I’ve noticed retirement has transformed me into someone who conducts full-scale search operations for objects I was holding thirty seconds ago. Yesterday it was my glasses that decided to embark on an unauthorized adventure, taking my short-term memory along for the ride.
I’m not entirely sure when it started because that’s part of the problem. I needed to reset the boiler, squinted at the instructions, took off my glasses to see the tiny print better, and then—well,

Two practical questions for the group—because both have a huge impact on your family’s future:
1) Investing books:
If you had to recommend one or two investing books that truly changed how you invest (not hype, not theory-heavy), what are they—and what’s the key takeaway you still use? Something you would gift to your kids/grandkids.
2) End-of-Life planner / “If I get hit by a bus” file:
Do you have an end-of-life planner / estate organizer / family binder that your spouse or kids could use immediately if needed?

I’ve been having a lot of great discussions with my new AI friend, Google Gemini. (Why not ChatGPT? I do consult it sometimes, but I don’t want to pony up for a paid account.) I like Gemini because it’s very positive. “Words of affirmation” are my love language!
In recent days, I’ve discussed how to balance my Peloton cycling and rowing to get an optimal workout mix to meet my health goals (Gemini gave me GREAT advice on this and was highly impressed with my near-perfect form scores on the Row) and how to convert a chicken-and-rice recipe that my husband has been requesting for the Instant Pot.

I recently read the HumbleDollar guidance suggesting retirees consolidate old 401(k) accounts for simplicity. My husband and I are both retired (age 62) and are wondering whether that advice still holds when the existing plans are high quality.
We each have a former-employer 401(k):
– Mine is with a large financial institution
– My husband’s is with his union
Both plans have low costs (~ 65 bps all-in), solid investment options, and no required distributions yet.

In my years working in Hospital Administration, I routinely had staff telling me about patients or families caught in a medical crisis caused by a fall or major surgery or simple aging.  They were “surprised” to find that when they were told they could no longer live safely in their home, that Medicare was not going to pay for their needed long term care living arrangements.
I’m assuming that this information will not be a surprise to Humble Dollar readers. 

There was a very thoughtful post on here regarding family that is distant and solutions when there are health events.  I was going to comment but thought I would just start another post as this is more of a question than a solution.
Hubby (who has since passed away) and I moved from Fl to NC to be closer to our youngest daughter and family, including our youngest grandchild.  She is responsible and stable and I can rely on her for assistance when I need whether financial advice or otherwise.

Two news items caught my attention today that I wanted to share.
One is that the postal service of Denmark has stopped door to door delivery of letters due to the digitization of communications in that country. you would need to hire a private company to process mailing of a letter.
The second is that the US post office will not guarantee the date a piece of mail is postmarked.  According to the article I read,

I am 77 years old and going to get a $500,000 inheritance. Wondering what to put it in to collect interest and also keep it relatively safe…..

LOOKING TO UPDATE your financial plan for 2026? Below are ten strategies you might consider:
Gaining control
January is a good time to audit your investments. I’d start with this very basic step: If you have accounts at multiple brokerage firms, see if you can consolidate them. This won’t necessarily lead to better investment results, but if you have fewer accounts, it’ll be easier to monitor and to manage them. This might not seem like an important exercise,

THE IRS RECENTLY announced inflation adjustments for the tax year 2026.
2 quick changes:

Standard deduction

For single taxpayers, the standard deduction rises to $16,100 for 2026, an increase of $350 from 2025.
For married couples filing jointly, the standard deduction rises to $32,200, an increase of $700 from tax year 2025.

Capital Gains Rates

For single taxpayers, long-term capital gains are taxed at 0% if the taxable income is up to $49,450 ($98,900 for married couples filing jointly).

I don’t know about your state, but in Ohio, if you drive a hybrid or electronic vehicle, expect to cough up between $100 and $200 extra for license plates, in order to offset the loss of gas tax revenue. Gas tax revenue helps keep our roads in good condition, so it’s only fair that vehicles using less gas, or no gas at all, do their part to maintain the roads.
Even before Henry Ford invented the assembly line,

I’m curious when this shift happened for you if it has.
A lot of us picture retirement travel as freedom—until at some point it starts feeling like logistics: packing, airports, long walks, tight schedules, rental cars, luggage, sleep disruption, and “do we really want to do this again?” Sometimes it’s health. Sometimes it’s energy. Sometimes it’s just interest.
So—at what age did travel start feeling like work for you, and what changed your plan?
What was the turning point—health,

With families spread out across the country—and sometimes across the world—I’ve been chewing on something for a while.
Quick definition: a nuclear family is the basic household unit—parents (or a single parent) and kids living together.
What I’m really asking about is the older geographic family nucleus—grandparents, siblings, aunts/uncles close enough to be “boots on the ground” when you need help.
It seems like that this started loosening after WWII and, by the late 70s/80s, more families were scattered for careers,

Six months ago Scott Dichter wrote a forum post (Coast FIRE! Who would have thought that FIRE could have so many flavors? – HumbleDollar) about Michael Kitces’s blog post about Coast FIRE.  For those unfamiliar with the term, please check out the articles.
In a nutshell, Coast FIRE is when one accumulates enough money whereby the money currently saved for retirement is sufficient to meet one’s future goal to retire early without the need to continue adding to retirement savings.

If a budget helps you manage money, provides a sense stability, etc., go for it, but…
recognize a budget doesn’t do any of the things often attributed to it, it doesn’t do anything. Doing or not doing something is up to the individual…including sticking to a budget🤑
Several times I have looked up the question, “why do I need a budget.”  The answer always comes back implying the budget somehow actually does things without human involvement,