jerry pinkard

Comments:

• I think that the social aspect of retirement is under appreciated. As Benz states, we need to develop friendships and social connections while working that will transcend retirement. We retire from work, but hopefully not from life. Life needs a purpose and retirees need to find that in their retirement. It could be hobbies, charitable work, religion or other pursuits. I knew that when I retired I did not want a life strictly of leisure pursuits. I have volunteered at a Christian ministry and currently serve on the board of 2 retirement associations, one with 50,000 members. When I told a consulting friend of my planned retirement, she asked me what I would do after breakfast? That is actually a serious question.

  Post: Retiring Smarter

  Link to comment from October 5, 2024

• Spot on Richard! I think that HS and college kids need to have mandatory personal finance classes to help them with all the major facets of their finances, not just investments. I took a personal finance class in college in 1977. I was 32 at the time with wife and 2 kids so I had already learned how to deal with many issues that were taught. It was a great course for me, but must have been invaluable for young people who did not have my life experiences. I still remember the professor stating that we had a poor chance of beating the market because of all the Wall Street MBAs and experts. I think a course today that focused on personal finance and how to invest safely, not a DIY, would be great for HS and college. People need to be warned about all the sharks and pitfalls of investing without getting into DIY. Most people have little interest in DIY investing, but they need to understand how to invest without getting fleeced.

  Post: I’m depressed, not very optimistic about retirement 😱 by R Quinn

  Link to comment from October 3, 2024

• I totally agree. That is the last really wild place in the US except for Alaska. We were there once and were truly amazed at its beauty.

  Post: First Place by Jonathan Clements

  Link to comment from September 6, 2024

• I could name quite a few places, but the one that stands out the most is Charleston, SC. It is a beautiful city with well maintained historic buildings, history, great restaurants, beautiful beaches, and most of all, it still has that distinctive Southern charm. BTW, our daughter lives there, so we have been there many times over the last 25 years. I managed a project for a Bermuda client in the 80s and was there about 10 times over 3 years. Like Charleston, it is a historic island and is very hospitable to tourists. I ate at many restaurants there, and always had great meals. The beaches are beautiful, great shopping in Hamilton, and everything is so clean. Others in no particular order are the national parks, especially in the Western US and Canada. The drive between Banff and Jasper, AB has to be the most scenic in North America. We visit the Blue Ridge Parkway in NC often and enjoy its beauty in all seasons, not just the Fall. When we are in NC mountains, we often have lunch at a lake front restaurant in Lake Lure, NC with its tranquil scenery. We love Camden, Maine with its beautiful harbor and the rugged Maine coastline and its light houses. We have been to Santa Fe several times and always enjoyed our visits to this old and historic city.

  Post: First Place by Jonathan Clements

  Link to comment from September 6, 2024

• You are correct Dennis. Healthcare is the wildcard in retirement and can seriously erode even the most well funded retirement plans. There is only so much that we can do to forestall Father Time and our failing bodies, but exercise can help a lot. I had a similar fall recently. I missed a step on our front porch steps and wound up flat on the sidewalk. I instinctively broke my fall with my hands and only had some bruising and scrapes on my hands. I will turn 80 next month, exercise and walk daily, including balancing exercises, still play golf but do not hit the ball as far, and feel very blessed to still do these things. My older sister said "old age is not for sissies". Boy, was she ever right about that.

  Post: Exercising Caution

  Link to comment from September 5, 2024

• I was a regular listener to Marketimer and learned a lot from Bob. My investment approach is very close to his advice, and thanks to him I avoided the sharks. RIP Bob.

  Post: David Enna’s Tipswatch.com tribute to Bob Brinker

  Link to comment from September 5, 2024

• Good advice David. I have frozen my credit for many years. On the rare occasion someone needs to check my credit (buy a car, new phone, etc.), I can unfreeze it long enough for my credit to be checked by logging into the specific credit card company and unfreezing it temporarily. This is simple to do. In addition to freezing their credit, people should establish accounts with all three of the major credit bureaus so they can unfreeze it as needed. I messed up one time and called a number from an email that was allegedly from my bank. This guy was very convincing and I stupidly gave him some personal identity info. Lesson learned. Always call the published numbers for companies you do business with, not the numbers in an email.

  Post: Don’t Pick Up

  Link to comment from August 31, 2024

• The letter should be reviewed each year and updated to reflect any changes. Mine always has changes that I need to make. Simple for me to make but could be problematic for our children and executor.

  Post: Preparing for the unthinkable.

  Link to comment from August 15, 2024

• Good advice Adam! I learned a long time ago that I was not smart enough to play the market and that diversified, low cost index funds were right for me. I was the director of a large IT organization during the 90s when technology was really hot, I decided to invest in tech stocks. My first 2 were Intel and 3Com. Both stocks increased nicely, and suddenly one day 3Com dropped 25% in one day. The day it dropped, 23 of 24 analysts following the stock rated it a buy. No one seemed to know why it dropped that much. We were a major buyer of a network device 3Com sold that was necessary to connect each PC to the network. I asked my network manager if he knew any reason why 3Com dropped 25% in one day. He said it might be because Intel had announced they were going to put the 3Com device's function on their chip, which would eliminate the need for the 3Com device, causing a major loss of business by 3Com. I asked him when he first heard about this. He said it was a few weeks ago. Apparently, 23 of the analysts following 3Com were asleep on this. It makes me wonder how much they know about any of the stocks they are following. I gave up dabbling in stocks a long time ago. I will take what the market gives me with ultra low expenses.

  Post: Ignore the Rule

  Link to comment from August 15, 2024

• When I was young, someone told me that I should find something I enjoy doing, and then figure out how to get paid to do it. IT was that for me. When I was absorbed in programming or solving a technical problem, time passed very quickly. I guess that was flow, but I did not have a name for it then.

  Post: What’s Your Talent?

  Link to comment from August 15, 2024