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sbaywriter

My Cap One card says the following: We will debit your AutoPay Bank Account on your due date even if you make other payments. No debit will be made if you have a balance of $0 when the AutoPay Payment begins processing, typically 1-2 days before your due date. So not just BoA. So yeah, it requires s...

sbaywriter

Thanks for posting the link to the form. I have a Fidelity IRA but have not done any RMDs or QCDs, but have done both from Vanguard and am considering at some point consolidating at Fidelity, so interested in the answer to this question. This following part was surprising to me because when I did a ...

sbaywriter

In Silicon Valley a couple of years ago, a nice (as in recently built, air conditioning) 2 bedroom in Mountain View (Google land) would go for 3500 and up. Older units maybe 2500. I guess that's VHCOL vs HCOL. So it's all relative, sometimes you are forced to pay more because that's what it costs.

sbaywriter

There is a guy named Ron Stack who sells books evaluating retirement places including Florida and has a huge website with info on various places to live in Florida and risks to be aware of. You might find it informative. But keep in mind that his approach to sell book seems to be to use scare tactic...

sbaywriter

I recently moved to Tampa Bay area - Tampa airport is nice and has many flights - I think including international, not sure. Hurricanes: areas by the coast or right on Tampa Bay are evacuation zones because of potential storm surge but inland areas can still get the winds and flooding from heavy rai...

sbaywriter

Probably refers to if you are willing to receive palliative sedation - you can google that for more info - basically being sedated into unconsciousness as a relief for pain when dying.

sbaywriter

When I lived in LA area many years ago in rental houses, several came with stove only, or stove/refrig. Most had no washer/dryer. Maybe there is a nearby laundromat. Yes you can find used appliances.

sbaywriter

She claims that now that she's on his benefits she can't see what hers would be when looking online.

This is true, had the same situation - it will no longer show hers. She can call Social Security office and ask them for that info.

sbaywriter

I am pretty sure you do it all through the insurer. My experience: I moved from California to Florida last year. I was on a Humana part D plan. I checked the medicare website and it showed that Humana had the same plan in Florida. So after I moved I called Humana about changing my address. Turned ou...

sbaywriter

Yes it can become expensive long term and you might be better off getting rid of more stuff than storing it, or spending the money to organize it better rather than on storage costs. What seems to happen is people don't have time to sort through accumulated stuff, or they inherit a bunch of stuff an...

sbaywriter

OP had question about what happens if the owner of the bond is incapacitated and another question on what happens in event of death - these are 2 different situations. I don't think the "incapacitated" question was answered - I don't know the answer and would be interested. On the other question, ad...

sbaywriter

There is a form you can fill out and file with SSA when your income is reduced because you stopped working. It is SSA-44 Medicare Income Related Monthly Adjustment Amount Life Changing Event. Work stoppage is one of the "events." It may help to have something from your employer confirming that you s...

sbaywriter

Not much new to add to comments above but will share my mom’s experiences, since she left a CCRC. She was in her mid 80s but still active and in good health, and worked part time. She lived in an apartment close to public transportation and within walking distance of stores and services. But the apa...

sbaywriter

You've got a lot of good suggestions. Just want to chime in to agree with them and encourage you to keep investigating your options, including what others suggested of talking to people in fields that appeal to you, doing self-assessment career type tests to discover other possibilities, etc. I got ...

sbaywriter

Between 2002-2004 after dot com crash in silicon valley was sporadically employed on short term contracts for about a year and a half before getting a longer term contract and eventually a contract that morphed into permanent job where I stayed for 10 years. Part of that was geography - was trying t...

sbaywriter

I had the "guarantee x amount if appraised lower than offer" on a contract when I sold my house couple of years ago - another hot housing market - it did appraise at offered price. Sounds like your realtor is giving you some good guidance on how to approach the market. But if the realtor is telling ...

sbaywriter

Forget the brokered CDs - they are for people with lots of money they need to allocate to fixed income investment, not for people deciding what to do with 10k of their emergency fund. I saw in other thread there is 10k minimum required for Vanguard brokered CDs. Yes treasury bonds and I bonds are ot...

