We've discussed this before. When my wife, who is a few years older than I am, went to college, she was able to pay her way through college with restaurant jobs. When our kids were in college a decade ago, this was not possible.
Wages have stagnated.
College costs increased far greater than standard consumer inflation. As for this story, there are far fewer small businesses now which build employee relationships. Especially drug stores.
This is a great story. Thank you for posting it.
Your 4 points are consistent with how we run a service for researchers at a university. Networking is especially critical. People come to us because we get the job done. Or when we don't know how to get it done, we know who to ask or who to send them to.
Do mortgage brokers consider retirement accounts assets for the purpose of loan eligibility or interest rates?
If it's not useful for this, it's a strong argument that it's not even paper wealth; it's deferred wealth.
So Cohen went on TV and said he plans to fire thousands of eBay employees. What makes him think that if the deal is completed Gamestop will get access to what makes eBay run smoothly?
Some would say that my attitude towards points is throwing away opportunity or money. I have no patience for tracking points and always take them as cash. I sometimes use airline points to buy tickets, but not always.
And for theater, I buy the aisle seats with an unobstructed view for my wife. So no discounts there.
I really enjoyed this article.
As my wife is getting pushed to retire from a job she loves and it excellent at, I worry about the psychological impacts.
This article also hit home https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7607397/ as this happened to me when I lost a job in the first decade of the century. How can we prepare for the inevitable (loss of the job) to avoid the inevitable (a negative reaction)?
You also raise important issues about new management and software (dashboards) taking hold across most of healthcare.
What causes a stock market crisis?
Would a high concentration of ownership constitute this?
One high concentration we've discussed is index funds.
Another we haven't discussed are individuals and their trusts owning too much. For instance, it is estimated that the wealthiest 10% of Americans own 87% of stocks. Perhaps this isn't a problem because there are a lot of us in the top 10%. But what about the top 1% owning approximately half of all stocks. Is this a danger to the rest of us.
And more to the question at the beginning of the article, how can the market be fairly priced with such a high concentration of stocks in so few hands?
I continue to buy stocks because I figure that we're riding on the coattails of wealthier more powerful people who are playing hard to increase their wealth by investing ins stocks, but I'm also concerned.
Primary purpose is shelter, but this is a bit simplistic. Other things we value about our house:
Within a walkable mile of public transportation into NYC. Decent local bus routes just three blocks away.
Ample parking.
Same walkable range to two different downtowns including one high end supermarket, restaurants, places of worship (which host nonreligious community events as well), decent schools, parks, libraries, etc.
Neighbors who are community. My kids have different views of what dream house means.(This may be an article someday.) Then there is the issue of maintenance vs appreciation. As a proportion to house value, our property taxes have dropped, but they do increase every year. Homeowner's insurance, on the other hand, has soared. We just signed a contract for a $13.5k plumbing repair. In 2020 we spent $30k on a detatched garage repair (the foundation was crumbling on 2 sides and needed a new door and electrical servive.) We need outdoor painting every ten years. I could continue, but you get the point. If something goes very wrong in a rental, you move. If something goes wrong in an owned property, you better be insured for it with a company that pays out.
Yes.
1. Half our assets are in CDs and Treasuries precisely because the stock market can dip (or crash) at any time. But other conditions may lead to lasting (hyper)inflation, something we didn't worry about until a few years ago.
2. We try to avoid politics on this site, but we cannot ignore direct indications from the gov't that SS and Medicare could be at risk.
3. My dad's cancer drug infusions cost more than the new 45 foot sailboat he purchased after the first treatments worked. A lot of medical care is not covered by insurance. I read that people have years of cash stashed away, but what if care costs 1.5 years of this or you need LTC at 3x your calculated budget.per year?
4. An assumption made by many is that expenses go down in retirement. I expect my spending to increase. I spend so much time doing an interesting job that I don't have have time to spend. But I see retirement as a time to stay as busy, but have to pay for it. Or I expect to have grandkids a few hours away by plane, so that might mean an additional household and a lot of travel. And a lot of travel regardless. I see opportunities to spend a lot more.
Comments
We've discussed this before. When my wife, who is a few years older than I am, went to college, she was able to pay her way through college with restaurant jobs. When our kids were in college a decade ago, this was not possible. Wages have stagnated. College costs increased far greater than standard consumer inflation. As for this story, there are far fewer small businesses now which build employee relationships. Especially drug stores.
