What did you do today? - 2021 version

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo Watching the market crater on the first trading day of the year. Couldn't you guys wait a few days to take your annual withdrawal/RMD instead of everyone pulling it out today?

You've got to beat everyone else getting out the door. The longer you wait, the less you will have.


PS. Today, I have been busy selling put options to add more shares to the positions that I already have, if the price drops a few more percents. I've got to buy some to help out the people who are doing RMD early.

[jcfradio]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nemo2 Picked up some groceries......unpacking at home....phone rang. Surgeon's office....."You're having your hip replacement this Friday; tomorrow you have the pre-op class, and then go to the HS for a Covid swab....I'll get back to you with details".

Good luck with the operation. At least your local COVID case numbers are low right now - BGH or KGH?

[Car-Guy]

Took down the Christmas Tree, outside lights and decorations....

[Nemo2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcfradio Good luck with the operation. At least your local COVID case numbers are low right now - BGH or KGH?

Thanks...BGH.....(to avoid Covid they're operating on me out in the parking lot. )

[socca]

Spent 5 hours using TurboTax Deluxe on Mac to produce a scratch version of my 2020 federal tax return. I'm pleased with the software - the maturity is pretty much where you'd expect for January 4th.

A change for 2020: Form 1099-MISC Box 7 (non-employee compensation) is now reported on Form 1099-NEC. I hadn't heard about this until I went to the Intuit website to generate 1099s for the partnership I manage.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo Watching the market crater on the first trading day of the year. Couldn't you guys wait a few days to take your annual withdrawal/RMD instead of everyone pulling it out today?

Well, I did my best! I didn't need to withdraw from Vanguard this year. With a paid off house and car, SS, Medicare, monthly RMDs, and my three figure mini-pension, there just is no need for an annual withdrawal this year. I'm surprised that the market dropped like that, but I have no reason to think it will not recover soon.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nemo2 Picked up some groceries......unpacking at home....phone rang. Surgeon's office....."You're having your hip replacement this Friday; tomorrow you have the pre-op class, and then go to the HS for a Covid swab....I'll get back to you with details".

Good luck on your hip replacement! You're getting *really* close if your pre-op class is tomorrow. Let us know how the surgery and recovery goes. I am so glad that the pandemic didn't put it on hold for a few more years because why not enjoy a good hip ASAP (especially at our age).

I know that for me, the knee replacement made all the difference in my quality of life. The recovery was rugged but it's over, and these days I am constantly amazed at how strong and functional my new knee is. Hope your hip surgery has an equally good outcome.

[Calico]

First thing this morning (Monday) as scheduled my network access was terminated, and my security badge deactivated.

This afternoon I returned the computer equipment I brought home with me when we all fled the office for our homes on 3/13/20. My last actual w#rk day was 12/18/20, and the entire organization has been closed for the holidays since then.

I unplugged everything; gave it a cursory dusting; packed it carefully in boxes; labeled the boxes (twice) with my name; included a copy of the "checkout sheet" we had to complete before we could leave the premises with the equipment; put my security badge in the box; and last but not least, I took pictures of the whole shebang. I delivered it to the Facilities guy, who will to pass it on to an IT guy later this week. The Facilities guy is onsite every day (the only employee who is) while the IT folks come in sporadically as needed.

It's not that I don't trust the Facilities guy (I worked with him for 25 years) but as we know, "stuff happens." I envisioned the boxes accidentally ending up in a corner of the vast IT area, or in the basement for some reason, and getting notification in a few months from the "IT police" at work that I was delinquent in returning my equipment. I am so glad that all the CMA measures I had to take for 25 years (because other people might screw up) are now a thing of the past!! What a relief.

I'm adding that feeling to the ever-growing list of the little gifts of retirement I keep discovering every single day.

[1242Vintage]

Busy busy day.

Over the weekend my wife came back from the mailbox all smiles with what she thought was our stimulus check ... on closer inspection it was from a different federal agency ... the IRS!

Spent the morning on hold and then in several long phone calls with two different Departments of the IRS working to demonstrate why I didn’t owe an additional $4,700 in taxes. Solved the problem and no additional tax due!

Celebrated afterwards with a trip to the gym for strength training and a cardio workout on my favorite mountain bike. Also while I was thinking of minimizing our taxes, transferred $7k each into our IRAs for our FY 2021 contributions.

Looking forward to a quieter day tomorrow.

[Nemo2]

Went to the hip replacement pre-op 'clinic'; blood work, EKG, X-Rays, do's & don'ts, etc.

Very efficient.

