Everyone over 62 has a story to tell and special experiences to share.

Senior Tip - start your own blog.

Yesterday was great and 70 unique seniors viewed my post about Radio George. If you like what you read, please recommend it to your friends and send me any senior tips you wish to pass along. The more seniors that participate the more tips we can share.

Everyone over 62 has a story to tell and special experiences to share. A blog is a cathartic and a cheap way to do it. Once you get a Gmail account, you can start a blog on most any subject at blogspot.com. And for only a few dollars, blogspot.com, the free Google blog platform, will publish your blog (after you have blogged a bit) in book form for your friends or grandchildren. 

Once it is in book form you can upload it to Amazon or iBooks where others can access and download it for free. It is a fun thing to do. I have encouraged and helped people get started blogging and once they get started they are usually hooked. Google's Blogspot is the easiest platform in my opinion. And for those privacy concerns, you can restrict who can read it.

There is simply no limit to the subject matter. e.g. Lessons I learned as a - teacher, lawyer, tax accountant, mother, father, con-artist, baseball coach, soccer mom, retail sales clerk, mechanic, hunter, sportsman, politician, world traveler, marathon runner, professor, scientist, doctor, ( I did one with a retired pediatrician that eventually he published as a guide to new mothers and a tennis professional that he published as Winning Secrets for Doubles Tennis), and so on. Start yours and have some fun.

Contact me at webtalkwithbob@gmail.com

Start your own Internet radio station - George did.

Senior tip - Get a genuine hobby.

Ever since I started writing this blog, I have been scouring the Internet for advice for seniors. And I have found dozens of news letters, websites and blogs on the subject. The advice starts with advice on when to take your social security and ends with advice on how to prepare for your death and then advice for others on how to deal with your death. In the middle, there are plenty of suggestions on caregiving, exercise, insurance, tax thoughts, wills and so on. However, I have also found some advice that strikes me as humorous.

One new letter advised seniors - "Do not fall down." Wow, thank you for that advice because I had just retired and I was just about to "fall down." Another news letter suggested that you should not retire until you have saved more than $350,000 just for medical expenses, not counting the expense of just living. I will start saving this today.

A piece of advice that does not come up too often, but I believe is important is the significance of a hobby, which is not just about collecting things, but doing something you like and becoming good at it.

One Kansas senior likes the "golden oldies," music from the big band era. He started an on-line radio station that now has 135 channels of music. He has 5,000 pieces of music that are available on his Internet radio station. With a little effort, you can learn to do this on your own. 

Want to listen, Google Radio George and pick a channel. He turned his love of music into a fascinating hobby.

Go to www.radiogeorge.com

You will not be disappointed.

Contact me at webtalkwithbob@gmail.com with your favorite senior websites.

Senior note to scammers-- Seniors are smarter than you think.

Senior Tip -- To slow down unsolicited callers - Get call-back information like their name, phone number, office they are calling from, etc. Odds are good that if they're telemarketing or trying to scam you, they won't give you this information. If they give it to you, you can follow up on who they are.

A popular scam for seniors is a scammer calling and explaining that your grandchild is in jail. The scammer insists that you need to send a money order right away to bail your  grandchild out. I can tell you that my grandmother, bless her heart,  would send the money no questions asked. The scammer explains that your grandchild is incarcerated and can not call you so the scammer is calling you on their behalf. The caller seems to know something personal about your grandchild child, that they offer for credibility, which they likely learned in a casual conversation with your grandchild at a bar or a party. Scammers are clever.

However, if you're unsure, be smart and use common-sense tactics to protect yourself from scams when dealing with these calls. If someone calls you, and you're not sure who they are, don't give them any account information. A senior friend of mine was called by a scammer, impersonating an IRS agent, and asked for an immediate payment or he was going to jail for tax fraud. He sent no money because, as a senior,  he knew from history the IRS does not call you or often do not even answer the phone when you call them, they send you computer generated letters. 

Current scams are: Grandparent scam, computer repair scam, charitable donation scam, health care fraud, travel scam. 

You can usually report scams to your County District Attorney's office Consumer Protection Division.

You can report your ideas to me at webtalkwithbob@gmail.com

The survivor should consult with a lawyer.

Senior Tip - if you or your spouse die, the survivor should consult with a lawyer. 

