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I am a retired CPA who wants to spend more time with my grandsons than my portfolio. In retirement, i have realized change remains the only constant, and I have to adapt. My priorities: family, food and fun.
Quotes
12 replies
AUTHOR: Mark Eckman on 7/2/2024
FIRST: Matt Morse on 7/2/2024 | RECENT: Jeff Bond on 11/18/2024
Alternative to the 4% rule
4 replies
AUTHOR: Mark Eckman on 10/12/2024
FIRST: bbbobbins on 10/12/2024 | RECENT: Mark Eckman on 10/13/2024
I KNOW FOLKS WHO consider their income to be the best measure of their wealth. Income, however, doesn’t gauge whether you’re making headway toward financial independence.
What does? My financial statement provides everything I need to measure my progress. At the end of each December, I gather the dollar amounts for my assets and liabilities, and assemble the details on a spreadsheet that compares my current standing with prior years. If you’re inspired to do the same,
HEALTH SAVINGS accounts (HSAs) were introduced in 2003, and have since become commonplace in employee benefit plans. My experience with HSAs dates to 2004, when my employer offered $400 in one-time seed money as an incentive to sign up.
HSAs differed from existing health-care flexible spending accounts, and offered some features I preferred. To me, the HSA’s most appealing feature was that I controlled the money. There’s no “use it or lose it” rule,
MY WIFE AND I PLANNED our retirement using several standard assumptions, including how long we might live. Dorothy was healthier than me, so we assumed I’d be the first to go. But on June 30, she died suddenly, and I was the one left to deal with the fallout—including the many pesky, practical details.
Those details were bureaucratic and technical, and it didn’t take long to complete them. Dealing with the funeral home, Social Security and various financial institutions was straightforward.
THE BEST DESCRIPTION for my career would be “corporate vagabond.” I moved the family six times to five different states over 42 years.
Because we never settled down in one place, my wife and I spent 15 years visiting potential retirement locations. We visited sprawling metropolitan areas, small towns, retirement communities and the town where we both grew up. We also considered the areas where we’d lived, but nothing appealed to us.
One evening,
WHEN YOU SEE an advertisement, you expect some hype. Ads for investment newsletters are, alas, no exception.
Sometimes, you hear about their unique investment process or how the newsletter regularly beats the market. Some offer one-sentence testimonials from happy subscribers. The message: You, too, can enjoy the benefits of their secret methodologies for a low, low price.
Yes, the ads are undoubtedly compelling. But you need to separate the hype from reality. Fortunately, Hulbert Financial Digest does just that—by tracking the performance of investment newsletters.
USE THE RIGHT TOOL for the job and you’ll get the best result. If you need to connect two boards, you could use a hammer and a nail or a screwdriver and a screw. Either methods work—and they’re certainly better than banging in a screw with a hammer, which I’ve seen tried. It was not effective.
Participants in 401(k) plans, alas, display similar behavior with target date funds, or TDFs. A TDF offers a diversified portfolio in a single fund,
WHEN YOU NEED expertise, you hire an expert. Water leak? Call a plumber. Electrical issue? Call an electrician. But when it’s a financial issue, the choice may not be so clear. Do you go to a CKA, a GFS or maybe a C3DWP? Chances are you haven’t heard of these designations.
I have 10 letters in my name. I also have 10 letters after my name: CPA, CISA and MBA. What do they mean?
NOTHING COMPARES to the human body when it comes to the combination of strength, flexibility and control. Build a strong core, and the possibilities are limitless. Through the discipline of Pilates, you can strengthen your core, while developing flexibility and control. It’s a wonderful tool, but one that’s underutilized.
The same can be said for health savings accounts, or HSAs, which can be funded if you have a high-deductible health plan. With an HSA,
“WE NEED TO TALK.” How many relationships have ended with those four words? They’re a verbal cue to take the news calmly and move on with life. But I would guess just as many relationships have ended without any words or possibly with harsh words. That’s what happens when we don’t talk about our relationship—or about our financial situation and financial plans.
A few years ago, my wife used those four words after I announced I was reducing our life insurance.
