Search found 106 matches
- Wed Jan 03, 2024 11:18 am
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: 2024 BOGLEHEAD CONTEST REGISTRATION
- Replies: 579
- Views: 37877
- Sat Oct 28, 2023 6:57 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Aetna Silverscript Medicare D 2024
- Replies: 24
- Views: 3608
Re: Aetna Silverscript Medicare D 2024
It is common for Part D plans to reduce their price every few years to attract more customers. Then they raise their prices the following year. They count on most people not looking at their options and changing during Open Enrollment.
I was really disappointed by the customer service of my current plan but when I looked into my options no other plan available to me was rated better (and that wasn’t saying much) and many were rated worse.
I was really disappointed by the customer service of my current plan but when I looked into my options no other plan available to me was rated better (and that wasn’t saying much) and many were rated worse.
- Mon Jan 10, 2022 4:12 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: Official Registration For The 2022 Boglehead Contest
- Replies: 733
- Views: 41521
- Fri Mar 23, 2018 9:34 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Infrared Sauna at home
- Replies: 21
- Views: 5448
Re: Infrared Sauna at home
I also have a wood infrared sauna. I am very fond of it. So is my cat. I use it before I go to bed because it makes me so relaxed.
- Sat Jan 06, 2018 10:44 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Sling TV experiences
- Replies: 41
- Views: 5900
Re: Sling TV experiences
I think TV is only good for live sports these days. We did cut the cord and have YouTube TV. They gave us a free Chromecast. We are satisfied with the service. Although YouTube TV supports some local stations, we get our local stations via an antenna in our attic.
- Wed Jan 04, 2017 10:13 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Getting rid of Financial Engines
- Replies: 42
- Views: 25186
Re: Getting rid of Financial Engines
My husband's current employer's 401(k) will not accept the funds from the former employer's 401(k). The only option to get rid of the Fidelity account is to roll it over into an IRA. If he does this, he can no longer make tax free backdoor Roth contributions.
- Wed Jan 04, 2017 10:07 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Getting rid of Financial Engines
- Replies: 42
- Views: 25186
Re: Getting rid of Financial Engines
The comments of ved helped me understand a little of what is going on. Apparently, there is something in their agreement that says that if they try to contact you and fail that they have the right to make the changes they recommend. If my husband had known this was going to be the case, he never would have agreed to it.
- Wed Jan 04, 2017 9:55 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Getting rid of Financial Engines
- Replies: 42
- Views: 25186
Re: Getting rid of Financial Engines
I do not know how much Financial Engines wants to charge us to make them go away. Student does have a good point that from our own personal perspective it might be more efficient time wise to pay them off. We do feel that to pay Financial Engines off encourages this behavior, which we regard an unethical. From that perspective we would like to avoid doing so. This is a large account and if my husband threatens to move it elsewhere Fidelity might take more notice. We had not thought of complaining to the state attorney general. We will look into it.
- Wed Jan 04, 2017 9:31 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Getting rid of Financial Engines
- Replies: 42
- Views: 25186
Re: Getting rid of Financial Engines
Thanks for quick replies. Financial Engines wants to charge us to get out of this situation - unless we continue it for 3 months. Fidelity refuses to get involved and says we must deal with Financial Engines. How can we prevent Financial Engines for charging us for this "advice" that we never wanted in the first place?
- Wed Jan 04, 2017 9:15 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Getting rid of Financial Engines
- Replies: 42
- Views: 25186
Getting rid of Financial Engines
My husband has a 401(k) from a previous employer which is serviced by Fidelity. He has not moved it to the 401(k) of his current employer because the old 401(k) has low cost investment options. Financial Engines has apparently been enlisted to provide advice for holders of these accounts. This situation started when someone from Financial Engines told my husband he had signed up for the financial advisory service. My husband has no recollection of signing up for this service. He was informed that if he quit the service he would be charged for the small amount of time he had the service but if he signed up for the 3 month free trial he would not be charged anything. So he said he would take the 3 month free trial, intending to drop it before...
