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The Other Enough

Jonathan Clements

I SPENT NINE YEARS at English boarding schools. The food was beyond disgusting. The buildings were cold and drafty. I was constantly bullied. I would go as long as 14 weeks at a time without seeing my parents, who were based first in Bangladesh and then Washington, D.C.

But I also knew I was getting a good education, and I opted to stay when I had the chance to return home and go to the local U.S. high school. I had this notion—perhaps partly the result of my Catholic upbringing—that there would be a payoff for my suffering, that if I kept my head down and kept studying, I’d be rewarded. It was a strange act of delayed gratification for a teenager. But it worked out. I managed to gain admission to one of the world’s great universities, though it was a close call and, no, that isn’t false modesty.

After I left boarding school and before I went to Cambridge, I made a conscious decision to reinvent myself as someone more outgoing and confident. I wanted to leave behind the tearful, vulnerable kid I’d been, and I knew there’d be few students at Cambridge who knew my old self. That, too, worked out. I arrived at college determined to make my mark, and soon found myself editor of the student newspaper.

I think that adopted self-confidence, coupled with the mindset that if I sacrifice and suffer now, I’d be rewarded later, was the reason I had a successful career and became a reasonably good amateur runner. I think it’s also a key reason I’ve been a prodigious saver and that I’ve had success as an investor, tenaciously buying stocks when things look bleak.

That willingness to sacrifice for future benefit is still with me—but it’s an attitude I find harder to justify. After all, at age 60, if I sacrifice now, will I still be around to collect my reward? As my stepfather would joke toward the end of his life, “I don’t buy green bananas.”

This is obviously an issue for those—like me—who have led frugal lives and have thoughts of spending some of the money they’ve amassed. But it’s also a question for those—again like me—who continue to work hard in their 60s, imagining there will be some reward down the road.

To be sure, work itself can be rewarding. There can be great pleasure in striving for something we care passionately about. When we choose to retire, we’re declaring, “I’ve accumulated enough.” But we aren’t necessarily declaring, “I’ve done enough.”

Still, there’s a crucial difference between what we do during our career and what we do once we’re retired. During retirement, how we spend our days is largely our choice. We get to focus on activities we enjoy and find fulfilling. Typically, we’re living in the moment, rather than building toward some future success—a promotion, a pay raise, some goal that’s important to our employer.

Many folks are happy to get off the career treadmill. But for others, including me, calling it quits doesn’t come easily. We humans are inherently restless. We want more stuff, more money and, yes, another success. And when we get these things, we quickly grow dissatisfied and start hankering after something else. We never achieve that final, fully satisfying triumph that we crave.

This is something I think about way too much. For the past few years, I have—in my head—been negotiating the terms of my surrender to the joys of retirement. I’ve been trying to figure out when I can declare that I’ve had enough career accomplishments and I can shift into retirement mode, focusing less on some elusive future success, and more on enjoying the here and now.

As I’ve written before, I think it’s important to figure out ahead of time what success looks like, so we find it easier to declare victory. Four years ago, I decided that success for this website would be notching 500,000 pageviews in a month. HumbleDollar got there in February, with 510,000 pages viewed. To be sure, the site remains minuscule by internet standards. Still, I’m declaring victory.

Do I feel a sense of lasting triumph? No. But I suspect that this is as good as it’s going to get for HumbleDollar, so I’ve decided to tamp down my ambitions for the site and work a little less hard going forward. As you might have noticed, the site has been publishing somewhat fewer articles of late, often just one new piece each day. Fear not: I have no intention of shutting down HumbleDollar. I hope to keep the site going for many years. I’m not done doing—but I am done chasing success.

Jonathan Clements is the founder and editor of HumbleDollar. Follow him on Twitter @ClementsMoney and on Facebook, and check out his earlier articles.

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charles brown
1 year ago

Jonathan: I resonate with your insatiable urge to stay at the helm. I am 84 years old, enjoy excellent health, and serve as a healthcare insurance broker. I tell people that I MUST work, but not for the reasons they think. Rather, the intellectual stimulation that annual recertification provides, the pleasure of travel to appointments, the social engagement with the client, the emotional uplift of serving seniors, and the satisfying strokes for having done a good job. Tally them up! The accrued benefits yield more than money and provide what money cannot. The idea of retirement conjures the image of retreating into obscurity and going out with a whimper as T. S. Eliot declared.
I much prefer the “bang” as offered via continued employment. CWB.

