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I live in a rural area in western Wisconsin, which is tick and lyme disease central. Every member of my family has contracted Lyme disease except me (crap, now I jinxed myself). Due to my job and my hobbies I have the most exposure of anyone in my family. DEET can help to hide you from ticks...

You're probably right, but it seems counterintuitive to me. Consider what would happen if you invested in a 529 fund that didn't earn anything or (gasp) lost money. You've paid the taxes on your contribution, but still can't claim anything for the purposes of the AOA. It's hardly double dipping.

Regarding 529 and double dipping for tax breaks. It's my understanding that this only would apply to the earnings portion, right? (You've already paid federal taxes on the original investment money) Also, you get a break on state taxes when you invest in the 529 and it is not taxed when...

My only advice would be to keep at least a small amount in your TSP. That way you can roll money back into your account in the future when more liberal withdrawals are allowed (pending the new law). Once you close out your TSP account you are out for good and cannot take advantage of the...

Kind of a goofy website name, but I found the analyses of the tax implications interesting and understandable in the example. Reader Financial Review: Scared to Death of Early Retirement - Go Curry Cracker!

Being a belt, suspenders and tape person, I have assessed my portfolio survival with a worst of the worse case scenario. I evaluated whether I could at least squeak by assuming a permanent 50% loss of stocks and 10% loss of bonds in year 1 (=30% portfolio loss); followed by growth=inflation for...

We have had a maytag FL for ~ 10 y on a septic system (wanted keep water use down). It has worked great and have never had a smell problem. We do leave the door open when not using to dry out. Also, many people use too much soap in FL machines leading to a excessive soap concentration, which...

I am actually in similar situation... a little less pension and a little more stashed away. If I put my figures into firecalc I get 100% survival even with some pessimistic assumptions (e.g., 20% cut to SS; cuts to pension). Considering the pensions are cola'd or semi-cola'd (could change...

diet cola After doing the math, my analysis indicates the current FERS diet cola would have resulted in an average loss of 0.54%/year of a FERS pension for the historical time period from 1914-2015. Those losses add up such that you could expect the pension to be worth ~85% of its initial...

I am in Wisconsin. I guess I just have some reluctance to pay the lump sum(s) for a couple of reasons. First, coughing up the lump sum from the retirement funds seems somewhat counterproductive (but the analyses from Huston55 helps; thanks!) and the thought of taking out a home equity loan...

Thanks for your thoughts. Perhaps this would be a point in favor of pre-paying the lump sum? The company that administers the program is the same as the one that administers the state's pension program. It is one of the few in the US that is in good financial shape. This makes me think they...

Given the recent past, I am guessing that LTC is likely to increase at a greater rate than regular inflation. The 169K LTCI coverage would increase at 5%. Not sure whether my investments would keep up. It's a gamble whether we would even need LTC, but my spouses father did suffer from...

I know LTCI has been discussed many times in this forum. However, our situation has become somewhat unique. My DW and I have had LTCI coverage for the last 10 y that was partly subsidized through her employer (she is a teacher). Budget considerations have forced the termination of that benefit...

If he's a federal employees and they divorce, she is automatically entitled to a portion of his FERS or CSRS pension, and TSP account unless she signs it away when he retires.

keep turning left My favorite sailing vlog is Keep Turning Left with the accompanying youtube videos. The business model is quite different than a Patreon account. Very entertaining fellow, but not exactly the Carribean.

survivorship and LTCI I've been thinking a bit about this also, especially as it pertains to LTCI. My main consideration whether increased dollars (e.g., at 75 or 100%)to my surviving spouse from the pension might allow me to greatly reduce LTCI coverage since the pension + SS would about...

Fers/csrs One underappreciated issue with FERS is in addition pensions ~ 1/2 of the old CSRS system, there is no COLA until age 62 and then a reduced COLA (up to 1% loss) each yr after. That will result in a substantial loss in pension over a 30-40 y period. If you do the math based on past...