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Before Someone Else Decides

Kathleen Rehl | Aug 2, 2026

"I’m a hard core age at home— at least for the present. But the possibility of something in between the seemingly extremes of stay home vs a CCRC interested me, so I was inspired to do some online exploring (it’s also raining outside.). My husband and I will need to relocate closer to one of our kids—so I checked what is available near our daughter. There are possibilities that seem pretty good fits for us. A for profit operation with 2 bedroom assisted living apartments that would allow us to keep our dog and that hasan indoor swimming pool seemed especially promising. The monthly fees are high, but, if one us us needs that kind of help, our LTC insurance would pay for that person and our pensions and SS would easily cover the other. There also is no huge upfront payment, so our house with its enormous capital gains wouldn’t have to be sold. Looks like a possibility. Not to say, I rushing to do this!! I also looked at flights to Greece for next April this afternoon. But I may show the site to my daughter and indicate she should keep it in mind if there’s a need. I’m still hoping for fast exits for both of us."

- Marilyn Lavin

Today in Financial History

Harold Tynes | Jul 28, 2026

"J, you have accomplished the most difficult part of the dilemma, which in my opinion, is finding that trustworthy and successful needle in the haystack."

- DAN SMITH

Taking a Loss?

Mark Crothers | Jul 28, 2026

"Steve, I'm going to put my ignorance on display. I was unaware of target date bond funds (until now). They actually have a fixed expiration date! Your yield is nearly 1% better than my CD LADDER. Amazing."

- DAN SMITH

Beware the CFP Designation?

DavidHLancaster | Aug 3, 2026

"My state allows a Professional Engineer (PE) to move their license to inactive status to eliminate continuing education (CE) requirements but continues to charge the current $280 every two year license. Each state and controlling board may also have their own rules to reactivate your license by completing a certain level of CE in lieu of having to retake the exam, you are just not allowed to do any paid professional work after your license is changed to inactive status. The benefit to me for going inactive when I stopped professional work as a CPA is I remain in my professional society and enjoy seeing old colleagues at the local chapter monthly meeting. In the event I should ever want to do paid work again I would just need to complete a specified amount appropriate CE. The dozen or so lunches I get each year at the chapter meetings offsets the small cost the state society charges me for an inactive status membership and helps keep me current on the matters I am still interested in. I doubt I will ever need to work for pay again and being inactive creates an easy excuse to say no on the infrequent inquiry of could I help out during tax season."

- William Perry

Inflation, prices, COLAs, retirement and the last 16 years

R Quinn | Jul 27, 2026

"I had a government employee who was a 1040 tax client back in 1984 when an earlier law change occurred that mandated all members of congress pay into the social system. See SS historical FAQ #5."

- William Perry

Subconscious Frugality

Mark Crothers | Jul 31, 2026

"I applaud the cost-effectiveness of the course's double-nine concept! ... One reason I stopped even my rare rounds decades ago was that I had spent too much time searching in vain for the balls I sprayed all over the hilly courses."

- Joe Kiefer

$400,000 Mistake

ArticleBogdan Sheremeta | Aug 1, 2026

BOB MADE A very expensive tax mistake. Doctors told Bob that he only has a year to live… What did Bob do?

He decided to gift a house to his only son before passing away. The house is worth $2,000,000 that he bought back in 1970 for $50,000 in an expensive suburb of California.

The son decided to sell the house and paid about $430,000 in federal taxes.

$430,000 that could have been $0 instead…

How?

When you gift a property to someone, they receive a "carryover basis." It basically means the same price the original owner purchased it for.

The basis of that house was $50,000, so the son had to pay capital gains tax on the difference between the $2 million sale price and the basis, at rates reaching up to 23.8% on the top portion of the gain. But this is where a step-up in basis could come into play.

Assets such as a house or shares held in a brokerage account, when owned inside an estate rather than an irrevocable trust, receive a step-up in basis to their fair market value (FMV) at the time of the decedent's death, per IRC Section 1014. In our case, if Bob held that house in his own name, passed away, and his son received the house, he would've gotten a step-up in basis to the current value, or $2M.

At the time of the sale, if sold for $2M, he would pay $0 in federal taxes, though state tax might still apply. That's about $430,000 of "savings."

"But who cares, Bob is dead anyways?"

