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Behavior

The Art of Making Do

"Mark, I can think of a number of examples of making do, but most of them are associated with grasping pennies by necessity--it takes a little pain to save enough to matter. Like the garden fork with the cheap plastic grip that I nursed through many seasons because I wouldn't spend $45 for a sturdy, new one with metal fittings. By holding it just right and using carefully measured force, it served perfectly well. But I think you're referring, instead, to the satisfying feeling of choosing to make do when we can afford to buy a replacement. Like my pair of black, Italian dress shoes. I picked them up years ago from the clearance rack at a bargain shoe store, at a deep discount. I regularly sport about in them. Even so, the uppers get light wear, but I've replaced the sole once, and expect I'll do it again if my favorite repair shop is still in business. Your lead paragraph reminds me of following my five-year-daughter when she passed a trash bin. She gave it a casual glance, then gave a double-take and exclamation when she spied some coveted object--maybe packaging that she could fashion into some make-believe dwelling for her stuffed animals? I forget, but I do remember the scolding her parents received about tossing out treasure without first consulting her. We complied. Instead, we buried it out of sight at the bottom of the bin."
- Edmund Marsh
Read more »

In Retirement

Keep an eye on Medigap policies

"I personally would not consider a MA plan, unless it was a "flavor" of MA sponsored by a former employer (offering retiree medical) which may offer the full network of medical providers offered by Original Medicare. Most "over the counter" MA plans offered to the general public have network restrictions to PCP and specialists which can be an eye opener when starting to lean heavily on coverage for a serious medical condition. It seems like you have a fairly generous plan for out of state health needs- most do not offer that type of coverage, as when you are away from your home network, benefits are usually somewhat limited."
- Bill C
Read more »

In Retirement

Widow’s Penalty Redux

A RECENT post by achnk53 about the impact of a spouse’s death on the survivor’s taxes piqued my interest.  The post referenced an interesting Kiplinger article about the “Widow’s Penalty”, or the negative tax implications on a surviving spouse after the death of a spouse. A surviving spouse can file Married Filing Jointly (MFJ) in the year of their spouse’s death. In the full year following the spouse’s death you must file Single.  There are some beneficial filing rules for surviving spouses who have dependent children, but that is beyond this post. Nine days later John Urban published an article running the tax numbers for 3 different retiree scenarios, and using the data to provide some excellent suggestions for readers.  In between these two articles I had run some similar case studies to understand the impacts. I ran some case studies using the 2026 Dinkytown 1040 Calculator.  I considered a “lower" income retired couple.   The impact of one spouse passing is very dependent on the sources of income. Assume the retired couple were each receiving $36,000 in annual SS benefits. They have no other sources of income.  The couple filing jointly would have no taxable income, and no tax for 2026.  Had the husband died in 2025, the surviving widow would have seen her income reduced to $36,000. If she needed the lost income, and found a job that paid $36,000, her income would match the original $72,000. But $21,500 of her SS benefit would be taxable, her taxable income would be $33,350, and her annual tax bill would be $3,757.  The table below shows the details of this analysis: Tax Calculation After accounting for the reduction in Medicare related spending, she has similar spending power. But she had to go back to work to achieve that.  This, and the previous examples, reinforce the importance of understanding a couple’s financial details before and after the passing of a spouse. Income will likely be reduced, but expenses may also be reduced. Lower income retirees who depend primarily on both partners SS benefits may see the biggest impact. I also ran a comparison of our tax return for 2026, for both MFJ and if my wife filed single.  I assumed our income consisted of my pension, my wife’s SS benefit, and my SS benefit had I claimed it on January 1, 2026. When I die my wife will receive 75% of my pension, and my higher SS benefit.  The results were not surprising.
  • Her total income would be 68% of our combined pre-death income.
  • Her annual tax bill would be $1,250 more than our joint tax bill.
  • Her effective tax rate would increase by 4.2%.
  • 85% of her SS benefits would be taxable
  • Her spendable income after taxes would be about 65% of the joint amount.
  • She would lose about 20% of the new Senior Deduction
  • She would have no NJ State Tax liability
I then ran an additional scenario with the same assumptions, but also assuming we were 4 years older and would both have to take initial RMDs in 2026.  This scenario reflects one of the concerns frequently expressed when discussing this topic – what happens when the surviving spouse is responsible for reporting the income from both RMDs on her Single tax return. The results changed to reflect the scenario. 
  • Her total income would be about 79% of our combined pre-death income.
  • Her annual tax would be $708 more than the joint tax filing.
  • Her effective tax rate would increase by 3.8%.
  • Her spendable income after taxes would be about 80% of the joint amount.
  • She would lose all of the new Senior Deduction.
  • Her NJ State Income tax would be $540 more than the joint tax filing.
  • She would be pushed up one IRMAA bracket in 2028.
These results are a simplified look at our finances today.  My pension and my wife’s SS benefit cover our non-discretionary, and a decent portion of our discretionary, expenses. The wild card is travel – how much we spend in any year is our choice and may require additional income. I’m about 11 months from claiming my SS benefit, at which point virtually all of our expenses will be covered in a fairly tax-efficient way.  RMDs are still 4 years away. This was a good exercise to get a feel of how my demise would impact my wife’s finances. It would have some financial impacts, but I believe our plan can handle them. I’m considering running some more detailed projections varying the age at death to assess the impacts, but a quick look made me reasonably confident our retirement savings will be adequate, even considering long term care. I will also continue to look at Roth conversions each year.   Richard Connor is a semi-retired aerospace engineer with a keen interest in finance. He enjoys a wide variety of other interests, including chasing grandkids, space, sports, travel, winemaking and reading. Follow Rick on Twitter @RConnor609 and check out his earlier articles.
Read more »

