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First Job, Lasting Impact

D.J. | May 14, 2026

Be the first to comment.

My Recent Fill-up

Michael01670723 | May 13, 2026

"$5.29 a gallon in the Western Suburbs of Chicago."

- Winston Smith

Benefits Young Adults Should Look at Before Taking a Job

Jeff Peck | May 10, 2026

"Where I worked, if we wanted to create a new position, we had to budget the salary of the person, of course, and also had to add 35% of the position's salary for benefits. Very, very few people who got hired, I imagine, had any idea of the value/cost the organization placed on those benefits. It took a while for me, at least, to fully understand how valuable they were."

- John Katz

HumbleDollar’s HumbleDrivers

Dan Smith | May 13, 2026

"Thanks for the education. My wife and I plan to try the new mirror adjustment."

- Edmund Marsh

Best method for buying home for permanently disabled daughter (SSI and ABLE account)

Dianne Baumert-Moyik | May 13, 2026

"Dianne, there’s more that I don’t know about special needs planning, than things that I do know, so I’m afraid I have nothing constructive to add to the conversation. I do want to commend you on all steps you have taken on your step-daughters behalf. Today's special needs community is living longer than ever before, so it’s important for parents to plan for a future when they are no longer able to help their special needs children. I am familiar with special needs trusts, but had to look up ABLE accounts. They are a wonderful tool for special needs planning. Thanks for educating me."

- Dan Smith

Retiring before age 65? COBRA vs ACA plan- important decision

R Quinn | May 13, 2026

"This is some good advice for some of our HD friends who are contemplating early retirement. We were in this situation when Spouse retired 2.5 years ago. I was old enough for Medicare and went on that. I researched what to do for Spouse and decided COBRA. Our old health insurance plan was generous and the cost was about the same as ACA that was less generous. Also, we only had 6 mos until Spouse would go on Medicare. So I am glad my thoughts on what to do incorporated some of the points you mentioned. Chris"

