Yesterday was the 4th anniversary of my heart attack in 2019. Thankfully, all has been good with my ticker since then. I recently had a “nuclear stress test” done where they put uranium into you before & during a steep treadmill run. It’s exhausting. The good news is that my numbers were identical to 4 years ago. The bill for the test just arrived and … Continue reading Running The Health Insurance Treadmill
For my annual Christmas Countdown, I featured pictures of the Holidays at interesting places around the world … 🇫🇷 25 Days to Christmas … Galleries Lafayette, Paris’, France 🎅🏻 🌍 🇬🇧 24 Days to Christmas … Oxford Street, London UK; Oxford Street is home to some of London’s finest shopping, including Selfridges … ⭐️😎🇯🇵 23 Days to Christmas … Shibuya Illumination, Tokyo, Japan; Japan celebrates Christmas as part of months-long … Continue reading Christmas Countdown 2023
A few years ago, I wrote about my hobby of collecting antique Shiny Brite Christmas ornaments from the 1940s-1960s. Since I retired in 2016, I’ve probably collected upwards of 50 of them. Among all of the things you could collect, Shiny Brites were very affordable. I’d pick up a glass lantern, UFO, or a curvy tree for just $4-$6 on average. If I found a … Continue reading Inflationary Christmas Treasures
When I was a corporate officer at MegaCorp, you were expected to maintain a certain % of your annual salary in company stock. I forget the exact amount, but I think it was 2-3x your annual total compensation. It wasn’t too hard, given the company had been doing well and we all had stock grants and stock options. Still, as personal finance matriarch, Jane Bryant … Continue reading Looking At Returns Over Time
It’s the busy season for charitable organizations as the end of the year comes close. The end of the calendar year is also the end of the tax year, so 501c3 non-profits hope to close out 2023 strong. Unfortunately, giving trends haven’t been positive for a while. The chart below shows American giving over the last 40 years. While there is some bounce in the … Continue reading Ring Out The Year Charitably
A few weeks ago, I wrote about my mostly positive, yet not quite compelling experience with a Jeep Wrangler Hybrid EV 4Xe. My son and I rented one in California. Now, Jeep is recalling all of the 4Xe’s that they made over the last 4 years. There has been a concerning number of fires with the best-selling model. Over the next month, they will contact … Continue reading Don’t Park Inside?!
What’s the temperature down to just 10° F the other morning, I decided to try out mall walking. It seemed like the quintessential retiree activity on a cold winter morning. A friend was supposed to join me, but he texted me that morning to say that 9:30a was “too early” for him. 🙂 When I arrived at 9:30, the mall was still closed. It was … Continue reading Deck The Malls …
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