Jack Hannam
1 year ago

I favor quality over quantity. I appreciate your work and echo the comments of those below!

robert dailey
1 year ago

Don’t you dare even think of retiring completely and shutting down Humble Dollar!!! I’ve been quietly following your columns for many years, first in the NYTs [remember?…] and HD of late.
Here, there is the wisdom of age, along with its recitation of mistakes- the greatest teacher of all, of course. 🙂
Bob Dailey

Jonathan Clements
Admin
1 year ago
Reply to  robert dailey

Thanks for commenting. I never worked at The New York Times — I was at The Wall Street Journal. When I was at the WSJ, one reporter joked that there were only two reasons to go to the NYT: fame… and fortune.

Mike Gaynes
1 year ago

Jonathan, ideally the “sense of lasting triumph” will come now not from any tangible success, like achieving a business target, but an intangible accomplishment like your personal reinvention as a university student, when you made a conscious decision to change your approach.

As you undergo another reinvention process, from working stiff to lazy bum, you may find yourself making other conscious decisions to appreciate and savor non-economic things, like relationships or hobbies, that were considered routine in the past.

I always looked forward to retirement. I almost didn’t make it. At 59 I had incurable cancer and maybe a year or two. At 66 I’m one of the first breakthrough survivors, thanks to new treatments. My survival wasn’t an accomplishment, but rather a gift from a medical revolution (and lots of study participants who are no longer alive to thank). Yet I’m able to treat it as a triumph by intensely enjoying my life, my relationships, my music and acting, my walks in the woods.

And my work. Somehow I wound up deciding not to retire. I work part-time, as much for the appreciation and interaction as the money. I like getting up in the morning and finding a project in my email. In the words of some anonymous great philosopher, who woulda thunk it?

Feels like triumph.

Richard Gore
1 year ago

I loved my job as a professor and thought I was making a valuable contribution to my students and the profession; however, now that I’ve been retired for a couple of years it is hard for me to understand why I thought it was so important.

There hasn’t been a single day when I woke-up thinking that I wish I could go teach my class. You might experience the same thing one day when you never have to edit another essay.

Good luck in making the transition to real retirement.

johny
1 year ago

I went to international school where the English kids took A & O levels. It was a strange system to us Americans. I noticed kids taking these courses had to write tons of essays. Writing and writing and more writing…it seemed endless. Who ever heard of writing essays for Geography? Jonathan is this why the English have a way with words?

Last edited 1 year ago by johny
Jonathan Clements
Admin
1 year ago
Reply to  johny

I’ve met plenty of Americans who also have a way with words. But, yes, I remember writing tons of essays at school — and studying for O and A levels.

Gina
1 year ago

Jonathan, I just wanted to say that we enjoy your columns very much. We have bought your books and shared them with our Millennial sons, who may even recognize that we are not dunces.

Jonathan Clements
Admin
1 year ago
Reply to  Gina

All children think their parents are dunces — until they have children of their own!

David Lancaster
1 year ago

I once heard of this saying, “It’s amazing how much smarter my parents become as I get older!”

evan rayers
1 year ago

Additional congratulations on your 500K!
On to 1M!

Your popularity spreads via word of mouth, best way.-imo-
If some influencers can do 1M followers and are annually growing with self-sustaining & profitable entity you qualify.
I suspect. Most B&M businesses struggle initially afaik.

I’m probably an outlier in my understanding of what I see as universal data. I’d rather pass along doing what I like than not.
My understanding of metrics suggests you’re in a changing economy, that you understand better than most and help many.
I’ve noticed the longer people stay engaged the longer they live.

Retirement to me does not suggest what TV does, wink.
I knew a Mr. Greenjeans, in a major city environment. As well as an atty. with an apt. complex. Both surrounded by numerous retired .gov union workers.
Mr. Greenjeans lived longer than anyone.
Living to near 100 in the 60s was also an outlier.

Good luck to you with your timeline.
Little to do is disheartening.

Laura E. Kelly
1 year ago

Your line “We never achieve that final, fully satisfying triumph that we crave” really resonates. I think it can be a relief to fully realize this, if also a bit deflating. That said, with spring coming soon, I’m hoping to enjoy the clichéd advice to “stop and smell the roses” more this year than ever before. 

