Search results

Iowa Hawkeye vs South Carolina for woman's championship. Go Hawks!

We very rarely go to a fast food option, but a couple days ago DW and I were driving around in our golf cart on a nice warm afternoon. We were in the area of a Wendy's so we thought that a Frosty ice cream sounded pretty good. We went inside and there were probably 8 people in line ahead of...

For two adults we spend an average of $550 per month at the grocery stores. We buy a lot of produce but very little red meat. We eat out about twice a week normally for lunch an that runs about $350 per month.

We are retired 10 years, ages 71 and 70. We are invested about 45% stock funds and individual dividend paying stocks, 35% bond mutual funds, and 20% CDs and treasuries. Approx. 50% in pre tax and 50% in after tax. We are collecting Social Security but draw nothing from our pre tax investments...

Yes, we took up golf, mens. Ladies, and couples groups and the socializing at lunch afterward. We have made many new friends as a result that leads to many other social activities.

We switched to State Farm a year ago for homeowners, one vehicle and golf cart coverage. After 6 months the vehicle premium went from $570 up to $780, now 6 months later the rate has increased to $908. Same vehicle, no claims or tickets for many years. Coverage was unchanged. When I called to...

Thank you all for your input and links to the RMD estimators. I have done a very rough initial calculation using these estimators. Also a big thanks about IRMAA. Here is my situation. I will turn 73 in early December 2026. I assume I should take my first RMD in 2026 because if I wait to...

We have been retired 10 years, we have never drawn out any money from our IRAs or the 401ks, either for Roth conversions or living expenses. Maybe not the best idea but it is what it is.

I have, up this point, ignored consideration of RMDs and the associated tax consequences. Well, time marches on and I will be subject to RMDs in calendar year 2027. Wife will be subject to RMDs also in calendar year 2027. I am sitting on about $1,580,000 in IRAs and 401ks, Wife has about...

I know 3 or 4 couples that live in The Villages and checked out the Daytona location. Their comments were such that I would not consider relocating there. None of them relocated there either. I may go check it out someday just out of curiosity.

I agree that prices are very high. I recently had to replace the heater element in my 12 year old dryer. As bad as the price was ($128.00). At least I had an easy time finding a replacement on Amazon and watched several YouTube videos. I am sure if I had to hire a repairman it would have cost...

If so, happy birthday! In my life I have only known one person who was born on a February 29th. That was my Dad. He was born 100 years ago today, so he would have been 25 in leap years. In his small home town every February 29th the local newspaper would write up a small article about him...

Warning! this is long and rambling.... Yeah, 10 years ago today was my official retirement. I have not w@rked a day for a wage since. Looking back it was not nearly as scary and we originally expected. DW and I originally planned to retire when I turned 58. Then the recession of 2008 & 2009...

Our 11 year old Electrolux dryer quit drying. Display showed an error code E64 and a phone number to call for service. DW was anxious to find someone right away to get it fixed. She didn't think I was up to the task but I didn't want to pay for and expensive repair and a marked up spare part. I...

2023 Federal taxes - Line 24 / Line 9 = 4.21% No State tax in Florida It will get a lot uglier once we are forced to take RMDs in a couple years.

We mostly use a credit card and pay off balance monthly. We don't have a debit card. We rarely use cash but have some on hand just in case. We still have to write quite a few checks. More and more businesses are starting to add percentages for using a credit card. We are also starting to see a...

Money is never discussed in our crowd of friends and acquaintances. Some seem to be more extravagant, especially on autos and vacationing and houses, but some may likely have more money but tend to live a more modest lifestyle. No one seems to care how much our friends have and it would seem a...

My parents weren't farmers but we lived in a rural farm community in Iowa which has some of the best farmland in the nation. Probably 60% of the kids I went thru school with were "farm kids". Got in a lot of time at the farms working summers for local farmers de-tasseling corn, bailing hay, and...

What is it with dentistry today? Used to be the dentist did tooth extractions and root canals. Now a days you have to go to an endodontist for a root canal or an oral surgeon to get a tooth pulled. And of course, you can't just go in for any work at these specialists, even with a referral...

I took up golf at about 25 to mainly socialize with co-workers and family. Same for DW. When we moved for another job opportunity in our early 30's, we soon gave it up due to the high cost for green fees. Fast forward to 2019 (30 years) we moved to our 55+ community in Florida which is...

Our total spending for 2023 was $135,998.88. Broken down as follows: $64,481.94 for normal expenses, taxes, medical, food, travel, insurances, etc. $37,516.94 for home improvement projects $34,000.00 gifting to DD We withdrew about 2% from our overall investments. All from after tax accounts...

We have a similar retractable roll up screen on our front door. It is not a double door like you are considering. It is a standard 3 ft. door. It has been installed for over 8 years and still functions as designed. We do not use it frequently, only on days when the temperatures are mild and...

I didn't see the documentary but I can relate my personal experiences. I drive my golf cart an average of 2000 miles a year. I could drive my golf cart to the closest grocery stores, about 5 minutes away, to my Dr. office about 15 minute drive, 20 different golf courses, anywhere from 5 minutes...

Hobby Lobby opened a new store in The Villages, Florida on August 28, they had an fully stocked area in the store with Christmas decorations, trees, etc. Of course they had a big sale on Christmas inventory.

Lot's of Gen Xers are already buying in TV. I play golf with some of them. FYI the population of TV is probably well over 130,000 by now and growing by at least 5,000 per year. New home sales in 2022 in TV was 3923. Another worthless bit of information, it is estimated that there are 70,000 golf...