Category: Adventurous retirement
Editor's note: Bill has been kind enough to write for Topretirements on other topics in the past, including the fascinating tale of his "Cleaning Out a Cluttered Victorian". This installment shares his adventures and lessons learned from driving his new all electric car all the way from Portland, Maine, to Key West, Florida . We think you will find it instructive, particularly if you, like your Editor, are considering buying an electric vehicle!
By Bill Carito
January 15, 2023. This past August, we took a leap of faith in the future and bought an all-electric Volkswagen Id.4 to replace our 2018 VW Tiguan. Why an all-electric? Why not a hybrid? After all, we are a one car family that would not be using this car solely for running errands around town, but also for our 15-18,000 miles per year traveling to see family and for our vacations, including our three-month stay in Key West, Florida.
Frankly? Some of it was about supporting new technology; some of it was a sense of now or never. But, for me, a big incentive was losing the internal combustion engine and all its complications. I’m sure this new tech will have its issues, but I’m going to trust that fewer moving parts means fewer potential mechanical problems.
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Published on January 14, 2023
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Category: Snowbirds
January 11, 2022 -- Millions of American retirees follow the example of their avian friends - they head south to snowbird when winter temperatures cool. Not all of them fly of course, about three times more drive than fly, and some take the Autotrain. According to a 2018 Topretirements survey of snowbird preferences, almost 60% said they are either "Extremely Likely" or "Likely" to be a snowbird in retirement. So if you are one of those who plans on going south for part of the winter, don't make these snowbirding mistakes.
Not reserving early enough. This is the starting impediment to becoming a snowbird. The best spots are usually reserved by current renters before they leave in the spring. So if you wait until late in the calendar year before you book, choices will be limited and prices higher.
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Published on January 10, 2023
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Category: Medicare
By Tom Cretella - CLU at Cretella and Belowsky
January 9, 2023 -- Medicare's Open Enrollment Period began January 1. Medicare has plenty of acronyms: AEP, SEP, IEP - but the least used is the OEP or Open Enrollment Period. The OEP is a completely separate enrollment period running each year from January 1 to March 31. It only applies to people who already have a Medical Advantage plan or or other type of Prescription Drug plan.
The Medicare Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) just ended December 7 for 2023 enrollments. Although most people have renewed current coverage with the same carrier as 2022, the OEP offers a second chance to enroll or disenroll. It comes in handy because we have all endured the blitz of Medicare advertisements in the mail and in all media (BTW, congratulations you survived!) This always brings a challenge because the advertising is aimed at creating doubt, questioning your current coverage, or making you wonder if you should consider a change. Most of the questions I get are from clients or friends who wonder if they are missing something in their current coverage, after being hammered by advertisement during the AEP.
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Published on January 8, 2023
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Category: Health and Wellness Issues
January 8, 2023 -- We got some great followup on our October article about the Shedders Movement. Shedders refers to guys (and gals) getting together in retirement to hang out and work on all kinds of projects (often in a shed). This particular input comes from my wife's cousin, Steve, from Batavia, IL. Hopefully it will give other retirees some ideas on how they can create their own projects and groups to have fun, stay busy, and socialize - so hard for many men once they retire. Thanks Steve!
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Published on January 7, 2023
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Category: Real Estate Listings
January 3, 2022 -- As if the death and destruction that Hurricane Ian brought to Florida's Gulf Coast wasn't bad enough, it has created another looming problem for beleaguered property owners. Greedy developers and wealthy buyers are headed to the region, hoping to snap up coastal real estate to turn into expensive projects. By assembling bigger parcels in Fort Myers and Lee County from owners who are fed up or don't have the cash to rebuild, they can build huge single family homes and towering condos. Local residents are concerned that these will block access and views across these barrier islands.
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Published on January 4, 2023
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Category: Health and Wellness Issues
January 3, 2023 - Tom Brady, QB of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (or cousin Tom as we call him in our family), is 45.5 years old, having a pretty darn good season, with his team atop the NFC South standings. By all historical measures, he is a freak, performing as well or better than his peers who are 10 and 20 years younger. But he is not the only "older" person who is breaking records in a younger person's field. How about you, are you still going strong in some vocation or avocation, astounding your peers with your ability to hang in there?
The NY TImes just profiled a group of senior aged citizens who are doing great in some physically and mentally demanding jobs. They wrote about Jesse Izaguirre - a paramedic who is 70, an 84 year old NYC City tour guide, a doctor who is 85, and a 95 year old artist, among others. Earl Pollock, who at 82 is still in the logging business, summed it up this way: “I keep the job on my mind 24/7, I guess I’ll stay till I can’t get up in the morning." The Times used Census Data to help identify these outstanding specimens of tenacity.
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Published on January 2, 2023
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Category: General Retirement Issues
December 27, 2022 -- In many ways 2022 was better than 2021, and far superior to the pandemic ruined bust that was 2020. People finally got to take all of their postponed trips from years before, so traveling is back. Fear of dying from Covid relaxed a bit, although all was not joy due to inflation and stock market worries. Here are our favorite things and articles from the past year.
We are hoping is that you will add your favorites from the various categories in the Comments section below. It could be your favorite anything! It is always amazing to see how rich and interesting your suggestions are, and how different people's tastes are.
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Published on December 27, 2022
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Category: General Retirement Issues
December 20, 2022 - There is a new crush of retirees coming to town, and they are not Baby Boomers. Generation X, those born from 1965 to 1980, are finally getting their turn in the retirement spotlight, a very big demographic shift in the making. The eldest GenX-ers will turn 58 in 2023, the age when many people start retiring in earnest. But how ready for retirement will this new generation be, and how will it differ from the baby boomers before them?
Confident?
Fortunately, many in the Gen X generation have been preparing for retirement. Most have been saving for that day, confident about their money skills, but worried that they might fall short of what it takes to maintain their working day lifestyles. Of course, either from choice or necessity, not all of they will retire early, or ever.
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Published on December 19, 2022
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Category: Active adult communities
December 13, 2022 — Way back in 2011 our faithful correspondent Jay Michaels shared his adventures from visiting the most famous active adult and 55+ communities in the Williamsburg, VA area. His reviews of the area and those communities have definitely stood the test of time – still relevant and…
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Published on December 12, 2022
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Category: Downsizing
December 11, 2022 -- One of the best pieces of advice we have heard is to think about downsizing in retirement. Finding a smaller, lower maintenance place to retire can unlock equity in your home so you can maintain a great lifestyle with less income. It can also simplify your life. Less maintenance and yard work, smaller utility bills, lower property taxes, and more time to enjoy retirement, are just some of the benefits. But downsizing is not always quite as easy as it seems. Here we outline some of the costs and headaches that many people do not consider when they start the downsizing process.
Costs to fix up your home for sale. Either you or the buyer might decide to make costly improvements before the sale, such as radon mitigation, roofing, HVAC, structural, etc. These expenses can cost a lot more than you imagined when you put the home on the market.
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Published on December 10, 2022
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