- Tue Oct 04, 2016 12:52 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: credit during retirement
- Replies: 5
- Views: 1247
credit during retirement
The other day I needed to charge a rather large amount to my credit card. It exceeded the credit limit on the account. I was able to get the credit limit increased but the only questions the credit card company had were "what was our income?" and "what was our mortgage payment or rent?". I got to thinking what a problem this could be after we retired. I retire next year. My husband will probably retire later but how much later we do not know at this point. We do not plan to take Social Security until 70 and I will be 58 when I retire. Thus, for a long period of time we will be living on our investments alone. Our "income" will be a fraction of what it is now. The best credit card for our situation is generally ...
- Tue Oct 04, 2016 12:20 pm
- Forum: US Chapters
- Topic: Roll Call for the Retirement Class of 2017!
- Replies: 334
- Views: 91831
Re: Roll Call for the Retirement Class of 2017!
My retirement date is July 31, 2017. I am already in phased retirement and am enjoying some of the benefits. An event the other day
clued me in to a potential personal finance problem in retirement. I will detail it in another post.
clued me in to a potential personal finance problem in retirement. I will detail it in another post.
- Mon Apr 04, 2016 7:43 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: TIAA-CREF policies
- Replies: 7
- Views: 1043
Re: TIAA-CREF policies
Thanks everyone for your replies. It is good to know that TIAA-CREF has not been charging people to transfer their accounts. Note that my brother will still have a 403(b) with TIAA-CREF which he is stuck with for the time being because he is still working. He does have a small position in the real estate fund in that account.
- Mon Apr 04, 2016 10:57 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: TIAA-CREF policies
- Replies: 7
- Views: 1043
TIAA-CREF policies
My brother has a 403(b) and an IRA (with funds from previous employer) at TIAA-CREF. TIAA-CREF does not offer good choices for his IRA. The lowest cost fund is a large cap fund which charges 31 basis points. My brother is 67 and still working. He plans to work at least another couple of years. He is interested in transferring his IRA to a lower cost provider, such as Vanguard, but does not know what TIAA-CREF will charge him for the transfer. Does anyone know what TIAA-CREF charges for transfers? I think Vanguard charges a yearly fee for IRAs. Am I correct? Some vendors will pay the previous vendor's charge for transferring funds. I am not sure if Vanguard will do that. Does anyone know if the TIAA-CREF advisers are fiduciaries?
- Mon Mar 07, 2016 5:06 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Widower Social Security
- Replies: 4
- Views: 625
Re: Widower Social Security
Thanks Mike, I was afraid of that. Even though file and suspend is going away, I guess this brings up another reason not to file for benefits if the spouse is in poor health. In my brother's case his wife's spousal benefits were so much larger than her own benefit that they might have come out ahead anyway. We did not, however, consider this possibility at the time.
- Mon Mar 07, 2016 4:51 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Widower Social Security
- Replies: 4
- Views: 625
Widower Social Security
My brother's wife died last week. She was 68. She had more than 10 years of Social Security credits but most of it was part time and her benefit would have been low. My brother is 67. He filed and suspended at age 66 and his wife was receiving spousal benefits at the time of her death. My brother is still working full time and expects to work full time until age 70. My brother has not filed for Medicare because he gets health benefits at work. Under these circumstances could my brother receive a widowers benefit based on his wife's work record? It might be the minimum benefit but even so it would be something.
- Wed Jan 13, 2016 4:40 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Retiring, now panicing. about my money.
- Replies: 10
- Views: 3194
Re: Retiring, now panicing. about my money.
Welcome to the forum!
Some things are not clear from your posting. Do you anticipate receiving Social Security or only your military pension? What are your monthly expenses going to be? It will be easier for people to give you advice if they know the answers to these questions.
