Home HVAC Replacement

 Last week when the temperature went above 80 degrees, I decided to turn on the AC for the first time in 2026. I noticed that the furnace fan was running continuously, The AC unit was struggling to keep the temp at 80, which is what I had it set to. It also didn't feel like much cold air was coming out of the floor vents. I first thought that the compressor wasn't coming on. This happened once back in 2019. I replaced the anti-short cycle compressor protection relay and got it working again. The part only cost $7 back then. Now, Amazon has it listed for $25! 

I didn't think that was the problem this time. After running for 8 hours, I noticed that there was frost on the refrigerant return line. This is caused by either restricted airflow over the indoor coils or low refrigerant. It is difficult to see the coils that are sitting above my furnace. I took a peek behind one of the side panels but couldn't see much of the coils. I have to assume that low refrigerant is the main issue.

The furnace/AC system was put in when the home was built. That would make the system 33 years old because the home was built in 1993. Back then, the refrigerant used was R22. The EPA banned all production and importation of new R-22 on January 1, 2020. An existing R-22 air conditioner is not illegal but servicing them is significantly more expensive due to supply limits. So, I would be wasting hundreds of dollars to rule out low refrigerant. Plus, if the refrigerant is low, there is most likely a slow leak somewhere. That combined with the age of the equipment, makes it overdue for replacement.

The current furnace is a Rheem Criterion Model# RGDG-075AUER (75,000 BTU) with 80% AFUE efficiency. The AC is a Nordyne Intertherm 10 SEER Model# S1BA/S1QA-024K (36,000 BTU?) 2 Ton with R-22 refrigerant. There are many replacement options. The ones with more features and higher efficiency cost the most. In order to get a rebate from the utility company, the system must have an Energy Star rating and have at least 90% or greater efficiency and have a SEER2 rating of 14 or higher. A 95% AFUE Energy Star gas furnace, and 13-16 SEER2 central air conditioning unit, plus installation, can range from $7,000 to $15,000+ depending on home size and ductwork.

I'm hoping that most of the existing ductwork can be used. Upgrading from a standard 80% AFUE furnace to a 95% high-efficiency model usually requires running new PVC venting and drain lines, which can add $800 to $2,500 in labor costs. Rebates can cover between $350 and $650 depending on model#. My budget is $8000, but I'm usually off by 50%. I only need a basic system that meets the rebate requirements. Lower price options like the Lennox Merit Series or Carrier Comfort Series would be an improvement over what I have now. The Rheem Classic Plus Series is affordable, but I was only able to find Rheem at HomeDepot. I would rather work with a local HVAC company. Oh, the joys of home ownership!

Homeowners Insurance Up 33%

 I just received a notice from State Farm that they will be increasing my home insurance by 33% starting July 1, 2026. That adds $48.81 to my monthly premium. Back in 2023 the monthly premium was $104. The new rate for this year is a 90% increase in just 4 years. The home has not had any major renovations since it was purchased in 2011. The county estimates the value for tax purposes at $356,400. Zillow has $397,900 as the estimated market value.

It now costs $512 per month or $6144 per year for insurance and property tax. This year I will get an 80% state refund on my property tax. That will bring the annual cost down to $3083. Unfortunately, the only way to reduce the insurance premium is to find an insurance company with lower rates. Every time they raise my rates, I revisit the idea of getting quotes from other insurance providers. This year the rate increase is way beyond the rate of inflation. I suspect State Farm has been paying out more claims than usual and has decided to increase rates to compensate. Inflation is only a small part of the calculation.

I'm getting tired of State Farm's advertising campaigns anyway. They spent a lot of money on their Batman/Bateman ads. Their main ad character is a black guy. I don't feel like they want me (a white guy) as a customer anymore. Here is a list of 10 well known home/auto insurance companies:

State Farm - The largest share (12.9%) of business in America.

Liberty Mutual - One of the largest property and casualty writers in the world.

Geico (Berkshire) - One of the largest auto insurance providers in the US.

Farmers Insurance - The business dates back to 1928, when it was set up to insure farmers.

Progressive Group - Reputation for pricing innovation and digital tools.

USAA Group - Low auto insurance premiums for qualifying military families.

Allstate Insurance - Recognized for its long‑running "You're in Good Hands" slogan.

Travelers Group - Ranks among the top five companies by market share in US.

American Family - AmFam has a long history in farm and rural markets.

The Hartford (AARP) - Discounted rates exclusively for AARP members.

Of these companies I would only consider getting quotes from Liberty Mutual, Farmers, and USAA. The others just don't have ad campaigns that appeal to me. But what about the Geico gecko and Flo the Progressive lady? They are just a little too comical for me when it comes to insurance. I will report back if I find a better rate. Not sure if that is possible. Something tells me that none of them can be trusted to keep premiums at a reasonable rate for very long.

True Crime Syndrome

 My girlfriend is obsessed with the Nancy Guthrie kidnapping. Maybe it's because she is from Texas, which is near Arizona. Her obsession has gotten so bad that she sent her theory about the crime to one of the crime tip email addresses. Then, the other day I caught her talking on the phone with someone at a crime tip line. I could sense the poor guy trying to shorten the call by saying "... and this theory is based on your opinions?" Which she replied "...it's from pictures I found on the Internet and what I know about how people dress for work. I think the guy worked at a bank that was inside a Walmart."