While true, many parents still want to make sure their children don't have to pay half a million in taxes. They want their children to enjoy the fruits of their hard labor.

Specifics

The step-up in basis can be a bit nuanced, depending on how the assets are held and titled.

First, the step-up in basis typically adjusts to the market value, unless an election is made to use the value six months after the date of death, subject to certain rules.

The step-up in basis also doesn't apply to assets held in an irrevocable trust , though we will cover some strategies for that later, or to assets held in qualified retirement accounts, such as IRAs and 401(k)s.

In a community property state (Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin), the basis steps up whenever a spouse dies. You will typically need to complete a form to receive this step-up in a brokerage account.

For assets held in joint tenancy, the step-up applies only to the deceased partner's share. For example, Bob and Jenice have a house worth $300,000 with a $50,000 basis. After Bob passes away, Jenice will have a $175,000 basis in the house, calculated as ($300,000 minus $50,000) divided by two, plus $50,000.

There are also two additional things to keep in mind:

1. Living on the right assets

Bob, age 75, has two accounts: a traditional 401(k) worth $500,000 and a brokerage account worth $500,000. Bob's diagnosis isn't good.

From a tax-planning perspective, it might make a lot more sense to withdraw, say, $50,000 a year from the 401(k) to live on, $20,000 of which would be required minimum distributions (RMDs), and pass down the brokerage account to his beneficiaries.

This is because the brokerage account likely has a lot of gains. Bob bought many stocks in his 30s and 40s that could be stepped up now. But a more in-depth analysis might be needed if Bob has a lot of income and is in a high marginal tax bracket.

2. Selling the right lots

Say Bob has a $500,000 brokerage account. Some of the stock purchases have a low basis, meaning a lot of capital gains, and some have a high basis, meaning fewer capital gains.

It's best to sell the high-basis stocks, which come with a lower capital gains tax, and pass down the low-basis stocks to the beneficiaries.

Planning matters. These mistakes can cost thousands of dollars in unnecessary taxes. As always, make sure to consult a licensed CPA or estate attorney with your unique circumstances.

Bogdan Sheremeta is a licensed CPA based in Illinois with experience at Deloitte and a Fortune 200 multinational.

