I was an executor of all four of my grandparents estates and helped my mom with my dad's estate and my wife with her dad's estate. All in NYS. In all but one case, due to a difficult family member, probate took less than nine months and we paid attorneys by the hour. We saved some money by my dealing with the financial institutions that didn't need to be prodded by a dunning letter on attorney's stationary. What made this possible was all the papers were in order and no one contested anything.
I agree with this sentiment, but with a quibble. We need to stop blaming Congress alone for spending as they always do and hold the executive branch accountable too.
Mandatory withdrawals are a problem. Let's say you have $350k in standard investment and bank accounts. Why should you have to withdraw anything from the $800k in retirement accounts? Just let it grow.
The match is precisely what got me into the 403(b) plan.
My supervisor told me the match was free money and I needed to arrange my finances to take it. I was hesitant because I was getting paid so little, which he acknowledged, but he was right. (He also helped me get two 10% raises the next and following years.)
He wasn't a perfect supervisor, but I must thank him for this advice. He's retiring this year, and I bet he has a really big 403(b) balance.
I like the idea of a single Roth type account.
What I find most difficult of 403(b) and IRA accounts is the mandatory withdrawals.
Let's compare from the gov't point of view.
With a Roth, the gov't gets taxes up front, but has no chance to collect a lot more later. Gov't has an incentive to keep the latter plans which tax the gains, especially when they beat inflation.
I'm glad to see an article about this in HumbleDollar. I've been mentioning it in comments for at least two years. Deficit spending has gotten crazy out of control. It's like meme stock valuations. At long as people believe in the dollar, we're ok, but both the numbers and political chaos make it difficult to believe we're having rational discussions about whether interest rates are good around 3.5% or 4.25%. I remember double-digit inflation and I find it incredible that it hasn't come back given the amount of money the gov't is throwing at all sorts of ad hoc programs while cutting much less, by orders of magnitude, programs which help people and pump capital back into markets, like SNAP.
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.
Comments
When I think of net worth and buckets, I look at what is taxable and what isn't. Anything taxable is discounted by the estimated tax rate.
Post: Bucket Strategy
Link to comment from June 7, 2026
I was an executor of all four of my grandparents estates and helped my mom with my dad's estate and my wife with her dad's estate. All in NYS. In all but one case, due to a difficult family member, probate took less than nine months and we paid attorneys by the hour. We saved some money by my dealing with the financial institutions that didn't need to be prodded by a dunning letter on attorney's stationary. What made this possible was all the papers were in order and no one contested anything.
Post: The Financial Stress a Simple Document Could Have Prevented
Link to comment from May 30, 2026
I agree with this sentiment, but with a quibble. We need to stop blaming Congress alone for spending as they always do and hold the executive branch accountable too.
Post: Should Retirees Get a Temporary Flat Tax Window on IRA and 401(k) Withdrawals?
Link to comment from May 23, 2026
Mandatory withdrawals are a problem. Let's say you have $350k in standard investment and bank accounts. Why should you have to withdraw anything from the $800k in retirement accounts? Just let it grow.
Post: Should Retirees Get a Temporary Flat Tax Window on IRA and 401(k) Withdrawals?
Link to comment from May 23, 2026
And the financial industry lobbyists who draft the legislation that Congress enacts.
Post: Time to scrap IRAs, 401k, 403b and all the rest
Link to comment from May 23, 2026
The match is precisely what got me into the 403(b) plan. My supervisor told me the match was free money and I needed to arrange my finances to take it. I was hesitant because I was getting paid so little, which he acknowledged, but he was right. (He also helped me get two 10% raises the next and following years.) He wasn't a perfect supervisor, but I must thank him for this advice. He's retiring this year, and I bet he has a really big 403(b) balance.
Post: Time to scrap IRAs, 401k, 403b and all the rest
Link to comment from May 23, 2026
I like the idea of a single Roth type account. What I find most difficult of 403(b) and IRA accounts is the mandatory withdrawals. Let's compare from the gov't point of view. With a Roth, the gov't gets taxes up front, but has no chance to collect a lot more later. Gov't has an incentive to keep the latter plans which tax the gains, especially when they beat inflation.
Post: Time to scrap IRAs, 401k, 403b and all the rest
Link to comment from May 23, 2026
I'm glad to see an article about this in HumbleDollar. I've been mentioning it in comments for at least two years. Deficit spending has gotten crazy out of control. It's like meme stock valuations. At long as people believe in the dollar, we're ok, but both the numbers and political chaos make it difficult to believe we're having rational discussions about whether interest rates are good around 3.5% or 4.25%. I remember double-digit inflation and I find it incredible that it hasn't come back given the amount of money the gov't is throwing at all sorts of ad hoc programs while cutting much less, by orders of magnitude, programs which help people and pump capital back into markets, like SNAP.
Post: Inflation and Innovation
Link to comment from May 23, 2026
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