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A Can of Worms

Dan Smith | Jul 17, 2026

"Won't pass my GT350!"

- Dave Melick

FIFA Financials

R Quinn | Jul 19, 2026

"I sincerely hope not David 😂"

- Mark Crothers

THE OTHER DAY, WHILE walking to my mailbox, I noticed a summer class schedule for a private gifted youth academy lying on the ground. I assumed it belonged to one of my neighbors, who has elementary-aged children. Their interest in extra academics didn't surprise me. Many families move to this area because of its excellent schools. Parents here clearly value education. On any given day, it's common to hear children practicing the piano or violin as you walk through the neighborhood. I admire parents who encourage their children to excel in school. But as I looked over that schedule, I found myself wondering about the lessons that aren't taught in a classroom. Coincidentally, another neighbor's son had just graduated from college and was preparing to begin his career. If he were my son, what advice would I give him as he stepped into adulthood? After some thought, I settled on five ideas. Invest to Build Wealth. The most reliable way for ordinary people to build wealth is to become owners instead of just consumers. Buying shares of businesses allows you to participate in the growth of the global economy rather than relying solely on a paycheck. The good news is that you don't need much money to begin. What matters most is time. Starting early allows compounding to work its magic, with investment returns generating returns of their own over many years. Be a Long-Term Investor. If I could offer only one piece of investing advice, it would be to keep things simple. Invest regularly in low-cost index funds and stay invested. Trying to pick winning stocks or predict market swings is tempting, but history suggests that patience usually beats prediction. I recently read a New York Times column by Jeff Sommer that made this point well. Long-term market returns are driven by a surprisingly small number of extraordinary companies. The problem, of course, is knowing in advance which companies those will be. Broad diversification through index funds allows investors to own tomorrow's winners without having to guess who they are. Even if you think you're smart enough to spot those superstar companies, holding onto them for the long haul is a rollercoaster. They can be incredibly volatile. I've learned that lesson firsthand. A few years ago, my wife and I bought a small position in Nvidia (NVDA). It represented only a tiny fraction of our portfolio, but the stock's wild price swings made us uncomfortable. We eventually sold our shares too early for about $112, and the last time I checked, it was trading at $204. Do I regret selling? Not really. The vast majority of our stock holdings remain in Vanguard's Total Stock Market Index Fund (VTI), which owns Nvidia along with thousands of other companies. That approach has allowed us to sleep well at night while still benefiting from the market's long-term growth. Cultivate Friendships. Money matters, but people matter even more. Looking back, some of the biggest turning points in my life came because of friends. One college friend, Chuck, helped me get my foot in the door at an aerospace company when I was a history graduate struggling to find work. That opportunity led to a rewarding career. Another friend, Steve, introduced me to the woman who became my wife. That single introduction changed the course of my life far more than any investment decision ever could. But those special bonds don’t happen by accident; they require making time for them despite a busy career. Good friends encourage us, open doors we never expected, and help us through life's inevitable setbacks. Those relationships are among the greatest investments anyone can make. Give Every Job Your Best. I learned the value of hard work from my parents. When I was growing up, my father routinely left for work before sunrise and often didn't return until evening, six days a week. At the same time, he and my mother managed a 36-unit apartment building. My mother prepared dinner for our family before leaving for her own job each morning, returning home in the evening with just enough time to spend a few quiet hours with my father before doing it all again. Watching them taught me that meaningful accomplishments usually require persistence more than brilliance. There will be phases in your life when long hours are unavoidable. During those times, give your work your best effort. A reputation for reliability and diligence has a way of creating opportunities that talent alone cannot. Protect Your Greatest Asset. For someone just beginning a career, the greatest financial asset isn't an investment account. It's the ability to earn a living. Poor health can quietly undermine that ability. Regular exercise may not seem like a financial strategy, but it helps protect the income that makes every other financial goal possible. I recently came across a quote from a doctor in the comment section of an article in The New York Times that captured this idea perfectly: "Exercise, by its effect on skeletal muscle, can in part preserve cognition, prevent depression, prevent cardiovascular disease, prevent diabetes, prevent some cancers, prevent osteoporosis, and preserve independence. And the list goes on. There isn't a single pill on earth that delivers all of those benefits." Taking care of your health isn't simply about living longer. It's about preserving your independence and giving yourself the opportunity to enjoy the life you've worked so hard to build. As I walked back from the mailbox, I hoped the child whose summer schedule I'd found would do well in every class. Academic success opens many doors. But I also hope someone teaches lessons like these along the way. Years from now, I doubt anyone will remember a report card or a test score. They'll remember the habits that shaped a life: investing patiently, working hard, nurturing friendships, and taking care of their health. Those lessons may never appear on a syllabus, but they can make all the difference. Dennis Friedman retired from Boeing Satellite Systems after a 30-year career in manufacturing. Born in Ohio, Dennis is a California transplant with a bachelor’s degree in history and an MBA. A self-described “humble investor,” he likes reading historical novels and about personal finance. Follow Dennis on X @DMFrie and check out his earlier articles

