In a recent Vanguard study looking at the state of saving in America, called How America Saves 2021, I ran across this interesting chart. It shows how much people have saved in their 401k accounts for different age groups. It’s often difficult for savers to be able to benchmark where they are at in their journey to retirement, so I thought I would share it … Continue reading Benchmarking Your 401k Savings
My friend and neighbor, Jeff, has organized a great activity as he transitioned from the world of work to retirement. He has become a garage brewmaster and hosts backyard monthly ‘tap release events’. Brewing beer and getting people together fit perfectly with his background as a chemical engineer & MegaCorp operations executive. About a dozen guys got together a couple weeks ago for his latest … Continue reading Monthly Tap Release Parties
They say, “a stitch in time, saves nine,” but sometimes waiting to do something pays off even bigger. In investing, it’s a bit of luck. My broker had been calling over the last 8 weeks to ask what we wanted to do with a big chunk of cash that came our way through a real estate sale. I’m lucky I didn’t decide what to do … Continue reading Timing Your Stitches In The Stock Market
I often describe my FIRE vocation as “professional goof-off,” but this week I might have outdone myself. I enjoyed a few days on an all-expenses-paid luxury award trip as an unlikely inductee into the White Castle Hall of Fame. Wait, what? There’s a Hall of Fame for that hamburger place that looks like a roadside castle? The one that’s open ‘way past midnight’ and makes … Continue reading A Quirky Award
I’ve written before about cryptocurrencies when they were growing, so I thought it only right that I also comment on them when they are falling. Bitcoin is now trading at less than half of what it was at last November. It’s gone from a peak of $69K/coin down to just $30K. That’s a sad drop for a digital currency that was supposed to help protect … Continue reading Are Cryptos Blowing Away?
Summer hit as suddenly as lightning last week in Minnesota. After one of the coldest April’s in the last 50 years (daily highs mostly in the 30s), the temperature hit 88-degrees yesterday when I wrote this. With the nice weather came all of our favorite summer activities: biking, tennis, league softball, and … Pickleball. Surely you’ve heard of the phenomenon of Pickleball, haven’t you? It’s … Continue reading In A Pickle …
We love to travel, but during the pandemic, all you could really do was read about interesting global destinations. We’re starting to plan a trip for later this year and I checked out these two magazines at the bookstore. People seem to love checking off boxes on their ‘bucket list’ and these magazines are organized in checklist fashion. The first one was for US destinations … Continue reading Bucket List Adventures
I’ve had pretty good luck with rental cars over the years. Other than the one time a city bus plowed into my (parked) SUV in front of a hotel in snowy Aspen, I’ve never had a reportable incident. Until this year. I just got back from a board meeting in Michigan, and on the way back to the airport a rock flew up from an … Continue reading Rental Car Curse!
Everyone knows the moment you drive a car off a new dealer lot, you just cost yourself over $10,000 in depreciation. That rule has been true as long as I can remember. Now, something else seems to be happening. Fueled by the post pandemic/stimulus money and car shortage, the Jeep Wrangler that I bought last year seems to have appreciatied at significant rate! As you … Continue reading New Car Appreciation?
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