From HumbleDollar Founder Jonathan Clements

Lists

Why HumbleDollar?

IN OUR 20s, WE TEND to be a confident lot: We figure we know what we want from our life, that the goal is…
Read more »

Spending

Anyone For S.K.I.ing?

"Jeff, it makes sense that your priorities are different from most of ours here. It must be some comfort knowing you can fund your daughter's trust well into the future, even after you're both gone. On a lighter note — another acronym? We've already got an alphabet soup brewing in the comments, so yours might as well join the party!"
- Mark Crothers
Read more »

Behavior

Time Is Priceless

"Great post. I would only add that you don't have to retire to start applying these ideas. I recognized 'time is short' when my oldest entered high school and I only had 4 years left, so I loosened the (very tight) purse strings on my wallet and started spending time and money building experiences and trying to deepen my relationship with my kids. I've tried to better adopt the motto 'Use money, love people' while recognizing the truth of 'Youth is wasted on the young, and wealth on the old'."
- Mark Ahrens
Read more »

Retirement

Will Congress Wait Until the Last Minute on Social Security?

"To my mind, Mr. Quinn has been spot on whenever he discusses the Social Security dilemma. Americans on the whole are addicted to the benefits of deficit spending. I’m sure that includes me as well. What I observe is that any time a politician makes any kind of gesture of constructive support for raising SS taxes or raising the retirement age, their political opponent will spin it into a slick attack ad. Voters will nod their heads and punish the offender. No way this gets solved without a crisis. And the “solution”, whatever it is, will leave a lot of people angry. There are no solutions, only tradeoffs, and the electorate is currently incapable of seeing that."
- Ken Cutler
Read more »

Taxes

Shouldn’t property taxes be a realistic part of retirement planning? Sorry, I think this is a major financial and social issue.

"At this time, income taxes are regressive. Wealthy people take far too many deductions. The top rate is too low. And Social Security taxes shouldn't be capped below $1M."
- Cammer Michael
Read more »

