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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
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
Mark - please don't tell me that before you retired you never walked into a room or looked into a closet and said to yourself "why did I come here?". It's not new, it's just the latest incident. :)
Post: Help Me Out People—Is This Just Me?
Link to comment from January 5, 2026
Private equity - and - tuna noodle casserole. Ha! Great analogy. Thanks
Post: 2026 Financial Plan
Link to comment from January 3, 2026
A dear, departed friend often said something along the lines of this: "The good old days are happening right now!" Not sure I would pause anything. There have been multitudes of really great moments that have created enduring memories, but that's what they are - - - memories to savor and reflect upon. I'm good with the here-and-now.
Post: Hitting the Pause Button
Link to comment from January 1, 2026
I retired in 2020, just after my 67th birthday, shortly after having knee replacement surgery, and just as the pandemic hit. My wife had retired 8 months earlier, at 62. I retired for all the right reasons. I was tired of working, and I had sufficient confidence that our finances were adequate for an extended retirement. My only regret was that the pandemic prevented one last trip to the corporate office to personally say goodbye to coworkers and friends. My wife had health care and a pension. I had Medicare and my IRA plus investments. I had a long list of things I wanted to do in retirement, and I haven't gotten to all of them yet - but I have found some other activities that I hadn't anticipated, so everything is going well here.
Post: What Age Did You Retire—and What Made You Decide It Was Time?
Link to comment from December 31, 2025
Stoozing. I had to look that up. I know what it is - but never knew that activity had a specific name. :)
Post: An Uncomfortable Retail Truth
Link to comment from December 12, 2025