Money

Today I will be discussing a type of scam that doesn't initially set off any red flags but the more you talk the more suspicious it becomes. This scam has been plaguing dating apps for some time; the main premises of this scam is for the scammer to get the victim to send explicit or revealing photos to the scammer. Who is posing as a beautiful woman on a dating site, then using those photos to blackmail a victim usually stating that the scammer will send the photos to loved ones and or your job unless a ransom is paid. I recently found myself as a potential victim of one of these scams. I was using a dating app and I seemed to match with this girl who was not far from me and recently moved from Oklahoma. I began a conversation that would last two weeks before she sent me her phone number. Me being me, I did a reverse phone number search and found that this number was registered to an elderly man in Texas. This was the first red flag I encountered, upon texting her directly the conversa

  

Canceled Consumer Cellular service in October '25 but got a bill in November for service thru December 9th.  Called in Nov. and rep explained billing cycle policy. CC took $54.94 out of my bank account and was told that was the final charge.  Got notified Dec. 26 that another $54.94 would be taken out of my account with the same explanation as I got earlier, a verbal conversation they say they have no record of.  Now (12/26/25) they say the latest draw of $54.94 will be the last.  BOTTOM LINE: No service since 10/24/25 but $54.94 taken out of my account in November AND December.  STAY AWAY FROM CONSUMER CELLULAR!!

Any good discounts for places that you use, given by stores or restaurants?I know some give discounts to seniors on certain days of the week. 

I tried to use the $49/day promo from AARP . Budget did not honor it and AARP customer service could not get Budget to honor it. It costs me over $150 for one day because of this. The car i got was dirty, very low fuel. Rear tire pressures was 31psi on one tire and 36psi on the other. In NYC on a Saturday they close at 3pm so I had to pay for overnight parking. Stay away from Budget and apparently be weary of AARP promotions.  

On June 26, 2023, at approximately 10:17 a.m. I called United Airlines (UAL) customer service at (800) 864-8331.  After a very short wait a person answered, and I began to explain why I was calling.  At a point in the call the connection was lost and my phone immediately received an incoming call.  I answered and the caller apologized for the interrupted connection.  (A subsequent review of my telephone call logs revealed that this call originated from (914) *****).   At the time  I assumed it was still the UAL representative and I continued to explain the issue with my reservations.  He gave me his direct call back number as (845)***** and identified himself as Clive.  He asked, and I provided the UAL confirmation codes, the passenger names, and dates of birth for each passenger.  He placed me on hold and ultimately told me that my reservation was on hold, and that the NZ taxes had not been collected by UAL when my reservations were ma

Hi everyone! I'm new here and really happy to join this community.I'm not from the U.S., but I’ve always been curious about retirement life here. What surprised you the most after retiring? Was it harder than expected, more peaceful, or full of unexpected adventures?I'd love to hear your stories, thoughts, or even a small moment that made you feel truly free.Wishing you all joy and health 🌿– Anna

I live in a condo complex with 3 stories and a subterranean garage where the main drain lines are located. I am on the 1st floor and the drain for 6 units are connected to vertical drain underneath my unit in the garage. Whenever one of these units used their kitchen drain, it flooded the drain pipes under my sink. I contacted the management company at 7:00 am and asked him of any known problems, what it could be and who to contact via email so I could attach a video. He never got back to me. I called the plumber who repiped my drain when I got new kitchen cabinets to see what the problem was. He told me the common drainpipe had to be descaled but he couldn't do it from my unit. He had to remove the cap from the drainpipe and do it from the garage. He also told me it had to be hydro jetted. Which the complete garage had been done the week prior (and probably contributed to my problems) The management company still hadn't got back to me (mind you one time in didn't g

I received a letter from Discover Customer Service. They are adding the following sentence. We may convert your Traditional or Roth IRA CD to a Traditional or Roth IRA Savings and vice versa via a notice to you.  When I called and asked for an explanation, I was told they may terminate my ten year CD, APY 4.3%, and move the funds to a savings account, APY 3.4% and variable.  Can they legally do this?

I used my Barclays AARP Mastercard to purchase a pair of boots from an online vendor which claimed to be located in North Carolina. Turns out it ships product from china. the boots arrived after many weeks, and were of extremely poor quality. Despite a stated return policy, there was no address to which items could be sent and the vendor's customer service rep refused to provide a refund - merely an exchange.AARP Mastercard customer service initially credited the amount, but then required me to produce extensive documentation to verify the problem (which I did) and subsequently just put the charge back on my account, basically rewarding a fraudulent site. I will be cancelling my Barclays mastercard - they do NOT have my back!

Never fear, it's only $1.75 a month but when you scam 1000 customers a month by not giving them the "promised" discount every month, that now turns into $175,000 in pure scammed profits. Shame on AARP, they really don't give a rats ass as long with they get the cut every month. AARP, looking out for their wallet and not their members in SO MANY different ways. 

We as taxpayers, need to ask congress to change the law regarding the IRMAA calculations. In order to reduce our future RMDs, we convert traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs. Even though the money is not in our hand, we need to pay IRMAA penalty. For tax purposes, conversion is taxable income, but for IRMAA, it should not be a taxable income. Instead, the money withdrawn from Roth IRA should be considered for IRMAA. The current tax law is like transferring your money from CD account to a savings account considered as an income.

 Lets say FRA is in April next year and I draw Social Security at that time. Now lets say after 3 months I learn that if I had waited till January when I could have drawn $200 more a month from Social Security. If I stop my Social Security draw after 3 months and then start it back up in January when my pay would be $200 more per month, if I pay back all of the money I had received, would I get the January increase? RT 

Did you know that if you Retire up to 6-months past your FRA, that you can opt to get backpay for those few months that you are past your FRA.  OR you can opt to use these 6-months of delayed retirement credits (DRC) to add to your benefit but this bonus amount will not show up until the following January and then going forward. Of course, if you wait until 70 to claim your Retirement benefits, then you get all of the DRC - in your retirement amount. Any DRC you earn are not considered in anybody else’s retirement benefits but they are included in your Survivors benefits and thus leave your dependents better off dollar-wise. So what was your choice when you decided to retire after your FRA?   

