Search found 79 matches

by BedHead2020
Tue Sep 19, 2023 12:47 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: [Book: Living off Your Money, by M. McClung (Prime Harvesting)]
Replies: 553
Views: 172392

Re: [Book: Living off Your Money, by M. McClung (Prime Harvesting)]

Thank you! That helps. (I edited my post to the correct 5% for the two emerging market values.)
by BedHead2020
Sun Sep 10, 2023 12:38 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: [Book: Living off Your Money, by M. McClung (Prime Harvesting)]
Replies: 553
Views: 172392

Re: [Book: Living off Your Money, by M. McClung (Prime Harvesting)]

I've just finished the LOYM book and I'm attempting to make sense of the workbook spreadsheet. This discussion has been quite helpful. Thank you to everyone who has contributed. One question I have at the moment pertains to the "Initial Withdrawal Worksheet" page of the spreadsheet, specifically the values for lines 23 and 24, the "Amount in Global Development Markets (Ex US)" and "Amount in Emerging Markets." Are these two values derived from Chapter 8, Portfolio Construction? For example, if I had selected the 10x10 portfolio on page 218 and an overall 50% investment in stocks, would this mean that "Amount in Global Development" would be the sum of: Intl Large 10% Intl Large Value 10% Intl Small 10%...
by BedHead2020
Sun May 09, 2021 8:56 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Tesla’s regenerative braking
Replies: 65
Views: 7983

Re: Tesla’s regenerative braking

Many people are weirded out by regenerative braking at first. It took me just a few days to become accustomed to it. “One pedal driving” is awesome. Driving cars that require me to press the brake to keep the car from rolling away at a stop lights seems strange now.
by BedHead2020
Fri May 07, 2021 10:03 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Best options for squashing scammer phone calls?
Replies: 67
Views: 7773

Re: Best options for squashing scammer phone calls?

We got Ooma, spent a little bit of time putting our closest friends, relatives, businesses, physicians, etc. in the Ooma address book. Then we set the highest restriction level on the Ooma settings: if the caller is not in our address book then our phone doesn’t even ring. It’s still possible for callers to leave a voicemail, which is immediately emailed to us. That way, the rare important call that’s not from someone in our address book still reaches us via an emailed voicemail.

This is an awesomely effective way to not get a single unwelcome call.
by BedHead2020
Sun May 02, 2021 9:23 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Uninsured Motorist Car Insurance - Is it Worth the Expense??
Replies: 52
Views: 5322

Re: Uninsured Motorist Car Insurance - Is it Worth the Expense??

When I lived in Maryland, the insurance companies were required to notify the DMV when a policy lapsed or was initiated on a vehicle. If a certain period of time elapsed (a week or so) and an expired policy wasn’t replaced with a new policy, the DMV notified the local police. The police then came to the home and seized the license plates from the car. This happened to us when I was a child and due to a miscommunication between my parents, each thought the other had renewed the car insurance and it briefly lapsed. Boy were my parents surprised when the police knocked on the door to inform them that they were taking the tags. This is not a perfect solution, but it’s got more teeth than here in Texas, where proof of insurance is required once ...
by BedHead2020
Thu Apr 15, 2021 8:25 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Pulled the trigger on a solar install
Replies: 37
Views: 5759

Re: Pulled the trigger on a solar install

Sensible_finance wrote: Wed Mar 10, 2021 4:55 pm
BedHead2020 wrote: Wed Feb 17, 2021 11:29 pm I paid $2.50/watt, before tax credits, for a 10 kW system three years ago. Prices now are considerably lower, down around $1.80-$2.00/watt before tax credits. I would be very hesitant now to pay more than $2/watt for a traditional solar setup.
Tesla is offering $2.00 / watt before any tax credits or local incentives but its very difficult to work with them to apply for local incentives. They take ages to reply emails and do not return phone calls. I shopped around with local companies in RI and the best I can get is $3.10 / watt. My friends in NJ also paid $2.50 / watt. Where are you located?
Sorry for not seeing this sooner. I’m in north Texas.
by BedHead2020
Wed Feb 17, 2021 11:29 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Pulled the trigger on a solar install
Replies: 37
Views: 5759

Re: Pulled the trigger on a solar install

I paid $2.50/watt, before tax credits, for a 10 kW system three years ago. Prices now are considerably lower, down around $1.80-$2.00/watt before tax credits. I would be very hesitant now to pay more than $2/watt for a traditional solar setup.
by BedHead2020
Sat Feb 13, 2021 10:37 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Dash cams?
Replies: 34
Views: 4703

Re: Dash cams?

