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On rare occasions in this forum, people have mentioned that they stopped taking fish oil capsules because they heard that it is bad for the prostate. I asked my doctor about it. She said that she had never heard that warning, and asked me where I heard or read about it. In fact, she tells me...

In principle, I understand that you should use other funds to pay taxes from a tIRA conversion to a Roth so that it maximizes the amount in the Roth. But if you have no other funds, and will face very large RMDs in the future, doesn't it make sense to pay the tax out of the conversion proceeds...

I just sat through a presentation on an age-based mortgage lending program called the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage of Purchase program, also called HECM or H4P program. Apparently this program was signed into law by Congress in 2008 and became available in 2009, but it's virtually unknown...

I'm retired and considering changing my state of residence from Ohio where I pay about 4% income tax, to Florida with no income tax. My Ohio tax is about $15K / yr. This does not include my wife's income or Ohio tax. My DW would continue to live and work in Ohio. I would continue to travel...

Are there any options available to a young married couple who want to start a college savings plan for thier child if the child does not yet exist? In other words, the couple have no children yet, but they have enough money and want to start a college savings fund for a child they plan to have...

I have a question for those that are currently retired: What is your target asset allocation in your retirement portfolio? Do you also have or will you have a pension? I'm retired and recently talked with a financial planner. He recommends that I change to a stock/bond AA of 65% / 35%. I'm...

As a Flagship member, I can request an annual portfolio review from Vanguard, which I did. Recently I had that review, and thought I'd share their recommendations. Sorry for the length, but perhaps it will be of value to someone. First, our background situation: I retired 8 months ago at 60...

Does anyone use Ally Bank for their primary or everyday checking account, bill pay, etc? If so, how do you like it? Are there things that frustrate you about it?

I was just pleasantly surprised. During a conversation I had late last week with my Vanguard Flagship rep, I mentioned that I had officially retired the previous week. Yesterday, I received a lovely gift basket from giftbaskets.com with fruit, chocolates, nuts, gourmet popcorn, and cookies...

I've been reading and occasionally contributing to this this website for several years now. I'm wondering if now is the time to RE, or not. My situation: Ages: 60 (me) & 56 (DW), both plan to live to 95 Kids are all launched. Assets: 1) tIRA: $1,000,000 invested 71% stock index funds, 21%...

A few years ago, DW and I did the 3 day Lifestyle Visit (or whatever it's called) at The Villages in FL. I realize that there are pros and cons to The Villages, but one thing I really liked was that I could go anywhere via golf cart, including shopping, out to eat, social sctivities, etc. That...

A few years ago, I took an "enhanced" offer to retire early from my previous employer. I accepted the offer, started receiving a very nice monthly pension, and found another j*b. I'm now almost 60 years young, and about ready to retire for good. My wife also works and will retire 7 or 8 years...

There are days, like today, when I wonder why I'm still working. I don't know if I'm struggling with OMY syndrome, if I truly am not financially ready yet. As others have done, I'd like your thoughts. Investments: Tira: $1,100,000 invested in 75% balanced mutual funds and 25% bonds. Roth...

On occasion, I thought that the government raised SS payments across the board. I'm pretty sure that this does not occur every year, but I'm pretty sure it's happened several times in the last 20-30 years. Can anyone point me to information about the average yearly COLA for SS, or to some...

Several times, on this forum, I've heard people say that they plan to convert their tIRA over to a Roth. I know that there have been recent threads about the wisdom of converting vs not converting. That's not my question. Rather, my question is related to the amount to convert each year until...

Many of us have our own spreadsheets that we use to estimate how soon we can retire, and how long our investments will last. I've always heard that stocks have traditionally returned 10%. Do you use that ROI, or something else in your spreadsheet(s)?

I've been a fanatic at saving for retirement over the years, and I've made good investment choices. I now have a large tIRA invested in a diversified portfolio of VG index funds. I understand the advantages of a Roth vs tIRA. The funds are in a tIRA because Roth's didn't exist when I first...

I'm almost ready to RE and move to a warmer climate. DW has no interest in retiring or moving anywhere at any time in the future. We're seriously thinking of remaining married, but living apart....in our case, living quite a long way apart. Kids are all grown and living scattered across the...

My apologies if this was already discussed. I searched, but didn't see this question being discussed .... I've w*rked 35 years in various jobs where I paid SS taxes out of each paycheck. A few months ago, I visited the local SS office and received an estimate that I would receive a benefit of...