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grandmacassie

My Mom settled on a new house on her 90th birthday, 5 years ago. She still lives in it, alone. She did not try to get a conventional mortgage, but took a loan against the value of her taxable portfolio from her brokerage. The loan was about $250K. Once she sold her old house, she paid off the portfo...

grandmacassie

DH and I just did this last winter. We submitted the application on Valentines Day, but "notice of award" was not issued until May 29. So my advice is be patient. SS is good about paying your back benefits when they finally get around to approving your application.

grandmacassie

Couldn't you gift up to $15,000/year* to each of your kids without any tax consequence at all? This accomplishes two things: it puts $$ in your kids' pockets in the high expense years of growing families, and it allows you the flexibility to suspend the gifts at any time should market conditions and...

grandmacassie

Oops, I mentioned the wrong McPhee books. Rising from the Plain is the one... but all are wonderful!

grandmacassie

I haven't had to simplify much - been using Bogle principles a long time. But we all read threads from folks with multiple positions in multiple accounts. If I were in that situation, I would unwind/simplify deliberately and step-by-step. I would want to make sure each transaction was completed accu...

grandmacassie

I think 9 months to a year is routine to settle an estate.

Once a wills and estates attorney told me of his response to family members who nag him for "their" money during the estate settlement process. "If you are so desperate for this money, what would you have done if (loved one) had lived?"

grandmacassie

On her 90th birthday, my mother bought a single family home for herself. She didn't bother with all the rigamarole of trying to get a mortgage at her advanced age. She simply took out a loan at her brokerage against the value of her portfolio. She aggressively paid it off over 4 years and using the ...

grandmacassie

DH filed (we both went to the SS office in person) for restricted spousal benefits on 2.13.18. He has checked weekly online and application is listed as "processing". We brought IDs, original SS cards, and original marriage certif from 1970's, which were all copied. I think y'all are getting better ...

grandmacassie

I asked our son that very question once. (We paid for his undergraduate education.) He said "The distinctive thing is that nobody there saw any limit to what they could accomplish if they set their mind to it." FWIW

grandmacassie

I second that idea. DH and I will begin the "decumulation" phase on 1/1/2020. It would be nice to have a subforum related to the unique questions that arise in decumulation. And we baby boomers are going to retiring at higher and higher rates in the next 10 years, so there will be more and more of u...

grandmacassie

We did exactly what you have described. Application date (in person with documents like marriage license from 1974) on Feb 13, 2018. We have yet to receive an approval from SS. I check status online weekly and get the message "processing" All of which is to say that you should apply for spousal rest...

grandmacassie

You said that whenever BF has a down day he likes to treat himself to a new pair of shoes. This is a red flag to me. It sounds as if he is trying to use "stuff" and spending to meet his emotional needs. This can be a very slippery slope. (Ever watch "Hoarders" on TV?) Perhaps the conversation you ne...

grandmacassie

It seems to me that once you are ready to retire, your whole portfolio is available for emergencies. So I wouldn't stress so much about an emergency fund other than keeping a reasonable amount in readlily liquid funds (CDs) in case you need a new heating system, roof or other big ticket item. Others...

grandmacassie

I get it now. You use form 8853 to report and "net out" the LTC insurance reimbursements from the LTC expenses.

Thank you all so much!

grandmacassie

Hi, gang I'm working on the tax return for dear MIL, who is a resident of a skilled nursing facility. I'm using H&R Block software. She has received a Form 1099-LTC statement from her LTC insurer, showing the amount they reimbursed for her care. Reimbursement is based on a set $$ amount per day.. Th...

grandmacassie

Please don’t be concerned about some arbitrary goal. Keep on living below your means, and meeting your saving/investing plans. You are doing well for your age. Play the long game.

grandmacassie

Here's my non-fiction book club's list for 2018: The River of Consciousness - Oliver Sacks The General vs the President:MacArthur and Truman at the Brink of Nuclear War - H.W. Brands The Hidden Life of Trees -Peter Wohlleben A Crack in Creation: Gene Editing and the Unthinkable Power to Control Evol...