Luke Duke wrote: Fri Feb 12, 2021 12:13 pm
BedHead2020 wrote: Wed Feb 10, 2021 7:09 pm I have vowed from now on to have a dash cam in every car I own. The reason is simple: There is an extremely strong correlation between people who cause accidents and people who lie about causing accidents.
Well it's pretty hard to lie about causing an accident if you didn't cause an accident.

It’s also pretty easy to tell the truth about causing an accident, which few seem to do.
by BedHead2020
Wed Feb 10, 2021 7:09 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Dash cams?
Replies: 34
Views: 4703

Re: Dash cams?

I have vowed from now on to have a dash cam in every car I own. The reason is simple: There is an extremely strong correlation between people who cause accidents and people who lie about causing accidents.
by BedHead2020
Wed Jan 27, 2021 8:33 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Naming a Trust: Does it Matter?
Replies: 30
Views: 3629

Re: Naming a Trust: Does it Matter?

We just named ours [lastname] Revocable Trust.
by BedHead2020
Tue Jan 26, 2021 9:53 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Why does my SSA statement show benefits decreasing?
Replies: 13
Views: 2239

Re: Why does my SSA statement show benefits decreasing?

I'm in my mid 50's and my earnings for the past few years have been relatively consistent, increasing steadily due to annual pay increases of a typical nature.

Time passes...

Looking at my year-end paystubs, though, I see that I paid 1/3 less in social security in 2020 than I did in 2019, likely due to some bonuses received in 2019 that I had forgotten about. That downward trending is probably responsible for the change in the benefits projections. That would make sense.
by BedHead2020
Tue Jan 26, 2021 8:26 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Why does my SSA statement show benefits decreasing?
Replies: 13
Views: 2239

Why does my SSA statement show benefits decreasing?

I ran a report from MySSA in December and then again just now. The benefit amounts have all dropped by 4-5%. There has been no change in my working status or anything like that. Was there a change of some sort in SSA's benefit calculations between 12/2020 and 01/2021?
by BedHead2020
Sun Jan 24, 2021 3:24 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: MacBook Air - Big Sur upgrade?
Replies: 14
Views: 1520

Re: MacBook Air - Big Sur upgrade?

Folks on the macrumors forum are calling it “Bug Sur,” so I think I’m going to wait a while before I upgrade.
by BedHead2020
Wed Jan 20, 2021 9:53 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: High School Graduation Gifts
Replies: 43
Views: 7943

Re: High School Graduation Gifts

Our standard high school graduation gift is $100 cash. Every high school graduate I’ve ever spoken to on the subject wants cash.
by BedHead2020
Wed Jan 20, 2021 9:52 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Engagement Ring
Replies: 140
Views: 12815

Re: Engagement Ring

delamer wrote: Tue Jan 19, 2021 4:31 pm Good experience with Blue Nile. Their website is easy to use.
Same here. I spent a great deal of time on the phone with my blue Nile rep, learning about rings and selecting the perfect engagement ring. I’ve used them many times since and they have been fantastic.
by BedHead2020
Sun Jan 17, 2021 10:59 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Wife's access to things after my death
Replies: 74
Views: 7991

Re: Wife's access to things after my death

How about whipping up a financial power of attorney for her in the meantime? This way, if something unexpected happens to you while you’re still restructuring your finances to include her, she has a means of taking necessary care of the finances.
by BedHead2020
Mon Jan 11, 2021 3:55 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: life insurance for funding cryonics
Replies: 63
Views: 4222

Re: life insurance for funding cryonics

Besides the fact that this has zero chance of working, you will need a lot more money than just what this service might cost in the future. You will need a ton of money to do whatever you think they will do to you after they warm you to room temperature. It has an admittedly low chance of working. To say "zero" however, is baseless. We are suspending embryos and reviving them successfully every day for in vitro fertilization, a cryonics process that was sci-fi decades ago before the first "test tube baby" shocked the world. The only thing that has a zero chance of working is traditional burying and cremation. There's no chance of coming back from that. As a friend of mine is fond of saying, "Death is certain. Cryon...
by BedHead2020
Mon Jan 11, 2021 11:42 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: life insurance for funding cryonics
Replies: 63
Views: 4222

