Search found 1959 matches

by sophie
Tue Apr 25, 2023 8:45 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Home Freeze Drying
Replies: 46
Views: 55581

Re: Home Freeze Drying

That is a perfectly valid use of your freeze-dried treasure trove Maddy! I've always cooked in large batches, then I freeze some to pull out later. It's very little extra work to make a large pot of something than 1 or 2 servings, like you get with meal kits. I also would find it annoying to have to...
by sophie
Wed Apr 19, 2023 10:59 am
Forum: Cash
Topic: Repos and "Treasury" MM funds - the saga continues
Replies: 3
Views: 2240

Re: Repos and "Treasury" MM funds - the saga continues

Fidelity has two treasury money market funds. One is the "Treasury Only" (FDLXX) which invests only in T bills, and does not do repurchase agreements or other tomfoolery. The other is the Treasury money market that is eligible to be used as a brokerage core position (FZFXX). It's as you describe, no...
by sophie
Wed Apr 19, 2023 10:53 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Home Freeze Drying
Replies: 46
Views: 55581

Re: Home Freeze Drying

My back-of-the-napkin calculations say that a single run costs about $4.00 in electricity. Add $1.00 for mylar and O2 absorbers, and you're looking at about $5.00 a batch. This is a REALLY rough comparison, but Provident Pantry #10 cans of chicken (24 servings, they say; roughly 1 gallon?) are runn...
by sophie
Tue Apr 18, 2023 9:27 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Home Freeze Drying
Replies: 46
Views: 55581

Re: Home Freeze Drying

Wonder how much food you would have to freeze dry in order to make it work dropping a couple thousand on one of these machines vs. buying the freeze dried food directly? I imagine not freeze drying enough could indeed ruin a batch. I don't know about botulism in particular but there's no shortage of...
by sophie
Tue Apr 18, 2023 9:09 am
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: Don't use Fidelity Solo FidFolios to manage an ETF HBPP
Replies: 2
Views: 1405

Re: Don't use Fidelity Solo FidFolios to manage an ETF HBPP

Fidelity's software is very glitchy, and their settlement time is unconscionable....I've seen things take a week or more to settle though I never figured out why. My rule with Fidelity is to keep things simple and avoid relying on fancy software features, because they are bound to fail. I ended up w...
by sophie
Sun Apr 16, 2023 9:40 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Home Freeze Drying
Replies: 46
Views: 55581

Re: Home Freeze Drying

Yes Maddy, tell us more! How is your freeze drying experiment coming along?

Interested to hear if you think it's worth it to reduce your freezer space needs. Have you considered fermenting vegetables? Those also can store indefinitely and don't require refrigeration if you do it right.
by sophie
Sun Apr 16, 2023 9:36 am
Forum: Bonds
Topic: Thinking of a May I-Bond purchase. Talk me out of it!
Replies: 3
Views: 1257

Re: Thinking of a May I-Bond purchase. Talk me out of it!

I buy I-Bonds every January. That way I don't have to obsess over stuff like this. If I'd chosen to hold off in order to get the fixed rate increase, I'd probably stick with that decision and buy in May. There's no reliable prediction for what fixed rates will do in November, for all we know it may ...
by sophie
Sun Apr 16, 2023 9:27 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Another Covid thread (2023 April)
Replies: 7
Views: 1179

Re: Another Covid thread (2023 April)

Well you could look up the info on the CDC website about symptomatic COVID infection in vaccinated people. But, that info has been out for a long time now, and it's in everyone's personal experience too. I'm sorry that your parents have cut you off over something like this. I guess all you can do is...
by sophie
Sun Apr 16, 2023 9:20 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: How much to save for retirement
Replies: 101
Views: 74199

Re: How much to save for retirement

You might be able to get a directive to not feed you, then when you start starving/dehydrating, be put into hospice (morphine drip). Hideous. Maybe I should get that Wingsuit. Yes, advance directives are very important and you should get that done. Make it as specific as you can, because many of th...
by sophie
Sat Apr 15, 2023 10:45 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: How much to save for retirement
Replies: 101
Views: 74199

Re: How much to save for retirement

You might be able to get a directive to not feed you, then when you start starving/dehydrating, be put into hospice (morphine drip). Hideous. Maybe I should get that Wingsuit. Yes, advance directives are very important and you should get that done. Make it as specific as you can, because many of th...
by sophie
Sat Apr 15, 2023 10:41 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Another Covid thread (2023 April)
Replies: 7
Views: 1179

Re: Another Covid thread (2023 April)

Sophie, I'd still love to hear your thoughts about the COVID vaccine in general if you feel inclined to share them with us. But if not, I understand why you might not care to respond. The political environment we live in does not allow for the safe and free expression of opinions. Certain topics ha...
by sophie
Fri Apr 14, 2023 5:53 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: How much to save for retirement
Replies: 101
Views: 74199

Re: How much to save for retirement

One of the biggest problems with Alzheimer's is that the victims have no insight into their condition. They could be standing in an unheated house with no food in the fridge, poop all over the floor etc, and they will insist they're managing just fine and don't need any help. A trueism in neurology ...
by sophie
Fri Apr 14, 2023 2:04 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: How much to save for retirement
Replies: 101
Views: 74199

