Prepping: 13 Useful Year-Enders

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Let’s face it, this hasn’t been much of a year for people – as economic distortions are popping out all over the place.

One example, from my own family:  My son (G II) up in Seattle can make more driving for an online ride-sharing program than he can working as an EMT and even some paramedics don’t make what a busy rider-sharer in a “hot market” can make.

Extremes like this – where people pay for convenience – are intrinsic to economic bubbles.  It was so during the late 1920’s, too:  People would pay for their pleasures and it was almost as though people put on a peculiar set of “blinders” and couldn’t see the distortions of Reality as they appeared.  Instead, they went to great lengths to convince themselves that “This is the NEW normal.”

Bad news is?  Most things eventually revert to historical norms.

So with that as our starting mantra (There is nothing new under the Sun, as Ecclesiastes reassures) that we offer some useful ways to work on personal growth this weekend in some areas that might pay dividends of a non-financial type.  Like by remaining free and alive, for instance…

  • Perform a personal year-end audit.

Every year in December I go through the books and consider our net worth closely.  Just a simple balance sheet:  Assets minus Liabilities results in Owner’s Equity.

On the one side is the current market value of every asset (or billable item) own.  On the other, every debt associated with each line.

So a few lines might be:

House market price minus sales costs equals home value.

Home value minus what you owe on it results in Home Equity.

The family car is a lot easier:

Worth of car is sold to third party.  Less what you owe.  That results in Owner’s Equity.

Do that for Everything – and even if you don’t remember how much all that stuff charged on credits cards might have actually cost, don’t forget to jot down all your credit card debts as well.

When you’re done, write it down so you can compare the figures next year.  If the number next year is lower, with sufficient detail lines written down today, you will be able to trouble-shootize your financial condition next year.

  • Find 4 Ways to Reduce Operating Costs

Now that you know where all the money went at the macro level, it’s time to drill down into specific bills.

Let’s take the power bills: Do you have a plan to swap out all your lighting from CFL to LED?  Do you have motion timers in rooms where lights tend to be left on all the time?  Can you set the water heater a few degrees colder?  Dial-back thermostat on the heat system for nighttime?

Even here at Uretopia, we go through this exercise.  That leads to thought problems like:  “If we cut down trees X, Y, and Z to increase the amount of solar hitting the panels, is that worth $*** per month of enjoyment of the shade for us and the animals around here?”  ( I play Paul Bunyan, Elaine plays Princess of Carbon Sequestration in what follows…)

  • Get – and Keep – Yourself “Audit Proof”

I can’t say enough good things about our middle-upper class Fujitsu sheet scanner.  It allows us to scan every single document that we write a check for that may be business related.

Then, when comes time to fill out tax filings, EVERYTHING is a click away.

Weekends like this are when I go through and make sure all the bills that haven’t been filed have been assigned to the right “digital bins” so, for example, our structure looks something like this:

And it goes on.

Under Vendors, for example, we have sub folders for things like the Garbage, the Water, the phones, the satcoms, the…well, you got it, right?

We scan 100 percent of everything that comes in and back everything up.  Plus there’s a box that lives in the storage building holding the physical copies.

Taxes are like driving the speed limit:  If you’re honest and don’t push the limit, there’s nothing to fear.  And if you have your proof of everything…there’s no debating as long as you’re not writing off that vacation cruise as a business expense…unless you have a more risk-loving tax advisor than we do…

  • Prepare to Die

Like we’re going to live forever, right?  This is the time of the year when the annual will updates are done.  Who’s in, who’s out, different portions and allocations, remembrances and whatevers.

But, there’s a lot more than just a will.  Some time with a financial advisor to try and sort things out so when you pass, you won’t be passing on an insurmountable amount of work.

Here’s the thing:  Trusts are a useful way to avoid going through probate, but, if not done just so, they may result in taxable into to the heirs.  So, find someone who knows the rules in the state you live in.

Do your “Dead Letter” update, as well.  This is something we covered in the Peoplenomics side of things a number of years back.  Idea is that there is a ton of “wishes” that don’t go into a Will.  Things like “A toast at my wake” and “Toast to my parents” and emotional items like that.  “See that so-and-so gets such and such.”

We have an upcoming Peoplenomics report on how to pass on the “keys to the business” if you haven’t retired.  This is where we outline how to disperse passwords and business account signons to trustworthy people and the step-by-step process to close down things like your FB and PayPal and bank accounts and trading accounts and… well, you know, stuff that isn’t in a “will” per se.