Social Security

ArticleAdam M. Grossman | Aug 1, 2026

AT FIRST GLANCE, Social Security appears straightforward. During our working years, we pay into it, and in retirement, it sends us a monthly check, guaranteed for life. Unfortunately, it isn’t always so simple. Below are five aspects of the system that are frequently misunderstood. Benefits estimates. Look at a Social Security statement, and an easy-to-read chart provides estimates of the benefits available at various ages. The heading above the chart reads, “Personalized Monthly Retirement Benefit Estimates Depending on the Age You Start.” That seems clear. But there’s a caveat that can make the chart misleading. Off to the side, there’s a further explanation that reads: “These personalized estimates are based on your earnings to date and assume you continue to earn [your most recently reported salary] per year until you start your benefits.” The numbers shown, in other words, are not guaranteed. Why would the statements be presented this way? It’s because the Social Security Administration can’t predict when any given person will stop working, so for simplicity of presentation, it assumes that someone will continue working and continue earning the same income each year into the future and will then retire and immediately claim benefits. For most people, this isn’t how it works out, but Social Security has no way to know what each person will choose. That’s why benefits statements shouldn’t be taken at face value. How can you forecast your actual benefit? Fortunately, Social Security’s website provides a calculator that allows custom calculations based on actual retirement expectations. Continuing to work. Some people worry that there would be a negative impact if they chose to continue working after claiming Social Security. This concern isn’t totally unfounded. It’s known as the Social Security earnings test, but there are some details to be aware of. First, the earnings test doesn’t apply after a worker reaches Full Retirement Age. And second, to the extent that benefits are reduced in the years before FRA, Social Security will add back those amounts to future checks. So working while on Social Security shouldn’t be viewed as so problematic. Maximum benefit. All things being equal, Social Security retirement benefits increase with each year that you wait, up until age 70. This is broadly understood. The problem, though, is that oftentimes people view it almost as a rule to wait until 70, but that isn’t always the best choice. For married couples, especially where one spouse has accumulated a larger benefit, there are two reasons why one spouse might claim earlier than 70. The first relates to what’s known as the spousal benefit. This is a feature that originated in the days when more families had just one working spouse, and it provides a benefit to spouses who haven’t worked the requisite 10 years to earn a benefit. In general, the spousal benefit is equal to half of the higher-earning spouse’s benefit at their Full Retirement Age (FRA), which is now age 67 for most people. The only requirement is that the lower-earning spouse can’t start benefits until the higher-earning spouse has started his or her own benefit. The spousal benefit is terrific, but a commonly misunderstood limitation is that—unlike a worker’s own benefit—it doesn’t continue to increase each year until age 70. It hits a maximum at the spouse’s FRA. For that reason, it’s important for a spouse to not delay beyond that point. Even when both spouses have accrued their own benefits, it often makes sense for the spouse with the smaller benefit to claim somewhat earlier than 70. To understand why, we need to look at it from the perspective of the higher earning spouse’s benefit. Because that benefit would also be available to the lower-earning spouse in the form of a survivor’s benefit (discussed further below), that larger benefit will be available to either spouse as long as either is living. The smaller benefit, on the other hand, has value only while both spouses are living. And while it’s unfortunate to say, that is statistically less likely. For that reason, I generally recommend that the lower-earning spouse claim at, or around, Full Retirement Age. When to claim. In most conversations about Social Security, people tend to talk about claiming decisions in round numbers—claiming at 67 or 68, for example. The reality, though, is that you can claim at any time between ages 62 and 70. You don’t need to wait for your birthday, and the benefit simply increases by a bit for each month that you wait. I find this helpful because it allows flexibility in how we think about claiming. Not sure whether to start at 67 or 68? You can easily split the difference. Survivor benefits. To understand how the survivor benefit works, imagine a married couple, Joe and Jane. Joe’s benefit is $5,000 per month, and Jane’s is $4,000. Now suppose that Joe passes away. At that point, Jane wouldn’t be able to claim the combined total of $9,000. However, she could claim a survivor’s benefit that would increase her monthly check from $4,000 to $5,000, matching what Joe was receiving. That’s the simplest case, but the survivor benefit decision is often more complicated because it also depends on the age of the survivor. Survivor benefits can be claimed as early as age 60, and that can be helpful in certain situations, but there’s also a penalty for claiming too early. Benefits can be reduced by nearly 30%. In other words, and importantly, Jane wouldn’t automatically be entitled to $5,000 just because that was what Joe was receiving. When would Jane be able to claim the full $5,000? For this determination, Social Security uses a yardstick known as the Full Retirement Age for Survivors. This isn’t exactly the same as the standard FRA, but it’s close. (Social Security provides a calculator to look it up.) What might this look like in practice? Suppose Jane were a year shy of the FRA for survivors at the time that Joe died. In this case, Jane would have a choice. She could claim her survivor’s benefit at that time, but her total check would come out to somewhat less than $5,000. Fortunately, Social Security doesn’t automatically turn on survivor benefits when a spouse dies, thus providing survivors more control. In Jane’s case, she might continue with her own benefit of $4,000 per month for one more year. Then, once she became eligible for 100% of the survivor’s benefit, she could claim the full $1,000 to reach $5,000. 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.

How Did You Find Paid Work After Retiring from Your Primary Career?

Jeffrey Chan | Jul 31, 2026

"I’ve done a lot of jobs since my official “retirement “ 15 years ago at age 57 due to a layoff. Fortunately I was fully vested in my union pension. Moved from California to Colorado, got my CDL and drove a gas truck for 6 years. Did a lot of very scenic (and sometimes scary) mountain driving. My wife tired of the cold winters, so we reretired, sold the house, bought a motorhome and started traveling. Found a company that paid us to travel doing gas line surveying across country. Did that for about 4 years and settled down near my oldest son to be near grandkids. To keep from being bored, I drove a school bus for 2 years. Now I only drive for overnight and longer field trips because they pay me for every hour I’m away from home. So it’s been a very gradual transition to fully retired."

- Mike Wyant

What I Retired To

Andrew Clements | Jul 29, 2026

"Thank you for sharing your story. It sounds as though you truly found your calling in medicine, and there’s no greater compliment than hearing from patients that you made a difference in their lives. I was struck by your comment that it wasn’t the work itself that led you to retire, but everything around it that changed. Sadly, I suspect many professionals have reached that same conclusion. It also sounds as though you’ve carried your love of learning into retirement through your reading, volunteering and staying engaged. I only wish there were an easier way for experienced physicians like you to continue helping others in a volunteer capacity. There is still so much wisdom to share."

