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Agreed. The IL Birthday rule will not allow you to switch from a closed book with a particular company to an open book with the same company because they are not considered to be the same carrier. DW ran into this with MoO and could not switch without submitting for underwriting. This means...

Everybody has their "thing". For some, it's eating out at several times per week. For others, it's nice vacations 1 or 2 times per year. Designer clothes, expensive hobbies, etc. Some like nice cars. Ultimately, if you can afford it, you enjoy it and it doesn't become a status symbol or an...

We know several couples who had a small courthouse wedding and small reception for local family and friends. Then, they had a larger reception and a church wedding months (or years) later for extended family/friends. We are invited to both. Do we give gifts twice? So far, we have done so but...

I retired at 55 but I looked closer to 50. When asked, I told people I do volunteer work, which was (and is) true. If pressed further, I told them I got sick of chasing money and so I work for free now. A few would still press, so my snotty answer was "when you win the game, stop playing"...

Exactly. You can switch to a Plan with lower benefits in the SAME closed sick duck pool (e.g. G to N), but you cannot switch out of the sick duck pool to an open company without underwriting. The IL Birthday Rule is completely pointless if you want to switch out of the sick duck pool without...

The IL Birthday Rule is worthless if you are trying to move out of a closed book to the same carrier's open book. Refer back to posts #79 and #40. DW tried to move out of MoO Plan G closed book and into MoO Plan G open book. She was rejected because the new open book is a "different company"...

One more experience with the Shingrix vaccine I got my first dose last Thursday at 1PM. By around 7:00, I was feeling "off" and my arm was starting to get sore. I woke up Friday morning with a temp 2 degrees above my normal, chills, sore muscles everywhere and feeling fairly lousy and...

Twenty years ago I offered my daughter $10,000 and a free ladder to elope. I was only half joking. She didn't take me up on the offer and the resulting wedding cost me close to $50K, which was beyond insane for a one-day party. At least they are still married and the union produced two...

If you have gallbladder issues or gallstones, you should consult with a doctor before taking turmeric. I found this out the hard way.

The treatments with the highest efficacy are at the top of the list. Efficacy is reduced as you drop down the list. The least efficacious treatment is at the bottom. The recommended treatments are found at the very top of the list, the very bottom of the list and everywhere in-between. There...

My daughter was injured in an accident that was the fault of an uninsured driver. She used her own auto insurance Medical coverage to pay for the treatment of her injuries. But she only had $5,000 of coverage, which was not enough. She and I have since raised our respective limits to $10,000.

That's about what I used to pay until a few years ago. Now, it's around $600 to $1000. We're in the Chicago suburbs.

Retired independent agent here. Though I understand the desire to black out premiums, agents have little or no leeway over rates. We plug in the data and then the insurance company applies their magic formula to calculate a premium. Knowing or not knowing your current premium has no effect on...

https://www.teachertube.com/videos/father-of-the-bride-hot-dogs-hot-dog-buns-321375

Interesting strategy that makes sense. Our vet retired a couple of years ago and sold his practice. Prices immediately doubled with the new owner. I told DW he probably had to raise prices to service his new business loans. On a related note, the downside of using older doctors is that they...

Got my Novice in 1983, Technician the following year and Advanced a couple of years after that. Been mostly inactive but I fire up the rig now and then to see what's happening on the bands. Bought an Icom IC7300 last year after selling my old IC-735. W9---

We gave a roofing contractor a check for a down payment. It was someone we trusted and worked with for the past 15 years. Delays followed delays. There was always a reason why they could not start the job. Then their phone number was disconnected. A Google search revealed they were out of...

Quick update at the 2-week post-op mark. Pain decreased each day until 7th day when it was only mild. In the past week the mild pain comes and goes. The surprising thing is how tired I'm still getting by mid-day. During the 7th to 10th day post-op period, I resumed normal daily activities...

Adding my experience for those who may be having gallbladder surgery and wondering what to expect. I had mine out two days ago as an outpatient. Laparoscopy with four tiny slits and the surgery took about an hour. I refused narcotic pain meds (they make me sick) and was in a moderate amount...

It is true that Reconciliation rules do not allow for permanent changes. It is also true that whichever party uses Reconciliation to enact popular benefits (either D or R) will use the possibility of losing those benefits as a campaign tactic. This is truly not meant as a partisan commentary...

Yes, this is how it's done. Put in a benefit that is popular politically but controversial fiscally. Make it "temporary" so it passes. When the provision is ready to sunset (around the 2022 election), make it a campaign issue. Tell voters to re-elect the majority so they can protect your...

My sister and I are both grandparents and we take turns hosting Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. Between us, our kids and our grandkids, plus other extended family, we're up to about 35 people each holiday. This is a big job for the host and a very awkward set-up with people scattered in the...

I was on 10mg of Lisinopril for years and had problems with low blood sugar. I had to keep eating all day to keep my blood sugar up. After switching to Losartin, the low blood sugar disappeared. And I lost 10 lbs because I no longer had to keep snacking.

As I understand it, bills from a previous Congress that did not receive a vote will die when a new Congress is sworn in. So it needs to be reintroduced in the new 2021-2022 Congress. Let's hope it has better luck in 2021 than it had in 2020.

With an emphasis on "yet". With this state's sad fiscal situation, they will surely tax everything soon.