Simple Hacks For Retirees. Financial Or Otherwise. "On Topic"

[Brownslave688]

It saved her job

Renting a car would of been much cheaper.

 

[olroadbeech]

you can still contribute to an IRA and that reduces your AGI. we are getting a pretty big refund this year. reduced income=reduced taxes=bigger refund.

oh, you can also qualify for the retirement saver credit, form 8880. with us that is an extra $2000 credit to our refund.

 

[Ms.PacMan]

oh, you can also qualify for the retirement saver credit, form 8880. with us that is an extra $2000 credit to our refund.

$4000 max (50% credit) for married filing jointly AGI under $37K though.

 

[olroadbeech]

on the site called Daily Finance there is an article called "10 memberships worth the money " . geared towards retired people.

examples. warehouse clubs like costco and sams club. AARP, AAA , YMCA, theme park clubs, being a member of a credit union instead of bank and several more. i would post the link if i could. most listed are well known but there may be a few that you are not familiar with.

Daily Finance website.

 

[olroadbeech]

we have found that Ameriprise insurance thru Costco is the best and cheapest . we switched 4 years ago from Liberty mutual and saved over 400 dollars year. we got quotes from many companies before finding Ameriprise. being associated with Costco gave us more confidence and we would have probably gone with them anyway even if they were slightly higher.

we use them for both home and auto. our driving records are excellent and we have not had any claims on either one so that may be why it is so cheap. we have 2 vehicles with full coverage for $428 a year . ( we get low mileage discounts too )
and our home ins. is about 700 a year. with a million dollar umbrella policy for an extra $149 a year.

their customer service is also very good. so far, knock on wood , no problems there.

hope this helps someone.

 

[35years]

We priced out all the insurance companies...
USAA and Amica come highly recomended...
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/...ompanies-that-wont-break-the-budget/index.htm

We are not veterans so did not qualify for USAA.

Geico saved us $800 a year on car insurance compared to all the others!

We purchased Amica for homeowners. They priced out about the same as others, BUT they excel at customer/claim satisfaction. More importantly they use the old insurance industry standard language in their policies. The Major insurance companies (State Farm, Allstate etc.) have added so many exclusions to coverage that the insurance does not cover a multitude of situations they used to(see the link below). We used to have Allstate but they denied 3 claims (slow concealed leak, downed tree, hail damage) which they would have covered 20 years ago.

http://www.propertyinsurancecoverag...and-even-usaa-do-not-want-you-to-think-about/

 

[olroadbeech]

trac-fone has a pretty good deal right now. a year ( 365 days ) of service for 49.99. you have to also purchase some other time/service contract.

which we did. we bought 30 days for 9.99 since we already had over 500 minutes carry over from last year.

so 60 bucks for a whole year. not bad for phone service if you need a phone for carrying around for emergencies and occasional use.

 

[Catatonic]

I met a couple of times with my financial adviser during my time off after surgery. He told me something that those of you who are also divorced may benefit from. I'll have to admit that I was pretty skeptical when he first told me but I went home and did some research and it turns out that he was 100% correct.

If you were married for 10 years or more and your ex worked for at least 10 years (40 quarters), you may be eligible to claim up to 1/2 of his/her Social Security benefit without reducing the amount of that benefit.

You can read more about it here:

Retirement Planner: If You Are Divorced

Applies to Railroad retirement plan too!

 

[olroadbeech]

We have our IRA's with Vanguard in Admiral accounts. They not only have extremely low fees but they also have very knowledgeable advisors that will spend time helping you make retirement and after retirement choices. ( we kept the 401k with Prudential )

They have a number of excellent conservative funds for retirees with good track records of earning 7 % or more annually over 10 years that will help your money keep above pace with inflation.

We have been with Vanguard for over 25 years and it has always been a very good relationship.

( past results do not guarantee future earnings )

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

We have our IRA's with Vanguard in Admiral accounts. They not only have extremely low fees but they also have very knowledgeable advisors that will spend time helping you make retirement and after retirement choices. ( we kept the 401k with Prudential )

They have a number of excellent conservative funds for retirees with good track records of earning 7 % or more annually over 10 years that will help your money keep above pace with inflation.

We have been with Vanguard for over 25 years and it has always been a very good relationship.

( past results do not guarantee future earnings )

I'm confused----if you are happy w/Vanguard, why did you choose not to roll your 401k over to them?

 

[burrheadd]

you can still contribute to an IRA and that reduces your AGI. we are getting a pretty big refund this year. reduced income=reduced taxes=bigger refund.

oh, you can also qualify for the retirement saver credit, form 8880. with us that is an extra $2000 credit to our refund.

So you make less than 37k? That's the only way you can qualify

 

[olroadbeech]

I'm wondering if any UPS retirees have retired to Latin or South America for the extremely low cost of living? the financial magazines like Money and Forbes usually have articles about this.

we lived in South East Asia in the 70's and loved it but I am not sure I would want to live there forever. We would also be concerned about changing political situations in other countries.

 

[trickpony1]

South East Asia is a big place.

Could you narrow it down a little more?

 

[olroadbeech]

South East Asia is a big place.

Could you narrow it down a little more?

why? the point being was the cost of living. we could get 3 dollars for every American dollar. live like kings . the rent was cheap, the food great, the scenery fabulous , and the people who got to know us friendly.

the thing we missed most was people we had things in common with which was nearly zero. we were the only American family in our town. I'm sure it is much different in Costa Rica , Belize , or Ecuador where there are American communities in certain areas.

 

[Orion inc.]

why? the point being was the cost of living. we could get 3 dollars for every American dollar. live like kings . the rent was cheap, the food great, the scenery fabulous , and the people who got to know us friendly.

the thing we missed most was people we had things in common with which was nearly zero. we were the only American family in our town. I'm sure it is much different in Costa Rica , Belize , or Ecuador where there are American communities in certain areas.

You must be 125 years old with all these stories you make up.


It's really quite sad

 

[Catatonic]

You must be 125 years old ...

Wow!
I hope I live to 125 years old!

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

While I am not willing to move overseas I have been looking to see which states or parts of the country are more "pension friendly".

 

[Future]

While I am not willing to move overseas I have been looking to see which states or parts of the country are more "pension friendly".

FLA?

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

FLA?

That's one of them.

In the end I will probably just move closer to my daughter near Albany.

 

[Future]

That's one of them.

In the end I will probably just move closer to my daughter near Albany.

Ouch!!!!!!! NY Taxes !!!!!!!!!