It’s graduation season, so the media is stoking the flames of political divide with what is commonly referred to as the “Student Loan Crisis” (example). I saw a couple of charts that illuminate the issue pretty clearly, so I thought I share them with my small readership here. First, according to the Education Data Initiative, the average student loan payment for a Bachelor’s Degree is … Continue reading Manufactured Student Loan “Crisis”
The economy is either strong, or very weak, it seems. Like many things in America, it just depends on your political perspective. According to Gallup, Republicans are +22 points positive about the economy, while Democrats are -80 points negative. If you go back to Biden’s time in office the viewpoints were switched almost perfectly. In Trump’s first term they were flipped again. I consider myself … Continue reading How’s The Economy? It Depends …
The new “Trump Accounts” 530A program is now officially rolling out, and millions are taking notice. The app is suddenly the top download on the Apple & Google app stores – again proving the popularity of “free” government money from politicians in an election year. At its core, the program is simple. Children born between 1/1/25, and 12/31/2028, are eligible to receive a $1,000 contribution … Continue reading Free Government Money?
I’m glad to see that public schools are taking personal finance seriously. Thirty-nine states now require personal finance as a high school graduation requirement, either as a standalone class, or integrated into another class, like economics. For decades, students sat through economics classes learning about monetary policy, supply and demand curves, and gross domestic product. Those topics are interesting, and they certainly help explain how … Continue reading High School Personal Finance
My son and I were talking about saving & investing and I’m proud that he is a good saver. I know that definitively because I ran across this chart in a news story (I forget where). It gives a good look at net worth by age with 5 year age brackets. I think it’s good for young people to see what others are saving. We … Continue reading Net Worth By Age
An online thread recently asked “What luxury, purchases end up being a money pit?” I think we’ve all had the experience of buying something we thought would be great, but end up costing us much more than we thought. Here’s a summary of the top responses … Boats seem like the quintessential money pit for people. The old saw is that “a boat is a … Continue reading Trophy Purchase Money Pits
We had a lovely Mother’s Day yesterday with my Mom and 2 of my 3 brothers. Our son & his girlfriend also came over, so there was 8 of us for a nice brunch. The flowering crabapple trees in our neighborhood were in full bloom to mark the occasion. It is so nice to get family together. In addition to Mother’s Day, we went on … Continue reading Keep Your Friends & Family Close
I finally pulled the trigger on upgrading my sports car for some 2026 summer fun. It’s funny how car deals sometimes come together – this one was especially fast & favorable! A friend and I were at the PGA Golf Super Store looking at golf clubs a couple nights ago. He noticed that I had driven my BMW Z4 over to the store and then … Continue reading Sudden Stingray Summer …
“Learning New Things” has been a theme in these pages over the last month. Over the last week, I decided to add something else to the list … hitting a golf ball effectively. I used to golf a couple times a month when I was working. I golfed the last Friday of the month with my brothers and our Dad – and usually another day … Continue reading Driving Into 2026
A few years ago, I went golfing with the Retired Men’s Club members of our church. Since I was a relatively new retiree – and much younger than the average club member – I asked them to share with me one piece of retirement wisdom on each hole. Related: Life After FIRE – Fitting In The only two pieces of advice that I still remember … Continue reading “Find A Young Doctor”
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