Every true crime YouTuber with a theory is uploading videos. But I can't watch them with her in the room because she starts talking over the video saying their theory is wrong and getting mad because I am watching it and not paying attention to her theory. You have to remember that this is someone who has seen UFO's and ghosts, believes in spirits, and thinks she is psychic. Some people get addicted to the feeling of accomplishment when they make a prediction that turns out to be correct. But her psychic abilities and nothing more that intuition, which we all have to some degree. 

This kidnapping thing has got her spending a lot of time trying to theorize what happened. Unfortunately, she's trying to solve a problem without all of the information. Authorities are holding back information from the public. Just recently, they told us that one of the still photos released weeks ago, was from a different day. Then you have the local sheriff who is getting flack by trying to run things his way. My prediction was that they would catch the guy within of week of releasing the door cam videos. But that failed to transpire. Whatever the outcome, it probably won't match any of our theories. Meanwhile, my girlfriend could be spending her time on more constructive pursuits. 

Xfinity Assistant & Using AI Mode

 I first had a chance to use AI when Microsoft added Copilot to Windows 10. Let's just say I was not impressed. I ended up removing it from the task bar because it often had problems connecting and giving me a command prompt. When I was able to enter a question, the answer looked like something I could have gotten with a basic web search. My next encounter with AI was when Google added "AI Mode" to their search engine in August 2025. They added a button to the right of the search box that allows you to access their Gemini AI agent. When you do a normal search, you get an AI summary above the typical search results. The AI summary often has the answer I'm looking for, so I don't need to look at any of the web links that show up below. At the bottom of the summary, there is a "Dive deeper in AI Mode" link, which gives you a more detailed response.

You may have noticed that companies are upgrading their customer support chat-bots and calling them AI assistants. One example is Xfinity (Comcast) which has "Xfinity Assistant". I was having trouble looking up my monthly Internet usage and decided to give it a try. I typed: "What is my monthly data usage?". Within a few seconds it showed me a 3-month trend, the current data usage, and the number of days left in my billing cycle. That was just what I was looking for. AI is perfect for customer help, although it may be even more difficult to talk to real person, because most of them have lost their jobs. Phone support is also being replaced by realistic sounding AI that can converse like a human. This might be a welcome change from having to deal with someone with a foreign accent at an overseas call center.

Other uses for AI are starting to appear. Music, movies, and social media are seeing a lot of AI activity. Some good and some bad. I think the fear is that it is progressing too quickly and there are no guard rails in place to protect people from those who abuse the technology. At this stage, you can generally tell when something is AI generated, but it gets harder every day. The movie industry has been using computer generated effects for years now. The difference is that someone with bad intentions can use AI to make a realistic image or video that used to require expensive equipment. AI can also be trained to have a bias. One example I saw was a Youtuber who asked several AI agents if Trump should be impeached or get a third term as president. Two chose to impeach, two refused to make a choice, and my favorite was the AI agent on Trump's Truth Social network, which said that he should be given a 3rd term.

It remains to be seen what jobs will be affected by AI. It will be years before we know the full impact. It clearly has the potential to disrupt some sectors of the economy sooner than others. It will first show its utility as a tool that we can use to improve our accuracy and efficiency. But we are a long way from seeing it replace our innovation and creativity. With so many companies working on AI agents, there needs to be standards and ratings in place so that we can measure response bias and IQ level. We should also be able to dynamically adjust the personality of an AI agent. Google has been prompting me to try the new updated Alexa that they just launched. "Alexa+" uses generative AI to provide more conversational and proactive assistance. I heard the new voice and didn't care for it. We only use Alexa to set timers, play songs, or answer questions. I don't want to have a conversation with a device that is designed to get more of my personal preferences. They know too much about me already.

Retirement Income Review 2025

3 Year Chart

In 2025 my investment portfolio increased by 8.65% and generated $3445 in monthly dividend income. During the year I was able to avoid taking any distributions from my retirement account. This means that I only used dividends from my taxable spending account. The income from that account was $1052 per month or $12,624 per year. I withdrew $11,860 to pay my credit card balance and mortgage. My total expenses for the year came to $15,509. The bulk of the $3649 shortfall was covered by my state property tax refund. For reference, the 2025 US poverty level for a one-person household was $15,650. 

There is a lot of debate about how much you need to retire. Americans now think you need about $1.5 million to retire. But only 3.2% of retirees have $1 million in their retirement accounts. Only about 2.5% of all Americans actually have $1 million or more saved in their retirement accounts. I am still a bit short of that goal, mainly because I've been withdrawing money for living expenses for the last 5 years. But I will say that my annual dividend and investment gains now exceed my pre-retirement salary. In the chart above it looks like I am doing well, despite my taxable income being at the poverty level.

The more money you have the more complicated your finances become. I have 26 different holdings, 4 checking accounts, 3 different financial institutions, a brokerage account, a spending account, and a retirement account. Plus being trustee for a small family trust. Surprisingly, I use all of the various accounts on a regular basis. Managing my investments has become my part-time job. I usually only make small adjustments from time to time. I spend more time following financial news, so that I am aware of investment opportunities and pitfalls. The one thing that has proven true is that time in the market beats timing the market. My portfolio balance will sometimes fluctuate by thousands of dollars per day. But even when the market is down, I know that those dividends will keep flowing in.

In 2026, I expect we will see interest rates drop further. This should stimulate growth in the economy by lowering the cost of borrowing money. We will probably see investors slowly moving away from AI and back into the manufacturing and housing sectors. Global conflicts will continue to affect commodity prices but should be good for the defense and cyber security sectors. Hopefully, the shock from Trump's tariff price increases will normalize and we will be able to see inflation become more predictable. The national debt also looms as a threat to our financial future. One thing is certain; American's will be spending more on healthcare and have less disposable income in the year ahead.