You may have to pay cash for your next home because your only income at this point is your military pension and it may be difficult to get a mortgage even though you have other resources.
It is not that difficult to manage your money on your own and much cheaper than paying a money manager.
Some things are not clear from your posting. Do you anticipate receiving Social Security or only your military pension? What are your monthly expenses going to be? It will be easier for people to give you advice if they know the answers to these questions.
You may have to pay cash for your next home because your only income at this point is your military pension and it may be difficult to get a mortgage even though you have other resources.
It is not that difficult to manage your money on your own and much cheaper than paying a money manager.
- Wed Jan 06, 2016 12:37 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: REGISTRATION FOR THE 2016 BOGLEHEAD CONTEST
- Replies: 667
- Views: 59842
Re: REGISTRATION FOR THE 2016 BOGLEHEAD CONTEST
I'll be a pessimist. Not an up year.
1672.35
1672.35
- Tue Dec 08, 2015 12:43 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Wife uncomfortable investing in taxable account
- Replies: 41
- Views: 4184
Re: Wife uncomfortable investing in taxable account
Women in general tend to be more conservative investors than men. It sounds like your wife is definitely one of those on the conservative side. She is afraid of stocks. Is she also afraid of corporate bonds? Corporate bonds can be a way to get some more return if your wife does not perceive them to be as risky. In the long term, you need to get her to understand that an investment portfolio of all bonds can also be risky due to inflation risk. You are both too young to really remember a time when inflation was high. Tell her about these times and help her understand this risk. You also need to help her understand that investing in an index fund is less risky than investing in individual stocks. Note that your wife needs to understand and be...
- Tue Dec 08, 2015 8:15 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: 403b choices
- Replies: 25
- Views: 4320
Re: 403b choices
All of these companies will offer a different selection of funds. Some of them may offer Vanguard funds. They may also offer other low cost funds. It is a real pain but you need to go through the funds offered by each company and look at the expense ratios. Some Vanguard stock funds are offered in the Voya plan I am eligible for but other posters have said that the Voya plan they had access to had no low cost funds.
- Sun Nov 29, 2015 4:52 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: MegaCorp
- Replies: 28
- Views: 3621
Re: MegaCorp
I agree with previous posters that the behavior you describe is very common for many corporations these days. With a different employer you might find you have even less job security than you do now. You do not sound as though you dislike your job so I do not see any reason to quit. It might help if you made a plan for what you would do if you got laid off next month. Instead of just dreading it, think about what you would actually do. Would you downsize your house? Would you move to another part of the country? What kind of budget would you operate under? Answering some of these questions might help you feel less anxious since you have thought through the issues when you were feeling better emotionally. Overall you appear to be in good sha...
- Tue Nov 17, 2015 7:34 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Dental Insurance
- Replies: 53
- Views: 7350
Re: Dental Insurance
You do need to read the fine print on these policies. Generally the insurance company will have a maximum amount they will pay per year. In addition, you may only be able to get 1 crown (or root canal) per year (or every two years or even every five years). The insurance company may also limit the number of fillings per year. The insurance company may also have a small number of in network providers and you may find that you do not like any of them.
- Mon Oct 05, 2015 9:55 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Drop HSA to get on my wifes health insurance?
- Replies: 5
- Views: 985
Re: Drop HSA to get on my wifes health insurance?
OP does not say what his tax bracket is. That could be an important issue. If you spend the money for health care, the money in the HSA is never taxed - unlike 401(k) or IRA. It is a great opportunity to save money for health care. If you have few expenses, consider it a retirement account. You still have to do the math to tell what your costs will actually be with both health insurance options but if the high deductible plan with the HSA is just marginally more expensive, you might want to stick with it so that you can contribute to the HSA. You sound like a good candidate for a high deductible plan since you say you have low health expenses. You also need to consider the maximum out of pocket expenses for each plan. This is the maximum yo...
