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Money Talk > Retirement Planning

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KarenInWA
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Hi from the Seattle area!  Reply with quote  

Hi,

My name is Karen. I am single, 39, gainfully employed, have no kids. I am a kidney transplant patient, received my kidney from a live donor (non-blood relative, related by marriage) almost 18 months ago. I worked FT while on dialysis (which was only 7 months) and am lucky to have a very understanding management team who follows FMLA laws to the T and then some.

Here is my personal financial background. I have not saved a lot for retirement. Being someone with serious medical issues in the USA, I am a bit concerned about saving for my retirement. Right now, should you need financial assistance from the government, you are required to spend down any assets you may have. So really, what's the point? I do qualify, and have, Medicare as an ESRD (End Stage Renal Disease) patient, which will run out at the 3 year anniversary of my transplant (unless I end up back on dialysis again before that point. Let's hope not!). However, Medicare only pays for 80% of medical expenses. If you have too much $$, you as an ESRD patient may not qualify for much assistance to help pay for that 20%. Hopefully, the PPACA will change that. I won't have faith in anything until I see it happening for sure.

I am really big on paying off my debt. I hold no CC debt. My car is paid for (2008 Mazda3). I am upside down on my mortgage situation. I "own" a townhouse condo which I have had for 8.5 years. I bought it for $137,500 and I currently owe around $136,000. I remodeled it 5 years ago and did a refi/cash-out on my 2nd mortgage. I am currently working on aggressively paying that off. My 2nd mortgage is through BECU (Boeing Employees Credit Union) and is broken up into 2 balances - the remodel balance and 20% of the original purchase price. I now owe less than $10,000 on the remodel balance, which I am focusing on right now. My goal is to have that part paid off by Feb 2014, then I will begin to pay off the remaining balane (right now, that is $20,200). My 1st mortgage balance is $106,000 at 5.1%. I have tried to refinance but can't. I made the mistake of taking advantage of HARP1 which means I cannot take advantage of HARP2.

My Dad passed away 2 months ago days before turning 70. My mom is 65 and living on her own for the first time. She lives 50 miles away from me. I also have a sister and brother-in-law who both work FT. They have no kids, and live 5 minutes away from me. I am the only one in my family who does not carry consumer debt. My mom is the worst. She is upside down on her mortgage. She "thinks" her monthly income now that Dad is gone is $4000 a month. Her mortgage is $1850, her car payment on a 2012 Dodge Caravan w/all the bells and whistles is $600. Because my Dad died days before turning 70, a credit insurance policy paid off the balances on 2 BECU accounts - a Visa and a non-secured LOC - totaling $31,000 ($800/month total). However, this does not include the other Visas, JCPenney, Macy's, Home Depot, and whatever else credit bills she has. She pays over $100 a month for Comcast. Has a cell phone through AT&T. Is trying to get a hardship mortgage through US Bank, but in the meantime applied for credit at Kay's Jeweler's to get Dad's ring put on a gold chain and her wedding ring fixed. Bought a new double-sized Temperpedic bed at Sleep Country, most likely on 3 yrs no interest credit. Booked trips to Vegas and Nashville - on credit. All while trying to get a "hardship" loan???

How long will it take before the financial kaka hits the fan??? And what do I do when it does? I cannot afford the luxury of someone else's dramas and burdens. I have enough of that going on in my own body. Help!
Post Sun May 19, 2013 5:57 pm
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vidic07
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Hello and Welcome to the forum! Hope you enjoy your stay here for a long time. Smile
Post Sun May 19, 2013 11:51 pm
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payment proof
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Karen,

I think paying off debt and focusing on your health are 2 very important things. You are in better shape than a lot of people. Many people have much more debt and nothing saved for retirement.

See Proof. You can make free money online.
Post Mon May 20, 2013 3:47 am
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littleroc02us
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Why is it your problem that your mom doesn't know how to manage money? Have you tried speaking to her? Is she going to ask you for money? I wouldn't spend my time stressing about your mother's financial situation since she seems to be heading straight for the cliff and isn't trying to swerve. Sounds like your situation is quite well financially and your working on paying off debt. I paid off a ton on my mortgage and it feels good, but still don't like having any borrowed money. My suggesting is to continue paying down debt and work on saving 15 to 20% of your income in retirement. Good luck!

Risk comes from not knowing what you're doing. (Warren Buffet)
Post Mon May 20, 2013 7:28 pm
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KarenInWA
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Location: Seattle
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Thank you everyone for your replies. I know my mom's problems are not my responsibility, but the reality is, it is always the adult children who then have to deal with the elder parent's problems, once they can no longer deal with them on their own. No, I will not give her money. I may take her out to lunch or dinner, but that is it! What I am mainly concerned about is all the stress that this will cause. My mom is quite the drama queen. My health CANNOT afford that!

Re saving for retirement - what is the best way for me to do that where the government cannot come after it in the event that my health fails to the point where I can no longer work? Right now, I am doing fine. I work FT at a union protected job, make an excellent wage, have excellent benefits and Medicare as secondary, and live a comfortable life. But, sooner or later, my health is going to get the best of me. My transplant may fail and/or reject, or I may develop cancer (it's on both sides of the family, and the meds I take only make that risk worse) all sorts of baloney could be in my future. It would be nice to be able to keep my retirement.
Post Wed May 22, 2013 1:32 am
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KarenInWA
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There is one thing about that thing regrading my health. I have had my transplanted kidney for 18 months now, which is great! Being off of dialysis is a lovely thing indeed.

However, I made the foolish mistake of following the dr's recommendation of getting a biopsy at 4 months out to rule out possible rejection. Biggest. Mistake. Ever. The biopsy went well, no rejection. All was good. Until 4 days later. I woke up and could not pee. Ended up going to the ER and had to have emergency surgery to have an obstructing hematoma removed. I suffered acute kidney failure, blood loss, and sadly, permanent injury to my kidney. I am left with anywhere from 15 - 17% kidney function. Dialysis typically starts at 10%. My hope is to keep my poor kidney at this function or hopefully better for as long as possible - that is my goal. I am thankfully doing fine despite this huge set back. But, I always know in the back of my mind that this may not last long. I want to become more than a statistic, however, and be that rare patient who, despite having such a set back, manages to stay dialysis-free for many years. Maybe by then we will have a new way to treat kidney failure, and it won't be such a big deal. I can hope! If that doesn't happen, then I hope to be a dialysis patient that thrives. I did that when I was on it for 7 months, so hopefully, I can do that again when/if needed.
Post Wed May 22, 2013 4:14 am
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littleroc02us
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God bless! Worry about yourself only.

Risk comes from not knowing what you're doing. (Warren Buffet)
Post Wed May 22, 2013 6:56 pm
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Anton Martin
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Keep on saving for your retirement and keep it in mind that your are on right path and keep it up. Good luck....
Post Wed Jun 05, 2013 11:11 am
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Deen888
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quote:
Has a cell phone through AT&T

How do you like AT&T services? I am planning to switch to these company from Vodafone, I like their data plans and at&t reviews look pretty good for me. Would be grateful for all the advices!
Post Sun Sep 12, 2021 12:07 pm
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vaduvala
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Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.In understanding the difference between health and wellness, in short, health is a state of being, whereas wellness is the state of living a healthy lifestyle . Health refers to physical, mental, and social well-being; wellness aims to enhance well-being. The difference is that wellness is always a matter of choice. so invest money and concentrate on your health

what is a telecom technician? - Fieldengineer
Post Wed Nov 17, 2021 4:25 pm
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