grandmacassie

I have done all the above parks and here is my advice. (My advice presumes you are not an avid hiker/climber who will spend nights camping in the back country.) Yellowstone and Grand Teton and be done together in a one-week trip. Yosemite can be done in 4-5 days to include a visit to the Mariposa Gr...

grandmacassie

Update from OP I finally got thru to Newport Group and they were helpful. Now we'll see if the rollover actually takes place smoothly. You astute Bogleheads were correct. My former employer was such a small entity that they had a non-ERISA plan. Interestingly, Newport's rep told me that they cannot ...

grandmacassie

I'm pretty sure it was Vanguard. We chatted about other topics, like changing from Mutual Fund to Brokerage platform and the rep seemed to be able to view my accounts.

grandmacassie

This AM I called Vanguard to determine if I could roll my Vanguard 403b from a previous employer into my tIRA that Vanguard also holds. They told me that I could, but that Vanguard has contracted with some company named Newport Group to handle all their 403b work and gave me Newport's number. Since ...

grandmacassie

And after paying the extortion fee, Uber assured itself that the data was really deleted---how?

grandmacassie

I think there are pitfalls to what you are suggesting and a better and easier way to accomplish what you want. Community foundations operate in many many communities/regions in the US. They are public charities that typically manage the assets of a various endowments according to the charitable inte...

grandmacassie

I've used Quicken for 20 years and also have never downloaded anything. I will no longer upgrade and probably use the 2013 version as long as I can. I also reconcile my accounts every month. Found a bank error in May 2017.

grandmacassie

DH went K-1 many years ago. One thing that hasn't been mentioned is that you not only have to make your quarterly income tax payments, you have to pay FICA (both sides!) and medicare taxes as part of that quarterly tax payment. I think both sides of FICA amounts to over 15%, so I hope you are gettin...

grandmacassie

If I was in your situation and I wanted to help my kids, I'd pay off student loans after they graduated. Since you have 2 with $8k loans, I'd earmark $8k for each of your 3 kids. After each successfully graduates, I'd pay off that 8k loan, asking each kid not to tell the siblings. My notion is that ...

grandmacassie

To your original question about taxes. Dear MIL is in a specialized Alzheimer's unit. Her annual income is about $50K. Her health and care expenses, net of reimbursement by LTCI, are about 90K. The 40K difference is paid from her assets. She pays no federal tax. An enrolled agent prepares her tax re...

grandmacassie

So sorry for your troubles. Your wife is fortunate to have such a devoted husband. Dear MIL has been in dementia care for 2 years now. Her expenses far exceed her income, even with LTC insurance. The burn rate for her assets is 6K/month. Her tax return is prepared by an enrolled agent. She pays no f...

grandmacassie

Here's another perspective. My mother moved from her home of 40 years to a smaller, more convenient and handicap accessible home at age 90. She had not sold her old house at time of settlement. What she did was take a loan against her taxable assets through her brokerage house. When her old house so...

grandmacassie

We need to be careful with terminology. Joint ownership is one thing, has a legal meaning (and comes in different flavors, I think) and comes with benefits and pitfalls as previously noted. "Putting your name on an account" can mean anything. In our case, DH had POA for his mom. As she aged, she add...

grandmacassie

DH's 401(k) has been with Ascensus for several years now. It is mostly invested in Vanguard funds. They seem OK, web site does what I need it to. The major complaint I have is that the printed quarterly statements are sooo slow in arriving. For example, we just got the statement for the 1st quarter ...

grandmacassie

[Thread merged into here, see below. --admin LadyGeek] Hi, all W have received an e-mail from Vanguard "inviting" us to switch from a mutual fund account to a brokerage account. My sense, from what I have read on this forum, is that Vanguard will be requiring this of all accounts moving forward. Am...