- Thu Oct 01, 2015 4:18 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Annual Primary Care Premium
- Replies: 20
- Views: 2331
Re: Annual Primary Care Premium
I want to reply here because I posted an inquiry about the MDVIP program a couple of months ago. I decided not to go with my doctor in the MDVIP program because I thought it was not the best use of my health care dollar. It was a difficult decision because I had been going to this doctor for 20 years and he is a fine doctor. My friend, who has a serious and rare health problem, decided to go with MDVIP because she needed the extra attention. It does not sound as though the OP needs the extra attention so I would encourage him/her to find another doctor.
- Wed Sep 23, 2015 1:20 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: Insidious Marketing Tricks .. those Community College Courses
- Replies: 40
- Views: 8199
Re: Insidious Marketing Tricks .. those Community College Courses
I have not gotten any such mailings. This development is an interesting one. Because of reductions in state funding state affiliated institutions are desperate for additional funding and this is the result. The college president has probably at least given his/her blessing to such things so it probably is not going to do you any good to complain there. Such conflicts of interest are generally frowned upon in academia. At my institution, for example, professors who have written books are not allowed to collect royalties from sale of books required for their courses. It might be useful to complain to the college board of trustees or the state board of regents depending on who has oversight on the community colleges in your state. If you don't...
- Wed Sep 16, 2015 8:29 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Should I leave Federal Job for a Private Sector Job?
- Replies: 40
- Views: 9022
Re: Should I leave Federal Job for a Private Sector Job?
I think the main thing that would concern me here is the large value of your mortgage. It seems as though you live in a fairly high cost of living area and you need both salaries to pay the mortgage. Consider a bad scenario where you work for this new company about 3 years and then get laid off. You could then quickly negate the financial benefits of this new position. Also do a quick estimate of what your taxes will be with the new job, assuming that you get the bonus. The after tax situation may not look as good as you think.
- Fri Sep 11, 2015 8:46 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Retirement portfolio
- Replies: 1
- Views: 470
Re: Retirement portfolio
That depends on how you define a comfortable lifestyle. Generally most people would not be satisfied with Social Security plus what they put in a Roth for 30 years. You do have company stock. I assume you will probably acquire more company stock in the future. Is there any retirement plan at the company you work for? Does it have a match? Is your $17000 in stock in a taxable or tax deferred account? Either way, you should be careful about a large amount of stock in the company that you work for. Sell some whenever it is feasible - i.e. the rate at which you sell should be larger than the rate at which you obtain new shares. As for investments in the Roth, the two funds you propose should be fine. You can add an international fund if you wan...
- Thu Aug 20, 2015 8:23 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Inherited farmland - what to do next
- Replies: 23
- Views: 4327
Re: Inherited farmland - what to do next
Is the $12,000 the total rent for the land or just your share? $12,000 seems a very low rent for land that is worth a half a million. Was the land being rented for less than market value and if so could you increase the rent? Would that change the situation? You say only one road goes to the land. What about adjoining properties? Would a farmer owning an adjoining property be interested in buying part of the land? The land is split between timber (2/3) and tillable (1/3). This causes the land and the rent to be worth less than if it was reversed. Riprap - Yes, to me it's strictly business but that is how I look at all my income and expenses. I have certain goals/objectives and by bringing in more revenue (wages, rental income, etc) and wat...
- Wed Aug 19, 2015 8:30 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Inherited farmland - what to do next
- Replies: 23
- Views: 4327
Re: Inherited farmland - what to do next
Is the $12,000 the total rent for the land or just your share? $12,000 seems a very low rent for land that is worth a half a million. Was the land being rented for less than market value and if so could you increase the rent? Would that change the situation? You say only one road goes to the land. What about adjoining properties? Would a farmer owning an adjoining property be interested in buying part of the land?
