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A yes for CCs here I'm a big fan of the protections built into CCs, one having saved me $15K from a crooked contractor some years back... I also find value in airline (or other) cards that give airport lounge access. Very helpful when I had a several hour delay at the Las Vegas airport. One...

Ups and downs Today DH went to the gym, while I stayed home trying to decide if I was getting a cold or if allergies were flaring up. Although I felt rotten, I did a serious dust attack on all areas of our room. Hoping that will make for a better tomorrow (also, spent some time deeply ashamed...

Considering I didn't watch much TV until I retired, my list is longer than I expected. Star Trek, TOS, TNG The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Here come The Brides MASH Sopranos Some others, I'm sure, but the top two (tied): Battlestar Galactica 2003, and Deadwood. Deadwood scores a bit higher...

I get the identity crisis thing...I was a social worker for 34 years before ER at 52 and since I have an MSW, I guess I'll always think of myself as a social worker on some level. Just not one who drives 1.5 hours or more daily, works after hours and weekends, takes verbal abuse from a miserable...

This probably won't be very helpful other than a data point: My step-daughter took out student loans working towards a BA and MS in Special Education (her ex encouraged her to borrow more than she needed but that's another story). Even with as much loan forgiveness as the lenders (Federal, I...

Blow that dough on health and fitness! I feel guilty, a little, for blowing money on this but...there I go anyway. $1250 a year on concierge medical care--a fancy way of saying "like having a doctor back in the old days who had time for his patients." This gets me (along usual co-pays) a...

Blowing that dough on travels! In the past month, I planned a trip to Edinburgh for April 2020. DH's plane ticket is with AA miles, mine is cash, and since we're so far in advance, I found a great-looking airbnb apartment (Edinburgh locals on TripAdvisor tell me they know the place and it's...

Usually, no. I have a late breakfast (tea, either sesame tofu squares or yogurt & leftover pilaf, whatever looks to be tasty and around 200 cal). DH has cornflakes, maybe 2 eggs a couple times a week. No formal lunch but I keep cut up red bell peppers, cauliflower, cucumbers, etc. in the fridge...

I think it's been good for us. At first I was breathing hard going from the 1st to 3rd level but after a while I didn't think about it. We did have to do some shifting around when DH got his hip replacement and when I seriously sprained my ankle and had an air cast but not that bad. I didn't go...

Most of the time I like it...after we moved to the Big City a few years ago I did almost everything alone, which got old after a while. I really do count my blessings that he's a huge reader--that is his primary entertainment, and it's easy and portable!

What shocked me was how his not getting up at 4:45 am has affected me! I used to get up around 6:30, have coffee, etc. Now we're both snoozing until 9:00 or so, which is wonderful, but definitely different!

LOL! He's a list shopper on his own, but he kind of enjoys my non-list style of what's fresh today, what's new, trying different things. Meandering & sampling is how he found Madras Curry Chicken, which is now his favorite lunch meat :-) Having said that, he always has his current book in the...

I'm sure that will come :-) He was so immersed in work for 40+ years, everything is kind of new to him, if that makes sense. He has discovered two great walking trails near us and likes to do that alone if I don't feel like coming. And we scheduled our gym time for different days on purpose...

Did you come up with a plan before retiring, showing how much you needed to spend each year, and this how much you needed in your nest egg to support those expenses? Kind of but not really...We added up our pensions and SSA, and looked at a rough budget, when his Medicare would start, what we...

I would like to get more active here :-) I had several years of early retirement from a high-stress job, which has been blissful. Then we got a huge boost in income from my husband taking a new job when he had planned on retiring...life and its curve balls! After five years at the new job, he's...

We moved from a rural log home (still own it) to an urban apartment for my husband's work. After a few years we realized we were of an age to not like the idea of being a 30 minute drive from good shopping, doctors and dentists, etc. but were tired of huge rent and pitfalls of apartment life, so...

Retired 1-1-11 at 54. In one sense, I've planned this since I was 24 or so--1st year 401Ks came into being. I planned to retire at 30 years in but got promoted in 2008 so stayed in a bit past to boost the pension. By April 2010 I knew I had to get out...and put in for retirement in October 2010...

Maybe we hit our lifetime quota of personal interaction:rofl: I keeping meaning to call and get the latest scoop on interoffice drama, but just haven't found the time...

I barely made it into the class of 2011--retirement date was 01-01-2011. My butterflies are around seeing if our projections on finances were right. On 1-25-11 I get my first pension check; on 1-31-11 I get paid for 225 hours vacation leave (basically an additional month). It will be after that...

I was a total slug this weekend. I did make a pot of vegetable-beef soup and sorted some clothes to donate/trash/store. Other than that, the wind chill is very anti-sunny South and I have discovered "Heroes" on streaming Netflix, so there's been a LOT of recliner time. DH has gone in to the...

I dreaded my retirement party, because I was going to get a plaque of appreciation from a boss who had been mad at me for months. And I was worried about the break-down factor, too. Fortunately, it was in the middle of the Christmas-New Years week so attendance was low. I thanked people for...

I went back to get an MSW in 2007, at the age of 49. I had the sames concerns and fears, but things were under shaky leadership at my workplace and I felt I might need the credentials if I had to leave. I went part-time, after work. After one semester, I was promoted unexpectedly, so had that...

My pension choice gives him $1200 a month if I die. His pension and SSA will be about 2x what mine is, so that should give him a monthly income of $7k a month. He hasn't picked an option yet, but it will probably be a split that will be less per month at retirement (about $3500 or more) but that...

I'm Kathryn, last of a soon-to-be-extinct breed: the local government employee eligible for full retirement with 30 years service. I'm 54, as I hung in there 2 extra years. Starting July 2011, nobody can retire unless they're 55, regardless of # of years. DH is 59, could retire but loves his...