Harold Tynes
1 year ago

Jonathan, Congratulations on building HD to where it is today. Having followed your writing since the WSJ days, it has always resonated with me for its consistency and common sense. I was digging through my old emails today looking for the earliest one I forwarded to my (now grown) kids. It was from the Sunday Journal from August 2014. Love the AOL address!

Financial Beliefs You Might Not LikeStock Picking Is a Crapshoot; There Are Better Ways to Boost Returns.By 
JONATHAN CLEMENTS
Aug. 23, 2014 8:15 p.m. ET
I’m in a crabby mood. Why not spread the joy around? Welcome to today’s deliberately inflammatory column. Here are 13 of my firmly held financial beliefs:
1. You have no clue where stocks and interest rates are headed—and neither does anybody else. Instead of forecasting returns, investors should devote their efforts to cutting investment costs, trimming taxes and managing their portfolio’s risk level.
2. Buying actively managed mutual funds is an act of faith in the face of daunting odds. S&P Dow Jones Indices, part of McGraw Hill Financial, analyzed the performance of U.S. stock funds in 13 categories. Depending on the category, just 14% to 39% of funds managed to beat their benchmark index over the five years through year-end 2013.
3. It’s a huge mistake to compensate a financial adviser through commissions. Yes, it can be cheaper than paying a percentage of assets. But paying commissions means the adviser’s recommendations will always be suspect, because he or she has an incentive to get you to trade more and buy higher-commission products.
That brings me to a pet peeve: Advisers wouldn’t be nearly so enthusiastic about variable annuities, equity-indexed annuities and cash-value life insurance if the commissions weren’t so high.
4. Insurance is a waste of money—if you’re lucky. After all, if you collect on a policy, it means somebody has died, the house has burned down or some other disaster has struck. What if you collect on a policy and yet you could have afforded to pay the loss out of pocket? That’s a sign you’re over-insured—and you should probably scale back some of your policies and perhaps drop them entirely.
5. You are highly unlikely to make money from your home’s price appreciation once you figure in inflation, homeowners insurance, maintenance and property taxes. What if you have a mortgage? The loan may leverage any home-price gains—but the interest costs will likely offset the benefits.
6. Paying down a mortgage is a great low-risk investment. It may not give you the highest possible return. But the interest saved is probably greater than the yield you could earn by buying bonds—and the result can be substantial financial freedom. Everybody should strive to be mortgage-free by retirement.
7. Carrying a credit-card balance is an act of financial foolishness. Except in a dire emergency, you should never put a purchase on a credit card unless you’re confident you can pay off the balance in full.
8. Don’t budget. It’s a tedious exercise favored by nerdy individuals. Instead, make sure you save enough every month. Do that, and there is no need to budget.
9. Saving diligently is the way everyday Americans get rich. Don’t have a traditional employer pension plan? To retire in moderate comfort, you will likely need to save at least 10% of your income every year for at least 30 years.
10. Not saving that 10%? You probably shouldn’t be buying new cars, purchasing a second home or paying for your children’s college education.
11. You should put at least enough in your employer’s retirement plan to earn the full matching contribution—even if there is a risk you’ll cash out the account.
Consider an extreme example: Let’s say you’re in the 25% tax bracket and your employer matches your contributions at 50 cents on the dollar. If you put $1,000 in the plan, your $1,000 would become $1,500, thanks to the match—but your paycheck would shrink by just $750, thanks to the initial tax savings. If you then lost your job, cashed out the $1,500, paid 25% in taxes and 10% in tax penalties, you would still be left with $975, or $225 more than your $750 cost.
12. If you’re the family’s main breadwinner, you should probably delay claiming Social Security until age 66 and perhaps age 70, so you get a larger monthly check. For retirees, the big financial risk isn’t dying early in retirement, with scant dollars collected from Social Security. Rather, the big financial risk is living longer than you planned for—and a larger Social Security check helps protect against that risk.
13. Think more money will make you happier? Consider this: Most folks grow wealthier over time, which means today you’re likely richer than you’ve ever been. But you can probably think back to a time when you were at least as happy as you are today—and maybe happier.
Disagree? Bring it on. Here’s where you can reach me:
Email: SundayJournal@aol.com

Andrew Forsythe
1 year ago

Jonathan,

Congratulations on the 500k pageviews milestone, and more broadly on what you have created with HD. I’ve learned so much from the articles and comments, and consider the opportunity you gave me to even pen a few myself a true gift. And the civility you have inspired here is the icing on the cake.