Year of the Denture 2025

2025 will forever be known as "Our year of the denture". When my girlfriend's bridge work broke in late 2024, her last option was to get an upper denture. Little did we know how this would impact our year and life going forward. It was her first year under Medicare and I managed to find a Medicare advantage plan that included dental. But we soon found out that none of the Medicare dental plans include implants. So, she decided to go with a local dentist to have her upper denture made. First, she needed to have nine teeth removed. This was done in two sessions, which began in March. You hear advertisements for same day dentures, but the preferred option is to allow time for the gums to heal so that the denture will fit better.

The teeth extractions were painful enough, what came next was a 6 month wait for her gums to heal properly. During that time, she was unable to eat solid food. This required modifications to our grocery shopping. She was also unable to eat out or spend any time out in public after having half of her teeth removed. Her diet consisted mainly of soup, oatmeal, pudding, and soft fruit. We couldn't have the same meals because I was the only one with teeth. Although, my teeth have several crowns and are overdue for maintenance. At first, the cost estimate was close to $3000, which I expected would be half our responsibility. We arranged to make payments at the first couple appointments. But after that, there was a long delay while they tried to determine exactly how much of the bill Medicare was going to cover.

I think it was to the dentist's advantage to stretch out the process over many visits, so that they could get ample reimbursement. In the end we only paid $300 and Medicare covered the rest. That was about the only thing that made the ordeal less traumatic. When it came time to get the denture fitted, they discovered that something must have gone wrong with the mold and the fit was wrong. A few weeks later they had another denture made and ready to fit. Next, she had to learn how to eat with false uppers. She tried all of the popular adhesives (Fixodent, Seabond, Poligrip). She finally settled on Super Poligrip. It still isn't ideal, because the stronger the adhesive the harder it is to clean off. There are going to be things that she will have to avoid eating and we still haven't gone to a restaurant. It will take time to adjust to this new routine and get confident enough to bite into something without having her denture come loose.

Hopefully she will get used to the denture like most older people seem too. I guess now with her upper teeth removed, someday she could get snap on dentures, so she wouldn't have to deal with the adhesive. It wasn't as bad as when she had her knee replaced a few years ago. That was another year of pain and suffering. Now, you wouldn't even know she had knee replacement surgery unless you saw the scar on her knee. But I think I heard her say once that she wouldn't get the other knee done after that experience. It's no fun getting old. In 2026 Medicare is going from $185 to $202.90 per month. That's an extra $214.80 per year or an annual cost of $2434.80. She is due to start social security soon, but we don't know what her monthly benefit will be. It's complicated because her benefit will be based on how much her ex-husband is getting. One thing we do know is that Medicare will be taking a big piece of it.

Maple Tree Storm Damage

 I woke up at 5 AM to the sound of heavy wind gusting outside. Normally, the city weather sirens go off if a storm has the potential to cause damage. But this time, there was no warning and no alerts on my phone. Still the wind gusts had me worried. I got out of bed and took a look out the front window. In front of our house, the next-door neighbor has a giant maple tree near the property line. I watched the tree swaying violently back and forth in the wind. My initial concern was if the shingles on our roof would survive the heavy wind gusts. I looked back at the neighbor's tree just in time to see a large 8" diameter branch break off and fly through the air. It landed at the edge of our driveway, about 30 feet away from the tree.

Shortly after that, a smaller branch broke off and landed on a small birch tree in our front yard. I went to the weather app on my phone. Radar showed a narrow band of thunderstorms over the city. It looked like the storm was due to pass by in the next 10 minutes, so I went back to bed. The next morning, this is what my yard looked like:

The branch is much larger than it looks and weighed several hundred pounds.

In the photo below, you can see how far the branch flew through the air.

I guess I'm responsible for cleaning up anything that falls in my yard. It took about two hours to cut and pick up the branches that had fallen. In the Fall, this tree dumps several inches of leaves on our lawn, which I always look forward to removing. Trees are nice to have around unless you have one that overhangs your yard with a neighbor that isn't interested in tree maintenance.

DoorDash Scams

DoorDash is an American company operating an online food ordering and food delivery service. It is similar to ride share companies like Uber and Lyft, except they specialize in food delivery. There are several other food delivery companies, for example GrubHub and Uber Eats. As of March 2024, DoorDash has the biggest market share of the online food delivery market in the United States. My girlfriend recently started working as a shift manager at Pizza Hut and in two weeks she has already experienced several online food order scams. The latest one was an order that was picked up by a DoorDash driver. A short time later, another driver showed up to pick up the same order. They had to tell the driver that the order was already picked up. This happened four more times for the same order. If you count the first driver, there was a total of six different DoorDash drivers looking for the same order.

Our best guess is that the first driver unassigned the order and kept it for himself. Another driver saw the unassigned order and claimed the delivery assignment. Upon finding out that the order was already gone, they unassigned themselves from the order... and on it went for each driver. Needless to say, this is just one example of the huge waste of resources, time, and money that is taking place in the fast-food industry. Other scams are orders placed for bogus addresses and people that never show up to pick up their order. Not to mention employees who steal from the till, don't share tips, and make food to take home without paying. DoorDash drivers are not all bad. They have to deal with scams directed specifically at them.

