Regret for Delaying Social Security to 70

"Tomorrow is not guaranteed." ~ old adage

Common thinking is to wait until 70 if one can afford it and is healthy in order to receive a higher Social Security payment.  Mathematically, that seems to be good advice.  However, life happens.

Below is a link to an article in which the person regrets waiting until 70 and his reasons.

I'm Retired And Regret Claiming Social Security At 70 - Here's Why

Here's a summary of the article:

• Hidden Tax Trap. That higher income pushes him into brackets where more of his Social Security gets taxed, and his Medicare premiums get hit with surcharges. He's essentially penalized for following conventional wisdom about waiting until 70.
  
  
• Health Gets Worse. He spent years in my late sixties staying healthy, exercising, and planning for a long retirement. Then at 72, he was diagnosed with a serious condition that limits my mobility and energy. Those extra years between 67 and 70 when he could have truly enjoyed his benefits are gone forever.
  
  
• Breakeven math is just theoretical.  The break-even point for waiting until 70 compared to benefits claimed at age 67 is approximately age 82. But that calculation assumes everything stays constant – your health, Medicare costs, tax brackets, and Social Security's future stability.  Life happens.
  
  
• Missed Experiences. While he was dutifully waiting until 70, his neighbor who claimed at 62 was traveling the world. She's now 67 and has already received five years of checks that someone waiting until 70 hasn't gotten, allowing her to travel and enjoy life.
  
  
• Social Security May Cut Benefits. He delayed for maximum benefits that might not even be guaranteed when potential cuts come in 2033 or 34.
  
  
• Could Have Done Well Investing. With a 4 percent real return, a person has to live to 89, instead of 78, for it to be beneficial to delay benefits from age 67 to 70, yet 77 percent of 67-year-old males and 65 percent of 67-year-old females die before 89.
  
  
• Spousal Benefits Delayed.  His spouse could have been receiving 50% of my full retirement age benefit for three additional years, but instead got nothing while he chased those delayed retirement credits. That's money they'll never get back.
  
  
• Worried More About Market Fluctuations.  During those three years he delayed Social Security, he had to rely more heavily on my 401(k) and other investments for living expenses.
  
  
• Extra Cash Would Have Been Useful.  Between ages 67 and 70, he faced unexpected expenses: home repairs, medical bills, and helping his adult children through financial challenges.
  
  
• Having Money Sooner Is Better.  Looking back, he realize he treated Social Security like a pure investment decision when it should have been a lifestyle choice. If he could do it over again, he'd claim at full retirement age and use those three extra years of benefits to truly enjoy the beginning of his retirement while he was still healthy enough to make the most of it.

I agree with many of his points since I took Social Security early at 64 and avoided experiencing many of reasons for his regret. 

For more on  Reaping the Rewards, check back every Friday  for a new segment.

This is not financial, Social Security, nor investment advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

Copyright © 2025 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

The Curse of Easy Credit

Managing personal finances used to be simple, before the days of multiple credit cards and easy loans.  We earned money.  We paid mostly in cash, except for home and car loans.   We saved in banks.  If we couldn't afford it with cash, we didn't buy it.  Easy peasy to have good personal finance results.

Fast forward to today.   Don't have enough money to buy something.  There a lots of credit options. 

• Need money for everyday items or smaller purchases.  Max out multiple credit cards.  Buy now, pay later.    Split payments up.  Rent to own.   The temptation is that all these options are at NO cost if one pays them off on time.   People rarely pay on time which results in paying high interest rates.
  
  
• Need money for expensive items.   Can't afford to go to college.  There's money from student loans.  Car loans now go out to seven years and are often upside down on the day it's purchased.  These loans are great until one has to start paying them back.
  
  
• Need money sooner.  Get advances on one's paycheck, but at a cost.  Get a money advance on one's credit card.
  
  
• Want to gamble.  No need travel or have cash.  Go online with one's credit card.  One can go thousands of dollars into debt.

I made my daughter an authorized user on a credit card, but still had her pay her part of the bill.  She commented how much easier and quicker it was to spend money using a credit card. Managing personal finances requires good skill and discipline.  Today, there are too many temptations and opportunities to veer off a successful path.  

For more on Crossing Generations, check back every  Thursday  for a new segment.

