Clever ideas? I'd love to see a list of all the gadgets, work-arounds, inventions and modifications of off-the-shelf products that readers of HumbleDollar have devised. My father was a gadgeteer, and his usual comment to the people at Home Depot who asked if they could help him was that he wasn't sure exactly what he was looking for, since he had to jury-rig something to achieve a unique end, and he'd know it when he saw it. I've inherited that gene. I love to tinker, and small (and large) manifestations of ideas to solve a problem fill my home. They help something work better. Some do things nothing else can do. Sometimes they even save me a lot of money.
One never stops thinking about what events and circumstances made our parents the people that they were. Those things are part of an ongoing mystery that we can't help thinking about. Over time, we discover things, or gain wisdom, and those help us unravel our relationships with them a bit. I wish I had the time now to ask my own parents all the questions I've uncovered since they died. But I can live with that. I know they loved their children, and did the best they could with the tools they had.
The advantages of a Roth are most apparent to those of us who are older and see how the gears and levers of retirement income work. However, getting to a single model would be challenging. There are too many people with too many options that would have to transition. I can think of one sweetener, but I have to say I shudder to even mention it - a government incentive for the first years one saves in whatever single model plan emerges. For example, a lower tax rate for conversion of existing IRAs and SEPs to the single Roth-type model. I shudder a bit to say that, but those are the carrots that work. And to shudder even more, maybe even a small government match (like private plans offer) for the first few years of a young person's Roth-type model plan, but one that would become fully taxable if it was withdrawn early.
Concise and valuable. The important stuff in a nutshell. The first one sort of includes "spend less and save more", but I'd make that explicit. And I might add "understand the time value of money and the power of compounding" at the end, but let's not be picky.
Nice post. The lessons I often learned from my commercial artist mother when I got up for a glass of water at 2AM as a kid and saw her still working at her drawing board, were that life requires us to put in a lot of effort to succeed, and that you alone are responsible for seeing that happens. Bless her. She never had to say a word about it to me. She showed me.
I look at this and think of how in The Godfather the Corleones moved from their shady businesses into more upstanding and socially acceptable ones, which required a lot of movement and scrubbing of money. No money laundering with Game Stop, but definitely a process to transfer the very volatile (and potentially vanishing) equity of Game Stop into something more stable, and that will deliver a better financial future for executives (and maybe shareholders, too.) Look at the deal. Part of the consideration is Game Stop stock. Would you, as a shareholder in eBay, really want that? I sure wouldn't. A good part of Game Stop risk will be transferred to eBay shareholders. This same strategy is what you can expect down the line with crypto stocks.
Great article. I also took SS at 67 (or maybe 68) - the "lost" dollars either way seemed to be insignificant and I didn't have to tap my investments the first few years (which then promptly grew tremendously with the market run-up.) I'm a big fan of blended solutions in lots of areas. I'm known in my family for that. For example, no 100% cotton or polyester shirts - I need a blended fabric of both. I've thought about a blend here, but I'm not yet sure it works. The article makes me reconsider. I'll noodle some more. Thanks.
I have a contribution question but not regarding a DAF. I am starting to make larger charitable contributions, and have a dilemma about what account of mine to use to make those contributions. I'm finding it hard to resolve. I have a very large SEP and am taking pretty large RMDs. I also have a brokerage account with one mutual fund that has grown greatly over 40 years and I have a lot of fund shares there with a very low basis. It dwarfs most of my other holdings. Is it better for me to donate from my SEP and count it toward my RMD, or is it better to donate from my mutual fund to make that fund (and my portfolio) incrementally more tax-efficient and limit the large capital gains taxes that may be looming over those low-basis shares? Last year, I donated some low-basis shares directly and took the large deduction. But this year, I'm trying to find the "optimal" answer. I don't even have a good way to start this analysis. Suggestions are welcome!
That's pretty impressive. An 80-cup Lavazza Keurig-cup box at Costco was priced at about 46 cents a cup today (I bought a box), while most supermarkets sell those cups in boxes that pencil out to more than $1.25 a cup. Coffee prices are spiking.
Comments
I'd love that if I could flip the money to a Roth.
Post: Should Retirees Get a Temporary Flat Tax Window on IRA and 401(k) Withdrawals?
Link to comment from May 25, 2026
Clever ideas? I'd love to see a list of all the gadgets, work-arounds, inventions and modifications of off-the-shelf products that readers of HumbleDollar have devised. My father was a gadgeteer, and his usual comment to the people at Home Depot who asked if they could help him was that he wasn't sure exactly what he was looking for, since he had to jury-rig something to achieve a unique end, and he'd know it when he saw it. I've inherited that gene. I love to tinker, and small (and large) manifestations of ideas to solve a problem fill my home. They help something work better. Some do things nothing else can do. Sometimes they even save me a lot of money.
