Doug C

Comments

• Thank you Jonathan! ❤️

  Post: Jonathan’s Advice for 2026 Graduates

  Link to comment from May 7, 2026

• For context, based on a CPI calculator, that $10,000 in April of 1989 would be equivalent to about $27,000 today. That would be quite a gift. But an even better return! But the best gift of all is your marriage! Happy Anniversary to you and your bride.

  Post: For Richer, For Poorer: 37 Years of Compounding

  Link to comment from April 28, 2026

• Affluenza... There are valid complaints in our and any society. But I think as we get and expect more, we loose perspective on how much we have.

  Post: Enough complaining already. Live your life and stop worrying about “they” “ them” or things

  Link to comment from April 24, 2026

• Jeff: Thanks for sharing some of the details of your life journey: the situation you were born into, the lessons you were taught and learned through experience and hard work, and the wisdom you have gained through living. It is a great blessing to reflect back on the life we have had and to be able to see meaning and fulfillment. I would agree that often that comes through how we choose to approach life and the cards we are dealt, and the kinds of decisions we make.

  Post: A Life You Build

  Link to comment from April 19, 2026

• My response is to this article as well as another posted today written by Edmund Marsh entitled "A Bit More Humble". I guess a lot was going on for many people in the 80s at various aerospace companies. I also joined an aerospace firm in 1985 (Pratt & Whitney) and from the very start, downsizing and layoffs were continually looming. I always managed to stay employed, and was able to progress within the company. About 14 years in, my entire department of "information systems" folks were outsourced from P&W to a large IT organization named CSC. The downsizing and layoffs in the new organization continued, but I retained employment and continued to advance. CSC merged with another company that became DXC. Again, downsizing and layoffs continued, but I retained employment. When I reached 55 years old, my age and the emotional drain of this continual corporate churning over the last 30 years influenced me to start evaluating the future financial reality of retirement. I had hopes and plans of continuing to work until about 62.  But at 58, a lot of troubling dynamics quickly increased within the corporation.  And I had determined that even at this age, I had a good degree of confidence that I could comfortably retire. So after a weekend of heartfelt discussions with my spouse and a bit of tears of my own that this is how my professional path would end, I made the decision to call it quits. I had a bit of worries that first year, adjusting to the new financial reality of drawing from assets instead of building them. But that financial fear soon diminished, after I eased into my new reality. And here I am 7 years later, and things are going better than I could have imagined financially. Taking the step of retiring earlier than I originally had planned was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made. But in retrospect, I am so glad that I did.

  Post: Navigating a Turbulent Career

  Link to comment from April 18, 2026

• This certainly seems to be one solution to the mathematics of the financial problem. Especially important is the implementation of some kind of automatic rate adjustment based on future situations. Other options to consider that could be implemented instead of increasing SS tax rates by the full 30.8% (12.4 to 16.22) include:

  • raising or eliminating the taxable maximum cap (currently $184,500)
  • raising the full retirement age above the current 67 (the previous change was approved in 1983, but the actual full implementation took over 40 years to fully manifest the retirement age change)

  Post: Fixing Social Security once and for all

  Link to comment from April 15, 2026

• ❤️

  Post: The Myth of the Default Caregiver

  Link to comment from April 12, 2026

• Dick, your choice was great for you and you are benefiting from it. My take on the bulk of the comments is that finances were considered (as they should be in order to responsibly take on what is required to support a family with children) but that most found that they were able to make needed adjustments and found that any sacrifices were well worth any financial diminishment. I did hear some other people mention that for various personal reasons, they chose or were unable to have children. I see nothing to criticize in any of that. I am sure if we had not had children we would have found plenty of ways to live very full and fruitful lives. There are plenty of people in this world. in addition to our children, to share or love, time and resources.

  Post: Financial regrets about parenthood?

  Link to comment from April 12, 2026

• I am sure that it takes a lot of patience on the part of both of you. He is very lucky, and you are thoughtful, by sharing that important information in case he needs to do it on his own. I have been doing the same with my spouse in terms of me sharing the financial information with her, and I have tried to take on additional involvement in all of the wonderful cooking for us she has done over all of our years together.

  Post: Financial Planning

  Link to comment from April 12, 2026

• Jerry: I don't know you or your daughter. But if your daughter says she would "very much like me to move to Charleston" I would take her at her word. I did not have a special needs child to add to the challenge like your daughter. But I can say, that despite the fact that taking care of my parents required a lot of effort, and it was often very hard, I considered it a privilege to be able to support them in the time of their greatest need. And I know that it benefited us both in more ways than we could have ever imagined before that decision was ever implemented.

  Post: The Myth of the Default Caregiver

  Link to comment from April 10, 2026