This is not financial, credit card, nor debt advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

Copyright © 2025 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Protecting Personally Identifiable Information

There a lots of attempts to steal people personally identifiable information (PII) and use it.   I have not subscribed to any protection services, even when it's provided for no charge due to a data breach. I feel that taking good precautions will be enough protection.  Here's what I do to protect information.

• Shred any papers that may have PII.  Bank statements, brokerage statement, pre qualification letters  with QR codes, 1099s, copies of tax returns,  W-2s and cancelled checks.
• Don't share SSN at doctor's or dentist's offices.   It is not required and you can choose to leave it blank.   In fact, you can decline sharing SSN for many applications.
• Do not send PII over e-mail.  It is not secure.
• Only use secure electronic systems to send personally identifiable information to appropriate organizations.
• Cut up expired credit cars and membership cards.
• Do not give information over the phone to unknown callers that claim to be bank, credit card, IRS, Social Security or Medicare representatives.  Call back a confirmed number, from internet or mail, to verify unknown callers.
• Check credit card statements and bank statements for unknown activities.
• Periodically, check information at credit bureaus.

Finally, I usually am on the side of being cautious rather than assume the situation is safe.  Better to not give out or shred the information than have it obtained by unscrupulous people.

For more on The Practice of Personal Finance , check back every Wednesday  for a new segment.

This is not financial advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

Copyright © 2025 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Replacing Instead of Repairing a Dishwasher

I usually DIY repair and keep appliances running longer before buying. There are plenty of YouTube tutorials to fix most things.   In the past, I done several minor repairs on our dishwasher with success. I've replaced the detergent dispense cover two times.  Other times just draining a restarting solved the problem. However, today I decided to replace after trying to repair.  Here are my reasons.

Our dishwasher gave multiple errors codes.  Initially, it was a Watertap error, and I decided to clean the internal filter and restarting, which usually works.   When cleaning the filter didn't work, I found out the Watertap error meant insufficient water was coming in.  Then I started getting a E15 and Aquastop code, which indicates a leak flooding the catch basin. I pulled the dishwasher out to check if the inlet hose was kinked.  It was not.  I mopped up the catch basin, put everything back together and then started the dishwasher.   Still had the Watertap error.  However, now the dishwasher kept filling and overflowed out.  I pulled the dishwasher out again and disassemble the inlet to see the filter which appeared clean.  Reassembled and ran, but still had the Watertap error and the overflowing out.

I spent about 3 hours diagnosing and trying to repair and still had the problem.  In the past, a simple fix often worked and it took less that 15 minutes.  I've concluded that I probably need to try to change the inlet valve which is a $60 part but not sure if that will fix the overflowing, since another sensor should prevent that.   If I still have problems, I will need to call in a repair service and that will cost at least $200 plus parts.   More expensive if the problem is the control panel, which it may be.

The dishwasher is about 10 years old and cost $800 when purchased.  Since we cook a lot, we use a dishwasher 2-3 times a day, when normal average usage is 5 times a week.  So we probably used our dishwasher the equivalent of 30 years for most people.    In addition several small parts are damaged and need replacing.  Even if the repair is successful, other issues are likely to occur soon and require a replacement. And if I need a service call for a repair, it will likely cost about $400 for parts and labor.

Rather than spend money and more time to fix, I've the decided the best option is to buy new and have it last another 10 years before needing major repair or replacement. The main issue is that we may need to wash dishes by hand for a few days while waiting for delivery and installation.😠

For more on Ideas You Can Use, check back every  Tuesday for a new segment.

This is not financial nor appliance maintenance advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

Copyright © 2025 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Creating a Successful Retirement

One of the best things I did was work on the elements that I had some control over.  These are the ones I worked on.

• Determining funds needed in retirement.
• Determining source and amount of income.
• Deciding how much to save.
• Deciding how much to spend.
• Deciding how savings are invested.
• Minimizing current and future tax liability.
• Managing risk before and after retirement.

Here are the elements that have an effect, but I didn't control.  I probably spent more time thinking about these that I should have.  Better to have used risk management, which I did control instead of trying to forecast.

• The economy.
• Interest rates.
• Inflation.
• Who is elected or appointed.

Even though I've been retired for a while, I still spend time working on the things I control, especially the last 3 elements.

For more on Strategies and Plans, check back every Monday for a new segment.

This is not financial nor retirement advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

Copyright © 2025 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Ending Taxes on Social Security Payments

Social Security payments used to be tax free, until 1984 when up to 50% of Social Security payments were taxable.  The maximum was increased to 85% in the 1991.