Post: Lifetime Supply
Link to comment from May 23, 2026
One never stops thinking about what events and circumstances made our parents the people that they were. Those things are part of an ongoing mystery that we can't help thinking about. Over time, we discover things, or gain wisdom, and those help us unravel our relationships with them a bit. I wish I had the time now to ask my own parents all the questions I've uncovered since they died. But I can live with that. I know they loved their children, and did the best they could with the tools they had.
Post: My Father: The Peace He Never Found
Link to comment from May 23, 2026
The advantages of a Roth are most apparent to those of us who are older and see how the gears and levers of retirement income work. However, getting to a single model would be challenging. There are too many people with too many options that would have to transition. I can think of one sweetener, but I have to say I shudder to even mention it - a government incentive for the first years one saves in whatever single model plan emerges. For example, a lower tax rate for conversion of existing IRAs and SEPs to the single Roth-type model. I shudder a bit to say that, but those are the carrots that work. And to shudder even more, maybe even a small government match (like private plans offer) for the first few years of a young person's Roth-type model plan, but one that would become fully taxable if it was withdrawn early.
Post: Time to scrap IRAs, 401k, 403b and all the rest
Link to comment from May 23, 2026
Concise and valuable. The important stuff in a nutshell. The first one sort of includes "spend less and save more", but I'd make that explicit. And I might add "understand the time value of money and the power of compounding" at the end, but let's not be picky.
Post: Jonathan’s Advice for 2026 Graduates
Link to comment from May 10, 2026
Nice post. The lessons I often learned from my commercial artist mother when I got up for a glass of water at 2AM as a kid and saw her still working at her drawing board, were that life requires us to put in a lot of effort to succeed, and that you alone are responsible for seeing that happens. Bless her. She never had to say a word about it to me. She showed me.
Post: Sundry Memories of Mom
Link to comment from May 9, 2026
I look at this and think of how in The Godfather the Corleones moved from their shady businesses into more upstanding and socially acceptable ones, which required a lot of movement and scrubbing of money. No money laundering with Game Stop, but definitely a process to transfer the very volatile (and potentially vanishing) equity of Game Stop into something more stable, and that will deliver a better financial future for executives (and maybe shareholders, too.) Look at the deal. Part of the consideration is Game Stop stock. Would you, as a shareholder in eBay, really want that? I sure wouldn't. A good part of Game Stop risk will be transferred to eBay shareholders. This same strategy is what you can expect down the line with crypto stocks.
Post: Pricing the Impossible
Link to comment from May 9, 2026
Great article. I also took SS at 67 (or maybe 68) - the "lost" dollars either way seemed to be insignificant and I didn't have to tap my investments the first few years (which then promptly grew tremendously with the market run-up.) I'm a big fan of blended solutions in lots of areas. I'm known in my family for that. For example, no 100% cotton or polyester shirts - I need a blended fabric of both. I've thought about a blend here, but I'm not yet sure it works. The article makes me reconsider. I'll noodle some more. Thanks.
Post: Why I use a Donor-Advised Fund
Link to comment from April 26, 2026
I have a contribution question but not regarding a DAF. I am starting to make larger charitable contributions, and have a dilemma about what account of mine to use to make those contributions. I'm finding it hard to resolve. I have a very large SEP and am taking pretty large RMDs. I also have a brokerage account with one mutual fund that has grown greatly over 40 years and I have a lot of fund shares there with a very low basis. It dwarfs most of my other holdings. Is it better for me to donate from my SEP and count it toward my RMD, or is it better to donate from my mutual fund to make that fund (and my portfolio) incrementally more tax-efficient and limit the large capital gains taxes that may be looming over those low-basis shares? Last year, I donated some low-basis shares directly and took the large deduction. But this year, I'm trying to find the "optimal" answer. I don't even have a good way to start this analysis. Suggestions are welcome!
Post: Why I use a Donor-Advised Fund
Link to comment from April 25, 2026
That's pretty impressive. An 80-cup Lavazza Keurig-cup box at Costco was priced at about 46 cents a cup today (I bought a box), while most supermarkets sell those cups in boxes that pencil out to more than $1.25 a cup. Coffee prices are spiking.
Post: Penny Wise, Pound Foolish
Link to comment from April 19, 2026