- Fri Aug 07, 2015 2:57 pm
- Forum: Forum Issues and Administration
- Topic: [deleted] [SUGGESTION: Include basic stats (age, net worth, asset allocation)... when they post]
- Replies: 27
- Views: 2874
Re: SUGGESTION: Include basic stats (age, net worth, asset allocation) in one's portfolio when they post
You might not find this information as revealing as you might think. If someone has a high net worth, did this person inherit the money? Did this person perhaps sell a successful business? Note that this does not necessarily mean this person knows anything about investing. Even asset allocation does not mean as much as you might think. If someone reported they had only active funds in their 401(k) you might think this person did not know what they were doing but perhaps active funds are all this person has available in their 401(k). As for me I have 4 different 403(b) accounts and no, I cannot consolidate them.
- Wed Jul 15, 2015 2:35 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Concierge Care
- Replies: 36
- Views: 8517
Re: Concierge Care
The $1650 is supposed to include a bunch of tests that insurance will not pay for. MDVIP is rather vague about exactly what tests these are. As for something like an MRI, that would have to be done at the hospital which is a network provider. I suppose there is the question of whether insurance would pay for it if the insurance company thought it was not necessary.novicemoney wrote:I see the benefits of concierge care, but the question to ask is what happens when your doc orders an expensive test (ie. MRI) or medications. Will your insurance provider honor an order from an out of network MD?
- Wed Jul 15, 2015 9:35 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Concierge Care
- Replies: 36
- Views: 8517
Re: Concierge Care
Thanks to everyone who replied. For reference, I have confirmed that Miakis lives in my city and is referring to the same doctor.
- Tue Jul 14, 2015 7:18 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Concierge Care
- Replies: 36
- Views: 8517
Concierge Care
My PCP will join MDVIP (a group of doctors providing concierge care) in 3 months. It would cost me $1650 a year to remain his patient. I have been with this PCP for 20 years, would really like to stay with him, and I can afford $1650. Yet I wonder if this $1650 is the best use of my health care dollars. The fee includes a number of additional diagnostic tests that standard insurance does not pay for - MDVIP is a little vague on exactly what they are. Part of the fee goes to pay for these tests and part of it goes to physician services. I have BCBS insurance through my employer. It is relatively high quality coverage. I am in phased retirement and will retire in two years. I will be able to continue on the same insurance in retirement but wi...
- Wed Jun 24, 2015 4:08 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Optimize trip to China
- Replies: 24
- Views: 4649
Re: Optimize trip to China
If you are interested in history Xian is a must. I think you should at least make an attempt to go to Tibet - but do not get your heart set on it. It might be easier to get there by airplane. The altitude adjustment is more difficult that way but it is not that bad. Chengdu is my favorite city in China (Pandas and food). There are more high speed trains than there used to be but you cannot count on getting everywhere that way. In many even good size or touristy cities you cannot always count on being able to get a taxi when you want to do so. It might make sense in some places to get a local guide with a car. The last time I applied for a visa for China the embassy wanted a list of all the hotels at which I would stay. I think they are worr...
- Fri Jun 19, 2015 7:14 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: New, Looking for Retirement Advice
- Replies: 17
- Views: 5157
Re: New, Looking for Retirement Advice
If you want to stay at Schwab you should really look into the Schwab ETFs. Their expense ratios are even lower than Vanguard and they do not charge for the trade. You do have to worry about the trade spread but if you do not trade often that is not much of an issue. There are Schwab ETFs corresponding to the Vanguard funds you are interested in.
- Thu Jun 11, 2015 5:35 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: HSA reimbursements - to take now or wait?
- Replies: 13
- Views: 2539
Re: HSA reimbursements - to take now or wait?
The key is what is your marginal tax rate now and what will it be in retirement? HSA money is never taxed if used for health care expenses. Put into HSA as much as you can. If your marginal tax rate is greater now than it will be in retirement, why spend any taxable money now on health care?
