WaaWhoo! It's Good Being OLD!

I received my annual "bill" for renewal of my Harris County (home burglar) Alarm permit yesterday and noticed a box to check for EXEMPTIONS if 65 or over. So I called 'em up for clarification and GUESS WHAT?! I don't have to pay the ten bucks 'cause I'm OLD! Life is good.

'Course I'm sure some other government agency will STILL suck that ten bucks out of my pocketbook, but that's THEN and this is NOW.... let me enjoy the thrill!

The High Cost Of Funerals

....also known as Gouge 'Em One Last Time!

There is a wonderful website chocked full of helpful suggestions about what to do with The Body after death. You have lots of options and there are lots of ways to spend money like drunken sailors on shore leave when it comes to planning the planting!

The man to call to get the skinny on all this is Ken Lambert. Mr. Lambert is not a funeral director. He is simply a very knowledgeable consumer, researcher, coach, and negotiator.

This is what Ken Lambert has to say about his website:

This is an Independent Self-Help & Consumer Coaching Program with more than you ever wanted to know about funerals. It will:

1. Educate You on All Your Funeral Options.

2. Help You Select the Right Funeral Provider for Your Family.

3. Help You Negotiate the Best Prices.

Oh and an aside to MY family: I feel fine! Not to worry! Not planning on going for a long, long time...but if I do go, give this guy a call before you make any "final" decisions. Personally I don't know why Wal-Mart isn't in the biz of body disposal, but maybe by the time I go.... who knows!

Me And Mr. Jones, Mr. Jones, Mr. Jones...

...we got a thing going on... (Can't get that song out of my head!)..

Catchy tune, but this is about EDWARD JONES and the thing we got going on is they help me keep my hard earned money and make a bit more with prudent investing.

My broker is Robert Grossman, AAMS and he's located at 9731 Wortham Blvd., Suite 104, Houston and can be reached at 281-894-6422. He sent me a reproduction of a Smart Money, August 2007 article entitled And The Winner Is... about Edward Jones being ranked #1 Full Service Broker for the 2nd time in a row.

Now just in case you didn't know, a full service broker is more expensive and detail oriented than a discount broker. You can read the difference for yourself here if you like. I felt like I was one of those people that could benefit from the hand holding and personal advice that my broker offers. He's got a great staff too and they are always there to smooth out any furrors on my otherwise wrinkled brow.

By the same token, I've always liked it that the most I ever have to "go through" to get to talk to The Man is one person. Way back when we used Merrill Lynch and it was just too huge, impersonal and complicated for my simple tastes. I'm one of those that resists changes of any sort that dehumanize me. I hate push one for blah blah blah and so forth. I hate forced canned speeches while you're trapped on hold. I could go on and on, but I'd be digressing and that's generally distressing when I need to stay on topic.

Come to think of it, I highly recommend Edward Jones, but get your own broker. If all of you call mine then he might have to hire more people and then I'd get force fed canned music too! Hey, it could happen, but I'll grant you that's not likely I'm just messing with you.