:hurray: :hurray: :hurray:

But that logic could be applied to so many things. Check out Superflex. My DS was in a social skills class and while he isn't on the spectrum, other kids in his class were and they all loved this curriculum. It was very handy for me to call out the characters when someone was behaving like one of them, and to get everyone to behave like Superflex (i.e., flexibly). PM me your email address if you want and I can send you a helpful PDF. Not at all, but my hesitation is not that it's taking away from what's being taught at home, but rather what could be taught at school in its place. Plus, it increases the burden on teachers to take care of so many things that really should be handled by the parents. I would absolutely be in favor of school districts distributing it to parents or to non-profits who might take an interest in teaching classes on it. ETA: This isn't my hill to die on or anything, I'm just presenting my initial reaction to the idea. :)

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

Post-dated checks are not sketchy in general, but in this case the tenants had been asked to arrive at the signing with the actual money and they only arrived with post-dated checks. They then proceeded to say they could be cashed on the 16th, but have changed it to the 19th.

38carrots, I'm just sending hugs and good vibes because I know this is all very difficult for you. I'm really hoping this will turn out okay. I'm sure none of us who have given warnings and advice want to actually be right about this situation. :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

I was the one who mentioned the lawyer, but I'm probably coming from a different perspective, living in areas with rent control boards with very stringent requirements, non-profits which have pro bono lawyers to assist renters, etc. Most landlords I know are either well-versed in the law, or if they don't want to be they have a lawyer who handles things for them. Yes, this. Forgetting about the rent for a moment, I would be much more concerned about my liability if there were an accident or fire. OP, I am concerned that they have moved their "promise to pay" date from 2/16 to 2/19. And it sounds like they informed you of this, rather than asking?

Thanks Pam, I'll check it out!

Absolutely. Courts really look down on people who have locked people's stuff from them.

It's not a matter of force and just showing up with the police. Once they move in, it will probably take a judge to remove them. And unless you are well-versed in the law, which it seems you are not, this will require you to hire an attorney for court. The police will only remove people based on judges' orders, which the judge will only issue after you have done your part to serve various notices on the door or by registered mail (depends on state) not because the owner shows up with his police buddies. There's a process, and even people who are without a lease and are destroying property are allowed access to that process.

Hmmm. I think you'd better get over there if you can at all. And don't worry about ruining a relationship with them. They should also understand that it's for their protection as well, so they don't get blamed for anything that happens while they are there without a proper inspection checklist, etc. If they don't understand that, it's better to know that now.

I agree with everyone that this has the potential for serious problems. Change the locks immediately. Many states have rights for tenants once they move in, not when the lease begins. Some tenants do this serially until they finally get evicted and then move on to another place. And if there is a serious problem like a fire, or your property gets damaged and they have no active lease, your insurance will have one more thing to use against you. And talking to the current landlord is not reassuring at all. Often the current landlord will say anything to get rid of problem tenants. Next time talk to the landlord before the current one, as they have nothing to lose by telling the truth. And ask the questions only a landlord would know, as mentioned above.

I don't know the details of his injury, but you mentioned he might be able to do construction, so I'll just mention one of my favorite organizations, the Student Conservation Association.

Kathy, I'm sorry to hear your sad news. :grouphug: I'm off-track with reading a bit, having taken an entire weekend away from reading to spend with a friend of mine. This week I am reading A Confederacy of Dunces, House of Leaves, The Buried Book (almost done!), A Passage to India, and The Fellowship of the Ring (to the kids as well.) The Buried Book has led me on all kinds of rabbit trails, most of them online as I've been looking through photographs of archeological discoveries, museum holdings, and scans of old documents. This book has the potential to spin me off into many other books, not just online research. Some of it, such as the overall between old Mesopotamian stories and the stories of more current religions, have been eye opening, to say the least. I already know of some of the overlap (flood stories) but not as much as I have been reading here. Very interesting! I am not very far along in either The Fellowship of the Ring (so much discussion!) or Passage to India. I'm hoping to really dig into Passage starting tomorrow.

(((Rosie))) (((Rosie's daughter)))

It could be a nail spur, where a small sliver grows off near the bottom of the nail. I think you should get it checked. It sounds like one of those things that could be much more difficult to deal with later rather than sooner. I'm a bit confused that it's swollen and redder but you say there are no signs of infection. Those are two signs.

Yes, age discrimination is definitely an issue. Perhaps the idea could be to target people 40-ish in the hopes that employers would be more likely to hire them. It seems barring serious accidents, people who perform physical labor do well until their late 30s, and then it seems to be knees, backs, and shoulders that suffer the most. Maybe there's some data on an ideal age, I don't know.

I agree, although I'd also like a program (as someone mentioned earlier in this thread) to re-train people who still want to work in less physical professions. I think a lot of people in their 40s, 50s and early 60s who can no longer handle physical labor would still enjoy training and work. Its an option to allow those who want to be re-trained to keep earning more money than their base benefit would give them.

I've been staring out my window for the last few minutes. Here's my haiku: New birds come to feed I think of Jane, far away Seeds fall to the ground

Gotcha. That makes sense. I think the general rule of thumb to recoup money spent in buying a house is 7 years, so I agree with you if in your area 10 years is the norm. I assume the property taxes are going up quickly because the cities are losing people while having to maintain the same infrastructure levels. Is that the case?

The trouble with not owning and renting instead (as an investment strategy) is that these same escalating costs you mentioned apply to landlords who then pass them on through rent increases. There's no way to avoid them by simply renting, although if you live in a larger complex the cost of some of these things are spread out over more units and can sometimes come out to a lower per unit cost.

I was thinking specifically of people who've been turned away from getting money from other sources, meaning if a bank/Small Business Association has gone though their business plan and financial circumstances and won't loan them the money, I wouldn't either. And if the bank/SBA would loan them the money, they can get it there. It was wasn't really meant to compare to investing in a stranger's business, it was just an answer to the question of how people I know have managed to have successful retirements. Quite a few times after they built their nest eggs they were approached by others and either said no (and saved their money from being lost) or said yes (and lost their money.) That's just been the experience of people I personally know, but I think that's what kubiac was asking for.

Aaah, got it. So your issue is not necessarily with my particular tips, but the premise of the entire thread? The OP was asking what people who we know retired successfully did so I was just answering that question. Perhaps is was my mistake to call them "tips." My apologies. I'm sorry you have had a difficult time. :grouphug:

I'm not an atheist, but.... Because I just finished this book, I'll go waaayyyy back and suggest On the Nature of Things, by the ancient Roman philosopher Lucretius. He was a disciple of Epicurius, and both of them were atheists. These are some of the earliest atheistic writing see know of. They were urging Romans to move away from their gods, although Lucretius makes an homage to Venus in the beginning of his book, probably to at least draw the audience in before trying to convince them.Another interesting book might be Battling the Gods: Atheism in the Ancient World, which I've had on my radar but never read.

Are you talking about my particular tips, or the calculators? The calculators still apply because you can simply increase the amount you think you will need in retirement (for increased healthcare, cost, lack of pensions, etc) and run them. They are not based on the cost of living, simply on historical market performance over time and how much you think you'll need. You can control that as an input.

Reading this, I think it might be a good idea to borrow Zuni from the library. It is a bit artsy, but it reads kind of like a good food writer's book. I do make recipes from it, but some people find it too chef-y. Rodgers likes to explain how to do something in minute detail, which I happen to like, but others don't.