sbaywriter

Depends on your circumstances and what works for you. Like, depends on your age and how employable and mobile you are - some jobs or industries you can be unemployed for long stretches or indefinitely if over 50. In such a case, would use CDs, I-bonds, etc rather than stock investments since stock m...

sbaywriter

Visiting as a tourist on vacation requires planning a different trip than visiting to find out nice suburbs you might want to live. I think I remember from earlier you were interested in exploring places to live. If you need to live close to a major airport or place with jobs, places like Ventura, O...

sbaywriter

If you are young, you can probably get best deal with ordering online. Older people like me have back issues that require test drive. I would check out a few local furniture stores first. If you find several you like in store you could note details like: height of back, depth of seat , height of top...

sbaywriter

Just a note on climate. To understand California climate (both northern and southern) along the coast, you need to understand how the marine layer affects the climate. Google marine layer. When you live with a mountain range between you and the ocean, you can see the white mist rolling in , with the...

sbaywriter

Not clear to me why. Is it that you are reluctant to sell the place because you are afraid prices will continue up and you will never afford to be able to buy again in that part of California? I rented out my house and rented elsewhere because it was underwater on mortgage during the housing bust an...

sbaywriter

Would they have any concerns about earthquakes? I went through 2 major earthquakes in LA area (1971 and 1994) - I would never want to be in a high rise in earthquake country. Especially if I were getting older and might have to travel down multiple flights of stairs to evacuate.

sbaywriter

When I was laid off in large RIF in California, the WARN act mandated 2 months notice so for those 2 months I requested that all of my paycheck go toward 401k. Then the severance payment was given after the 2 months. Don't know if that applies. Not sure why you said 50 percent of paycheck - I was ha...

sbaywriter

Agree with other suggestions on discussing with husband. In some areas it is common for people who commute long distance to rent room locally and stay there 2-4 nights a week. Maybe he needs to find an arrangement like that. I would feel same as you but would want to make it clear that in an emergen...

sbaywriter

For a brief year where I had extra money I bought 3 framed original artwork from working artists in my locale. They were giclee prints so to me look like original art, not that flat dull poster stuff. My rationale: I am not an artist, I love the art created by others, I think artists are not rewarde...

sbaywriter

Same thing happens (your own benefits no longer visible) if you claim widow/widower benefits while holding off until later on your own benefits.

You can call them and ask them to calculate your own benefits for you - well, at least I did that a year before I claimed.

sbaywriter

As far as the phone it may be possible to port the number to Google voice - there is a tool you can use to check.

Google "can I port landline to Google voice" and you should find it.

sbaywriter

It's 300 maximum - probably more like 30 cents actual? From the FAQ Each RMG telemarketing call you received will have a maximum value of $300. You may file a claim for up to three calls per telephone number included in the Call Records. This means that your maximum payment amount could be $900 per ...

sbaywriter

No comments on prices, only weather and scenery: Ventura/Oxnard - beautiful and temperate. Miles of beaches and inland hiking in the hills I lived there long time ago (1980s) - the marine layer (think gray and foggy) keeps it lovely and cool (sometimes downright cold) during the summer. I prefer coo...

sbaywriter

I agree with the suggestion of previous posters to take some time off and get some kind of job - that worked for me. But times were different then. And of course none of us really have the full picture here and the decision is ultimately the GFs. I dropped out of college in the 1960s because althoug...

sbaywriter

Lived near San Jose for 20 or so years but not sure why anyone would make a special trip to visit it unless there for business or family when there is so much to see in SF. In SF 4 art museums that might have special programs for kids. There's Chinatown for different cultural feel. Golden Gate park ...

sbaywriter

I bought (off Amazon, for about $20) a little cassette player that came with USB connector: AGPtek® Tape to PC Super USB Cassette-to-MP3 Player Converter With USB Cable, Headphones and Software It comes with a install CD but if I remember right what it has on the CD is Audacity. Anyhow, I think I th...

sbaywriter

Some factors to consider - how familiar are you with that CCRC? Are you confident you would feel happy in that kind of environment? Can you "try it out" by renting on site for a few days and checking out dining facilities, etc. My mom moved to one. She had been living in a walkable city and right ne...