Investing

Financial Lessons

WHAT'S THE MOST important idea in personal finance? It’s hard to single out just one, but over the years, I’ve found the following dozen ideas to be among the most useful.
  1. Whether it’s on TV or online, there’s never any shortage of market prognosticators. Especially during a bull market, everyone seems to have an opinion on where things are headed. The reality, though, is that people can only guess about how the economy, the market or any individual investment will perform. Convincing as they might sound, no one has a crystal ball. That’s why, when it comes to investing, I suggest taking an evidence-based approach, one that relies as much as possible on data and research rather than on the simple stories, anecdotes and sayings that are so prevalent among market commentators.
  2. What does the data tell us? Among the most significant research in recent years is the work of Hendrik Bessembinder. In looking at the historical returns of stocks, he found that just a tiny fraction—only 4%—have accounted for the vast majority of the market’s gains over and above what Treasury bills paid, and the median stock actually delivered a negative return. This is one of the key reasons I recommend index funds rather than picking individual stocks or investing in an actively-managed fund. Identifying that 4% is almost impossibly difficult. But if you invest in a broad-based index fund, you’ll have a high likelihood of owning the next Apple or Nvidia.
  3. Be careful not to miss the forest for the trees. The most important driver of investment risk and return for most people, most of the time, is asset allocation. In other words, the dollars you have in stocks vs. in bonds or in cash will almost always be the most consequential decision. It’s easy to lose sight of that, though, because so much of the investment commentary from day to day focuses on details like small differences in fund expenses or small differences in bond yields. To be sure, details can be important, but only after considering the big picture.
  4. Another challenge in investing is that certain rules of thumb gain so much popularity that they end up being seen as rules rather than just guidelines. For example, some say that the percentage of a portfolio allocated to bonds should be equal to an investor’s age. To me, that’s illogical. Consider Bill Gates. He’s 70 years old, but it stands to reason that he shouldn’t have the same asset allocation as any other 70-year-old. Rules of thumb are useful as points of reference, but we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that everyone’s situation is different, and our investments should reflect that. More to the point, don’t worry if you’re doing something different from the next person.
  5. Buy insurance, but only to protect against losses you couldn’t absorb on your own. What does this mean in practice? In many cases, it’s possible to significantly cut insurance premiums by increasing deductibles. For example, if you have a seven-figure net worth, you might consider raising the deductible on your homeowner’s insurance to $5,000 or $10,000 or even more. Similarly, you might re-evaluate your life insurance as your net worth grows. You’ll likely become “self-insured” at some point, and then you could reduce or drop that coverage.
  6. Personal finance is quantitative, but we should never make decisions based only on the numbers. For example, a common question is how much cash to keep on hand. While we could work out an optimal number on a calculator, that shouldn’t be the final answer. You should also consider what would provide you with peace of mind. That is equally important.
  7. Be wary of the psychological pitfall known as recency bias. This is the tendency to extrapolate from recent experience and to downplay the possibility that things might change. The most famous example? In the late-1920s, when the stock market was booming, Yale University economist Irving Fisher declared that the stock market had reached a “permanently high plateau.” Just nine days later, the market crashed, ultimately dropping 89% from its peak.
  8. Avoid high fees. The research firm Morningstar once wrote, “If there’s anything in the whole world of mutual funds that you can take to the bank, it’s that expense ratios help you make better decisions. In every single time period and data point tested, low-cost funds beat high-cost funds.”
  9. Keep things simple. Most importantly, I would be wary of investments that aren’t easily understood. Not only can this help keep investment costs down, but it also makes it much easier to monitor your financial picture. Legendary fund manager Peter Lynch said it best: “Never invest in any idea you can't illustrate with a crayon.”
  10. Avoid “interesting” investments. So far this year, Wall Street has introduced more than 1,000 new exchange-traded funds (ETFs). How many of these are worth your attention? My guess is you could probably count them on one hand. More than 80% of these new funds are actively-managed, and more than 30% employ leverage. And there are more to come. Fund companies recently filed paperwork to create ETFs that will track the performance of major league sports teams. They won’t actually own shares in the teams; instead, they’re expected to rise and fall in response to each team’s wins and losses.
  11. For years, I’ve argued that bitcoin isn’t a valid investment. Even though it’s gone way up since I first made that argument, I still feel the same way, and for the same reason: because it lacks intrinsic value. Unlike stocks or bonds, it doesn’t generate any dividends or interest. Bitcoin’s price is not anchored to anything measurable or tangible, and that’s why, in my opinion, its price is so volatile.
  12. When it comes to investment risk, investors’ attention usually turns to the stock market. That makes sense, but as we’ve seen this year, bonds are not without risk. And unfortunately, the total-bond market index, which is often seen as the simplest, set-it-and-forget-it option, is one that carries quite a bit of risk. If you’re choosing bond investments, my recommendation is to pay attention to a metric known as duration. This tells you how sensitive a bond, or bond fund, will be to interest rate changes. In my view, investors should hold a sizable portion of their bond investments in a fund, or in individual bonds, with a duration of less than two years.
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.
Read more »

Taxes

Does the new-for-2026 $1000/$2000 charitable deduction for non-itemizers reduce AGI?