DoorDash has been known to close a driver's account without warning. Often as a result of a bogus complaint by a customer who wanted their order for free. Scammers will take advantage of drivers by contacting them directly and posing as someone from DoorDash. Once they get their account information, they change the bank account info and steal the driver's money. There are numerous videos on YouTube about drivers who have been scammed like this. So, it can be as simple as not paying for a food order to a complex identity theft online money scam. I'm not sure why restaurants like Pizza Hut allow DoorDash to pick up orders when they have their own deliver drivers. Seems like it would be a service that would be better suited for a restaurant that didn't have home delivery. Loss potential is still there, but at least you have some control over the order verification process and who is delivering your food orders.

Best American Electric Lawn Mower

 Popular Mechanics recently published an article titled "The 8 Best Electric Lawn Mowers of 2024". That got me thinking about a replacement for my 30-year-old gas powered Lawn Boy mower. It still runs, but it is getting harder to find the 2-cycle oil that you need to mix with the gas. They used to have it at every gas station in town. But now, you have to order it online or drive to the nearest Arrow hardware store. My neighbors to the right and left have both switched to electric mowers. The advantages of an electric mower are that they are quiet, and you don't have to mess with the gas and oil. Many are now just as powerful as a gas mower with all the same features. Electric mowers cost just as much as a gas and replacement, or spare batteries, are rather expensive.

California has banned the sale of gas-powered mowers starting in 2024 and Minnesota has introduced a bill that would ban the sale of non-electric lawn equipment. With a mandate that everyone's next mower needs to be electric, I wanted to look at some of the companies that make electric mowers. You would think that they are making tons of money, but that isn't the case. Maybe it is too early in the replacement cycle, or because only one state has a ban on gas mowers. It could be that we are still in the early adopter stage, kind of like what happened with electric vehicles. Electric mowers have been around for a while. The early ones needed an extension cord. You can still buy a mower that needs a cord, but what we are looking at here, are the latest battery-operated models. Here are some of the popular lawn equipment manufacturers out there: Ego, Echo, Ryobi, Toro, Craftsman, Worx, and Husqvarna. 

Only one of these is what I would consider an American company. Toro is based in Bloomington, MN. The others are owned by companies based in foreign countries like China, Japan, and Sweden. Ego is a mower that you find in a lot of retail stores, but they are owned by a Chinese holding company. The only company I would consider buying stock in is Toro (TTC). As of today, the stock price is $96 per share. In the past year, the stock has traded in a range between $80 to $102. Toro equipment is popular with lawn care professionals. The home lawncare market is saturated with mowers from all of the non-domestic manufacturers listed above. It is unlikely that Toro will see a spike in sales with all of the competition in the home lawncare market. But they may see a small bump is sales as pros switch to battery mowers in the coming years. I would probably buy a Toro to replace my Lawn Boy, instead of one of the mower brands you find at the local home center. For now, I'll have to keep using it until it breaks. You can still buy a Lawn Boy, but they only have 3 gas powered models to choose from. Curious enough, The Toro Company acquired Lawn-Boy in 1989 and discontinued production of most of its equipment.

State Farm Insurance Rates Rise (2024)

 This month I received my annual homeowner's insurance rate statement from State Farm. For 2024 the rate is going from $104 per month to $125 per month. Thats a 20% increase over last year's rate. It adds $252 to the annual premium, which is now $1512. The home is located in the upper Midwest and is currently valued at $384k per Zillow. State Farm, California's largest insurer, announced it will discontinue coverage for 72,000 homes and apartments starting this summer. You would think that by cancelling high risk policies, rates could remain the same in lower risk regions, but it looks like that isn't going to happen. State Farm is also raising rates for everyone to compensate for their claim losses.

Reading a homeowner's insurance policy from State Farm is very confusing. You come away feeling like you are paying for things that you don't need. On my policy they add coverage for other structures, fuel oil release, and bed bugs, none of which I have. This year they added watercraft bodily injury liability, which I don't need. You get a lot of stuff you don't need built into your insurance policy. If you question them about it, they just tell you that it can't be removed. They also have a lot of fine print with exemptions for just about every situation imaginable. You can't be sure what level of coverage you are paying for.

I was looking at my auto insurance information on the State Farm website and noticed that they had one of my vehicles being driven 4000 miles per year and the other at 12,000 miles per year. The vehicle at 12k per year had a higher premium despite being 3 years older. Since I no longer have to commute to a job, I decided to change the mileage to 4000 on both vehicles. To my surprise, this reduced the semi-annual premium by $30. So, yes it makes a big difference how many estimated miles you have listed on your policy. It still doesn't cover the increase on the homeowner's policy, but it helps. It can be a challenge to find ways to minimize the amount you pay for insurance. Most of the time your only option is to raise your deductibles. I have only made one claim on my homeowner's insurance in 13 years. In 2017 a storm blew some shingles off the roof. I was able to get half the cost of a new roof covered under my homeowner's policy. But I have easily paid them back for that in premium payments.

So, you may be thinking, why don't you switch to a different insurance company? I've been with State Farm for a long time. They have local agents in town if I have a question. The few times I have had to file a claim, the experience has been fairly smooth. I have both home and auto policies with them, which gives me a discount. Switching to another insurance company would require switching both home and auto. I don't think the cost savings would be worth the effort. All insurance companies have their pros and cons, and they all can raise their rates for any reason. You could switch and get a lower rate, but next year you might end up paying a higher premium. I am not a big fan of insurance companies. It is a necessity that we have to endure. Most states now require proof of insurance to register a vehicle. No states have laws mandating homeowner's insurance. But a lender will require it if you have a mortgage.

