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Jeff moved to Raleigh in 1971 to attend North Carolina State University and never left. He retired in 2020 after 43 years in various engineering roles. Jeff’s the proud father of two sons and, in 2013, expanded his family with a new wife and two stepdaughters. Today, he’s “Grandpa” four times over. In retirement, Jeff works on home projects, volunteers, reads, gardens, and rides his bike or goes to the gym almost every day. He's written several Humble Dollar articles that can be found here.
Another HD Post About Cars
64 replies
AUTHOR: Jeff Bond on 5/27/2025
FIRST: Rick Connor on 5/27 | RECENT: stelea99 on 6/21
How Did You Announced Your Retirement?
32 replies
AUTHOR: Jeff Bond on 8/13/2024
FIRST: R Quinn on 8/13/2024 | RECENT: R Quinn on 5/1
Where and When Do You Spend?
48 replies
AUTHOR: Jeff Bond on 3/2/2025
FIRST: Edmund Marsh on 3/3 | RECENT: Jeff Bond on 3/8
Whole Life Insurance Worked for Me
24 replies
AUTHOR: Jeff Bond on 1/22/2025
FIRST: Rick Connor on 1/22 | RECENT: Jeff Bond on 1/25
Home Maintenance Choices, Options, & Decisions
35 replies
AUTHOR: Jeff Bond on 11/5/2024
FIRST: Dan Smith on 11/5/2024 | RECENT: Jeff Bond on 11/11/2024
DST Transitioning
11 replies
AUTHOR: Jeff Bond on 11/9/2024
FIRST: mytimetotravel on 11/9/2024 | RECENT: mytimetotravel on 11/10/2024
Long-Term Care? Who Has It?
45 replies
AUTHOR: Jeff Bond on 8/10/2024
FIRST: Ken Cutler on 8/10/2024 | RECENT: Linda Grady on 9/10/2024
MY WIFE AND I purchased a 1942 bungalow when we got married in 2013. It met many of our criteria: price, location, spacious backyard, access to greenways and more. But the place also had drawbacks—including the one described below.
The entryway to the house included a climb up seven steps to a stoop. The stoop was small, large enough for only one person to stand while opening the storm door. The only protection from the weather was an old canvas awning.
MY RETIREMENT IN July 2020 came at a stressful time. I was recovering from knee replacement surgery and we were in the midst of the pandemic. Luckily, I had physical therapy goals to meet, and I’d already purchased a huge supply of reading material. TV, music and my laptop were also there to distract me. In addition, my wife had retired eight months before, so we had each other for company.
As the pandemic stretched on,
AS AN ENGINEER and a believer in keeping things running, I haven’t owned many automobiles during my lifetime. Instead, my focus has been on extending each one’s longevity.
Among the maintenance and repairs I’ve undertaken: oil changes, spark plug and wire replacements, carburetor cleaning and adjustment, belt and hose replacements, distributor and timing settings, brake replacements (disk and drum), master and slave brake cylinder repairs, clutch adjustment, alternator repair, radiator repair, heater core repair,
I BEGAN MY CAREER as a part-time employee for an engineering consulting firm. At the time, I was working on my master’s degree in mechanical engineering. I shifted to full-time when I’d wrapped up my coursework but before completing my research and oral defense.
Over the next four years, I finished that degree and passed the national exam to become a registered professional engineer. I also got married, and bought a dog, a second car and a house.
AS A KID, I WAS usually one of the last chosen for pickup games, be it softball, basketball or football. My athletic prowess was limited to being the fastest kid in my neighborhood, but it seems I lived in a slow neighborhood. I had moderate success on a local swim team, but again found that success didn’t translate to surrounding communities.
Into my teen years, I was plagued by allergies and asthma. It wasn’t until the late 1970s,
MOM AND DAD WERE products of the Great Depression. I feel like it affected every single day of their lives. Despite their difficult upbringing, they made good financial decisions that allowed them to live comfortably. Part of it was because Dad worked for the same company for almost 42 years. His pension paid him more than I earned in my first job as an engineer.