"In 2023, approximately 89.2% of taxpayers (generally low- and middle-income taxpayers) claimed the standard deduction, while 9.4% (generally high-income taxpayers) claimed itemized deductions per final government information. The final percentages of those itemizing for tax years 2024 and 2025 are not yet available but are expected to be similar to the 2023. For the vast majority of taxpayers the effect of our current income tax laws means financial decisions that involve considering their tax impact are most beneficial to those whose actions result in either an exclusion from taxable income (above the line like a qualified charitable distribution) or a deduction below the line that is available even when you do not itemize. Taxpayers who still itemize their deductions may only be partially benefiting as the additional benefit from itemized deductions is best measured by the extent that the itemized deductions exceed their available standard deduction times their marginal tax rate. Sometimes for taxes the how you do something is more important than the why you do it."
- William Perry
Read more »

Health

My Name is Dan, and I’m a CPAP User

"Mike, I KNEW IT! Seriously, I used to buy off brand toner at my tax prep office. They were about 1/4 of the cost of HP toners, and worked every bit as well. I guess those days are gone forever."
- DAN SMITH
Read more »

Behavior

The Art of Making Do

"Mark, I can think of a number of examples of making do, but most of them are associated with grasping pennies by necessity--it takes a little pain to save enough to matter. Like the garden fork with the cheap plastic grip that I nursed through many seasons because I wouldn't spend $45 for a sturdy, new one with metal fittings. By holding it just right and using carefully measured force, it served perfectly well. But I think you're referring, instead, to the satisfying feeling of choosing to make do when we can afford to buy a replacement. Like my pair of black, Italian dress shoes. I picked them up years ago from the clearance rack at a bargain shoe store, at a deep discount. I regularly sport about in them. Even so, the uppers get light wear, but I've replaced the sole once, and expect I'll do it again if my favorite repair shop is still in business. Your lead paragraph reminds me of following my five-year-daughter when she passed a trash bin. She gave it a casual glance, then gave a double-take and exclamation when she spied some coveted object--maybe packaging that she could fashion into some make-believe dwelling for her stuffed animals? I forget, but I do remember the scolding her parents received about tossing out treasure without first consulting her. We complied. Instead, we buried it out of sight at the bottom of the bin."
- Edmund Marsh
Read more »

In Retirement

Keep an eye on Medigap policies

"I personally would not consider a MA plan, unless it was a "flavor" of MA sponsored by a former employer (offering retiree medical) which may offer the full network of medical providers offered by Original Medicare. Most "over the counter" MA plans offered to the general public have network restrictions to PCP and specialists which can be an eye opener when starting to lean heavily on coverage for a serious medical condition. It seems like you have a fairly generous plan for out of state health needs- most do not offer that type of coverage, as when you are away from your home network, benefits are usually somewhat limited."
- Bill C
Read more »