Still Paying for 2021 Weather Event?

Back in February 2021 there was a winter storm that brought sub-zero temperatures across the United States. The extreme cold weather led to record-high winter electricity demand in Texas and a decrease in electricity supply due to limitations in gas availability and inadequate weatherization against the adverse conditions. People in Texas mainly use electricity to heat their homes and the power plants use natural gas to create the electricity. This brief weather event caused the price of natural gas to spike over 500%. People in cold weather states mainly use natural gas to heat their homes. Here in Minnesota, utility companies had to pay an extra $660 million during the week-long event. Months later, utility regulators in Minnesota got the figure reduced to $600 million. 

On Aug. 5, 2021, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) approved a plan to begin recovering the unusually high natural gas costs. The recovery period was initially supposed to last for 27 months. On December 2, 2021, the MPUC accepted a proposal to lower the monthly Feb 2021 Weather Event surcharge and extend the cost recovery period from 27 to 63 months. I was curious about how much longer we would continue to pay for something that happened 3 years ago. As of today, natural gas customers in Minnesota have been paying this extra fee for 31 months. This means that we are only halfway through the event recovery period. The extra fee won't go away until November 2026! 

As a follow-up to my last post about Medicare, my partner was recently approved for part A and B. We knew there would be a monthly fee of $174.70. What they didn't tell us was that they bill you quarterly if you haven't applied for social security. This means that we will have to come up with $524.10 every 3 months. Most people have this deducted from their monthly social security payment. My partner wants to wait until her full retirement age, which is in two years, before applying for social security. It will cost $4192.80 out of pocket to wait, and that doesn't include payments for additional coverage and deductibles. This affects both of us because now I will have to cover more of our monthly expenses. I now understand why many older American's are taking part time jobs... so they can cover the cost of "mediocre care" health insurance. 

Going From Medicaid to Medicare

 If you are under 65 you only need to pass an income test to qualify for Medicaid. Once you turn 65 you need to pass an asset test to continue coverage under Medicaid. An asset test is the total money you have in bank accounts, stocks, bonds, CD's, and retirement accounts. Just before her 65th birthday, my partner received a denial letter for Medicaid. Then she received a letter asking for a list of her assets. Since she only has a checking account, she went to their office and gave them a copy of her last bank statement. Shortly after that she received an approval letter. Then a week later she received a denial letter, and a week after that, a pending approval letter saying they needed her asset information. It became clear to us that Health and Human Services was overwhelmed with medical assistance requests and letters were being automatically sent based on arbitrary deadlines. In total she received six letters alternating between approval and denial within 6 weeks.

She decided to call her assigned HHS case worker to try and get the status of her health insurance application. The case worker said that she never received her bank statement. She also said that my partner would need to spend down her assets to $3000 to qualify for Medicaid. I looked it up online and it said that after you turn 65 the income limit is $14,820 and the asset limit is $10,000. The $3000 asset limit is for long term care coverage. Prior to age 65, the income limit is $19,391 for an adult without children. So, with that, my partner has no health insurance and will need to apply for Medicare. It would have been nice if they had told her this was going to happen and listed her options. Instead, you have to figure it out on your own. Going down the Medicare rabbit hole also includes deciding when to apply for Social Security. 

We logged into the Social Security website, and it showed that her full retirement age is 66 and 10 months. If she applied for Social Security today at age 65, she would get $689 per month. At her full retirement age in two years, she would get $785. Her income history is sparce, but at least she had the 10 years of earnings needed to qualify. I'm a few years younger than her, so this is a preview to the decisions I will need to make. My estimated benefit at age 67 is $2699. It would be advantageous for me to delay Social Security for as long as possible. But having to wait another 5 1/2 years will be difficult. My taxable income for 2023 was only about $14,000 and my partner had zero income!

We also discovered that Medicare isn't free. It gets progressively more expensive depending on how many options you add. Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) has no premium, but there is a $1632 deductible. Medicare part B (Medical Insurance) costs $174.70 per month with a one-time $240 deductible and a 20% co-pay after the deductible. Part C & D (Advantage and drug coverage) vary in cost depending on which company you select and which deductible and co-pay options you choose. They do have free Advantage plans, but the deductibles are so high that it isn't really an option. A plan with dental and vision and $3000 deductible costs about $80 per month. We are expecting to pay at least $260 in monthly premiums. This money would need to be deducted from her monthly Social Security payment. That doesn't leave much for living expenses or saving for future needs. 

Since she is divorced, she qualifies for ex-spousal benefits. But it would only be 50% of her ex-husband's full retirement benefit. Either her benefit amount or 50% of her ex-husband's benefit, whichever is greater. For example, if his benefit was $1700 per month, she would be able to get $850 instead of $785. If you are the divorced spouse of a worker who dies, you could get benefits the same as a surviving spouse, provided that your marriage lasted 10 years or more. Widows are due between 71 percent (at age 60) and 100 percent (at full retirement age) of what the husband was getting before he died. That goes both ways, if you made more money than your husband, then he might be due a widower’s benefit on your record if you die before he does. It's ironic to know that the Social Security office considers an ex-spouse to be worth more to you after they pass away.