X-Ray technician, an attractive young lady even with the mask, was quite conciliatory about having to place cushioning (or somesuch) right up between my legs, while I was in the supine position, in order to obtain a good hip shot.

Told her that, in my entire life, I'd never had a woman apologize for doing something like that.

[MBAustin]

Cleaned out the remnants of the vegetable garden and vacuumed up leaves from the patio - two friends are stopping by this afternoon for a patio visit and I wanted it to look a little tidier. DD is arranging for takeout for dinner tonight so I basically have the day off. I'll start on packing up the Christmas decorations after lunch, but won't work on the trees until Epiphany, tomorrow.

[ls99]

Did a quick headline scan of news on the web, in passing saw a header for method of eliminating procrastination. One of these days might get around to reading the article.

[Walt34]

Well, we were finally dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century.

Because of the USPS repeatedly being late with mail since about early December, this month the electric bill is late even though I wrote and mailed the check three weeks before it was actually due. I've been dragging my feet on doing online bill paying because I knew that if I became unable to do it then DW would have no idea how to. This paid off when I was in the hospital a few times and DW could pick up without missing a beat. The electric bill being late finally gave her the needed incentive to learn an alternative. Even though I normally do the bulk of the check-writing she is very much aware of what is paid, when, to who, and she gets stressed about it if things even might be late. Well, I do too, but she does so much more.

So this morning we set up online bill paying with the credit union and we'll set it up with the local B&M bank later this week. (The pension is deposited to the credit union, SS to the B&M bank. Eggs in different baskets and all that.) So for the next few months she'll be sitting at the keyboard doing the bill paying so she won't be a stranger to the methodology.

A side effect of course is that USPS pretty much shot themselves in the foot on this one. We'll be buying a lot fewer postage stamps in the future.

[RobbieB]

It's so much better than writing checks. I pay everything but annual (insurance and property tax) bills online.

[street]

Not what I did today yet, but what I'm going to do today. Last cup of mud, then I will head to ranch and cut up some wood and haul it in for a friends, son in-law for burning. I cut some dead standing trees a month ago and all the wood is ready to burn, been dead for some years now. It will be a beautiful day to be outdoors and will get some exercise in also.

[Nemo2]

Went for my pre-op Covid test, and did my BlackGraybeard the Pirate impersonation - "Avast there, ye swabs".


Added: Call from the hospital.....be on deck at 06:00 a.m. Friday.

"Shiver me timbers."

[Timeisprecious]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MRG ... suddenly a retirement account from Megacorp shows the 10k I was told I'd receive. Woo hoo, this is just the start! I lost over 100k in this fund and according to the attorneys they are seeking our entire losses and the loss of use of the funds. Since it's covered by ERISA the attorneys fees are paid by Megacorp and we get our full settlement! I joined this thing without expecting a dime, I only joined the suite when my friend said the former CEO, CFO were part of it. Attachment 37231

Wow - nice! So happy for you - that's a good-sized settlement! 😉

[Walt34]

Picked up a prescription, then a small grocery run.

[Timeisprecious]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Calico First thing this morning (Monday) as scheduled my network access was terminated, and my security badge deactivated. This afternoon I returned the computer equipment I brought home with me when we all fled the office for our homes on 3/13/20. My last actual w#rk day was 12/18/20, and the entire organization has been closed for the holidays since then. I unplugged everything; gave it a cursory dusting; packed it carefully in boxes; labeled the boxes (twice) with my name; included a copy of the "checkout sheet" we had to complete before we could leave the premises with the equipment; put my security badge in the box; and last but not least, I took pictures of the whole shebang. I delivered it to the Facilities guy, who will to pass it on to an IT guy later this week. The Facilities guy is onsite every day (the only employee who is) while the IT folks come in sporadically as needed. It's not that I don't trust the Facilities guy (I worked with him for 25 years) but as we know, "stuff happens." I envisioned the boxes accidentally ending up in a corner of the vast IT area, or in the basement for some reason, and getting notification in a few months from the "IT police" at work that I was delinquent in returning my equipment. I am so glad that all the CMA measures I had to take for 25 years (because other people might screw up) are now a thing of the past!! What a relief. I'm adding that feeling to the ever-growing list of the little gifts of retirement I keep discovering every single day.

Nice! Congratulations, Calico, and welcome to retirement! 🙂

[Ronstar]

Went to McDonalds for breakfast. Rode around looking for photo ops. Watched birds and squirrels at our feeders. Watched ice fishermen. Installed wifi based water leak detection in our home. Now watching the news.

[REWahoo]

Completed the quarterly US Census interview on our household spending. I continue to struggle to accurately track how much we spent on women’s underwear.