Monday, February 10, 2020

5 Things from This Week...A Quick Update

It's been a pretty quiet week, but so far I have...

  1. Quit caffeine (again).  This time I think it will stick.  I was so sick for about 48 hours after quitting caffeine that I never want to feel that awful again!
  2. Learned that we are more frugal than we thought.  Usually we eat out at casino buffets using buy one, get one free coupons plus we use hubby's player's comps (he earns $1 per hour to spend at casino restaurants for each hour he plays poker) to pay for it.  Recently we learned that the casino does half point dining on Wednesdays so we get dinner ($15.99 per person) for only $15.99 (with the BOGO coupon), then end up paying with points (half off) so the total cost for the buffet for both of us is $7.50 ($3.75 each!).  Steak, shrimp, giant salad bar, great desserts, and all the other yummy buffet food...what a deal!
  3. Figured out that I better get a financial plan for my life.  I read this post and it is basically my exact situation.  Hubby is 20 years older than I am, and he is more than happy that I retired with him.  I do small gigs but  haven't owned a business or been fully employed for nearly a decade.  Needless to say, if he dies before I do, I will be in a financial mess.  We own a home which could be liquidated and have a few assets but our main sources of income (hubby's pension and monthly Social Security check) will stop when he dies and then what will I do???  Yikes.  I won't be able to file for my own Social Security for another decade or so which means I need a good source of income (or like a million dollars in assets and investments) ASAP.
  4. Determined that social media--and the media in general--are the leading causes of stress in my life.  Reddit has turned into a cesspool, and social media isn't much better (my relatives post all kinds of "Trump won" stuff because he didn't get impeached yet seem to be oblivious to the fact that he actually did break the laws which he was accused of.  Plus his budget will cut health care and other safety net programs which they all rely on because they are all poor....ayayay).
  5. Picked up my phone today as I was cleaning the house and took a video of every room in our house.  We haven't done any sort of inventory videos since we moved in nearly eight years ago and when I was looking through the videos we had, I noted there have been a lot of changes to the things we own over the years.  It was pretty simple to make some quick videos which we can use in the case or a fire or other disaster that we need to make an insurance claim for.

6 comments:

  1. I do believe you will get his ss, not sure. I understand that will not be enough possibly.

    When I quit caffeine, I drank caffeine until last caffeine fix. Next day, I drank caffeine until noon. Next day, I quit caffeine around dinner. The next day--no caffeine. It did not hurt a bit. Now, I do not drink caffeine. but, if I do, I am not hooked again. I drink Caffeine Free Coke...not diet.

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    1. You quit caffeine the right way. I quit cold turnkey which is the wrong way!

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  2. https://www.aarp.org/retirement/social-security/questions-answers/social-security-spouse-dies/

    This from AARP will explain it.

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  3. I'd say you are in a seriously bad place if/when your DH passes if you don't take action NOW!
    Since DH probably has a larger SS due him than you(as you haven't worked full time in a decade or more as you say)and you can collect as his widow up to his full SS so that's a plus. You need to look into what percentage of his benefit you'd receive and at what age(your age)you can collect that.
    I don't know if getting life insurance of DH would be a good way to solve your financial issue....at his age, premiums can be costly(would cut into your lifestyle/budget now)and usually don't pay out fully for a couple of years so he can't pass within that time for a payout. That sounded really bad and callous, sorry. But it's worth a look into that.

    Making yourself more financially secure should be your #1 priority right now!

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    1. I absolutely need to get busy on this (which I have been saying for months). I would have to wait 14 years to collect social security--his or mine--because I am only 53 and not disabled so funding those years is now my top priority. We looked into life insurance but at his age and with his health issues, the cost would be astronomical.

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