It’s been a few years since the peak of the pandemic, so I thought I would look at the impact that the big event had on the average age of retirement. I heard a politician say that some of the shortages in the current jobs market are the result of Boomers leaving their jobs to retire early. I’ve written this blog long enough to be … Continue reading No Pandemic-Induced Retirement Spree
Today is ‘National Relaxation Day’. It’s recorded in Chase’s Calendar of Annual Events, after being proposed by Chase’s 9-year old grandson, Sean Moeller, in 1985. I celebrated the day by mowing the lawn. For me, that’s pretty relaxing. After all, I’ve had a busy week. On Monday we played pickle ball. Tuesday was a 37-mile bike ride – my longest ever. Wednesday I played tennis … Continue reading Relaxation Day
I just got back from a quick trip to Kansas City last week. I took my Jeep down there to see some sights, including a Disney 100 Exhibition that was going to end on Labor Day weekend. While I was in the area, I even drove up to Walt Disney’s hometown of Marceline, Missouri – the inspiration for Disneyland’s ‘Main Street USA’. It was a … Continue reading Planning Big Years
Before my Dad passed away in June, he and my Mom were diligent in getting “their affairs in order”. Now it’s our turn. My wife and I made a real estate purchase on Monday for our “forever home”. We bought a couple plots in the church cemetery next to my parents and my brother and his wife. When my wife’s Mom passed away unexpectedly a … Continue reading Planning Ahead …
I’ve been saying for about a year that the economy seems to be “wobbly”. It hasn’t been clear if the economy is going to improve (see: Bidenomics), or tip toward recession (see: Bidenflation). Increasingly, it seems like we are tipping the wrong way. This morning, the Dow Jones crashed 1,000+ points – compounding on losses last week. I will note that the Dow remains UP … Continue reading Wobbling The Wrong Way
I took my final business trip earlier this week. On Wednesday night I flew back from my last corporate board meeting, capping decades of business travel. Appropriately, my flight home was delayed 4x and I didn’t walk in the door of my house until 12:01am. I’m a bit of a ‘list person’ and have kept track of all my travel – business & pleasure – … Continue reading Final Business Trip
I’m flying out to Michigan this morning for a board meeting at ‘SmallCorp’. It’s a trip I’ve made many times over the last 9 years. ‘SmallCorp’ is an automotive industry supplier with thousands of employees and operations in 11 countries. They are only small in comparison to some of the giant MegaCorps I worked directly for over the course of my career. Related (2015) – … Continue reading Congratulations (& Farewell) SmallCorp!
The so-called, “Trump Tax Cuts” from 2017 are in the news as Democrats argue that they benefited only the richest Americans. This recent chart from the Tax Foundation shows that in the 4 years following the 2017 tax law change, the wealthiest households paid a greater share of Federal taxes. Their share went from below 40% to over 45% – about an 600bps increase. This … Continue reading Trump Tax Cuts
File this under “things I didn’t think I’d do in early retirement” … No one I know would ever mistake me for a gardener. I do a good job keeping the lawn cut, watered, and fertilized, but cultivating flowers or a vegetable garden is definitely not a hobby for me. That’s why this chapter of our early retirement is a bit of a surprise. Working … Continue reading Backyard Blossoms & Booze
It was only a couple days after the horrific assassination attempt on former President Trump, when the texts started coming. No tragedy, however dreadful, is missed by the political campaigns in their quest to raise money. It’s not the first text like this that I’ve gotten this year. I didn’t sign up for anything from Trump or Biden. I certainly wasn’t looking for Trump’s “love”. … Continue reading Political Campaign Exemption
MrFireStation 