Recent content by albundyz

18 month ago, this happened. I noticed a small black dot on my neck. I sent a picture to my derm doctor. He arranged an immediate appt. Took a biopsy. 2 days later, biopsy came back, Melanoma. You would have thought the house was on fire. Same day he scheduled me for an in-house doctor to...

1. Mortgage 2. prop taxes 3. Health Insurance 4. House Insurance, including earthquake 5. Car related expenses 6. Federal Income Tax 7. Tips at the nudie bar

note: suburb of Los Angeles 850 mortgage 407 HOA 350 elect, gas, water 160 internet and TV 850 Prop taxes 300 house insur plus earthquake insurance ********* 2917......total per month

SS 66% (2 long term high wage earners) pension 13% distribution from IRA 21%

I'm 71. ALL my retirement money is in an IRA at Vanguard. If I buy a 5 year US Treasury note using my IRA, I get interest paid to me every 6 months. Interest from a US Treasury note is generally taxable for federal purposes. Am I forced to report that interest income on my tax return OR is...

well, I agree with the original post. Cell phones have been a huge boon for business people. I understand that. I'm 71 and retired. Yes, my friends tease me about my cell phone, but for a retired person, I don't really need it unless my car breaks down or I'm carpooling with someone. We...

IMO, a lot depends on your location. I can only speak for So California, but we retired with just under a million ONLY because our house was paid for. Cost of living and taxes can be drastically different depending on location. also, remember Ca has prop 13 tax law which basically states that...

None of the above. There are 2 reasons. First, taking Social Security and secondly, "are you leaving anything for your kids?". We had a gap of several years between when we retired and when we started taking SS. It was about 8% before SS and 3% after taking SS. If you aren't planning on...

So Cal, gated 55+ community. Avg price is $850k for 2 story 2300 sq ft, $740K for 1 story 1800 sq ft. in our general neighborhood, there's no way young people can buy, unless both work and both make good salary.

What is wealthy? Being able to live a lifestyle that you choose. For us, it is living in a really nice 55+ neighborhood (just slightly abv avg cost), having a nice car (bot a Lexus coming off a 3 yr lease w/ 17K miles), good friends, happy family, and I can afford to buy Smuckers jam rather...

My retirement has pretty much worked out as I envisioned. We retired (at 59) on a strict budget. My ONLY big surprise was 5 yrs ago, at age 66. My wife and I decided to take Social Security. With SS paying for a lot of our living expenses, I significantly reduced my fully taxable...

I go to bed around midnight, my dog wakes me up when the sun comes up. I usually get about 6 hours each nite, but naps??? ah, nappy-poohs. I love naps. Because I don't get 8 hours I often nap at 2pm, but not every day..... ah, so nice 2B retired. I'm 70.

We bought a used car at a major dealership here in LA. About 14 months ago. The car was exactly what we wanted and had extremely low mileage. We felt the advertised price was good, so we were very happy and agreed to pay the advertised price. So, we get the purchase agreement and I see...

My parents were from the Depression generation. My dad was a good provider, but definitely blue collar. I must have inherited their financial opinions as I have always been aware of retirement needs. My dad worked for a utility company, ironically, so did I. When U work for a utility, you...

I'm a minimalist. I don't need much to be happy. My small inheritance went to pay for one son's college expenses. although...... I may have bought a 12-pack of Coors Light