Prior to my 3rd retirement, I realized that I needed some sort of activity to engage in if I was going to avoid another job, and eventually another retirement process. So I started teaching/facilitating classes at various adult education organizations - OLLI, Encore, etc. Topics included: Decision Making In Life; Daylight Saving Time & Time Zones; US Government Law Enforcement entities; and Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary. Believe it or not, there is a logical connection among these topics. More recently, I applied to the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP)(sponsored by the National Taxpayer Advocate & TAS) and was accepted for a 3 year term. It is an unpaid volunteer position. The focus of TAP is to identify systemic things that the IRS can do better, more clearly, more effectively. more info at https://www.improveirs.org/ These keep me pretty busy - lots of stress dreams as I approach a teaching date but I still enjoy it, more so if it is an in-person class.
As I've grown older, with a number of poorly timed decisions, I think a lot about this topic of Home. I've evolved to some sort of philosophy of first principles. In the case of a Home, the first principle is everyone needs shelter. There are any number of options: homeless shelter, couch crashing, rental, ownership. There are advantages and disadvantages with each option. Renting gives a lot of flexibility, but relatively less stability. Owning (I've come to the notion we don't own much - rather we are stewards of assets) must recognize the total cost of ownership. Repairs, insurance, capital replacements, etc. are sometimes overlooked or ignored in the calculation of rent vs own. Cutting to the chase, I believe the real calculus is whether one prefers flexibility or stability.
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Prior to my 3rd retirement, I realized that I needed some sort of activity to engage in if I was going to avoid another job, and eventually another retirement process. So I started teaching/facilitating classes at various adult education organizations - OLLI, Encore, etc. Topics included: Decision Making In Life; Daylight Saving Time & Time Zones; US Government Law Enforcement entities; and Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary. Believe it or not, there is a logical connection among these topics. More recently, I applied to the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP)(sponsored by the National Taxpayer Advocate & TAS) and was accepted for a 3 year term. It is an unpaid volunteer position. The focus of TAP is to identify systemic things that the IRS can do better, more clearly, more effectively. more info at https://www.improveirs.org/ These keep me pretty busy - lots of stress dreams as I approach a teaching date but I still enjoy it, more so if it is an in-person class.
Post: A Balanced Retirement by Marjorie Kondrack
Link to comment from February 1, 2025
As I've grown older, with a number of poorly timed decisions, I think a lot about this topic of Home. I've evolved to some sort of philosophy of first principles. In the case of a Home, the first principle is everyone needs shelter. There are any number of options: homeless shelter, couch crashing, rental, ownership. There are advantages and disadvantages with each option. Renting gives a lot of flexibility, but relatively less stability. Owning (I've come to the notion we don't own much - rather we are stewards of assets) must recognize the total cost of ownership. Repairs, insurance, capital replacements, etc. are sometimes overlooked or ignored in the calculation of rent vs own. Cutting to the chase, I believe the real calculus is whether one prefers flexibility or stability.
Post: Is a home a good investment?
Link to comment from December 10, 2023