- Mon Apr 27, 2015 10:09 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Need tips on taking HS student on college tour
- Replies: 34
- Views: 3567
Re: Need tips on taking HS student on college tour
I think college visits are overrated but they could be useful for your student who has not thought about college that much. You should call the college admissions office ahead of time and they will set you up. If you cannot call ahead you can still go but the admissions office will not be able to set as much up for you. Give serious thought as to which schools you will go to. Since your student is interested in STEM a state university or an engineering/technical school is a good choice. Many engineering schools also have excellent science departments. Some liberal arts schools have good science programs but not all. Just because they have a program does not mean it is good. You can tell a lot about a school just from the web page. What is t...
- Sun Apr 26, 2015 7:09 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Flooring Question - Nebraska Furniture Mart (NFM)
- Replies: 6
- Views: 3315
Re: Flooring Question - Nebraska Furniture Mart (NFM)
Don't know about vinyl in particular. We got a good price on an Armstrong engineered wood floor at NFM. My husband asked some questions about the installation - he wanted it done a certain way. NFM did not do it that way. We got our own installer.
- Sat Mar 28, 2015 4:08 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Gift Ideas for 80 Yr Old Grandmother w/ Dementia
- Replies: 23
- Views: 7839
Re: Gift Ideas for 80 Yr Old Grandmother w/ Dementia
To my late aunt, who had dementia, I gave a digital picture frame. Into the frame I loaded about 100 pictures taken throughout her life. We set up the frame to display the different pictures automatically. It was a big hit.
- Tue Mar 03, 2015 6:54 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Investing Questions and Review
- Replies: 7
- Views: 1460
Re: Investing Questions and Review
Lots of questions. I think you need to look at these issues in terms of priorities. 1) Saving for retirement. You have opportunity to put away a lot. For now, however, the $39600 that you are doing should be enough. Maybe do more later. The main reason for the 3 fund portfolio is to reduce investment expenses. Your LifeStrategy Growth fund is OK but look at the Institutional Index at only 4 basis points. For the Lifecycle fund you are paying them to rebalance for you. Some people think this is worth it but you can save with the Vanguard Institutional funds if you remember to rebalance yourself. Anywhere between 20-40% International is good. TIAA-CREF Real Estate is an interesting fund. There has been some discussion of it in other threads. ...
- Sat Feb 28, 2015 1:03 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: HSA: spend or invest?
- Replies: 31
- Views: 6197
Re: HSA: spend or invest?
Do you have a feeling for what your tax rate will be in retirement? If your tax rate is lower in retirement, you are better off using the funds in your HSA now rather than paying for your expenses after taxes.
- Thu Feb 12, 2015 1:03 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Bogglehead Career Advice
- Replies: 42
- Views: 5332
Re: Bogglehead Career Advice
There is probably a community college near you with a course on career planning. It might cost you $300-400 but it might be worth it. You can get personal career counseling but it is much more expensive.
- Sun Feb 01, 2015 11:41 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Paying off $1 million house in 10 years
- Replies: 22
- Views: 4404
Re: Paying off $1 million house in 10 years
If this is your situation, I do not understand why you do not want a 15 year (or even a 10 year) mortgage. You will get a lower interest rate with the shorter term mortgage.
I do understand that in some parts of the US you really need to pay $1 million to get a decent house.
I do understand that in some parts of the US you really need to pay $1 million to get a decent house.
- Thu Jan 29, 2015 5:07 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Save More or Travel More ?
- Replies: 17
- Views: 2727
Re: Save More or Travel More ?
I also think you should include your family on at least some travel but be selective. Is the place you are going special for some reason? e.g.
- it is interesting but you might never go there again
- there is a special exhibit while you are there that you might not otherwise be able to see
- given the ages and interests of your children, is there something especially appropriate for them there?
- would you do a lot of physical activities (e.g. hiking) there that you might not be able to do later in life?
- it is interesting but you might never go there again
- there is a special exhibit while you are there that you might not otherwise be able to see
- given the ages and interests of your children, is there something especially appropriate for them there?
