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I just received correspondence from my Primary Care Physician encouraging me to sign up for a Remote Patient Monitoring program from a company called 100Plus. Under this program, 100Plus will provide you with one or more medical devices (blood pressure cuff, blood glucose monitor, pulse...

ZZ Top’s Dusty Hill has passed away. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/zz-top-bassist-dusty-hill-dead-obit-1203694/amp/ They were my very first rock-n-roll concert back around 1970 at Independence Hall in Baton Rouge. There was a very good documentary about the band a couple...

I’m amazed at the ups and downs in my investable funds. A few days ago, in one day I lost more than four times my annual salary at my first job after graduating from college. Over the past two days, I’ve gained two times, and then the next day, three times that starting annual salary. And, it...

I’m trying to figure out if Roth conversions would make sense for us. A few facts about our situation: Filing status: Married, filing jointly Age 68 (so, a few years away from RMD’s) I expect that our AGI will be slightly into the 24% bracket, for at least the next few years, without any...

DW retired from her public school job four years ago at age 61. She worked long enough to earn a modest pension (around $18,000 per year at age 65). She had previously worked in the public sector and started taking social security at age 62, which was not reduced by WEP since she hasn’t yet...

I see that my iPhone now has a COVID contact tracing function (built into the iOS, not a separate app). You have to enable it, since it’s turned off by default. Not sure how I feel about enabling this. It seems like it could alert you to a potential exposure. But, you’re also surrendering...

I was updating some of my spreadsheets following the big hit taken by my IRA’s due to the Coronavirus market collapse. My withdrawal rate (based on today’s portfolio balance) has increased from 2.71% to 3.44%. I think I can live with that. I am really glad that I wasn’t at a 4% WR prior to...

Has anyone used an annuity in connection with estate planning? I have one adult son (age 30) that I am fairly certain would quickly blow through any inheritance. I’m thinking of splitting his portion of our estate into two buckets, an immediate distribution that he could use to help buy a...

DW and I are five days into a four week stay in San Pedro, Belize (on the island of Ambergris Caye). We’re just a bit south of town in a one bedroom condo in a very small resort. Our unit overlooks a beautiful pool with the sea just beyond it. It is simply lovely. I could see myself living...

I just got a letter today from my Megacorp. They gave notice that effective January 1, 2021, they are terminating their Medicare Supplement Plan for all retirees. They have been paying a maximum of $2100 each per year for the retiree and his/her spouse for Medigap and Part D plans. I guess I...

I recently received an email from an old classmate from my high school class of 1971. This guy keeps up with as many of our classmates as he can, and regularly sends out reunion info, etc. He also keeps up with the deaths of family members of classmates and the deaths of classmates. This...

I just had to replace the TV in my living room, which is the main place that we watch TV. Bought a 4K LED TV, since basically all of the TV’s on the market are now 4K. Now, I see that the Netflix plan I’m on (Standard HD) doesn’t support 4K and that I need to upgrade to the Netflix UHD Plan to...

Prime day starts in a couple of hours. My old 55” LED tv needs replacing. I’m hoping to pick up a new 55” 4K HDR unit at a good price. I already picked up a new 4K Fire TV at 50% off ($35 vs reg price of $70). Also, watching few other items I need to see if they go on sale. What are you...

Not too surprising, but I just got an email from the PSVue folks. The price of my mid-level package is going up from $45 to $50 per month,effective August 31. An increase of over 11%. I wonder if, once all of these streaming services reach critical mass, the price differential from cable will...

Our house is about 25 years old, and still has the original aluminum-frame, builders-grade double-pane windows. The seals on most of the double-pane windows are failing, and condensation is building up between the panes. We are ready to replace all of the windows (about 26 total) with new...

I had an occasion to call Fidelity yesterday. After verifying my identity, they asked if I would like to sign up for Fidelity MyVoice, which is a new identity verification system using just your voice. I went ahead and signed up, and now presumably they will be able to verify my identity on...

There’s another current thread discussing how shorts, tee shirts and flip flops are the unofficial dress code for retirees. Given that, I’d like to ask the “experts” to help me with a problem. I used to have a pair of flip flops that I wore everywhere. They were very comfortable and were...

At long last, after being steadily employed since I was 14 years old, my last day of w@*k was four days ago. When I first posted to this forum three years ago, I was shooting to retire in the summer of 2017. Last year, I decided to move it up to the summer of 2016, and I was able to stick to...

Over the weekend, DW and I attended a highly-advertised, newly-developed land offering located near Palacios, TX. Very nice dockable waterfront lots, ½ to 3 acres, on Carancahua Bay, which opens up to Matagorda Bay, with direct access to the Gulf of Mexico. Lot prices seemed reasonable, but...

Uber has just pulled out of Austin and is about to do the same in Houston. The issue here is new regulations passed by the city of Houston. Houston wants enhanced background checks of drivers, including fingerprinting. Uber says no way. I occasionally use Uber, but not a lot, so it won't...

DW and I usually use this term to mean just the opposite; a not-so-proud parenting moment. However, I was chatting with my youngest son who was home from college for the weekend. He is in his final year of school, and will graduate in May and already has a job lined up. He told me that he was...

I currently use AT&T for cellular services. Two iPhones, both with unlimited data. I want to make some changes to the plan (reduce the number of minutes) but AT&T says no changes unless I give up the unlimited data. On top of that, they're raising the price of their grandfathered unlimited...

I had an idea the other day for a product that I think would be useful and attractive to customers. It's a variation of an existing product that greatly eases installation of the product and enhances the safety and stability of the product. It's really a very simple idea and wouldn't add much...

I was just riding on an elevator at w#@k, one that has a small video screen flashing the day’s headlines and stock quotes.One headline posed the question of whether kids are causing a retirement crisis. It was followed by a statement that said that married couples without kids have about 10%...

I'm looking for some advice from those here that have rental property. Here's my situation: one of my adult son's is having a bit of a rough time right now with his job and housing situations. He and his wife have a new baby and he lost his job a few months ago and he has not yet found another...