- baldscreen

Slow on the Draw

ArticleEdmund Marsh | May 9, 2026

RETIREMENT IS LIFE’S most expensive purchase. During our working years, we deprive our present selves of immediate pleasure by refusing to spend money for nicer cars, a bigger house or a vacation to boast about. Instead, we squirrel away those saved dollars with an eye toward keeping the future us fed, clothed and living indoors. At age 64, after decades of choosing to save and invest a large chunk of each paycheck, rather than spend it, I’ve bought a choice: Fully retire to fully embrace life after work, or carry on in a career that still adds purpose to my life. I’ve chosen to stay, but I’ve whittled down my work hours too far to handle all of my family’s spending needs. Thus, I’m faced with reaching into savings for the first time. More about that later. But first, where is our money, and why? Taking advantage. The bulk of our retirement savings is invested in tax-advantaged accounts. Until we reached our mid-30s, neither my wife nor I had invested a dime in the stock market. Since that time, however, we’ve stuffed dollars from every paycheck into our workplace savings accounts. Initially, these contributions went into traditional accounts, but we switched to the Roth option when it became available. We also topped-off Roth IRAs every year, and stashed a smaller amount in a taxable brokerage account. A little less than half of our total investments reside in future-tax-free Roth accounts. Most of the balance is tax-deferred, traditional money, which is subject to ordinary income tax rates the year it’s withdrawn. The distinction between how these two types of accounts are taxed influences where we position assets between those accounts. Accordingly, we’ve looked at two scenarios that may raise our future tax rates: One begins in a little more than a decade, when required minimum distributions (RMDs) from my traditional retirement accounts begin at age 75, followed by my wife’s RMDs a few years later, plus my Social Security, begun at age 70. The other is triggered when the first of us dies and the surviving spouse moves into the single filer tax bracket. Because we still owe ordinary income tax on the savings in our traditional accounts, we’re making Roth conversions and taking the tax hit now, at a known rate. We’re also seeking to curb the growth of our traditional accounts by keeping all our bonds there. By contrast, our Roth accounts, on which we should never owe future tax, are invested 100% in the stocks we expect to grow over time. Picking winners. In the beginning, my wife and I entertained thoughts of alternatives to stocks, such as real estate. Soon, however, we decided that maximizing market participation was our wisest wealth-building tactic. As our knowledge of finance grew, we further refined our focus by choosing broad-based, low-cost index funds over other options, for good reason: They out-perform actively-managed funds. I don’t doubt the intelligence of active fund managers. On the contrary, I suspect they carry bigger brains than me, and know they command more resources to sniff-out future winning stocks. But they swim in a tank with fish just as big, and it's tough to get a fin up on the competition. The result: Each year, index funds finish strokes ahead of their active cousins. For the same reason, we’ve shied away from individual stocks. Have we lost out? I’d argue we profited. Simple diversity. Moving into retirement, my ideal portfolio is heavily influenced by decades of working closely with older patients in my physical therapy practice. I’ve followed a number of folks as they age from their vibrant, active 60s through the years of physical deterioration. Along the way, I’ve observed the cognitive decline that affects most of us as we age. I don’t count on escaping a similar fate. Hence, rather than covering every corner of the stock market with a complicated collection of index funds, my wife and I have been shifting toward a two- or three-fund portfolio, to achieve the same result. We aim to hold shares in virtually every public company across the globe, housed in two funds, plus one bond fund. Our choice for U.S. stocks is Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund (symbol: VTSAX). For foreign stocks, we like Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund (VTIAX). Tending to just two stock funds cuts complexity, especially decisions like when to rebalance and how to go about it. Aside from the biases that affect most of us, there’s that issue of our aging brains, again. Why fret about realigning our investments when just keeping track of medical appointments has become a challenge? To further simplify our lives, at a bit more expense, we could let Vanguard Group, Inc. do all the work with their Vanguard Total World Stock Index Fund (VTWAX).. Picking our peril. Our nest egg is weighted a little heavily toward stocks, which means its sum will rise and fall with the market. That can be unnerving, but it’s the price we'll pay for the extra risk that gives us a shot at outpacing inflation. Without the long-term growth provided by stocks, our buying power might not keep pace with our expected long lives. That strategy is fine when the market is riding high, but where do we go for spending money when stocks are in a slump? Selling depressed stocks in a pinch to raise cash is hazardous to our wealth. For that reason, the balance of our savings is in mostly short-term government bonds and cash, enough of a cushion to cover several years of expenses until the market regains its footing. To be sure, that money is mostly idle, but it's ready when needed. When I finally clock my last-day-forever in the clinic, we might buy an income annuity to replace earned income with insured money to add to my wife’s modest Social Security check, which she expects to start collecting in a little over a year. This combination of regular monthly paychecks would provide a floor of income to keep the household going, and bolster our courage to boot, when the market hits the skids. Drawing it down. Meanwhile, we’ve yet to settle on a plan to siphon off savings to pay the bills not covered by my part-time income. At the moment, there’s little pressure to find the perfect formula. For starters, we’re not calculating the highest withdrawal rate our investments will bear to bankroll a spending spree. Also, part of our retirement preparation included holding steady to a frugal lifestyle and eliminating debt. Our low expenses give us breathing space to decide how to replenish our cash account. Why the dithering? It turns out nailing down a withdrawal plan is my toughest financial decision to date. But it’s not the math that has me stymied. Rather, it’s the emotion. Yes, I believe the research, and I’ve run analyses that assure me our money will probably outlive us. Still, thinking of pushing start makes me queasy, so we’re sliding into the task. Instead of a rate, we’ve chosen the dollar amount that sustains our current lifestyle over the coming year. It falls short of the figure we expect to reach once we’ve limbered up our spending legs, but one allows us to work up to a rate that doesn’t outpace my level of comfort. Ed is a semi-retired physical therapist who lives and works in a small community near Atlanta. When he's not spending time with his church, family or friends, you may find him tending his garden and wondering if he will ever fully retire. Check out Ed’s earlier articles.

The Mirrored Funnel

Mark Crothers | May 10, 2026

"My original plan was to sell the business, take 18 months off and maybe pick up some low-key, stress-free work — but that idea didn't last long once I realised how much I loved having complete control of my own time. Enjoy your vacation! I'm on the Orihuela Costa in Spain at the moment… just back from two hours of padel in 90-degree heat!"

