If anyone was worried that the travel industry wouldn’t come back after the pandemic lockdowns, you can put your mind at ease. The Wall Street Journal shared this chart a couple of weeks ago showing the boom in European trips by Americans. As you can see, travel to Europe has reached new highs the last three years running. It reports that 2026 travel continues to … Continue reading Americans Traveling
Most of us spend years obsessing over investing, allocations, withdrawal rates, and our retirement timing — but we also need to think of relationships as their own line item in the retirement plan ledger. Throughout life, school, work and parenting quietly hand you a social life for free — you hang out with buddies after school, go to lunch with work colleagues, and catch your … Continue reading Investing in Friendship Circles
There’s probably not a lot new in this chart for most readers, but I thought it’d be a good reminder on a Friday morning … The author of the infographic (Ooma) did a nice job thinking about the key expenditures for seniors. There is more detail on the data sources & state ranking in their website. While it’s relatively easy to compare the cost of … Continue reading Retiree Cost By State
I just got back from a long weekend, driving 888 miles around the state of MN in my Jeep. I was continuing my quest to reach all 68 of the state’s parks – I’m now up to 55. Along the way, I also stopped at a variety of roadside oddities, historical places, and interesting sights. It’s the 7th trip I’ve taken like this since I … Continue reading “Completeness”
How’s your memory? A few people I’m close with are dealing with early-onset dementia and late-onset dementia. A woman in her 60s, a guy who is almost 70, and my Mom who is in her late 80s. It’s a really difficult thing to see. People that were completely independent a few years ago who are now unable to function on the most everyday of things. … Continue reading Dementia Risk & Prevention
I’m having a milestone birthday this month – 60 years old. Turning 60 – after enjoying a full decade of early retirement – feels like a bigger milestone than other birthdays. After all, 60 is the age that many people retire, including my Father and Father-In-Law. It feels like the “early” part of our retirement is now over, but I still have a lot of … Continue reading Cyber Advice at Sixty
As Batman learned in the Dark Knight, “You either die the Hero, or you live long enough to become the Villain.” I think that famous movie line now has some relevance to those of us who played by the rules, worked smart, saved prodigiously, and invested effectively. At first, one’s journey to FIRE (Financial Independence & Retired Early) is hailed by society as successful & … Continue reading Hero or Villain?
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
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