Post: First Job, Lasting Impact
Link to comment from May 16, 2026
This is a great story. Thank you for posting it. Your 4 points are consistent with how we run a service for researchers at a university. Networking is especially critical. People come to us because we get the job done. Or when we don't know how to get it done, we know who to ask or who to send them to.
Post: First Job, Lasting Impact
Link to comment from May 16, 2026
Do mortgage brokers consider retirement accounts assets for the purpose of loan eligibility or interest rates? If it's not useful for this, it's a strong argument that it's not even paper wealth; it's deferred wealth.
Post: Retirement Accounts
Link to comment from May 16, 2026
So Cohen went on TV and said he plans to fire thousands of eBay employees. What makes him think that if the deal is completed Gamestop will get access to what makes eBay run smoothly?
Post: Pricing the Impossible
Link to comment from May 9, 2026
Some would say that my attitude towards points is throwing away opportunity or money. I have no patience for tracking points and always take them as cash. I sometimes use airline points to buy tickets, but not always. And for theater, I buy the aisle seats with an unobstructed view for my wife. So no discounts there.
Post: Penny Wise, Pound Foolish
Link to comment from April 19, 2026
I really enjoyed this article. As my wife is getting pushed to retire from a job she loves and it excellent at, I worry about the psychological impacts. This article also hit home https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7607397/ as this happened to me when I lost a job in the first decade of the century. How can we prepare for the inevitable (loss of the job) to avoid the inevitable (a negative reaction)? You also raise important issues about new management and software (dashboards) taking hold across most of healthcare.
Post: A Bit More Humble
Link to comment from April 19, 2026
What causes a stock market crisis? Would a high concentration of ownership constitute this? One high concentration we've discussed is index funds. Another we haven't discussed are individuals and their trusts owning too much. For instance, it is estimated that the wealthiest 10% of Americans own 87% of stocks. Perhaps this isn't a problem because there are a lot of us in the top 10%. But what about the top 1% owning approximately half of all stocks. Is this a danger to the rest of us. And more to the question at the beginning of the article, how can the market be fairly priced with such a high concentration of stocks in so few hands? I continue to buy stocks because I figure that we're riding on the coattails of wealthier more powerful people who are playing hard to increase their wealth by investing ins stocks, but I'm also concerned.
Post: Staying Rational
Link to comment from April 19, 2026
Primary purpose is shelter, but this is a bit simplistic. Other things we value about our house: Within a walkable mile of public transportation into NYC. Decent local bus routes just three blocks away. Ample parking. Same walkable range to two different downtowns including one high end supermarket, restaurants, places of worship (which host nonreligious community events as well), decent schools, parks, libraries, etc. Neighbors who are community. My kids have different views of what dream house means.(This may be an article someday.) Then there is the issue of maintenance vs appreciation. As a proportion to house value, our property taxes have dropped, but they do increase every year. Homeowner's insurance, on the other hand, has soared. We just signed a contract for a $13.5k plumbing repair. In 2020 we spent $30k on a detatched garage repair (the foundation was crumbling on 2 sides and needed a new door and electrical servive.) We need outdoor painting every ten years. I could continue, but you get the point. If something goes very wrong in a rental, you move. If something goes wrong in an owned property, you better be insured for it with a company that pays out.
Post: Giving Up on Owning a Home
Link to comment from April 5, 2026
Yes. 1. Half our assets are in CDs and Treasuries precisely because the stock market can dip (or crash) at any time. But other conditions may lead to lasting (hyper)inflation, something we didn't worry about until a few years ago. 2. We try to avoid politics on this site, but we cannot ignore direct indications from the gov't that SS and Medicare could be at risk. 3. My dad's cancer drug infusions cost more than the new 45 foot sailboat he purchased after the first treatments worked. A lot of medical care is not covered by insurance. I read that people have years of cash stashed away, but what if care costs 1.5 years of this or you need LTC at 3x your calculated budget.per year? 4. An assumption made by many is that expenses go down in retirement. I expect my spending to increase. I spend so much time doing an interesting job that I don't have have time to spend. But I see retirement as a time to stay as busy, but have to pay for it. Or I expect to have grandkids a few hours away by plane, so that might mean an additional household and a lot of travel. And a lot of travel regardless. I see opportunities to spend a lot more.
Post: Any concern?
Link to comment from April 4, 2026
On the other hand, Elaine's request is that we contribute to the site. I think the issue isn't number of posts but type of posts.
Post: Note to HD Writers and Contributors
Link to comment from April 4, 2026