One was my Federal tax refund (which came surprisingly fast, I just submitted my taxes a few days ago) and the other was my very first Social Security payment. Am I really going to get that every month for the rest of my life? Sweet!
I just saw something on the news the other night that the average social security payment is $2,071.00; so at $1,994.00 mine would appear to be $77.00 below average.
But for someone like myself who early retired at the age of 54, I'm fine with that.
Anyway I'm sure this is tacky on my part, sharing these numbers; I'm not boasting about the amounts, but genuinely surprised I am considered old enough by the government to get social security. (I was eligible 2 years ago, but held off until my monthly amount was close to $2000.00) I swear to God, when my long covid isn't acting up I feel like a 14 year old kid inside.
In fact, the last week or so I've been watching these paranormal videos on YouTube late at night and I'm starting to develop a fear of ghosts again, doggone it. Do you believe in ghosts? I'm not saying they're the spirits of dead people, but there's some strange things going on out there being caught on all those digital cameras... 💀
Alright, I'd better stop yapping and get dinner started, I'm having chicken tenders, leftover scalloped potatoes from Sunday and roasted broccoli. Thanks for letting me share, that's all! 😊
I have been receiving my retirement (since my husband retired from the railroad at age 60 and I am his older woman (by six months) I get a spousal check that is more than my own social security or public employees retirement would have been. EVERY SINGLE MONTH I am shocked when the deposit hits and shocked that I make more money just sitting in my chair than I did all those years since I started working at age 15. Isn't it great!!!! Sometimes I feel like I am some kind of scammer, lol.
ReplyDeleteWorking with the charity I see all kinds of social security amounts. I can't remember the minimum right now but I remember years of widows who did not work outside the house and were getting a little less than $800 a month to live on. Even less years and years ago. I also see people who had high paying jobs who get close to $3000 a month. I am just happy we get enough to take care of our needs and some wants.
CONGRATULATIONS on your official retirement!
Thanks very much for sharing Miss Merry! I know it was tacky of me to even share this, but yes I feel a bit like a scammer as well, and I'm not sure why. I may have retired early, but I worked from 1977-2015. I just hope I live long enough to see some more of that SS :^)
DeleteI had the luxury of waiting until 67 since I could draw my late husband's at 62. I'm fortunate enough to have a pension too--so I live comfortably although not extravagantly. (not my style) We earned that SS and paid into it and I'm happy we now can collect. I doubt that today's workers will be able to. :(
ReplyDeleteThank you Margaret, I'm glad you're comfortable and I very much hope they resolve this social security debacle for tomorrow's retirees. I feel very fortunate.
DeleteAlso, that dinner looks delicious! I have a huge weakness for scalloped potatoes.
ReplyDeleteHaha--thank you! The secret is Idohan Scalloped, use 1/2 cup evaporated milk and a chopped onion. I swear they taste homemade :^)
DeleteDug, so happy to see that you are now receiving your social security... and it coming in along with your tax refund must have felt like a windfall. Enjoy! You earned it. IMO it's sort of a forced savings account and very needed. So many that put into it, die before they can collect, so hopefully you will have years to enjoy it.
DeleteAnd I don't watch those paranormal shows, but do believe in 'ghosts' or 'spirits'... angels or guides that help us in this life. As to what they catch on digital cameras, I don't know. Some sort of energy, I suspect.
Thank you Rian, gosh I just love your feedback. I appreciate what you said about so many dying before they can collect. Both of my parents worked hard their whole lives, and passed at 63 & 64. I've already outlived both. And I wish they could so some real scientific testing on so called apparitions and the like. There must be a logical explanation.
DeleteHi Doug, Chuck and I were just discussing this earlier this morning. Chuck had been receiving his military pension and disability pensions for many years along with his full time job salary. Now retired he is receiving his second job pension, CPP(Canadian version of your SS), OAS, Old Age Security ,along with the two other pensions. Chuck worked darn hard for 42 years and is paying for it with his injuries.Like you most days we don’t feel in our 60’s. We feel like kids playing hooky! Plain and simple if you work hard and are lucky enough to have pension/savings you deserve this. Have a good day Doug.❤️
ReplyDeleteHi Robin! I'm so sorry about Chuck's injuries, but very glad you guys are receiving what's owed. I was just thinking this morning, I could've used this money a lot more in my younger, healthier years. Such is life, I'm just glad to have it now. Haha, love the part about kids playing hooky YES ME TOO :^) Thanks very much for sharing Robin, hope you have a good day too my friend. ❤️
DeleteMy husband and I are NOT "ghost hunters", but we visited Gettysburg quite frequently. This was early on, well before the ghost hunting fever had hit everyone. We stopped our car one night at night at the top of the Triangular Field (just behind LIttle Round Top) and just we had left the asphalt road and began to enter a grassy area, SOMETHING WAS SNORTING AND TEARING STRAIGHT AT US. The sound was right in front of us. We froze and began to recede back to the car and just as suddenly the sound STOPPED and there was complete silence.
DeleteSince that time, I've often thought that what we heard was the sound of a 'gut shot' horse, retreating out of the hail of southern bullets.