- Andrew Clements

Value of Waiting

ArticleDennis Friedman | Feb 7, 2026

I WAS THINKING ABOUT Jonathan the other day on my morning walk, which happens more often than you might think. It’s hard not to think about him when you have HumbleDollar coasters in your living room and a HumbleDollar shopping bag in your car that you use for groceries. My wife confiscated the HumbleDollar cup I had been using for my morning tea, and it now has a new home in our bathroom holding her toothbrush and toothpaste. There’s even an apron somewhere in the house that Jonathan once sent to all the writers. Ever since I started writing for HumbleDollar in 2017, Jonathan has influenced my retirement. I now own the Vanguard Total World Stock Index Fund (symbol: VT) in my investment portfolio because of his recommendation. He liked it for its “broad global diversification in one low-cost fund that covers virtually all publicly traded companies worldwide.” It struck me as a good way to simplify our holdings. I didn’t just borrow some of Jonathan’s investment ideas; I also borrowed some of his words he used when editing my articles. I began peppering my writing with words like fret, upshot, and folks. He once told me, “While your grammar is occasionally a bit dodgy, you have a great ear for language.” I was too embarrassed to ask him what he meant by a “great ear for language.” When I retired, I never imagined that writing for HumbleDollar would become such a big part of my retirement, and I’m grateful to Jonathan for that. I also didn’t think my retirement would be so fluid. I pictured something far more stable: remaining single, living in a one-bedroom condo, and fending for myself. My life now is different. I’m married and live in a three-bedroom home in another city. One of the biggest changes, however, has nothing to do with geography. It has to do with money—specifically, how financial decisions change when there are two people instead of one. I learned that lesson early in our marriage. We got married in August 2020. That December, I woke up one morning and saw blood in my urine. I went to an urologist who ran a series of tests, but it took about a month to determine the cause. During that time, I decided to consolidate our remaining investment holdings to make things easier for Rachel to manage in case something happened to me. Most of our money was already at Vanguard, except for a 401(k) from my former employer that was invested in a stable value fund. It still held a significant balance. Without much hesitation, I moved it into a bond fund at Vanguard. Not too long afterward, the bond market nosedived. The fund performed poorly—especially compared to the stable value fund the money had been in. The upshot: I panicked—and paid for it. It wasn’t a good time to make a financial decision while I was under stress. Some of the worst money moves happen when emotions are running high—selling stocks at the bottom of a bear market or rushing to act after an unexpected windfall. More often than not, it’s better to wait until you’re clearheaded before making a decision. At the time, I was also fretting about whether Rachel would qualify for my Social Security benefit, which is much larger than hers. You have to be married for at least nine months. I found myself counting off the days. Another financial decision became more complicated simply because we were now a couple: what to do with the three properties we owned—my condo, Rachel’s house, and the house I had inherited. Neither of us wanted to be landlords at this stage of our lives. We were excited about getting married and starting a new life together. I decided to sell my condo during the pandemic, which wasn’t easy. Rather than wait, I accepted an offer of $380,000—$43,000 below the asking price. Rachel decided to wait and rent out her house for two years. She didn’t get caught up in the excitement or rush into selling. As it turned out, that patience paid off. When the for-sale sign finally went up, I would stop by the house to water the yard and rake the falling leaves. One day, a real estate agent and his client were there looking at the property. They kept asking me whether the price listed on the brochure was correct. Rachel’s agent had intentionally priced the house at the lower end of the range in hopes of creating a bidding war. I told them they would have to talk to my wife and her agent because it wasn’t my house. The agent asked how long we had been married. When I told him two years, he nodded and said, “I get it. She wanted to wait until she was sure about the marriage before selling the house.” Rachel laughed when I told her what he said. She wasn’t waiting to see if the marriage would work. She waited because selling a house is a major financial decision, and she didn’t see any reason to rush it. Two years later, the timing turned out to be just right. The market had improved and the strategy worked exactly as planned. There were multiple offers, and the final sale price was well above what it would have been earlier. At the time my wife sold her house, Zillow’s estimated price of my condo was $484,000—$104,000 more than I received. I don’t really know why I was in such a rush to sell. Maybe it had something to do with the pandemic, my mother’s recent death, my sister and brother-in-law moving out of state, or the stress of renovating our new house. It was an emotional time for me, and I was probably searching for some stability in my life. What I’ve learned—both from Jonathan and from being married—is that good financial decisions usually come from patience, not urgency. When I feel anxious or pressured to act, I’m more likely to make a mistake. When I slow down, think things through, and listen—especially to my wife—the outcome is usually better. Managing money well isn’t about always making the right move. It’s about avoiding the wrong ones—and knowing when to wait. Dennis Friedman retired from Boeing Satellite Systems after a 30-year career in manufacturing. Born in Ohio, Dennis is a California transplant with a bachelor’s degree in history and an MBA. A self-described “humble investor,” he likes reading historical novels and about personal finance. Follow Dennis on X @DMFrie and check out his earlier articles.

Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS) are a Generational Bargain Right Now

Howard Schwartz | Jul 27, 2026

"Bill, thanks - great info as usual. Best, Rick"

- Rick Connor

Before Someone Else Decides

Kathleen Rehl | Aug 2, 2026

- Marilyn Lavin

Today in Financial History

Harold Tynes | Jul 28, 2026

"J, you have accomplished the most difficult part of the dilemma, which in my opinion, is finding that trustworthy and successful needle in the haystack."

- DAN SMITH

Taking a Loss?

Mark Crothers | Jul 28, 2026

- DAN SMITH

Beware the CFP Designation?

DavidHLancaster | Aug 3, 2026

- William Perry

Inflation, prices, COLAs, retirement and the last 16 years

R Quinn | Jul 27, 2026

"I had a government employee who was a 1040 tax client back in 1984 when an earlier law change occurred that mandated all members of congress pay into the social system. See SS historical FAQ #5."

- William Perry

Subconscious Frugality

Mark Crothers | Jul 31, 2026

- Joe Kiefer

$400,000 Mistake

ArticleBogdan Sheremeta | Aug 1, 2026

BOB MADE A very expensive tax mistake. Doctors told Bob that he only has a year to live… What did Bob do?

He decided to gift a house to his only son before passing away. The house is worth $2,000,000 that he bought back in 1970 for $50,000 in an expensive suburb of California.

The son decided to sell the house and paid about $430,000 in federal taxes.

$430,000 that could have been $0 instead…

How?

When you gift a property to someone, they receive a "carryover basis." It basically means the same price the original owner purchased it for.

At the time of the sale, if sold for $2M, he would pay $0 in federal taxes, though state tax might still apply. That's about $430,000 of "savings."

"But who cares, Bob is dead anyways?"

While true, many parents still want to make sure their children don't have to pay half a million in taxes. They want their children to enjoy the fruits of their hard labor.

Specifics

The step-up in basis can be a bit nuanced, depending on how the assets are held and titled.

First, the step-up in basis typically adjusts to the market value, unless an election is made to use the value six months after the date of death, subject to certain rules.

There are also two additional things to keep in mind:

1. Living on the right assets

Bob, age 75, has two accounts: a traditional 401(k) worth $500,000 and a brokerage account worth $500,000. Bob's diagnosis isn't good.

2. Selling the right lots

Say Bob has a $500,000 brokerage account. Some of the stock purchases have a low basis, meaning a lot of capital gains, and some have a high basis, meaning fewer capital gains.

It's best to sell the high-basis stocks, which come with a lower capital gains tax, and pass down the low-basis stocks to the beneficiaries.

Planning matters. These mistakes can cost thousands of dollars in unnecessary taxes. As always, make sure to consult a licensed CPA or estate attorney with your unique circumstances.

Bogdan Sheremeta is a licensed CPA based in Illinois with experience at Deloitte and a Fortune 200 multinational.

Social Security

ArticleAdam M. Grossman | Aug 1, 2026

How Did You Find Paid Work After Retiring from Your Primary Career?