I am glad you’re going to dial it back a bit and ease into a somewhat less demanding schedule. If that makes HD more enjoyable for you then maybe you’ll keep it going longer, and we’ll all benefit from that.

Andrew

Michael1
1 year ago

Jonathan, congratulations on your decision. I hope you enjoy whatever it is you give your now free time and energy to.

I don’t recall exactly when I found HD, but certainly before you set your page view goal. I do remember how it started. I’m sadly not one of the lucky readers who’ve been following you since the WSJ (I’d probably be better off if I had been). For me it began with reading and loving How to Think About Money, and knowing I had to find more from this Clements guy. A Google search later and I was a dedicated follower and later contributor to HD.

I won’t spend a lot of words echoing what has already been touched on very well – the articles, discussions, and the feeling that this is a community, and a good one. It’s certainly something you should be very pleased with having originated and nurtured. Glad you’ll still be around and not pulling your hair out to keep it growing. My Humble Dollar says it still will 🙂

Thanks and best, Michael

steveark
1 year ago

I just got home from attending the funeral of a friend I fished with, played tennis with and more recently pickleball with. He was 61 and died suddenly, with little warning of a heart attack despite his being a good lifelong athlete.
He never got to retire.

Stacey Miller
1 year ago
Reply to  steveark

May his memory be a blessing to you & his family.

Jonathan Clements
Admin
1 year ago
Reply to  steveark

How unfortunate — and how scary.

SanLouisKid
1 year ago

Two things.

(1) The Naked City TV Show intro: “There are eight million stories in the naked city. This has been one of them.”

(2) Earl Nightingale talked about our individual and original DNA double helixes and our uniqueness. He said, “Each of us might think of himself or herself as a painting. Each of our parents and each of our parents’ thousands of ancestors has placed a daub of paint on that painting. After you were born, your environment began adding to the painting that is you. That composite work determines the way you tend to think. What you can do and what you want are different from what I can do and what I want and they are different in some ways from what everyone else can do and wants.”

I think about these two things often while reading The Humble Dollar and the excellent comments. As Jonathan noted, most of the comments are civil and are more discussions than arguments. I think that’s great.

One size fits all definitely does not apply to financial planning and investing. That’s what makes it interesting.

Congrats on 500k!

CJ
1 year ago

As already mentioned by others, I find the post-article discussions so insightful: as enjoyable as the actual articles. 

I don’t have people in my real-world life to discuss HD topics like these. Many aren’t interested or have very strong opinions and can’t seem to discuss things in a civilized way, unless they’re in agreement with the other person. 

HD, along with a few well-moderated forums, feels like “home” to me. I could easily see it evolving into an ongoing forum, as opposed to mainly an article publishing site, much like Bogleheads. 

(But hopefully a wee bit more humble than BH? Maybe a few less “I just inherited 10 million and have 3 pensions. Can I afford this $4 million home?” posts – lol.) 

Last edited 1 year ago by CJ
Stephen B. Salter
1 year ago

This is exactly what I am facing. I went to a Catholic school and a red brick UK University. I eventually migrated to the US and became a business academic. Always trying to do better and reinvent myself. Now just past traditional retirement age I am trying to decide what to do next. Thanks for your great article.

Stacey Miller
1 year ago

I can relate! I attended an all-girls Dominican high school in my hometown. The emphasis on service runs deep. I’ve volunteered in Scouts, PTA, my parish, & a wee bit to Habitat for Humanity. Since my husband and I will be semi-retired this year, we will be devising ways to not go nuts. Service, biking, and travel will be the priorities after managing my parents’ final years on the planet. We’d both enjoy teaching. We’re thankful so many possibilities exist!

Russell D'ITALIA
1 year ago

Thanks for sharing all that. I have followed you for decades now and I am glad to get to know you better. Congratulations on your many successes. Remember that retirement is a dangerous void if you are not moving on TO something.

