Recent content by fishfactory

Thank you for posting this. I also retired 5 years ago at age 55. The biggest shock was how much I have had to spend on healthcare. My spreadsheet estimates were way too low. I was able to stay on my employer's plan, but the coverage gets worse every year while the premium keeps rising...

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I found it interesting in the opensocialsecurity calculator, if you change the discount rate to any number greater than 4.5% when I modeled my situation, the suggested collection age was 62. I consider that 4.5% a fairly low hurdle when combined with potential future SS haircuts and other...

Foxcreek, were you trying to verify your number AFTER porting it to a prepaid cell ? GV will only accept phone numbers that are cell numbers, not landline numbers.

Strange. Have you looked online at some tutorials on how to do it ? Things may have changed since I did it. I found the tutorials to be very helpful.

Foxcreek9, you can port your number to a cheap prepaid cell phone (I think I paid about $20 for one at Walmart), then from that phone to Google Voice. But as far as the 911 issue, you are correct. They will not know your address. That is a risk I was willing to take, just like having to call 911...

Foxcreek9, wouldn't it be better to port your landline number to Google Voice, which is totally free ? I did so years ago and still have the same phone number I have had for 30 years and still use the same cordless "landline" phones. $0 monthly fees.

Had a landline for decades. Ported the phone number to a prepaid cell phone then to Google Voice. Now use the same landline phones and number for free through Google Voice.

I believe the article is saying that you should have the Medicare payments taken out of the social security payment to avoid the potential scenario of paying higher rates.

62 for me. Making Optimal Social Security Claiming Decisions - A Four Stage Analysis by Daniel Amerman

dmpi, I believe your physics professor was correct. The type of oil is much less important than a good filter and change frequency. Particles are the enemy of an engine far above oil breakdown.

Midpack, have you considered filling the 24% bracket with conversions before the income tax rates go up in 2026 ? It is a very large bracket and only 2% points above the 22% bracket you are currently filling. It may be worth it even with the extra Medicare premiums.

In my situation (everyone is different) filling the 24% bracket with conversions is the sweet spot. The current MFJ top of 24% is about $364k. In 2026 the 25% bracket will be about HALF of that figure. I agree with Runningbum on not hiring an advisor. I spoke with one and it was obvious I knew...

Koolau, Sounds like your variables are a bit different, in that between a small pension and soc sec I will not be depleting the IRAs much. So in your case it does make sense to not be as aggressive as I have been. Every case is different, and nobody knows the future tax rates, which is what...

Hi Midpack, You and I had discussions on this board several years ago on this topic. I have been converting to the top of the 24% bracket for a few years, and have probably been too aggressive in that my effective tax rate will likely be a bit lower in the future. If tax rates go up beyond the...