I’ve found some other interesting things in going through my parents’ financial records. My dad paid $50 per month for his local phone bill plus another $10 per month in long distance charges. In today’s money that would be at least $300-$400. Clearly, phone bills have gone down a lot over the years.
Never let it be said that breaking up Ma Bell didn’t help consumers.
And I’ve learned that my mom kept detailed calendars for all of us over a period of years—from the point at which we moved into the house she was living in when she died two months ago right up to the time that my dad died. After that, presumably, she didn’t have the time to keep up with the practice.
Now I have these calendars and they’re a detailed accounting of my parents’, my siblings’, and my activities over a period of years. Quite the memory jogger.
Dave,
Thanks for these posts about your Mom’s estate. They’re interesting by themselves, but also are a contrast with my own Mother who was a very poor record keeper after my parent’s divorce in the mid-1970’s. There is a lot of stuff she had (like a major share in a 200 unit apartment building) that we don’t really know what happened to or any information beyond the basics.
As I think I’ve mentioned before the underlying purpose behind my posts on the progress in managing my mom’s estate is to communicate with my siblings and their families.
However, this blog represents my life, my current interests, what I’m doing and involved with at the time and, since a lot of my energy is being devoted to my mom’s estate, the process will necessarily be represented here.
The only thing I don’t write about is my work. There are reasons for that. I don’t think people would be particularly interested and I’m very careful to protect my clients’ interests.
I knew you were posting for your family, but I appreciate it too.