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We have a great treadmill. Hubby keeps saying he needs to use it but never does so it just takes up room and gathers dust. I joined a gym (Planet Fitness) after retiring and after never having gone to one before. My goal was to build strength and do cardio. I hate the treadmills but love...

One way to control your hobby expenses is to determine how much of that new 1000 square foot house will be needed to Safely and securely store your collection and then agree not to add more storage space. I also agree with the idea of setting and sticking to a hobby budget.

That would help some people but NY mandated electronic prescriptions in 2016 so we don't have an option here. There's really no reason for such dramatic swings in costs but that's what happens when government allows insurance companies to have preferred doctors, pharmacies and other medical...

Just be aware that in some areas of Delaware you don't own the land a house is on. Instead, the land is leased. I think this is prevalent in the beach communities but you'll find it in other areas as well. Be sure you know the situation for a specific property before you buy.

I would start by making a list of everything that is being done today - appointments, visits, tasks. Work out an agreement with DW about how many days a week is reasonable for doing this work and then tell MIL about the new schedule. Groceries can be delivered, doctors appointments grouped...

I previously posted my opinion that spousal benefits should be phased out. Perhaps it can be replaced with a system that allows people to pay into the system while they are not working or working at a low wage job and then be credited in lieu of actual wage based payroll taxes. Each person...

I support phasing out spousal benefits. It's not fair that someone can collect when they didn't pay into the system r that they can collect a higher benefit if they married. I know people who never or barely worked but will collect more than my sister simply because their spouse was a high...

Your children and your grandchildren are different people. Also gifting to the grands is not the same as giving more to one sibling than the one with no kids. I would gift each child the same dollar amount. For the grands, I would gift each of them equally but in a way that can only be used...

These are excellent suggestions.

It's always a choice for one parent to stay home. Even then, there are still plenty of years before and after child rearing to earn a benefit for yourself. Perhaps SS needs to create a system where a non-working person can pay into the system the same as if they were working a minimum wage job...

Here's a fifth - Gradually eliminate the spousal benefit. People should only collect SS based on their own income history. It is patently unfair that a non-working spouse can collect more of a spousal benefit because they married "rich" than someone who worked all of their lives but never made...

I retired almost 3 years ago with a mortgage and now have about 3 1/2 years to go. Since I have the money to support paying it and a low interest rate, I decided to keep it rather than using ready cash to pay it off. For me, I just don't look at having no mortgage as being debt free because I...

For expenses, you can start with itemizing everything that you currently pay for and include 100% of the rent, not just what you are paying now. I think that there are calculators that will help you project how those will grow over time. You should not plan on paying your small portion of the...

I agree with others that you really need to run your own numbers through one of many great calculators out there. I use the ones that Schwab and Fidelity have as well as a few others. You say you plan on retirement expenses of between $50-75K. That's a big range. Have you done an evaluation...

Will you be financing the new build before you retire or after? Many banks won't approve a mortgage for someone that no longer has adequate income, even if they have the assets. For that reason and the fact that you are looking to retire shortly, I would hold on to the cash so it's available...

I agree with others that sitting down with a fee only financial planner is a good start. I also think that perhaps agreeing on a set pot of play money for your husband to do with what he pleases is a good compromise. Absolutely make sure that none of your inheritance is commingled with marital...

If you are interested in the Villages, there is a couple "Jerry and Linda" that have a ton of YouTube videos that answer a lot of questions and show you a lot about the Villages. They are known there as the Villages Florida Newcomers. I stumbled on them recently and while we have no immediate...

I also think the open end date is problematic but Dinkfire can always submit another notice in a few weeks if a reasonable extension offer is not forthcoming. If that happens, I would include a firm date with perhaps an offer of some part time work at full time pay and benefits for a specified...

Everyone's individual situation is different. For me, I was the higher earner and also more than 4 years younger. While some people are more interested in a strategy that gives them the maximum amount of accumulated SS based on projected life expectancies, I'm looking at taking it earlier so I...

I've financed vehicles in the past but for my last two, we decided to lease. We did this for two reasons: the cost to lease was extremely competitive and it was a new brand/vehicle type that we wanted to try out before buying. Our plan was to buy the cars outright at the end of the lease if we...

Why not have the diamonds and emerald mounted in a ring for you to wear? Then you can designate who gets it in your will and they can choose to wear it or remount it at that time.

Before you make your decision on whether to leave your job or not, spend time really developing a plan for what you want to do with your life once you leave the workforce. Develop this plan with specifics. It's fine to say you want to travel, but where do you want to go and what do you want to...

There are other questions that should be answered before deciding. First, have you separately funded for the future education costs of your kids or is that coming out of your savings? Second, your wife is non-working now but did she ever work? Would she be able to go back to work in her field...

You should continue to decline to plant a tree that you don't want if you are sure that the HOA rules don't require one. If they persist, remind them that the arborist indicated there wasn't enough room due to the cables. Tell them that if the HOA is willing to pay to have the cables moved so...

I worked full time for almost 41 years, 38 of which were with the company I retired from.