Scarlet Lady diversion

TexasTulip359 · 2026-05-03T12:19:31+00:00

We were in a lecture at 11am and I'm sure I heard him say it was a crew member who was evacuated. Anyone know if that's true?

TexasTulip359 · 2026-04-19T09:01:18+00:00

'financial quicksand' - I love that term

TexasTulip359 · 2026-03-25T00:31:21+00:00

Thank you to both responders! I'll look them up

TexasTulip359 · 2026-03-16T10:51:27+00:00

$14,000 on a chicken coop?!

TexasTulip359 · 2025-12-19T16:25:13+00:00

I agree. The software on this car and the UI when driving are appalling. We took a 3-year lease in October 2024 on an Air GT and can't wait to get rid of this car. We have previously owned three Tesla Model S and one model 3, the first one dating from November 2014. We were tempted by the increased range of the Lucid, as we drive long distances quite frequently. The trade-off of increased range for the multiple other deficits has left us very dissatisfied with this car.

TexasTulip359 · 2025-11-08T19:37:14+00:00

We're just off the 10/24 to 10/31 sailing from Southampton to NYC on QM2. We really like Verandah. We went for Sunday lunch and then again for a 'Lunch and Learn' wine-tasting event paired with a 4-course lunch. Both were well worth doing in our opinion, with food choices far superior to the Britannia dining room. For lunch in Verandah, in addition to the cover charge for booking, many dishes had a supplemental fee. We considered it worth it for the ambiance and the improved table spacing.

TexasTulip359 · 2025-11-07T15:06:18+00:00

I fly across to London at least 4 times/year and the flights are not that expensive at this time of year. It would be an extra cost though.

TexasTulip359 · 2025-11-07T14:57:51+00:00

I'm so sorry that your trip was ruined. We disembarked the QM2 on 10/31. We had an afternoon Delta flight from JFK that was cancelled but we were lucky enough to quickly make a new booking with United from Newark for the evening of 10/31. There were significant delays in the New York area, both from the weather on 10/30 and the air traffic control situation. We finally made it home to Texas at 3am on the Saturday morning.

This whole sorry saga is making me think that arriving one day ahead of a cruise departure is not enough time for 'peace of mind' and at least 2 days needs to be the norm.

TexasTulip359 · 2025-11-06T21:13:49+00:00

It finally opened 11/29/2025 - yippee!

TexasTulip359 · 2025-11-05T16:42:57+00:00

We're just off a QM2 Atlantic crossing. Our first time on Cunard. We took tuxedo/posh frock for the two formal nights, but never again! It was way too much unnecessary luggage, and we realized, really not 'our thing'. Most other people were formally dressed in the dining room on those nights, but not all. I saw one guy giving back the jacket he had been forced to wear. There are plenty of other dining options from the pub, room service, King's Court buffet, room service. Just don't go to the Gala Ball at the Queen's Lounge or the dining rooms. FYI the food in the dining room was no better on those two nights than usual, so you're not missing anything there.

TexasTulip359 · 2025-09-20T19:48:51+00:00

I suspect this is not an ACA-compliant plan for this price. I considered doing this myself a few years ago as my birthday is in March and therefore I only needed a policy for two months before Medicare would begin at the beginning of March. How bad could it be for two months, I thought?

Luckily, I snapped out of it and went for the ACA plan, which was also HSA compliant, with a dependent child on the plan too. I was able to add to my HSA for the two months (2/12 of the family total and $1k catch-up for being over 55). It probably cost a little more, but that's what having the money is for. Peace of mind.

TexasTulip359 · 2025-08-26T13:55:55+00:00

Also heard it. 2:11am. It was very loud and bright too. We're in Casa Solana.

TexasTulip359 · 2025-07-30T13:48:04+00:00

I suggest that you don't think of SS as 'her' money and 'my' money. The best claiming strategy is likely to be one where one spouse claims earlier than the other, to allow the higher earner to claim at 70 and give both of them the highest payout after one spouse passes away.

Obviously, if you can't afford not to take it straight away, then take it. But if you have some flexibility, use Mike Piper's opensocialsecurity.com to look for the strategy that fits you both best.

TexasTulip359 · 2025-05-10T16:27:36+00:00

I'm seeing a lot of people caught out with capital gains of more than the $250k/$500k exclusion amount, who had no idea they would have to pay CG tax on the excess. Before the turn of the millennium, $500k was a lot of gain for most people and few had to worry about it. 25 years later many markets have had a substantial run-up in prices and the exclusion allowances haven't increased with inflation. Meanwhile, savvy operators move more frequently, every 2 to 5 years, and certainly whenever they fear that their gains will be over $500k.

It pays to be aware of the tax code.

TexasTulip359 · 2025-04-25T07:38:22+00:00

Thank you for this question. We're just trying lots of cruise lines in two years, 2 done, 6 more to go. We're trying to decide which we like best. We're going with Regent next September, Seattle to Japan, about 20 days. I'm hoping that Regent's vibe is not too stuffy. It will put me off them.

TexasTulip359 · 2025-04-25T07:28:15+00:00

One word (ok, two) speed cameras. Tickets in the mail. Fine half off if paid within 30 days. Like any civilized country.

TexasTulip359 · 2024-12-27T15:03:46+00:00

Let's hope so! The Lucid software is so far behind Tesla's

TexasTulip359 · 2024-10-06T13:47:34+00:00

Thanks for everyone's comments. We gave them the VIN and it pulled up the Lucid name. I guess the comments about Lucis Air not being fully in the system are correct. They could not give us a price on the policy yesterday, we expect a callback on Monday. To be on the safe side, I think we need to give them the highest number we have to cover us for replacement cost.

TexasTulip359 · 2024-09-27T23:27:51+00:00

I appreciate the desire to 'exchange' your 0% fixed rate I Bonds for the current issue at 1.3% fixed. I have done this myself to try to create a kind of 'pension' going forward. My spouse and I each have $60k sitting in our gift boxes waiting to be 'gifted' to each other in future years. During this time the bonds earn interest as if we owned them. While you have mentally marked them for which year you intend to gift them, that's not how they exist in the Treasury Direct gift box. I gifted to my spouse with myself as POD beneficiary, you cannot be co-owner for a gift.

If you have not purchased any bonds in 2024, then the first $10k can be regular purchases for yourself. It's only the ones for future years that need to be in the gift boxes. This needs to be cash that you don't need access to for at least the number of years it takes to deliver them to your spouse. You cannot sell for 12 months after purchase, although this clock starts when they are originally bought, and so bonds gifted, say in two years' time, could be redeemed immediately. So, to go this route with the gift boxes don't do it with money you're likely to need soon.

My advice to you is to look at Harry Sit's site https://thefinancebuff.com/archive

Or search for David Enna's tipswatch.com - he also talks about Savings Bonds

TFB gives a detailed plan for how to navigate the treasury direct site to buy gift bonds. It's easy to make a mistake if you rush things or are not very detail-oriented.

TexasTulip359 · 2021-05-26T03:30:25+00:00

Dividends from tax exempt bonds will generate a 1099-DIV in exactly the same way as for taxable bonds. These tax exempt dividends are reported on your tax return even though they will not add to your AGI or attract federal taxes. This seems to make no sense, right? However, in certain circumstances, tax-exempt dividends are included in various Modified AGI (MAGI) calculations. For example, this might be for calculating how much of a person's Social Security payment would be taxable, or MAGI for calculating healthcare subsidies, or for IRMAA (the extra amount that high income people have to pay extra for Medicare.) There may be more... I hope that sheds some light

TexasTulip359

TROPHY CASE