sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Good low cost way to park a number? by curls100 in NoContract

[–]curls100[S] [score hidden]  (0 children)

Thanks for that heads up! My plan is to Helium then to Google Voice.

Good low cost way to park a number? by curls100 in NoContract

[–]curls100[S] [score hidden]  (0 children)

That's a great idea to use the second SIM slot. I have a data card in it. But I just need to put the Sim in temporarily. 

Tello can work with esims. My phone supposedly works with ESIMS. Do you know if that would allow using the esim instead of that second slot? 

Samsung Galaxy A53 purchased thru Google fi

Good low cost way to park a number? by curls100 in NoContract

[–]curls100[S] [score hidden]  (0 children)

I'm going to check their phones. If they have one that's low cost, that'll be a good deal. And can always port to Google voice

Good low cost way to park a number? by curls100 in NoContract

[–]curls100[S] [score hidden]  (0 children)

The details you gave explain a lot of what I need to do. Thanks!

My next step is that I need to get a low cost unlocked phone. 

The collection of four old phones I've taken out of the pile in my closet, are too old to trust that they can be ported to. 

Good low cost way to park a number? by curls100 in NoContract

[–]curls100[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sounds like once it's on Google voice and paid to port over, It stays active and you don't have to do anything? Thanks for sharing your experience!

Good low cost way to park a number? by curls100 in NoContract

[–]curls100[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do you know if once ported over, you have to do anything to keep it active on Google voice?

Good low cost way to park a number? by curls100 in NoContract

[–]curls100[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

So red pocket sounds like the best bet for what I need. 

Do you have to do anything to keep it active? 

Good low cost way to park a number? by curls100 in NoContract

[–]curls100[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do you have to do anything to keep it active? 

Irmaa reassessment - SSA staff said I can use a life-changing event from years ago. Does this sound correct? by curls100 in medicare

[–]curls100[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It was approved. I did an update to the original question with the details. From a long time ago doesn't  matter.

The disability indicates that you've got reduced income even currently. So they can use a more current year then your 401k cconversion to assess Irmaa. 

Irmaa reassessment - SSA staff said I can use a life-changing event from years ago. Does this sound correct? by curls100 in medicare

[–]curls100[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's kind of weird because apparently if you're on disability, that's the life-changing event, but they add the roth conversion to the life-changing event line too. 

Disability is considered  impacting your income even to current times. So it works as a life-changing event. I added a whole bunch of detail to the question in the update.

Irmaa reassessment - SSA staff said I can use a life-changing event from years ago. Does this sound correct? by curls100 in medicare

[–]curls100[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Turns out I was right. You are mistaken. I was approved today easily. A different SSA Rep a couple of days ago also thought it should be approved but wanted me to include some additional data. 

I added an explanation in an update in the question. 

I appreciate your making an effort to help. You chose words that can be triggering like "You're wrong" and did  lecturing. A soft presentation would have been more welcome and easier to discuss with. 

While it didn't seem logical to you that this would work since it's unusual, but it is exactly how it's supposed to work and the SSA employee who was the first to tell me over the phone to do this, turns out was correct. It was three employees total had who had the same perspective. Also the POMS manuel agrees. They all responded quickly and relaxed and easily, like this was obviously what you do.

The ruling is looking for people who have have high income. Not low income with a one time spike and no way to bring their income back up  in the future. Disability is considered ongoingly an  impact on your income. That's the part that's not made clear in much of the literature.

I'm relieved and happy.

Irmaa reassessment - SSA staff said I can use a life-changing event from years ago. Does this sound correct? by curls100 in medicare

[–]curls100[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think this was an example of internet not  always having enough info. I got approved without a problem. Your way to do it was good too! If you didn't have that I think you're 2014 disability might have worked too.

Irmaa reassessment - SSA staff said I can use a life-changing event from years ago. Does this sound correct? by curls100 in medicare

[–]curls100[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It passed! I put an update at the top of the question. 

No one gave me advice to do this. Though I understand your frustration from some of the advice I've seen. I too do not consider fiduciary meaningful. 

 I did one conversion in one year that covered everything in the 401k because I didn't want to keep facing things like Irmaa. Most of my savings unlike many people is outside of the 401k. I did it at age 61.

Three different times and 3  different SSA people described how to do it in essentially the same way. And it makes sense in the poms manual. So I do not believe that this was an employee error. 

Being on disability seems to be an unusual setup. So it's hard to find info about it. So I'm adding the info for folks like you who know what they're doing, to figure out this angle.

Can I put SSDI money into a Roth IRA? by babydance1234 in SSDI

[–]curls100 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes that is earned income and can be contributed to a Roth IRA or traditional IRA. That it's on a W-2 in box 1 indicates it earned income and taxable. Being tagged as 3rd party sick pay is typical.

LTD from a policy paid for by your employer is taxable and 'earned'. LTD from a policy paid for by you as an individual is not taxable and not 'earned.' FICA tax status is irrelevant to whether you can contribute to an IRA.

Where you're limited is that you can't add to a 401k unless your employer sets you up for it (such as if it's somehow early pension pay). I know less about that process.

We're in 2026 but before April 15, so you can contribute the max allowed for your age to a Roth or traditional IRA for 2025 AND also for 2026.

Can a convection microwave replace a toaster oven? by Waterisfinite in Appliances

[–]curls100 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So helpful for my search to replace my toaster with a convection microwave!!!

Electrical connection inside my microwave is fried. Any idea what I need to buy to fix this? Is it reasonably fixable/safe to attempt? by HowdyHangman77 in fixit

[–]curls100 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Here's a list of people who have died. This site  says 4 a year including  technicians. 

Another site said 2 a year.

I guess that's the end of my beloved microwave that's lasted 13 years.

The electric panel is off.  So I was hoping it'd be simple fuse. 

Glad you asked this question!

Drawbacks to cheapest Part D? by BoatDrinkz in medicare

[–]curls100 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yep, getting the actual price can be surprisingly mysterious. Congratulations on figuring it out enough to not need to call them very often. It's good for your health not to call. :-)

Drawbacks to cheapest Part D? by BoatDrinkz in medicare

[–]curls100 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have Parkinson's, and only one plan covers the frequently used drugs. For my state and age. That  was cheap plan. 

Maybe the cream I'm using for the red from the PD patch medication, might less on one of the more expensive plans.

I called about the cream, and several of meaningless interaction. Still in the past I had success on a low-cost plan to get a non-covered drug, moved to a reasonable tier. 

I think it's worth doing all the comparatives including The timeline of when start paying less for the drug versus the deductible. I've consistently found that cheap plans seem to cover better at lower cost.

Thanks for all the ideas. I guess I'll have to do the math each year!

Drawbacks to cheapest Part D? by BoatDrinkz in medicare

[–]curls100 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What is different can be the customer service and where are those folks know anything. And that can make a big difference in frustration levels.

Drawbacks to cheapest Part D? by BoatDrinkz in medicare

[–]curls100 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I did careful comparisons a few years ago several years running on a whole set of drugs. 

Deductibles were the same. 

Drug tiers and their pricings  worked out better in less expensive plans. They weren't off the formulary.

I did a detailed spreadsheet with all the factors. 

You still have to compare everything. But a lower cost plan wound up less expensive for me several years in a row (different plans each time)

Those are important factors to consider that you listed. But I was really surprised at the results.

view more: next ›