A few days ago a senior wrote me that his wife ran up large credit card bills. After she died, he called the credit card company and was told her credit card debt, in his specific case and after he had paid several thousand dollars on the the credit card, was not his responsibility. Another retired senior who read that senior tip , a retired lawyer, admonished me for not suggesting that a good senior tip in this situation was to consult with a lawyer. I correct that oversight today. 

The retired lawyer offered the following areas where a Lawyer might have been helpful.

He wrote, "If that senior had called me, I probably would have answered his question over the phone, but suggested that perhaps he should come see me to make sure that he had everything in order following the death of his wife. For example, getting the death certificate and recording it to clear joint tenancy title on real estate; maybe putting together a transfer on death deed so that his real estate would pass to the person he wanted when he died; adding someone to bank accounts; making sure that he did not have to put his wife’s estate through probate or doing so, if necessary; changing beneficiaries on insurance and IRAs and so on; etc. – and for the phone call, I may not have even charged him as I did many times in my career."

All good thoughts.

contact me webtalkwithbob@gmail.com

$25 prescription sunglasses at Zenni optical

Senior tip- Check out Zenni sunglasses.

I was in California and I needed a new pair of sunglasses. ( do mot know why people refer to them as a pair). In any event, the local store wanted me to get a new prescription and the cheapest sunglasses were more than $300. I had a $200 discount certificate that the store had sent me in the mail, but there were no sunglasses in the store that qualified for the discount. I left in a tizzy.  I told a friend of mine about my experience. She explained that I could buy sunglasses on line for less than $25 at Zennioptical.com. 

I went to the Zenni site. I inserted my prescription numbers into an easy to understand interface, I selected my sunglass style, inserted my credit card information and pressed purchase. I now have 3 pairs of sunglasses and keep one in each car I drive and I am not worried if they break or if I lose a pair. A few weeks ago, I was in a golf club bar in Hilton Head. The bartender saw my sunglasses and asked, "Are those a Zenni?" I replied yes. 

The word is out.


webtalkwithbob@gmail.com

Go visit those libraries - fountainheads of activities

Senior tip-- Get on your local library's email list.

A senior called me from his home on a lake Winnipesaukee.

He had just finished walking 4 miles and was about to do some boating or settle down with a good book. He politely chastised me for not mentioning more about library resources.  I agree.  

He explained that he and his wife love libraries and what they have to offer beyond just good books. I mentioned that it is a good place to take an afternoon nap because the libraries have such soft chairs, and he added that he and his wife donated a soft chair to the local library for just such naps and a bit of reading too, of course. 

Here is his list, which is not meant to be exhaustive, of library resources: meet an greet sessions, book clubs, grandkid's programs, museum passes and if they do not have the book you want, they will get it for you. And we agreed that according to our combined experiences, library staff seem to be totally committed to helping you with any resource they have to offer.

You can contact me with your ideas and tips at webtalkwithbob@gmail.com

Get a dog and write about it.

Senior tip--start your life journal.

Most of my senior friends are men. And one friend who lost his wife said that combating loneliness was his biggest problem until he got a dog. He also reminded me of the old joke about how to know who loves you the most your wife or your dog. Put them both in the trunk of your car for two days, then open the trunk and see which is happiest to see you. 

I did some research on loneliness and the recommendations to combat loneliness are pretty vanilla such as, go outside and meet your neighbors, go to church, volunteer, get a hobby or join a senior group. Chances are that if you did not do any of those things pre-senior, you will not do them easily post-senior. I have recommended to many of my friends that they write their autobiography - their life story as they lived it and before they forget it all - and publish it on Amazon just for the fun of it.  Writing is cathartic and a legacy building document for future generations of your family to read your story first hand. 

I say give it a try and do not stop until you have at least 100 pages. After that the story writing will have a life or death of its own. I just finished editing one of those stories for a 75 year old friend of mine, 400 pages soon to be available on Amazon. He has already sold 25 autographed copies of the book to his friends. He told me that writing his story was the most fun he ever had, even more fun than owning his own jet. What a trip?

Everyone has a great story. 

All debt is not the responsibility of both spouses.

Here is a tip from a professional senior sportsman that was sent to me yesterday.

He advises you to check it out, but this is an account of his experience.