Buying a car in retirement

Julie C | Jul 11, 2026

"I brought through USAA several times, but unfortunately they ended the program a few years ago."

- S Phillips

K-shaped Economy

ArticleAdam M. Grossman | Jul 18, 2026

A TOPIC THAT'S been in the news recently is the so-called K-shaped economy. Imagine a chart plotting the relative standing over time of those with higher incomes and those with lower incomes. Owing to a strong stock market and rising home values, the shape of the chart for those with higher incomes would extend up and to the right and has been moving increasingly in that direction since Covid. Folks with lower incomes, on the other hand, haven’t benefited as much from rising markets. Instead, they’ve had to contend with higher prices on key budget items, including housing, tuition and healthcare. For this group, unfortunately, a chart of their financial progress would extend down and to the right. Put these two charts together, and they form a K—hence, the K-shaped economy. Because this divide has been especially pronounced for young people, more parents are asking how they can help their children. But they aren’t always sure of the best way to approach this. You may have heard the story about the late Charlie Munger. Some years ago, a friend asked Charlie if he planned to leave his considerable fortune to his children. Specifically, his friend wondered whether too much wealth would impact his children’s work ethic. “Of course it will,” Munger replied. “But you still have to do it.” “Why?” his friend asked. “Because if you don’t give them the money, they’ll hate you.” On the one hand, this is funny, but it also gets at why this topic can be so difficult. In fact, I’ve often referred to it as the hardest question in personal finance. But it isn’t impossible. If you’d like to help your children—either today or as part of your estate—here are four questions I suggest considering as you develop your plan. 1. What problem are you most trying to solve? Some families are clear that they just want to help their children as much as they can today, to combat the challenges of the K-shaped economy. Other families are focused on the long term and just want to see their assets pass to their children tax-efficiently at the end of their lives. Both are reasonable objectives, but it’s important to have clarity on what’s most important to you as the first step. 2. To what degree do you value simplicity over tax savings? With the federal estate tax at 40%—and many states levying their own taxes on top of that—folks with assets above the lifetime exclusion often conclude that it’s worth spending virtually any amount on legal fees in an effort to defray that tax. But not everyone agrees. Other families see it this way: While estate planning strategies can be effective in reducing taxes, they can be costly to set up and to maintain. For that reason, other families decide to spend little or nothing on estate tax strategies. They accept that their estates might—and likely will—end up facing a larger tab at the end of the day. But, they argue, if their estate is large enough for the estate tax to apply, then by definition, their heirs will nonetheless still receive a significant sum. 3. Do you worry about the problem Munger’s friend highlighted? If you’re worried about impacting your children’s work ethic, then counterintuitively, it may make sense to start making gifts sooner rather than later. The key is to make modest gifts and to make them incrementally. When you start making gifts like this sooner, it can serve two purposes. As a parent, it gives you the opportunity to see how your children handle these smaller sums. Do they immediately head to Bora Bora, or do they save and invest the dollars they receive? Making gifts incrementally can also help the recipient. To the extent that the first—or the second—gift is spent frivolously, modest gifts provide children the opportunity to acclimate and hopefully to adjust. 4. To what degree would you like to control your children’s use of assets down the road? If you go the route of an irrevocable trust and plan to leave assets to your children as a bequest, you won’t have the opportunity to iterate in the way I described above. That said, you may still prefer to leave assets to your children in this way. The key challenge with trusts is how to structure the distribution provisions. Put too many restrictions in place, and you risk causing your children a lifetime of stress or, worse yet, resentment. But put too few restrictions in, and the trust assets could be spent unwisely and deplete too quickly. How can you thread the needle? There’s no single right approach, but here are four distribution strategies you might consider. Based on age or stage: You might stipulate, for example, that a child reach age 30 before receiving any funds. Or you might require that a child have finished college or be married before receiving funds. The benefit of this approach is that it doesn’t leave room for debate between your children and the trustee. The downside is that this sort of structure can be too rigid, because children’s needs don’t always align with specific ages or stages. The reality is that everyone takes different paths through life in ways that no formula can fully contemplate. I often reference the movie The Bachelor, which is a comedy but illustrates how an overly rigid structure can have unintended consequences. Annual percentage with no discretion: This structure also has the benefit of being straightforward, with no room for debate between beneficiaries and the trustee. In addition, a fixed percentage can help preserve a trust’s assets for many years. The downside is that children’s needs typically vary from year to year. They’ll want to buy homes and may have tuition expenses for their own children. For those reasons, a fixed percentage, while attractive in theory, runs the risk of being an obstacle to your children’s most important goals. Annual percentage with an override for specific needs: The benefit of this structure is that it provides flexibility if a child wants to buy a home or has other higher-than-normal expenses in a particular year. The downside is that it opens the door to debate between beneficiary and trustee. The trustee might deem a proposed home purchase too expensive, for example. Trustee’s discretion: A final approach is to leave distributions entirely up to the trustee. That’s the most flexible but also the most potentially fraught. If a trustee and a beneficiary don’t get along, this setup would give the trustee wide latitude to make the beneficiary’s life miserable for decades. No distribution structure is perfect, but it’s for this reason that I tend to recommend against this approach, common as it is. Adam M. Grossman is the founder of Mayport, a fixed-fee wealth management firm. Sign up for Adam's Daily Ideas email, follow him on X @AdamMGrossman and check out his earlier articles.