In Retirement

Widow’s Penalty Redux

A RECENT post by achnk53 about the impact of a spouse’s death on the survivor’s taxes piqued my interest.  The post referenced an interesting Kiplinger article about the “Widow’s Penalty”, or the negative tax implications on a surviving spouse after the death of a spouse. A surviving spouse can file Married Filing Jointly (MFJ) in the year of their spouse’s death. In the full year following the spouse’s death you must file Single.  There are some beneficial filing rules for surviving spouses who have dependent children, but that is beyond this post. Nine days later John Urban published an article running the tax numbers for 3 different retiree scenarios, and using the data to provide some excellent suggestions for readers.  In between these two articles I had run some similar case studies to understand the impacts. I ran some case studies using the 2026 Dinkytown 1040 Calculator.  I considered a “lower" income retired couple.   The impact of one spouse passing is very dependent on the sources of income. Assume the retired couple were each receiving $36,000 in annual SS benefits. They have no other sources of income.  The couple filing jointly would have no taxable income, and no tax for 2026.  Had the husband died in 2025, the surviving widow would have seen her income reduced to $36,000. If she needed the lost income, and found a job that paid $36,000, her income would match the original $72,000. But $21,500 of her SS benefit would be taxable, her taxable income would be $33,350, and her annual tax bill would be $3,757.  The table below shows the details of this analysis: Tax Calculation After accounting for the reduction in Medicare related spending, she has similar spending power. But she had to go back to work to achieve that.  This, and the previous examples, reinforce the importance of understanding a couple’s financial details before and after the passing of a spouse. Income will likely be reduced, but expenses may also be reduced. Lower income retirees who depend primarily on both partners SS benefits may see the biggest impact. I also ran a comparison of our tax return for 2026, for both MFJ and if my wife filed single.  I assumed our income consisted of my pension, my wife’s SS benefit, and my SS benefit had I claimed it on January 1, 2026. When I die my wife will receive 75% of my pension, and my higher SS benefit.  The results were not surprising.
  • Her total income would be 68% of our combined pre-death income.
  • Her annual tax bill would be $1,250 more than our joint tax bill.
  • Her effective tax rate would increase by 4.2%.
  • 85% of her SS benefits would be taxable
  • Her spendable income after taxes would be about 65% of the joint amount.
  • She would lose about 20% of the new Senior Deduction
  • She would have no NJ State Tax liability
I then ran an additional scenario with the same assumptions, but also assuming we were 4 years older and would both have to take initial RMDs in 2026.  This scenario reflects one of the concerns frequently expressed when discussing this topic – what happens when the surviving spouse is responsible for reporting the income from both RMDs on her Single tax return. The results changed to reflect the scenario. 
  • Her total income would be about 79% of our combined pre-death income.
  • Her annual tax would be $708 more than the joint tax filing.
  • Her effective tax rate would increase by 3.8%.
  • Her spendable income after taxes would be about 80% of the joint amount.
  • She would lose all of the new Senior Deduction.
  • Her NJ State Income tax would be $540 more than the joint tax filing.
  • She would be pushed up one IRMAA bracket in 2028.
These results are a simplified look at our finances today.  My pension and my wife’s SS benefit cover our non-discretionary, and a decent portion of our discretionary, expenses. The wild card is travel – how much we spend in any year is our choice and may require additional income. I’m about 11 months from claiming my SS benefit, at which point virtually all of our expenses will be covered in a fairly tax-efficient way.  RMDs are still 4 years away. This was a good exercise to get a feel of how my demise would impact my wife’s finances. It would have some financial impacts, but I believe our plan can handle them. I’m considering running some more detailed projections varying the age at death to assess the impacts, but a quick look made me reasonably confident our retirement savings will be adequate, even considering long term care. I will also continue to look at Roth conversions each year.   Richard Connor is a semi-retired aerospace engineer with a keen interest in finance. He enjoys a wide variety of other interests, including chasing grandkids, space, sports, travel, winemaking and reading. Follow Rick on Twitter @RConnor609 and check out his earlier articles.
Read more »

From HumbleDollar Founder Jonathan Clements

Lists

Why HumbleDollar?

IN OUR 20s, WE TEND to be a confident lot: We figure we know what we want from our life, that the goal is…
Read more »

Spending

Anyone For S.K.I.ing?

"Jeff, it makes sense that your priorities are different from most of ours here. It must be some comfort knowing you can fund your daughter's trust well into the future, even after you're both gone. On a lighter note — another acronym? We've already got an alphabet soup brewing in the comments, so yours might as well join the party!"
- Mark Crothers
Read more »

Behavior

Time Is Priceless

"Great post. I would only add that you don't have to retire to start applying these ideas. I recognized 'time is short' when my oldest entered high school and I only had 4 years left, so I loosened the (very tight) purse strings on my wallet and started spending time and money building experiences and trying to deepen my relationship with my kids. I've tried to better adopt the motto 'Use money, love people' while recognizing the truth of 'Youth is wasted on the young, and wealth on the old'."
- Mark Ahrens
Read more »

Retirement

Will Congress Wait Until the Last Minute on Social Security?