Free Online Tax Filing Options (2024)

 For the 2023 tax filing season, the IRS has several free options for anyone who earned less than $79,000 (Adjusted Gross Income). My partner had no earned income in 2023, but they did receive a $260 refund from the State of Minnesota in 2023. It turns out that Minnesota missed the deadline for this to be considered a COVID relief payment. This means that everyone in MN who received the refund will have to claim it as income on their federal taxes. Unfortunately, Turbo Tax and H&R Block do not allow form 1099-MISC under their free version. They want you to upgrade to their paid version in order to complete your taxes. This is going cause a lot of their Minnesota customers to look for other tax filing options.

Typically, you are not required to file taxes if you are single and earned less than $13,825. But, in order to qualify for medical assistance, it is a good idea to file taxes even if you made less than the minimum. We had been using Turbo Tax for the last several years. But this year, Turbo Tax asked us to upgrade to their paid version after we tried to enter form 1099-MISC. I had heard that the IRS was offering free tax services, so I went to their website to see what was available. I found out that you can't file for free on the IRS website, but they have partnered with several companies that offer free tax services. On the IRS website there is a filter tool that quickly narrows your options. The tool returned 3 companies that met our criteria for filing federal and state taxes. The 3 companies were "Tax Slayer", "FreeTax USA", and "OLT (Online Taxes)".  These companies are located in Georgia, Utah, and Missouri. All seem fairly equally capable, but I found more positive reviews for Tax Slayer and FreeTax.

Because my tax situation is more complicated, I will most likely be using Turbo Tax again this year. I don't have any earned income, but Turbo Tax makes it easy to import all of my investment information. Last year Turbo Tax charged me $158 for using their Online Self-Employed product. It saved me some time, but I don't feel like it was worth it since my adjusted gross income was under the minimum. I didn't have to pay any state or federal taxes, but I didn't get a refund either. I shouldn't have to pay 1.5% of my gross income to file my taxes. Our family has a small trust which also complicates tax time. It costs $200 each year for tax services on the trust, that's in addition to the 1% annual service fee the bank charges. Beneficiaries have to wait until late February for the trust taxes to be completed before they can finish their taxes. Online tax service companies will definitely feel the impact of the IRS's free tax filing options. But not everyone can use a free tax service. In 2020 among 148 million individual tax returns filed, just 4.2 million were filed for free. An estimated 70% of taxpayers are eligible for IRS Free File, but only about 3% used it in 2022. Now that the word is out, the percentage using the free service will surely increase. I wouldn't invest in any of the paid tax service companies as they will likely see 50% of their business disappear in the next year. 

Struggles of An Intelligent Person

 I recently saw a YouTube video titled "8 Struggles of a highly intelligent person". I believe that there are many types of intelligence. Some people are good at remembering things, others are able to solve complex math problems with ease, some people are good at building things, and some people are good at art, music, or sports. At a young age, we tend to gravitate toward what is naturally our strongest ability. I also believe that as we develop our intelligence, the area that we spend the most time on becomes our highest area of intelligence. Here are the eight struggles of a highly intelligent person: 

• You get bored with small talk. "Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people." - Eleanor Roosevelt. Highly intelligent people avoid small talk, which can lead to social isolation. 
• You are careful with your words. People describe you as reserved or overly serious. In a group setting, you often find it difficult to contribute for fear of saying something few will understand.
• You are socially awkward. People with a higher IQ (intellectual skills) tend to have a lower EQ (social skills).
• You struggle to make good friends. The average person can't relate to a person with high intelligence. The maintaining a relationship is time taken away from intellectual pursuits. 
• You don't get out much. Being socially awkward, you prefer to focus on work and education. Because you find crowds socially uncomfortable, you simply avoid them.
• You are overly analytical. This can often lead to paralysis by analysis. You struggle with indecisiveness when you are trying to make an important decision.
• Your mind craves exercise. You prefer activities that engage your mind. You would much rather watch a documentary than a drama or build a puzzle vs. playing a group sport.
• You always feel pressure to succeed. With great intelligence comes great expectations. You must constantly prove your intelligence. There is often a disproportionate fear of failure.

As I reflect on myself, I can relate to most of these struggles. The only problem is that I would only consider myself to be of average intelligence. In school I achieved average grades in most subjects and below average grades in algebra. I was never successful at sports and my limited musical abilities are only a result of the time that I put into it. But after not being able to progress beyond the basics, I gradually quit spending time on it. Over the years, I worked at various tech jobs, always as a contributor and never in a management role. My greatest achievement was surviving nearly a dozen layoffs over my working years. Now, forced to retired in 2019 at the age of 57, surviving a pandemic and the resulting high inflation, are my latest achievements. 

The struggles listed above are factors that have limited my ability to gain promotions and greater wealth. I changed jobs only three times after tech school. It felt like more because of company mergers, but my job never changed much after a merger. Only one of my job changes was not the result of a company closing that forced me to look elsewhere for work. For my last job, I sold my house and moved to another State. That was a decision that gave me nine years of my highest income. But again, I was never promoted and stayed longer than I should have. I felt it was probably my last job, so I saved as much money as I could and studied investment strategy. I decided that my days of working for someone else would be over. 

Dead Spruce Tree in 2023

I have several trees, hedges, bushes, and scrubs on my property that require constant maintenance. I usually don't do much with the trees, which consist of a small Birch, an Elm, two Maples, and a couple Spruce trees. There are also three 20-foot-tall Arborvitaes along one side of the house, which need to be top trimmed, but that is a topic for another post. 

