I would pay that for game 7 of World series for the Cardinals, concluding game of Stanley Cup for Hurricanes (we almost did, but they won it on the road). I have paid close to that to see my Tar Heels win the NCAA. I’ve paid it for premium seats to Rolling Stones. My husband would pay twice that to see the Bills win the SuperBowl. And then there is my son…he would definitely spend MY money to do all those things 🤣
As someone who has autoimmune disease and some other chronic health problems I can give you a few pointers to avoid depression that might be induced from boredom and lack of purpose. When you get up of a morning go outside and get sunrise/sunlight. Take your coffee, a book/newspaper, walk your dog - just get those eyes and your skin outside for 5,10,15 mins or more - even if it is cloudy/rainy/cold. Eat whole/real foods as much as possible. We all know the value of real foods versus processed for physical health but it is important for mental health as well. Same for beverages - stick to water, coffee, tea, fruit infused water, etc. avoid alcohol. Of course you may choose to go out with spouse or friends and enjoy a meal and a drink. But when home eat/drink healthy. At night avoid excessive blue light. Try to wind your body down for a Full nights rest. An old fashioned book instead of kindle (or use the night settings), avoid the tablets or laptops after dark as much as possible. Light really does affect our bodies and moods. Try and find a purpose. I haven’t worked a real job in 20 years. Raising a kid, keeping a tidy home, keeping a tidy exterior to my home (projects), clean car, taking care of a pet that I indulge way too much, having a stack of non fiction (or fiction if you prefer) books, volunteer work, cooking (real food you gotta cook yourself unfortunately LOL). I stay busy. And I love learning about markets. I spend several hours a day reading and keeping current about markets (the trick is not trading yourself broke - reading about markets emotions helps with that). But find a purpose, stay busy, exercise, experience life. I wish you luck…being bored occasionally is fine too! Enjoy!
I will add that hubby bought through Carmax. It was definitely easier and quicker than haggling through a dealership. But no where as easy and quick as ordering online and picking up like with Tesla. Carmax is mostly used cars, too, and I know you said you wanted new.
I love cars, always have. My husband…does not. I like having a new car now that I can afford it. He…does not. But one thing we both agree on is convenience. We want reliable cars that run and are dependable without a lot of extra work to keep them that way. We both have gone electric. I am fully electric and have been for 8 years (2 different cars - remember I said I like new ✨ ). He is partially so with a PHEV. His car has a little more maintenance than mine with an oil change every 2 years. But mine is basically tires and wiper fluid for the past 85k miles. And I love that. So if you are anywhere inclined to go electric I fully encourage you to. And the ease of buying from Tesla cannot be matched. I ordered my car online - put a down payment online - and when the car came in I took them a cashiers check. No haggling, no upselling, no wasted time. In and out in under an hour. But I did have to wait a few weeks on the car. Best car I’ve ever owned, bar none. I know Tesla has a lot of political baggage, but I am just sharing my experience. My other point to consider is safety. My husband’s previous car was 17 yr old. Nothing wrong with that, but it didn’t have a backup camera, side air bags, blind spot alert, front collision sensors, etc. If you can afford all the bells and whistles that come with modern car safety I think you are foolish not to get them. I had to practically force him to buy a new (newer) car. I even threatened to go buy one for him myself (and he knew I would bring home something fancy that he would be embarrassed to drive) so he finally bought a 2 yr old Honda. And despite the learning curve of all this new fangled stuff on the car he is very happy, but he still misses the tape deck. So pay for safety if you can afford it - it is worth it!
We are at different stages in life, but I can speak to why middle aged women love Costco. Teenagers. I have a 14 yr old son, who is 6-3 and still growing. Last week I bought a package of frozen chicken filets (similar to chick fil a), frozen chicken wings and chicken tenders. Normally that would feed regular folks for a month. It lasted about 5 days since it is summer. I’ll be honest I don’t look at prices when I shop - i look at volume. It saves me headache. It saves me multiple trips to multiple stores. But I will add this - before kids, and probably after kids, I didn’t like Costco. It is always crowded. But boy am I glad I bought stock in it over a decade ago! That and a few other timely stock purchases are why I don’t have to look at prices! I will also add that for an extra $60 annually on the membership price you are considered an executive member and can get in an hour early. To me that is the best $60 I spend. Less crowds and earlier hours (traffic and crowds are worse everywhere if you wait til after 10am to go shopping)!
