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Understanding the Social Security Breakeven Age

Dear Savvy Senior, I’m trying to figure out the best time for my wife and I to start taking our Social Security retirement benefits and would like to understand the breakeven age. What can you tell me? --Strategizing Sam Dear Sam, As you approach retirement, one of the most important financial decisions you’ll face is when to begin collecting Social Security retirement benefits. A useful concept to guide your thinking is the “breakeven age,” which helps you evaluate the trade-off between taking a reduced benefit early versus a higher one later. Here’s what you should ...

Thanks To Those Who Don’t Hear It Enough

One of the hardest working people in the Ohio Valley is a young man who collects the shopping carts at the Warwood Kroger. All you have to do is watch him struggle to maneuver the large potholes in the parking lot to bring the carts back to the store. He should probably get extra duty pay for this challenging task. He is not the only one performing tough or, in some cases, dangerous work each day. Just take notice of the crossing guards at most any of our local grade schools. They literally take their lives into their hands when distracted or simply arrogant drivers rush through the ...

Low-Cost Smartphone Plans for Budget-Minded Seniors

Dear Savvy Senior, What are the absolute lowest-cost smartphone plans for seniors who mainly talk and text but need a little cellular data for email and occasional use? I’m currently paying $40 a month and hoping to cut that down. --Looking to Save Dear Looking, You’re asking a smart question. Many seniors pay far more for smartphone service than they actually use. If most of your phone activity is calls, texts, email and light web browsing, there’s usually no need to spend $40 or more a month. The good news: plenty of low-cost carriers now cater to light users who want ...

Honest Work Etched in Stone

There is a headstone for my deceased parents in Mount Calvary Cemetery in Wheeling. It sits on a sloping part of the graveyard high above some of the oldest burial plots in the area. The headstone contains the usual data of our parents’ names and their dates of birth and death. It also holds the first names of all of their 12 children. When planning the headstone, my mother told me that the reason for our names being included on their headstone is because they considered us to be their greatest accomplishments in life. Thus, we would be for all eternity, engraved in granite ...

Where to Get Help With Medicare Decisions

Dear Savvy Senior, I’ll be 65 in a few months and could sure use some help sorting through all the confusing Medicare options that are available to me. Where can I get help with my Medicare decisions? --Baffled Bob Dear Bob, With around 11,400 Baby Boomers turning 65 every day in 2026, you’re asking a very timely question. Many people approaching Medicare are confused by all the choices available today. In addition to original Medicare (Part A and B) that has been around for more than 60 years, you also have the option of enrolling in a Part D prescription drug plan, and a ...

What’s in Your Basket?

I’m in a pickle. Well, something like that. Remember when you were a kid and your Easter basket was filled with a decent size chocolate bunny, some jelly beans, Peeps and maybe a few toy trinkets such as a YoYo or jump rope? Well that’s what I can recall finding in my childhood Easter baskets. Then when we had our son, we found that just putting seasonal treats and small items was not the norm any longer. There were Hot Wheels and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles that were expected to arrive via the Easter Bunny. As the boy grew, so did the Easter baskets. Maybe a new basketball was ...