- Mark Crothers

Tax Season Wrap up

Rick Connor | May 11, 2026

"Thanks Marilyn."

- Rick Connor

Direct Indexing Anyone?

ostrichtacossaturn7593 | May 10, 2026

"After reading a few of the comments, I would like to clarify that direct indexing, or separately managed accounts do not create any extra paperwork in preparing my annual income tax returns. I receive a 1099 just as I would for any other similar account. As noted, the 1099s are very long but you do not enter every position. The provider totals everything up and you only need to enter the summary data. These investments are not for everyone, but in the right situation can be very beneficial. I have not paid any capital gains tax for 10 years."

- Howard Schwartz

Dickie and his magic beans

R Quinn | May 6, 2026

"Good one."

- Jack Hannam

Pricing the Impossible

ArticleAdam M. Grossman | May 9, 2026

AN UNUSUAL STORY hit the news this week. GameStop, the struggling video game retailer, announced a bid to buy eBay. The offer was unexpected, but what surprised investors more was the economics of the proposed deal. eBay is many times larger than GameStop, making it difficult to understand how GameStop would be able to finance the acquisition. GameStop has offered $56 billion for eBay, comprised of cash and stock. For the cash portion, according to its May 3 press release, GameStop would use the $9 billion it has in the bank and borrow the remainder from TD Bank, which has committed up to $20 billion to the deal. But that, in a sense, is the easy part. The stock portion is what left investors with many more questions. That’s because GameStop’s total market value is in the neighborhood of just $11 billion, so it isn’t clear how it would be able to hand over $28 billion of shares. Its share price would somehow have to multiply for this to work. In an interview Monday on CNBC, GameStop’s chairman, Ryan Cohen, offered little clarity. When the reporter asked Cohen to explain his financing plan, the details were sparse. More than once, Cohen just repeated: “It’s half cash, half stock.” When the reporter challenged him to say more, Cohen stared back stone-faced. “I don’t understand your question…it’s half cash, half stock.” This went on for several minutes without much more clarity. Cohen’s parrying was amusing, and it’s an open question where this all ends up. In the meantime, this story is instructive for investors because it helps illustrate some of the stock market’s inner workings. For starters, it can help us understand the market’s seemingly split personality. At first glance, this story seems to highlight the more casino-like side of the stock market. After all, GameStop was the original “meme” stock, rising 30-fold in January 2021 when a YouTube personality promoted it to his followers. GameStop is now using its cult status as currency to support a deal that, according to conventional analysis, doesn’t add up. That said, it isn’t entirely irrational. Putting aside the financing, there is precedent for an online-only business merging with a traditional retailer. Amazon purchased Whole Foods, a grocer, in order to gain a retail footprint, and GameStop envisions something similar, where eBay customers could drop off goods at a physical location rather than hauling them to the post office. To be sure, eBay isn’t Amazon, and GameStop isn’t Whole Foods, but there is some logic to Cohen’s argument. How can we assess investors’ opinion of this deal? A pillar of Cohen’s pitch to investors is that he can make eBay much more profitable, such that it will essentially pay for itself. In an interview on Wednesday, he argued that under new management, eBay could operate much more efficiently. “There's 11,500 employees,” he said. “It doesn't make sense. I could run that business from my house. It doesn't need 11,500 employees.” The implication: Right now, it might not look like the math works for this deal, but if GameStop proceeds with the acquisition, its shares deserve to rise very considerably. Even if GameStop has to issue many new shares, in other words, each share would become much more valuable because of the addition of a newly more profitable eBay. Those additional profits, in Cohen’s view, would offset the dilution caused by the issuance of new shares. That’s the argument GameStop is making. What does Wall Street think? It turns out this question has a straightforward answer. GameStop has offered $125 per share of eBay. If investors were confident in this deal, then eBay’s shares would now be trading right around $125. That’s according to the principle of arbitrage, which says that there shouldn’t be a way to purchase a dollar for any less than a dollar. In other words, if eBay shareholders really stand to receive $125 a share, then it would be illogical for the shares to trade much below $125. But today, eBay shares are trading far below that, falling to as low as $105 on Wednesday. That tells us that investors have little confidence in the deal, most likely because of the difficult-to-explain financing. As Benjamin Graham famously wrote, in the short run, the stock market is a voting machine—a popularity contest—but in the long run, it’s a weighing machine. It’s rational. And though corners of the market often devolve into irrational and speculative excesses, that’s not always the case. More often than not, in my view, the market is better behaved than it’s commonly perceived to be, and I think that’s what we’re seeing here. eBay’s share price today tells us that investors are keeping their feet on the ground. In 1901, J.P. Morgan coordinated the acquisition of Carnegie Steel in a deal that, in its time, was the most audacious ever undertaken. Through massive leverage, it created the first company in the United States worth more than $1 billion. At the time, it was astounding. This tells us that unusual and unlikely things can happen. On the other hand, in 2001, the highly-leveraged merger of AOL and Time Warner was a disaster almost from the start. Which way will the GameStop-eBay deal go? Right now, it’s anyone’s guess. And as with most things involving great amounts of financial engineering, my recommendation is to steer clear. But this case is instructive because it illustrates many of the principles that drive the market from day to day. 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.