Jeffrey Chan | Jul 31, 2026

- Mike Wyant

Manifesto

Aug 2, 2026

NO. 21: A HIGH income makes it easier to grow wealthy. But no matter how much we earn, we’ll struggle to amass a healthy nest egg—unless we learn to spend less than we earn.

think

Aug 3, 2026

ANCHORING. Imagine the S&P 500 is up 20% over the past year. You might balk at buying stocks, because you’re anchored on the market’s old level and feel you’re overpaying at current prices. Or imagine your neighbors sold their home two years ago for $300,000. You might be reluctant to accept less for your home, even if property prices have since fallen.

humans

Aug 2, 2026

NO. 30: WE underestimate the power of compounding. Most folks grasp that invested money should grow over time, while carrying credit-card debt can trigger interest charges. But studies suggest we fail to appreciate just how much our money can grow if left to compound—and just how costly our debts can be if we fail to pay them off in short order.

think

Aug 1, 2026

GAMBLER’S FALLACY. When the dice hasn’t come up six for a while, we think a six is more likely. Similarly, if a money manager has previously beaten the averages or a Wall Street strategist has a history of predicting the market’s direction, we assume they’ll continue to make winning calls. But what if it's random, like the dice, and these folks were just lucky?

Money Guide

Manifesto

Aug 2, 2026

NO. 21: A HIGH income makes it easier to grow wealthy. But no matter how much we earn, we’ll struggle to amass a healthy nest egg—unless we learn to spend less than we earn.

Spotlight: Life Events

Conserving Cash

SCao | Jul 12, 2025

A couple weeks ago, the team I was part of was eliminated. My boss- and his boss-were also laid off, along with about 10 of us. The industry is facing significant headwinds, and our organization was no exception.
This is the first time in my life I’ve been laid off, and I never imagined finding myself in this situation. I’ve always believed in strong work ethic in creating and delivering value to both the organization and the customer.

How Will You Know When It’s Time?

Rick Connor | Apr 13, 2025

A number of events over the past few months have me thinking about aging, mortality, legacy, frailty, and – of course – financial planning. These events included attending funerals, preparing tax returns (ours and dozens of others), visiting old friends and distant family, minor traffic accidents, winter doldrums, and the recent discussions on HumbleDollar on the unique estate planning needs of childless retirees. Recent market volatility may have played a small role.
My wife and I have a lot of real-world experience caring for aging and infirm parents,

Farewell Friends

Jonathan Clements | Sep 22, 2025

If this post is appearing, it means I’ve succumbed to cancer or one of its side effects. Please don’t feel sad for me. I’ve had a life filled with love, great experiences and wonderful career opportunities. Despite my demise at a relatively young age, I consider myself beyond fortunate.
I’m hoping that, under the tree in front of our little Philadelphia rowhome, my wife Elaine will place a stone tablet inscribed with my name, and the year I was born and died.

Did the Era You Grew Up In Influence Your Financial Plan?

Mark Crothers | Aug 6, 2025

Does the larger societal era from your childhood influence your financial outlook as an adult and beyond into retirement? This question came to mind while I was responding to a comment by bbbobbins on an article I’d posted to The Humble Dollar forum.
For example, my childhood was set against the immediate backdrop of social and civil unrest in my local community in Ireland. This was compounded by the overarching global tension of superpower rivalry during the Cold War,

Eyeing the End

Jonathan Clements | Oct 25, 2024

Five months ago, I was loath to take any sort of medication. Today, I have a pillbox.
In fact, the way things are going, I fear I’ll soon be declared a superfund site by the Environmental Protection Agency. A seemingly endless stream of chemicals pours into my body, most notably during my every-three-week chemo and immunotherapy sessions. What about the rest of the time? Depending on the day, I might down three or four pills in the morning and one or two in the afternoon.

An 80 year old reflects: Are things that much harder today than when he was building a life?

R Quinn | Mar 8, 2025

It’s been a long and wonderful journey. I have nothing to complain about, but I was reading an article that triggered a thought. Did I have it easier simply because of the years in which I grew up? Are things that much harder now? They are very different for sure.
Was I just fortunate even when things weren’t so great after all?
I grew up in an apartment with my parents and two sisters. My father was a car salesman,

Am I Really Married?

