Actually, one argument I've been hearing in favor of gold recently is that it DOES have intrinsic value because you can make stuff out of it and do a lot with it.
I have always thought I would never use a "financial advisor" - and I work for a firm that has financial advisors. It's stories like this that will cause me to keep that mindset. I don't have many skills in this world, but I can do a credible job of managing personal assets. I worry about those who can't. I can't fix cars or do home repairs, but generally the worst-case scenarios there are you lose a few hundred or thousand bucks. With bad financial advice, you could lose tens of thousands or more.
Thanks for the heads-up. I can manage this just fine for my personal stuff. However, there is a small family trust I am trustee of, and this will be more difficult for this. It is with one of the major low-cost brokerage firms. They have rules like you can't write a check for less than $250, and it is sheer hell trying to get a bank account linked because so many people have to get notarized signatures. How I'm ever going to get a payment to the government, I have no idea. I guess I need to be looking into this.
I don't have hard numbers in front of me, but I suspect the people that were in the system fairly early on (such as Dick who started in 1959) will make off quite well, and those in the system later on will not do as well.
I have no problem putting a check in the mail. I have taken to surrounding it with a piece of scrap paper, as others do, just to give postal workers and whoever else the illusion that it's not a check. I receive plenty of checks myself through a volunteer job I have. I did have a bit of hesitation about sending my state tax return in the mail. There was no street address provided for overnight delivery, and I refuse to file electronically if it costs me money to do so. I am pleased to report that my tax return did apparently make it to the state office unscathed.
Like many of the others here, I'm not looking to sell anything to preserve previous gains. That ship has sailed. I could rebalance, I guess. One thing I hear is people "buying the dip." While intuitively this makes sense, I recall that whatever level we're at now is where we were back sometime in 2023 or 2024. Did you not have the same chunk of cash then that you do now? If you do, why didn't you buy at those prices last year or the year before? Why wait until now hoping there'll be a dip? And if this is new cash you recently came into, were you not already planning to invest it, or is this just accelerating your plan?
We had this really awesome car consignment shop in our town called CarLotz. There was no pressure. It was just an outlet for average Joes to sell their cars. In 2019, we bought a 2015 RAV4 at one of their locations, then a few months later a 2004 Tundra at the other local store. It was great. Sadly, CarLotz is no more. Two years ago, my neighbor sold us a '99 Camry for a song. I know one day I will have to go back to a dealership. I hope to hold out as long as possible. We do have CarMax nearby, but I have found them to be more expensive than the haggle places. I have never gotten the how much do you want to pay a month question, but I have heard of some who have.
I'm sorry I missed this when it first came out. Wow. I join the hundreds of others here in saluting you for your work here as well as at the Wall Street Journal where I first discovered you so many years ago preaching common sense (which isn't really all that common). I pray for successful treatment so that you may live out your final months or years in relative comfort and get to enjoy all those bucket-list items.
Good stuff. I was a longtime reader of Kiplinger's. However, I didn't get my gift subscription until 1997, so I missed you on the cover. (But if I did have that issue, it'd be in my attic.) The work you're doing sounds rewarding. At some point, I will move on from my paid gig and will look for a way to serve others. That kind of volunteer work could be right up my alley.
I am an actuary, although not in life insurance or annuities. I've always felt that if I didn't understand how the product worked, I didn't want it. Buy your investments and your insurance separately. When you combine them, it seems like that gives the insurer an opportunity to pack in more fees. That said, we got a fairly nice death benefit from an annuity my dad had. However, I can't say whether the value we received was better than if he had bought life insurance and investments separately. I assume he was worse off.
Comments
Actually, one argument I've been hearing in favor of gold recently is that it DOES have intrinsic value because you can make stuff out of it and do a lot with it.
Post: Go for the Gold?