Boomerst3
1 year ago

Good article. Hopefully you reach a point where your past accomplishments are enough, and you are satisfied and ready to slow down. I worked in financial services at 2 major firms, was a financial advisor, a manager, and a sales producer. I was driven to do well and accomplish a lot, as obviously you are. I was very successful in sports and my career, as you note you were. But I decided to retire and don’t have the need for more stuff, more money or more success. I am happy to relax, do what I want when I want, which is what working full time did not allow. Hopefully you can reach that point, if it is what you want. If not, keep doing what you do, if it makes you happy. I enjoy reading your material, as well as others who discuss investing and other life topics.

mytimetotravel
1 year ago

Congratulations on the page views! And many congratulations on surviving the English boarding school – I was fortunate that my girls’ grammar school allowed me to go home after class. I only recently discovered HD, so I certainly hope you will continue writing and editing for it.

I don’t think that retirement necessarily means not having goals, just maybe different ones. Diet? Exercise? Classes (I have been enjoying Wondrium)? A round-the-world trip (on the ground, not by plane)? Reading all of Shakespeare’s tragedies or comedies? But I am doing quite well right now without them.

steve abramowitz
1 year ago

Floored by your courage to be so transparent with us. Many years ago you were Jonathan Clements the prolific finance writer for the Wall Street Journal. About a year ago I met Jonathan Clements, the intuitive and broad-minded editor of Humble Dollar. This morning you became Jonathan.

Stacey Miller
1 year ago

Perfect!

Nate Allen
1 year ago

Congratulations on 500k! 🎈🎊 🎉🍾💥
Onward to a million, and beyond!

Rick Connor
1 year ago

Jonathan, congratulations on hitting your goal. Declaring victory is very hard for so many of us – there’s always the next milestone. It takes wisdom and grace to accept that you’ve reached an “enough” point.

I look forward to many more years of interesting, informative, and inspiring articles. I hope to keep contributing, and I promise to regularly review the style guide. But the Oxford comma is non-negotiable!

Best,
Rick

Karen Armitage
1 year ago

A new subscriber (awesome Wealthtrack episode, Mr. Clements!), so I want to encourage you to stay on your path to optimize joy, focus and connection in the years past 60. You are on the ascending arc of the happiness curve, so fully enjoying life gets easier and easier, IMHO. And you “suffered for a better life later” , which leads to compounding of assets, another strong predictor of a satisfying retirement. I made a donation to celebrate your path. Now let’s commit to die young “as late in life as possible” . Biking is as good as running if you gently push the envelope. (See http://www.worldfitnesslevel.org) Enjoy!

Jonathan Clements
Admin
1 year ago
Reply to  Karen Armitage

Many thanks for your generous donation! The site doesn’t make much money, but — between donations and advertising revenue — we do manage to cover costs, so I’m very grateful to donors like you.

Buz Livingston
1 year ago

Great post!

Steve Hjortness
1 year ago

Jonathan, congrats on your decision. Dispensing wisdom does not have to be measured or quantified in retirement, rather I hope you can enjoy the accomplishment and gratitude you receive from others that benefit from your knowledge. Your articles in the WSJ about staying the course and being comfortable with riding the market using index funds were just the message I was looking for many years ago to guide my investment strategy. As a result my wife and I were able to retire 8 years ago at 56. Thank you.

June Elizabeth Dosik

Poignant….. proud of you, your old Mum

Stacey Miller
1 year ago

Thank you for creating this fine man!

Donna Vivelo
1 year ago

Yes Congrats indeed Jonathan! I just subscribed to this newsletter and so I’m glad it’s not going anywhere. I decided to subscribe after I heard your interview last week with Consuelo Mack….You really surprised me with your disclosure that you have your portfolio in 80% stocks at this point in your life. Most managers are still espousing 60/40 and I just don’t feel like this will be enough going forward. Thanks for the wonderful website!

Stanley Kwak
1 year ago

Congrats Jonathan! So happy for you on many levels. You have deservingly enjoyed so many professional successes including those with Humble Dollar which I believe to be one of the very best personal finance offerings on the internet.

Having retired myself in 2022 at the age of 56, I applaud your thoughtful decision to ease on the gas pedal of your professional career and focus your success efforts elsewhere. I am sure that your dear family and friends agree!

There is plenty of room on this side of the “retirement” fence and we welcome you!

joanschult
1 year ago

Congratulations on reaching 500k! Of course, 10k of those clicks were me, researching QLAC, so… you’re welcome 😆 But seriously, retirement, and even semi-retirement, is a time of reflection and discernment, with chapters beginning and ending. I’m happy for you to find the best balance for yourself, and grateful for every article and interaction in this community.

