Just in time for Spring Garage Sales, it’s “Collectibles Week” here at the Fire Station. I’ve been looking around our house and trying to think of which things I should keep collecting, and which I should find some new homes for. Today, I am including a list of the “Top 20” collectibles that are INCREASING in value. On Friday, I will publish the list of … Continue reading Collectibles – Increasing in Value?
We’re sitting down with our financial planner on Monday for our annual portfolio checkup. The key issue we need to think through is the relative balance of our portfolio between safe/less safe investments and those which are liquid/illiquid. When we bought our condominium in Celebration FL in February, I was a bit concerned our portfolio would be getting a bit heavy in real estate. In … Continue reading Rebalancing Act
I often read articles & posts where young people are bemoaning their financial lot in life. They complain about student debt. The gripe about limited opportunities. The grouse about job prospects. I’ve always believed they were being prematurely pessimistic. Yes, the economy is a bit ‘wobbly’ these days – but there is no crisis. Sometimes it seems everyone wants to play the victim these days. … Continue reading Every Generation Better …
Well, today is Income Tax Day 2024. We came home from snowbirding three weeks ago and rushed to get our paperwork to the accountant so that they could get the forms properly filled out by 4/15 this year. We successfully filed them on Saturday. We didn’t pay much in taxes for 2023 as we usually do, since we mostly lived off cash we had in … Continue reading Income Tax Day 2024
Wow. I cannot believe how high inflation has soared over the past few years. High inflation has been my biggest concern since we early retired. I’ve probably written 15 posts worrying about what may happen to our FIRE plans if high inflation came as a result of the economic Pol-idiots in Washington DC. A few favorites: Cut Those Prices In Half! IRS Changes Don’t Keep … Continue reading Who’s Afraid of Inflation?
File this under “Things I’m Thankful For, But Have No Control Over”. The S&P 500 is off to a blazing start in 2024. Q1 is ending, and the index is already up double-digits (10.1%). It’s the U.S. equity market’s best start since 2019! I know, a quarter isn’t much to be excited for, but the U.S. market has really been rocking for a full decade … Continue reading Two Different Worlds
We’re at Walt Disney World’s EPCOT Center this morning, enjoying the Spring Flower & Garden Festival. They do a great job colorfully bedazzling the parks this time of year. The beauty in the parks is belied by the nastiness of a proxy fight behind the financial scenes at the Walt Disney Company. An activist investor, Nelson Peltz, is trying for the 24th time to gain … Continue reading Proxy Fight Ambivalence
At a board meeting this week, we were lamenting the continued, but predictable, inflationary fiscal practices of the federal government. I jokingly commented that we need to write future contracts in cryptocurrency, to hedge against government mismanagement. It didn’t get much of a laugh, but I figured it was a great time for a crypto joke. Bitcoin is once again in record territory, fueled by … Continue reading Crypto Back In The News
Do you remember when the winning contestants on ‘Wheel of Fortune’ used to have to spend their winnings at the end of the show in a Shopper’s Bazaar? “I’ll take the dining room table for $400, and the projector TV for $850!” a woman would gush – looking at a huge showcase of merchandise. We had a similar experience two weeks ago. We went to … Continue reading Shopper’s Bazaar
Last year, I wrote a post on the rising cost of home insurance premiums. In the post (LINK), I included a link to the cost of insurance across the 50 states. No surprise, the state that we are buying a condominium in – Florida – is the highest in the country. As we prepare for closing next week, I’ve learned a lot about Florida’s unique … Continue reading Florida Home Insurance
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