"To my mind, Mr. Quinn has been spot on whenever he discusses the Social Security dilemma. Americans on the whole are addicted to the benefits of deficit spending. I’m sure that includes me as well. What I observe is that any time a politician makes any kind of gesture of constructive support for raising SS taxes or raising the retirement age, their political opponent will spin it into a slick attack ad. Voters will nod their heads and punish the offender. No way this gets solved without a crisis. And the “solution”, whatever it is, will leave a lot of people angry. There are no solutions, only tradeoffs, and the electorate is currently incapable of seeing that."
- Ken Cutler
Read more »

Taxes

Shouldn’t property taxes be a realistic part of retirement planning? Sorry, I think this is a major financial and social issue.

"At this time, income taxes are regressive. Wealthy people take far too many deductions. The top rate is too low. And Social Security taxes shouldn't be capped below $1M."
- Cammer Michael
Read more »

Investing

Financial Lessons

WHAT'S THE MOST important idea in personal finance? It’s hard to single out just one, but over the years, I’ve found the following dozen ideas to be among the most useful.
  1. Whether it’s on TV or online, there’s never any shortage of market prognosticators. Especially during a bull market, everyone seems to have an opinion on where things are headed. The reality, though, is that people can only guess about how the economy, the market or any individual investment will perform. Convincing as they might sound, no one has a crystal ball. That’s why, when it comes to investing, I suggest taking an evidence-based approach, one that relies as much as possible on data and research rather than on the simple stories, anecdotes and sayings that are so prevalent among market commentators.
  2. What does the data tell us? Among the most significant research in recent years is the work of Hendrik Bessembinder. In looking at the historical returns of stocks, he found that just a tiny fraction—only 4%—have accounted for the vast majority of the market’s gains over and above what Treasury bills paid, and the median stock actually delivered a negative return. This is one of the key reasons I recommend index funds rather than picking individual stocks or investing in an actively-managed fund. Identifying that 4% is almost impossibly difficult. But if you invest in a broad-based index fund, you’ll have a high likelihood of owning the next Apple or Nvidia.
  3. Be careful not to miss the forest for the trees. The most important driver of investment risk and return for most people, most of the time, is asset allocation. In other words, the dollars you have in stocks vs. in bonds or in cash will almost always be the most consequential decision. It’s easy to lose sight of that, though, because so much of the investment commentary from day to day focuses on details like small differences in fund expenses or small differences in bond yields. To be sure, details can be important, but only after considering the big picture.
  4. Another challenge in investing is that certain rules of thumb gain so much popularity that they end up being seen as rules rather than just guidelines. For example, some say that the percentage of a portfolio allocated to bonds should be equal to an investor’s age. To me, that’s illogical. Consider Bill Gates. He’s 70 years old, but it stands to reason that he shouldn’t have the same asset allocation as any other 70-year-old. Rules of thumb are useful as points of reference, but we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that everyone’s situation is different, and our investments should reflect that. More to the point, don’t worry if you’re doing something different from the next person.
  5. Buy insurance, but only to protect against losses you couldn’t absorb on your own. What does this mean in practice? In many cases, it’s possible to significantly cut insurance premiums by increasing deductibles. For example, if you have a seven-figure net worth, you might consider raising the deductible on your homeowner’s insurance to $5,000 or $10,000 or even more. Similarly, you might re-evaluate your life insurance as your net worth grows. You’ll likely become “self-insured” at some point, and then you could reduce or drop that coverage.
  6. Personal finance is quantitative, but we should never make decisions based only on the numbers. For example, a common question is how much cash to keep on hand. While we could work out an optimal number on a calculator, that shouldn’t be the final answer. You should also consider what would provide you with peace of mind. That is equally important.
  7. Be wary of the psychological pitfall known as recency bias. This is the tendency to extrapolate from recent experience and to downplay the possibility that things might change. The most famous example? In the late-1920s, when the stock market was booming, Yale University economist Irving Fisher declared that the stock market had reached a “permanently high plateau.” Just nine days later, the market crashed, ultimately dropping 89% from its peak.
  8. Avoid high fees. The research firm Morningstar once wrote, “If there’s anything in the whole world of mutual funds that you can take to the bank, it’s that expense ratios help you make better decisions. In every single time period and data point tested, low-cost funds beat high-cost funds.”
  9. Keep things simple. Most importantly, I would be wary of investments that aren’t easily understood. Not only can this help keep investment costs down, but it also makes it much easier to monitor your financial picture. Legendary fund manager Peter Lynch said it best: “Never invest in any idea you can't illustrate with a crayon.”
  10. Avoid “interesting” investments. So far this year, Wall Street has introduced more than 1,000 new exchange-traded funds (ETFs). How many of these are worth your attention? My guess is you could probably count them on one hand. More than 80% of these new funds are actively-managed, and more than 30% employ leverage. And there are more to come. Fund companies recently filed paperwork to create ETFs that will track the performance of major league sports teams. They won’t actually own shares in the teams; instead, they’re expected to rise and fall in response to each team’s wins and losses.
  11. For years, I’ve argued that bitcoin isn’t a valid investment. Even though it’s gone way up since I first made that argument, I still feel the same way, and for the same reason: because it lacks intrinsic value. Unlike stocks or bonds, it doesn’t generate any dividends or interest. Bitcoin’s price is not anchored to anything measurable or tangible, and that’s why, in my opinion, its price is so volatile.
  12. When it comes to investment risk, investors’ attention usually turns to the stock market. That makes sense, but as we’ve seen this year, bonds are not without risk. And unfortunately, the total-bond market index, which is often seen as the simplest, set-it-and-forget-it option, is one that carries quite a bit of risk. If you’re choosing bond investments, my recommendation is to pay attention to a metric known as duration. This tells you how sensitive a bond, or bond fund, will be to interest rate changes. In my view, investors should hold a sizable portion of their bond investments in a fund, or in individual bonds, with a duration of less than two years.
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.
Read more »