  • Prepare to Live a Lot Longer

Elaine and I both have doctor appointments in the next couple of weeks.  We will be getting things like our pneumonia shots and such because we have kicked around things that could be high risk health issues.  (I’m debating the shingles shot, for example).

Weight and fitness matter, so make a year end entry so you can look at it next year.

  • Plan an Adventure

One of ours is to head out West and visit the Chaco Culture national Historical Park.

  • Plan a New Skill

I want to do a garden that Elaine doesn’t have to end up saving.

  • Make a Kick-Ass Meal 

You have today, tomorrow, and Monday.

I’m thinking a slow crockpot stew that we can munch on,…

So with that, the last, but, to me, the most useful of all our tips to think about today:

  • 3 Things to Make Your Life Better Next Year

How to get the laundry done in half the time?  How to only really cook 2 days a week?  Go out to dinner X times per month?  Hell, this is your list… make up what makes you happy.

But then just remember it’s the doing  that matters.

Write when you get rich,

George@ure.net

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George Ure
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/George-Ure/e/B0098M3VY8%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share UrbanSurvival Bio: https://urbansurvival.com/about-george-ure/
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40 thoughts on “Prepping: 13 Useful Year-Enders”

    • Okie Cat Fan: I agree – the one and ONLY flu shot I have ever had was back in the early 70s for the swine flu (what a bunch of crock that turned out to be). Anyway, since then, haven’t had a single ‘recommended’ vaccine, except for the tetnus (and even that one I am cogitating about right now since am told I need one every 10 years), and have not had ANY of the flu types that went around (and that included working with the ‘general public’ during those years.
      Now, on the other hand, have had a couple major surgeries that no vaccine could have prevented.

      Personally, I think our bodies are an amazing piece of work, and one’s body can build up its own immunity against whatever is going around. On that note, though, if your body’s immune system is compromised, like from chemo, then talk to your doc but do very very thorough research on exactly, and I mean exactly, what the ingredients are in each vaccine…some of those I have read – I mean, do I REALLY need to have monkey liver or brain enzymes running around in my body? Or, a plethora of chemicals I can’t pronounce or even know what they are- but willingly have them injected into me?

      Do the research and then decide. I just don’t blindly agree or follow.

    • I tend to agree. I trust that nature gave us most of what we need(teeth being sadly underdesigned for their role). Vaccines used to be mostly antigen with a single target. Antigens are expensive relative to adjuvants, and modern vaccines are mostly adjuvant with a minor amount(if any?) antigen. The antigen causes a specific immune response if done properly and your immune system is in good working order. An adjuvant enhances and sensitizes the immune response non-specifically such that the amount of antigen required is reduced. A consequence of this is vastly increased nonspecific immune response. Think of it as a noisy signal fed into a high gain amplifier! Any tendency toward autoimmune response is magnified greatly and this is cumulative with more vaccinations.

      The Italian government just fired all members of their Health Advisory Board, according to The Guardian. This was with the intention of having new blood look at the vaccine controversy with as little bias as possible. The organization Corvelva has analyzed the childhood vaccine Infanrix Hexa and found it contained NO antigens from the causative agents of the diseases they were supposed to protect from! They intend to do complete analyses of all current vaccines. What else is in such vaccines? Only lab testing can tell.

      There’s insufficient public oversight and accountability for these things. I trust nobody with MY health, since nobody has any skin in MY game. When in doubt, I’d rather trust nature. Doctors and lawyers are the only ones who get paid to practice and doctors get to bury their mistakes. Every other professional has to produce a workmanlike result in order to be paid and avoid a lawsuit.

  2. Getting the shingles shot is a Very Good Idea.

    Friend of mine eschewed it — and had a Bad Time with it.

    Trading off the risk versus the “inconvenience” comes down hard on
    the positive value of it.

    I got mine… AND a flu shot a few days later. (I don’t do multiple shots in one day unless I have to — and I don’t have to…) Yeah, I know, the flu shot isn’t 100% effective; but it reduces the probability a lot. That, and stock up on Mucinex and other useful things in advance. Catch it quick if it starts.

