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This is interesting with the Junk talk. I am hoping to die, in my sleep, in my home, before I am forced to move---then all my junk, clutter, garbage is for someone else to solve.
Wisteria,
You look great for an OLD BROAD ! Yes, very, very, nice looking.
Just to let everyone know I am a confirmed old Bachelor--not divorced, not windowed, not attached and never been married, no children----I am a Bachelor and I prefer that word. "Single" I do not like it because it defines a identity that from Coupled---Then why do they not say "Double" when you are married???
I am an old fashion happy Bachelor who is not gay, not que&&? not strange, not odd, not a homosexual and definitely a heterosexual, not a eunuch, but I am unique
I am only interested in my own pursuits. Am I a misogynist??? that depends on the irritating female. I can be a Prof. Higgins without my Fair Lady. I can be a Sherlock Holmes with his own passions without the companionship of Watson.
Maybe I am Burns without Allen; Roy riding alone and not with Dale Evans; Ricky without Lucy; and I am certainly no Siegfried who needs Roy.
I live as a Bachelor therefore I
Live Content
THANKS for that clarification; I wasn't sure if you were male or female so now we know I guess I'm one of the very few people who have submitted a profile photo - and I wish more participants would do the same. It really enhances the social interaction experience.
Thanks, Wisteria, for posting your photo in front of the mural and congratulations on your well-deserved recognition
Okay, in terms of stuff (and I've been going thru stuff ALL day long and for the past weeks on end, making progress)...what about the tubs of mementos from when the grown kids were little? The tubs (all four) weigh a ton...what if the grown kids don't want this stuff? I could sit for an entire afternoon reading over their school essays, laughing out loud, etc...and yet there's so much of it that I don't have the time and patience to sort thru it all paper by paper, thing by thing...so if they don't want this (most of them are in apts)....do I chuck it??? or do I say that these things are more important than tubs of practical things, like linens, work samples, etc? I can't keep dragging these tubs of kids' stuff wherever I go, though...they are indeed heavy....
What have others done with grown kids' mementos??
Well, my elderly parents in their eighties have been putting all this stuff in boxes and giving it to their children. If they want it, fine; if not, then it is destroy, burned or given away.
I just keep it in the box and hope that it will disappear on its own, as I do not like old memories.
Letting go of stuff is so hard when you know you can't afford to replace it or if it represents a part of your life that was a lot better than where you are now. Been there, done that.
Once you have something to move toward -- a new life, new area, new place, something postive to go into -- it's a lot easier to give stuff up.
Will your health insurance pay for any mental health counseling, psychologist or group therapy? That might give you the helping hand you need to get started or at least see a light at the end of the tunnel.
Yes, Knox...thanks...I could use some talk therapy and will put that on my agenda. In the meantime, I'm wondering about my last post...things like a dozen boxes of family photos, heavy tubs with grown kids' mementos, etc...will I miss this stuff when I'm 80 and not able to do anything but think about the past? Or is letting go of the past, with all its stuff, better...living in the present, etc. instead of looking back to happier times when I loved being a mom and the financial considerations didn't seem so scary? Maybe it isn't for many, but alas...
Just read your post, LiveContent. Don't mean to sound sexist...but aren't women much more sentimental in terms of photos, kids' stuff, etc?
...Just read your post, LiveContent. Don't mean to sound sexist...but aren't women much more sentimental in terms of photos, kids' stuff, etc?...
Yes, of course, most men are only concerned with themselves at whatever present they are in, at the time. When they are young and all those hormones are flowing, well, you know what they are interested in. I am so happy to be passed that age and no longer have those monkeys on my back---I can now see women better and appreciate them more but alas no energy...
When I was young, I spend all my time looking for girls, now I spend all my time looking for the bathroom... I know all the restrooms in town, in every store, every restaurant--the quickest way, the cleanest spot. Now, I only go to MacDonald's for the "convenience"---ah, another Golden "Yellow" Arches---got to go, now With all those Big Macs that I have stuffed down, I deserve and appreciate the "break today".