The photo shows how one of my Spruce trees looked ten years ago and how it looks today. I noticed it starting to drop needles about a year ago. I checked online and found that it is most likely something called Rhizosphaera needle cast, a fungal disease of spruce trees that causes needles to turn brown and fall off. It can occur in trees stressed from drought, poor planting practices or other factors. It has been fairly dry here the last few years, with last winter being unusually harsh. I'm afraid I may have contributed one of the "other factors" by spraying Round Up near the tree in an attempt to eliminate poison ivy from my yard. 

There were also a couple of evergreen shrubs that turned brown this spring that also may have been exposed to Round Up weed killer. I find it unlikely that a mature tree could be killed by weed killer, but it may have contributed to its demise if it was already under environmental stress. I tried homemade weed killers made from salt and vinegar, but that didn't seem to work very well. When you get a poison ivy like rash three years in a row, every time you work in the yard, you will try anything to eliminate the source. Once it gets on your clothes, you pretty much have to throw them out, or risk getting another rash.

I trimmed most of the dead branches at the base, but at this point, I don't think the tree can be saved. It is in a row with six other Spruce trees which serve as a noise break and privacy fence at the back of the lot. The city may notice it and ask me to have it removed. I don't know if this can spread to the other trees or if the weed killer was the primary cause. Regardless, it will have to be removed before long. I learned today that the annual yard waste drop-off location will be free again this year during September and October. Every year I generate a pile of branches from pruning. With residential burn restrictions in the city, this is my only chance to get rid of the brush pile.

The Luggage Size Dilemma

 Trying to save money can sometimes backfire, especially when traveling by air. My partner wanted a larger check-in bag for an upcoming trip. She was looking on Amazon and was about to spend over $100 on a new piece of luggage. I showed her several options on shopgoodwill.com and she found one that she liked. I put the item on my favorites list. Toward the end of the auction there was only one bid. I placed a bid for $11 and won. With shipping and tax, the luggage was only $23.

Goodwill had listed the size as 17L x 10W x 32H. When the luggage arrived, it looked bigger than I expected. Not having taken a commercial flight in a while, I decided to look up the limits on check-in baggage size and weight. The size limit is 158cm (62 in.) and the weight limit is 50 Lbs. for most airlines. The size is calculated by adding the L + W + H. Goodwill's size description comes to 59. Unfortunately, the measurements need to be from the widest point and include the handles and wheels. Goodwill must have measured from the top, which is the narrowest point. My measurements at the bottom were 21L x 12W x 33H, which adds up to 66, which is technically over the size limit.

I tried to find the manufacturer's specifications, but I didn't have any luck. In 1993, American Tourister was acquired by Samsonite. In 2009, American Tourister was acquired by Astrum International, which also owns Samsonite. I'm not sure how old the luggage is but it must have been discontinued years ago. There are luggage manufacturers that cheat on the size. So, I searched online to see if anyone had issues with over-sized luggage. Some responses indicated that the weight limit was more important and that being a few inches over was not an issue. But more often, responses said that the limit is the limit, and you risk getting your luggage flagged as over-sized.

The penalty (fee) for checking over-sized luggage is $200 per bag, each way. That is enough to scare most travelers into compliance. You can buy a quality brand-new set of luggage with one over-size baggage fee. Which leads to the dilemma: Do we take a chance with the Goodwill luggage? It would be fine if you were traveling by car. But the risk of having your luggage flagged as over-sized is too great. No wonder no one was bidding on the larger luggage auctions. The employees that write the descriptions for Goodwill auctions often don't have a clue about the item they are describing. Items can't be returned because they are sold As Is. Even if it could be returned the shipping fee would exceed the price of the item. I may try to sell it on Ebay, save it for a future road trip, or donate it back to Goodwill.

Living With Cats

Every pet owner likes to talk about their furry friends. We have two cats; one is an orange tabby and the other is a white calico mixed breed with Ragamuffin and Ragdoll traits. Our two cats have very different personalities. The ginger cat is independent minded and likes her daily routines. The white cat is more active and friendly but fears loud noises. The white cat spends most of her time downstairs in our finished basement. 

The ginger cat likes to spend her day upstairs until she is ready to start her evening routine. The younger white cat likes to play rough and will try to pick a fight with our older cat. I guess that's why our ginger cat spends most of her day upstairs avoiding the white cat. But they do like each other's company from time to time as the photo shows. My house mate sleeps downstairs with the white cat, and I sleep upstairs with the ginger cat. She likes to stay up past midnight and sleep until noon. The white cat sleeps on her bed and the ginger cat sleeps on my bed. 

The ginger cat's evening routine starts between 9 and 10 PM. She will come downstairs where we are watching television. After visiting the litter box, she jumps up on the half basement ledge wall to look out the window. After making sure there are no critters in the yard, she will either come and sit on my lap or find a spot across the room to wait until it is time for me to go upstairs. I'm usually ready for bed between 11 and 12 PM. 

As soon as I get up, the ginger cat will follow me upstairs. When I go into the bathroom to brush my teeth, she jumps up on the vanity and tries to get me to pet her. When she sees that I am ready to leave the bathroom, she climbs over to the toilet and sits on top of the tank. This is my cue to pick her up and carry her to the bed. 

On cold nights, she waits for me to get under the covers and then comes over by my head and taps me on the shoulder. When I lift up the blanket, she crawls in next to me and lays down. She usually lays next to me for a short time and then, when I'm ready to fall asleep she crawls out and finds a spot at the foot of the bed. If I wake up during the night, she sometimes uses that as an opportunity to get under the covers again. In the morning she follows me into the bathroom and waits for me to finish my shower. She then follows me into the kitchen where I fill the food dish and make my breakfast toast and coffee.

