If anyone was worried that the travel industry wouldn’t come back after the pandemic lockdowns, you can put your mind at ease. The Wall Street Journal shared this chart a couple of weeks ago showing the boom in European trips by Americans. As you can see, travel to Europe has reached new highs the last three years running. It reports that 2026 travel continues to … Continue reading Americans Traveling
Most of us spend years obsessing over investing, allocations, withdrawal rates, and our retirement timing — but we also need to think of relationships as their own line item in the retirement plan ledger. Throughout life, school, work and parenting quietly hand you a social life for free — you hang out with buddies after school, go to lunch with work colleagues, and catch your … Continue reading Investing in Friendship Circles
There’s probably not a lot new in this chart for most readers, but I thought it’d be a good reminder on a Friday morning … The author of the infographic (Ooma) did a nice job thinking about the key expenditures for seniors. There is more detail on the data sources & state ranking in their website. While it’s relatively easy to compare the cost of … Continue reading Retiree Cost By State
I just got back from a long weekend, driving 888 miles around the state of MN in my Jeep. I was continuing my quest to reach all 68 of the state’s parks – I’m now up to 55. Along the way, I also stopped at a variety of roadside oddities, historical places, and interesting sights. It’s the 7th trip I’ve taken like this since I … Continue reading “Completeness”
How’s your memory? A few people I’m close with are dealing with early-onset dementia and late-onset dementia. A woman in her 60s, a guy who is almost 70, and my Mom who is in her late 80s. It’s a really difficult thing to see. People that were completely independent a few years ago who are now unable to function on the most everyday of things. … Continue reading Dementia Risk & Prevention
I decided just to write just this one post this week. I am just too busy to write two right now. Busyness seems to be an ongoing theme of my retirement – especially in the summer months. Last week, I had lunch with a friend who he is getting close to retirement and he honestly could not believe that he will likely be more busy … Continue reading Too Many Balls in the Air
I saw this chart in the March issue of Kiplinger’s recently. It shows what topics retired people are most interested in learning about. I guess I’m not the only one focused on history. The last few years have been a big focus on America 250 history for me. It looks like history is the favorite of most retired folks … There isn’t much difference between … Continue reading What Are You Learning?
Since I don’t work, I probably follow the news more than the average bear. When you do that, you start to think you know more than most other people. Violating one of my own guidelines to buy index funds for the long-term and not play individual investments for the short-term, I bought $5K of the oil fund BNO a few weeks ago. Every few days … Continue reading A Lousy War Profiteer
“Grateful Americans will come to this shrine of quiet valor, this forge of our Republic’s iron core. Valley Forge symbolizes the spirit of sacrifice that made independence possible.”” President Ford, Independence Day 1976 Just one post this week as I am traveling around some patriotic stops on the East Coast. I often say that early retirement is like “kidadulthood”. That is, it gives you the … Continue reading 200th & 250th Birthday America
Summertime is fun time, with a lot of activities. In addition to biking, pickleball, tennis, hiking, and walking the dog – I’ve added more golf into the mix this year. That’s gone pretty well, but I’ve had some muscle soreness and back pains adjusting from my Winter activity levels. You can see from the chart below how much my exercise minutes (activity > 100 bpm) … Continue reading Getting Going For Summer …
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