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Rethinking this since Papa's gone My father-in-law (85) died 5 years back, my own father died last year (80), and my husband's uncle (83) died this month. Each of these gentlemen left their wives with enough money to survive and even thrive -- NONE left his wife with the confidence to do so...

My husband is the caretaker for a camp in the middle of a VERY nice neighborhood, and is required to live on the property. So we're living in a double-wide trailer in the midst of grillion-dollar homes. It's great -- all of the amenities of a great neighborhood with none of the taxes... People...

I've been thinking about the same thing, but have decided to wait for perhaps a year or so, and educate myself about the area I'm interested in in the meantime. Every housing article I read (that isn't written by realtors) suggests that things are going to get a lot worse for the housing...

leaving numbers aside for the moment... This is a difficult place to be -- I know from a similar experience. One way to try to think your way out of the problem is to play with the scenarios and the numbers -- this will work...that won't... what if I buy this... what if I try to get him to do...

I have a friend who travels back and forth to visit family in Japan -- he says he finds homeless people at the train station, etc. -- something he'd never have dreamed possible for that society 20 years ago. Just one data point tho...

It seems counterintuitive, but sometimes I can get to sleep by trying to stay awake. I pick a spot in the room and try to keep my eyes on it and not close them (apart from blinking, that is!). I generally find my lids getting heavy pretty quickly. Apparently, not sleeping makes me worry...

Got a big enamel cooking pot with lid from the thrift store. Three bucks, doesn't absorb smells, and is "camoflaged" in the kitchen -- looks like it belongs there.

"When I die I'm donating my body to science fiction." Rodney Dangerfield

LOL. What Bum said. That reminds me of a poem I love... Wallace McRae, Cowboy Curmudgeon  "Reincarnation"      Cowboy Poetry at the BAR-D Ranch         www.CowboyPoetry.com

I'm not a lawyer but I seem to remember hearing, somewhere, somehow, that if you're a public company in the above situation you have a DUTY to your shareholders to get the cheaper asset. If a company you're contracting with doesn't write enough of a penalty into the contract to keep you from...

As creative and as "out there" as the idea of a "strategic divorce" may be, it was presented in none other than the New York Times a while back, which is where I got the idea: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/30/opinion/30kristof.html I take no position on the socio-economic or interpersonal...

I'm late to this thread because up until yesterday this type of insurance was not at the top of my list of concerns. Yesterday, DH brings home an offer from employer (through UNUM) of LTC insurance, which must be decided upon this week ("before the rates go up"). This has caused a flurry of...

Rick Steves' Europe: Packing Light and Right

I was two years ago. For about eight and a half minutes. oh well.

My smart, able-bodied, well-educated sister just tried to put the arm on my parents for $35K, and me for $50K, to buy a house. She's calling it a loan, but she has no wage-earning partner, no job, and no prospect of paying it back. She does, however, have all the time in the world to join...

Invest your first couple of bucks in "Dress for Success." The author took a very scientific approach to figuring out what clothing sends the right message. I read the women's version when i got out of B-School. Best wardrobe investment I made.

I'll be 52 next month but wierdly enough, I've been feeling younger lately. I'm coming to the end of my current job and career in software and, if I'm lucky and keep myself fit, I've got 30 good years left. That's as much time as I had from age 20 to age 50 -- enough time to start on a whole...

I'm betting 60/40 that this is about to happen to me. Megacorp is rumored to be planning a massive layoff, and having just moved to a new, small department, I am not as secure as some others. That said, I knew the job was dangerous when I took it! If I get the axe I'm going to pay off the...

In 2005 I sold a few paltry shares from my employee stock purchase plan. The plan inadvertently sent TWO copies of the report of sale to IRS. In late 2007, they got around to asking me why I hadn't reported the "extra income." I've been working on fixing this for the last year. The IRS...

huh? Where am I going to get enough furniture to fill a house like that?

I spent 4 days with my Aunt in November. She smokes like a chimney (but she's 86, so whaddya gonna do?) After 4 days I was wheezy, lightheaded, sick to my stomach, and headachy. Had the sore throat too, and it all took a day and a half to clear up after I left. Allergy, scmallergy -- no...

Something akin to his happened at a company I worked at once. Happened after a new CEO came on board - the guy was all about building morale on the surface, but underneath, a total sociopath. Another possibility -- management is scared and clueless, and is doing what it thinks it's supposed...

I climbed Kilimanjaro a few years back -- it nearly killed me. Met an 82-year-old at the summit who said the trip was easy. "Just put one foot in front of the other, and fall forward." If I'd had the energy, I would have killed HIM! ;-)

Seen on a tee shirt: Retired. This is as dressed up as I get. Another tee shirt: Retired. Know everything, and have all day to tell it to you.

I've been with Kaiser for about a grillion years through my employers. (over 20 now, I think). Couldn't be more satisfied. The main benefit in my mind is one-stop-shopping, as mentioned earlier. Regular doctor, gyn, tests, pharmacy, specialists, physical therapy all in one hospital...