Re: life insurance for funding cryonics

Besides the fact that this has zero chance of working, you will need a lot more money than just what this service might cost in the future. You will need a ton of money to do whatever you think they will do to you after they warm you to room temperature. It has an admittedly low chance of working. To say "zero" however, is baseless. We are suspending embryos and reviving them successfully every day for in vitro fertilization, a cryonics process that was sci-fi decades ago before the first "test tube baby" shocked the world. The only thing that has a zero chance of working is traditional burying and cremation. There's no chance of coming back from that. As a friend of mine is fond of saying, "Death is certain. Cryon...
by BedHead2020
Mon Jan 11, 2021 11:37 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: life insurance for funding cryonics
Replies: 63
Views: 4222

Re: life insurance for funding cryonics

Pretty much 5 minutes after death, brain damage is occurring. They better have some super fast way to detect the moment of death and get you over there and get it done fast. I have served on a remote cryonics transport team and also participated in the OR procedure to sever the head from the body of the cryonics patient. In an ideal circumstance, the cryonics member arranges for hospice care near the cryonics facility. Alcor, the largest cryonics company in the world, has a number of cryonics-friendly hospice care facilities in the Scottsdale area. Those who are able to predict their end of life sufficiently to die in a hospice close to "the mothership," are in the best condition for minimizing post-death brain damage. Others, in...
by BedHead2020
Mon Jan 11, 2021 8:57 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: life insurance for funding cryonics
Replies: 63
Views: 4222

Re: life insurance for funding cryonics

Shouldn't the life insurance company be able to claw back the money plus interest if you get thawed out and your death is somehow reversed? The payment should be contingent on you being dead. The cryonics organizations will not suspend a person until that person has been declared legally dead by today's legal definition. While the definition of "legally dead" is likely to continue to evolve with advances in technology and understanding (just as it has evolved prior to today), I can't fathom an insurance company attempting to claw back funds based upon the retroactive application of a later definition. We have been in the same boat as the OP. Initially, we used a VUL policy to fund our suspension but we found the cost/benefits of ...
by BedHead2020
Sun Jan 10, 2021 4:12 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: For those retired or FI, how much do you spend annually?
Replies: 499
Views: 80219

Re: For those retired or FI, how much do you spend annually?

We have tracked every penny spent since we got married. Using this data and applying it to our expected retirement expenses results in $120k, before taxes. This includes everything we could anticipate, including lawn service, gifts, travel, entertainment, dining out, and even a car payment for a high value car because that’s one our indulgences.
by BedHead2020
Sun Jan 10, 2021 11:50 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Regrets postponing retirement too long?
Replies: 171
Views: 19686

Re: Regrets postponing retirement too long?

billthecat wrote: Sun Jan 10, 2021 11:27 am
BedHead2020 wrote: Sun Jan 10, 2021 11:10 am I’m in a very similar position to the OP. Late 50’s, financially able to retire and just haven’t pushed the button. Males in my family are historically short lived, so that is compelling me to finalize our retirement plans soon. Like others have said, time is precious. My brother once said to me “nobody lays on their deathbed and wishes they had spent more time at work.”
True, at the end, but I believe someone else said, "Some people in Medicaid nursing homes wish they had worked longer and saved more." :shock:
I’m sure! It can definitely be a balance.
by BedHead2020
Sun Jan 10, 2021 11:10 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Regrets postponing retirement too long?
Replies: 171
Views: 19686

Re: Regrets postponing retirement too long?

I’m in a very similar position to the OP. Late 50’s, financially able to retire and just haven’t pushed the button. Males in my family are historically short lived, so that is compelling me to finalize our retirement plans soon. Like others have said, time is precious. My brother once said to me “nobody lays on their deathbed and wishes they had spent more time at work.”
by BedHead2020
Sun Jan 10, 2021 10:51 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Tesla [car] purchase any significant downside?
Replies: 150
Views: 12571

Re: Tesla [car] purchase any significant downside?

I have over 200,000 miles over three Teslas owned. One of my current ones has 110,000 miles. If I can avoid it, I’ll never go back to a gasoline car and I’ve been thrilled with all my Teslas. I don’t see another BEV manufacturer knocking them off their perch for the foreseeable future. The service experience has been painless, with most of my service visits being for very minor things with the tech coming to my house or work. I have heard that the quality of the service can vary between service centers, so some people have been less fortunate than I have been with service. The biggest frustration with Tesla, IMO, is the actual buying process. They don’t always communicate well during the purchase process and the ordering and delivery proces...
by BedHead2020
Fri Jan 08, 2021 4:46 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Any couples out there who retired at different times?
Replies: 26
Views: 2784

Re: Any couples out there who retired at different times?

