I spent a fair amount of time trying to decide what color Jeep that I should get last month. I looked online, posted a question in a couple Jeep forums, and talked to friends & family about what they liked best. I couldn’t initially decide between ‘Granite Grey’, ‘Sarge Green’, or ‘Snazzberry Red’ – the latter of which I finally went for. In the end, … Continue reading Which Vehicle Colors Are More Desirable?
I am so old, I can remember the day that Dow Jones Industrial Average permanently broke the milestone value of 1,000. It was in December 1982 – when I was still in high school. I was enough of a business & investing geek even then to recall reading about it in the newspaper. Now, with the DJIA pushing almost 35x that landmark, I’m astounded to … Continue reading Stock Market Volatility
Anyone that has tried to make a major purchase recently – a home, remodel, new vehicle, or electronic purchase – knows how tight supply is for everything after the pandemic. At the same time, investors are wringing their hands over rising inflation. With that in mind, I was surprised to see this JP Morgan chart on the US personal savings rate. People are doing a … Continue reading Sudden Savings Surprise
My son and I spent Independence Day weekend in the All-American city of Las Vegas. We are on our 30+ hour road trip from MN to California where he is going to work remotely for a few months. I love almost everything about Vegas except the gambling. I’ve never had the gambling bug, but we couldn’t miss the fun since we were in Sin City. … Continue reading What Are The Odds?
Thinking about retirement? Friends of mine are. I enjoyed a frosty refreshment with an old friend recently and he said, “I never thought about retirement until you retired. Since then, I think about it almost every single day”. Another friend recently called and commented, “we haven’t talked in a while, but I have to tell you – your early retirement is never far from my … Continue reading Very Visible Early Retiree
I’m pretty cheap when it come to haircuts. I just go to the family place – Cost Cutters or Great Clips – when I need a trim. I’ve done that for my whole adult life. This past week, I got a haircut on the same day our dog, Riley, also got his hair cut. Mine was $16. His was $68! Yes, his haircut included a … Continue reading Saving So Our Dog Can Have A Better Life 😉
I’m am more than a little perplexed at how the media reports on early retirees. Most articles do their best to talk people OUT of saving up to be financially independent and enjoy the rest of their life in retirement. This article from AARP is no exception. You would think that an organization seeking to represent people in retirement (politically and otherwise) would be a … Continue reading WTF AARP?
How easy it is to buy things nowadays? Just a week after getting my extra garage space, I’m on a plane this morning to a car dealer near Madison, Wisconsin to pick up my new Jeep. After researching what I wanted online for a week, I bought this Wrangler with just 2 phone calls and an email. One call to confirm it was available and … Continue reading How Simple To Spend $$$
It was soon after my first MegaCorp pension check arrived in the mailbox that the latest CPI report was released with the most price inflation we’ve seen in more than a decade. My new pension payment is fixed – no cost of living adjustment – so I immediately had visions of it being quickly consumed by this monetary beast that has been lying in wait … Continue reading Inflation On The Way?
I might have mentioned before that my wife and I don’t really keep a household budget. We used to be very, very diligent about it, but over the years we just stopped. I could tell you what we roughly spend each month, but not without actually adding it up. I only really know if we are spending too much by looking at our long-term net … Continue reading Budgets & Big Purchases
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