Comments
I have two cards, one from my credit union that I use, and one from a major bank that I use in case my credit union card is compromised. Both have a cash back feature that I use to partially pay the balance. I pay the full balance each month, pay no annual fees and enjoy the consumer protections of the card. That is as good as it gets. To earn $1,000 in cash back, I need to charge $100,000 on the card in a year. But if I carry a balance of $4,800 at 21%, I pay the bank that same $1,000. You have better odds of a financial gain at the roulette wheel.
Post: What is your credit card rewards strategy?
Link to comment from September 13, 2025
On point. Our biggest issue in the USA is the lack of political will to take action. That is always a defeating position.
Post: Does Social Security work?
Link to comment from August 30, 2025
Define "work." I would argue that as a social program to solve issues from the Great Depression it works great. Remember the beginning of Social Security was "The New Deal." SS has always been an unfunded program. The benefits for those initial beneficiaries were paid by the workforce in place. It was the OG of Keynesian stimulus programs. The SS Trust fund was built from those years where taxes on workers were more than benefits paid to beneficiaries. We have the opposite situation now. As the surplus grew, more benefits were added but not effectively included in the funding. That is the financial failure, not providing funding for new benefits.
Post: Does Social Security work?
Link to comment from August 23, 2025
I believe the math is meaningless for a comparison of annuities vs. holding your own investments, and I'm a CPA! Tell me exactly when you will die and then do the math to support the answer. The issue is your comfort with the assumption of risk. Buy an annuity and you have sold the risk. For whatever reason, some people don't want the risk, some do.
Post: Outliving Your Money? Let’s Do the Math on Annuities
Link to comment from August 16, 2025
The last time I've been in a branch of my credit union was before I moved from NJ in 2002. Since then, I have used credit at the CU to purchase several homes, cars, and an RV, and never went in a branch. This week at the Iowa State Fair, I noticed most of the merchants take cards. So do parking meters and vending machines. I can't think of a reason to go into a branch.
Post: Have you seen your money lately?
Link to comment from August 16, 2025
You might have a high-deductible G plan. So, you pay the part B deductible, $257, then Medicare pays 80%, and instead of your supplement paying the next dollar, you are responsible for the first $2,750, then the supplement kicks in. Is that what you wanted?
Post: Seeking Input on Medicare Supplement Carriers
Link to comment from August 9, 2025
Fidelity allows crypto in their plan advertising their ability to offer it to other plan sponsors. "Hey look, we have crypto and you can too!" The limitation on crypto is unique to any 401k I have ever seen, and telling of how they view the risk.
Post: Hedge funds, venture capital. private equity, etc. in a 401k. BAD IDEA!
Link to comment from August 9, 2025
I agree with you 100%. Plan sponsors have been slow to adopt annuities that were made available several years ago. I have always been an advocate for a brokerage window in the 401k. That allows a plan sponsor who has pushback from employees a method to take the risk the employees want without endorsing those risky products.
Post: Hedge funds, venture capital. private equity, etc. in a 401k. BAD IDEA!
Link to comment from August 9, 2025
Go to Medicare.gov and you can look at all the plans offered in your state. Remember that unlike health insurance for those under age 65, these plans are standardized. So a "G" plan from MOO is that same coverage as Blue Cross, or United Health care or any other company. One thing to remember is you do not have guaranteed acceptance. As a result, a new company can check your health history and change your rate for what they see. Do not cancel your existing coverage until you have a new policy in force. Also, at the bottom of that page are some tips for purchasing a Medicare supplement.
Post: Seeking Input on Medicare Supplement Carriers
Link to comment from August 2, 2025
I believe the issue of maximization of the Social Security benefit can be described as marketing. Combine fear of dying tomorrow, the distrust & dislike of government and those easily influenced see only two options; take it as early as possible and wait till you get the bigger benefit. No analysis, but conditioned greed. Rarely does either answer maximize and without knowing when you will die, the analysis to maximize is pointless.
Post: Help! Why is the total lifetime accumulated Social Security benefit more important than the monthly amount?
Link to comment from July 26, 2025