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A two post offices near me have discontinued curbside mail boxes because of theft. People hold up mail carriers and get the universal key- although for one there were some rumors it was an inside job. Since, we are in a condo, the postman picks up our mail directly, so it is pretty secure.

I was satisfied with what we got from replacements.com.

It was for Maryland law- your mileage may vary.

I am finishing up my father’s estate now. It has been pretty easy- complicated only by his being on Medicaid. I was TOD on his checking account. I googled “ small estates Maryland” and got very clear instructions from the registrar of wills ( that’s who handles this in his county), I had to to...

VA Disability has to be service connected.

We are now on our 4th Road Scholar Trip- Sicily, China, Alaska Cruise and now Chautauqua- very pleased with all of them.

We had a few years between getting the kids through college and when we retired. We each had five weeks of vacation and we took some great trips and cruises. I am glad we did- COVID came right after I retired and my husband has develop some health problems.

We have only one car- occasionally, if I go out of town, I rent one. We used to belong to zip car, but didn’t use it enough to to justify the membership fee. We live in an inner ring suburb of a Chicago with good public transportation- if we are going downtown, take the el. Otherwise, I decent...

My kids are 30 and 33- so it hasn’t been that long. They both got generous merit scholarships to smaller private colleges. It cost us less than our state schools and I feel they got a better education. I am not a fan of giant lecture halls taught by teaching assistants. We needed to file the...

Children of diplomats are not eligible for citizenship solely based on the country they are born in because diplomats are not covered by the laws of their host country- the embassy is in effect, a little France or whatever. My friend was born in Tehran when her father was in the foreign service...

In many states, whole life counts against your assets in qualifying for Medicaid. My father took out whole life policies when he was 80 and again at 84! They come to about $20,000 and his state only allows $2500- so they had to be cashed in to keep his eligibility for Medicaid.

Yes- a senior place would take you if you had $43 a month. If your SS benefit was only $43, you would qualify for SSI and that would raise you to at least a few hundred a month.

My father ( divorced) was a high earner- but a poor saver. He had only his social security check. For $400 a month, he had a studio apartment with all utilities except internet and cable. He was able to get internet for $10 a month. He got food stamps, he got a free phone, he had Medicaid- all...

I agree with zippy on the dementia care and not for profit. Chair lifts work until they don’t- any kind of cognitive decline and they become dangerous. I would not buy anything jointly with out consulting an eldercare attorney. My mother is in a villa home in a 55 plus community. There are no...

Google Theater Development Fund and see if you are able to join- it is like HotTIx but you can get shows in advance. If you are outside NYC it is very cheap and well worth it. As other have said, the Tenement Museum is wonderful. Check for free days as well. We enjoyed the Frick on Fridays when...

If he is subsidized housing now, he will stay there or be moved to a senior complex. If he doesn’t have enough SSA coverage, he’ll get SSI. He will get Medicaid/Medical and food stamps. He will be fine.Not what you would choose but fine. Giving him money would cause him to loose eligibility for...

I will have to look up our details. As Federal employees, we bought a level premium with inflation protection - the only wrinkle is that the contact gets re- negotiated every seven years and it has been hard to find an underwriter . Since we bought our policies when we were 40- they will...

Our health insurance covers overseas costs ( as others have mentioned it might be reimbursement). We always get evacuation/repatriation of remains insurance. Many years ago a friend of mine’s father died in Russia of a heart attack. His mother could not deal with everything and ended up flying...

We downsized- but as others have said- it was not cheaper ( at least at first)- we had an older 3 bedroom, 1 1/2 bath in a suburb of a major city. It had a good school system, but we worked in the city and the commute was killing us. We had talked about living in the city- so once both kids had...

I have had a housekeeper since 1992. I have no intention of not having one. She comes every two weeks- she is the cousin of our previous housekeeper. We usually leave the house when she comes. There is some straightening up before she comes- but I am very happy. Our house can be company ready in...

It’s pretty common in the Midwest , as others have mentioned, to put some cash in the card. Most offices I worked at would have a sunshine fund or pass an envelope around when a co-worker died. When my in-laws died, we got small amounts of money in cards- but we donated it to their preferred...

A good place to start is your local Area Office on Aging. (AOA)Just google that phrase and her county and state. They can give you lists of facilities. Every county has one. I will agree with others that a CCRC might be ideal if she can afford it and it’s close to where she lives now to keep up...

Medicare will pay for 90 days in a nursing home/ rehab facility IF you come directly from a hospital. Otherwise it is Medicaid. Your mother will be expected to sell her home ( nothing wrong with that IMHO) and then Medicaid will pick up the tab after her assets are exhausted. I don’t know why...

Timeshare Users Group www.tug2.net has great forums and listings of timeshares for sale and rent. I would never buy from a developer. I had two timeshares I bought from a broker in South Africa in the 90s that we traded for some great vacations- but I paid $425 for each of them and the...

I think you should be open with your finances in an age appropriate way with children. By the time they graduate high school, they should have a rough idea of family income and expenses. Ours started IRAs when they got their first W2 type jobs-16 for my daughter and 18 for my son. I cringe when...