Thanks, Adam, for collecting these heart-felt tributes. We were financially-clueless immigrants in our forties in 1999 when Jonathan put us on a path to wealth through his honest down-to-earth column at the WSJ. RIP, Jonathan, you will always be remembered as young and beautiful and smart and good.
I sold my ranch house after the passing of my husband. It was the yard. The weeding was breaking my back. I am kind of homeless, renting. My advisor says I have accumulated enough to rent for life if that's what I want. I love the apartment complex with its club room and swimming pool, the lovely leasing office, the concierge service and the maintenance crew that take care of my orchids when I travel (a lot). But I am getting somewhat tired of the rapid turn-over among my young neighbors. I worry that an older community might also have some turn over (the sad kind). I'd like to hear from some unfortunately single folks about their experience with moving. and with CCRC.
Thank you for being so generous and honest with your life experiences and your wisdom. My husband and I have followed you since we came to the US and were advised in 1998 to read the WSJ by my daughter's high school economics teacher in order to improve her grades. We hated the WSJ until we found your column and realized that you talked about values that our fathers had passed down to us. We started feeling OK about renting, our net worth grew through passive investing in index funds. We bought our first home 10 years later. And two years later at 52 years of age he was diagnosed with a devastating illness. We had to act upon our retirement dreams sooner than we had planned and begin traveling as long as his disease would allow. We did one country at a time while working full time as the clock ticked away. My husband made beautiful photo albums of each trip for us. He fell terminally ill 6 months before he was to retire, claim Medicare or social security. Our only regret is not retiring earlier and giving ourselves the gift of time, the best of all gifts.
I cried when I read this. Thank you for sharing this and many others that I have enjoyed and learnt from. When my husband was dying, he gave me pages and pages of notes, on finances, his funeral in the midst of COVID travel restrictions, notes on a post-COVID family vacation to Japan that he had been planning, but then he was only 66 years old and there was unfinished business to take care of! He was dying for 15 years and I had gone through those years in tremendous denial, and so the last 3 months in home hospice care allowed us the precious time for me to finally listen to his last wishes to carry on. You said your mother was sharp at 96 years of age. I think she knew she was dying but did not discuss it with you because she wanted to protect you and your sister. That last burst of energy was to let you know that she was going to be OK, she was going home, her true home, our final home.
Comments
Thanks, Adam, for collecting these heart-felt tributes. We were financially-clueless immigrants in our forties in 1999 when Jonathan put us on a path to wealth through his honest down-to-earth column at the WSJ. RIP, Jonathan, you will always be remembered as young and beautiful and smart and good.
Post: Tributes to Jonathan Clements
Link to comment from September 29, 2025
I sold my ranch house after the passing of my husband. It was the yard. The weeding was breaking my back. I am kind of homeless, renting. My advisor says I have accumulated enough to rent for life if that's what I want. I love the apartment complex with its club room and swimming pool, the lovely leasing office, the concierge service and the maintenance crew that take care of my orchids when I travel (a lot). But I am getting somewhat tired of the rapid turn-over among my young neighbors. I worry that an older community might also have some turn over (the sad kind). I'd like to hear from some unfortunately single folks about their experience with moving. and with CCRC.
Post: The Big Garden Dilemma: Aging in Places vs. Future Planning
Link to comment from July 6, 2025
I retired too on July 1! Congratulations to the both of us!
Post: Today’s the Day!
Link to comment from July 6, 2025
Thank you for being so generous and honest with your life experiences and your wisdom. My husband and I have followed you since we came to the US and were advised in 1998 to read the WSJ by my daughter's high school economics teacher in order to improve her grades. We hated the WSJ until we found your column and realized that you talked about values that our fathers had passed down to us. We started feeling OK about renting, our net worth grew through passive investing in index funds. We bought our first home 10 years later. And two years later at 52 years of age he was diagnosed with a devastating illness. We had to act upon our retirement dreams sooner than we had planned and begin traveling as long as his disease would allow. We did one country at a time while working full time as the clock ticked away. My husband made beautiful photo albums of each trip for us. He fell terminally ill 6 months before he was to retire, claim Medicare or social security. Our only regret is not retiring earlier and giving ourselves the gift of time, the best of all gifts.
Post: Staying Alive
Link to comment from December 21, 2024
I cried when I read this. Thank you for sharing this and many others that I have enjoyed and learnt from. When my husband was dying, he gave me pages and pages of notes, on finances, his funeral in the midst of COVID travel restrictions, notes on a post-COVID family vacation to Japan that he had been planning, but then he was only 66 years old and there was unfinished business to take care of! He was dying for 15 years and I had gone through those years in tremendous denial, and so the last 3 months in home hospice care allowed us the precious time for me to finally listen to his last wishes to carry on. You said your mother was sharp at 96 years of age. I think she knew she was dying but did not discuss it with you because she wanted to protect you and your sister. That last burst of energy was to let you know that she was going to be OK, she was going home, her true home, our final home.
Post: At the End
Link to comment from December 7, 2024