While you did not specify your ages, bear in mind that, as you get older, you become less able and less inclined to do many things. I know someone who retired and his wife died within the year. That's tragic. Not enough time to enjoy the fruits of their labors together. We are both in our late 50's. There's no requirement that she stay for a specific period of time but she has said that she would want to give it at least a couple of years. Personally, I don't understand the desire, but I respect that it appeals to her. Finances aren't an issue; we are currently close to 50x expenses in our total savings. One plus of her doing this is we would move our healthcare coverage from my employer to hers, thereby reducing some uncertainty about obt...
by BedHead2020
Fri Jan 08, 2021 3:09 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Any couples out there who retired at different times?
Replies: 26
Views: 2784

Any couples out there who retired at different times?

I may be ready to retire before my wife is. The numbers work for us to retire now, if we want, but she's thinking of leaving the consulting life and accepting a high level position with a favorite client. She said she would like to work that role for at least a couple of years before hanging up her spurs and she is is perfectly fine if I retire sooner. For those of you who haven't retired at the same time as working significant other, was that a source of added stress or resentment between you two? Did the retired one get tired of being the stay-at-home person while the other was still out enjoying workplace socialization? Was there a feeling of being left out or a feeling of envy by one party or the other? I know all couples are unique and...
by BedHead2020
Wed Jan 06, 2021 11:17 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: iphone 12 pro max review
Replies: 7
Views: 1059

Re: iphone 12 pro max review

One of my colleagues just purchased the iPhone 12 Pro Max and spoke of what he said was a known issue: The cellular service often drops completely when switching from one cell tower to another, requiring him to toggle Airplane Mode on and off to restore cellular service. Have you experienced this behavior?
by BedHead2020
Tue Jan 05, 2021 6:19 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 25x expenses- does it take into account social security?
Replies: 39
Views: 6132

Re: 25x expenses- does it take into account social security?

25X, 30X, 50X are just simple checks. Sort of like answering the question "Do we have any chance whatsoever to retire with this amount of savings?". Retirement, and life doesn't come with even expenses that are periodically exactly the same. You need to pay for a new roof. You get an inheritance. You start social security. Social security drops payments by 25%. All of these are probably going to happen. It means that one year, you don't spend more than $25k and the next year, you are forced to spend $125k. How do you handle all this, then? Build a life spread sheet. Put in each year till you expect to be gone. Now account for assets, income and outgo. Mine includes an expected % number for growth in my assets, which I can change ...
by BedHead2020
Mon Jan 04, 2021 3:31 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Any multimillionaire's (more than 2mm) out there still mow their own lawn?
Replies: 341
Views: 33740

Re: Any multimillionaire's (more than 2mm) out there still mow their own lawn?

I hate yardwork. I didn’t mow my own lawn even when I was poor.
by BedHead2020
Sun Jan 03, 2021 8:08 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Feedback on Apple Pro XDR Display
Replies: 4
Views: 656

Re: Feedback on Apple Pro XDR Display

I have yearned for one of these monitors from the moment they unveiled it. I did spring for the 2019 MacPro because I buy a new Mac tower about every ten years but as much as I want it, I haven’t been able to justify the $6k monitor for myself.
by BedHead2020
Sat Jan 02, 2021 10:03 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Chase not honoring sign up bonus offer
Replies: 6
Views: 1162

Re: Chase not honoring sign up bonus offer

You could maybe try one of the web archive wayback sites to see if you could find the dated offer page.
by BedHead2020
Sat Jan 02, 2021 11:07 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Tips to track monthly budget
Replies: 51
Views: 5134

Re: Tips to track monthly budget

cshell2 wrote: Mon Dec 28, 2020 1:42 pm I still use the old YNAB4. They'll have to drag me kicking and screaming into a subscription service. :wink:
This.

While I understand the motivation for a developer to prefer a subscription model, as a consumer I hate subscriptions to most anything.
by BedHead2020
Tue Dec 29, 2020 2:43 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: [Book: Living off Your Money, by M. McClung (Prime Harvesting)]
Replies: 553
Views: 172392

Re: [Book: Living off Your Money, by M. McClung (Prime Harvesting)]

It was my browser after all. I tried something other than Safari and it worked perfectly.
by BedHead2020
Tue Dec 29, 2020 12:39 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: [Book: Living off Your Money, by M. McClung (Prime Harvesting)]
Replies: 553
Views: 172392

Has anyone downloaded the spreadsheet?

