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    Best Country to Retire To

    There are a number of "golf communities" in France that offer rental or small chalets for sale. The ones I'm familiar with have a mix of Americans, Brits, Germans, etc. There are some French owners as well as these are also holiday homes. They come with country-club amenities like pools...
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    Driving a Rental Car in Normandy.

    Driving in France - Some considerations We drove all over France a few years back and it wasn't too big a deal but there were some things I prepped on before trip and learned also along the way. Most car rentals are for standard / manual transmission so unless you're ok with shifting a stick...
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    Best Country to Retire To

    We've looked at Mexico. Belize, Costa Rica, and Ecuador for part-time expat living but have decided to pass on these countries. We loved many things about them and got to know people who live in each but there are enough negatives and too many concessions /adjustments. Costa Rica has become...
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    Medicare advantage plan

    MC Advantage Plans great until you get really sick So my brother and SIL had Advantage plans to avoid premiums. All went well until a couple cancer diagnosis and blown knee joints. On the knees, SIL was told she really needed full replacement on both but doc said it was borderline and insurer...
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    Hip pain only at night

    Sleep position can make the difference. I've started using a smaller pillow placed between my knees as I tend to sleep on my side mostly and the pillow eases pressure on my left hip which is the most stressed. Helps a lot. I have a bad left knee and left foot issues that I know have affected...
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    How did it get to this point? But it's finally inevitable

    So I gave 45 days notice thinking I'd get my unused leave and pension paperwork in ok but I found HR sandbagged my plans and wouldn't get my documents in on time to state office for processing in a timely fashion. I was informed that my unused leave wouldn't be eligible for payment b/c I...
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    After 6 years of aggressive travel: pickpocketed!

    Sorry this happened to you. As a standard practice, I keep important stuff in money belt tucked in front if my pants and only have small cash & coin in zippered inside pocket of light windbreaker. Wife has sewn zippered pockets inside her light jacket and wears a cross-body , cut resistant...
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    Roth Conversions for Childless Couple

    If it hasn't been mentioned earlier, don't forget that thanks to the Secured Act vers. 2.0, kids who inherit parent's IRAs have only 10 years to withdraw. It used to be indefinite. This could bump their taxes higher. Converting IRAs to ROTH IRAs solves the 10 year withdrawal requirement and...
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    Long Term Care Insurance - my experience

    LTC - 6 to 9 months on average Statistically most people who enter LTC facility wind up using 6 to 9 months before the big "Check Out". Reason being according to some nurses I know have told me LTC residents are usually in such health decline that they will be passing in less than a year. Of...
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    Whole house generator and propane supply

    Other Options / Portable Westinghouse Dual-Fuel Genny We've had quite a few power outtages that lasted more than a couple days and I got a portable generator to help with this. I didn't want to pony up the $$$$$ for a Generac or similar whole-house unit as that's a lot of money that basically...
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    Do You Drink Enough Water Each Day?

    Water is Life! Many years ago I was working with a medical documentary producer who had been commissioned to explore longevity and health. We filmed/interviewed several folks who were aged 95+, some even over 100. What struck me was how more alert and younger they appeared as they looked and...
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    Depressing Thoughts about Retirement

    Earning an Income From My Income I think it's different for everybody. I mean the whole idea from the time you start learning how to balance a checkbook is to figure out how to have a positive balance at the end of the month and use credit wisely. Sure we have been successful at "maintaining"...
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    Actors Strike

    P.S. no transparency from streamers BTW - According to SAG/AFTRA - Only 2% of its members make $60K or more a year. Most have to work other jobs to get by and unless you earn about $25K a year from union gigs, you don't qualify for group insurance. Prior to streaming, residuals from multiple...
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    Actors Strike

    I had some experience working on the prodn side of TV / Film in the 1980's. I have old friends who still are involved. Just as DVD technology disrupted the industry, so is streaming. Below is a post I copied from a friend that helps explain what the strike is focusing on...
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    College Costs, why?

    Tuition costs in wife's home state had soared from 2010 to 2016 thanks to state budget cuts to education (and healthcare) as those were the two biggest areas that the state constitution allowed for cuts without legislative approvals. These cuts were made by the governor at the time who had...
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    FIRE-eligible, Handcuffed, Enjoy Job

    Wife and I were cranking along in our mid-50's making the kind of money we never thought we'd make when we were younger. Got to where we had been bumped into higher tax brackets even after maxing out 401k's / 403b's etc. We got to where we had too many funerals of friends or colleagues, some...
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    Free dinners

    If you can deal with the pitches and sales people, good for you. We had gone to a couple of these complimentary dinners for retirement planning / asset protection and they really didn't give out anything we hadn't read or knew already. The whole thing was to get you to sign up for a $5,000...
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    BFF 0.5 Million In Debt at 79 Has Passed Away

    Get a 3rd Party Money Pro Oy! This story brings back some sad memories. Had two separate relatives wind up in bad financial straits, one had a husband burn through what little savings they had, got HELOC and mismanaged that. Another was an elderly grandpa whose 2nd wife drained his pensions...
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    High Cholesterol despite correct weight, diet, exercise...What to do?

    Look into Niacin supplements Been taking niacin supplements for years and my total cholesterol runs from 190 to 220 range. But doc tells me my good to bad cholesterol ratio is excellent. I read years ago how B3 / Niacin daily can help this. You need the nicotinic acid kind that makes you flush...
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    A relationship question from a friend

    U R Not Ready 46 yrs old, never married, really close to mom, can't move on AND Singapore girl not willing to leave. Nuh-Uhh, Zip, Zilch, NADA. Both are not ready. Successful relationships / marriages are about finding equal ground. And I've seen more than a couple marriages collapse because...
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    Life of Social Security Fund ??

    Bi-partisan support for fixing SS From everything I've read or heard, it seems there is growing support to "fix" the SS shortfall that a majority from both sides of the aisle (and party members) can agree on. This clip is from a 03/24/23 article in the Deseret News. Last year, the University...
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    Eating Fish

    Beware of Mercury FWIW -- Salmon and other larger fish have higher amounts of mercury. I've read several articles recommending spacing out consumption of larger fish to probably no more than 3 or 3X a month. Diet experts recommend eating smaller species like sardines for getting more Omega3's...
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    I Changed My Browser on Computer

    I have Chrome (Google) but I use Duck Duck Go in the extension that helps with some privacy. Now I do feel I get a better search result from Google but I only use it if I feel DDG doesn't deliver.
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    Fair price for executing an estate

    Minimum in NW Louisiana for small estate (house, etc) was $5K lawyer fees and forms total. Larger estates lawyers will look at about 5% of estate value. (So I've been told by my richer friends.)
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    Tooth Implants

    Upper left incisor had two root canals that failed. Got an infection in bone, had extracted and bone graft, post installed, Zirconium crown. Looks great, all healed nicely. About $8K after all was said and done. This was in 2015.
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