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I am a retired IT executive with 44 years of experience in IT. I am originally from Virginia and have lived in North Carolina the past 60 years. I am a widower who was married for 57 years to my late wife, Judy. We have 2 children and 3 grandchildren. I volunteer with my church and serve on the board of 2 retiree associations, one of which has more than 50,000 members. I still enjoy golf, travel and taking care of our home and 2 acres of land.
Comments
I have heard that Costco sells more hearing aids than anyone else.
Post: Frittering away Frugality
Link to comment from July 10, 2026
I agree. Publix, my preferred grocery store has started moving merchandise around in their stores a la Costco. Once I get everything figured out, they move it again. The intent is to create impulse buying.
Post: Frittering away Frugality
Link to comment from July 10, 2026
Costco likes to move things around in their stores. This annoys me but their strategy is to get people to browse thru their merchandise which encourages impulse buying. They have really great prices on clothing but I found I was buying clothes that i never wore, so I stopped doing that. Items I frequently buy are gas, OTC meds, drug store type products, glasses, hearing aids, electronics and a few others. I buy very little in the food area because I live alone and their quantities are so large. Costco is a great company and treats their customers right.
Post: Frittering away Frugality
Link to comment from July 10, 2026
Good post Andrew. It is very touching to receive a letter like that. You were there when she needed you the most. Being there with her at that time mattered much more than eloquent words.
Post: A Letter 40 Years Later: What Mrs. Dolezal Remembered
Link to comment from July 1, 2026
We are not the right audience to ask retirement planning questions to. We all knew that retirement would come if we were so blessed and that we needed to make sure that we had sufficient savings. Most of us have pensions and SS which makes a world of difference that many private sector retirees no longer have. Our county started a 5% match for employees' 401k accounts. In a staff meeting, I encouraged my staff to take advantage of this fantastic benefit. The most common feedback I got was that they could not afford it. Therein lies the problem.
Post: Why can’t more people plan for their retirement future?
Link to comment from June 29, 2026
Correct! You have to time the market correctly twice.
Post: Investment Wisdom
Link to comment from June 27, 2026
Like others, I have used monte carlo for my retirement savings. You have to make assumptions about different variables, which is the flaw of all these forecasts. Get the assumptions wrong and you get bad and misleading results.
Post: The Solitaire Solution
Link to comment from June 24, 2026
Thanks for sharing. I would argue the employer contribution should count too. If the system was setup so that it was mandatory, the employer would have to contribute and not touch the employee's fund.
Post: Many seniors think we paid for our Social Security benefits based on the FICA taxes we paid. Let’s dispel that myth- we didn’t
Link to comment from June 17, 2026
Very sad but is a reality in far too many families. Thank you for sharing Andrew.
Post: What Addiction Couldn’t Take: My Sister’s Story
Link to comment from June 17, 2026
Have you done an analysis of what the money you and your employer paid into SS would have earned invested in Vanguard's SP500 index? Over a long work career that would be far more than the actual amount paid in.
Post: Many seniors think we paid for our Social Security benefits based on the FICA taxes we paid. Let’s dispel that myth- we didn’t
Link to comment from June 16, 2026