When Mom died in August 2004, she was almost 84.
WHEN I FIRST CAME across HumbleDollar, I just lurked on the website, convinced that everyone knew more about investing and personal finance than me. After a while, I started making occasional comments.
Finally, I’m ready to share some of my financial stories. My first topic relates to my misadventures with real estate limited partnerships. Note that all references here are to my then-wife, not my current wife.
I was in my first job as an engineer.
Comments
Sending lots of positive vibes your way. And thanks for the upvote/downvote commentary - hopefully the children will move on.
Post: Health Update
Link to comment from September 1, 2025
Thanks for this is an interesting post. There's no way anyone would call me a minimalist - - - but in my mind, I'm working on it. I rarely every purchase clothes now, and wear the clothes I have until holes force me to throw them our or else use them as work clothes around the house. I'm slowly working to cut back on stuff in the attic and garage. I need to reduce my collection of camping/backpacking gear - I accumulated a lot of gear while I was a Scoutmaster. I still have all my CDs, LPs, and stereo equipment. I also still have all my tools plus the tools I've been given by folks who are downsizing. For me it's a balancing act that causes a lot of internal discussions related to the old work adage of "keep, file, or pitch".
Post: Frugality, Minimalism, and Aligning Values
Link to comment from August 24, 2025
I'm with you. It's difficult to acknowledge when you're on the downslope, whether it be financial, medical, strength, emotional or something else. I started taking IRA money early, too - mostly to (hopefully) smooth out the tax implications of future RMDs, which begin for me next year. I don't spend it, so now it's part of my non tax-deferred investment account. Thriftiness isn't geographic - it's attitude!
Post: On the Downslope of Life?
Link to comment from August 23, 2025
Ha! I still purchase music (only CDs) via online vendors, too. I've been impressed with the delivery date accuracy, but I've never microscoped the delivery path like you described here.
Post: A Record Journey
Link to comment from August 19, 2025
Winston - absolutely. What good is a healthy body if my brain doesn't go along for the ride. The converse is true, too.
Post: How Long Will We Live?
Link to comment from August 18, 2025
Back around 1963 my dad took a new assignment that required him to be onsite at times before we moved as a family. One time his return flight was delayed and we had to stay at Logan Airport until quite late at night. I remember checking a huge wall of payphones for forgotten change and felt like I'd struck the jackpot. I became a habitual checker of phone booths for change.
Post: My Money Memories
Link to comment from August 10, 2025
Triggers. Some of them are on the surface and you know they are there. Others are deep in your consciousness (or unconsciousness) and surprise you when they erupt. It's part of you, your personality, your life story.
Post: I Cry More Easily Now. I Didn’t Use To
Link to comment from July 31, 2025
Hoping for a full recovery and a the ability to recover at home. I'm sure PT will be a major part of your lives for the next few months.
Post: Bad Trip
Link to comment from July 31, 2025
I still miss the social contact. I have lots of friends, but there's nothing like the day-to-day mutual support group that a close-knit and focused office can nurture. I say that, even though some of you know I started working from home in 2015. In spite of working from home, there were still remote office visits, customer visits, training meetings, conferences, etc. When I retired in 2020 the pandemic was in full swing, but I've replaced that social context with other activities.
Post: The Very Last Time? Nope, Just Glad It’s All Over!
Link to comment from July 28, 2025
Dan - the one exception to that, as far as I can tell, is medical practitioners. Over the years I've had a few outpatient procedures. All involved receiving calls from medical professionals using phone numbers that are not in my contact list. Then they leave a number to call (and no one answers) that is different from the number they called from. My only solution is to temporarily suspend the "straight to voicemail" option on my iPhone. But the moment I do that, other calls right through. It's a frustrating process. :(
Post: How do I scam thee? Let me count the ways
Link to comment from July 27, 2025