I've recently purchased "Living Off Your Money," and have been trying to download the accompanying spreadsheet from the author's book site, to no avail. The spreadsheet download page is a confusing mess that involves a fake purchase for $0 and the use of some app called Gumroad, which failed to install and authenticate properly on any of my devices.

I emailed the author and he never responded.

Have any of you successfully retrieved the Living Off Your Money spreadsheet? Do you have any hints for obtaining it? Or, better yet, can you post the spreadsheet here? (I don't think reposting the spreadsheet would be inappropriate, as the spreadsheet is available to the public for free. It's just a bewildering mess to get it to download.)
by BedHead2020
Fri Dec 25, 2020 12:00 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: [How to get paid for tutoring math]
Replies: 10
Views: 1330

Re: [How to get paid for tutoring math]

My nephew tutored math very successfully for years. At his peak he was tutoring more than 40 students per week at $50/hr. Some were in-person at his home classroom (converted dining room) and some were online via Skype calls. He even had a little waiting room (converted living room) for the parents.
by BedHead2020
Wed Dec 23, 2020 7:23 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Best < $100 purchase?
Replies: 299
Views: 56509

Re: Best < $100 purchase?

Condoms in my 20’s...
by BedHead2020
Thu Dec 17, 2020 2:00 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: is it ok to download Big Sur for MAC yet??
Replies: 47
Views: 5218

Re: is it ok to download Big Sur for MAC yet??

I see that the .2 release of Big Sur just went out to the beta testers. Its focus is reportedly on bug fixes. I'll probably take a chance and upgrade after .2 is released. I haven't been a fan of Catalina. It seems that Apple's OS's have been getting buggier and buggier over the years. I still believe that Snow Leopard was the most solidly performing OS in the entire MacOS X lineage.
by BedHead2020
Thu Dec 17, 2020 9:13 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Help me understand this term life policy
Replies: 15
Views: 927

Re: Help me understand this term life policy

Thanks, Gang. Thanks to your insights, this statement makes sense to me now. Part of me thinks that insurance companies intentionally make these things more confusing than they need to be just so people will call their agents and ask questions, thereby giving the agents an opportunity to upsell more coverage.
by BedHead2020
Wed Dec 16, 2020 4:55 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Help me understand this term life policy
Replies: 15
Views: 927

Re: Help me understand this term life policy

So it's still not clear to me what the purpose is of the statement "Coverage Ends: 11/28/2058."

If I elect to extend the policy past its 15 year term, then presumably that would be for some sort of whole life policy, so how can that have an end date?

Is this saying that no matter what, there's no way to extend this past 2058, no matter what massively high premiums I might be willing to pay? Spouse would be in mid 90's on 2058, but still, I didn't think that insurance companies would specify an age limit on a whole life policy. Is that what they're doing here?*


*Not that I intend to extend this. I'm just trying to grok what's being shown here.
by BedHead2020
Wed Dec 16, 2020 2:55 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Help me understand this term life policy
Replies: 15
Views: 927

Help me understand this term life policy

I'm reviewing various documents as part of year-end housekeeping and I'm trying to understand some language that's in a term life policy that we have on my spouse. The policy issue date is 11/28/2016 with a 15 year term. On page 2, there's a heading entitled "Total Coverage" with these entries: Coverage Ends: 11/28/2058 Ability to Convert Ends: 11/28/2028 Coverage: $xxxxx for 15 years. Additional Riders: Accelerated Death Benefit Rider Coverage Ends: 11/28/2058 Some of this is obvious to me: "Ability to convert" means that we can convert this policy to some sort of whole life up until 11/28/2028. And, we have an accelerated death benefit (which I understand). What I don't understand is the entry "Coverage ends 11/28...
by BedHead2020
Tue Dec 15, 2020 12:39 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: what's the best service to digitize my photo negatives?
Replies: 13
Views: 1359

Re: what's the best service to digitize my photo negatives?

