My daughter lived in a couple of high end apartment buildings. They had a space you could rent for parties. I know she had her 30th birthday party in one. It was nice with a small kitchenette.
The thing she appreciated was a package room. A place for all of your packages. She’s in a townhouse now, you can buy a locked bin for packages but there are issue with theft. If you don’t. She mostly doesn’t order anything
My brothers friend came to me a few years ago about his insurer refusing to pay for medical treatment for his kid for what the insurer claimed was experimental. The procedure cost 75k. I got the insurer to cough up most of the cost ( I often represent policy holders in coverage disputes). One of my partners was like “ what will he do if they say no” And I was like “ go out of pocket… he’s paid more for family vacations “. My partner was stunned by that. We have well off clients. But not usually this level. They spend a lot….though not more than they can afford.
Our FA advisor suggests using airline points to upgrade to business class or first class. So far we have not done so, but maybe in your case it would make sense for spending down your miles. But not sure if you’d loose perks dipping below a certain balance(?)
My BIL has a condo about a mile from Surfside. What came out of it at his place was very detailed inspections, and a repair plan that created an assessment on each unit of around $140k (!). Most people got a loan for it
Any balance would have to be disclosed, and would definitely affect the sale price. I think all the older high rises are undergoing similar processes.
I have a friend with a 2br oceanfront condo in the Stuart area, and it’s nice but the HOA fees are around $1500/month! A lot of that is probably insurance, but still.
If you don’t think you’re ever going to use them, why not just transfer them now if you can to one of your kids? Delta unfortunately charges to transfer or gift Miles so that may not be an option if British Airways does the same. Delta also allows using points/miles for hotels, etc. and even if you are being reimbursed if you’re taking a personal trip or you’re being reimbursed out of your own business using the Miles might not be a bad idea instead
I think you mean ShawD, not ShawWife?
@1214mom, yes. I would very displeased if ShawWife had a fiance but am very pleased that ShawD does. We now have to help her plan a wedding in 8 months. Fortunately, she knows the caterers and tent suppliers (and generator and ice machine and …) suppliers who worked with ShawSon and with their two older cousins who got married there. So, she has people to call.
@Colorado_mom, I have done that. On personal trips. On business trips, I’m usually flying business or first and that is reimbursed. I could in practice use my points on business trips and take the reimbursement, but that would be complicated and probably would violate my agreement with my clients.
@jym626, I may do that at some point. I wonder if there will be a point at which I am a) able to travel; but b) unable or uninterested in working. I don’t envision that, but that would be a good time to use the points. We do a trip every two years to Italy and that is now purely personal – ShawWife used to teach painting classes in Italy but now we just go with our Italophile friends and enjoy.
Have fun planning the wedding!
Sorry, this gave me a good laugh (but I needed one today).
Congrats to your D!
Congrats @shawbridge !
Darn - I’ll be in the Canadian Rockies in July, but not September, so don’t worry about inviting me :). Congrats to the Shaw family.
July is a great time to be in the Canadian Rockies (except, I guess for the invasion of tourists) @1214mom. Enjoy.
@BunsenBurner, @Colorado_mom and @FallGirl, thanks. ShawWife just left to meet ShawD for wedding dress shopping.
Ona topic directly related to the purpose of this thread, we have our annual checkup with one of our financial planners. They sent us some homework. The first question was for ShawWife and me (either separately or together) to list our three top financial priorities, but the implication was life priorities that had financial implications. They then asked how well we thought our current financial position was aligned these priorities.
I said that
Do you think I missed something important?
Maybe need a statement about being enough funds for the possibility of long term care? It could be woven into #1 … saying that ideally you could afford any long term care needs that arise, while still having the other spouse stay in the house.
This 100%.
No big revelation, but I noticed that nowhere in there did you explicitly mention a second home. Maybe that’s really not a priority?
@Youdon_tsay, Thank you. I should build that into my list. We have put it off but it is in our future.
@Colorado_mom, it is good to focus on having enough money for long-term care and recognize that the other partner would still want to be at home if possible.
Definitely use the points. Never pay for an airline ticket or a hotel room. Not only do they get devalued over time, sometimes the business goes bust and you lose them. Our kids rarely pay for a hotel or airline ticket either, we cover that if we have miles/points. And they are great to donate, also. Plus, if your wife wants to take a mini vacation and go on a trip with you, why not? Use them to upgrade, if you don’t have a first class ticket.