Barbaraok

We use Zelle all the time to send money to our daughter for supplies for her classroom.  And since we send money for special items they would like for birthdays and Christmas, it is so easy and not have to worry about the mail system.

Kirk, you said it yourself, who knows what it will be like in 10-15 years.   Only thing certain is that if you are in all cash, then you will be short.   And current returns on bonds, money market, CDs are not what one would pin all their hopes on.   

Kirk, there was no drivers ed in any school I knew about when I was in high school in Washington State in the early 60s.  Everyone learned to drive a tractor on the farms, etc., and practiced either with their parents, or if a girl, with their boyfriend before going to take the test.  I got pretty good driving my boyfriends '56 Chevy, but took the test on my mom's big Lincoln.  Only thing I missed was parallel parking, because the truck on her car ('61 Mercury) looked like it went back a mile compared to that Chevy.   I was not use to the power brakes on her car, and when the examiner told me to hit the brakes for the panic stop - I stomped on them.  He ended up on his knees in the front passenger area.   We STOPPED!  Of course this was in the days before seatbelts when all mothers who drove had developed an automatic muscle reflex of foot hitting brake pedal, right arm flying across kid sitting next to you to keep them from flying through the windshield.😉

Yield and Merge are foreign words for most drivers today.  I am always amazed at how many people don't even realize who is in the next lane to them, let along on the highway they are trying to MERGE into.   And in so many cases, if they would just put their foot down a LITTLE, they could scoot right in in front of us.  

As to the right lane - never get in the far right lane when near any major metro area as that right lane comes and goes so frequently and usually only the locals know when that will occur.  

In sparsely populated states, or areas, where you have lots of small town, we've noticed that the speed limits lowers on state highways as you approach little towns - the smaller the town, the lower the speed limit.  You know, speed traps!   Lots of small towns in West Texas fund the towns that way.   

Or the number of speeding tickets and citations indicate a state with lots of towns depending of that source of revenue.   

A fellow was parked across from us last spring, he forgot to fold the stairs up into his rig before pulling out, the stairs caught on the palm tree at the front on the site and he ended up staying an extra 5 days before they could remove the bent ones so that they could get new door and stairs installed!  Idea is great, but not doing that walk around before moving out proved very, very expensive. 

I had the 37th Anniversary of my 39th Birthday six months ago. 😉

Even septuagenarians can embrace new technologies. 

Kirk, you might want to consider a hybrid - a good way to transition to electric.  We really love ours - fill once a month a whole 10 gallons (and I do it every month because I usually have 10-20 cents off at either Safeway or Kroger fuel stations that will expire that month.   

What does your owner's manual say?   You fill to whatever mark is indicated when cold (we have a sight glass so fill just until fluid visible).   Is there are overflow tube coming out of the bin?  If so, that may be what you use to fill.  

To vote by mail, you need to go to the Secretary of State webpage and fill out the mail in ballot request.  In our case, we could (don't know if that has changed) put in for a full year because we are over 65 and just have it sent to our Livingston address to be forwarded to us.  If under 65, Escapees has a PO Box where the ballots are sent, and then forwarded back to Livingston, then sent to you.   A little combersome but doable.   

Bulk of ours are in diversified mutual funds with targeted focuses.    

Are you coming to the east valley or west side of Phoenix.   If west, go to Flagstaff and then down and take the 303 around.    If east, come down through the mountains.   18-wheelers do it all the time.   Nice this time of year, just take your time and enjoy the views.

16 hours ago, Randyretired said:

To accomplish a feat of this magnitude it is advisable to determine what needs to happen and then a comprehensive plan to actually do it.  I haven't seen either to the degree that most experts say is necessary.  So can it be done?  Certainly but when?  

It will be completed long after my ashes (and yours) have returned all of our atoms to the earth for recycling.  BUT it will happen.   Why fuss about when, just sit back and watch the changes to come.    My mother was born in a Shoddy on the Montana plains and lived to see people walk on the moon!  I remember our first telephone had NO dial, just pick up the receiver and tell the operator who you wanted.  And it was black.  Now I have more computer power in my cell phone than they had in Apollo 11, which landed men on the moon!     And my daughter has a "Dick Tracy" Watch!   Where is your imagination?  Where is your zest for the new, the sense of wonder that you had as a child?  