    73
    The Radio Ranch, NC

  3. My wife & I are headed to the funeral parlour next week to arrange final planning. I live in NC, but we have 2 cemetary plots in NY next to my wife’s family, & she wants to be buried there. Also, my will is a NY will & not a NC will. Life insurance will pay for it all, so it should be a splendid affair. Years ago, I bought whole life insurance instead of term so the cost would never increase & cash value would build.

    • I think it is wise to pre plan your final vacation trip.. the internment fees and stress can be overbearing to someone that is mourning..
      I did that a few years ago.. mine is basic.. roast me.. no obit no viewing no service.. they said you have to have an obit.. I said ok say I went on vacation and was hoping for a place with moderate temps and that I love my family and friends a lot and will miss them greatly while I am on vacation.. anyone that knows me will know I have never had a vacation or taken time for myself in my life and check out where in the heck I went.. then if the family wants to have a get together buy a keg and have a few rounds.. If I know I am going I will host my own wake and just not let anyone know it is because I am going.. have a table with spicy food and all the good stuff and one with the funeral meat sandwiches and funeral beans… anyone else.. heck if they didn’t take time to stop by and say hello while I am kicking.. then I sure and the heck don’t want them gawking down at me while I am gone..
      I also would consider doing an advanced directive and make sure everyone has a copy of it….
      for me because I am a bottom feeder..I gave the funeral home a copy of my insurance policy to add to my file.. it is pretty common for every doctor with the medical facility that handles your final journey to send a bill for consulting and by letting the mortician have a copy they fill out the paper work and take their cut of any expenses first.. then the piranha can go for the rest afterwards at least my wife and family won’t be burdened with the final expenses in the event that the piranha had gotten to it first..

      Here is my advanced directive..

      To Whom it may concern these are my thoughts on life extension.

      to my family, my physician,My lawyer,My clergy,My family and to any medical facility in whose care I happen to be in.
      Death is as much a reality as birth,growth,maturity and old age. it is the one certainty of life. If the time comes when I………………………. can no longer take part in the decisions for my future, let this statement stand as an expression of my wishes, while I am still of sound mind.

      if the situation should arise in which there’s no reasonable expectation of my recovery from a physical or mental trauma such as a coma or heart attack fatal car crash stroke etc. Then I request to be allowed to die and not be kept alive by artificial means or “Heroic Measures”. I do not fear death itself as much as the indignities of deterioration,dependence and hopeless pain. I …………………………. therefore ask that medication be mercifully administered to me to alleviate the suffering even though this may hasten the moment of death.

      This request is made after careful consideration. I hope you who care for me will feel morally bound to follow its mandate.

      I recognize that this appears to place a heavy responsibility upon you, the care giver. But it is made with the sincere intention of releasing you of such responsibility and placing it upon myself in accordance with my strong convictions that this statement is made..

      signed:________________
      Date:___________

      There are fates much worse than death..

  4. Note to young people. If you buy whole life insurance, make sure you buy it from a mutual company & not a stock company. With a mutual company, the policyholders are the owners so you get the full amount of cash value dividends & don’t have to share with stockholders. The result is a much larger cash value & which, for example, you can borrow the cash value to say buy a car & then pay yourself back. In effect, you can use it to be your own bank.

  5. I’m sitting here reading this while thinking I have done much the same for the past several years along with what I thought was a pretty good plan for my upcoming final “retirement” that is down to step by step plans. Many of these came to me following your wise tutelage over the years. One thing I might suggest adding is a category of “Be Nimble”.

    I retire (ver 3.0) on Monday, the party is Wednesday. While I was sitting in my office Friday mind mapping out my weekend plans at the Ranch in walks the boss and tells me she needs me for a short gig starting Jan 7. I told her my consulting fees are pretty steep to which her answer was “I don’t care and check your email, a couple other departments want to talk with you.”

    I haven’t read them yet.

    73

  6. Good morning George and a Healthy New year to you and Your Lady.
    Shingles shot? My physician refused to take a shingles shot and a flue shot. Why? Because the carrier in the shot (at that time) had mercury in it. Ask about the ingredients in the shot you are thinking about. I also do not take the shots, following my Doc’s lead. Personal decision, but I am happy.

    • I am an RN and work in a residential treatment facility for people with developmental disabilities and psychiatric illnesses. I am working on my Masters in Nursing – Forensic Nursing.

      There is no mercury in the individually dosed influenza vaccines, nor in most of the other individually dosed (that is in the multi-dose vaccines. The thimersol is a preservative that protects that vaccine against multiple exposures to air and bacteria as each dose is drawn out of the vial.) At 59 years old with asthma and hypothyroidism, the flu could be fatal. I took it.