Will Your Death Double Your Spouse’s Tax Bill?

achnk53 | Jul 15, 2026

"Thanks for the reference. Very nice perspective by Sean. Don't lose the forest for the trees!"

- V Saraf

Many seniors think we paid for our Social Security benefits based on the FICA taxes we paid. Let’s dispel that myth- we didn’t

R Quinn | Jun 15, 2026

"It wouldn’t even have to be eliminated. Given data analytics today, it would be possible to track via tax returns spouses, young children, disabled children household income etc. SS tax could be modified to account for various life circumstances. There’s no need for one size fits all these days."

- Marilyn Lavin

Danger, Junk Mail

Sonja Haggert | Jul 16, 2026

"I hope you'll be as pleased with the shredder as I have been with mine: When I retired and thus no longer had free access to a shredder at work, one of the best purchases I made as soon as I moved to my CCRC was an Aurora compact micro-cut shredder. Convenient, small, easy to use, and no way could someone piece together the shreds. With simplicity and security being my priority in retirement, this is one less thing to worry about."

- 1PF

The Paradox of Wealth

Mark Crothers | Jul 15, 2026

"Mark, with time being our most valuable resource, it's unfortunate that most people don't put as much effort into managing it as they do their financial portfolio."

- Mark Crothers

A Letter 40 Years Later: What Mrs. Dolezal Remembered

Andrew Clements | Jul 1, 2026

"Jeff, thank you so much. I couldn’t agree more. Kindness has a remarkable ripple effect, often reaching far beyond the moment itself. Mrs. Dolezdal’s kindness touched my family all those years ago, and through her letter, it continues to touch others today. I think that’s a wonderful reminder of the difference even the smallest acts can make."

- Andrew Clements

IRMAA & late filing of tax returns

Danbo | Jul 15, 2026

"you are correct, Luigi."

- DAN SMITH

Mr Market visits Art Basel

ricardodiaque | Jun 29, 2026

"what a masterpiece, bridging the perceived gap between art and other established asset classes.. Ricardo has said everything that i always wanted to say and more.. to quote "In a nutshell–risk does not always come from whether something hangs on a wall or trades on an exchange. More likely, risk tends to be related to how prices are formed. So, if markets are irregular, and each of them follow an underlying set of logics, then why is collecting as an investment such a niche?".. while Ricardo moved from art to finance, i followed the reverse trajectory.. from my 11 years in finance (and taxation) followed by 18 years in art (and finance), i have come to exactly the same conclusions.. to add my 2 bits, since i have professionally valued equity and realty in my former role (at Andersen/ EY) and now value art (at Aura Art), i can say (with many real instances to back) that there is just as much method in the madness to valuing art as equity and realty (and much more then some other asset classes, like crypto, commodities etc).. thanks again for this piece.."

- Rishiraj Sethi

A Can of Worms

Dan Smith | Jul 17, 2026

"Won't pass my GT350!"

