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Sort of a confusing Social Security question here which people may or may not know the answer to but here's it goes anyway. A couple of years ago I was talking to a Social Security person over the phone and explained that only paid into Social Security for a few years simply because I was a...

My wife recently applied for both Medicare and Social Security the other day and no where during the online process did it ask her if she wished taxes to be taken out. Is this something that gets asked prior to her getting her first check in a couple of months or can we simply log into her...

Like most of us, I simply use the government sales tax tables when claiming sales tax on my yearly taxes. But recently I purchased an expensive new truck where I paid $6,500. in California sales tax alone. This $6,500. plus what ever else I actually pay throughout the year in sales tax must be...

Last year because of all the CD interest I was expected to earn I paid both Federal and State quarterly taxes which worked out fairly well. Ended up getting a few dollars back from each after doing my taxes today. When I printed out my taxes, Turbo Tax automatically printed out the 2024...

Hoping someone who's already been through this can answer my question. My wife turns 65 in June and will need to apply for Medicare 3 months prior just like I did last year. She'd also like to apply for Social Security at age 65. First off, can she apply for both of these at the same time and...

Just looking to purchasing our SFO to Munich and return out of Zurich flights for May/June and the prices are crazy. Literally $2,000 for flights that are typically well under $1,400 for coach. We go to Europe every year and I've never seen this. I can only guess what middle of summer fares...

Planning a return trip to Switzerland for mid 2024 that will include Salzburg, Austria but I'm looking to fly into either Vienna or Munich first before making our way to Salzburg and eventually Switzerland. Airfare costs aside, has anyone been to both of these cities and prefer one over the...

Question regarding an early pay off of a car loan. I'm planning to purchase a fairly expensive new F150 and of course the dealer will give me a better deal if I'm willing to finance the loan through them (Ford Credit). In my case I had planned to pay cash anyway and simply pay myself back...

Long story short, I've been vacationing in Italy for years with a rental car. In all those trips I've always known Italy (and Europe as a whole) has a ton of radar camera's through-out the countryside. Because of this I've always driven like an old lady just so I don't receive the dreaded Italy...

A couple of weeks ago I officially joined Medicare and received my Medicare number. I've also received several letters from them including my first bill for Part B. But, I still haven't received the physical Medicare card in the mail yet. Does anyone remember if it takes a while to get it? Just...

Not sure where to put this question so I'll start here. I'm currently 3 months out from turning 65 so I contacted Social Security today about signing up for Medicare. In my situation I never paid into Medicare or SS because I was a government employee so I don't qualify under my SS number. In...

Here's an interesting one. As a result of Chase Bank taking over First Republic Bank where I have one of my $100k CD's, I now have the option of withdrawing my money from this 4% CD without any penalties. It currently has 4 months until maturity. I could easy take this money and open a 5.10%...

After many years of having mismatched power tools I'm thinking about slowly upgrading to a set of good battery powered tools. But, with so many brands out there, which one's should I be looking at or at least keep away from? There's literally a half dozen or so major brands out there. These...

Hopefully this forum is the right place to ask this question. I'll be turning 65 at the end of August and will need to signup for Medicare prior to that. I was told by SS that I needed to do it 3 months prior to my birthday. My question though, can I do this simply online or do I need to make...

I'm guessing I won't be the first person here to start paying estimated taxes now that we have these higher CD rates. Up till now I've never paid them, just wrote a check for under 1k each year when I did my taxes. It's been years since I've made any real money off CD's. Just forecasting my CD...

I've never understood this and wonder how these supposedly smart banks make wise advertising decisions. Case in point, while just reading our local Sunday morning paper I've come across 6 different, expensive, quarter page ad's from different banks offering completely different CD rates. Many...

I've often wondered about, and even admittedly worried about this question pertaining to the IRS. Does moving around large sums of cash from bank to bank (such as chasing CD offers or I Bonds) raise concerns from the IRS? I'm talking larger amounts such as $50k to $100k. I realize banks are...

First off I realize this question will be different for everyone based on everyones personal financial situation. With 5% or higher CD's almost the norm now, I'm trying to earn that last interest dollar out there but I'm a little nervous about having most of my liquid cash assets tied up for...

Started one of those new $500. bonus savings accounts with Ally last month but noticed no interest posted yet. Does Ally only post interest quarterly unlike their CD accounts? Thanks.

Anyone care to explain this to me? Like many, I have a handful of CD's paying around 3% now and none of them are with larger banks such as BofA or Wells Fargo. Most are online banks. I'm also the unfortunate Trustee to a "special needs trust" account for someone and I need to move a larger...

Topic says it all. Prior to covid 2 1/2 years ago we had planned to buy a vacation home but unfortunately everything in the area we were looking at immediately sky rocketed in price. An inflated amount I refuse to spend also. Assuming prices go down in this area, we're still thinking about...

Interested in hearing comments on this. I've had CD's all my adult life (besides other investments so hold your comments) and have never paid a penalty to reinvest one in a higher rate. Just luck I guess and most have been 12 month accounts. Currently I have 6 CD's ($100k+) in various banks and...

Never really thought about this but because Banks & SL's in our area advertise their CD rates in the paper once a week, is there traditionally one day a week that a bank/SL will change CD rates? For example, if a rate is going to change does it happen on let's say a Friday or do they all...

Probably an old question around here. At what percentage rate (or dollar amount) do most people feel it's worth it to close-out a CD account and reopen it at another higher paying bank or S&L? Both at brick and mortar and online banks. With rates changing almost daily right now I'm sure many...

Okay, the million dollar question and yes, I'm already well invested in a wide range of investments besides this cash. I currently have 3 large CD's ($100k+) that are going to renewal in the coming weeks. Currently rates are hovering around 2.5% for online banks (Capital One) but we all know...