This weekend, I met with my brothers (and wives) to talk about my Mom’s finances. We meet occasional over Zoom to discuss any pressing matters and I was getting a bit concerned about her exposure to scammers. So many people I’ve talked to have stories about their parent getting scammed over the phone or computer. My Mom has gotten some of these calls herself. They … Continue reading Locking Out The Scammers
Northwestern Mutual does a nice annual study on the ‘state of retirement’ in the USA. It’s a pretty exhaustive analysis that looks at all aspects of life and our involvement and satisfaction with each dimension. Link: Northwestern Mutual 2025 ‘Planning & Progress’ Study I was surprised by a few of the numbers from this year’s study and thought I’d share them. First, Americans are pretty … Continue reading Retirement Confidence
I will be 68 years old in 2034. That’s the year that the latest Social Security budget forecast says it will start to run out of money and be unable to pay its full benefits. I will only have been receiving the benefits for 1 year at that point. Related: Social Security Running Out Sooner Than Expected It may not seem like an urgent matter, … Continue reading Social Security Waning
We’ve been retired for over 4.5 years now and I find myself surprised that it has been that long. People still say I seem too young to be retired, but when you consider it’s almost been 50 months since I went to work at MegaCorp … it feels ridiculous. Where has all the time gone? I find myself really unable to account for the last … Continue reading Where Does The Time Go?
A few years ago, when we turned 50, we were greeted by invitations to join AARP, the American Association for Retired Persons. My birthday is 8 months before my wife’s, but for some reason hers came first. We didn’t join the organization, even though it’s only about $15 a month. I didn’t even give it much consideration, even though I’ve checked out personal finance articles … Continue reading AARP – Worth It?
Last week Americans voted in the midterm elections, which yielded a ‘comeback’ for Democrats and a split legislature in Washington DC. The media weren’t sure what impact that would have on investors, with MSNBC publishing two articles (within hours of each other) stating that the likely government gridlock was both the BEST and WORST thing that could happen to Wall Street. A week later is … Continue reading Mid-Term Elections – Historical Impact on Investors?
The stock market is off to a nice clip so far this year with the S&P 500 and International EFEA up more than 5% in less than two months. Things are moving so fast that I am already losing my bet on where the market will be on the Fourth of July this year, as I wagered on less than 4.5% growth.. Our portfolio doesn’t … Continue reading FIRE Station Fun – Patient Profits
On Sunday’s CBS 60 Minutes, they reported that 82% of likely voters are more disgusted than excited for the election. Regardless of your politics, neither candidate gets high marks for trustworthiness and there is a lack of confidence that the country is heading in the right direction. On this day before Election Day, I thought I would comment on the four key things that will … Continue reading What The New President and Congress Need To Address
For many people, travel is one of the KEY reasons they pursue early retirement. This article from CNBC shows it as the top thing people look forward to in retirement. I’ve been talking a lot to people about their post-FIRE travel plans and all of the interesting places they have gone and hope to go to. One friend has a terrific trip to Europe planned … Continue reading FIRE Station Fun – Travel Experiences
I’m not typically too much of a worrier. I can be pretty analytical and objective in making decisions and don’t let my emotions get the best of me too often. In approaching the big decision that we made this year – to early retire and enjoy a life of financial independence – I used a number of analytical lenses to ‘pressure test’ the possibilities. Once … Continue reading FIRE Station Fun – No Worries
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