The Max Out of Pocket crew had a pretty fun 2019; fun that is reflected in our 2019 expenses. That’s okay though, we are willing to spend some serious cash on the things we enjoy. I suppose some people might look at this and say we are slumming it in a dark dungeon of frugal deprivation. While others will see the same information and think we might have a spending problem. Max on the other...
Let’s get right to the point. In 2020, the Medicare Part B deductible came in at $198. This is a $13.00 increase from where we were in 2020. That’s a 7% increase year over year and a very similar increase to what we saw (on a percentage basis) with the Medicare Part A deductible. If you remember, the Medicare Part B premiums came in up 6.7% from where we were in 2019. Now a lot...
As it turns out, 2019 was a pretty great year for front-loading my 403(b) account. My low-cost VIIIX (Vanguard Institutional Index Fund Institutional Plus Shares) fund generally tracks the performance of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. The S&P 500 returned just over 30% in 2019. Thus, VIIIX put up a very similar return for 2019. On 12/31/2018 VIIIX was worth $227.57 per share and by 12/31/2019 is was worth $290.25 per share. That’s a...
Well, it’s time to get back to business here at Max Out of Pocket. It is already February and we haven’t even touched on where Medicare Part B premiums came in for the calendar year 2020. Even though I am 30 years or so out from Medicare coverage, I still watch these numbers closely. You should too. They may come sooner than you think. So let’s get right to it. In 2020, the Medicare Part...
Well, I will just come out and say it – Mrs. Max OOP is officially an American. It has been a while since I’ve done one of these little updates here at Max Out of Pocket. That’s not to say we haven’t had a lot going on. The last time I did this I was writing about leaf-peepers descending on our town and now we are knee-deep in the snow writing about a new American...