Having lived in hurricane territory all of my life I know the value of having cash when the power is out. Hurricanes provide you some warning. However not all events do. We had a straight line wind storm in Memphis in the early 2000s (dubbed Hurricane Elvis) that flattened the city and had power out for 2 weeks. Stores were taking cash, but if you didn’t already have it squirreled away you couldn’t get it from the ATM with the power out. Incidentally nowhere had change to give either. So I learned to not only have cash handy but have it in small bills, too (1s, 5s, 10s and 20s).
This is a lot to wake up to on a Saturday morning. But I want to say this. I have had two friends diagnosed with lung cancer years ago. Both tennis players. Both, like you - healthy, educated, well off people. Only difference in you is both are women. C was diagnosed about 10 years ago. It was a dire diagnosis. Non smoker, but had lung cancer and it had spread to many other areas of her body. When she had surgery the doctor told her husband in effect they took as much of her lung as they could while allowing her to stay alive. She went through chemo. And she had some rough times. H was diagnosed in her early 50s about 6 years ago. It was a sudden shock. She was getting winded while exercising and playing tennis and went to the doctor to discover lung cancer (another non smoker). It had also spread all over her body. She immediately started chemo. For whatever reason she avoided surgery, but had several other procedures where they lasered lesions from her brain and spine. Her recovery was long. Frankly I thought both women would not live long when initially diagnosed. Both are still alive today. I still play tennis with H. And I see C at the tennis club quite often (she is older and plays with a different set). Both women had something to live for (family, grandchildren) and both are pretty tenacious fighters. FWIW both were treated at Wake Forest Baptist in Winston-Salem, NC. I realize your diagnosis is dire and you are a realist. But the care that is available today is nothing short of miraculous. Technology advances exponentially, not linearly and new techniques are being used everyday. Find your fighting spirit and we expect many more years of Humble Dollar.
Comments
I would pay that for game 7 of World series for the Cardinals, concluding game of Stanley Cup for Hurricanes (we almost did, but they won it on the road). I have paid close to that to see my Tar Heels win the NCAA. I’ve paid it for premium seats to Rolling Stones. My husband would pay twice that to see the Bills win the SuperBowl. And then there is my son…he would definitely spend MY money to do all those things 🤣
Post: FIFA Financials
Link to comment from July 25, 2026
As someone who has autoimmune disease and some other chronic health problems I can give you a few pointers to avoid depression that might be induced from boredom and lack of purpose. When you get up of a morning go outside and get sunrise/sunlight. Take your coffee, a book/newspaper, walk your dog - just get those eyes and your skin outside for 5,10,15 mins or more - even if it is cloudy/rainy/cold. Eat whole/real foods as much as possible. We all know the value of real foods versus processed for physical health but it is important for mental health as well. Same for beverages - stick to water, coffee, tea, fruit infused water, etc. avoid alcohol. Of course you may choose to go out with spouse or friends and enjoy a meal and a drink. But when home eat/drink healthy. At night avoid excessive blue light. Try to wind your body down for a Full nights rest. An old fashioned book instead of kindle (or use the night settings), avoid the tablets or laptops after dark as much as possible. Light really does affect our bodies and moods. Try and find a purpose. I haven’t worked a real job in 20 years. Raising a kid, keeping a tidy home, keeping a tidy exterior to my home (projects), clean car, taking care of a pet that I indulge way too much, having a stack of non fiction (or fiction if you prefer) books, volunteer work, cooking (real food you gotta cook yourself unfortunately LOL). I stay busy. And I love learning about markets. I spend several hours a day reading and keeping current about markets (the trick is not trading yourself broke - reading about markets emotions helps with that). But find a purpose, stay busy, exercise, experience life. I wish you luck…being bored occasionally is fine too! Enjoy!
Post: Fear of the Unknown…
Link to comment from July 25, 2026
I will add that hubby bought through Carmax. It was definitely easier and quicker than haggling through a dealership. But no where as easy and quick as ordering online and picking up like with Tesla. Carmax is mostly used cars, too, and I know you said you wanted new.
