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I've been a home-based PR consultant for nearly 30 years -- now mostly for small medical device companies -- after a spectacularly undistinguished career in TV news. I live in Bremerton, Washington, where I still referee soccer, sing barbershop, perform in local theater, pump a little iron and deliver for Meals on Wheels.
Comments
I was an S Corp. My wife and I were the only two employees, and our savings vehicles were SEP-IRAs. A family accountant (actually my dad’s) set everything up in 1995 and it worked out just fine. When the state tax paperwork grew too onerous a couple of years ago, I closed the corporation and now work just as an individual.
Post: Business and Side Hustle Tax Tips
Link to comment from December 21, 2025
Perhaps, but for me, it would be hard to imagine a commentator less credible than one who has to find clients by bombarding the uninterested with direct mail.
Post: Becoming A “Bad Investor”
Link to comment from December 18, 2025
Dick, you may have overlooked the word “elevator” in my post. The location is all planned and full installation will cost less than $40,000. That’s considerably less than the cost of moving when you take in the real estate commission and all expenses. As for home maintenance, it’s a 2021-built house, so we don’t expect any major issues in the next 10 or 15 years, and we don’t have to worry about snow or leaves where we live. As you can see, we planned this out very carefully. Of course, plans can be upended – cancer taught us that – but we feel pretty comfortable with the future.
Post: Is the value of your home an important part of retirement plans?
Link to comment from November 25, 2025
The tentative plan – which if my good health holds could be 15 years off – is for my wife and her sister, who has her own nest egg, to find a place together, likely in a Buddhist community. But of course those plans could change at any point in the coming years.
Post: Is the value of your home an important part of retirement plans?
Link to comment from November 25, 2025
Good stuff, Mark. The hardest thing for most people — and a rare gift if you have it naturally — is writing the way you talk. One technique I’ve recommended for folks who find this challenging is to actually speak what you want to say into a recording device, then play it back and transcribe it. You’ll find yourself with a very rough outline of an article that actually sounds like yourself. And it overcomes the biggest obstacle for amateur writers, which is the first sentence.
Post: Short Form Writing 101
Link to comment from October 24, 2025
That is a post that needed to be very carefully worded, and it was not. It’s the responsibility of the poster to make sure it is not misunderstood.
Post: Waiting Until We Turn 70
Link to comment from October 23, 2025
Another vote for Schwab. I’ve been a customer there for 33 years. Never been anything less than delighted with their customer service. Can’t comment on QCD’s and RMD’s because I’ve never done them.
Post: Disappointed (and annoyed) with Vanguard.
Link to comment from October 22, 2025
Being childless, I never got to file as head of household until my MIL and SIL came to live with us. Now, pushing 70, I finally have dependents. You know what? It feels great.
Post: Taxpayers Say the Darndest Things
Link to comment from October 3, 2025
what a great comment.
Post: Success Has Many Flavours
Link to comment from September 24, 2025
Dana, I think this is a lovely idea for a tribute article.
Post: Thank you, Jonathan
Link to comment from September 24, 2025