Recent content by NoiseBoy

My favorite resource for understanding the exact process of the 4% "rule" is a page on John Greaney's retireearlyhomepage.com website. I didn't really get the rule until I saw John's tables detailing how the inflation adjusted withdrawals impacted the various portfolio's balances. The website...

I thought I'd post an after-visit summary of my first experience using LabCorp for my annual blood work. The good news is that is was very easy to schedule the appointment and get my blood drawn. The local "office" is located in one of our Walgreens locations. There wasn't any way to actually...

I owned a set of PowerBlocks that were very similar in design to these, but the plates were in 5 lb increments and the set maxed out at 40 or 50 lbs. It was very easy to adjust them so I could quickly change weights during a workout. And they didn't take up much space. But, I eventually sold...

Knowing that 100% of our income is exempt (HOA dues) so we're paying $200 to file a tax form to declare that we have no income is what bugs me. If we had income, I could live with paying a professional to prepare our taxes. But, your comment made me realize that I'm working kind of hard to...

I'm still trying to adjust my withholdings to meet my future income tax liabilities. One con to finally having cash investments that pay a decent rate of return is that I keep underestimating what my interest income is going to be. This is the one area of retirement that I was completely...

This is the form that our accountant says we need to file. I read the instructions for the form and I didn't see any exceptions. Under the instructions for Form 1120, the IRS writes that all corporations have to file whether or not they have any taxable income. Oh well, another $200 onto the...

I assumed that they meant a regular tax return, but I didn't know about the Form 990-N option before. I will ask them about it and also if they think our HOA qualifies.

My HOA has an all volunteer board. When we couldn't find someone to replace our out-going treasurer (the only board position with work!) we decided to hire a local accounting office to be our bookkeeper. This year they contacted me, I'm the secretary for the board, to ask if the HOA wants to...

Those "insane" rates made me laugh. After calming down, I pulled up the medical claim for last year's wellness exam and blood work. The blood draw, done at my PCP's office cost $29, which is perfectly reasonable. They sent my blood off to the lab at the local hospital which billed my...

I am not on Medicare yet. I have retiree health insurance from my former employer. I've chosen the high deductible option so I am out of pocket for pretty much everything. If I switch to the PPO option, then I think the amount that I would pay for my wellness exam would go way down, but my...

I used the LabLocator link on the WalkInLab.com website and got two hits for nearby labs. One is a LabCorp location in a Walgreens in my city and there are two Quest locations 40 minutes away. I'm going to start by checking out the LabCorp option in town. Thanks for the helpful suggestions...

While I was working I received a full physical with blood work annually for free (after age 49). Both were handled by the medical office at my company. It was a terrific benefit. Since I retired, I've paid roughly $1,200 per year for the annual wellness exam office visit and lab work. It's...

My main "spending spreadsheet" only has one row for all Travel related expenses. From year to year, I just track one line item. However, in my Google Docs Travel folder I have separate itineraries for all of my international trips and I add a breakdown of the main cost categories to them at...

I'm a big fan of Dave Pelz's books, especially his Short Game Bible. He's an engineer so he took a facts and data approach to analyzing how the pros played and then he developed techniques to make it easier to have a consistent short game. But, you still have to practice his method regularly...

I don't know if this helps, but I got rid of my queen size Tempur-pedic mattress a few years ago for this very reason. As I got older, what was once comfortable and supportive, became too soft and actually painful to sleep on. I would sink into the foam as I slept (and as it warmed up) so when...