Recent content by pasttense

It's brisk walking (not leisurely walking) which generates the most health benefits.

What are the pro's and con's of each method of communicating with Medicare? When would you use each? Thanks.

Right now Medicare Advantage plans get a significant subsidy over regular Medicare. With Obamacare this subsidy is being removed. Thus Medicare Advantage policies will become less attractive. OP, one point has been mentioned--what if your health turns bad. You probably won't be able to switch...

Health care costs are exploding. I started getting health insurance in 2001 for under $100/month. That same policy, this year, when I am 64 is $827/month. So extrapolating OP, it looks like your health care costs could well be in the $100,000/year range when you get to be 64. This is of course...

"A 65-year-old couple retiring in 2012 is estimated to need $240,000 to cover out-of-pocket medical expenses" Some of you seemed to have missed a basic point: A couple is two people, so that is $120,000 per person.

You can get COBRA now until you can get Medicare. Does you wife have pre-existing conditions? If not simply get some quotes for individual coverage, figure it will increase 10% a year or so and add up the numbers. $50,000 or so total for 6 years? Is that a small percentage of your retirement...

"I'd hate to change all my banking info just for it to go to a terribly low rate." That's the key issue: you don't. You just use it as a temporary savings account, keeping $20,000 plus in the account and meet the account requirements. When the interest rate drops substantially you switch your...

It won't take very long for a competitor to notice this, buy the same product, and undercut him.

Does investing in younger relatives pay? I am not referring to children or grandchildren; instead something like nieces/nephews or younger cousins. I am referring to this in a material/financial sense, not an emotional sense. But something like helping them out when they are just starting out...

I think the first thing to do is to precisely see exactly where you are currently spending money. You might see for example that you spend a lot of money on soda pop out of soda pop machines...

A lot depends on how successful you are in investing money. If you are a successful investor you are much better off borrowing for the house and keeping you money invested. If you are not a successful investor then paying for the house is much more attractive.

Fatwallet Finance is very good for finance issues: FatWallet Forums - Finance

How Many Homes Do You Own That You Live In? How do you use these homes? For example a summer home in the Midwest and a winter home in Florida.

Bank Deals - Best Rates and Deals Scroll down the page. Here are the results dPolls.com - Poll: How high would the rate have to be after the promo for you to keep your money at FNBO Direct?

One thing many people could find useful is to keep their existing checking account and set up a Money Market account like Gmacbank. This allows 6 withdrawals a month with no more than 3 being check or debit card (used in a point of sale transaction). So you might set up say 4 of your largest...