L H

Comments

• I totally agree with your premise. I always think that seeing our children and grandchildren actually living out life lessons we've shared along the way is really valuable. And the best way to see that is by spending time with them and being present

  Post: The Paradox of Wealth

  Link to comment from July 16, 2026

• Thank you the response Richard. The answer is "No". It's just a car not an experience for us. Our cars end up like our cell phones. Most people "have to" run out and buy the newest, shiniest, powerful, $1500 cell phone every year that can do soooo much. And they only make calls, texts, and emails 90% of the time. That's not us. They point of my comment was that we can definitely afford the fancy name brand car that is twice as comfortable, twice as expensive, and lasts half as long. But, we revert back to our frugal ways because after three decades of saving and investing, we are having a struggle getting used to letting loose and freely spending our financial resources P.S.- When we want comfort and a change of pace we drive our Ford Expedition Limited

  Post: Buying a car in retirement

  Link to comment from July 15, 2026

• First let me say that as a retired commission salesman, I actually enjoy the car buying process. We own two types of cars. A large suv to pull our travel trailer and a smaller one for economical purposes. As I researched the size vehicle I was interested in I convinced myself that the cost wasn't a factor, comfort and reliability were. But when the time came and I knew exactly which vehicle we wanted to purchase I went back to my old way of thinking. I went with reliability and cost, over comfort. When I buy a car I want to "know" that it'll last us 300,000 miles or more, so we bought another Honda CRV Touring trim level. I enjoy the 33+ mpg and all of the fancy non-essential bells and whistles. My wife on the other hand hates bells and whistles, and doesn't care about the mpg's. She wanted comfortable and we both agree that it is not. Old habits die hard, and so do old mindsets

  Post: Buying a car in retirement

  Link to comment from July 15, 2026

• We have also shifted our investments to a simpler long term plan. Currently our passive income stream is running about 120% more than our expenses. We have no immediate thoughts of when we'll start withdrawing from them. When RMD time comes we will withdraw those and donate them to our church and other ministries that we currently don't too. If I pass away first and my wife ever needs an additional income stream I have given instructions to our son to help her spend down our taxable accounts, then our Traditional IRA with account(which is fairly small), then our Roth IRA, and finally set up automatic monthly sales from our accounts which are all at Vanguard. Switching from an investing mindset to a spending mindset is emotional. But at least we have a plan in place when the time comes

  Post: Slow on the Draw

  Link to comment from July 10, 2026

• Another reason to live Costco... Their amazing return policy! Return anything, anytime, for any reason. It also gets people to but things they wouldn't normally. If you don't like the popcorn, return it...a year later 🍿

  Post: Frittering away Frugality 

  Link to comment from July 10, 2026

• Where do I start... Rotisserie chicken, toilet paper, bottled water, coffee, $1.50 hot dog and a soda,$1.99 massive slice of pizza, the optical department, clothes, and using Costco Travel,gas. Other than these, we may buy one other item per trip to Costco. Our eye glasses alone save us much more than the cost of our membership. We go because we actually do enjoy the journey And I didn't even mention all of the samples

  Post: Frittering away Frugality 

  Link to comment from July 8, 2026

• I agree. It de-weights... and diversifies

  Post: What’s in your portfolio ?

  Link to comment from July 4, 2026

• Randy, thank you for your comment. It is the perfect example of why HD is so valuable. It is another example of a solution that I never thought of even though I know of VXF (Vanguard Extended Market etf).HD readers and commenters are thousands of individuals that agree on many things financial but look at them from different directions

  Post: What’s in your portfolio ?

  Link to comment from July 4, 2026

• We are similar. We are 100% equities , all in Vanguard index etf's. . I also wish they offered equal weighted index etf's

  Post: What’s in your portfolio ?

  Link to comment from July 3, 2026

• I remember the John Wooden quote : "Never mistake activity with accomplishment". I change it slightly to " Don't mistake busyness with accomplishment". As I ease into retirement I am learning in life that I accomplish more for my family by being "present" than by just being busy. I've spent decades as a commission salesman away my family thinking that my busyness being gone long hours at work benefited them. But now I see being "present" is the greatest gift I can leave with them when I am no longer on this earth with them

  Post: Haunted Head

  Link to comment from July 3, 2026