Scooter Parking

Make your own scooter parking! 

My garage is a big mess come summer time.  I had a crazy idea to organize it this spring and give everything its own place and then maybe…. Just maybe the kids would put things where they belong.

Jeep Fix Blower Motor on 2001 Jeep Wrangler

For the past 3-4 years I have been having a problem with my heater in my Jeep Wrangler.

On a cold morning in Colorado, and we do have a few of those, the heater will not turn on.   Turning the switches and trying this and that nothing works….  Eventually after driving for 10 minutes to as long as 2 hours the heater will come on.

I poked around the internet trying to find an answer.  I found some good ideas and made a few videos on the repairs I made.  Here is the sequence of repairs I made and how they turned out.

Printers Cost Per Page

 

 

I just recently retired a printer.  It was an HP 2025dn Color LaserJet I bought in 2010.   I replaced it with an HP OfficeJet 8620 I bought at Costco for $169.99 (with tax).  It's my first inkjet in a long… long time.   Since 2004 I have bought two HP color LaserJet printers for my home office.  These costs a lot of money back in the day but their costs/page over time was lower and I like to save money in the long run.   I believe the new inkjet is actually going to be cheaper per page then the current offerings out there for good Color LaserJet printers.

For those geeks who keep track out there I wanted to share my data from my last two Color LaserJet Printers.

If I'm taking Social Security and working will my SS increase?

My mother-in-law started taking her full Social Security when she turned 70 in 2013.   She also has continued to work since then and pay more into Social Security.

In 2013 I spent some time researching the question "If I'm taking Social Security and working will my Social Security monthly payments increase?  And if so by how much?  Here is the article I wrote up at the time http://offtopic.whiteboardcoder.com/2013/10/how-much-will-my-monthly-benefit-go-up.html .

This article will be a redo of my calculations based on what has actually happened.  I was close in my last article but wrong on a few points, like were to round down.

How to Lose $145,459.50 when you die

Last year my father-in-law was hospitalized with a serious life threatening illness.  They discovered he had a bisected aorta that ran more than a foot and was not really a candidate for surgery.   He recovered, as best he could, but is still living knowing he can pass any day.

Why do I bring this story up?  Well as a result of this tragedy my in-laws brought me in to help with their finances and go over their books.  My father-in-law has traditionally done the books and he sees a time when he will no longer be here and he wants to have someone he can trust walk beside his wife and help her out.   While I was going over their books and notes I came across a stack of odd documents.  These documents where regarding an inheritance.  I know my mother-in-law's father had a good size estate and that she had inherited some money over a decade ago, so I was curious to see how much she received and how well it had been invested.

Using an HSA for a down payment on a House

For those of you who do not know, an HSA is a Health Savings account.  In very simple terms an HSA is an account where you can put in money tax free to pay for qualified medical expense.  Think doctor visit copays, trips to the dentist, and glasses.  For a better list see http://www.hsacenter.com/qualified-med-expenses.html [1]

If you happen to be in 25% tax bracket every $1,000 you put into an HSA saves you $250 on your taxes. 

Most HSA accounts provide you with a checkbook and debit card.  When you have an expense, say $220 for eyeglasses you can write a check or use your debit card to pay for it.   Or you can pay with non HSA money and later reimburse yourself out of your HSA, as long as it was a qualified medical expense and you have detailed records.

If you reimburse yourself, how much time do you have to get the reimbursement done?  Do you have to reimburse yourself within 30 days?  90?  

Colorado Property Taxes

It pays to be informed!  My father-in-law made me aware of a rebate on property taxes if you are a senior.  He had heard about it on the radio but needed some help looking up its rules.

I helped him with the research and this is what we found.