      I also have had the pneumococcus vaccine this year with only a slightly sore deltoid.

      The Shingrex vaccine is the one vaccine I have not had. I have seen a few people have strange rashes after administration. So I wait. The chickenpox was awful when I had it at 10 years old, except for being home with my maternal grandmother who let me read the Encyclopedia, dictionary, and her True Crime magazines.

      • No mercury in flu shots? For a nurse you are woefully uninformed. That ‘preservative’ thiMERsol is a mercury compound!! I had mercury poisoning from my dental amalgam fillings, and am still dealing with the effects after removal. It warped my immune system. I had shingles at age 16 and never want to go thru that again. The shingles vaccine is purely a killed virus with NO preservatives, NO adjuvants, and is preserved by refrigeration. Hell, yes, I took the shingles vaccine when I turned 60. I also took the pneumonia shot for similar reasons… no junk in it.
        But I have never taken the annual ‘flu’ shot and never will. I concentrate on keeping my immune system healthy and avoiding sick human exposure.

  7. One of mine is to read the Bible cover-to-cover. There are plenty of guides out there that allow you to complete the reading in a year by giving you a daily target of less than 4 chapters a day. Even if you aren’t a believer, reading one of the oldest, most widely read books ever written can’t be a bad thing. https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-reading-plan/

    • The Bible is 789,600 words (plus or minus an epistle). And 150 words per minute (slow)= you would be looking at 5,264 minutes. Dividing by 60 we arrive at 87.733 hours – two and a half weeks at 8 hour days (with pee breaks) ought to do it. Even taking Sat and Sunday’s off. On a daily basis, if you read 0.240354 hours (14.4 min rounding up to 15 minutes a day) you’re there.
      Optional: Add 79 seconds daily for a quick meditation or 32.77 seconds if you’re into speed-praying…
      Hell, I missed my chance to sell you something, lool…

  8. I would rather take the chance with a shingles shot than have shingles. Select your poison. I noticed that since I have been on Medicare, my doctor recommends every shot available to protect seniors. I never had any shots prior to retirement. Shingles, flu, pneumonia, tetnus, etc. I got them all with no ill effects.

  9. Another often overlooked retirement investment is a Fixed Index Annuity. I bought one when I retired from Allianz in NC when I retired with the buyout money from selling my agency to Allianz. I invested 70% in stocks & 30% in bonds with the income rider in case I needed it. The worst I can do in a year is 0% with unlimited upside. My best year was @ 30%. I bought it in NC because In NY, the NY Insurance Commision has made them a poor investment. Choices & features vary widely from state to state.

  10. ” We will be getting things like our pneumonia shots and such because we have kicked around things that could be high risk health issues. (I’m debating the shingles shot, for example).”

    Errr … I ‘assume’ you saw the large population study out of the Netherlands where adults who got vaccinated had a 250% higher 10 year all cause mortality rate than those who did not?

  12. “It was so during the late 1920’s, too: People would pay for their pleasures”

    IMHO.. it is just a method to cope historically from what I have read in the past one of the best barter items you can have is alcohol.. I hate to bring up the bay area.. but that is a temperature gage of sorts into the future of the rest of the nation.. here you have kids making six digit incomes that live on the street homeless.. dumps selling for a couple of million dollars that would normally be condemned and demolished. article after article of needles in the street etc.. the kids being smart knowing that the income they are making should be a sign of success yet they have to depend on soup kitchens and social welfare to survive.. to escape the image they end up using any means they can to cope with the situation.

    the same goes with inner city kids.. their situation is dire looking they are told they will never make it daily.. college is something that is just an illusion especially if their families are struggling with barely over minimum wage.. gangs and drug dealers see this as a money tree..
    the answer I see is simple.. but won’t happen anytime in the near future.. one push an education make it available to anyone willing to learn and earn a degree.. bring back jobs.. back when I was a kid.. heck I wanted to work for my fathers employer.. he was DAD to all of his employee’s.. the employees loved working for him that he had to start an early retirement program just to get job openings to get younger employees. I got the biggest thrill out of going for my mothers medications.. two hundred dollar a year deductible and all medications were like ten cents.. LOL LOL they pharmacist always had to do a double take on it…. That in my opinion is what makes DJT the perfect president.. He knows it.. his employees know it.. and feel he is approachable..
    By keeping this huge class divide and by keeping the worker depressed economically only opens the door to another tyrant power grabbing leader.. but then that is what is predicted has been predicted for hundreds and hundreds of years. its like a continuous learning curve..