grandmacassie

We are in precisely the same situation with dear MIL, except that her physical health is not too bad. But her expenses are similar. I think great2boutdoors gave you great advice. In our case, when we sold the family home, the money went into a ladder of CDs for her care. This amounts to about half h...

grandmacassie

I use Quicken. I do not have it connect to any financial institution online. I pay bills online from my bank, then enter transactions into Quicken manually. Just my Luddite security system.

grandmacassie

You can do this on your own. Hang around on this site, take some time to develop an investment policy for yourself (read the wiki), look at and consider Taylor's three fund portfolio. Will you continue working? If so, you have the financial means never to work at a job unless you want to. Congrats a...

grandmacassie

I have likewise had very friendly and competent assistance on the phone from SS reps. It's nice that you can set a time for a phone appointment and they call you back at the appointed time. Like any large institutional agency, problems can arise, but let's give credit where credit is due. In my expe...

grandmacassie

DH and I just transitioned to Medicare in November '16 and January '17 respectively. Although DH is still working, the employer is small (fewer than 20 on the group insurance) and so transition to both Parts A and B was required. Medicare was effective the first day of the month in which we turned 6...

grandmacassie

I'm using 100 as a planning tool, but also plan to give up all my good health habits starting at age 80. (ice cream parlors, here I come!) Based on observations of family, it is possible to live a long time with a poor (and extremely expensive) quality of life. I really don't want that.

grandmacassie

I've been using Quicken for ages. I don't even know how long. But I stopped upgrading after the 2013 version b/c they were requiring use of online data and downloads, etc. I am distrustful of loading all my info into cyberspace. I am happy to manually enter my data. I'll continue to use my old versi...

grandmacassie

Isn't the unpredictability of markets the reason we Bogleheads carefully evaluate our risk tolerance and invest accordingly? Why would we change anything?

grandmacassie

We were just there last weekend. Since there are 3 of you, you might like the Embassy Suites on 18th near Ben Franklin Parkway. It is located right near the Franklin Institute and other museums. You can walk to Reading Terminal Market and Liberty Bell area (our 4 year old granddaughter did it). This...

grandmacassie

We have an 09 Accord ( 4 cyl.,90K miles) and a 10 Accord (6 cyl, 120K) Neither one has ever need a mechanical repair of any kind (knock wood). We are careful about getting oil changes and other maintenance done as per recommendations. We've had 5 Hondas over the years. The only repair I can remember...

grandmacassie

Hi, Boglefriends, Today I was cleaning our one of my overstuffed bookcases to remove some clutter for our local library's book sale. (Do you think it is safe to give away my college copy of The Canterbury Tales?) Imagine my surprise when I came across a copy of "Common Sense on Mutual Funds" autogra...

grandmacassie

I second that! We also have a vacation home. We love it, but consider it a toy and a luxury, not an investment.

grandmacassie

My advice is to explore on your own and allow for serendipity. Lots of times another visitor will have spotted wildlife and everybody pulls over go get a glimpse. Putting yourself on a bus schedule eliminates lots of chances to see things. We saw grizzlies and a band of wolves this way - just happen...

grandmacassie

I'm surprised that nobody has suggested this solution to begin a credit rating. Go to the bank where you have an account and ask them to set you up with a "secured" credit card. This means that you put, say, $1,000 in their bank in a savings account and agree to let them tap monies from that account...

grandmacassie

Switzerland is wicked expensive.

grandmacassie

My mother bought a house on her 90th birthday -- 3 years ago.

grandmacassie

Not your question, but........I had an employer once with the same extremely stingy match arrangement. It means that if you put in $500/month for a year, your employer will contribute a whopping $600 that year. In the long run you might want to look for an employer with a better match offering. Nobo...

grandmacassie

Ahem. Anybody remember what mortgage rates were at the time? Seems to me my first mortgage was at 9.75%. Maybe 9.5. That was with 20% down and 30 year term. Made purchasing a house pretty difficult.

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