He writes:

My wife Sharon died 13 years ago so this happened 13 years ago.  She was a Credit Card Junkie---she built up debt to about $20,000 +.  Moved balances from card to card etc....After death I started paying off all cards.  Payed off about 12-15,000 debt and one time had some kind of question--so I called the company and the clerk told me that if I was not the "Primary account holder" then I was not responsible for the debt. I stopped paying off all balances and got a letter or 2 but no one denied that I was not responsible for the debt.  I walked away without paying about 5-7000.  (Of course this is after I had already paid off most of the debt) If this is still in effect and a spouse dies and is the primary card holder then that debt is not the responsibility of the other spouse.

Check it out.

A recommended website to visit and a humorous sidebar.

Senior Tip - Take a look at www.reddit.com

I asked several younger folks who do not read newspapers anymore, just like me, what they do read? They responded Reddit. So I took a look. Reddit is a broad and deep news site that is aggregated by its readers. You can post stuff their yourself, if you have an interest, or you can just browse through the many stories on the site. This morning I compared the Associated Press stories with Reddit and I found Reddit to be more interesting. It has it all from finance to politics. Take a look at this site. Open your mind if you are skeptical and put it on your daily website visit list for a few days. I believe you will be hooked in a week. Almost all the seniors I know spend some time each day browsing the net for interesting stuff. It took me awhile, but Reddit is now on my favorites list. I did a search on Google-"advice for old people"- and a 2013 Reddit study came up. It was the result of a survey Reddit did of its readers that were over 60. You will no doubt find this study interesting with a bit of searching.

Here is a sidebar observation. Ads directed toward seniors are often condescending and arrogant. For example, I just listened to an ad on TV for medicare insurance by a popular insurance company. The ad proclaimed, in melodious baritone tones of confidence, that one of the superior advantages of this remarkable, once in a lifetime, insurance offer was that "You will be able to select your own doctor as long as they accept medicare insurance."  If it is a duck, then by gosh, it is a duck. I hope you see my point. I suspect they will also claim that if your medical expenses are covered by this policy, then they will be covered.

Another vote for walking and a good book on Grandfathering.

Senior tip -- If you are a senior, then you might be a grandfather or know someone who is. Here is a good book on Grandfathering. It is appropriately titled Grandfathering by Dr. Dan Erickson. It is a 100 pages of easy reading content with some fascinating action oriented ideas. It is available on Amazon. I had lunch with Dr. Erickson last week and he is the genuine inspirational article.  After lunch, I went home and wrote a letter to my oldest grandson. All grandfathers can use a bit of extra motivation once in awhile.

A Kansas lawyer, who is a Senior Tip reader writes: "Surprised that you have trouble remembering your prescriptions. I don’t.  I write them down and keep the list in my wallet. They are always asking for them at the DRs offices, so I whip it out and have them make a copy and attach it to the form. Name, dosage, number of times daily, etc.  I walk and have been walking 3-5 miles per day since at least Dec 1, 2014. I find that it keeps  one’s weight stable, causes one to eat better and makes one more health conscious, while reducing blood sugar and blood pressure.  When one realizes how long and far that one must walk to walk off that piece of pie, one refrains or takes just a bit or eats less of something else." I agree.

Know of any good books on being a senior.

You pay for libraries, use them.

Today's tip is go visit your local library and when you travel go visit that library too.

A California senior says beware of AARP. A senior from Iran wrote to me that the milk from two goats is beneficial to slow the aging process. True. He is a tennis buddy of mine and has dual citizenship with Iran and USA. He also provides security for Obama when Obama comes to Palm Springs to play golf. A Massachusetts senior writes that he likes the senior tips but is annoyed by the pictures of me. Today no picture of me. yesterday 72 people visited my senior blog page so I have a ways to go to get 100,000 visitors.

When I meet a senior, one of the questions I ask is have you been to your local library lately? Typically, the answer is I have not been to the library since college. And that was my answer too up until a few years ago.

My wife and I spend the winters in Rancho Mirage, California, which is located approximately 10 miles East of Palm Springs. I had occasion to go to the library to use their computer facilities. It opened my eyes and I was hooked in a few hours. First, as you know there are a lot of books in the library. But there are also DVD rentals, every magazine that is published, newspapers and what really sold me on the library was the extent of the free seminars offered almost daily on a variety of fascinating subjects hosted by experienced and super-knowledgeable other seniors. Libraries have email lists that you can subscribe too and receive the latest information on seminars, music presentations and more.

