"Richard, All my liquid assets have beneficiaries. Moreover, I am close to my adult children and I speak with them almost every day. I will contribute financially to living with the one with whom I will live. And if I reach the state that I need home care, I will be able to afford that and not rely on them financially. The only assets I have will be liquid assets. I have also left a detailed document on what they should do with the assets they inherit, including some tax consequences. Of course, I can only suggest, but they will have to execute."

"I think the crux of the matter is behavioral. People who have the personality of being able to see one’s future self, ie those who are able to delay gratification are those who will most likely be more successful building a sufficient retirement nest egg. Of course people who are wavering on the edge of this personality trait will have more difficulty in the American consumerism society, being constantly bombarded with messages that you “need” this or that. This has also recently been exacerbated by social media, influencers, and comparing one’s life to others."

"How many stocks do you manage?"

"I can imagine your reaction to that $600 quote when you’d just replaced the plugs yourself for $36. Knowing your car’s service history certainly paid off there. You make a good point about checking the owner’s manual. I’d also ask the shop to show me what prompted the recommendation, especially if the work was done recently. In my case, getting a second opinion before saying yes saved us from replacing parts that were still fine. Thanks for sharing your experience."

"The thing is people sometimes argue for one or the other. I have done the math and at best it might be a push. But being able to spend money up to the 12% marginal bracket is nice, but I still want to live my life and enjoy the fruits of my labor. If that means I need to pay IRMAA. That's a good problem to have because it means I have money...pay the IRMAA, pay 22%, live well, eat well, and sleep well."

"What is your equity/bond split?"

"I frequently attend (usually monthly) continuing professional education classes put on by my local chapter of the Tennessee Society of CPAs. While I am now fully retired I enjoy trying to keep current on matters that interest me. One local attorney, whose practice has a focus on taxation, has done a presentation every every year to our TSCPA chapter for a long time. Many years back his topic was a new state law TN Code § 35-17-101. That law was the Community Property Trust Act which changed available tax law in Tennessee. Tennessee is not a community property state. My understanding for people who live in one of the nine community property states is the tax basis modification that a surviving spouse receives, including jointly owned assets, when the first spouse dies results in the surviving then having a tax basis of full fair market value as of the date of death of the deceased first to die spouse for many classes of assets. What I understanding the Community Property Trust Act does is provide for the optional creation of a type of trust which then allows for a couple to title certain assets into a single trust with the expected result being the step up in basis to the full value at the death of whichever spouse is the first to die. This effectively allows the trust and the surviving spouse trust beneficiary to have a low or no taxable gain if the trust assets are subsequently sold shortly after the death of the first spouse to die. I am not an attorney and do not offer legal advice. For the right people a Community Property Trust might make good tax sense but such a trust is not needed for my wife and me. The costs to create the trust, transfer assets, maintain and eventually close such a trust currently has no expected tax benefit to us. Trusts can be great financial vehicles but like so many matters discussed on this forum I think a careful consideration of benefits and costs should drive our financial decisions. Those are my thoughts about a Community Property Trust."

"Thanks Andrew. Saying "thanks" certainly costs us nothing, but can have an oversized impact."

"Mark, you raise some thought-provoking questions. I've often written about the uncertainty of the future and the importance of recognizing what we can and cannot control. AI is simply another reminder of how little we know about what lies ahead. Having been retired for more than a decade, I've witnessed enormous technological changes, but I can't recall another that has raised so many questions about the future of employment and even our sense of purpose. Like you, I wonder what the world will look like for the next generation. Your point about planning rather than predicting particularly resonated with me. We can prepare financially, diversify our investments, and make sensible decisions, but we cannot eliminate uncertainty. Perhaps the greatest benefit of having a sound financial plan is not knowing what the future holds, but having the confidence to face it. As I've learned, life rarely unfolds exactly as we imagine. The best we can do is prepare for tomorrow without forgetting to live today. Thank you for another thoughtful article."