- Dave Melick

FIFA Financials

R Quinn | Jul 19, 2026

"I sincerely hope not David 😂"

- Mark Crothers

Lessons on the Ground

ArticleDennis Friedman | Jul 18, 2026

Buying a car in retirement

Julie C | Jul 11, 2026

"I brought through USAA several times, but unfortunately they ended the program a few years ago."

- S Phillips

K-shaped Economy

ArticleAdam M. Grossman | Jul 18, 2026

Will Your Death Double Your Spouse’s Tax Bill?

achnk53 | Jul 15, 2026

"Thanks for the reference. Very nice perspective by Sean. Don't lose the forest for the trees!"

- V Saraf

Many seniors think we paid for our Social Security benefits based on the FICA taxes we paid. Let’s dispel that myth- we didn’t

R Quinn | Jun 15, 2026

- Marilyn Lavin

Danger, Junk Mail

Sonja Haggert | Jul 16, 2026

- 1PF

The Paradox of Wealth

Mark Crothers | Jul 15, 2026

"Mark, with time being our most valuable resource, it's unfortunate that most people don't put as much effort into managing it as they do their financial portfolio."

- Mark Crothers

Manifesto

Jul 19, 2026

NO. 30: INVESTING is best when it is simplest. If we own costly, complicated products, we’re filling Wall Street’s coffers—at our own expense. Don’t understand an investment? Don’t buy it.

humans

Jul 20, 2026

NO. 72: WE ENJOY working hard. We tell ourselves, “I just want time to relax,” and yet relaxation doesn’t satisfy us for long and we quickly grow restless. We should keep this in mind as we ponder retirement. Contrary to what we imagine, we get great pleasure from working, especially work we’re passionate about and that gives us a sense of purpose.

think

Jul 20, 2026

HYPERBOLIC discounting. Suppose we’re choosing between a smaller reward today and a larger reward at some future date. To get us to wait, the later reward typically has to be far bigger, perhaps giving us a 100% return for delaying just a few days or weeks. Such hyperbolic discounting highlights how we favor today and shortchange our future self.

Truths

Jul 19, 2026

NO. 141: PERSONAL risk tolerance is indeed personal—which means we should be leery of general asset allocation guidance and ignore folks who say our stock-bond mix is somehow wrong. We should never take more risk than is prudent, given our financial situation. But we might choose to take less if that’s necessary to sleep well at night.

Money Guide

Manifesto

Jul 19, 2026

Spotlight: Abuse

Pig Butchering

Nick Politakis | Jul 20, 2025

Sounds awful doesn’t it?
The Article in the WSJ was so painful to read but it led me to the awareness of how to protect myself and those I love.
in the article the problem was the spouse trusted the other spouse who was starting the long road of dementia. How do you protect your financial well being from something like that?
HumbleDollar readers, how do you protect yourselves? I need your wisdom.

How to protect your retirement savings from scammers?

smr1082 | Jul 29, 2024

I was reading this New York Times Article today titled: ” How one man lost $740,000 to scammers targeting his retirement savings”. See this link.
This is a shocking reminder that scammers are getting more and more sophisticated. It is going to get worse. Criminals on the internet are increasingly going after Americans over 60 for their retirement savings. Potential losses last year were over $3.4 billion.
Here’s another link that’s relevant.
What steps should we take to protect our assets from scammers?

A Tangled Web

Rick Moberg | Oct 13, 2021

I SERVED ON A GRAND jury earlier this year. We heard more than 100 cases during our three-month stint. Our task was to issue an indictment if the state showed probable cause that a crime occurred. If we indicted, cases would then move on to traditional jury trials.
Some cases involved cybercrime. Others included private records subpoenaed by the District Attorney’s office from technology and phone companies, financial institutions, hospitals and commercial businesses. The experience was eye-opening.

It’s 2025. Do you send checks by mail?

Nick Politakis | Apr 26, 2025

I saw this article in the Washington Post and thought that I haven’t sent a check by mail in years. Am I the minority in this?
I pay all my bills electronically and once in a blue moon, I pay a few bills by the Wells Fargo app.
Also, if you pay by mail, what do do to protect yourself from what is described in the article?

Lost Property

Sonja Haggert | Mar 2, 2023

OUR COMMUNITY HAS a Facebook-like online forum called Nextdoor. I tend to ignore the posts, which usually involve things like items for sale and new restaurant openings. But a recent post caught my eye—because it was from the Montgomery County Recorder of Deeds.
The article said Pennsylvania’s Attorney General had initiated a lawsuit against a realty company for deceptive practices targeting elderly, low-income and minority homeowners. The realty company was offering a “Homeowner Benefit Program” that gives homeowners anywhere from $400 to $1,000 upfront to lock into a contract.

