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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.
Choosing the right executor/trustee
5 replies
AUTHOR: Jeff Bond on 12/10/2025
FIRST: Nick Politakis on 12/10/2025 | RECENT: jan Ohara on 12/11/2025
Another HD Post About Cars
64 replies
AUTHOR: Jeff Bond on 5/27/2025
FIRST: Rick Connor on 5/27/2025 | RECENT: stelea99 on 6/21/2025
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 5/1/2025
Where and When Do You Spend?
48 replies
AUTHOR: Jeff Bond on 3/2/2025
FIRST: Edmund Marsh on 3/3/2025 | RECENT: Jeff Bond on 3/8/2025
Whole Life Insurance Worked for Me
24 replies
AUTHOR: Jeff Bond on 1/22/2025
FIRST: Rick Connor on 1/22/2025 | RECENT: Jeff Bond on 1/25/2025
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
This is interesting. I suspect one of my kids has a low credit rating, due to both spending habits and an ongoing less-than-friendly divorce. I might consider doing taking that step after the divorce is finalized, but not before.
Post: The Debt Free Penalty.
Link to comment from January 23, 2026
Mark - I used to climb, too (and somewhere in HD I've written about it, too). I ended that activity more than a few years ago. My preferred lead climber gave it up, and I was unwilling to trust anyone else. Since then I've also developed osteoarthritis in my hands. I doubt I could safely hold on to tiny ledges anymore.
Post: The Comfort Trap
Link to comment from January 23, 2026
I understand the comment about the comfort trap. That chair with a good book is tempting, but most days I need to do something to not only get my heart beating, but also challenge my excitement level. I had several month-long breaks from bike riding in 2025 due to various reasons. With the start of the new year, I was out there even in colder weather. I recently rode the trails in a local park when my rear wheel began wobbling. I'd broken not just one, but two spokes - so back to the repair shop, and might as well replace the chain and gear cassette. Now the bike is back and we're expecting bitterly cold temperatures with snow and freezing rain. Can't catch a break.
Post: The Comfort Trap
Link to comment from January 21, 2026
I wonder how or why I missed this forum post when it was first published. I have a folder labeled "When I Croak". It contains important information for my wife and kids related to investment & IRA accounts, locations of other documents, people to call, and a reference/location of existing Financial POA, Medical POA, will/trust, and Advanced Care Directives.
Post: Your two best investing books—and do you also keep an End-of-Life “family binder”?
Link to comment from January 21, 2026
I can attest to the "feeling great" part. As I've written before, this is the second marriage for both my wife and me. She sold her house and I sold my house. We bought a new house together using the proceeds from the prior two sales. All updates/additions have been similarly paid for by each of us. The "comfort" derived from not having a mortgage is very satisfying.
Post: The $8,000 Cost of Peace of Mind
Link to comment from January 20, 2026
The comments to this are very interesting, from CEO/CFO perspectives, all the way down to the "users" like me. My first employer instituted a 401(k) plan very soon after they began existence. But we had miserable investment choices, a small match, and as the company began to fail, the owner stopped making deposits into the plan (luckily this was resolved just before the company went out of business). At one point I was offered a job with a company that had a 8-year all-or-nothing vesting plan (didn't take the job). I'm very fortunate. The three legs of my retirement stool include my 401(k) (now an IRA), Social Security, and my personal savings/investment accounts. The 401(k) plan is one of the reasons I am happily retired. I do see a crisis ahead for younger earners. With more expensive homes, cars, and even groceries, some folks - even with decent earnings for their age - are living paycheck-to-paycheck. There's nothing leftover for 401(k) contributions.
Post: How do you really feel about 401k plans?
Link to comment from January 13, 2026
Great story, great message. Thanks for sharing.
Post: Four Weddings and a Wake-Up Call
Link to comment from January 9, 2026
When I worked for a utility - admittedly almost 30 years ago - the CEO's performance bonus was based on several factors, one of which was the overall percentage of continuous service. As a result special attention was paid to power plant outages and the emergency outage personnel staffing levels. Happily, the same factor was a determinant for employee profit sharing contributions, too.
Post: All you need to know about health insurance, social security and utility bills – sort of
Link to comment from January 8, 2026
At any point did the ad imply the firm was a fiduciary? Just wondering.
Post: Let’s Be Clear
Link to comment from January 7, 2026
When I asked my doctor about this, he said that the fact that I was asking the question meant that I didn't have a problem.
Post: Help Me Out People—Is This Just Me?
Link to comment from January 5, 2026