Recent content by SpencerM

Worked for me, but I know there are fewer now. Point is not to depend on any government entitlement program for any significant portion of your retirement. It was not designed to be that, nor should it be. SM

Sadly, those who are working still and plan to depend to any extent on SS in the future, are setting themselves up for disappointment. It is only a matter of how much disappointment and when. No matter if at 62 or 70, SS should only be the fourth leg of your three leg retirement stool. The...

Lived in LA for college and a few years after, not bad but too much concrete. Houston- worst place I have lived because of the humidity and gridlock. Sorry Texas. Honolulu - love the people and landscape but 4 years was enough. Island fever and too limiting on my other travels. Seattle -...

There are three types who carry a mortgage into retirement past a short time: 1. Those that are disciplined to utilize the low rates as part of a portfolio master plan (minority) 2. Those that must due to late start or intervening events. (some, but not most) This includes those who go the...

This is not uncommon. I avoid giving any risky vendors direct access to my main bank account. For example our health club pushed for this but I achieved the same rate reduction by setting up direct charge to our MC which I pay in full each month. If there were to be a problem I would just...

Being from Northern California, and having lived years in Southern California, I cannot now recommend either place. This is due to the now high State taxes, and declining infrastructure. Some people here recommend Napa area - very scenic and my original home, but a bit too much of a hassle if...

Associating with American expats currently living overseas you quickly learn they rarely criticize the USA. Instead, regardless how they appreciate their current life, they usually quickly learn a new appreciation for many things American. Most critical are the persons in the U.S. who do not...

Lived in Europe for 4 years quite recently. Healthcare varies alot by country, as does cost. I was able to use my U.S. healthcare plan, overseas (Blue Cross), and they were quite good about processing claims but I had to pay cash upfront. As they direct deposit reimbursements, and take claims...

I find it counterproductive to worry that the other guy has more and doesn't deserve it. Who am I to judge that? These sorts of envy politics are usually just used by certain politicians to get elected. It is not a zero sum game. instead of worrying that some CEO has more than you, improve...

If you also have an existing 401K/403B, or can start one, you can likely roll the existing IRA's into that and thus avoid the aggregation rule. Those accounts are not considered for purposes of calculating taxes on a Roth conversion. You can then do a an immediate rollover to your Roth of a...

SR, Congrats on being debt free! My 2 cents: Not having much tax sheltered, other than the $350K, is an area you may want to focus on. Also, what type of investments are in the 401K, are they low cost funds? Q1:Can you not contribute into a non-deductible IRA? If so, you can convert to a...

I think it is peace of mind really. If she is not good with investments etc., it may be worth it just for one less worry to take the Survivor's benefit. If she pre-deceases you, usually you can eliminate the deduction, if not she will appreciate knowing she has the steady income. Enough...

I'm at Schwab. How do I do this? Thanks.

Everyone would like to see costs controlled, true. Most do not want the government to be in control however. That will just breed bad decisions, for the latest political reasons du jour,and out of control administrative costs...

Well it is CNN, sadly not exactly a neutral approach usually. I have observed healthcare closeup in Switzerland, and the UK, while living there. Sorry it is not on par with the U.S. for a variety of reasons. The Swiss approach works pretty well though but only as they have a small population...