I was chatting with a friend & neighbor recently about Social Security. Paul has just turned 65 and was thinking of jumping on SSI early (his full retirement age is 67). He thought the advantage might be that he could get “locked in” to a benefit before the government potentially cuts back SSI benefits for wealthier households. In thinking through the situation, I put together … Continue reading Social Security Revisited
My wife and I were already out looking at Christmas Lights on Friday night. The sun sets at about 4:30pm here in early December, so we got some hot cocoa at Starbucks, and enjoyed the red, green, and white glow of lights, blow molds, and inflatables. It’s an amazing amount of work that people put into these residential displays. Especially here in Minnesota where the … Continue reading Christmas Light Fight
I’m always fascinated by the different goals that people set for themselves in early retirement. Recently, I was chatting with MegaCorp colleague, Scott M, about his retirement in Arizona. He decided to take to the air and become a pilot! Here’s his story … Setting goals in retirement is one of the most fun and inspiring things I have ever done. It is a time when … Continue reading Flying the Friendly Skies
Short post this morning. I just wanted to share this scary chart I ran across. We all know that housing affordability is at a 4-decade low, but this chart really brings it home. The bars show what % of people are are able to get mortgages they can afford. Only 6% of home buyers (green bar on left) could do so within the traditional mortgage … Continue reading Housing Unaffordability
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
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