- would you do a lot of physical activities (e.g. hiking) there that you might not be able to do later in life?
- Mon Jan 19, 2015 4:02 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Engineered Hardwood
- Replies: 29
- Views: 4739
Re: Engineered Hardwood
We also have Armstrong engineered wood and are very happy with it. It looks great after two years and we have two cats with claws. That having been said, we have no kids and are very careful to wipe up any spills immediately. If I had kids I think I would be tempted to go with laminate. It may not last as long but it might stand up to the kids mishaps better.
- Sun Jan 18, 2015 3:52 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Retirement Plan: How am I doing?
- Replies: 16
- Views: 2620
Re: Retirement Plan: How am I doing?
One thing to keep in mind is that many of these people with multimillion dollar retirement funds have no pension.
Is your pension a federal, state or local government pension? Federal government pension would be more secure. State and local government pensions are more likely to change if the government entity runs into financial trouble. For a state and local government pension you may want to do some research to see how healthy the pension fund is.
The issue with retirement is not how much money you have but whether you can cover your expenses. You sound like you can cover your expenses so retirement appears feasible.
Is your pension a federal, state or local government pension? Federal government pension would be more secure. State and local government pensions are more likely to change if the government entity runs into financial trouble. For a state and local government pension you may want to do some research to see how healthy the pension fund is.
The issue with retirement is not how much money you have but whether you can cover your expenses. You sound like you can cover your expenses so retirement appears feasible.
- Wed Jan 07, 2015 1:06 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Slovenia And Croatia In May
- Replies: 25
- Views: 3196
Re: Slovenia And Croatia In May
+1 One of the most beautiful spots in the world.donall wrote:Plitvice Lakes National Park (Plitvička Jezera) is one of Croatia's beautiful spots.
- Mon Jan 05, 2015 1:08 pm
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: 2015 BOGLEHEAD CONTEST REGISTRATION
- Replies: 557
- Views: 57286
- Wed Dec 17, 2014 1:03 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: HCOL/work longer vs. LCOL/early retirement?
- Replies: 6
- Views: 1313
Re: Work longer and stay in HCOL area vs. early retirement?
How often do you go to the museums, the theater, the concerts? Are you going every week, month, a few times a year?
Are the schools in the LCOL area that much inferior?
How much do you like your jobs in the HCOL area?
Is the HCOL area stressful in other ways (e.g. traffic, crowds)?
Consider that for the difference in the cost of living you could fund several trips a year to different places to take in cultural events. Likewise if the weather is not good you can take trips to other areas where the weather is better. Unless you spend a lot of time at cultural events, I would say you need more compelling pros to stay in the HCOL area, such as we really like our jobs.
Are the schools in the LCOL area that much inferior?
How much do you like your jobs in the HCOL area?
Is the HCOL area stressful in other ways (e.g. traffic, crowds)?
Consider that for the difference in the cost of living you could fund several trips a year to different places to take in cultural events. Likewise if the weather is not good you can take trips to other areas where the weather is better. Unless you spend a lot of time at cultural events, I would say you need more compelling pros to stay in the HCOL area, such as we really like our jobs.
- Tue Dec 16, 2014 12:56 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Any pilots here? [advice for prospective pilot]
- Replies: 92
- Views: 13816
Re: Any pilots here?
My husband and I are private pilots. My husband has his instrument rating. We have owned a Mooney J model for 10 years. You do not save any money by owning your own plane as opposed to renting, it will probably cost more to buy. You do gain some flexibility. By owning you do not have to reserve the plane in advance and can go when you want to do so. We fly into airports with limited commercial service. With the airplane we can leave work a little early and be there in 2 and a half hours as opposed to driving and arriving after midnight. The Mooney we own is generally not available for rental in most parts of the US. Before you buy look into hanger space at your local airport. Is any available? How much does it cost? What kind of shape are t...