Anti-Social Behavior

Max Chi | Jul 25, 2023

A QUARTER OF ALL reported losses from fraud in 2021 originated on social media, according to the Federal Trade Commission, and those losses cost about $770 million.
Yes, social media is a popular way to keep in touch with family and friends, receive news and get information. According to Pew Research, 73% of people ages 50 to 64 used social media in 2021, as did 45% of those ages 65 and over. But using social media requires vigilance.

Stock Market Contest

Dan Smith | Apr 3, 2026

According to an article in the Toledo Blade (04/02), the Jones Leadership Academy of Business in Toledo is one of only two high schools in the country to have a simulated stock market lab. That is something that I feel the Toledo Public School district should be very proud of. The class is available to students during their junior and senior years. This is also the third year that the students have had a stock picking ‘challenge’. Students begin with a hypothetical amount of $100,000. They put their acquired skills to work to see who can make the most money. Pretty cool, don’tcha think? I think it’s great if students are being prepared for a career in finance. Still, I have some concerns. I hope that they are also being taught that only around 6% of active large company growth managed mutual funds outperform the S&P 500 over a 20 year period. If big money mutual fund managers fail to beat the index, what hope do we have? I hope the kids learn the real secret to wealth accumulation for most mere mortals is a long time horizon and the use of low cost index tracking Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). I hope that we are not just teaching these young people how to day trade.

Artificial Intelligence and Payroll Tax

Dan Smith | Jan 2, 2026

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, machines have been eliminating jobs. Today we have self service gas stations, self checkout lanes, spreadsheets, and Turbo Tax. All things that have cost people jobs. Now comes Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI is replacing workers. Workers, and their employers, pay a total of 12.4% into Social Security, and 2.9% into Medicare. Fewer workers means less income. Currently, Social Security is funded by the payroll tax, interest earned from Treasury Bonds, and income tax paid on benefits. Should a tax on AI become a 4th source of income based on the jobs it eliminates? I truly don’t know. Is it time to think outside the box when it comes to funding Social Security and Medicare? I can think of arguments both for and against. What’s your opinion?

Punched in the Mouth

Dan Smith | Feb 13, 2026

I don’t have the right stuff to be an engineer, as the math involved boggles my mind. But that didn’t stop my infatuation with spreadsheets in the nascent days of computer ownership. That was around 1990, roughly the same time-frame as the implementation of my employer's 401k. Oh boy, enabled by my new love of Excel, my life was planned out via extrapolations of future earnings, savings rates, and stock market performance. My plan had me comfortably retired at age 55. Yeaaaa! But as Mike Tyson quipped after being asked if he was worried about Evander Holyfield’s fight plan; “everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth”. My punch in the mouth came via divorce, arthritis, plantar fasciitis, and a change in occupations. There was no more gazing into the Excel crystal ball for me after that. Maxing out the IRA, SEP, and HSA accounts, and then living on what was left became my way for the remainder of my working life. Of course my ace in the hole was meeting Chris; we have achieved more together than either of us would have on our own. Things still have worked out swimmingly, it just took an extra 15 years to cross the finish line. What are you going to do if you get punched in the mouth?

I’ve stolen the words Willful Ignorance and Disengagement from a prior forum post.

Dan Smith | Jan 21, 2025

“Hi, I’m Chris”. That’s how it all began in early 2002. My friend Dave and I were hanging out of a hole in the wall of my duplex, installing a new window. Chris was the good looking neighbor girl. She thought Dave and I were a couple, he was actually my best bud, living with me and providing his carpenter skills in lieu of rent during some hard times. By the end of the year I and Chris were a couple, and sometime in 2003 we commenced cohabitation. Thinking back, it must have taken quite a leap of faith for Chris to bring me on board. I was 3 years divorced and between careers. My gross earnings in 03 was only equal to about 75% of my spousal support order. I was living off my savings. Chris had been single for nearly 20 years and was doing just fine without a man. The reason she fell in love eludes me. Regardless of my scant income I always covered my half of bills, but the available savings dwindled, and I was just spinning my wheels trying to build my financial services career. I had to fall back on my commercial driver license in order to get the ends to meet. I landed a part time job driving an 18 wheeler full of mail from Toledo to Jersey City to the east, and west to Iowa. That job enabled me to develop the other project I’d been working on, Dan’s Tax Prep. I continued driving for about 8 years until the tax practice reached critical mass, allowing me to transition from driving a semi to being semi-retired. During those early years we kept our finances totally separate. In 2004 we sold our homes and bought a small condo together. Then in 2012…