First Job, Lasting Impact

D.J. | May 14, 2026

Be the first to comment.

My Recent Fill-up

Michael01670723 | May 13, 2026

"$5.29 a gallon in the Western Suburbs of Chicago."

- Winston Smith

Benefits Young Adults Should Look at Before Taking a Job

Jeff Peck | May 10, 2026

- John Katz

HumbleDollar’s HumbleDrivers

Dan Smith | May 13, 2026

"Thanks for the education. My wife and I plan to try the new mirror adjustment."

- Edmund Marsh

Best method for buying home for permanently disabled daughter (SSI and ABLE account)

Dianne Baumert-Moyik | May 13, 2026

- Dan Smith

Retiring before age 65? COBRA vs ACA plan- important decision

R Quinn | May 13, 2026

- baldscreen

Slow on the Draw

ArticleEdmund Marsh | May 9, 2026

The Mirrored Funnel

Mark Crothers | May 10, 2026

- Mark Crothers

Tax Season Wrap up

Rick Connor | May 11, 2026

"Thanks Marilyn."

- Rick Connor

Manifesto

May 13, 2026

NO. 42: WE SHOULD never take investment advice from brokers and insurance agents—because they have an incentive to sell high-commission products and get us to trade excessively.

think

May 14, 2026

RISK TOLERANCE. Objectively, we may be able to take a lot of investment risk because we have a secure job and a long time horizon. But before we invest heavily in stocks, we should consider our personal tolerance for risk. This isn’t easy because it changes with the market: We grow braver as stock prices climb—and fearful when the market falls.

humans

May 13, 2026

NO. 13: WE'RE GIVEN to inertia. Even if our financial situation is bad, we fear any change will make it even worse—and we’ll end up racked with regret. Such fear can leave us holding bum investments we should have ditched years ago. Still, inertia isn’t all bad. It takes effort to sign up for the 401(k). But once we have, we tend to stick with it, thanks to inertia.

act

May 13, 2026

USE TWO-FACTOR authentication. If a thief gets online access to your financial accounts, your life’s savings could be at risk. What to do? If your bank, brokerage firm or fund company offers it, set up two-factor authentication. Your financial firm will text you a special access code every time you log on or when you log on from an unrecognized computer.

Money Guide

Manifesto

May 13, 2026

NO. 42: WE SHOULD never take investment advice from brokers and insurance agents—because they have an incentive to sell high-commission products and get us to trade excessively.

Spotlight: Houses

Should young people buy or rent?

Bonnie Likens | Apr 7, 2025

My son is 30 something working in Silicon Valley paying outlandish rents and looking at expensive housing. Is it still a good option to purchase in this market? I was burned on real estate as a young adult and don’t want to advise him If it is not a good idea.