When I arrived back in Kansas City, I visited our local library and discovered that you can reserve rooms in your library for small conferences with friends and large rooms for groups of more than 100 people. It is all free, You can give your own seminar if your like and  you can reserve a room to meet with your friends. I use these rooms to interview people for research for my books. It takes the place of a private office. 

If you have some uses for your library that would be of interest to other seniors, please let me know. If you have not been to the library since your college days, go there now and explore the resources that local libraries have to offer. 

One more thing. I found that libraries have comfortable chairs next to the magazine sections that are marvelous for an afternoon nap.

Use your phone to record special techniques for the things you like to do.

I like to fish.

Every guide I have used has particular ideas on the correct way to rig your line for different fishing techniques. I use my phone to take pictures of special lures and tackle that professional guides use so I do not forget. The photo helps me remember what lure color we used on a particular day, cloudy or sunny and the GPS associated with the photo helps to recall what lake I fished.

Let me know what what special senior ideas you have for your smartphone. 

Take pictures of your prescriptions for easy, quick and accurate reference.

Senior Tip --use your smartphone to take pictures of  your prescriptions or yourself in Australia. 

I do not take a lot of meds, but the ones I do take have names that are unfamiliar and often unpronounceable to me.  When the doctor asks me what I am taking, I pull out my smartphone, click on my photos and show the doctor a photo of the prescription on the bottle. And I can even enlarge it so I can read the fine print with the disclaimers on the side effects. The bottle that sits on my desk has a line of red print on the bottom of the bottle that must be in 6 point type, TDSFMTR, which translates to -- "to damn small for me to read." I have a number of bottles like that. 

The photos are helpful to read the small print and show the doctor what I am taking. As an example, I just took a photo of my prescription on the front of the bottle on my desk. I enlarged it on my iPhone and it read avoid sunlight and federal law prohibits the transfer of this drug to another patient. I am in Kansas so I have no worry about the sunlight, it has been cloudy for the last few weeks. And with regard to the federal law, I do not even understand what "transfer the drug" means. I guess it means I can not give it to you even if it will save your life, so do not ask.

The pictures enable you to accurately email/text your prescription to someone who might need the correct information right away.

Insurance company's bet that you will live. Just bet with them and not buy insurance. Clear?

Senior Tips received a nice compliment from a senior in California. Thanks. 

Life insurance tip.  Put some cash aside for your bereavement party and use the annual life insurance premium you would have paid to take an extra vacation while you still can. Examine the policy fine print. Many policies guarantee you that they will insure you forever, but they often do not guarantee the annual premium you must pay, which is the most substantive part of the policy.

Insurance companies like AARP have massive direct mail campaigns to persuade seniors to purchase life insurance. Once you are on their list, you get quantities of unsolicited mail. For the record, I recently purchased a $50,000 life insurance policy for a premium of $225 per month or $2,700 per year. It was probably a mistake and I will no doubt cancel at the next premium increase. 

It is perhaps better to set $10,000 of cash aside for a bereavement party and a modest funeral, than bet against the insurance companies actuarial statistics. Insurance company's bet that you will live. Just bet with them and not buy the insurance. Clear?

They have the right to raise the premium every 5 years.  My guess is that when I am 85, the premium will be $10,000 per year. At the rate they can raise the annual premium and if I live to be 90, I will have paid them over $100,000 and they will still only pay out $50,000. I can only win if I die in the next few years. 

Insurance companies, bless their little actuarial hearts, are profit directed corporations that capture wheelbarrows of cash. Insurance companies argue they help seniors build estate wealth after death. If you are worth more when you die, than while you are alive you likely have to much life insurance. 

Of course when you are young and have young children, the bet is different. However, when you are a senior, the purchase of life insurance deserves extra careful almost sceptical examination. Put some cash aside for the funeral and use the annual premium you would have paid to take an extra vacation while you still can. It is a tip not a rule.

Apples are okay, but walking is better.

Today's tip. Exercise every day. Walk. Run. Yoga. Do not let a day go by without a little huffing and puffing.

I just finished  reading a treatise on the aging process. Of course, there are disagreements on what causes aging, but there are generally two theories that are advanced by doctors. 

