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Cheap furniture is junk. There are still many excellent furniture companies out there making quality pieces. My BF has several pieces of Stickley (he bought second-hand but lightly used). It’s gorgeous and very well made.
Cheap furniture is junk. There are still many excellent furniture companies out there making quality pieces. My BF has several pieces of Stickley (he bought second-hand but lightly used). It’s gorgeous and very well made.
I agree. Not all furniture today is junk but cheap furniture often is!
be happy that medicare is being covered by colas then .
take a look at the increases going on for workers in health care costs , especially those that get premium increases and no raises.
on the other hand i can’t think of anytime my premium increases left me with no increase in ss since they only represent a small portion of my increase .
"[i]n 2024, the average Social Security retirement benefit is increasing by $59 a month due to a 3.2 percent COLA. At the same time, the standard Part B premium is rising by 6 percent, from $164.90 a month to $174.70. That effectively trims $9.80 a month from the cost-of-living increase but does not wipe it out for most beneficiaries." https://www.aarp.org/retirement/soci...-for-2024.html
I think 2017 was when I first heard of the "hold harmless" clause.
unfortunately when it comes to our healthcare there are other components we pay too besides part b increases .
we also had jumps in our supplement from 91 to 101 a month , we have a high deductive supplement and , 8 % jumps in our part d deductible . the tier 5 and 6 drugs hit that instantly in part d
so it all ads up and can leave some with nothing .
we went from a 505 deductible to 550 i think it is in our part d ..we already hit that with one renewal of my trulicity last week
There is no doubt that the SS COLAs have not covered actual cost increases for most people. I don’t think that’s a surprise to anyone. It shouldn’t be. And it was never meant to. SS sure didn’t go back and say “Hey, for all you that collected SS BEFORE we had COLAs, here’s a check to bring you back to where you should be.” Didn’t happen. Never will. No where should anyone expect that anyone can have an easy time making ends meet, regardless of their circumstances In an ideal society, it would. I don’t know any of those.
So what is a surprise is how many people posted here that they think that their (or infer it) SS COLA SHOULD cover their cost increases. That’s like saying that no matter how much you make in a job, everything should get the same dollar amount raise, not based on a percentage of their current income. Because we all buy the same groceries, the same gas, pay the same bills, I guess.
It sucks for those with low income. It always has. I can sympathize and understand. But I don’t have an answer. It seems as if the ones with less basically always say that the ones with more should pay more taxes so ones with less, that pay the least (or no) taxes should pay even less or get more. We live in a capitalistic society. Haves, have nots, have mores, and have less. That’s how it works here. One income that is more than enough in one locale is poverty in another. It’s the way it is.
And people need to understand this while still young and pick which camp they want to end up in and live their life accordingly so they can reach that goal even if it is poverty.
that term living on a fixed income is really meaningless..
if anything it’s workers who don’t get raises or don’t even get enough to equal a cpi increase that are really living on a fixed income .
with seniors guaranteed a cola adjustment where one is due that is anything but a fixed income .
in fact we have wealthy people in this forum who live on so called fixed income from pensions , social security and fixed income investments so the term really doesn’t mean what it does .
it was supposed to conjure up a vision of a grandma counting pennys out to buy bread .
but the term really doesn’t mean what it is supposed to mean .
the real ones living on a fixed income are low end workers with no raises
My sons get looks of disbelief when I say we live on a fixed income!
My sons get looks of disbelief when I say we live on a fixed income!
I knew a woman in the 1990s in NYC whose father started a well-known and successful company. She received a six-figure, monthly trust distribution, and if anything cost more than she expected, she would loudly complain that she was "on a fixed income." While technically true, it was unseemly.
I am not talking about somewhat discretionary items, but about bills you must pay.
I was shocked to see our year-end property tax bill -- $1100 higher, which means an increase of about $92 per month. Car insurance about $50 higher for a six-month premium, meaning a monthly increase of about $8.00. House insurance about $250 a year higher, which means an monthly increase of about $21.00. Medicare Part B increases totaled $20.00 for both of us. So our recent "no leeway" charges -- unless we revise our insurance policies -- total an extra $141.00 (about) per month, while our SS increase is about $145.00 -- so a whopping $4.00 extra for somewhat discretionary expenses such as food and car gas. WOO-HOO!
But at least we can afford the increased costs (for which I am grateful). but I swear I don't know how many other people can afford inflationary increases -- especially those who are living on Social Security alone!
So, how does your increased COLA payment compare to the increase in your bills?
Wow that's scary! So glad California limits property tax increases to 2% a yr max. That bill went into effect a few yrs ago. Auto Insurance, I am not sure if it is limited but I doubt it. It is not expensive here, despite the 7% raise approved to the insurance companies for 2023 and beyond. I am surprised they need more $, hardly anyone drive during years of COVID seems they've saved $$ on accidents.
California made the test so difficult 50% of the folks taking it fail. Then they wanted $200 to try again. No way. Husband takes me to work now. I don't enjoy driving enough to pay that. Funny now he says they approved people taking the test online so this failing should suddenly rectify itself...use your imagination. I bet that $200 charge is still applied for me so forget it, I am done driving. My E-Bike is wonderful.
I haven't read the whole thread, but just have a tangential question. I just got my Jan. SS with an increase of $45 (yay!). But isn't that for December 2023? Why do we get the 2024 COLA a month early?
Wow that's scary! So glad California limits property tax increases to 2% a yr max.
A property tax is one form of a wealth tax, of course, and is a pernicious one at that.
And California has a bill under consideration - AB 259 - that would impose an annual excise tax of 1.5% on the worldwide net worth of every full- and part-year California resident that exceeds $1 billion, starting this tax year. Come Jan. 1, 2026, the state would tax wealth that exceeds $50 million at a rate of 1% each year, with an additional 0.5% tax on assets valued at more than $1 billion.
Of course, it isn't law yet. But if it becomes law, the history of such things is modifications to impose wealth taxes on more and more people at lower and lower net worth levels. Moreover, progressive ideas that originate in California have a habit of spreading to much of the nation, so it is worth watching what happens.
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