    http://www.shtfplan.com/emergency-preparedness/a-survival-q-a-living-through-shtf-in-the-middle-of-a-war-zone_10252011

    http://socialism.com/fs-article/greek-austerity-and-the-plight-of-women/

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/politics/prostitution-the-hidden-cost-of-greeces-economic-crisis/
    quote from that.. ““Married women come here and they ask for work. They can’t even afford breakfast before they [the children] go to school.”

    http://www.ipsnews.net/1997/08/women-argentina-prostitutes-working-for-themselves/

    https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/19/garden/19argentina.html

    https://www.unicef.org/socialpolicy/files/Impact_of_Econ_Shocks_Mexico_and_Argentina(3).pdf

    The sad part.. is when reading this stuff you notice that the people whether or not it is the elderly the young the married or the unmarried.. that they tend to start believing the BS.. they become acceptant the their situation.. the same way with MSM and their daily grind.. THE RUSSIANS DID IT chant.. eventually people will start believing the BS..
    a young boy or girl in the ghetto doesn’t see where an education will take them..but the guy down on the street corner offers them a more realistic picture of salvation through him..
    the guy washing dishes at the restaurant.. a busy job no end in sight.. ( I always tip the dish washer.. always and I always tip the Waitress.. big.. OST Oh shizts tips..it pays off to on average in a restaurant where I frequent my coffee will be hot , dishes will be clean and my food prompt a bowl of lemon wedges and a pitcher of water…and I won’t wait near as long as the majority during a rush)

    https://www.sparknotes.com/sociology/social-stratification-and-inequality/section6/

    https://sociology.sas.upenn.edu/sites/sociology.sas.upenn.edu/files/National_Council_of_Family_Relations.pdf

    http://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195398250.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780195398250-e-001

    https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/issues/social-darwinism-poor/

    Our country is in the middle of going down the rabbit hole.. I doubt at this point if it can be turned around or not.. moving from the five class social structure to a two class social structure.. the same thing happened during the weimer depression..
    I totally believe that our President is trying to stop this from happening.. he already had the life of luxury and fame.. he is old enough to have seen the good side of the economy and smart enough to see how it had eroded to the point it is today.
    its totally in his and anyone with any money’s benefit to see this fixed.. yet he is torn to shreds for wanting to see America Great again.. sad and probably won’t be realized until we are nothing more than history lessons in itself.
    I actually think the OIL INDUSTRY see’s this and is trying to save the economy … shoot gas went down another nickle.. forty five cents more and I think they may carry us out of this mess If DJT can get industry to start working on local rather than high profits.. and if not at least prolong the devastation from happening for a while longer.

    http://healthland.time.com/2011/10/17/do-people-really-drink-more-when-the-economy-tanks/

    https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/news/20111013/as-economy-goes-down-drinking-goes-up#1

    https://www.theigc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/IGCJ5023_Economic_Cost_of_Conflict_Brief_2211_v7_WEB.pdf

    file:///C:/Users/Owner/Downloads/frajman_ivkovic.PDF

    https://repository.up.ac.za/bitstream/handle/2263/27288/00front.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

  13. George

    “We will be getting things like our pneumonia shots”.

    She who must be obeyed took 3 pneumonia shots in one year under doctors care.

    It didn’t do a thing to keep her out of the hospital for pneumonia. The final solution was a weekly injection of a serum called Gama Guard. That builds up her immune system and keeps the demons away. It also cost about $100K a year.

    It’s not the concept of vaccination I don’t like. It’s all the stuff they put int them that we have adverse reactions from. Mercury, aluminum, squaline and who knows what else!

    I bet you don’t see that stuff in vaccines for expensive race horses.

    And what about giving babies multiple shots before their immune system has developed – crazy but profitable!!

    Why is there a separate court system to handle vaccine law suits?

    Do some research before you take that stuff.

    • Sorry, big pharma influenced ($) congress to pass a law that relieves them from any liability in regards to adverse effects of vaccines. Good luck on suing these guys.