The first, and simplest is, like a car, our bodies just wear out from use. The second is each species has DNA genetically programmed to last a finite length of time. Cells stop dividing and the genetic process which keeps us going just stops. Each of these theories represent fascinating research projects, but the fact is we still get older, a bit crankier, our bones get weaker and the recovery time from all activities takes a little longer. 

However, there is one thing that every treatise on aging does agree on. Physical activity is important in extending the aging process. I watch a woman in her 80's walk every day. She moves very slowly because she pushes her walker in front of her. I play tennis with people in their late 80's who recognize they cannot hit the ball as hard as they used to, but they can still hit the ball. I always admired a fishing/golf/tennis buddy of mine who is in his early 80's, but looks, acts and moves like he was 10 years younger. I asked him what was his secret? He replied, "I do 15 minutes of Yoga every day." Every article I have every read on aging confirms the importance of daily physical activity. 

An apple a day may keep the doctor away, but exercise every day keeps old age at bay.

Walking works. I would write more, but I am scheduled to play tennis.

California Comments On the Self Employment Tax

Here is a thoughtful response to the self employment tax from a senior who is self employed.
__________________

I sure don't love the self employment tax for seniors employment, but there are ways to reduce its effect. 

1) The employer part of the tax is adjustable on 1040 Line 27. You pay the self employment tax on 1040 Schedule SE and then the employer portion of the tax you paid on Schedule SE is adjusted away on 1040 Line 27. So the fiscal effect of the self employment tax is not 14.XX % of the self employment income.   

2) Heath care expenses for seniors are normally not deductible on 1040 Schedule B unless those expenses exceed 7.5% of adjusted gross income. And if you make enough money, that deduction is likely to be reduced or eliminated by the Alternative Minimum Tax (ATM). However, if you have your own business and pay the self employment taxes, you are also allowed to take the self-employed health insurance deduction on 1040 line 29. This is actually not a deduction ( the IRS uses the word deduction) but rather an adjustment to gross income that has the effect of reducing adjusted gross income. You can deduct the cost of health insurance, Medicare Part D  insurance for pills and even long term care insurance costs. Read the rules carefully  -- there are limits. In my case, the health care insurance adjustment on 1040 Line 29 effectively offsets the self employment tax I am paying on Schedule SE.   

_____________

These are valuable insights into the tax.

Watch out for the self-employment tax.

The more you work the more your social security payments are effectively taxed. Nothing new here -- because those of us who still get a paycheck of some sort are aware that our social security is effectively reduced with new earnings. 

However here is a cautionary tip. 

Watch out for the self-employment tax. It will grab you at the end of the  year and does not ever let go. No matter your age and no matter that you are already collecting social security if you work and a make a few hundred dollars or so, you must pay self-employment tax on your net income. And this tax does not adjust your social security check. These payments go to pay someone else who has not started collecting social security yet, so say the IRS. As seniors and receiving social security from previous employment taxes, we are still taxed if we employ ourselves- the self employment tax. It is a penalty for working. 

Most seniors can use a few extra dollars for luxury vacations  or other retirement purchases. Part time consulting work is normal and healthy. However, the self employment tax will take another 14.3% bite of your money. So be aware and be prepared and always keep track of your expenses. I researched my last book with a 5 week trip to Australia. If you have found a way to avoid this tax, please let me know so I can share it with others.

The votes are in. Costco wins and watch out for the latest IRS scam.

Seniors from  California and Arizona chimed in on my senior tip from yesterday. Arizona wrote that the same script was $90 at Walgreens, $60 at Wal-Mart and $25 at Costco. California had less detail, but explained that Costco was the place to go in California for scripts also. Costco wins.

The IRS imitator scam. A senior friend of mine was called by someone who claimed to be from the IRS. The scammer explained that my friend had filed an incorrect tax return and that he must clear the additional tax up immediately or face penalties or even worse jail. The scammer was persistent, threatening and seemed professional. My friend did not pay. Some less sceptical seniors are intimidated by this approach and send money. A real no no.

The tip is that if you get calls like that ask for their phone number and IRS employee number, then offer to call them back in  a few hours when you have your tax return in front of you. Remember if they have your phone number, they may have other information that can sound very convincing over the phone. You can also suggest that the caller send you a letter explaining the situation to the address on your tax return and hangup. In any event, IRS does not call us, they mail us.

Send me your tip and I will pass it along.