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I fell for the Blues in the early 1980s when a group of my Cal college friends and I ventured out to Eli’s Mile High Club in Oakland. I hadn’t heard anything like the blues before and it just clicked. I still listen, if not daily, then at least weekly. In addition to those already mentioned...

And here I thought my 2+ mile walk this morning was a good way to start off a Friday. Your 11 miles is great! Congratulations.

In 6 days I will be covered by UHC/AARP Plan G and Wellcare Value Script (PDP) Plan D. My monthly premiums for the first year of coverage are $115 for Plan G and $.40 for Plan D. Drug costs remain to be seen. DW is under 65, but disabled and receiving Social Security benefits and Medicare...

The discount for a second family member who is an AARP member on the same membership number apparently varies by state. When I called this week to enroll in Plan G, the UHC representative told me that discount for California residents is 7%.

FTBFX is an actively managed fund and the Fidelity website shows the latest annual turnover rate at 177%, so the bonds are not held to maturity. The website also indicates FTBFX has distributed capital gains in seven out of the last ten years. None in 2022 or 2023, probably because enough...

Probably too late for you, but I was confronted with the same choice last year. I elected to go with Kaiser rather than Blue Shield and my doctor at John Muir Health. My father (age 94) is also a long-time Kaiser member. I’m glad I had the opportunity to evaluate Kaiser. They do some things...

My wife and I both got Covid while on our May 2023 Mediterranean cruise. Mine progressed to pneumonia in one lung; she developed pneumonia in both lungs. We were both fully vaccinated and boosted. It was pretty bad, although neither of us had to be hospitalized. I am planning on getting an...

A detour to the Little Big Horn Battlefield National Monument right off of Interstate 90 would be worthwhile. I spent a couple of very enjoyable hours there a number of years ago on my son’s and my drive from Denver to Glacier NP.

We stayed at the modern Ocean Drive hotel in Barcelona this past May, https://od-barcelona.topbarcelonahotels.com/en/. We very much enjoyed the breakfast buffet (I think I need to go back for more Spanish chorizo) and the rooftop bar. The friends we were with had previously stayed there as part...

ER_Hopeful, since you are near LA you should be aware that California law requires consent of all parties to record a conversation. I’m hoping all goes well for your wife and you.

Since our 3-week Happy Retirement cruise in May was derailed a week into the cruise by Covid and pneumonia, we’ve booked for April a 10-day cruise around Italy with several additional pre and post cruise days in Rome and Venice. We originally thought about delaying this “do-over” vacation for...

We don’t pay much attention to how we spend the money, just the total amount we withdraw from savings and the portfolio each year. The total withdrawal covers everything - food, dog, taxes, insurance, travel, wine, mortgage, hobbies, etc. As long as the overall number is reasonable, and it has...

Pork tamales, chicken enchiladas, beans, rice, chips and guacamole catered by an excellent Mexican restaurant. Pick everything up today, set up a buffet tomorrow afternoon, and invite all of the relatives to drop by whenever.

My dad was an administrator at a local community college so it was a given that I would attend there for the first two years of college. And since he was paying, I didn’t argue. Class sizes at the community college were manageable and most of the instructors did a good job teaching and were...

Covered California’s rates in my SF Bay Area county will go up an average of 6.1% for 2023. That translates into an extra $180 a month (not taking subsidies into account) for a Blue Shield of CA Silver plan. I decided to switch to Kaiser and save $300 a month for the same Silver Plan coverage...

Kaiser?

We purchased round trip Business Class tickets from SFO to Barcelona via Zurich for our 3-week Mediterranean cruise next May. I wasn’t going to subject DW or me to coach when the estimated one way travel time is 15+ hours. Cruise payment is not due until January or so; this will definitely be...

But, Fairfield isn’t comparable to Davis. Davis has all of the attributes (mostly good, some bad) of a college town and is just a Yolo Causeway outside of Sacramento. Fairfield has an Air Force base and is still at least an hour from San Francisco with no traffic. And another 30 miles or more...

Today was the one year anniversary of my first full day of retirement. I think that makes it day one of year two. In any event, I “celebrated” by going to Costco this morning. I truly think one of the best things about retirement is not having to shop with the masses on the weekends or after work.

I volunteered for two hours this afternoon at the local food bank’s warehouse. Spent the shift sorting and bagging red onions. It took me almost a year after I retired to volunteer, but it was nice to feel a bit productive and like I was giving something back. After I got home I signed up for...

DW is on Medicare due to disability. I am on ACA thru Covered California. My Blue Shield premiums for Silver coverage at age 63 in Contra Costa County are roughly $660 a month based upon married filing jointly and an annual $70,000 estimated income. So, your friends probably will owe money when...

VOO - Vanguard S&P 500 Index VXUS - Vanguard Total International Index CMF - Ishares California municipal bond etf All are held in a taxable brokerage account at Fidelity.

My father had a Fidelity tax-managed account last year. The account was actively traded (and by the end of the year it held 13 stock funds (only 2 index funds), 6 bond funds, 7 stock ETFs, 1 REIT ETF, 1 bond ETF, and a money market fund. When I called my father at tax time, I asked how he was...

I am saying that under the terms of the contract, the carrier MAY be able to cancel coverage if the provider is not paid and the provider MAY be able to sue not only OP’s daughter for the unpaid services, but also OP as a guarantor or under a third-party beneficiary theory based upon the...

Granddaughter just turned four, so not that long ago. Not sure that I agree that OP’s daughter can be lumped in and described simply as an “other.” She was insured under OP’s plan. I agree that OP wouldn’t be responsible if the daughter (presumably not a minor) had her own insurance. But in...