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2009 was a difficult year. I lost my job in April, 2009 -- still unemployed, but waiting for an offer from HR. Anyway, I lost my job -- wife's cancer is now stage 4 and she is no longer a candidate for surgery or radiation therapy. In September, 09 decided to sell our primary residence. Had...

Real life example Six years ago, my wife and I were in out late 40's -- we both worked, had some extra money and decided to purchase a 2 bedroom condo in SW Florida. The idea was to rent it seasonally and use it for the 14 days as a vacation home. Fifteen months later, hurricane Charlie...

My mom who is approaching 80 sent me a message concerning the WSJ article regarding Erickson's Retirement Communities. She currently lives in a suburb north of Baltimore and is considering a move to an Erickson Community, Oak Crest. She has a number of friends that have moved into the...

Haven't been on the board for sometime due to some significant life challenges. I would describe my risk/reward tolerance as moderate. Most of my retirement accounts are in my 401K and index funds. I'm 54 and was looking to retire in the next 3-5 years, but unless the market changes for the...

Shedder -- advice: I'm not retired [53], but I've been off of work for about 12 weeks after a lumbar fusion L2-L3. None of this stuff is really worked related, just the normal wear and tear with some trauma mixed in. I've also had 2 cervical fusions, resulting in my neck being fused from...

College in 72 I went to college straight from high school. Had a number of factors that influenced that decision -- mom and dad said i was going, had my high school sweetheart who I married, we've been together 38+ years, money was and issue and I wasn't mature enough or knew what I wanted to...

Impact on ER I have planned on retiring in 2009 at the age of 55. The only income that I will have is the return on my investments and my DW social security (she has a medical disability). So my challenges are health care and making sure I don't exceed a SWR. Which I think is doable. For...

Progress on back surgery Its almost 6 weeks since surgery and things have gotten much better, although there was a rough 4-5 weeks in the beginning. After surgery, I still had significant/constant pain even while taking my spasm/pain meds. About a week ago, the spasms started to return -so I...

Over the Thanksgiving holiday I began experiencing tenderness/cramping in my lower back. In the course of two hours it developed into the worst pain I've ever experienced -- I'd be on the floor in a fetal position just crying in pain. I tried the rest, take the otc meds but nothing helped...

After discussing my wife's case for social security disability for three years, she finally received a favorable decision. Prior to her becoming ill, she worked as a nurse at a local hospital. My wife is 53. Is it necessary to wait until she is 59 to start receiving her pension? Ideally...

Thanks Just a quick thank you to everyone for their messages. dwk

DW and I are 53. She was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer three ago and has been through hell. She's not working due to her health -- and we're still fighting the disability battle. This month I was diagnosed with melanoma. I have a resection, skin graph and lymph node dissection next...

The question is what are the requirements for enrollment for this program. Family has a minimal income, but owns $200,000+ home -- should the government step in. Personally, I think the government needs to have a safety net for families that experience a catastrophic illness or trauma. I think...

My parents are both in their 80's. Dad's health is failing and Mom is hanging in there. They own their home, lbtm, and have long term healthcare. About 7 years ago, they purchase a fixed and variable annuity. The fixed is coming due and the VA has two years left. The fixed annuity is paying...

Fire sale Florida real estate DW and I just got back from the Charlotte Harbor / Punta Gorda area. We were looking at possible rental /investment property. There are a number of problems that need to be fixed before prices will rebound. They are; Taxes: especially for out-of-state...

I've been lucky enough to own a bass tracker pro 17, a charger 19vf (high performance bass boat) and recently picked-up a used Four-Winns Quest 217 center console. The bass tracker is primarily used as a jon-boat for running crab traps and a trotline on the Wye River. It's light, has a 40hp...

I'm in the process of buying a boat and got to wondering how many here have one. For certain a boat is a money drain -- and the bigger the boat, the bigger the hole. It's not a question of justifying the purchase -- the enjoyment of fishing, crabbing taking the grandkids out for shelling, a...

DW and I are 52 and have live below our means for quite a while. We had an emergency fund of $50,000. No debit except for mortgages on primary and rental property. And have maxed out 401K's, and saved 20% of our income. 2 years ago, DW was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer and is unable...

Some financial points: You need to decide if you're going to use the condo as a rental or vacation home. Your family income will have a lot to do with your decision. If you treat it as a rental, you lose the benefit of writing off losses as your family income goes from $100,000 to $150,000. For...

Today, I received a 1099-C Cancellation of Debt for the my son's estate. He was killed in a auto accident 3/04. According to the form, Chase Bank cancelled the balance on his credit card. The statement shows the following; box #: 1. Date debt cancelled 8/11/2006 2. Amount of debt cancelled...

DW and I began planning for our Hawaiian trip 18 months ago. Then, my company decides to hold the national sales meeting the same week -- so I was going to miss the 1st half of the trip. A little over a week ago, there was a town hall meeting at headquarters and all field reps were told to dial...

DW and I along with two other couples are leaving the east coast and heading to Hawaii next week. We'll spend several days at a small resort on Maui, then jump on a cruise ship to visit various islands, then back to Maui for a few more days of rest and relaxation before heading home. Everyone is...

a good website iswww.antennaweb.org. Enter your address and it will tell you the direction and distance to the broadcast towers. There is good information regarding antenna selection. I did the OTA thing about two years ago. Just recenlty switched over to dish network for the nfl and sports...

I'd like to ask what you're using the software for? Is it to do image touch up; red-eye removal, color/contrast adjustments, touch up, image sharpening... or more advanced image processing. Photoshop has a lot of bells and whistles and can be combersome to use. Most folks use only a few of the...

Mom is 75 and my Stepdad is 80. Dad has congestive heart failure and his health has really declined in the last 12 month. Mom does pretty good, but has typical aches and pains... They called last night to tell me they are going to see a finance guy. This is someone who a friend recommended. My...