Great post about keeping it simple (or boring) Dan. Thanks.I've been retired five years now and my wife and I are financially secure. In my 20s when I had more disposable income than I needed I dabbled in options trading. After about 2 years I had enriched a broker by about 2K and had nothing to show for it. After exploring IPOs and penny stocks in my early 30s I had a similar outcome. Finally in my mid 30s I began to seriously contribute to my employer's retirement plan until I retired at 70. My financial journey also included several whole life policies that I cashed out a few years from retirement to pay off a large mortgage. My foray into whole life insurance was at the advice of my father's financial advisor who for a time managed our retirement and brokerage accounts. After reconnecting with an old HS friend (an estate planner at a small savings and loan) I began reading HD. Since retiring I've managed all of our finances. All of our funds except our checking account and two high interest savings accounts are with Fidelity. Every year Fidelity checks in with me for a free consultation. Our funds are diversified in low cost mutual funds and ETFs. Our portfolio is 75% equities (US and int'l) and 25% bond funds. For the past few years I've been required to take required minimum distributions. So far, I've taken most of the distributions from stock funds; if the market turns down I'll take the RMDs primarily from the bond funds.
In hindsight, to paraphrase a classic rock song (Mellencamp?) I wish I knew then what I know now. Thanks for your post Dan. I've learned so much from HD contributors.
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Great post about keeping it simple (or boring) Dan. Thanks.I've been retired five years now and my wife and I are financially secure. In my 20s when I had more disposable income than I needed I dabbled in options trading. After about 2 years I had enriched a broker by about 2K and had nothing to show for it. After exploring IPOs and penny stocks in my early 30s I had a similar outcome. Finally in my mid 30s I began to seriously contribute to my employer's retirement plan until I retired at 70. My financial journey also included several whole life policies that I cashed out a few years from retirement to pay off a large mortgage. My foray into whole life insurance was at the advice of my father's financial advisor who for a time managed our retirement and brokerage accounts. After reconnecting with an old HS friend (an estate planner at a small savings and loan) I began reading HD. Since retiring I've managed all of our finances. All of our funds except our checking account and two high interest savings accounts are with Fidelity. Every year Fidelity checks in with me for a free consultation. Our funds are diversified in low cost mutual funds and ETFs. Our portfolio is 75% equities (US and int'l) and 25% bond funds. For the past few years I've been required to take required minimum distributions. So far, I've taken most of the distributions from stock funds; if the market turns down I'll take the RMDs primarily from the bond funds. In hindsight, to paraphrase a classic rock song (Mellencamp?) I wish I knew then what I know now. Thanks for your post Dan. I've learned so much from HD contributors.
Post: No Such Thing as Easy Money
Link to comment from January 9, 2026