Starting Over, if you can. Some decisions are subject to change (I apologize for its length)

Richard Hayman | Aug 3, 2025

AGING IN PLACE (So we thought)
Our journey started in the late 1980s with our first remodel. It was our second marriage, and rather than asking our teenage children to share a bedroom when it was “my weekend”, we created two bedrooms and a full bath on the lower level of our split-level. It was a suite with adjoining bedrooms and a private bath. That brought our bedroom count to six, making room for everyone.

My Humble Abode

Catherine Horiuchi | Dec 18, 2024

SIPPING MORNING coffee on the porch of my 40-year-old aluminum box in the Sonoran Desert, I’m pondering the cost of housing.
My affordable unit sits on cement piers at the end of a street within an age-restricted park, at the sparsely populated edge of Tucson. Few jobs exist nearby. Civic amenities are modest. Summer weather is challenging, with heat, thunderstorms and seasonal rattlesnakes. Still, these conditions have created a financially comfortable place for a retiree to live.

A Rental House? By the Numbers

DrLefty | Sep 11, 2024

Thanks so much for the great comments and advice on my previous post about this topic. As I said in a reply, I’m making a list of all the ideas commenters shared to discuss with my husband. We may or may not move forward with this idea—there are some complicated family dynamics that I won’t get into in this particular post. But if we do, here are some of the numbers we’re considering.

I’ve been looking at small starter homes or condos in either our town or the one 10 miles north of us.

Looking Real Good

Steve Abramowitz | Sep 4, 2024

I HAVE LONG HELD a grudge against Los Angeles, and not just because they stole the Dodgers from Brooklyn when I was a kid. It’s a city where too much value is placed on how you look, a metric where I don’t score particularly high. By contrast, New York City—my old stomping ground—is principled more on what you know, and on that score I feel I deserve at least a gentleman’s C.
That said,

One Last Book

Elaine M. Clements | Mar 6, 2025

During his final months, my husband Jonathan worked tirelessly to complete his last book, Money and Me. The book is now available for pre-order and will be released in May 2026.
What’s so special about this book? This book features Jonathan’s best and most personal HumbleDollar articles. The articles are curated in such a way to teach everyone about personal finance through Jonathan’s own money journey. And sadly, his terminal cancer diagnosis is part of this journey about which he candidly writes.

Dreaming of a Jewish Christmas

Marjorie Kondrack | Dec 22, 2024

There aren’t many people left on my Christmas card list. it becomes shortened with each passing year, but for more than 50 years, we have received a card from someone I never met whose name is Ben Goldberg. My husband retired 17 years ago and Ben is a man he worked with. Ben is not a Christian, but he sends a lovely card— no personal message, just signs his full name and that’s it. Somehow as strange as it might seem, Ben’s greeting adds a special meaning to our Christmas. Meanwhile, I hope that some of you have watched the PBS special, I’m dreaming of a Jewish Christmas. -A documentary about Jewish songwriters and their connection to Christmas music, including Irving Berlin and Mel Tormé. I love how they rearranged a few traditional Christmas carols like Deck the Halls, in “Hora” Tempo…lively Jewish wedding dance music. Very clever. If you have an on-demand feature with your cable subscription, you may be able to pull it up or it will probably air again before Christmas. Mazel tov! and Merry Christmas.

And Another Thing….

Marjorie Kondrack | Mar 17, 2025

Henry James is one of my favorite authors. In the late 1880s He wrote a novel, Washington Square, which was adapted into a play and an award winning movie, “The Heiress”. Olivia dehavilland starred as Catherine Sloper, a shy, ordinary looking, socially awkward young woman, who stands to inherit a large fortune. Montgomery Clift, was Morris Townsend, her handsome, charming but ne’er do well suitor—and a wonderful English actor, Ralph Richardson, as Dr. Austin Sloper, Catherine’s father. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Heiress In a scene from the movie, Dr. Sloper informs Morris that he is not a suitable candidate as a husband to his daughter, because he is “simply not in the right category.” (to choose from) for someone in Catherine’s position, whereupon Morris launches into an impertinent rebuke in attempt to disprove Dr. Sloper’s opinion. When the argument continues and Dr. Sloper’s opinion of Morris as a fortune hunter is confirmed, he summarily dismisses Morris by showing him the door, simply telling him…”you push me to it…you argue too much.” While face to face debate has always been a part of our culture, the internet has given some people permission to become insulting, rude and negative to those who don’t agree with them. It’s all too easy to minimize the impact of what we are saying when we are behind a computer screen. It can also be easy to do something we may regret. In a moment of anger, one little message and one little click, can cause damage we can never take back. Usually, when people argue on the internet, it’s not to resolve an issue or to understand each other, it’s just about spouting an opinion and seeking attention, or just to get one up on you by flouting, what they consider, is their superior intellect. So what’s the point—you are…