Who is this--gosh you gave me goosebumps. Thank you for sharing, I've been wanting to visit Gettysburg for years. I am moving this up my bucket list. 👍
DeleteSorry. Forgot to sign. This is Karen in Pittsburgh. (My husband and I read your blog every day, Doug.)
DeleteThank you Karen! Gosh this was so nice to read, you're very kind. I hope I hear from you again. :^)
DeleteI am wondering if fewer people are submitting taxes early this year. We almost always have to pay federal taxes, but this year it's far less than usual. Fortunately, California income tax usually provides a bit of a refund. This year it's actually enough to pay the federal tax. The state tax refund popped into my bank earlier this week. I've set the bank account to pay the feds their pound of flesh in early April.
ReplyDeleteDkzody, that's a good question. My own return got processed faster than I've ever seen before. (And it's complicated too, with ACA subsidies, capital gains, etc.) I owe a small amount in state taxes and mine is also set not to pay that until the first week of April. :^)
Delete...I retired when I was 71! We filed our federal tax return in March and we received our refund a few weeks ago!!!
ReplyDeleteThere's no way I could've lasted to 71, good for you! 👍
DeleteI get a pension and SS, and sometimes feel like I have more money than ever, after raising three children and sending them all to college. I just hope they make changes to SS to make sure we don’t have to take cuts as I’ve been hearing about. We had a “ ghost” in our first old house here. Doors would slam shut with none of us out of the room. I saw a mist a couple of times and felt her but one night my daughter said something ugly was in her face and woke us with her screaming. Evidently the elderly lady who owned the house fell in the bedroom, was taken to the hospital and died. I let a neighbor who had known her well come through with burning sage ( or something) and she told her she could go. And apparently she did. That’s the only time I’ve ever experienced something like that. Joyce
ReplyDeleteJoyce, thanks so much for sharing. I'm very glad you're financially set (for the time being) and wow what a spooky story about the mist and your daughter seeing an ugly face. That's awesome how it moved on. I wanted to let you know you inspired me to sign up for You Tube Premium (Lite), so I can watch videos on there ad-free. It's only $7.99 a month and makes all the difference, thanks again. :^)
DeleteDoug, we signed up for You Tube Premium a couple weeks ago too. I think it was $129.00 for the year. So much better! Some of the ads were pretty disgusting and tiresome. Have a good day.❤️
DeleteThanks Robin, good to read that! 👍 ❤️ 🙂
DeleteOh dear, it sounds like you’ve gone all woo woo on us. Ghosts indeed. I sure hope you were joking.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, it sure is good to receive regular money in our bank accounts just for getting old.
I’m having leftovers today too. I made pesto sauce yesterday and, as it’s in the middle of basil season, there was a lot of it. That’s okay, I really like it. I serve it with extra thin Japanese noodles. I’m sure the Italians would object, the Japanese are probably a little unhappy too. I don’t mind, it tastes good.
Haha thank you Peter and I guess I have gone a bit woo woo. Too much time to myself. 🙂 Your Japanese noodles and basil pesto sound delish to me!
DeleteMy comment will probably cause some people to dislike me, but I do believe in ghosts and do not believe in god. There are definitely spirits around us, though thankfully I've never had one that moved stuff on me.
ReplyDeleteI retired at just short of my 60th birthday and went ahead and took my Canada Pension Plan right away. Since I worked for the federal government, I knew that my pension would be reduced at the age of 65 to offset the CPP. So, though I took a smaller amount at 60, the five years I collected make up for a number of years of reduced pension from my employer. I haven't done the math entirely but time value of money told me to take it now rather than later. At 65 I was also eligible for the old age security (OAS) which isn't tied to employment.
You do a great job of cooking for yourself. Using up leftovers is a good way to save money too!
Maebeme, thank you for sharing and I can't imagine anyone on here disliking you. I very much appreciate your honesty and my beliefs align with yours in regards to spirits (some type of entities) around us. As for your retirement, it seems that Canada looks out for their citizens better than Americans. I'm glad you're able to enjoy these golden years of ours, and thank you for the cooking feedback! :^)
DeleteI agree with you! I never believed in “ ghosts” until my experience I wrote about above. And I am a federal retiree, from the US. Joyce
ReplyDeleteThanks Joyce! I hope you're doing okay medically speaking.
DeleteI am doing better. I still have loud tinnitus, hearing loss in that ear and numbness at the incision site and back of ear. Still having balance problems and haven’t participated in the exercise classes at the senior center. I also get pressure in that side of my head if I walk too much or bend too much. Last week I leaned over for about 15 minutes to scrape and clean the inside of the oven door and had pretty bad pressure the rest of the day. I am very sensitive to noise. I go to the center, but either wear a regular ear plug or my noise canceling air pods if it’s really loud. Tomorrow is our black history party and I know I’m going to need the pods! So, I am still dragging, but am better than I was. I haven’t been weaned off the gabapentin yet, and sometimes I get a little pain that I think feels like trigeminal neuralgia. I sure hope it’s not. Joyce
DeleteSo lucky..wish I could retire
ReplyDeleteBeth
Thanks Beth, I hope you are able to someday soon. 👍
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