  14. Flu shot? Shingles shot? DOCTORS!? Nah. The family kids me about it all the time. I may get the flu any time from here till the end of February and I may not. I’ll feel like crap for a week then it’s over and the immune system is educated once again. (Vitamins help a lot) It all depends on your personal bio-mechanical wet suit you run around in. You know it better than anyone. I usually remain infection free while everyone else is sniffling their heads off. The sinuses are the #1 most likely spot for all the critters out there to come to reside in you. Any other spot is unsuitable for discussion here and is usually your own damned fault for inviting disaster.

    I highly recommend sinus rinse solutions with a touch of Listerine or it’s generic equivalent – as much as you can stand. My colds invariably start in my sinuses and then drain down to my chest infecting everything along the way so if I can catch the little buggers when they’re congregating and growing there (you can certainly know when they’re getting active) the infection usually goes away or is at least a very minor one. The alcohol may not affect the viruses but flushing them out still does – no contact, no problem.

    The only good thing about the IRS is it forces people to do what you’re advocating, George. My personal filing system usually involves Pile #1, Pile #2, etc. but we do try to keep it all straight so the CPA doesn’t cuss us each year. But I do have to say that you’re both lucky and disciplined, George, so as to keep the relatives at bay enough to keep them from screwing up your financial and emotional lives. We thought we’d kept the real trouble makers out of our lives years ago but, as it turns out, the ones closest to us have pretty much done in any hopes for anything resembling retirement. (Thank God I love work!) But, then again, what do we always talk about here on your website but all the things “da gubmint” does to us and who is closer than that? The camel moved into the tent some time before WWII and has never left. It was a warm companion in the Winters but it’s sucked up all the value in what we’ve stored our wealth in over the years. We can’t even call the unencumbered ground under our feet our own any more! But at least we’re making tamales today and buñuelos tomorrow. Great way to start a new year!

  15. GEO:…So worried about Alzheimers because you have a gene, then you get a boat load of vaccines that are loaded with aluminum and other heavy metals /adjuvants..plus cancer….sheesh so smart you are actually..well you know…..

  16. My wife did not get shingles until after she got the shot. I chose not to get the shot but to be diligent about maintaining a robust immune system. We are in our 70’s.

  17. George, If you’re planning on coming up to see Chaco via I-40, might as well stop and visit El Morro National Monument (45 minutes south of Grants). Since you’re also this close to southern Colorado, you would do a disservice to yourself not to go to Mesa Verde National Monument. It’s about half an hour east of Durango, Co, which is a pretty hot spot in itself. Also have the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge train ride there.

  18. Sharyl Attkisson did an expose on the “Swine Flu” epidemic (that wasn’t), so please search out her articles before falling for the “annual flu shot” b.s. The CDC lies about this stuff and most people who get the flu and die are dying from pneumonia, not the flu. Plus, when they make decisions about which strain they’re expecting for the season, 9 out of 10 times they’re wrong, so what’s the point?
    Plus, last three times I had flu shots I wound up sicker than a dog; since I’ve abstained no sickness. Pays to research your vaccinations and I wouldn’t do the shingles shot either.

  19. During my last Doc visit she asked if I had my flu shot. I said NO! I don’t believe in them! She said “Well I BELIEVE in them.” I said, “Great, if it works for you, then its the way to go!”

    Then she asked me why I did not believe in flu shots. My simple, uneducated medical opinion was, “When was the last time you heard the cocktail flu shot was 100% effective? Never mind, when was the last time we heard it was 50% effective?” From what I heard about previous years effectiveness, it was something like 18 to 20%! OK, lets settle at 20% how effective is this?

    Lets take an example. A person is sick, goes to a doctor gets antibiotics and told to take them for 10 days. Magic, illness is gone, meds are 100% effective. To make those antibiotics 20% effective, take them for 2 days, (20%) and then STOP! Tell me, how effective will this treatment be? I am sure you can guess how well that will work!

    I have NEVER taken any flu shots in my life! Yes, I did get the flu once in a while, but it lasts about 4 days before I start living again. One thing I DO remember, those around me who went for flu shots, got it more often than I did. I go for YEARS (5+) without getting the flu. Those that go for them, well every couple years they get the flu in spite of those shots.

    So what does this mean in the scheme of things? Do what works for you!

  20. This is valuable info…and I am at the stage of my life where I want to net More and pay way less, as I inch further into my 60’s. I have all LED lighting and the weather here is stable so, Utilities aren’t an issue here in California. Rarely have had a bill over $100.