Link to comment from May 11, 2025
I have always thought I would never use a "financial advisor" - and I work for a firm that has financial advisors. It's stories like this that will cause me to keep that mindset. I don't have many skills in this world, but I can do a credible job of managing personal assets. I worry about those who can't. I can't fix cars or do home repairs, but generally the worst-case scenarios there are you lose a few hundred or thousand bucks. With bad financial advice, you could lose tens of thousands or more.
Post: Financial Advisor – NEVER AGAIN
Link to comment from May 11, 2025
Thanks for the heads-up. I can manage this just fine for my personal stuff. However, there is a small family trust I am trustee of, and this will be more difficult for this. It is with one of the major low-cost brokerage firms. They have rules like you can't write a check for less than $250, and it is sheer hell trying to get a bank account linked because so many people have to get notarized signatures. How I'm ever going to get a payment to the government, I have no idea. I guess I need to be looking into this.
Post: EO 14249 Mandated Electronic Payments
Link to comment from May 11, 2025
I don't have hard numbers in front of me, but I suspect the people that were in the system fairly early on (such as Dick who started in 1959) will make off quite well, and those in the system later on will not do as well.
Post: You versus Social Security – Quinn is betting against you.
Link to comment from May 3, 2025
I have no problem putting a check in the mail. I have taken to surrounding it with a piece of scrap paper, as others do, just to give postal workers and whoever else the illusion that it's not a check. I receive plenty of checks myself through a volunteer job I have. I did have a bit of hesitation about sending my state tax return in the mail. There was no street address provided for overnight delivery, and I refuse to file electronically if it costs me money to do so. I am pleased to report that my tax return did apparently make it to the state office unscathed.
Post: It’s 2025. Do you send checks by mail?
Link to comment from May 3, 2025
Like many of the others here, I'm not looking to sell anything to preserve previous gains. That ship has sailed. I could rebalance, I guess. One thing I hear is people "buying the dip." While intuitively this makes sense, I recall that whatever level we're at now is where we were back sometime in 2023 or 2024. Did you not have the same chunk of cash then that you do now? If you do, why didn't you buy at those prices last year or the year before? Why wait until now hoping there'll be a dip? And if this is new cash you recently came into, were you not already planning to invest it, or is this just accelerating your plan?
Post: Tariffs and our retirement assets
Link to comment from April 5, 2025
We had this really awesome car consignment shop in our town called CarLotz. There was no pressure. It was just an outlet for average Joes to sell their cars. In 2019, we bought a 2015 RAV4 at one of their locations, then a few months later a 2004 Tundra at the other local store. It was great. Sadly, CarLotz is no more. Two years ago, my neighbor sold us a '99 Camry for a song. I know one day I will have to go back to a dealership. I hope to hold out as long as possible. We do have CarMax nearby, but I have found them to be more expensive than the haggle places. I have never gotten the how much do you want to pay a month question, but I have heard of some who have.
Post: Car Quest
Link to comment from August 3, 2024
I'm sorry I missed this when it first came out. Wow. I join the hundreds of others here in saluting you for your work here as well as at the Wall Street Journal where I first discovered you so many years ago preaching common sense (which isn't really all that common). I pray for successful treatment so that you may live out your final months or years in relative comfort and get to enjoy all those bucket-list items.
Post: The C Word
Link to comment from June 22, 2024
Good stuff. I was a longtime reader of Kiplinger's. However, I didn't get my gift subscription until 1997, so I missed you on the cover. (But if I did have that issue, it'd be in my attic.) The work you're doing sounds rewarding. At some point, I will move on from my paid gig and will look for a way to serve others. That kind of volunteer work could be right up my alley.
Post: Many Unhappy Returns
Link to comment from June 19, 2024
I am an actuary, although not in life insurance or annuities. I've always felt that if I didn't understand how the product worked, I didn't want it. Buy your investments and your insurance separately. When you combine them, it seems like that gives the insurer an opportunity to pack in more fees. That said, we got a fairly nice death benefit from an annuity my dad had. However, I can't say whether the value we received was better than if he had bought life insurance and investments separately. I assume he was worse off.
Post: Your Results May Vary
Link to comment from June 12, 2024