Despite campaign promises of ending taxes on Social Security, the recent legislation did not directly end taxes on Social Security payments.

Now Congress is introducing a bill, You Earned It, You Keep It, to eliminate taxes on Social Security payments.  Similar bills have failed in the past. 

For more details see Taxes on Social Security Could Be Eliminated Under New Bill - Newsweek

I hope this bill passes.

For more on New Beginnings, check back every Sunday for a new segment.

This is not financial, tax nor Social Security advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

Copyright © 2025 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Leverage Personal Strengths for Success

In 2018's Avengers: Endgame, Frigga says to a despondent Thor: "Everyone fails at who they're supposed to be, Thor. The measure of a person, of a hero, is how well they succeed at being who they are."

There many recommendations and actions that deliver better personal finance results.  Which ones to do or try?  Which are a good fit.   Here are some of my criteria based on experience to be better at personal finance.

• Does the action/activity have a good chance of working?  
  
  
  
• Is the action/activity something that one is good at doing?
  
  
  
• Is the action/activity something one likes to do?
  
  
  
• Finally, how much additional effort does the action/activity require?

If the answer to the first three are yes, then determine if the level of effort required makes it worth doing.

For more on Reflections and Musings, check back every Saturday for a new segment.

This is not financial advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

Copyright © 2025 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Financial Decision Fatigue

There are lots of financial or financial related decisions to make in retirement and as one gets older.  Here are some of the items bullet pointed without discussion.

• Distribution of retirement funds:  Lump sum, annuity, NUA, rollover
• Age to start Social Security:  62 min, 67 FRA, 79 max
• Medicare options: Supplement, Advantage
• Tax Planning:  RMD, Roth Conversion, Gifts 
• Estate Planning: Trusts, Wills, POAs
• Insurance-Long Term Care, Life, Car, Homeowner, Umbrella
• Investment Strategies: Growth, Income, 

NUA-Net Unrealized Appreciation

FRA-Full Retirement Age

RMD-Required Minimum Distribution

POA-Power of Attorney

I always expected getting older would make thing easier.  NOT!

For more on Reaping the Rewards , check back every Friday  for a new segment.

This is not financial or aging advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

Copyright © 2025 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Shredding Personally Identifiable Information

When I was younger I threw all my statements and prequalified financial offers (credit cards, banks, insurance, etc.) in the weekly trash.  Never had an issue with identity theft.

Nowadays, I think it is prudent to shred anything that can be used to "steal" one's identity.  This includes:

• Financial Statements:  Bank, Brokerage, Credit Card, W-2, 1099, Mortgage, Student Loan and more
• Prequalified anything:   Credit Card, Insurance, Membership that have QR codes
• Old tax return data:  I shred after 7 years.
• Expired Credit or Debit Cards
• Paper Bills:  Medical, Utility

Shredding takes me about an hour for a month's amount paperwork.  

In some cases, asking for e-documents is a secure route to take, which is how my bank bill payment system operates.  I choose electronic for some bank and brokerage statement, but I still choose paper for those that I want for tax records.

I probably shred more than I need to do.  However, better safer than sorry.  

For more on Crossing Generations, check back every Thursday for a new segment.

This is not financial nor security advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

Copyright © 2025 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Hacks to Make the Hard to Do Easier

"We do things not because they were easy, but because we thought they were going to be easy."  ~ parody of JFK quote on going to the moon.

Yes, a number of personal finance activities are hard to do, even though they sound easy.

Here are some hacks to make the hard to do, easier:

• Automate.  Have contributions to savings or retirement accounts done automatically.  Don't need to think about it or put any effort towards it except for the initial decision.
  
  
• Routine.   I set up my bank to receive most of my bills on its bill pay service.   When the bill shows up, I pay it and have the funds withdrawn the next day, way before the due date.  That way I have a running current balance in our bank account and know immediately whether I have enough funds and the amount remaining.
  
  
• Habit.  Here are examples of some financial habits.   Regularly use cash instead of credit cards.  Buy only what one needs, instead of things that one wants.  Always have a three month emergency fund. Put a percentage of raises into savings.

Progress will happen and, of course, YMMV.

For more on The Practice of Personal Finance, check back every Wednesday  for a new segment.

This is not financial advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

Copyright © 2025 Achievement Catalyst, LLC