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
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?
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
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
I’ve always subscribed to the Thoreau quote: “Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each.” Autumn is perhaps the season with the fullest potential “bucket list” of activities, since the weather is still nice, nature is taking a dramatic turn, and people fall wistfully back into so many family … Continue reading Autumn Bucket List
My son sent me this hopeful chart today. It shows how the stock market has fared following a 25% decline in the S&P 500 over the last 70 years. Of course, as they say, past performance is no predictor of future performance. Still, it is nice to see that big market drops have historically turned back to growth rather quickly. I had hoped that our … Continue reading When Will It Turn?
As summer winds down, I’m also winding down two activities that have partly consumed my attentions for the last 3 months. On Tuesday, I collected my 75-mile State Park Hiking Club patch, and today I’m closing out my 25-beer Pub Pass. Both have kept me pretty busy this summer. I hiked loops in about 6 state parks this summer and pedaled about 250+ miles to … Continue reading What’s Are You Collecting This Year?
We’ve had a new round of bad economic news, but I can’t get too excited about it, even though it seems like a pretty severe storm. I think I’ve fallen victim to “bad news fatigue” after two years of the pandemic, rising inflation & interest rates, and declining investments. Just in the last couple weeks … ⁃ The stock market erased all the gains since … Continue reading Weathering The Storm
(Sorry for missing a post last Monday. I haven’t missed one in a long time. I road-tripped with a buddy to Lambeau Field to see the Packers beat the hated Bears. Got home at 2:30am and slept in until noon!) Autumn is in the air and that means back to campus. This year, my wife and I are taking a six-week course at one of … Continue reading Autumn Homecoming
Last weekend I was on a strange quest to capture a great photo of this new Viking River Cruise ship that docked in Minnesota for the first time. It’s a new 350 passenger vessel that will sail between St. Paul and New Orleans, giving folks a taste of life on the Mighty Mississippi. Why did I care? I’m not sure, but I will tell you … Continue reading The Great Chase
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