Ah, that's too bad.

Are there any Buffistas with good knowledge of all things Social Security and Medicare? I am hurting my head trying to make decisions as I approach the big 65 in February.

On the Medicare, it seems to make sense on the surface. I don't take any pharmaceuticals so I just would need some type of supplemental for things like acupuncture and chiropractic which I do like. I've been using an HSA plan for the past few years. This lets me write off purchases of vitamins and pretty much anything closely resembling health care, but I can't contribute to one anymore (apparently) after I turn 65. The health insurance stuff is further complicated by DH being 11 years younger than me. So no more joint plans if I do go to Medicare. But he has different health issues including needing hernia surgery and having RA, so our plan needs are quite different.

On the SS decision making front, I am leaning toward taking my SS in February. Yes, I would get a bunch more when I turn 70, but I can change my business payroll to pay DH a bunch more so that when he gets to retirement age his amount would be higher. I have a bunch of spreadsheets for figuring out that one so I'll probably continue to map out the different options and see what works.

It is all so confusing! Anyway, if anyone knows more about this stuff than I do I would appreciate any thoughts.

My company is having a rough patch right now due to a very slow beginning of the year. I just had to put together an email to send out to a few folks to try to raise some money to bridge things to get us through the next couple of months. There is some really good work coming, I just need to find a way to get the company there.

That was a very difficult letter to write, and even harder to send.

Sigh.

I'm sorry, ND.

It is a tough one, ND. I've done it a couple times and it is the worst, but it happens in small business a lot.

Yep, it's definitely hat in hand time. It's also when I realize that my list of folks who actually have deep pockets is pretty short.

ND, I've had to do this for myself, as a one person shop...frankly, more than once.

Most recently, during the government shutdown, I lost 80% of my client base. EIGHTY. About half of whom won't be coming back for fear of it happening again.

I reached out to one deep-pocketed person who sent me a check for six months of fees. That is only one hour per week, but it sure as hell helped. Some of those hours have been gifted to others because the gifter is that generous. People want to help when they can.

It sucks so hard, but you have assets and history and everything that makes it clear that you are 'good for it.' Everybody who does business of any kind has had these moments. Even big companies.

I am hoping one of your contacts comes through quickly and robustly.

I'm about to ask for money from my parents due to the weather and my mental health that meant I only clocked 30 hrs in Feb. I owe my helper money, but thankfully he got a fair amount from another gig and I think he's okay until I can catch up.

The hard thing on this end is I'm realizing how few people I know when deep pockets. I have had some very good people commit to helping, but I'm not quite halfway to what I think might help get me through this.

Banks used to have real lines of credit that could be used for timing issues. No more. Now if you don't have liquid assets and stellar credit all they will give you is a high interest credit card. It is incredibly frustrating.