Celeste Jones
1 year ago

Always, quality above quantity! Thanks for your hard work all these years and the best in finding new challenges in the years ahead!
Regards,
C

David
1 year ago

Good morning Jonathan. I hope you and your family are doing well today.

Congratulations on reaching your goals!

How is progress going on completing your POA goal? We all look forward to hearing good news that you have taken care of it and are getting back to the business of living the life you choose to its fullest.

Lester Nail
1 year ago

Jonathon,
Thank you for this site! I found it near the beginning and consider myself one of your core readers. Your work and the writings of most of your folks have helped me so much. I have made almost every mistake you warn against, buying whole life (not one but two!!), selling low, buying high, etc..
I was really at a point of despair but your writers reassured me that I was not the only class dummy and others too had made many bone headed mistakes and lived to tell about it! So congratulations and please keep spreading the wisdom.
warmest regards,
Lester

Bob Wilmes
1 year ago

Jonathon,
Thank you for such a brilliant website and your other writings. I think you are the spiritual successor for the late Alan Abelson at Barron’s. It is so rare to find untainted financial content with much grace and wisdom. Best wishes and happiness to you.
Regards,
Bob Wilmes

Melinda McNicoll
1 year ago

I think this article makes me a little concerned…Humble Dollar is my favorite Wednesday/Saturday reads.

Thank you for all the effort and thought, even if you’re not going anywhere, it seems you’re going into a slower gear. Well, I’m along for the chug, chug, chug too.

Love all the contribution from the variety of folk, always insightful.

Jonathan Clements
Admin
1 year ago

While I’ll be posting fewer articles, my goal is to make sure those articles are better written and of greater interest to HD’s core audience. To that end, I’ve been pushing contributors to take more time over their pieces and to be sure to follow the site’s style guide. If the articles are higher quality, it’ll mean less editing for me and my deputy, Greg Spears. More important, the site will be showing greater respect for readers’ time, giving them fewer pieces but ones that are more compelling.

Rita Lally
1 year ago

Thank you for this interesting article. For me and my hubby (early retired in late 50s) we are at a stage where we need to help our adult children buy homes (the south of England is an expensive place) and whilst we have a very healthy income, thats proving a dilemma. One has legitimate and more needs now and is getting more help and the other has less need so is not getting the same, so this is unfair and has to be addressed at some point. I would love to see a subject on this thorny issue and what others do. thanks again.

Boomerst3
1 year ago
Reply to  Rita Lally

I gave 3 of my 4 kids the 20% down payment for their homes here in the US, where home prices are very high. The most recent purchases were more expensive, so they got more $$$. The 1 son who did not need help purchasing his home gets financial gifts from time to time, to do whatever he pleases. Even though a child does not need it doesn’t mean he/she will not appreciate it. You can balance it out in your will/trust if it makes you feel better. You can give more to the one who needs more. What you give to them does not need to be shared with the others. There is no rule that says they all have to get equal amounts of anything, money included. At the end, when you are gone, if your assets are split evenly, that should satisfy them.

Paul Merriman
1 year ago

Bravo Jonathan! I can’t wait to share this post with our readers. At almost 80 I have struggled to slow down. Over 10 years ago I promised my wife I would never work for money again. While I have kept my promise, I have never worked harder. This article gave me lots to think about. I spoke at the recent White Coat Investor Conference in Phoenix. There were about 600 participants live and hundreds more via the internet. Many I spoke with were fans of your work. I hope you find a pace of work that allows you to continue until you are very old. One meaty article a month would even be meaningful to those of us who are trying to find the right balance of asset classes in our portfolio. the right balance of helping others and helping ourselves and finally the right balance of spending now and leaving for others. Finding the right balance at each fork of the road is tricky business. Thanks for giving the topic thoughtful consideration.

Jonathan Clements
Admin
1 year ago
Reply to  Paul Merriman

Thanks for commenting, Paul. You’re an inspiration for all of us!

Newsboy
1 year ago

Kudos, Jonathan on achieving 500,000 + monthly views, a significant milestone, particularly in a hyperconnected world, where the latest “shiny new penny” financial websites (typically backed by buckets of VC money) spend massively to hit that number of monthly clicks by employing click-bait headlines or paying for embedded “click-backs” from alternate websites. I suspect that neither of these distasteful strategies have been a part of your very successful HD growth story. God be praised for that.