Free Newsletter

Get Educated

Manifesto

NO. 3: WE SHOULD focus relentlessly on what we want from our financial life. That’ll motivate us to save, drive our investment strategy—and help ensure we pursue the goals we care about most.

Truths

NO. 93: PAYING down a mortgage is often the best bond we can buy. We earn a return equal to the mortgage’s interest rate, which will typically be above the yield on high-quality corporate and government bonds. True, if we pay down a mortgage, we’ll have less mortgage interest to deduct—but that deduction is now less valuable, thanks to 2017’s tax law.

humans

NO. 53: WE FEAR spoiling our kids, and yet the next generation almost always seems spoiled because rising living standards mean our children typically live better than we did at their age. In fact, we may want to “spoil” our kids by giving them money and then nudging them to use it responsibly. Think of this as a trial run before they receive any inheritance.

act

EXPLORE EASING into retirement. Could you work fewer hours at your current job or switch to a new career that’ll carry you through your initial retirement years? By phasing into retirement, you can limit your portfolio withdrawals and put off claiming Social Security, while also giving yourself time to figure out what a fulfilling retirement might look like.

Savings Initiative

Manifesto

NO. 3: WE SHOULD focus relentlessly on what we want from our financial life. That’ll motivate us to save, drive our investment strategy—and help ensure we pursue the goals we care about most.

Spotlight: Health

On Being a “Healthy” Person

I’ve known since I was a young woman that my siblings and I did not win the genetic lottery when it comes to health, particularly regarding heart disease. My grandfathers and my father all died of heart attacks in their 60s. My dad was the youngest, only 61 when he passed. My brother, now 54, had a quadruple bypass when he was just 47.
Only recently did I become aware that a “bad family history” actually had a specific indicator,

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Lower drug prices?

I’m gifting a New York Times article on new legislation affecting Pharmacy Benefit Managers. There’s a lot of detail, but since the PBMs apparently opposed it, maybe it will help a little.
The medication I used to take for rheumatoid arthritis cost $2,000/month retail when it went on the market around 2012 (even though some of the research was funded by the government), but had risen to $6,500/month retail by the time I stopped taking it ten years later…

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About those US medical costs….