Alphabet Soup

Marjorie Kondrack | Jul 17, 2023

MOST PEOPLE ON Medicare report that they’re very satisfied with their health care coverage—but the program is undoubtedly complicated. There’s an alphabet soup of plans, coverage choices, premium levels and enrollment rules. While it’s easy to be flummoxed by the ins and outs of Medicare, think of it as “eating an elephant.” The only way to start is one bite at a time. Learn the basics first—by deciding whether you want original Medicare or Medicare Advantage. Original Medicare has these parts: Part A is for aggravation and Part B is for bureaucracy. Meanwhile, C is for confusion, better known as Medicare Advantage—which seems to have lots of disadvantages. And then we come to D, for the donut hole. What happens when you come to the donut hole? Are the donuts glazed? Or do they have sprinkles? Just who is responsible for this incomprehensible concept? It had me crying in my alphabet soup. Got the basics down? If you decide on original Medicare, you may wish to add a Medigap supplemental insurance plan, which involves a dizzying array of standardized plan options with more alphabet designations and varying degrees of coverage. I’ll make it easy for you, and save you the hassle of figuring out the whole Medigap alphabet. You won’t even have to read the Medicare for Dummies book. Plan F exists, but it’s not open to new enrollees. Plans G and N are the most popular, with plan G being the most comprehensive. Plan N has co-pays which can easily add up and surpass what you think you might be saving in premiums. Pick your poison and try not to pull out too much hair. It’s also easy to confuse the Medicare parts with the Medigap plans, as well as the premiums with the deductibles and co-pays. Just when…

You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby

Marjorie Kondrack | Apr 26, 2025

When I sought a good plan for investing during the 1960s, women were discouraged from having too much interest in the male-dominated Investment world. Then I discovered dividend investing, and found that income is not only a path to steady returns, but also a source of comfort when the market hits maximum turbulence, as it has recently. I discovered this strategy has also become popular with people who are planning to retire early and need income—but also growth. Income from the S&P 500 stock dividends over the last 25 years( 2004-2024)has grown an average percentage of 7.33%. While this includes both capital appreciation and dividend income, it’s notable that dividends contributed significantly to the total return. Coincidentally, the strategy has seen the same level of annual dividend growth. When you’re getting that kind of income and it’s growing, it’s possible to outpace inflation. The comfort and consistency of a dividend income stream gave me the confidence I needed to be a successful investor. When a company that’s actually made it through the pandemic, and the great financial crisis earlier in the century, and continues to pay its dividend, there is a pretty good chance that the company is committed to it. The more challenging part of the analysis is to figure out what a company’s management and board philosophy is, beyond the dividend. Do they say they are committed to the dividend—that’s what you’re looking for. There’s something comforting about a strategy where income—even $1,000. a month extra is consistently delivered into my account. It started with a book I read by the late Geraldine Weiss, known as “the Grand Dame of Dividends, —“Dividends Don’t Lie—”which changed the course of my investing strategy. She was also the first woman to launch a successful investment newsletter, now managed by Kelley Wright—Investment…