sbaywriter

Speaking as a renter - if they are good tenants, they know it, and probably expect you to know it and reward them by not giving them any big rent increase when their lease is up. A small increase, maybe 2 - 3 percent would not come as shock and probably wouldn't cause them to move, if that is your c...

sbaywriter

Gosh, so much beauty in California coast - just remembered - if you are really headed way north, Prairie Creek Redwoods state park has a spectacular and easy 5 mile hike through redwood forest down to the coast - that is, it is easy if one member of party is willing to drop the rest off at top of tr...

sbaywriter

Monterey Aquarium is great and there is kayaking nearby which I would think would be fun for teens, and if you are down that way, second vote for Pacific Grove and Asilomar State Beach - very easy access to beautiful beach bluff trail with crashing waves for anyone with physical limitations on hikin...

sbaywriter

As you already discovered, California coastal area stays cool to cold in the summer due to marine layer.

Just a reminder that highway 1 is closed at Big Sur due to the bridge collapse and not expected to reopen until end of Sept 2017. So driving all the way on highway 1 is not possible.

sbaywriter

I paid off mortgage when I sold house and the next month the score dropped about 30 points and one of the reasons that showed up was that I didn't have any installment loan. But within a couple of months it came back to about where it was before, maybe slightly higher. I'm not positive the payoff ca...

sbaywriter

Yes back in just before the dotcom crash when I didn't know anything - or at least the advisor was affiliated with them in some way. The advisor I went to did not charge me any advisory fee except I think for the planning session, but put me into 4 - 5 American funds with 5 + percent front loads.

sbaywriter

Thanks to that website just posted above I found the "police procedural" I was thinking of - it's James Melville, series with Tetsuo Otani, the Superintendent of Police in Kobe, Japan. Well-written, not much violence, think I will re-read some.

sbaywriter

You could try the Rei Shimura series by Sujata Massey. Young Japanese American heroine living in contemporary Japan. I found it "ok" in terms of conveying atmosphere - not great. The writing likewise ok not great - but these days there is so much horrible shlock being churned out for ebooks that it ...

sbaywriter

Not an expert, but it seems like incorrect information is being posted on this thread about Roth IRA withdrawals and taxes/penalties. You can withdraw your contributions from a Roth account at any time with no tax or penalty. The tax/penalties apply only to earnings not to contributions. And only un...

sbaywriter

I have similar concern about smell of smoke in used car - my last used car that CPO former rental car bought from dealer. Apparently they "deodorized" it with some new smell fragrance before I test drove it. Once the fake fragrance wore off, I could smell the smoke. It took months and multiple clean...

sbaywriter

Recent rental prices: Mountain View (next door to Palo Alto) - $3500 for 2 bedroom apartments, $4000 for 3 bedroom. But Mountain View has become Google City. More on Morgan Hill as a possible place to live: I used to live in Morgan Hill and commute to Mountain View. Ugly commute in rush hour. Becaus...

sbaywriter

If you take 152 across to the 5, I agree with earlier poster that Casa de Fruta is a nice stop, but you haven't gotten very far south. Another alternative is to take 101 further south and take another highway east to the 5. I think it's highway 46 at Paso Robles, though maybe it's 41, I get confused...

sbaywriter

Adding a "what not to do" that I haven't seen in other threads. The stores tend to have mattress sales on Memorial day and Labor day. So you can buy at about 40 percent off full price. But the what not to do is - what if it doesn't work out and you need to replace it - the big sale is gone and you a...

sbaywriter

I'm interested too - if anyone has recommendations on best brands and easiest to use or drawbacks one should be aware of. Google online - lots of information about backup cameras, their features, cost, installation. The cameras seem to go for under $200 and maybe another couple hundred if you get pr...

sbaywriter

Prices not all the way back to pre-bubble burst territory but yes, have been moving up the last couple of years and there has been some flipping going on. Also be cautious of buying in flood plain (AE category)- areas even inland may be in that category. The risk to consider is possible increases in...

sbaywriter

Regular TJ shopper since the 70s in LA. Then it was the cheese and chocolate. Now it's mainly the convenience and some better deals than supermarket: Handful of nuts - various kinds Frozen cheese and green chile tamales Frozen brown rice Eggs Packaged butter lettuce/radicchio mix salad Ricola cough ...

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