It’s been a busy November, but I’ve never been so organized heading into the holidays. I like to load up the month with all of the ‘work’ of the holidays so that I can just goof-off and enjoy ourselves between now and New Year’s. My approach this year was inspired by something I saw used at our metro zoo. I’ve been involved with the zoo … Continue reading Pre-Holiday Organization
Winter came relatively early this year. Snow fell every day for 4 days this week and now we have about 5” on the ground. With high temperatures falling into the teens today, there’s a good chance we’re stuck with the snow cover until next spring. I was ahead of the cold blast in getting the lawn mowed one last time and putting the Christmas lights … Continue reading Money Blowing In The Snow
I recently ran across this interesting chart that shows how much time people spend with others at different points of their lives. Alone time and time with your partner, children, family, coworkers, and friends. It’s apparently from an annual ‘Time Use Study’ by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. At first glance, I was a little depressed to see the ebb & flow of the lines … Continue reading Who Do You Spend Your Time With?
We shopped early for our Thanksgiving Turkey this year. Our 20+ pound Butterball Premium has been safely ensconced in our freezer for almost a week now. A friend of ours – who runs a big poultry business in Iowa – told us to grab one early as prices will be way up and selection way down due to the Avian Flu this year. Sure enough, … Continue reading The Early Bird Gets The Turkey
I’m cheering for gridlock tomorrow on Election Day. As a political independent and small government advocate, I prefer when the two major parties can’t convince each other to provide costly solutions to problems government almost never can solve. We came close to gridlock two years ago. The Georgia Senate seats went to a special election and the Democrats won both of them, giving them a … Continue reading Forecasting Gridlock & Better Days
It’s as if the financial press WANTS people to be poorly prepared for a happy retirement. This chart from CNBC – dubiously thought of as a business channel – suggests the amount of savings people should have at different ages before retirement. A friend sent it to me a while ago and I think it’s simply terrible. First, the chart starts with the frequent financial … Continue reading Inadequate Advice for Saving
We need to heal the wounds that divide our nation. I’m not talking about the upcoming midterm election, I’m talking about what we do with the heaps of leaves that fall on our lawns each autumn. Like politics, we’re divided into two parties that don’t seem to understand each other: the “BAGGERS” and the “MULCHERS”. The Baggers are lawn traditionalists. They believe that it’s critical … Continue reading Our Divided Nation 🙂
Northwestern Mutual just published their 2022 Retirement Planning & Progress study. It’s not a surprise that people are quite worried about the huge drop in their retirement accounts & soaring inflation over the last year. As a result, people are concerned their savings are way behind. Still, this chart was quite surprising to me. It shows that almost one-half of Americans have no idea how … Continue reading Ignorant Is No Way To Go Through Life
With inflation (CPI) running a hot 8.3% for the twelve months ended in August, the Federal Government is busy adjusting numerous spending & tax parameters for the new year. Social Security is leading the way with a 8.7% cost-of-living adjustment for 2023. Here are some of the other changes due to inflation: IRS tax bracket “break points” are going up 7.0%, on average. The standard … Continue reading IRS Changes Don’t Keep Up With Inflation
With Halloween in the air this month, perhaps it’s fitting that regular reader and disciplined dividend investor, Klaus Wentzel, sent me this outstanding case study in fighting ‘Vampire Fees’. You know, those hidden fees and billing changes that companies increasingly tack onto our routine bills? Klaus has had extraordinary success in getting into the details of his monthly bills and uncovering hundreds of dollars in … Continue reading Fight Those Vampire Fees!
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