The Kids Are Alright

Dan Smith | Nov 21, 2025

In a recent post about a child who doesn’t seem to have it all together, Molly McIlhenny reminded us that kids are likely more savvy than we give them credit for. That got me thinking about my younger self. Maybe my story can help in some small way. I have always had a good work ethic. You can ask my high school sweetheart if you like. She would get so frustrated because I would often pick up extra hours at the supermarket and destroy whatever plans we had made. Perhaps that’s why she dumped me.🤔 School was a different story. My work ethic did not transfer to school work. I know you can’t tell by the brilliance of my posts, but I was in the bottom quartile of my graduating class. I once joked that I didn’t know the difference between a pronoun and a participle, an adjective or an adverb…. I actually don’t know the difference. I just wasn’t firing on all cylinders; I was a hard worker, but also a lazy student. How would my life be different had I buckled down in school? If only I read the accounting textbook instead of eating the pages, I might have begun my tax business in 1975, rather than in 2005. I would have had an accounting degree, enabling me to expand my business beyond tax preparation. As it was, every time I had an opportunity to keep the books for a small business, I ended up referring them to my friend Julie, an Enrolled Agent (EA). I sent Julie dozens of good clients. I would have earned much more money and avoided the physical maladies from the more brutal occupation that I chose. Nothing would please me more than having my tale of woe help a youngin who is…

Our Spending Spree

Dan Smith | Mar 20, 2024

WHEN I GOT DIVORCED, my ex-wife told the judge at family court that I was good with money. But most folks I knew at that time wouldn’t be so kind: They’d say I was cheap. No, I didn’t align myself with the financial independence-retire early, or FIRE, movement. During my days as a driver-salesman, after I diverted 15% of my pay into the 401(k), I spent every nickel raising the kids, paying the bills and trying to keep up with my big bucks buddies. One thing I refused to do: pay interest on anything other than the mortgage. This left us with one nice car for my first wife, while I drove a rusty beater to work, which also bolstered my cheapskate reputation. Why else did folks call me cheap? Toward the end of the week, when the well ran dry, we’d pass on things like eating out with friends until the next payday rolled around. Then the wife and I divorced. Three years later, I bought a duplex and fell in love with my next-door neighbor, Chris. We lived well on half of our combined not-too-impressive income. After several years, the excess began piling up. We had money going into retirement accounts, while filling up non-retirement accounts as well. The times, they were a-changin’. Chris retired at age 64. A few years later, I hung it up at age 70. I suppose I was one of those ICE—"I’ll continue earning"—types mentioned by HumbleDollar’s editor. By then, my job was preparing tax returns, and I only had to work hard for four months of the year. Today, we’re collecting Social Security and withdrawing 3% of our IRA balances each year. That leaves us with $40,000 more per year than we were used to living on. But even with the IRA…

A Can of Worms

FIFA Financials

Lessons on the Ground

Buying a car in retirement

K-shaped Economy

Will Your Death Double Your Spouse’s Tax Bill?

Many seniors think we paid for our Social Security benefits based on the FICA taxes we paid. Let’s dispel that myth- we didn’t

Danger, Junk Mail

The Paradox of Wealth

A Letter 40 Years Later: What Mrs. Dolezal Remembered

IRMAA & late filing of tax returns

Mr Market visits Art Basel

A Can of Worms

FIFA Financials

Lessons on the Ground

Buying a car in retirement

K-shaped Economy

Will Your Death Double Your Spouse’s Tax Bill?

Many seniors think we paid for our Social Security benefits based on the FICA taxes we paid. Let’s dispel that myth- we didn’t

Danger, Junk Mail

The Paradox of Wealth

Free Newsletter

Get Educated

Manifesto

humans

think

Truths

Money Guide

Manifesto

Spotlight: Abuse

Pig Butchering

How to protect your retirement savings from scammers?

A Tangled Web

It’s 2025. Do you send checks by mail?

Lost Property

Anti-Social Behavior

Spotlight: Smith

Stock Market Contest

Artificial Intelligence and Payroll Tax

Punched in the Mouth

I’ve stolen the words Willful Ignorance and Disengagement from a prior forum post.

The Kids Are Alright

Our Spending Spree