I am attempting to gift a Wall Street Journal article. I hope it works, but if not, all you really need is the headline: “The Average Cost of a Family Health Insurance Plan Is Now $27,000”. Think about that. Then consider that US health care is generally considered to be twice as expensive as health care in other, comparable, countries for worse results. Think what corporations, never mind employees, could do with an additional $6,750/year per person.

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GLP1 Access for Only a $50 Copay?

Medicare is starting a program called the GLP1 Bridge program.
The basics of the program are:
1) This is available to Medicare recipients but is a special program not associated with your drug plan.
2) Begins 7/1 and runs through 12/31/27, with no details at this time as to what will occur after the scheduled end date.
3) $50 copayment is for all four levels of dosages (some other programs only cover the starting dosage then the copayments sky rocket).

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The Lottery of Birth

When my 76-year-old mother-in-law was told she needed a dual-chamber pacemaker, our family’s attention shifted to one thing: getting her safely through the surgery. Joey was especially anxious. Living thousands of miles away, he struggled with not being there for his mother. Thankfully, the surgery went well.
As relief replaced worry, I found myself thinking about something entirely different. Her surgery took place in the Philippines, and her family’s share of the cost, after government health insurance paid its portion,

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Preparing for SS at Age 70….. How Do I Transition to Monthly Part B Premium Deduction?

I will be starting to receive my SS benefit when I turn 70 this October.  I understand that my first check will be issued in November. Since I began Medicare when I retired several years ago I have been paying my quarterly-billed Part B premium through the Medicare.gov website.  I anticipate my next invoice (for Oct.- Dec. of this year) will be mailed to me in the next couple of weeks, with a due date of Sept.

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Spotlight: Politakis

A PIN to protect your tax return

Have you heard of the IP PIN? (This is from the IRS website) “An identity protection PIN (IP PIN) is a six-digit number that prevents someone else from filing a tax return using your Social Security number (SSN) or individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN). The IP PIN is known only to you and the IRS. It helps us verify your identity when you file your electronic or paper tax return. If you don't already have an IP PIN, you may get an IP PIN as a proactive step to protect yourself from tax-related identity theft, even if you are not required to file a tax return. Who is eligible to get an IP PIN Anyone who has an SSN or individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN) and is able to verify his/her identity is eligible to enroll into the IP PIN program. Parents and legal guardians can also request an IP PIN for dependents. How to get an IP PIN The fastest way to receive an IP PIN is to request one through your online account, in the IP PIN section of your profile page. If you don’t already have an account on IRS.gov, you must register to validate your identity. Note: If you or your dependent are under age 18 and would like to request an IP PIN, you must use one of the alternative enrollment options.” A few hours ago , I completed my return on TurboTax and forgot to enter my PIN. The return was rejected and I had to get it from my online IRS account, entered the PIN and refiled. It was accepted minutes later.      
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Housing options for older Americans

I wanted to share this article and I hope our dear HD readers comment and tell us if they are doing what is suggested in the article and how it’s working out.  I am at the beginning of trying to figure out my housing options and what is described in the article sounds good. https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/relationships/new-housing-options-emerge-for-older-americans-dfa4c8f5?st=Sp9vyR&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
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I want to see less of me on the internet

There is an excellent article in the Wall Street Journal about how to find what there is about you on the internet and how to delete it if you want.  Here is the Link. I read the article followed the suggestions and it was very easy.  I hope it works.  Has anyone tried this?
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Tariffs and our retirement assets

I searched and searched the forum for a post about what HD readers are doing in response to the effect of the uncertainty of tariffs on the stock market but I found nothing.  It’s as if the markets did nothing today.  So, please tell me what you are doing regarding your investments in the face of this unprecedented economic assault on the world economy by someone who just discovered the quaint notion of “groceries”.
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It’s 2025. Do you send checks by mail?

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?
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Financial wisdom from Jonathan

Great article and tribute about Jonathan in the New York Times. This is a link to it that hopefully you can read without a subscription. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/23/business/jonathan-clements-wsj-personal-finance.html?unlocked_article_code=1.rk8.3FoY.S-b5ghKuzDQY&smid=url-share
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