DrLefty | May 6, 2025

I’m in the process of completing my retirement paperwork. For context, I’m retiring on the same day from two systems—the University of California (where I work now) and CalPERS (which administers the pension fund for the university system I previously worked for). My husband, who worked for a state agency, retired from CalPERS in 2016 and has been drawing his pension as well as using his retiree health benefits for both of us. We elected pensions with full survivor continuance for all three. So here’s what’s weird. I got a message from the UC retirement system saying that the marriage certificate I uploaded as support for him being my survivor won’t serve. We were married in a church in 1983 and have a certificate signed by the officiant that we’ve always used as official documentation. The analyst who messaged me says the certificate is “ceremonial” and doesn’t show that it was filed with a county clerk. I had three options to resolve this, including the easiest one, which was to upload a previous 1040 that showed we are married filing jointly with both of our signatures. CalPERS has never said a word about the marriage certificate, not when we separately filed for our pensions, and not when he had to prove I was eligible for health coverage. I keep a scanned copy of the marriage certificate handy for when they ask for it every few years (to reconfirm the spousal coverage). CalPERS has been much easier to deal with in general than the UC counterpart, which leads me to think they’re more competent with more modern processes. It’s possible that this UC analyst was wrong or overthinking things. The immediate problem is resolved by the 1040, but now I’m wondering if I should follow up with the county clerk where…

Family Dynamics, Part 2: Supporting Adult Children

DrLefty | Jul 22, 2025

As I mentioned in my last post, I've been thinking about various ways that complex family dynamics can affect one's own finances, especially when we're in or headed toward the retirement years. Today's topic is about having adult children on the "family payroll," long after one might have assumed they'd be completely independent. A 2024 study published by the Pew Research Center reported that about one-third of young adults (ages 18-34) still live with their parents and that about 55% of American parents provide varying degrees of financial assistance or support to their young adult children. There are a lot of factors that contribute to this finding, such as the high cost of housing and education as well as setbacks caused by the 2008-09 recession (for Millennials in particular) and the pandemic (for Gen Z). For the sake of narrowing this discussion, let's exclude the following fact patterns: The young adult is in college and the parents are paying all or some of their expenses. The young adult is physically or mentally disabled and for that reason will never be financially independent. The family has cultural or religious beliefs that lead young adult children to continue living with their parents, until or sometimes even after they're married. Instead, let's focus on young adults who are not still in college, who are seemingly capable of earning a living, and whose family/cultural norms do not dictate their continuing to live at home. Obviously, those of us who are parents want our adult children to be independent, self-sufficient, thriving, and happy. We want that for their best interests and we want it for our own financial well-being. Few of us signed up to support our children for a lifetime, and most of us can't afford to do so. But what happens when those…

Oops!

DrLefty | Oct 25, 2025

I received an email from my previous employer a few weeks ago. I’ll paraphrase: “Ooops. When we processed your last paycheck in June, we failed to deduct your elected contributions to your 403B and 457 accounts.” Now, I knew this because my final paycheck was quite a bit larger than I’d expected, but I thought I’d just misunderstood how the dates worked. (I separated from my employer on June 28, retired on July 1, and my final paycheck, in arrears for June, was processed somewhere between June 27-30.) Oh, well, I’ll just pay a bit more in taxes because of this. Or so I thought. Nope. Apparently if the employer makes that mistake, they have to compensate the employee: “In accordance with Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidelines, [my employer] will correct this by making a Qualified Nonelective Contribution (QNEC) for the plan(s) listed below…” It turned out to be 50% of what I would have contributed that month to the two accounts. To be clear, it was my employer’s money, not mine. They’re just required by this IRS guideline to give it me. With the two contributions put together, it came out to just under $3000 of free money! It landed in my Fidelity accounts a couple of days ago. Now, as I’ve shared here before, I’d already rolled those accounts over to my Schwab IRA, which was quite an involved process. For this extra little bonus money, I decided to ask Fidelity to just withhold federal and state taxes and withdraw the money and direct-deposit it to my checking account. That turned out to just take a couple of minutes and a few clicks. It will take another day or two, and the take-home amount is just over $2200. Again, this is totally “found” money, so I plan to do something…

