Another Commodore 64 user here, then on to an Apple IIC! Because of multiple data breaches over the years, I always operate under the assumption that all of my personal information is already out there somewhere. Credit locks/freezes, identity theft monitoring, malware blocking, and being careful about selecting links/QR codes is my best defense.
I'm one of many readers who go back to your WSJ days - always reading and occasionally commenting. Even though I don't "know" you, I feel like you're a long term friend and advisor whose knowledge and judgement I trust. Below, Nick expressed my thoughts exactly as to what you and we all should do in our remaining days.
I'm only going to comment on my salary vs my house cost (thanks to Quicken). When we bought our house in 1971, it was about 5 times my annual salary. In 2009, my last year of full time work, my house having increased about 8 times in value (including a significant addition), was still appraised at about 5 times my salary. Since I haven't worked in well over ten years, I don't know how my salary would compare to my house value today, but my house has roughly doubled in value since 2009. So, while I agree there may be unique challenges for the current generation, most of us went through some tight times financially in our early years.
Never rebalanced because it seemed like a lot of trouble. However, in retirement I do a small "rebalance" regarding dividends. When dividend time approaches, I compare the current fund value against the value at the last dividend. If it's higher now, I take the cash and either spend it or put it in a tax exempt bond fund. If it's lower, I reinvest in the fund generating the dividend.
I share the same values as those below, but have not chosen to donate as much as 10% of our gross income. However, I freely volunteer my time to various charitable organizations including my church, the local children's swim league, and a non-profit that teaches underprivileged kids how to swim. Additionally, I give time to my neighborhood association and the local police department. I have found that most organizations need hands as much, if not more, than dollars.
I desperately wanted to retire in 2010 at age 65, because I no longer enjoyed my profession of 40+ years. Although I didn't calculate the break-even date, I knew from a SS point of view it made since to wait until age 70 to withdraw because I was in good health and, genetically, I could expect a long life (parents and grandparents lived into their 90s). However, I also understood the magic of compounding in our personal investments and knew I would miss out on some of that by withdrawing from those and not taking SS until age 70. Not sure if my gamble paid off, but between age 65 and age 70 our investments grew by 32%, but from age 70 to 80 they grew over 150%. The math is too complicated for me, but my gut tells me I'd be worse off today had I drawn down those investments between age 65 and 70. BTW, we're still not withdrawing from our investments other than capital gains and dividends.
Exact same thing happened to my wife and me when we went to our local VA DMV office to get a REAL ID several years ago. The certificate we had saved as our marriage license for over 50 years was just that - a ceremonial certificate signed by our minister. Fortunately for us, the DMV office was able to immediately retrieve a digital copy of our actual marriage license. Another side note was that we had never noticed the ceremonial certificate had my wife "marrying my father" as it was missing the crucial "Jr." that follows my name. Had a few laughs on the way back home.
Comments
Another Commodore 64 user here, then on to an Apple IIC! Because of multiple data breaches over the years, I always operate under the assumption that all of my personal information is already out there somewhere. Credit locks/freezes, identity theft monitoring, malware blocking, and being careful about selecting links/QR codes is my best defense.
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Link to comment from August 18, 2025
and index fund investors:)
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Link to comment from July 26, 2025
So is bitcoin old enough?
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Link to comment from July 12, 2025
I'm one of many readers who go back to your WSJ days - always reading and occasionally commenting. Even though I don't "know" you, I feel like you're a long term friend and advisor whose knowledge and judgement I trust. Below, Nick expressed my thoughts exactly as to what you and we all should do in our remaining days.
Post: Extra Innings
Link to comment from July 10, 2025
I'm only going to comment on my salary vs my house cost (thanks to Quicken). When we bought our house in 1971, it was about 5 times my annual salary. In 2009, my last year of full time work, my house having increased about 8 times in value (including a significant addition), was still appraised at about 5 times my salary. Since I haven't worked in well over ten years, I don't know how my salary would compare to my house value today, but my house has roughly doubled in value since 2009. So, while I agree there may be unique challenges for the current generation, most of us went through some tight times financially in our early years.
Post: Lucky Us and the Generational Divide
Link to comment from July 6, 2025
Never rebalanced because it seemed like a lot of trouble. However, in retirement I do a small "rebalance" regarding dividends. When dividend time approaches, I compare the current fund value against the value at the last dividend. If it's higher now, I take the cash and either spend it or put it in a tax exempt bond fund. If it's lower, I reinvest in the fund generating the dividend.
Post: Rethinking Rebalancing
Link to comment from July 3, 2025
I share the same values as those below, but have not chosen to donate as much as 10% of our gross income. However, I freely volunteer my time to various charitable organizations including my church, the local children's swim league, and a non-profit that teaches underprivileged kids how to swim. Additionally, I give time to my neighborhood association and the local police department. I have found that most organizations need hands as much, if not more, than dollars.
Post: Saving and Giving
Link to comment from June 22, 2025
I desperately wanted to retire in 2010 at age 65, because I no longer enjoyed my profession of 40+ years. Although I didn't calculate the break-even date, I knew from a SS point of view it made since to wait until age 70 to withdraw because I was in good health and, genetically, I could expect a long life (parents and grandparents lived into their 90s). However, I also understood the magic of compounding in our personal investments and knew I would miss out on some of that by withdrawing from those and not taking SS until age 70. Not sure if my gamble paid off, but between age 65 and age 70 our investments grew by 32%, but from age 70 to 80 they grew over 150%. The math is too complicated for me, but my gut tells me I'd be worse off today had I drawn down those investments between age 65 and 70. BTW, we're still not withdrawing from our investments other than capital gains and dividends.
Post: Breaking even? Why should anyone care? I don’t
Link to comment from May 15, 2025
Exact same thing happened to my wife and me when we went to our local VA DMV office to get a REAL ID several years ago. The certificate we had saved as our marriage license for over 50 years was just that - a ceremonial certificate signed by our minister. Fortunately for us, the DMV office was able to immediately retrieve a digital copy of our actual marriage license. Another side note was that we had never noticed the ceremonial certificate had my wife "marrying my father" as it was missing the crucial "Jr." that follows my name. Had a few laughs on the way back home.
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Link to comment from May 7, 2025
Yikes!
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Link to comment from May 6, 2025