I just left the eye doctor after having a ‘Capsulotomy’. It’s a 30 second procedure to clear up some cloudiness from the Refractive Lens Exchange surgery I had done 3 years ago. Related: The Eyes Have It Given today’s visit, I thought it would be a good time to provide an update on lens exchange. In sort, it is an amazing (but expensive) procedure. For … Continue reading Looking Back at Lens Exchange
Amid all of the rapid-fire tax proposals during election season, I missed one that would affect us: Trump flip flopping on his own SALT (State & Local Tax) deduction cap. When they put together the Tax Cut & Jobs Act (Trump Tax Cut), during his first term, Trump supported capping the deductibility of SALT at $10,000 annually. At the time, it was viewed as a … Continue reading Flip Flop On SALT Deduction
I was talking with a friend that recently retired and asked him, “How are you enjoying your permanent vacation?” He answered, “fantastic!” with a big smile on his face. Of course, retirement isn’t exactly a “permanent vacation,” is it? It’s not like you are waking up each day in some amazing city, resort, or national park. You aren’t going out to dinner and enjoying first-class … Continue reading Permanent Vacation?
Who would have thought the Republicans would decisively clean-sweep the White House, Senate, and House in this week’s election? Certainly not the media pundits or the political pollsters. Once again, the “experts” were wrong. Most voters clearly didn’t believe that Biden was “sharp as ever”, Harris was a “new path forward”, or Trump was “Hitler” – no matter how many times they told us that. … Continue reading Betting Election Night
With tomorrow being Election Day, what’s your likely exposure to a new administration in Washington DC in January? I know we all have our favorites and we are often breathlessly told that “it is the most important election of our lifetimes!” Still, I’m struggling to think how my wife & I will be directly impacted by any of the changes that have been discussed. Please … Continue reading Election Impacts?
A friend of mine was surprised when I shared this table adjusting the return of 401k balances for inflation over the last 4 years. It shows that despite the relative strength in the stock market, real returns for 401k balances are DOWN about 9%. “That’s not right!” he said – “the S&P 500 is an an all-time high. It’s up almost 50% since the … Continue reading 401k Returns – Not As Good As You Think
We just got back from a week at our vacation place near Walt Disney World and had an odd vibe about early retirement that hadn’t hit me before. It made me doubly appreciative for the FIRE lifestyle we were able to achieve. We had our Florida handyman working on a few projects – at the same time our Minnesota handyman (and painter) were doing projects … Continue reading Double Incongruity of FIRE Lifestyle
To start with … my apologies to everyone that left comments in the last week and heard no response. I got a new iPhone and couldn’t get my WordPress or JetPack apps to work. We also left for Florida and I didn’t have my laptop or iPad to access the site. Sorry! Speaking of Florida, it turns out we didn’t escape Hurricane Milton unscathed. When … Continue reading Hurricane Milton Damage
Short post today. Really Target? Toothpaste? Images: (c) MrFireStation.com; Target, St. Paul MN Continue reading The Joy Of Shopping
On Mondays, I generally take my Mom grocery shopping and sometimes add on a field trip. When it comes to groceries, she prefers the ‘premium’ grocery store in our area – Lunds & Byerlys. They have a terrific, but pricey selection of foods – with wonderful produce, an amazing bakery, and carpeted aisles. It really is a pleasure to shop there – quiet, not crowded, … Continue reading Enjoy Your Self – Grocery Shopping Splurge
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