File this under “Things I’m Thankful For, But Have No Control Over”. The S&P 500 is off to a blazing start in 2024. Q1 is ending, and the index is already up double-digits (10.1%). It’s the U.S. equity market’s best start since 2019! I know, a quarter isn’t much to be excited for, but the U.S. market has really been rocking for a full decade … Continue reading Two Different Worlds
We’re shuffling home to cold Minnesota today from our new vacation place in sunny Celebration FL. We’re heading from a place you can walk through a tropical paradise – sunny & 80-degrees – to a snowy landscape with temperatures in the teens overnight. We’ve been gone a full 74 days, so we’re excited to get home. Everyone is asking us when we will be back … Continue reading Two State Shuffle
One aspect of buying a vacation place in Florida that I haven’t discussed yet is the importance understanding nearby traffic. It’s a real consideration. Many of the most popular spots in Florida (or California) are jammed with traffic during snowbird season or in the summer. I was shocked to learn what a big consideration it is back in 2014. We stayed in Cape Coral, Florida, … Continue reading Traffic Kingdom
File this under … ‘They Thought of Everything’. The condo association in our new vacation hometown, Celebration FL, even has its own resident car wash! Included in your $100 monthly dues are a private club – with restaurant, bar, pools, fitness center – and this awesome little car wash. Every resident gets a card to swipe in the pressure washing machine with soap, wax, and … Continue reading Thoughtful Amenities
The MVP of our move-in to our new vacation condo in Celebration FL is our new handyman, Carlos. At home in MN, I’m known for my roster of “guys” that work in the house – my handyman Joe, painter Jeff, irrigation specialist Roberto, concrete guy Zac, etc. Still, our one new Florida “guy”, Carlos, might be the best of the whole team. It’s sometimes hard … Continue reading Handyman MVP
Yesterday morning I took our dog, Riley, on a long walk around the Margaritaville Orlando resort that has been our home for the last three winters. It was our ceremonial last walk before moving to our own vacation place in Celebration, Florida. I really enjoyed the time that we spent here at the Margaritaville resort. The colorful, pastel-hued cottages were cute & comfortable and the … Continue reading Farewell to Margaritaville
We’re at Walt Disney World’s EPCOT Center this morning, enjoying the Spring Flower & Garden Festival. They do a great job colorfully bedazzling the parks this time of year. The beauty in the parks is belied by the nastiness of a proxy fight behind the financial scenes at the Walt Disney Company. An activist investor, Nelson Peltz, is trying for the 24th time to gain … Continue reading Proxy Fight Ambivalence
At a board meeting this week, we were lamenting the continued, but predictable, inflationary fiscal practices of the federal government. I jokingly commented that we need to write future contracts in cryptocurrency, to hedge against government mismanagement. It didn’t get much of a laugh, but I figured it was a great time for a crypto joke. Bitcoin is once again in record territory, fueled by … Continue reading Crypto Back In The News
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