Month: August 2023

Know Your Number

Where Are We Heading With National Retirement Ages?

There’s increasing pressure on raising retirement ages in the world. Many countries are moving in the direction of raising the retirement age used for their national pensions. Other countries are pretending that their national programs are robust & funded appropriately just the way things are, but they math isn’t in their favor. In the USA, Republican candidate, Nikki Haley, is calling for Social Security reforms … Continue reading Where Are We Heading With National Retirement Ages?

MrFireStation9 Comments
Have A Purpose

Another Quirky Award

The annual State Fair is a big event here in Minnesota. It is regularly voted the country’s ‘Best State Fair’ and over 2.2 million crowd the fairgrounds on 12 days busy each year. Among the colorful carnival rides, popular grandstand shows, and greasy food-on-a-stick, the fairgrounds have a dozen buildings where Minnesotans compete for ribbons in hundreds of creative, horticultural, and agricultural events. I’ve always … Continue reading Another Quirky Award

MrFireStation2 Comments
Invest Effectively

Investors: Back To The Office!

President Biden ordered his cabinet secretaries to “aggressively execute” plans for federal employees to “work more in the office” earlier this month. Axios reported that about 75% of federal office space is currently sitting empty, despite Biden pledging that “the vast majority of federal workers will again work in-person” in his State of the Union Address almost two years ago. The federal government lags private … Continue reading Investors: Back To The Office!

MrFireStation11 Comments
Overall Philosophy

Money & Happiness Reconsidered

A friend who bought a new boat recently quipped, “if money doesn’t make you happy you aren’t spending it right.” Until recently, scientists debated that point, claiming that happiness topped out at about $75K/year in income. That’s now changing. New research suggests that more money makes you more happy up to well over $500K/year. That’s a big difference and seems to make a lot more … Continue reading Money & Happiness Reconsidered

MrFireStation12 Comments
Have A Plan

(I Guess) We Are On Budget …

Do I stick to a budget? No, I don’t even have a budget anymore. I’ve become completely un-analytical in retirement. I used to be good at it. When I was working, I built complex spreadsheets to track our annual budget, our net worth, and projections of what we needed in retirement. Since retiring, much of that has gone by the wayside. I stopped tracking our … Continue reading (I Guess) We Are On Budget …

MrFireStation8 Comments