It’s been about three years since the start of the pandemic. I’m not sure if it’s officially over yet, but Americans have returned to their old financial behavior: save little & charge much. Here are two charts I came across recently that paint the ugly picture. First, the US Savings rate fell to 4.7% in December (well below the 8.8% pre-pandemic average) … Second, it’s … Continue reading Americans Less Financially Resilient Than Ever?
(This is NOT a sales pitch / associate link article) I’m back to trying the travel hacking again. I started rotating credit cards and banking miles before the pandemic interrupted everything, but quit when everything shut down. A few friends suggested I start again, and I just signed up for a new Delta/American Express Reserve Card. This is the first card I’ve had where I … Continue reading Taking Flight
The headlines are full of celebrities & athletes who blow through their millions and often end up broke. They live an indulgent & colorful lifestyle that quickly catches up with them. That’s why it’s great to see a colorful character like Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson, who managed to save 80% of his NFL career earnings. To save money he even lived at the Cincinnati Bengals’ stadium … Continue reading Staying In The Pocket
My wife was appointed executor of her father’s Will after his passing earlier this month. It’s a daunting role that starts immediately and lasts until all bills are paid and assets distributed. For us, there is a lot to learn, but she is approaching it as her last opportunity to honor her father’s wishes. Here are seven key things we’ve learned that an executor of … Continue reading Executor Role Overview
Mr. FireStation has been tied up with a family emergency over the last week. Coincidentally, regular reader, “Klaus” Wentzel offered to step in with a post, which was great. Klaus and I have never actually met in real life, but he often shares very insightful comments. This post is based on one of his observations from a couple years ago that is relevant today. Thanks, … Continue reading What is Your Household’s Largest Budget Item?
I was ordering a beer at the Margaritaville pool the other day and commenting on the run of great, sunny, +80-degree days we are having in Central Florida. (Far different than back in Minnesota where it was -14 degrees this morning). The waitress commented that her “off day” this week is Friday, and that “with my luck, it will probably rain that day.” (Perhaps she … Continue reading With “My Luck …”
We’re back in Florida for our fourth year snowbirding from cold Minnesota. We toured models at the giant Latitudes Margaritaville/ Daytona Beach development yesterday. A weird thing happened when they asked us where we were from. Being from Minnesota, we had to sign an “Out-Of-State Non-Solicitation Affidavit” to acknowledge that we arrived “voluntarily”. What? Yes, apparently it is against Minnesota law for a Florida developer … Continue reading Wait, Sign What?
This may be the shortest post that I have ever written. It’s one of my first experiences with artificial intelligence. If you haven’t heard of ChatGPT yet, it’s an artificial intelligence (AI) program that seems to be a real breakthrough. To test it out, I asked 5 common retirement questions and am posting the ChatGPT answers. All were copied word-for-word, from the first answers provided. … Continue reading ChatGPT Retirement Advice
I spent the evening of New Year’s Day (observed) tallying up the ugliness of our 2022 year-end financial performance. The returns weren’t great. Not at all. It looks like our retirement savings took a huge dive. Our retirement nest egg fell a whopping -16.9%. That’s much worse than I had imagined. Our losses were all centered in the plunge in our equities. The S&P 500 … Continue reading A Bad Year, A Good Place …
I often complain how slowly the future has developed. When I was a kid, I thought by 2022 we would all live in streamlined skyscrapers, have parks under glass bubbles, and monorails whooshing us around the city. Our life isn’t quite that seamless and elegant today, but sometimes incredible change happens right in front of us and we don’t even notice. This sign I saw … Continue reading Easy To Forget How Far Things Have Changed
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