The best part of your realizing this accomplishment is that it was largely organic growth…accomplished slowly but progressively, one solid article, one added subscriber at a time. HD’s online evolution evokes comparisons to the Bogleheads online success. HD is merely a more intimate, thoughtful and humbler example (pun intended). This is meant as high praise.

As a child, my father worked as a media sales executive and traveled extensively. Though he had a healthy expense account, dad always opted to stay at what was then considered a lower-to-mid-range hotel chain, which likely drew snickers from his company peers. I asked him once why he drove past the fancier hotels to a smaller, less fancy hotel, typically a bit further from his targeted destination. Dad counseled me to remember that with hotels, it’s not about the fancy flowerbeds out front or the posh lounge and workout facilities in the lobby…it’s all about the bed. The chain he preferred for overnight stays was / is legendary for the comfort of it’s beds.

I kind of see your success with HumbleDollar in a similar light. It’s all about the bed (in HD’s case, the content). Your contributors come from a wide variety of backgrounds and vastly different life experiences relating to personal finance. They are largely a thoughtful, well-written (indeed, with ample help from a talented editor) and very transparent in their postings. Their willingness to share insights gleaned from their personal financial successes (and failures) is likely the secret sauce of HD’s steady growth. In general, they collectively are a humble lot, emulating one of the finest attributes of their managing editor in that respect.

HD’s comments section is an added bonus, particularly at a time when other many financial sites have either eliminated comments on content altogether or heavily censored reader comments. Engaging in a spirited debate on matters of finance can indeed still be cordial, as your readers have consistently proven. HD’s commenters tend to embrace the unspoken golden rule of commenting that “we can agree to disagree, without being disagreeable”.

Jonathan, you long ago earned the right to take prolonged pauses from work to “stop and smell the roses”. The time is now (while you are still healthy and capable) to do some travel, invest some time with family & friends and make prolonged immersions into of some life’s more simple pleasures.

I am reasonably confident that This HD thing will keep rolling forward, at least in some form or fashion… and we are all the better for that, my friend.

Last edited 1 year ago by Newsboy
scoothome71
1 year ago
Reply to  Newsboy

HD is merely a more intimate, thoughtful and humbler example (pun intended).

This is a great comment that rings true for me. I frequent Bogleheads quite often, but Humble Dollar has become my first stop for well-written and carefully curated articles from diverse contributors.

Jonathan Clements
Admin
1 year ago
Reply to  Newsboy

Thanks for the kind words. The site’s comments section really is an unexpected success. As you suggest, folks are surprisingly civil, and you can often learn more from the comments than from the article itself. HD is truly a community — not something many other sites can claim.

Henry Blinder
1 year ago

A thoughtful and inspiring reflection, Jonathan. Most readers won’t comment, but I know I speak for so many of us in thanking you for how you have chosen to spend your time for the greater good.

Now it’s time for you to find your joy in the next stage of what we all wish is a long life of renewed fulfillment. Run on!

Henry (a/k/a a fellow broken down runner)

Jonathan Clements
Admin
1 year ago
Reply to  Henry Blinder

“Broken down runner” is such a sad fate, but it is indeed true. Thank goodness I can still bicycle!

Walter Abbott
1 year ago

“Living well is the best revenge.” George Herbert

John Pinto
1 year ago

Good Morning Jonathan!

You’ve now arrived at the point in life (like me) where you have to begin focusing on what Mortimer Adler called “leisure work”. If you can get a copy of his book “A Vision of the Future”, the first part on “Work and Leisure” explains it well. The rest of the book is worth reading as well. His follow up book “A Guidebook to Learning” gives some practical advice on what is an essential aspect of “leisure work”.

I would add that public service is another important part of this time in our lives including the demands of citizenship. See the recently published book “The Bill of Obligations” as a refresher on what those demands are. If you have a cause you are passionate about taking action on, read “America, the Owner’s Manual, New Edition” for practical tips on how to get things done for your cause.

And of course, spending time with family and friends is one of the most enjoyable parts of our life and not to be discounted. Along with our spiritual lives which must be attended to as we grow in wisdom and humility.

Bon Voyage!

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