Groceries: May, June, July, August 2025 August Groceries H8tE3A4rcppRZws/view

FROM THE ARTICLE. These steps can help protect your savings as rising prices erode retirees’ purchasing power. By Cameron Huddleston, AARP. Published November 04, 2025. Your wallet isn’t the only thing feeling the impact of inflation. Your retirement savings are too. More than half of 401(k) participants say inflation is their primary obstacle to saving for a comfortable retirement, according to a July 2025 survey by Charles Schwab. “It’s no surprise that inflation tops the worry list for today’s 401(k) savers,” says Patrick Huey, a certified financial planner and owner of Victory Independent Planning in Naples, Florida. “Everything from groceries to health care reminds us that a dollar just doesn’t go as far as it used to.” USE LINK BELOW TO READ THE ARTICLE. https://www.aarp.org/money/personal-finance/protect-nest-egg/

FROM THE ARTICLE. AARP-backed bill aims to tweak SSA wording to help older adults decide when to start benefits. By Deirdre Shesgreen, AARP. Published November 06, 2025. Could a little wordsmithing by the Social Security Administration (SSA) help older Americans make better decisions about when to claim their retirement benefit — and potentially get a bigger lifetime payment? That’s the idea behind a bipartisan bill now before Congress. If enacted, the Claiming Age Clarity Act would tweak the terms the SSA uses on its website and in other communications to help prospective beneficiaries decide when to apply for Social Security. Supporters — including AARP, which has endorsed the bill — say these small changes could make a big difference for soon-to-be beneficiaries by clarifying the pros and cons of claiming Social Security at various ages. USE THE LINK BELOW TO READ THE ARTICLE. https://www.aarp.org/social-security/retirement-age-clarity-act/

I have had my minor son for 6 months now during that time his mother was his payee and he did not see a dime. A few years back I can remember she got some lump sum payments.  I just got control of his funds yesterday and now they are saying there was an overpayment and he has to pay it back Seems like the payee should be responsible during that time period?

 Interesting Social Security Scenario - What’s your take on this?  👍  or  👎  A (breadwinner) parent divorced a real deadbeat parent after 14 years of marriage -and (2) kids.  Neither ever remarried.   The deadbeat never worked a reportable income job after the divorce, so, of course, they earned no Social Security benefit on their own earnings record and never paid any child support either.  Called the kids every few years as proof of life.  That’s it -    With the Kids, now older but not yet out of the nest, but almost, the breadwinning parent decides to retire at their full retirement age.  Their financial success at their job thru the years produced a good Social Security Retirement Benefit and they had also been able to save for their retirement via retirement accounts and other investment/savings.  They had also paid off the house which took a lot of stress off the monthly budget.   They receive

Your post was removed because it violated our community guidelines. Please review the rules before posting again to ensure your content follows our policies.

FROM THE ARTICLE. Social Security Weighs Major Changes to Disability Rules. Advocates say regulations could affect hundreds of thousands of older adults sidelined from work by illness or injury. By Sharon Jayson, AARP. Published October 30, 2025. Potential changes in how the Social Security Administration (SSA) evaluates disability claims could deny benefits to hundreds of thousands of people and disproportionately affect older adults, according to a new study. The September analysis by the Urban Institute, a Washington, D.C.–based think tank, reports that the SSA is drafting rule changes that could lessen the weight the agency gives to age in considering applications for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Those are the two Social Security–administered benefits for people whose ability to work is limited by a severe medical condition. USE LINK BELOW TO READ THE ARTICLE. https://www.aarp.org/social-secur

Personal Safety Resources - 3 Websites +++++++ 1) Google - "Crime Prevention and Safety Tips - from the NYPD"The NYPD has produced a number of crime prevention and safety tips to help residents, businesses, and visitors identify and prevent unlawful acts such as fraud, identity theft, auto theft, telephone scams, and other types of crime. +++++ 2) Google - "FBI Webpage on Scams and Safety" +++ 3) Google - "FBI on Cyber Crime" ++++ 

Trying to find out if anyone thinks this retirement plan will work.My wife and I have a modest income of just under $50k a year. I am 59 and still working. She is 58 and on Disability. I plan on retiring early at 62. Our house is paid off and we have no major debt but owe some back taxes plus some consumer debt totaling around $25k.Our combined monthly income in retirement will be about $2,500 a month.I have a small 401k that nearly matches our total debt mentioned above and I plan on using it to pay that debt off at age 59 1/2.When my wife turns 62 we plan on doing a reverse mortgage on our $200k+ home. What do you think?

For many of  us trips are a hopeful benefit of retirement.  But traveling isn’t cheap, and we know that vacations can be lost to plain ole bad luck. So, it was when a tsunami hit Hawaii on July 30, delaying our flight by three days. No problem, I thought . That is why I had invested in a travel insurance plan — expensive at. $ 260 , but worth it for the cost of a six person family trip.i am not so sure now, with a claim a few months old and requests from the insurance company that seem diabolically designed to frustrate the insured. After producing a multitude of required proofs of expenses incurred, I am now being asked to get short statements that neither hotel.com nor Avis have issued any “ refunds” for the 3 days we missed, but had paid for. As if!!! Needless to say, speaking to a human who is actually willing to compose and send this evidence is damned near impossible. And the insurance carrier knows this as well as any of us do.Since when did providing more that th