I've used ScanCafe for slides and negatives and have been very happy. All of their scanning is done domestically now, I believe, as opposed to shipping the materials to India, which is what they did in the past.
by BedHead2020
Mon Dec 07, 2020 6:10 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Are password managers safe to use?
Replies: 360
Views: 24671

Re: Are password managers safe to use?

mhalley wrote: Mon Dec 07, 2020 9:47 am Most likely they are safe, but to make it even safer I use one that does not store data in the cloud. I use variations of KeePass.
This. I’m not comfortable storing my passwords in the cloud, so I use the local version of 1Password. While 1PW does have a cloud based subscription version, I still use the locally installed version that syncs all my devices across our WiFi.
by BedHead2020
Sun Dec 06, 2020 9:37 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How much money do you want to retire?
Replies: 1367
Views: 208812

Re: How much money do you want to retire?

How the heck is everyone getting their annual expenses down so low?!?! We’ve tracked our expenses to the penny for our entire married life and, even when accounting for being empty nesters and having no mortgage, our expected annual retirement expenses are more than double the $40k-$50k that I’m seeing mentioned here. I’ve tried to account for absolutely everything in my retirement planning. Maybe I’ve been too detailed and generous with our spending? We want to have an entertainment budget, enjoy a new car, pay someone to cut our grass, eat well, and such. We don’t want to scale back our standard of living when we retire, even if it means working harder and waiting a bit longer to retire. Plus, we want to make sure that we have plenty of ...
by BedHead2020
Sun Dec 06, 2020 8:40 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How much money do you want to retire?
Replies: 1367
Views: 208812

Re: How much money do you want to retire?

How the heck is everyone getting their annual expenses down so low?!?! We’ve tracked our expenses to the penny for our entire married life and, even when accounting for being empty nesters and having no mortgage, our expected annual retirement expenses are more than double the $40k-$50k that I’m seeing mentioned here. I’ve tried to account for absolutely everything in my retirement planning. Maybe I’ve been too detailed and generous with our spending? We want to have an entertainment budget, enjoy a new car, pay someone to cut our grass, eat well, and such. We don’t want to scale back our standard of living when we retire, even if it means working harder and waiting a bit longer to retire. Plus, we want to make sure that we have plenty of m...
by BedHead2020
Sun Dec 06, 2020 5:37 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: seeking a job in statistics
Replies: 33
Views: 3564

Re: seeking a job in statistics

If her specialty is biostatistics then the major insurance carriers would swoop her up in an instant. A friend of mine at Blue Cross and Blue Shield HQ here in TX says that the biostatisticians there are treated like the royalty of the organization.
by BedHead2020
Sun Dec 06, 2020 12:34 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Predicting health care costs in retirement
Replies: 22
Views: 2031

Re: Predicting health care costs in retirement

I’m also budgeting $1000/person/month for health insurance premiums in my “can we retire yet?” calculations. I’m hoping that this, plus another $500/month each for copays, prescriptions, and other medical expenses will be sufficient until the Medicare years begin.
by BedHead2020
Thu Dec 03, 2020 2:11 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Has anyone used Income Strategy website/software?
Replies: 106
Views: 28376

Re: Has anyone used Income Strategy website/software?

For those of you who have used or are using Income Strategy, can you tell me if their system is capable of handling an inherited (non-spouse) IRA that is using life expectancy-based RMDs? I have one of these and have been taking RMDs for a few years now (except 2020, of course). None of the online retirement calculators that I've found can accommodate such a beast. Some can come close with "pension" fields but, as you know, the RMDs are an increasing percentage each year, so trying to model them as a pension in these retirement calculators isn't very accurate. I would think that something that purports to be as powerful as Income Strategy would be able to handle this sort of inherited IRA, but I don't want to subscribe to them ju...
by BedHead2020
Thu Dec 03, 2020 10:07 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Has anyone used Income Strategy website/software?
Replies: 106
Views: 28376

Re: Has anyone used Income Strategy website/software?

For those of you who have used or are using Income Strategy, can you tell me if their system is capable of handling an inherited (non-spouse) IRA that is using life expectancy-based RMDs? I have one of these and have been taking RMDs for a few years now (except 2020, of course). None of the online retirement calculators that I've found can accommodate such a beast. Some can come close with "pension" fields but, as you know, the RMDs are an increasing percentage each year, so trying to model them as a pension in these retirement calculators isn't very accurate. I would think that something that purports to be as powerful as Income Strategy would be able to handle this sort of inherited IRA, but I don't want to subscribe to them jus...
by BedHead2020
Tue Dec 01, 2020 7:36 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Personal Finance Tracking Software
Replies: 35
Views: 5186

Re: Personal Finance Tracking Software

We like Banktivity but they’ve recently switched to a subscription model. We’re going to stick with the single purchase version as long as we can.