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[LivingAlmostLarge]

I don't think I've ever heard of buying travel insurance other than on a per trip basis. How does the annual plan work? What does it cover?

mostly it covers the medical evacuation and medical care. There is trip cancellation and interruption, but it's like $2k per trip.

[disneysteve]

mostly it covers the medical evacuation and medical care. There is trip cancellation and interruption, but it's like $2k per trip.

So you still need regular trip insurance if you want to recoup the cost of the trip? That makes sense.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

So you still need regular trip insurance if you want to recoup the cost of the trip? That makes sense.

Sort of. There is like $2k coverage for each trip but it won't cover the major trip. But it's a cheap way to insure for the year the catastrophic stuff I think.

[disneysteve]

Sort of. There is like $2k coverage for each trip but it won't cover the major trip. But it's a cheap way to insure for the year the catastrophic stuff I think.

We take plenty of trips that cost under 2K and I don't insure those. A policy like this would provide coverage for all of those trips. Although almost always, the hotel can be cancelled within 48 hours so we'd only need the coverage if we had to cancel in less time than that. And at worst, we pay for one night if we cancel late.

I'll have to look into this and see what it would cost us. I'm guessing our age being higher than yours would make our premiums higher.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

We take plenty of trips that cost under 2K and I don't insure those. A policy like this would provide coverage for all of those trips. Although almost always, the hotel can be cancelled within 48 hours so we'd only need the coverage if we had to cancel in less time than that. And at worst, we pay for one night if we cancel late.

I'll have to look into this and see what it would cost us. I'm guessing our age being higher than yours would make our premiums higher.

Probably but i bought it for our kayaking trip in feb specifically but it'll be a year bonus

[james.hendrickson]

All right, so xfinity (Comcast) tried to raise my internet bill to $92.

No way I'm paying that much for a commodity service, especially when T mobile will charge me $50.

So, I called and got them to lower the bill to $65. Easy savings of $360 over a year.

[disneysteve]

All right, so xfinity (Comcast) tried to raise my internet bill to $92.

No way I'm paying that much for a commodity service, especially when T mobile will charge me $50.

So, I called and got them to lower the bill to $65. Easy savings of $360 over a year.

Nice. I really need to do this myself. We're paying way too much for internet.

[disneysteve]

My wife decided recently that it was time for a new sewing machine. She started researching brands and models and pretty much narrowed it down to a couple that she thought would be good for her. Last week, we drove down to Delaware to go to the store where her current machine came from (bought used on ebay and picked up). She spent about an hour there talking to them and checking out a couple of different machines and left pretty sure which one she wanted. It goes for $1,600 new. I then started searching on ebay and found a used one from a seller with a great track record who sells nothing but sewing machines and accessories. It came today. It is used but looks brand new. It even came in the original box and packaging. Total cost with tax and shipping was $899.92, a savings of $700.08 compared to buying it new, and it came with a few accessories that she wouldn't have gotten buying it new that are easily worth another $75-100.

Once she's sure it's all good, I'll probably sell the old one which still goes for about $200-300.

If you aren't routinely shopping for used products, especially big ticket items, you really should be.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

My wife decided recently that it was time for a new sewing machine. She started researching brands and models and pretty much narrowed it down to a couple that she thought would be good for her. Last week, we drove down to Delaware to go to the store where her current machine came from (bought used on ebay and picked up). She spent about an hour there talking to them and checking out a couple of different machines and left pretty sure which one she wanted. It goes for $1,600 new. I then started searching on ebay and found a used one from a seller with a great track record who sells nothing but sewing machines and accessories. It came today. It is used but looks brand new. It even came in the original box and packaging. Total cost with tax and shipping was $899.92, a savings of $700.08 compared to buying it new, and it came with a few accessories that she wouldn't have gotten buying it new that are easily worth another $75-100.

Once she's sure it's all good, I'll probably sell the old one which still goes for about $200-300.

If you aren't routinely shopping for used products, especially big ticket items, you really should be.

that's an incredible savings

[Fishindude77]

Received approx. $5000 in quarterly dividend checks this week from a stock we hold. Put a few bucks in the bank and took the rest in cash for day to day spending.
This has been a great source of retirement income for us and the stock is worth much more than it was originally purchased for if we ever decide to sell.

Many criticize dividend stocks, saying that anytime they pay a dividend it just reduces the value. Some truth to that, but there are businesses that manage things to encourage buyers holding the stock long term by paying dividend returns on line with CDs or other similar investments and gradually increasing stock value over time. This particular stock is returning approx. 6% annually based on current share value.

[james.hendrickson]

Received approx. $5000 in quarterly dividend checks this week from a stock we hold. Put a few bucks in the bank and took the rest in cash for day to day spending.
This has been a great source of retirement income for us and the stock is worth much more than it was originally purchased for if we ever decide to sell.

Many criticize dividend stocks, saying that anytime they pay a dividend it just reduces the value. Some truth to that, but there are businesses that manage things to encourage buyers holding the stock long term by paying dividend returns on line with CDs or other similar investments and gradually increasing stock value over time. This particular stock is returning approx. 6% annually based on current share value.

Fishindude, what company did you invest it? Are you comfortable talking about it? Six percent per year is a great return.

[disneysteve]

Received approx. $5000 in quarterly dividend checks this week from a stock we hold. Put a few bucks in the bank and took the rest in cash for day to day spending.
This has been a great source of retirement income for us and the stock is worth much more than it was originally purchased for if we ever decide to sell.

Many criticize dividend stocks, saying that anytime they pay a dividend it just reduces the value. Some truth to that, but there are businesses that manage things to encourage buyers holding the stock long term by paying dividend returns on line with CDs or other similar investments and gradually increasing stock value over time. This particular stock is returning approx. 6% annually based on current share value.

It is nice to get dividend checks and it's easy. You don't have to decide what holdings to sell each time you need cash. It's just automatic. It's not ideal from an investment or tax standpoint but it's still nice to get those checks every quarter.

[disneysteve]

Six percent per year is a great return.

Not really. There are loads of equity investments that earn far more than that. A simple index fund like VTI for example. VTI is up 17.35% for the past year and 9.20% since inception in 2001. And that has the benefit of broad diversification rather than tying up money in a single company.

[Fishindude77]

I'm not going to share the stock name, it's a bank stock, thinly traded, however this kind of deal can be found with bank stocks. Look around at some of your local banks and see what's available.
Six percent certainly doesn't match what we've been doing in the stock market, but it's better than my CD's and we really won't ever know the true return until the stock gets sold. The per share value has increased substantially since we first bought 15+ years ago.

So long as the place doesn't sell and change hands and decent returns continue, I doubt we'll ever sell it. More likely pass it on to family.
Nice supplemental retirement income for the time being.

[disneysteve]

I'm not going to share the stock name, it's a bank stock, thinly traded, however this kind of deal can be found with bank stocks. Look around at some of your local banks and see what's available.
Six percent certainly doesn't match what we've been doing in the stock market, but it's better than my CD's and we really won't ever know the true return until the stock gets sold. The per share value has increased substantially since we first bought 15+ years ago.

So long as the place doesn't sell and change hands and decent returns continue, I doubt we'll ever sell it. More likely pass it on to family.
Nice supplemental retirement income for the time being.

Just to be clear, I'm not opposed to dividend-paying stocks. I own BK, EXC, and CEG which all pay dividends. I happily cash all of those quarterly checks. I just understand that dividends aren't really income, they are return of principal. I also understand that dividends are taxed less favorably than long term capital gains. And I understand that there is much greater risk in individual stocks than in diversified funds. As long as you're good with all of that, have at it.