Post: Buying a car in retirement
Link to comment from July 18, 2026
I love cars, always have. My husband…does not. I like having a new car now that I can afford it. He…does not. But one thing we both agree on is convenience. We want reliable cars that run and are dependable without a lot of extra work to keep them that way. We both have gone electric. I am fully electric and have been for 8 years (2 different cars - remember I said I like new ✨ ). He is partially so with a PHEV. His car has a little more maintenance than mine with an oil change every 2 years. But mine is basically tires and wiper fluid for the past 85k miles. And I love that. So if you are anywhere inclined to go electric I fully encourage you to. And the ease of buying from Tesla cannot be matched. I ordered my car online - put a down payment online - and when the car came in I took them a cashiers check. No haggling, no upselling, no wasted time. In and out in under an hour. But I did have to wait a few weeks on the car. Best car I’ve ever owned, bar none. I know Tesla has a lot of political baggage, but I am just sharing my experience. My other point to consider is safety. My husband’s previous car was 17 yr old. Nothing wrong with that, but it didn’t have a backup camera, side air bags, blind spot alert, front collision sensors, etc. If you can afford all the bells and whistles that come with modern car safety I think you are foolish not to get them. I had to practically force him to buy a new (newer) car. I even threatened to go buy one for him myself (and he knew I would bring home something fancy that he would be embarrassed to drive) so he finally bought a 2 yr old Honda. And despite the learning curve of all this new fangled stuff on the car he is very happy, but he still misses the tape deck. So pay for safety if you can afford it - it is worth it!
Post: Buying a car in retirement
Link to comment from July 18, 2026
We are at different stages in life, but I can speak to why middle aged women love Costco. Teenagers. I have a 14 yr old son, who is 6-3 and still growing. Last week I bought a package of frozen chicken filets (similar to chick fil a), frozen chicken wings and chicken tenders. Normally that would feed regular folks for a month. It lasted about 5 days since it is summer. I’ll be honest I don’t look at prices when I shop - i look at volume. It saves me headache. It saves me multiple trips to multiple stores. But I will add this - before kids, and probably after kids, I didn’t like Costco. It is always crowded. But boy am I glad I bought stock in it over a decade ago! That and a few other timely stock purchases are why I don’t have to look at prices! I will also add that for an extra $60 annually on the membership price you are considered an executive member and can get in an hour early. To me that is the best $60 I spend. Less crowds and earlier hours (traffic and crowds are worse everywhere if you wait til after 10am to go shopping)!
Post: Frittering away Frugality
Link to comment from July 11, 2026
Having lived in hurricane territory all of my life I know the value of having cash when the power is out. Hurricanes provide you some warning. However not all events do. We had a straight line wind storm in Memphis in the early 2000s (dubbed Hurricane Elvis) that flattened the city and had power out for 2 weeks. Stores were taking cash, but if you didn’t already have it squirreled away you couldn’t get it from the ATM with the power out. Incidentally nowhere had change to give either. So I learned to not only have cash handy but have it in small bills, too (1s, 5s, 10s and 20s).
Post: Cash Ain’t Trash
Link to comment from December 27, 2025
This is a lot to wake up to on a Saturday morning. But I want to say this. I have had two friends diagnosed with lung cancer years ago. Both tennis players. Both, like you - healthy, educated, well off people. Only difference in you is both are women. C was diagnosed about 10 years ago. It was a dire diagnosis. Non smoker, but had lung cancer and it had spread to many other areas of her body. When she had surgery the doctor told her husband in effect they took as much of her lung as they could while allowing her to stay alive. She went through chemo. And she had some rough times. H was diagnosed in her early 50s about 6 years ago. It was a sudden shock. She was getting winded while exercising and playing tennis and went to the doctor to discover lung cancer (another non smoker). It had also spread all over her body. She immediately started chemo. For whatever reason she avoided surgery, but had several other procedures where they lasered lesions from her brain and spine. Her recovery was long. Frankly I thought both women would not live long when initially diagnosed. Both are still alive today. I still play tennis with H. And I see C at the tennis club quite often (she is older and plays with a different set). Both women had something to live for (family, grandchildren) and both are pretty tenacious fighters. FWIW both were treated at Wake Forest Baptist in Winston-Salem, NC. I realize your diagnosis is dire and you are a realist. But the care that is available today is nothing short of miraculous. Technology advances exponentially, not linearly and new techniques are being used everyday. Find your fighting spirit and we expect many more years of Humble Dollar.
Post: The C Word
Link to comment from June 15, 2024