Benjamin Benavidez

Comments:

• I will admit that I have not travelled much (although I hope to change that now that I have retired from work), but one place I would recommend would be to attend a concert at the Greek Theater in Berkeley, CA. For those of you who enjoy live music, this has been my favorite place to see a concert. There are great views of the Bay Area, especially once the sun goes down. The anticipation before the main act begins is always a great feeling. The experience is even better if you plan ahead and book a room within walking distance of the theater. My favorite is the Graduate Hotel on Durant Street. Thanks for the question Jonathan.

  Post: First Place by Jonathan Clements

  Link to comment from September 6, 2024

• I too still have my copy of 25 Myths You’ve Got to Avoid- If You Want To Manage Your Money Right; Jonathan, please know that you have helped so many people with your intellect, insight, and advice. I wish you and your family the best during this time.

  Post: The C Word

  Link to comment from June 15, 2024

• Thank you for the article Allison. As a fellow educator, I often tell people that are interested in teaching that having a defined benefit pension is one of the most enticing things about the profession. And that a couple who are both educators and both contribute to a 403B should be okay financially in retirement. As I get ready to retire this year, I am hopeful that my pension should cover close to 80% of my expenses in retirement, with the rest covered by my wife's social security benefit, since teachers in California do not receive SS. Best of luck to both of you in your retirement.

  Post: My Money Education

  Link to comment from October 24, 2023

• When I married my current wife in 1991, we were both working. I was a teacher and she worked for the county government. Our first child was born in 1994 and our second in 1996. We both continued to work and it was doable because our mother in law provided day care for our children at a very reasonable rate (bless her heart, she loved her grandkids) and we were both very frugal with our spending. When our third child was born in 2001, and my oldest was diagnosed on the Autism spectrum, my wife and I decided that we would have her stay at home to raise the kids. We were the rare family that did this and I agree with Sal C., it was because of the choices we made. I became an administrator and raised my salary, and we grew comfortable with the financial choices that made it possible for us to get by on one salary. We went on camping vacations, kept our two cars until they could not run, and delayed upgrades to the house. I feel that our children were fortunate to have their mom around to volunteer at their school, take them and their friends on playdates, and be able to chaperone on their field trips. I believe that many of my colleagues would have preferred to have one parent stay at home, but most of them chose to have a two income family. Who is to say which way was better. Thank you for the article Richard and the conversation.

  Post: Two Paychecks Needed

  Link to comment from October 17, 2023

• I think our definition of enough changes as we age. When I was a young man having "enough" was the amount of money necessary to experience life, like having enough money to see U2 in concert, to take a girl out on a nice date, to buy a house, to take the family on vacation, to pay for tuition, etc... Now that I am older, I spend much more time thinking about having enough, so that I don't have to worry about money after I decide to retire from work.(12 months, but who's counting :)

  Post: How would you define “enough”?

  Link to comment from May 6, 2023

• Thank you Mike for the recommendations. I enjoy listening to Down the Middle. It is a monthly podcast that is both informative and easy to understand. It is from a management firm called Creative Planning and hosted by the president of the firm and this up and coming financial writer.

  Post: Listen Up

  Link to comment from May 12, 2022

• The first mutual fund I ever purchased was the Dodge and Cox Balanced fund. I have owned it since 1997. Dodge and Cox are value investors and the fund holds about 80-90 stocks in the portfolio in a 60/40 split with bonds. My description of the company and the funds is that they are steady and reliable.

  Post: What’s your favorite actively managed fund—if any?

  Link to comment from September 14, 2021

• What I find interesting about this question is how hard it is to talk to anyone about personal finances. My significant other doesn't seem as interested as I am in how we have allocated our money. Then with friends, there is this dance we do where we talk about how well or poorly we are doing financially without every revealing any dollar figures.

  Post: Do we talk too little about our personal finances—or too much?

  Link to comment from August 28, 2021

• There is a Par 3 golf course close to where I live. Each Saturday morning, my friend Dave and I spend $10 each to play a round. I find it a great way to unwind from a week of work and Dave and I spend a leisurely two hours playing golf and discussing everything and anything while enjoying a good walk.

  Post: What everyday purchase do you consider a bargain?

  Link to comment from May 23, 2021

• I would probably follow this person's advice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eikbQPldhPY (acknowledgement to JL Collins and apologies for the language in the video. Please don't watch it if the F-word offends you.) I would then probably take half of the yearly income (100k) and give 1k each month to 8 family members as I am a proponent of UBI.

  Post: If you inherited an unexpected $5 million, how would you use the money?

  Link to comment from May 6, 2021