normal? What do most of you do to share credit cards with your partners? Part of the reason I want to do this is to have the ...

04/2013 is what you want to put in. (And you'll have to do it as two $5,000 bonds for a $10,000 purchase.) Also, you can put any info you wish in the serial number field. Thanks much-- I got really frustrated trying to enter the date-- it kept putting a space before the 2013 and then it wouldn't le...

I know I must be doing something wrong but I don't know what it is. I'm trying to enter a 4/2013 $10K I-Bond into the Savings Bond Wizard and I keep getting the message: invalid issue date, valid issue date for $10K I-bond is 5/1999 through 1/2008 (paraphrased). I can't even enter two $5K bonds. Wha...

As far as I can tell, there are two reasons to consider duration: (1) to balance equity risk (modern portfolio theory), (2) to meet future liabilities. As I *didn't* :happy state in my original post I'm selling my entire TIP position and trying to decide what funds to buy to replace this holding. I...

Nonnie, I would back up and ask: what is the reason you want to know the duration? Usually, the reason is that people want to be able to judge the interest rate sensitivity of their portfolio, and they want to be able to judge what is a reasonable holding period if they want to have a minimal chanc...

out the following thread if you dare: what is an ibonds duration? , then probably you should do what Call_Me_Op suggests. Thanks much for the link (also to Nisi). Fascinating discussion--at least the part I understood-- sorry I missed it. I'm now convinced I bond duration is either a)0 or b)the dat...

In figuring duration for one's fixed income or bond portfolio, how does one handle I-bonds. My I-bond position is 18% of my FI portfolio. I'm trying to lower the duration of my fixed exposure. Is there an accepted way of handling I-bond duration in a calculation of this type? I'm in the decumulation...

Thanks for the responses so far. Just to be clear, the my preferred alternative to having the professional adviser isn't my mom managing the money—it's me managing what's to be my own money or at least having a lower-fee adviser do it, so I don't know that there would be any real legal consideratio...

My first post, I am lurking and learning. I think there is an argument for "diversification" here. Why not some paper, some electronic? I started buying I-bonds three years ago and in addition to the $10,000 TD electronic, this year I also did the $5,000 paper with overpayment of federal ...

Bed Bath & Beyond. They take back anything, anytime, no questions asked. I recently returned a 3 year old waffle iron (hated it from the start, never used it and just hadn't gotten around to returning it) and a 2 year old Dustbuster. Plus they have $5 off coupons floating around all the time and...

Nonnie, I am in Nevada. You are correct that there are no Medigap policies available to those under 65 in NV. I can, however, buy an Advantage plan. Ultimately I want to have a Medigap policy. My concern is what I've read about the underwriting obstacles involved in switching from an Advantage plan...

If you can get your AUM fee under 0.5% I think you should give serious consideration to DFA. I don't think Bogleheads are necessarily against DFA are they? My advisor comes in at 29 bps (0.29%). I do have mostly DFA Funds but just today my advisor recommended two Vanguard bond funds! I recently tol...

How did this work out for you??? I am in the same boat right now. At 63 I will qualify for early Medicare in June due to disability. My state does not offer Medigap for under 65, so an Advantage plan is my only choice. I'm probably wrong about this but you say "My state does not offer Medigap ...

I was shocked to see my purchase go through the next day! That's because you weren't on a deadline and needing to make sure it went through on 4/30-- therefore Murphy's law hadn't kicked in! "-) Since I'm getting .07 in my MM savings a/c-- I don't have a problem with doing it early. I could wr...

I had to talk to Treasury Direct today on another matter and asked the question-- they actually recommended I schedule the purchase for Friday, 26th to make sure there was enough time for funds to clear my bank. I could call back three times and get three different answers, I'm sure. All I know is t...

OverTheHill wrote:Yes, you have it right, other than I think 2% of $600K is $12K instead of $14K, unless my math is wrong, which it frequently is.

Thanks, that's what I get for trying to "disguise" my real assets and withdrawal rate!

Definition of withdrawal rate-- I've gotten a few private emails and from a couple questions asked in this thread, I want to make absolutely sure we are all using the same-- and correct-- definition of withdrawal rate. My example-- let's say I have assets/investments (not including home) which total...

Can someone refresh me on how long an electronic Ibond purchase is taking these days. To get an April purchase date am I safe waiting until 4/26?

Thanks,
Nonnie

Hi Nonnie, Since you want more cash flow, but are worried about running out of money before you die; and since you are not concerned about leaving an inheritance, I would suggest that you transfer some of your fixed income holdings to a single payment immediate annuity. This would increase the cash...

Distinguishing withdrawals via dividends from withdrawals via selling shares is meaningless mental accounting. If your withdrawal rate is conservative, which yours is, you have nothing to worry about. If your withdrawal rate is risky, whether or not it comes from dividends, then one should worry. Y...

I'm not entirely sure I understand the question or the comments. If you have a 2% withdrawal rate from your portfolio, then that's what you have, and 2% is really good if it gives you enough to round out your lifestyle. It's nice if the 2% comes from annual gain, as oppposed to dipping into princip...

I'm in my 5th year of retirement with a comfortable 2% withdrawal rate covering basics and some travel. At this low rate I can easily increase it to 2.5 or 3% for more travel or unexpected medical/dental expenses. There is no IRA or RMDs. I'm very risk averse with a 25/75 portfolio. After interest a...

Slightly OT -I recently had something strange happen. I had at-home physical therapy for 6 sessions (best PT I ever had). The agency billed Medicare $1600 and Medicare reimbursed $4000 with a note to the effect-- sometimes this happens because of "contract" rates. OK-- good for them. OTOH,...

I'll be more than happy to share my 2012 performance. My low-cost advisor who uses DFA funds- but not exclusively-- is John Gorlow of Cardiff Park Advisors. http://www.cardiffpark.com/ We started with Cardiff Park in 2011. 2012 was our first full year under management. We're very risk averse and my ...

Thus buyer is able to deduct real property taxes for number of days owned EVEN if these taxes were paid by the seller-- interesting--I didn't think you could ever deduct something you hadn't actually paid. Nonnie I think you are mising the point. The buyer pays his share of the taxes by reimbursing...

A general principle in the tax law is that you can't deduct an expense which is the obligation of another and which you have no obligation to pay. If it were otherwise, you would have the person in the highest tax bracket make the payment for the greatest tax benefit. The IRC doesn't work that way....

Here's something I just found: You take legal advice from the internet at your own peril. 1. "On the internet, nobody knows you're a dog." 2. You don't know if they are lying. 3. You don't know if they are incompetent. 4. You don't know if their claim would stand up to an audit. 5. You do...

Nonnie - The example you found was JTWROS. Your original post indicates a tenants-in-common situation where each would have an obligation to pay on his share. Bruce Hi there, I'm sorry my original question was not more clear. The property title is actually held JTWROS w/ each person paying half the...