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12-04-2008, 03:58 PM
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#1
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 1,183
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AARP's Dirty Laundry
Good to know that the fox is in the henhouse.
AARP’s Stealth Fees Often Sting Seniors With Costlier Insurance
Bloomberg.com: Invest
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12-04-2008, 04:28 PM
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#2
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: East Nowhere, 43N Latitude, NY
Posts: 9,037
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a devil's advocate, if i may...
we have not seen the data (oh boy, there i go again with that darn "show me the data" thing ). we do not know if the insurance policies quoted were apples to apples. we do not know if this guy told one company he was accident free and the other if he was not accident free. the huge difference in auto ins rates tells me there is a bit more to this story.
here's some real live subjective data for dental insurance comparison. before I FIREd from the fed govt, i was eligible to enroll in one of their brand new, 100% self paid dental insurance plans. i compared premiums for IDENTICAL coverage for self only between AARP Delta Dental and the 2 or 3 dental ins companies approved by OPM. AARP Delta Dental was just a little more than half the price.
a future bonus benefit - i was even allowed to add dh2b 2 yrs later on a Self+1 policy mod.
has AAFP gone to the dark side? maybe. but let's get some DATA to support this article. has anyone else compared AARP endorsed auto insurance rates? i'm half tempted to go do this rate comparison for myself. i have a completely clean driver's license, no accidents and am exactly 50.
if i get a chance, i'll get quotes next week.
__________________
"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." - Walt Disney
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12-04-2008, 05:56 PM
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#4
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: North Oregon Coast
Posts: 16,483
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I seem to remember that AARP used to have S&P 500 index funds with something like 0.6% expense ratios. May not have been quite that much, but for an index fund it was very high. And they were pushing managed funds with expense ratios close to 2%.
__________________
"Hey, for every ten dollars, that's another hour that I have to be in the work place. That's an hour of my life. And my life is a very finite thing. I have only 'x' number of hours left before I'm dead. So how do I want to use these hours of my life? Do I want to use them just spending it on more crap and more stuff, or do I want to start getting a handle on it and using my life more intelligently?" -- Joe Dominguez (1938 - 1997)
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12-04-2008, 06:02 PM
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#5
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Houston
Posts: 4,337
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Unfortunately I'm eligable to be an AARP member, however, it does beat the alternative. I've looked at several of the "members only" investment options and have found them to have high fees. IMHO, they are ripping off their trusting members with high fee products. This is the classic case of "let the buyer beware."
__________________
The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane -- Marcus Aurelius
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12-04-2008, 07:54 PM
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#6
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 146
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I am a member of the AARP. Ambivalent about it. Sometimes I think their lobbying slogan should be "It's OK to eat your kids".
__________________
The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of misery.
Winston Churchill
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12-05-2008, 08:44 AM
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#7
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 380
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AARP is a good way to get a hotel discount if you aren't in AAA, and that is about it.
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12-05-2008, 08:52 AM
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#8
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: North Oregon Coast
Posts: 16,483
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SteveL
AARP is a good way to get a hotel discount if you aren't in AAA, and that is about it.
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It will be seven years before I'm eligible for AARP, but if I eventually choose to hold my nose and join (I don't like a lot of their "rob our grandchildren's prosperity for our benefit" positions on the issues), it will be only to get AARP discounts.
__________________
"Hey, for every ten dollars, that's another hour that I have to be in the work place. That's an hour of my life. And my life is a very finite thing. I have only 'x' number of hours left before I'm dead. So how do I want to use these hours of my life? Do I want to use them just spending it on more crap and more stuff, or do I want to start getting a handle on it and using my life more intelligently?" -- Joe Dominguez (1938 - 1997)
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12-05-2008, 09:46 AM
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#9
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 757
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I became disillusioned with them over the new health insurance they introduced in Georgia:
http://www.early-retirement.org/foru...ant-40197.html
Wish DH hadn't sent them in a payment for five years of membership!
__________________
“It is not a sign of good health to be well adjusted to a sick society”.------Krishnamurti
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12-05-2008, 12:02 PM
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#10
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Pacific latitude 20/49
Posts: 7,677
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AARP is an affinity marketing organization. You can expect the fees to be higher sometimes because the suppliers give the AARP a sales commission. As with all such organizations, it is buyer beware. You must become knowledgeable and comparison shop for your services.
__________________
For the fun of it...Keith
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12-05-2008, 03:20 PM
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#11
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Houston
Posts: 4,337
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It's worth joining for the discounts at motels. It's the only last minute discount that I know of that works. You can get $10 to $30 off per night.
__________________
The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane -- Marcus Aurelius
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12-05-2008, 03:51 PM
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#12
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 3,895
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never bothered joining and not just because i was insulted when they started recruiting before i hit 50. they sent a new membership card in a new envelope almost weekly for about a year. first, there's gotta be something wrong with anyone who wants me that badly. as i've never been a tease, i didn't see any reason to encourage them. second, i figured i'd wind up paying for all their postage & paperwork somewhere down the line.
__________________
"off with their heads"~~dr. joseph-ignace guillotin
"life should begin with age and its privileges and accumulations, and end with youth and its capacity to splendidly enjoy such advantages."~~mark twain - letter to edward kimmitt 1901
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12-05-2008, 04:07 PM
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#13
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Dallas
Posts: 1,211
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Lynda and I use AARP to buy Medicare supplemental insurance. We are very pleased with it. The cost is competitive with other insureres. The
best feature is that the rate is the same for all ages in Texas (at least). The only way they can raise rates is to raise them for everybody.
Cheers,
charlie
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