We’re in “back & forth” season right now. As the daily temperatures drop in Minnesota, we’ve started to go back and forth to our vacation place in Florida. We just got back from a week in Florida and will be down there again in November & December. In January, we’ll be in full snowbird mode. Wherever we are, people ask us if we’ve … Continue reading What Time Where?
Just one quick post this week as I’m just back from a quick trip on Monday and we’re leaving for our Florida place today. I saw this article in The Atlantic yesterday that talked about an issue we’ve been discussing for the last 12-18 months: How retirees are getting wealthier – not drawing down their large retirement nest eggs. Link: Americans Aren’t Spending Their Retirement … Continue reading Boomer Piles of Money?
The discussion in the comment section after my Monday post this week focused a lot on mortgage rate history. It prompted me to find this graph on 30-year fixed standard mortgages from 1971-2025. I remember the peak in 1981 as we moved that year for my Dad’s job and my parents got a 16% mortgage for our new house. Bad timing. It was quite … Continue reading Mortgage Memories
I was at a wonderful MegaCorp reunion a few nights ago and a few colleagues were celebrating their first year of retirement, or were planning to at the end of the year. A couple friends said that despite a lot of planning, they weren’t entirely confident that their financials were going to hold up to the next few decades of retirement life. Despite having financial … Continue reading Are You Likely To Run Out Of Money?
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