Other People’s Stuff

Marjorie Kondrack | Jun 22, 2023

MOST OF US HAVE TOO much stuff, and we’re apt to joke about it. But clutter, if allowed to spiral out of control, can turn into hoarding. Hoarders are people who acquire an excessive number of items, some with little or no value, and yet they continue to add to their chaotic overflow. Unable to manage the clutter but unwilling to let any of it go, they become upset and anxious when others offer to help clear it up. The result is debilitating clutter. It’s estimated that there are some 19 million people in the U.S. who are hoarders. The majority are age 55 and up. It’s hard to arrive at an accurate figure, however, because hoarders are secretive about their habits, usually live alone and don’t invite people into their homes. The exact cause of hoarding is unknown. While hoarding can be triggered by a traumatic event, not everyone who experiences trauma becomes a hoarder. Family history can also be a factor. Initially, it was thought to be connected to OCD—obsessive-compulsive disorder. But recent studies reveal that it may be a disorder all its own, and possibly linked to a form of dementia. I think that, as we age, we experience loss in many ways—diminished hearing, eyesight, loss of teeth, hair, mobility, cognitive abilities and so on. Maybe we react by trying to hold on to as much as we can for as long as we can. Throughout history, there have been extreme hoarders. Perhaps the two most infamous examples are the Collyer brothers, Homer and Langley, of New York City. Born into a wealthy family, they were graduates of Columbia University. Homer was a lawyer, while Langley studied engineering and was a concert pianist. They lived in a four-story brownstone mansion in Manhattan. But they devolved into hermits and…

Acting Our Age

Marjorie Kondrack | Apr 9, 2024

I CHUCKLE WHEN I read Lucille Ball’s gentle admonishment that “the secret to staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age.” That’s not so easy anymore, ever since the internet outed us all. But I’m not above using a little subterfuge. After all, forced disclosure is never comfortable. When asked how old I am, my usual reply is “any woman who will tell her age will tell anything”—a remark sometimes attributed to Mary Kay Ash. Still, as my husband and I have advanced in age, additional economic and physical challenges have emerged. Last year was our annus horribilis—a Latin phrase most of us learned from Queen Elizabeth II. With our physical capabilities declining, we’ve needed to outsource more home maintenance, both inside and outside our home. My most recent capitulation was to surrender my fussbudget tendencies and hire a house cleaning service. I still engage in light housekeeping—important for my brain health and sanity. But deep cleaning became an impossible chore to manage. Bringing on help is expensive. It’s all been a huge concession for me—the original do-it-yourselfer. Regarding meals, it’s possible to prepare quick, simple, nutritious and delicious meals at home without resorting to fast food and frozen dinners. For instance, you can pack a lot into a simple omelet, and it’s ready in a flash. I like pizza, too, but the digestive system doesn’t. I keep convenience foods on hand for those days that are hectic. We’re lucky to live near a food market that prepares and emphasizes healthy prepared meals. In earlier years, we enjoyed having the extra time to shop around for the best deals. Don’t underestimate the everyday small savings that can come from comparison shopping. I used to plan our meals, perusing the weekly food market circulars for specials…

First Job, Lasting Impact

My Recent Fill-up

Benefits Young Adults Should Look at Before Taking a Job

HumbleDollar’s HumbleDrivers

Best method for buying home for permanently disabled daughter (SSI and ABLE account)

Retiring before age 65? COBRA vs ACA plan- important decision

Slow on the Draw

The Mirrored Funnel

Tax Season Wrap up

Direct Indexing Anyone?

Dickie and his magic beans

Pricing the Impossible

First Job, Lasting Impact

My Recent Fill-up

Benefits Young Adults Should Look at Before Taking a Job

HumbleDollar’s HumbleDrivers

Best method for buying home for permanently disabled daughter (SSI and ABLE account)

Retiring before age 65? COBRA vs ACA plan- important decision

Slow on the Draw

The Mirrored Funnel

Tax Season Wrap up

Free Newsletter

Get Educated

Manifesto

think

humans

act

Money Guide

Manifesto

Spotlight: Houses

Should young people buy or rent?

Starting Over, if you can. Some decisions are subject to change (I apologize for its length)

My Humble Abode

A Rental House? By the Numbers

Looking Real Good

One Last Book

Spotlight: Kondrack

Dreaming of a Jewish Christmas

And Another Thing….

Alphabet Soup

You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby

Other People’s Stuff

Acting Our Age