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
Our neighbor at Margaritaville this month is leaving for the Super Bowl in Las Vegas today. He’s from Kansas City and he’s never been to the big game before, despite their recent, frequent appearance. We went to the Super Bowl a few years ago when it was hosted in Minnesota, where we live. We made a full-week of entertainment out of it. The game and … Continue reading Super Ticket Prices
Our home state of Minnesota regularly shows up at the top of the list of states with the highest taxes in the USA. A few years ago, Kiplinger’s named Minnesota – not California or New York – as the country’s “Least Tax Friendly State”. As many Minnesotans have left the state for low taxes & warm weather in Florida, many have suggested we join them. … Continue reading Department of Residency
We’ve left the below-zero cold of Minnesota for our annual Winter Summerland escape… Florida. We flew down a couple weeks ago and are renting a Beach Jeep & Bungalow in Delray / Palm Beach County. On the flight down, I noticed this Fortune article with some good news. It suggests Gen Z is fundamentally changing tipping practices. How? They aren’t doing it! Even at sit-down … Continue reading Tipping Trends & Palm Beach
A few years ago, I wrote about my hobby of collecting antique Shiny Brite Christmas ornaments from the 1940s-1960s. Since I retired in 2016, I’ve probably collected upwards of 50 of them. Among all of the things you could collect, Shiny Brites were very affordable. I’d pick up a glass lantern, UFO, or a curvy tree for just $4-$6 on average. If I found a … Continue reading Inflationary Christmas Treasures
When I was a corporate officer at MegaCorp, you were expected to maintain a certain % of your annual salary in company stock. I forget the exact amount, but I think it was 2-3x your annual total compensation. It wasn’t too hard, given the company had been doing well and we all had stock grants and stock options. Still, as personal finance matriarch, Jane Bryant … Continue reading Looking At Returns Over Time
It’s the busy season for charitable organizations as the end of the year comes close. The end of the calendar year is also the end of the tax year, so 501c3 non-profits hope to close out 2023 strong. Unfortunately, giving trends haven’t been positive for a while. The chart below shows American giving over the last 40 years. While there is some bounce in the … Continue reading Ring Out The Year Charitably
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