. One problem people do not think about is that many counties reduce taxes for the elderly. My county, Adams, takes 50% of for all assessments less than $200,000 but you have to have been a resident in that home for the previous 10 years and be over 65 years old. So, when I get to that age, I will get some tax relief. So, it makes sense to be in your home when you are 55 yrs. old.
Also, when I reach that magic number, I can defer paying all taxes and it will be an accumulated tax lien on the home with interest, and be collected when it sold by me or my estate. In addition, there are those reverse mortgages that you can get from a HUD program which is better and more secure than those offered by those "shady" people. You then will have more money to live.
You can then cash in on your home value and when you sell it, you will get less. That may be good because with the cash you get for the home that will make you unqualified for many programs, especially nursing care and medicaid. You have to spend down almost all your assets and a home is exempt, but when you are put permanently in a nursing home and you are no longer a resident of the home--it becomes a countable asset. If is sold and you get little or none, than you have less to dispose.
Livecontent
Very good info on reduced prop taxes for age 65+. I'm only 60 however, and so if I stay where I am would be facing no end in sight if our tax cap gets an override...it will be unbelievably unaffordable. If I were closer to 65, I would stay put maybe. But there are other considerations in moving...
Okay, in terms of stuff (and I've been going thru stuff ALL day long and for the past weeks on end, making progress)...what about the tubs of mementos from when the grown kids were little? The tubs (all four) weigh a ton...what if the grown kids don't want this stuff? I could sit for an entire afternoon reading over their school essays, laughing out loud, etc...and yet there's so much of it that I don't have the time and patience to sort thru it all paper by paper, thing by thing...so if they don't want this (most of them are in apts)....do I chuck it??? or do I say that these things are more important than tubs of practical things, like linens, work samples, etc? I can't keep dragging these tubs of kids' stuff wherever I go, though...they are indeed heavy....
What have others done with grown kids' mementos??
When my parents retired and moved from the beach to the desert, my sister and I -- we were both on our own at that time and had apartments on the East Coast -- were told to come home and decide what we wanted and take it home with us or ship it. The rest would go in the trash. We'd lived in the same house since before I was born so you can imagine how much stuff was in it.
The same with stuff they were going to get rid of at a yard sale.
My mom did keep a few things that were sentimental to her but not much. We found those when my sister and I cleaned out the desert house after she died. Pictures are the worst. She had boxes of those and we had no idea who they were. They ended up in the trash.
Sort through linens and such and give away what you don't use often, if it's modern stuff. Lots of charities need these for people who lose their homes to fire, flood, hurricanes, etc. For older embroidered and crocheted things, check ebay. May be worth selling.
If you've got good clothes you don't need, see if a consignment store will take them. You'll get some money from them. Same with books. Set that money aside for something you really want but don't truly need. It makes it easier to part with them if you're building toward something else.
It's hard. Just peck away at it, day by day.
Very good info on reduced prop taxes for age 65+. I'm only 60 however, and so if I stay where I am would be facing no end in sight if our tax cap gets an override...it will be unbelievably unaffordable. If I were closer to 65, I would stay put maybe. But there are other considerations in moving...
You must keep in mind that the low taxes of the west are only because there are less state and municipal retirees which account for much of the state taxes. You can read all about it in the New York news and the frustration of supporting all those people. I am not saying right or wrong; I am just stating a fact.
When Colorado increases the population and the aged in this state are receiving more pensions from Colorado then from other states which they retired and from whence they relocated--taxes will rise. Also, the internal state structures of bridges, sewers, water pipes roads are not as old as some of the eastern cities, when they age, then again taxes will rise.
The Colorado government will get bigger, less efficient and even bigger, more and more taxes for administration and retirement. However, for us, who will leave our earning years,perhaps not own property, the taxes will not cause us such a problem. Then people will move on to the new lower taxed states of new former Canadian Provinces of Alberta, British Columbia and the Maritime Provinces etc. when Canada breaks up. Who knows???
