Subj : Towing the Line was: Chic To : Dave Drum From : Ruth Haffly Date : Sat Jul 20 2024 11:24:43 Hi Dave, DD> By continuing to work and pay into SS my monthly cheque increases DD> every year (more than the COLA bumps. Plus, I enjoy what I do so it's DD> not "work" just ....... RH> I'm self employed so I can pick and choose my jobs. Not doing anything RH> right now because our AC not working right, current project is a RH> flannel shirt. Should have AC fixed Friday, then back to the sewing RH> machine. DD> Do you make enough to file with the Eternal Revenue Service? When I DD> ran a print shop in my basement as a side business one of the things I DD> hated most was the paperwork for the IRS filings. Usually just enough to add into our Misc. income; it's not enough to consider a business but since we do get some income from it, that's hhow we treat it. RH> Steve has mentioned cashing out an IRA to pay off the house but we've RH> not done so yet. Soon getting to the point when we have to draw from it RH> so we'll probably use that for extra house payments. We're paying extra RH> on the principle every month so already have the mortgage about half RH> paid. DD> I got a link in one of my on-line news feeds the other day - so I DD> followed it and found myself nodding my head often as I read it. Worth DD> a read. DD> https://www.forbes.com/advisor/mortgages/pay-off-your-mortgage-early/ DD> It's a matter of mathematics. Which is why I don't carry a balance on DD> my credit cards. And it makes it easier to get a home equity loan. I DD> needed one when I re-roofed the house, rebuilt the patio cover and had DD> the tree removed that caused me to need to rebuild the cover. RH> We don't carry a balance on our cards either. Couple of times when we RH> had big projects (house siding, new heating/cooling unit), a windfall RH> has come in at the same time to pay for it. DD> Found money is *always* nice. Yes, but no such windfalls this week. Truck needed some routine work, a/c return failed and had to be replaced & system cleaned, then something in the upright freezer jammed the door just slightly open & iced up the system. Found that in time to rescue most everything, gave us a chance to weed out some stuff. Thankfully, Tricare for Life and Medicare covered my (specialist) doctor's appointment and we were able to use the camper (which has a/c) when the house got hot. Also, Steve got a bit of a discount on the truck work. DD> 8<----- WHACK ----->8 RH> One time when we were at my parent's house, my brothers were talking RH> about how good Mrs. Stouffer's lasagne is. Steve and I looked at each RH> other with a "do they ever have lousy taste in food!" look. I guess it RH> cmes naturally; my mom used to make lasagne with cottage cheese. I got RH> my lasagne recipe from my Italian MIL. (G) DD> It's all in what you're accustomed to, I suppose. RH> Probably so, but once I got my MIL's recipe, I never looked at my RH> mom's. Same as we said we'd make his mom's sauce & meatballs and my RH> mom's meat sauce, then decide which to keep making. Made his mom's RH> first, never made my mom's. (G) DD> The Guineas around here used both ricotta and cottage cheese. And RH> once DD> in a while just small curd cottage cheese. RH> Guess it depends on what area of Italy you're from. DD> There are regional specialtiesd in nearly any cuisine.It's seldon the DD> same all over the country. Bv)= True, Steve's mom's family is from the Calabrian region, the toe of the boot. Well known as stone cutters. --- Catch you later, Ruth rchaffly{at}earthlink{dot}net FIDO 1:396/45.28 .... Are you sure you really want to know that? --- PPoint 3.01 * Origin: Sew! That's My Point (1:396/45.28) .