Recent content by MichaelL

I got concerned when I read "Tax Torpedo" but after reading more it seems that this applies to people in the 10 - 12 % tax bracket who don't want to get pushed to 22%. I'm in the 24% so I'm already torpedoed for the duration.

To follow up on this, I got the bill and they charged $1,890. The insurance paid $820 and I took $800 from my medical savings plan which emptied it. I'm not sure why they adjusted the bill. I did look it up and found that crowns can vary from $900 to $2,400 depending on the type of material and...

There are a lot of scammers on Facebook Marketplace and no shows. I see items all day priced 1/10th of what they should be and the pictures are clearly not from my area, but I still get 10 times the action there than I do from Craigslist.

I used to sell on eBay but also decided that it wasn't worth it. I used Craigslist for some things, but now I've found that Facebook Marketplace gets more action.

The linked article makes sense. They did a more realistic calculation. DR's idea that you will make 12% or so from stocks over the term of a retirement isn't realistic. Downturns can go for 5 years and recovery can take another 5 years. While you can sell stock and spend the capital gains that...

I ride my e-Trike a lot and have learned a few things. I carry tools for common adjustments and to tighten anything that gets lose. I carry a small electric pump. I have batteries to recharge the lights. I put sealant in the tires. I had a lot of flats from thorns. I have tire changing tools...

I just got quoted $1,300 for an exam and a pair of glasses and my co-pay is $595.

I just got a quote for a crown on a molar, $2,450. The last time I had one, about 5 - 6 years ago it was $800. My insurance will only cover part of it.

If the money isn't in a restricted retirement account like a 401k and the person isn't yet retired they could spend the money before retirement.

That yahoo!finance survey indicates that 88% of people have no savings to just a little savings. Breaking out how much income is coming from personal savings indicates how much people have beyond tax defered accounts so it's interesting to know.

The type of account holding the savings is relevant as an indicator of how much money people saved beyond the limited 401k deductions as people with high value non tax defered accounts earned much more than they spent.

Something can be part of retirement income without being a retirement account. Most people don't have savings outside of retirement accounts. If I have a regular savings account or broker account it isn't a retirement account. It just an account.

I don't expect my investments to peak in my life time. I expect to withdraw about 2.5% and I anticipate earning more than that. I'm not a penny pincher and I go out as much as I want. I just don't have that much that I want to spend money on. I don't have a mortgage or debt and I live in an...

I typically fill up at about 1/2 empty or so and that's about 8-9 gallons. I'm not going to walk inside and stand in line for 80 cents and I don't drive around looking for cheaper gas. It just isn't worth the trouble. Remember when you go in to pay lock your car and hide your valuables as...

I consider the term "personal retirement accounts" to mean tax deffered such as 401k, IRA, etc. I have personal savings and brokerage accounts that are not tax deffered and I accumulate dividends and interest from them.