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Location: home...finally, home .
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Originally Posted by Wisteria
We need to have a moderator to see if we can do a poll within this thread, since this is what we are looking at. All the other polls I've seen are on a separate thread -- I do not know if or how we can merge a poll into here, although I think it's a good idea.
Hi everyone,
I think that we might actually want to start a new thread with the poll. I am pretty sure that we would need to have a new one for that. Afterwards, we could probably merge the two if you guys think that is what you'd like. I would hate to lose this very valuable and friendly old thread.
All of us have really grown along with it. Just look back to the very beginning and see how many things have changed in all of our lives. Our own saga that perhaps will be like a tapestry woven together .
__________________ ******************
People may not recall what you said to them, but they will always remember how you made them feel .
Yes, Knox...thanks...I could use some talk therapy and will put that on my agenda. In the meantime, I'm wondering about my last post...things like a dozen boxes of family photos, heavy tubs with grown kids' mementos, etc...will I miss this stuff when I'm 80 and not able to do anything but think about the past? Or is letting go of the past, with all its stuff, better...living in the present, etc. instead of looking back to happier times when I loved being a mom and the financial considerations didn't seem so scary? Maybe it isn't for many, but alas...
Just read your post, LiveContent. Don't mean to sound sexist...but aren't women much more sentimental in terms of photos, kids' stuff, etc?
Technology to the rescue. Scan all those things and label the files. Send copies of the files to your kids. That takes up no space; making several copies helps to preserve them and someday, a decendent will be so grateful you did that.
My mom has done a lot of this. She now is taking old slides and making jpg files of them. She also did that with an old letter from a great-great-great grandmother from pioneer days. We are all really glad she has done that.
I'm taking a break from watching Seven Samuri (great movie) and catch up here. At the studio today a woman was telling me that it's cheapest to ship things by Greyhound. I'm going to check it out to ship pottery to my daughter in PA. She said she use to ship stuff by the train. UPS isn't so cheap anymore.
Kids stuff - when my kids got their own places I gave it to them. It was up to them what they did with it. I still have my youngest son's stuff in the garage because he's in college. I still have one carton of pictures I'd like to sort through again. I have done it once or twice and I can only do it so long before I get weirded out. It's like I've been reincarnated a couple of times in this life. Was I really there--hard to remember being that young woman with a baby. I sent a bunch of old pictures to my daughter and told her to share with her brother who lives near her. Some I've scanned before sending them on.
Nice car and picture ConeyIsBabe! Seems like I put a picture up at some point--I'll have to check.
I'm celebrating getting my taxes done, almost. The changes in taxes since I last owned a house are mind boggling. It was a week of torture--use to be the difficult part was catching up on the filing. I've been reading tax instructions every night this week and all this morning. After I figure out what happened to the 700 interest I paid at settlement which did not show up on my mortgage statement I think I'm done. I'll take it to the free tax info at the community college and see what they have to say. Three years without a house paid off - a 7500 credit right off the tax bill. I'll have to give it back over the next 15 years but this was a huge help this year. I'm celebrating!
Live Content -- glad to have one lone man on here and the male perspective. You had me laughing tonight.
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Yes, very, very, nice looking. 
I guess I'm one of the very few people who have submitted a profile photo - and I wish more participants would do the same. It really enhances the social interaction experience. 
and congratulations on your well-deserved recognition 
or do I say that these things are more important than tubs of practical things, like linens, work samples, etc? I can't keep dragging these tubs of kids' stuff wherever I go, though...they are indeed heavy....
I know all the restrooms in town, in every store, every restaurant--the quickest way, the cleanest spot. Now, I only go to MacDonald's for the "convenience"---ah, another Golden "Yellow" Arches---got to go, now 
With all those Big Macs that I have stuffed down, I deserve and appreciate the "break today".