    Home entertainment is expensive however. Comcast is out of control price wise. That, I would like to reduce the price of.

    An article in the L.A Times got me motivated. It’s about an old technology that is making a huge comeback with millenials and baby boomer alike…the TV antenna! Years ago, the FCC made it mandatory for all stations to broadcast in high-definition digital transmissions, offering higher-resolution images and more channels. Millenials don’t watch much broadcast TV, so for them, cutting the cord is no big deal…but boomers grew up with the traditional networks, local news and such, so while cutting the cord is logical fiscally…there was a sacrifice few wanted to give up…until now.

    My generations memory of a TV antenna are wavy lines, fuzzy reception, multi-path distortion..etc. today…most of those problems of yesteryear, have been resolved with HD-D…I calculated the savings I could receive if I cut Comcast and went only to streaming.
    Right now, I pay over $250 a month for cable. It’s ridiculous, I know…My need for all of the sports channels and such has waned. I find myself watching more Netflix and Amazon prime these days. Here’s what I found…
    I will still need Internet from Comcast. That cost $55 per month for 1.5 gig. Or $40 for 60 Mbps.
    Netflix costs $10.99 a month
    Amazon Prime costs $12.99
    Sling TV ( to get those channels an antenna can’t pick up…$25 a month.
    HBO Now..$10 a month.
    I get Apple TV free.

    Added all up…$114 per month for 1.5 gig or $99 for 60Mbps. That more than cuts my bill in half. The issue is ‘getting used to the inconvenience of multiple services. Cables single platform is the only reason I still have it…but I cringe every time I pay the bill.

    Other savings I have already started…

    I don’t have gasoline or maintenance ( oil change/service etc) expenses for my Tesla saves me about nearly $4,500 a year.

    Another project we are doing is de-clutteringour home down to the bare essentials (donating and selling for profit and tax purposes). The reason? We have the advantage of living in a tourist trap and our vacations to Europe this year will be funded courtesy of Airbnb…with money left over for profit. We have the perfect location for business and vacation travelers alike. A 3 bed 2 bath place like ours is perfect for extended families and friends traveling together. We will get well over $400 a night. Cheaper than hotels here since most large families and friends get their multiple hotel rooms. Plus, most people like the convenience of a home. We are planning 3 vacations this year. One is in Tahoe (within driving distance and no airline expenses and with free lodging..from friends) That will put us in the black on our travel adventures.

    I also never got rid of my Mercedes. Instead, I signed up with Turo…which is the Airbnb of cars. Renters pay me through the Turo app, about $90 a day and it is 80% booked every month. That has become a profit center for me as well.

    There are a lot more opportunities for seniors like last mile charging..Gathering the electric scooters that are ubiquitous in large cities and getting paid to charge them. A lot of my retired friends are Lyft and Uber drivers on the side or Airbnb-ing their spare rooms to business travelers that their grown kids have abandoned…

    Some friends are on the apps, Task Rabbit or Thumbtack promoting themselves as handymen or certain special skills. There are literally tons of other opportunities…some are limited to those that live in large cities where demand for these services is exponentially greater… but…opportunities to save and make money at your own pace exist…

    • Just had to laugh at the Tesla bit. There is no financial advantage or justification for buying a Tesla. It’s all ego bro. Buy a high end Corolla instead and save yourself 60-70k over the next 300-400k miles.

  21. I’m not exactly a hermit, but with “retirement” comes the ability to choose, and to limit contact with segments of the public, as I deem fit. I don’t do shots for insidious airborne bugs, because I can minimize the likelihood of being in a place where such bugs exist. I also bump up my vitamin C intake between All Saints and Easter…

  22. On your garden consider a base of white clover (or a different green low story cover crop) and then plant your high plants like tomato/corn/climbers like beans/peas in the clover. Then consider compost tea (Dr. Clive Edwards is an example of someone who’s become a supporter. Dr. Elaine Ingham is going to have the most to say on the cover crop/tea ideas) along with perhaps doing a power sweep or bagger with your mowing to drive your compost pile. Consider rain catchment from your rooflines and drip irrigation so the watering is set and inspect. A raspberry PI and https://opensprinkler.com/ to drive the water. And to make the Princess of Carbon capture happy – try burning to make charcoal and add that to the soil – terraperta style. And as you have a back hoe – consider https://richsoil.com/hugelkultur/

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