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I recently went with a solar lease for my solar installation. The price for the one-time lease payment was $1,000 less than if I purchased the system fully myself and got all of the available federal and state credits. Plus, I would have to lave out the before price and wait for the credits on...

Santa Cruz should be on your short list. I am an ex-New Yorker, but got to Santa Cruz by moving around for jobs. It has great quality of life and a great Mediterranean climate. No A/C is needed and i haven't worn a winter coat in years. Housing is expensive, but your budget would work. There...

Sorry, I have been away for a while with some nasty medical stuff, or I would have responded sooner. The Overdrive Library system will only work with those readers that support e-pub. That leaves out the Kindle - that is why I ruled out the Kindle from consideration. As to selection, my...

Rental not yet available - maybe someone will try to develop that market. You can only convert unprotected books to Kindle format - if they are copy protected, you are out of luck. E-Pub format and the ability to use library books is what sold me on my Nook. I have rarely purchased books...

I bought a B&N nook after much research - what swayed me was the following - the ability to borrow free books from the public libraries - I know have a collection of cards from around California the ability to replace the battery myself, not having to send it back the Android operating...

I have ooma for house and business phone. For the $99 Premier service I get a second line also. It works fine with great sound quality. Have had other VOIP providers and they seem to be very reliable. Magic Jack is pretty erratic from what I have heard. There is a way around the requirement...

Welcome sherm - we also live in the Santa Cruz area, and have retired, though not as early as you. You are very correct that living in Santa Cruz requires much patience. We are down in the Soquel area of the county.

I read a recent article where someone signed up for classes at a local University in order to qualify for student insurance which was very reasonably priced and had no age limit at this particular university. Might be worth exploring.

In my plan, the calculation is made at the time you ask for the quote from the Pension agency. In our case, you should buy the service credits as soon as you are able. They do an estimate, projecting 2% raises, so if you are expecting bigger raises, or a job change for more money, you come out...

I had been paying 8% into my pension (California) and my employer has been paying a variable rate depending on the condition of the fund. Sometimes their share was 18%. My pension was 2.5% of highest year, eligibly to retire at 55. I did not pay into SS at this job, and am subject to WEP, but...

Thanks for all of your kind comments. We did a 48 hour cross-county jaunt, and am now back to try and get used to this retirement thing. The last few days have been a blur, and the break will be welcome.

Life is complicated. Woke up on January 1 and greeted by news that my MIL had died during the night. So we are scrambling to get cross country for a funeral and making arrangements long distance, so the retirement part has not really sunk in yet. So we appear to be in a holding pattern for a...

1 day 18 hours 4 minutes 46 seconds, but whose counting......

Yes, after 34 years of working, I have accumulated a lot of junk. Also, my office [-]is[/-]`was filled with my travel photography, which kept me going the last few years. By looking at the photos, I got the patience to keep going. Besides why rush, I have to go until the 31st anyway. One can...

Well I have three more days of work left before I pull the plug. All I am doing at this point is cleaning out the office, so it is not exactly hard work. As a budget cutting move, I am not being replaced, so duties are being divided up among others. Will definitely be interesting to watch...

I have been scheduled to leave work at the end of the year, and then I have one year of pay coming to me for 2009. So in effect, 12/31/09. While we have had some market setbacks, we were moving to a 50/50 split in preparation for the event. I do have a pension with some COLA, and that helps a...

Have you heard the story about the farmer that won the lottery? Reporters asked him what he was going to do now. He said he would continue farming until the money was gone.

For those that use Quicken.com, they have revamped their pages - http://investing.quicken.com. Not sure if I like this, but will take some time to get used to. Change is tough to deal with as one matures.

I lived in El Paso for about 7 years, but that was 17 years ago. It was changing then, and it has changed for the worse. Crimes against property were always an issue, but little violence againce people. That is what has changed. Also, the rest of the country does not really understand what...

1. We wish to have $75k/yr (2008 dollars) after tax to live on to support our lifestyle and desire to travel in retirement. AND 2. We will stay put for a while on the NorCal Coast to live in a primary residence worth $760,000 (down for now). for those who want more: 3. We will travel to...

Roswell is a very small town. Not much goes on there, except for the Area 51 stuff. Las Cruces is a better place, University town. Close enough to get to El Paso, as well as Ciudad Juarez, MX.

Do you have the option to purchase years of service in your pension plan. That might get you closer to where you want to be a lot sooner.

And where's the duct tape?

Always get it in writing. Also, if you are the type of person that likes to get an extended warranty or prepaid maintenance program. Never blindly take the offer from your dealer. There are places on the web that will offer large discounts on Toyota plans. It does not matter where you buy...

My guess is zip!