Re: How much to save for retirement

Yes that's part of the problem. Which children are you going to count on to take care of you in old age, when they're part of a generation that currently can't take care of themselves? Back in the day, children did indeed help take care of elderly parents, but it wasn't something that could go on fo...
by sophie
Thu Apr 13, 2023 3:38 pm
Forum: Bonds
Topic: What happens to I-bonds if rates plummet again
Replies: 46
Views: 41143

Re: What happens to I-bonds if rates plummet again

I've got a big slug of cash in I Bonds, built up slowly over the years. I just bought them automatically each year, and then this past year - jackpot. The returns are still way better than anything else right now, including stocks. And....tax deferred! You don't buy these for their current interest ...
by sophie
Thu Apr 13, 2023 8:57 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: How much to save for retirement
Replies: 101
Views: 74199

Re: How much to save for retirement

Some of those 15k/month places will take your estate, then keep you after you've burned through it at 15k/month rate, so it works out to less 15k/month. Also avg life span in nursing home is 2 years. Once you burn through your savings, you get put on Medicaid. If you had a private room you'll be mo...
by sophie
Wed Apr 12, 2023 5:38 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: How much to save for retirement
Replies: 101
Views: 74199

Re: How much to save for retirement

Sorry I've been away for a bit, indulging in some Mom care.... As per usual, Maddy asks some really good questions. My answers below. The tenor of this discussion is revealing that it is not saving for retirement that is the problem; it's saving for medical care. <== TRUE!!! The retirement savings a...
by sophie
Fri Apr 07, 2023 2:37 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: How much to save for retirement
Replies: 101
Views: 74199

Re: How much to save for retirement

All any of us can do is to do our best and we’re going to end up with whatever we end up with. People have been retiring that way forever. That they have. But several things are different now. First, people are living longer while getting substantially less healthy. That means far more time spent n...
by sophie
Thu Apr 06, 2023 12:39 pm
Forum: Bonds
Topic: When is it time to load up on bonds.
Replies: 40
Views: 33536

Re: When is it time to load up on bonds.

Here's a big reason why I've been having a really hard time with the PP's bond allocation: That is the one asset that truly is dependent on the US dollar being the world's reserve currency. Long bond rates are lower than the Fed would like because they are the universal flight from the stock market ...
by sophie
Thu Apr 06, 2023 12:09 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: How much to save for retirement
Replies: 101
Views: 74199

Re: How much to save for retirement

Thanks @boglerdude! I found something similar in northern NJ, where my mother lives: Fox Trails. They have similar houses in the community and they specialize in dementia care for small groups. Cost was about $7-8K/month but they had a much better staffing ratio (3 aides to about 20-30 residents) th...
by sophie
Wed Apr 05, 2023 1:03 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: How much to save for retirement
Replies: 101
Views: 74199

Re: How much to save for retirement

CCRC's are a response to an almost intolerable situation that is guaranteed to get much worse over the next 20-30 years. I agree that a CCRC could be a risk if it suddenly implodes or gets mismanaged, but that's true of just about any arrangement you might make. You can move on from other arrangeme...
by sophie
Wed Apr 05, 2023 1:00 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: How much to save for retirement
Replies: 101
Views: 74199

Re: How much to save for retirement

Hiring privately means finding aides who aren't employed by an company providing formal home care that is registered with the state. They may be entirely independent, but more often I've found that they work in organized groups with usually one person acting as a matchmaker. This gives them many of ...
by sophie
Wed Apr 05, 2023 11:19 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: How much to save for retirement
Replies: 101
Views: 74199

Re: How much to save for retirement

Did your friend catch anything on tape? Yes, apparently quite a bit. Great idea about the tape recorder. Of course, the nursing home could claim that the tape is inadmissible because I'm sure they have a rule against unapproved listening devices. And they'd probably win. I think you have to get per...
by sophie
Tue Apr 04, 2023 12:47 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: How much to save for retirement
Replies: 101
Views: 74199

Re: How much to save for retirement

I did have a great offer some months back for a live-in aide, but sadly Mother wouldn't have anything to do with that. Same for carers - refusal as 'get out - my son will do all of that'. Oh how I relate to this too!!!! It took my mother falling and breaking her pelvis to get an aide into the house...
by sophie
Tue Apr 04, 2023 12:31 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: How much to save for retirement
Replies: 101
Views: 74199

Re: How much to save for retirement

The existence of those commercials indicates to me that this is a serious and ongoing problem, rather than that bad stuff doesn't happen because of the threat of lawsuits. The fact that terrible nursing homes exist would seem to indicate that the mechanism of state penalties / governor embarrassmen...
by sophie
Tue Apr 04, 2023 12:20 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: How much to save for retirement
Replies: 101
Views: 74199

Re: How much to save for retirement

CCRC's are a response to an almost intolerable situation that is guaranteed to get much worse over the next 20-30 years. I agree that a CCRC could be a risk if it suddenly implodes or gets mismanaged, but that's true of just about any arrangement you might make. My mother picked me to manage her car...