And?  Are you saying that it can’t be done?   

Yes, there will be a change in how we charge the vehicles, etc.   Less corner fuel stations with underground tanks that can leak and more charging stations in parking lots where you hold your phone close to start/pay for charging.   Less well drilling, more development of alternative energy sources.   BUT, this doesn't happen overnight, it will take time, which is why we need to start NOW!  

Solar, wind, hydro, etc. do not pollute as much as individual vehicles discharging CO, CO2, NOX, etc.     

And, again, change won’t happen overnight.

Most insurance will cover emergency situations, like to an urgent care facility for a sore throat, er for broken leg or heart attack.  Whether the insurance you chose would cover other things is in the fine print of the policing so you have to read very carefully and ask questions.   They will expect that you return to Texas for your primary care annual visits, etc.    We always made a circuit of the country returning to Texas in November for our checkups, etc., and then the holidays with our daughter and son-in-law.   Since you are 63, you will need to do something similar for 3 years.   We never had a problem as our insurance was overseen by BCBS and we found we were never turned away for an strep throat, etc.  

1 hour ago, Blues said:

Well, I can't "remember" it because I didn't know it in the first place.  😀  The website I was looking at (the one I linked to) is about premiums, deductibles, and coinsurance, but didn't mention the 20% coinsurance for Part B at all.  The site discusses the most recent changes in the premiums, deductibles, and coinsurance, and maybe since the 20% coinsurance didn't change they didn't feel the need to mention it, but I think they should have, because you don't know what you don't know.  They could have just had a little thing in there that said the 20% coinsurance for Part B is not changing, which would tip people off that there is a 20% coinsurance for Part B.

Gah. 

So you didn’t go to Medicare.gov site and download “Medicare and Me” or something like that?  You really, really, really need to do that and then spend a lot of time going through it!   I knew a lot of stuff because I sorted through it all for my mom and dad when they retired. 

Jay,  Would your premiums have been greater than $500/month for that year?  That’s the question to ask.   And as we age, the number of tests, office visits, outpatient surgeries, etc., can all add up.   So it is a case of doing risk assessment each year.

1 hour ago, Blues said:

Wouldn't all of Dave's doctor visits be covered by the $203 Part B annual deductible?  And isn't testing covered by Part B, and at most subject to the $203 annual deductible?  So he wouldn't be out of pocket for any more than anybody else as long as he stays out of the hospital, even though he goes to the doctor and gets tests all the time.  Or am I misunderstanding the Part B deductible?

Remember in addition to the Annual Deductable, Medicare only pays 80% of each visit, test, etc.  now that is 80% of what Medicare says is a fair charge, not what they bill.  Your supplemental then pays that 20%.  

You can get a supplement at any time.  If I paid premiums for a supplement (retirement package) then I wouldn't because I have very little beyond what Medicare pays - just yearly visits with ophthalmologist, dermatologist and internist.   However, for Dave it is several visits a year to his cardiologist, dermatologist, ophthalmologist, internist, nephrologist (kidney doctor) plus outpatients tests every 6 weeks or so for one or more of his aliments.   

With Advantage plans you need to be very careful as there can be problems changing or going back to original, depending upon the plan.   I have a philosophical problem with those plans which is why we wouldn't get one.  But I understand they work for some people.   

The thing with Part D is that a lot of people think they don't need anything for prescriptions because they hardly every take one.  UNTIL suddenly their body lets them know that they are getting old and hits them hard, out of the blue.   My sister thought the same, and then all of a sudden she had medical problems resulting in maintenance meds, and she has to pay a penalty for life because she didn't get enrolled in the cheapest one possible.  I understand the feeling that one doesn't want to pay for something they don't need, but in this case just look upon it the same as any other insurance you pay but don't need - insurance against what might happen.   And believe me that there are a lot of prescriptions that are out of sight without the negotiated prices that big insurance companies can get.  

When they needed the N95 and surgical masks for N95 mask, but much, much better than nothing!    Things change and we move forward.  There is still a place for cloth masks, quick in-an-out, etc.    

That’s correct, with the added benefit, the mask you are wearing adds protection to you.  Plus it is better than not having any protection from those low information ppl who won’t wear a mask and won’t get 💉!

Also get one of the prescription plans like Good Rx, sometimes that can be cheaper than your insurance.