The “Mean Girls”/Junior High Bullies at HumbleDollar

DrLefty | Jan 9, 2026

I've been thinking of writing this post for a while, and my early morning scroll through recent Forum posts finally pushed me to it. When I author a post, I try to go back to it every so often and reply to comments. That was something Jonathan hoped for from the authors he published. In going through the thread of a post I made a few days ago, I noticed that one or two people had systematically downvoted every comment I made, even things like "Thanks! Great suggestion!"--completely innocuous comments that couldn't possibly have offended anyone. The clear message of them has to be, then, "I don't like you. I wish you'd go away." That's happened to me before. I've also noticed it happening to a couple of other regulars and writers. I have several thoughts about this, followed by a suggestion. It's cowardly. Because downvotes are anonymous on HD, you can just add a hit-and-run red arrow without putting your name behind it. It's immature. See my title. It's lazy. If you disagree with something, how about adding some content or a thoughtful response? It dishonors Jonathan's memory. If you don't like me, whatever. After 35 years of receiving anonymous student evaluations and reviews on my journal article submissions, I've grown a fairly thick skin. But this is not the type of community Jonathan tried to build, and one of his dearest wishes in his final months was that HD would live on as he envisioned it. If the good, kind, supportive folks (who are the majority, for sure) start staying away because the discourse has gotten too nasty, this site will not thrive. It's already started to happen. My suggestion is that the owners/moderators of this site make a change. I'm not sure exactly what is possible on…

A Rental House? Questions to Consider

DrLefty | Sep 9, 2024

So we’re thinking about buying a rental home, either in our college town or the town 10 miles north of us. I’ve written here before that we were briefly landlords in the late 90s when we moved to a larger home and rented out our starter home. But we felt we didn’t have the bandwidth to be landlords, so we sold the place after a year. That was a major financial mistake. Why are we considering this now? I won’t bore you with all the details, but we’re planning to have our daughter and her pets, with a paying roommate or two, live there while she finishes school and establishes herself in more steady work. We’ve been financially supporting her while she’s been recovering from serious injuries sustained in car accidents in 2022 and 2023. But paying rent, especially in the expensive part of California in which she now lives, is not only a drain on our finances as we approach retirement but also feels like flushing money down the toilet. We’d rather re-direct that money to an actual asset that could be worth something over time. Anyway, here are the practical questions I feel we need to research before we (possibly) take this leap in the next few months. (We’ll wait until interest rates drop, as predicted, this fall.) The questions: How much can we pay, how much down payment will we need, and from which source(s) will we free up that cash? What kind of property should we buy? For example, a two-bedroom condo in our town with a small yard should be adequate for our daughter, but a modest home (with no HOA) in the next town up might be a better long-term financial decision. Do we need a realtor to represent us in the purchase, or…

Improving My Habits

Dana Ferris | Jun 13, 2023

THE PROLIFIC MR. QUINN recently wrote that people who were irresponsible in one area of their life, such as failing to return shopping carts, also tend to be irresponsible in other areas, like managing their finances. He’s probably right. Still, I’ve had times when, even though I’m a “responsible person”—I’ve had a successful career, my kids lived to grow up, and so forth—I nonetheless had pockets of disorder in my life. For me, the two biggest areas of chaos were managing money and maintaining a healthy diet and exercise regimen. I’m embarrassed to think back on the bounced checks, late fees, and even the checks I accidentally threw away because I was distracted and disorganized. I’m even more horrified to think about how many fast food and vending machine “meals” I ate because I hadn’t been to the store or found time to eat a proper breakfast or pack a lunch. There was even the gym membership that I had for seven years, which I paid for—but never once used. These unacceptable patterns needed to be changed. Responsibly managing one’s finances is important. Ditto for attending to one’s health, as Rick Connor has written in several pieces. Thus, I’m happy to report that I have restored order in both of these important areas. Our bills are paid on time, our credit scores are pristine, we have no debt beyond our mortgage, and we have savings, insurance and an estate plan. As for health and fitness, I’ve lost nearly 60 pounds since 2020, I’m absolutely devoted to working out and I’m now at a healthy weight for my height. When I had recent lab work, my doctor told me everything looked great, and “just keep up the good work.” How did I do it? The short answer is habit formation—James Clear’s…

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Before Someone Else Decides

Today in Financial History

Taking a Loss?

Beware the CFP Designation?

Inflation, prices, COLAs, retirement and the last 16 years

Subconscious Frugality

$400,000 Mistake

Social Security

How Did You Find Paid Work After Retiring from Your Primary Career?

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Oops!

The “Mean Girls”/Junior High Bullies at HumbleDollar

A Rental House? Questions to Consider

Improving My Habits