I often don't see the ginger cat for the rest of the day, unless I'm working on a project that she needs to supervise. The white cat is always around when we are downstairs. She likes laying on our laps and begging for treats. She also likes to go outside with me on the deck to investigate the outside world. In the winter, our white cat loves sitting in front of the fireplace. But as far as routines go, the ginger cat wins the prize for the most detailed and consistent routine. 

Home Values Dropping Fast

Home values in the US peaked in May 2022. Since then, the value of my home has dropped by 5.7% as of September. With interest rates rising, the drop in value is only going to get worse. I expect to see a full 10% drop from the high by the end of the year. This will bring home values back down to levels seen in December 2021. 

Is this good news or bad news? As always, it depends on if you are a buyer or a seller. In my neighborhood there have been very few homes for sale in 2022. There is currently one down the street with an asking price of $395K. That price was dropped by $5K in early September. They will need to drop the price by another $15K to meet current valuations. Having seen the value of our home double in the last 10 years has been nice. But it is unrealistic to expect that to continue. This is a long overdue correction. I just hope it doesn't become as extreme as the correction we are seeing in the stock market.

Compared to the housing market, the stock market has been a disaster in 2022. This does not bode well for those of us who depend on our investments as our only income. Every time there is a major drop like this, I hear from financial advisors who tell me that this is just part of a financial cycle and that I should continue to hold until things improve. Advisors will point to past corrections and use that to prove their point, having never lived through a correction themselves. Every correction is different. I've lived through 8 major market downturns. This one feels like the start of a two-year period of negative growth. The pain will come for many when they lose their jobs and then their homes.

I've moved more than half of my money into a money market fund or cash. During past corrections I have taken advantage of higher interest rates on CD's. Sometimes having deposits in several different banks depending on who had the best rates. This was back in the days before online stock trading. Today, you can find CD's online, but I think it would be better to use that money to pay off a mortgage. The value of not having a mortgage before retirement is one less bill to worry about. You need to look at how much you are paying in interest on the loan vs. how much you could get by having that money in a CD. In most cases your mortgage rate will be higher than a short-term CD rate.

Unknown Amazon Prime Charge

Last month I noticed an $8.11 charge for Amazon Prime on my business debit card. I don't even have this card linked to my Amazon account. Sometimes the bank doesn't get the name of the vendor correct, but I decided to ask Amazon if they knew anything about the charge. I used a form on their website to ask my question, which was a mistake. Since the credit card wasn't linked to my account, they couldn't see the fraudulent charge, and everything looked as it should. Another month went by, and the $8.11 charge showed up again. This time I requested a call back from Amazon to discuss the charge.

The customer support person was pleasant and seemed experienced with this type of problem. They had me add the debit card to my account so that they could view the Amazon transactions against it. Sure enough, they spotted the two $8.11 charges right away. Amazon informed me that someone else had the card linked to their account and was using it to pay for their monthly Amazon Prime subscription. I said that I thought Amazon Prime costs more than that per month. They told me that the user had a discount subscription. The only discount that I know of is a student discount. Students get six months free. After that, they need to pay the student rate of $7.49 per month. $7.49 + Tax = $8.11.

So, the freeloader was a student (or someone posing as a student to get the discount). Amazon claimed privacy rules wouldn't allow them to give me any information about the thief. It's good that Amazon protects the identity of customers and I'm sure the thieves know that. Amazon said they would refund both charges and suggested that I get a new debit card. I called the bank and did that the next day. This is the second time that my business debit card has been compromised. Last time there was also a small charge that appeared, but it wasn't from Amazon. The bank doesn't let you create a transaction alert smaller than ten dollars, so you can't see these small charges unless you log into your account. I only use the card for business related online transactions. I suspect one of the places where I used the card has a data leak. 

Roe v. Wade, (1973 - 2022)

It's been almost 50 years since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States generally protects a pregnant woman's liberty to choose to have an abortion. Since that time the birth rate has gone from 16 per 1000 people in 1973 to 12 in 2022. That is a 25% decline (see chart). 

On Friday June 24, 2022 the U.S. Supreme Court unexpectantly reversed Roe v. Wade, declaring that the constitutional right to abortion, upheld for nearly a half century, no longer exists.

The U.S. birth rate has fallen precipitously since the 2007, with no signs of reversing. In 2019, there were around 3.75 million live births in the United States. Half of all states and nearly three quarters of all counties experienced more deaths than births in their populations between July 1, 2020, and June 30, 2021, according to U.S. Census Bureau. For the past century, deaths followed an overall trend of gradual, linear increase each year. Then, between 2019 and 2020 following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, deaths in the United States increased by 19%.

Add to that an aging population and it is no surprise that the government is concerned about future population growth. A large number of people reaching retirement age needs to have an equal number of young workers to maintain the economy. Otherwise, the government will no longer be able to provide social programs for older Americans. It is very possible that by reversing Roe v. Wade our government is indirectly trying to increase the population or at least slow the declining birth rate. A humorous tweet this week from Bette Midler suggested that they should ban Viagra, (but that wouldn't increase the birth rate).

The government has been playing a game of social and economic manipulation for years. Just recently there have been news reports that the Internal Revenue Service, Railroad Retirement Board and other federal agencies have been stocking up on thousands of rounds of ammunition. IRS special agents are allowed to carry weapons, but it is unclear if the IRS is stockpiling guns and ammunition as part of a grander scheme to hoard weapons and get them away from Americans amid the recent mass shootings.