Condolences to your wife. There is no mistaking the knot in one's stomach when employment is suddenly ended, irrespective of age, stage of life or financial position. It's always a bad feeling, and instinctive financial concern is only part of it. Your wife will be feeling rejected and very much off-kilter as well. Best to you both as you navigate this choppy surf. I found volunteer work to be a welcome palliative.
The decision for me, a soccer fanatic, will be tickets to the World Cup this summer. I am looking out my deck window at the Seattle skyline, and if I had my binocs handy I could see the stadium where the games will be played. I know it'll drive me nuts if the games are going on and I'm not there. But the prices are insane. $800 for the top corner of the stadium. $4500 for the good seats. Times 2 if I take my nephew. Crazy.
Another perspective on paying out a big lump of cash is celebrating your ability to do it without negatively impacting your life in any way. You've worked hard and invested properly just so you could do this. So don't sweat it... savor it. Even strut a bit. You deserve to.
I did have a HELOC set up for emergencies, and at one point I was able to tap it at a moment of extreme stress, so it was worth it. But it's no longer needed.
That's exactly what we have planned for when I can no longer make the stairs, hopefully not for another 15 years but you never know. We've had the contractor out already and we know where the elevator will go -- into a corner of the dining room and up through the floor to the third bedroom. We figure $40K (we've been given that price too) is a wonderful alternative to moving out to someplace else. Other than a few bathroom handrails, the house is AIP-ready.
As usual when this subject comes up, I'm on the minority side of the argument, but I love my low-rate mortgage. My cash being readily accessible instead of being trapped in the walls of my house is what gives me peace of mind. A couple of times in my life I've needed a whole lot of money very quickly, and had to get a HELOC or a 2nd to access it -- a miserable experience. The last time it happened I had the cash at hand, and it was the one element of relief in a terribly stressful situation. My wife is like yours regarding debt, Mark, and I would certainly pay 8 grand to make her happy, but she grudgingly admits that she likes the look of our account balances and wouldn't want to pay off our mortgage with that money. She'll comfortably take care of it when she sells the house.
I love this article, Dick, because my patience with detail is on a par with yours -- nonexistent. The difference is that I once still fancied myself a pretty good stock investor despite that character flaw, which means it's an absolute miracle I didn't bankrupt myself two or three times over with my inadequately researched, quick-trigger stock buys. I look back at my year-end summaries from two decades ago and see a dozen stocks and funds I can't even identify, let alone remember buying and selling. I lost all interest in individual stocks quite abruptly when I got sick. I moved most of what I had into robo-investing vehicles (Wealthfront and Betterment) that my wife could easily understand and could handle comfortably after my departure. And when the departure didn't happen, I had zero urge to resume my evil ways. Being cured also cured me of active investing. I still have one stock and one active equity fund, but the rest is in the robos.
Comments
My alternate headline would be, "If you have done well, be grateful."
Post: If you have done well, be proud.
Link to comment from February 17, 2026
As always, Dennis, your courage in sharing your deepest feelings and emotions is impressive. Many thanks.
Post: Value of Waiting
Link to comment from February 8, 2026
I'm curious as to how that works. I've submitted a couple of things to Bogdan and never even received a reply. They must have been awful.
Post: Value of Waiting
Link to comment from February 8, 2026
Condolences to your wife. There is no mistaking the knot in one's stomach when employment is suddenly ended, irrespective of age, stage of life or financial position. It's always a bad feeling, and instinctive financial concern is only part of it. Your wife will be feeling rejected and very much off-kilter as well. Best to you both as you navigate this choppy surf. I found volunteer work to be a welcome palliative.
Post: Laid Off
Link to comment from February 6, 2026
The decision for me, a soccer fanatic, will be tickets to the World Cup this summer. I am looking out my deck window at the Seattle skyline, and if I had my binocs handy I could see the stadium where the games will be played. I know it'll drive me nuts if the games are going on and I'm not there. But the prices are insane. $800 for the top corner of the stadium. $4500 for the good seats. Times 2 if I take my nephew. Crazy.
Post: Money to burn?
Link to comment from January 26, 2026
Another perspective on paying out a big lump of cash is celebrating your ability to do it without negatively impacting your life in any way. You've worked hard and invested properly just so you could do this. So don't sweat it... savor it. Even strut a bit. You deserve to.
Post: 3:26 AM: The Arithmetic of Anxiety (A Sleepless Night)
Link to comment from January 26, 2026
I did have a HELOC set up for emergencies, and at one point I was able to tap it at a moment of extreme stress, so it was worth it. But it's no longer needed.
Post: Advice I give to anyone who’ll listen!
Link to comment from January 25, 2026
That's exactly what we have planned for when I can no longer make the stairs, hopefully not for another 15 years but you never know. We've had the contractor out already and we know where the elevator will go -- into a corner of the dining room and up through the floor to the third bedroom. We figure $40K (we've been given that price too) is a wonderful alternative to moving out to someplace else. Other than a few bathroom handrails, the house is AIP-ready.
Post: “Too Much House” vs “Not Enough House”—But Through the Lens of Aging in Place
Link to comment from January 21, 2026
As usual when this subject comes up, I'm on the minority side of the argument, but I love my low-rate mortgage. My cash being readily accessible instead of being trapped in the walls of my house is what gives me peace of mind. A couple of times in my life I've needed a whole lot of money very quickly, and had to get a HELOC or a 2nd to access it -- a miserable experience. The last time it happened I had the cash at hand, and it was the one element of relief in a terribly stressful situation. My wife is like yours regarding debt, Mark, and I would certainly pay 8 grand to make her happy, but she grudgingly admits that she likes the look of our account balances and wouldn't want to pay off our mortgage with that money. She'll comfortably take care of it when she sells the house.
Post: The $8,000 Cost of Peace of Mind
Link to comment from January 20, 2026
I love this article, Dick, because my patience with detail is on a par with yours -- nonexistent. The difference is that I once still fancied myself a pretty good stock investor despite that character flaw, which means it's an absolute miracle I didn't bankrupt myself two or three times over with my inadequately researched, quick-trigger stock buys. I look back at my year-end summaries from two decades ago and see a dozen stocks and funds I can't even identify, let alone remember buying and selling. I lost all interest in individual stocks quite abruptly when I got sick. I moved most of what I had into robo-investing vehicles (Wealthfront and Betterment) that my wife could easily understand and could handle comfortably after my departure. And when the departure didn't happen, I had zero urge to resume my evil ways. Being cured also cured me of active investing. I still have one stock and one active equity fund, but the rest is in the robos.
Post: Are you an investor?
Link to comment from January 20, 2026