Auto repairs – YIKES! Our Florida SUV has been in the shop three times over the last couple weeks for repairs. We got the oil & filter changed, the air conditioner charged, new tires, and this Wednesday it will be back in the shop for a new headlight. Our car still looks nice, but the repairs have been pretty costly. All together we will have … Continue reading Parts, Not Labor
Last year, we went on a Viking River Cruise of the Danube. We really enjoyed it. I wrote about buying into the “drinks package” on the first day of the cruise – and how I was up late on the final night “getting my money’s worth”. My wife didn’t drink enough to cover her investment in the drinks package, so overall they MADE money on … Continue reading Cheers to Junk Mail
As Batman learned in the Dark Knight, “You either die the Hero, or you live long enough to become the Villain.” I think that famous movie line now has some relevance to those of us who played by the rules, worked smart, saved prodigiously, and invested effectively. At first, one’s journey to FIRE (Financial Independence & Retired Early) is hailed by society as successful & … Continue reading Hero or Villain?
If you ask most Americans what their biggest annual expense is, most will say housing or maybe transportation. In fact, for most people taxes are far in a way the biggest expense that they have. That means that the taxes from the state you live in (we all see free equally under the Federal rules) are a pretty big factor in planning the financials for … Continue reading State Tax Competitiveness
Valentine’s Day is this weekend, which is my unofficial start of spring in Florida. While we had a record cold start to the month, Valentine’s is usually the date that the weather turns very nice here and the flowers go into full bloom. With the arrival of ideal weather, we have a lot of overnight visitors queued up over the next two months. It is … Continue reading Florida Busy Season ♥️
If you spend any amount of time in Florida, one thing jumps out almost immediately: lawyer ads everywhere. On TV. On billboards. On the sides of buses. “Been in a car accident? Call now.” It’s hard to drive five minutes without being reminded that someone is ready to sue on your behalf. That observation stuck with me when I started comparing car insurance premiums between … Continue reading Florida Car Insurance
Our neighborhood investment club decided to have a friendly competition on “best investment” for the next 12 months. We were each assigned to come up with a publicly available investment and track the returns starting 2/2/26 thru 2/1/27. Whoever delivers the best return (including dividends, Klaus) has neighborhood bragging rights. I am typically a conservative, index fund investor, so this is a pretty different challenge … Continue reading Silver & Gold
I rejoined our neighborhood investment club this past Friday morning. It was a crisp 55-degrees here in Celebration FL, so we met inside the neighborhood clubhouse. There are quite a few Snowbirds in the group like myself who haven’t seen the other guys since last April. Rather than talk about how well 2025 turned out for most investments, the conversation was forward looking. We were … Continue reading Cash On The Sidelines?
Since we’ve been chatting about 2025 investment returns, I thought I’d share this article about Dave Ramsey advocating an 8% “safe withdrawal rate” (SWR) for retirees. I generally think Ramsey is a pretty sensible guy – encouraging people to get out of debt, invest in index funds, and build generational wealth. Still, the idea of an 8% SWR seems more than a bit wild to … Continue reading How High Can You Spend?
For this year’s Christmas Countdown, I spent the month reveling in the nostalgic joy of mid-century modern / “space age” holiday designs. These are the holiday decorations that became popular in the 1950s and stayed that way when my brothers and I were kids in the 1960s and into the 1970s.
🎄✨🎅🏻 24 Days to Christmas:“Evergleam” silver tinsel trees were introduced in 1959 by the Aluminum Specialty Company of Manitowoc WI …
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