Recent content by wildbilly

I'm similar. Cholesterol has been 200-240 most of my life. One time it was 180 when I ate a LOT of garlic regularly. It went back up even though I was still eating garlic. In 2018 I paid $100 for a high powered CT calcium scan. They said I had some calcium build up starting in my aorta. A couple...

I use https://www.nonyx.com/ It's available at walmart. It's slow to get rid of it with the help of cutting the nail and scraping ?ketosis. I use it after every shower even when the fungus is gone to keep it at bay.

I don't know what everyone else said. I have been borderline high cholesterol my entire life. Eggs became cheap/er about 10 years ago and I have been eating 6 almost every night. My cholesterol hasn't changed until I finally let them talk me into getting on a statin (rosuvastatin). The egg...

I'm still getting my informed delivery notices just fine in Minnesota.

I haven't heard that one before. I know a few people who expected to be kicked off Medicaid that haven't been due to the lack of government workers. Others were continued at the same 2019 level for the same reason.

First off CONGRATULATIONS! Being close to FIREing is great. I've been living on $30K/year before I retired and have kept that pace despite inflation since I retired 6+ years ago. I did have another extra fund that is for larger expenses and I spent maybe $20K total of that. I live in the...

I don't see it. I have looked at the ACA insurance exchange many times. It doesn't seem that high and is really really cheap compared to what employer/employee pays as a whole. I see ACA as option that is mostly NOT run by the government. Only organized by the government. As far a SS goes. I...

I'm still scared but it's worth every bit of it. I retired early with just enough to make it as I somewhat frugally was; with some buffer. I feel extremely blessed that I have chosen this path. I see too many friends and family die too young before then get to enjoy much. The risk is highly...

[MOD EDIT] I live in Minnesota. Pre-FIREing I presumed that I would be able to get the states high deductible insurance for $200-$300/month. That would keep me from going bankrupt if I got cancer or such. Along came ACA and I was able to get the best insurance that I have ever had for a cheap...

My understanding of negative interest rates means if you have a bunch of cash sitting around like me, then the bank takes away money from you. That is, you pay the bank for the privilege of holding your money. The idea is that you start investing/spending the money instead and thus stimulating...

401K's are 100% federally protected VS IRA's are protected by the state up to some amount like $150K. You cannot buy this type of insurance so for that reason I will always keep as much of my money as possible in a 401K until the RMD kicks in. Otherwise a in-plan roth conversion is a great...

Consider yourself lucky. I'll turn 55 in June and I have bone on bone arthritis in both shoulders. I'm hard on my body, mountain biking, etc. Still things shouldn't be this bad this early. 3 orthopedic Dr's and I have 3 answers: It just happens, it's hereditary (only my only sibling/sister has...

required restrictions I believe that any money should be in a coupon form like food stamps. That goes for unemployment or any other social money program. That way you can't purchase alcohol, cell phone service, soda /pop, candy, anything that is not essential. That is nothing that isn't...

I live on 30K per year; non-taxable. My house is paid for and I get great insurance thru the state. I have some funds set aside for larger items too but your extra 10K could cover that. Track your spending in a spreadsheet. Cheers!

A bit coincidental for me as I just decided to start taking iron for the 8-9 months before my next yearly physical. My aerobic capacity seems to be down and I am always on the very low end of the hemoglobin blood test. I was also just recently very low on vit D and Magnesium which is only...