Fabulous post, thank you!
"At that point, the question isn’t “How do I maximize my retirement balance?” It’s “What is the best use of my next dollar?” My wife and I were with friends this weekend, and they asked us about when we'll take Social Security.
My wife is 7 years older than me, and I'm the main money earner.
We decided to take her Social Security at 62 years old. It's not the "100%" solution, but a "99% solution" from the calculator that's been posted here on HD.
The key for us is that we'd get the money to spend on travel when we wanted to, and can, travel. We feel this is the "best use of the next dollar".
Our mortgage is paid off, kids college is paid for.
What your article highlights, which I had not thought about, is the level of dollars in my 401k that gets you to this crossover point from “How do I maximize my retirement balance?” to “What is the best use of my next dollar?”. That was really incredibly useful.
Your suggestion on planning ahead, simplicity, connection, and individuality combined for us last week.
Our daughter has been a fan of the globally famous k-pop group BTS for a decade, and has managed to get my wife to love them too.
Me, not so much.
BTS is playing in a small number of huge stadiums in the US in September.
My daughter's job was to procure the tickets, and we told her that this was probably the only time my wife would go, so we were all in: get best available tickets, VIP, whatever was possible, and to use our credit card (daughter does not have enough credit).
Daughter miraculously secured amazing tickets.
The Simplicity was to just get tickets,whatever the cost.
I immediately booked the flights to Los Angeles and an Airbnb in Manhattan Beach for the entire week.
I am certain that the flights were not the cheapest, and the Beach Airbnb is also not, but they are locked in.
Simplicity.
With BTS tickets in hand, and flights and accommodation secured, there has been much time spent looking forward to the experience.
My daughter lives in Portland and we live in Montana, so this is a chance for my wife and daughter to connect over a shared passion.
Connection.
I get to not have to go to a BTS concert.
Individuality.
There has been an excessive amount of happiness in our home this week!
Mark, this is an excellent post. I bothered to read through all the comments, and see that the numbers in the main (first) post are not correct. Would it be possible to update them to be correct? Otherwise you have to read through the comments, in the correct order, to figure out what is going on. The problem with this is, of course, the comments then become meaningless.
As a college professor, I have my retirement funds in TIAA. They offer, I feel, something pretty close to what you've described here. A portion of my and my employer funding each month goes into a TIAA annuity fund that pays a minimum of 3% interest. As someone else here said, I see that like a bond. When I retire, I can convert that money into a variety of different types of annuity, or wait to convert. The annuitization rates are very good compared to other places if you use this fund for an annuity. I think this is a solid, sensible offering by TIAA.
All that said, TIAA also offer a "Social Choice" fund that I know a lot of my colleagues have their money in, as they believe it to be a socially responsible fund. Even after I pointed out to my colleagues that "social choice" actually means the fund is pretty heavy into McDonald's and ExxonMobil, I bet very few of them made any changes, showing that TIAA is also very good at marketing.
Jonathan, which cruise line did you take that has "access to a part of the ship with its own pool, restaurant and lounge"? We have never wanted to take a cruise, but this option might change the dynamics for us.
To be very exact on my question: If you have a 10 year Treasury bond of $120k that matures, when you "put one twelfth of the proceeds into your checking account each month" does that mean you put $12k into your checking account at the amount of $1k per month? When you "buy a new 10 year Treasury to replace the one that matured", is that a $108k bond?
Could you please do an entire separate post explaining this in more detail? : "You need to buy a 10 year Treasury bond ladder in which the value of each year is what you would obtain from a monthly annuity. Each year as a bond matures you put one twelfth of the proceeds into your checking account each month and buy a new 10 year Treasury to replace the one that matured. You invest the balance of the lump sum in some reasonable allocation plan."
I have absolutely LOVED reading this post! Thank you to all who have commented.
My list (in no particular order):
1) Membership to the local indoor pickleball courts. My wife and I play 3-5 times a week. Great exercise and social connections
2) Milk frother (from the OP!) We have two. We have a Bialetti and make our own lattes every morning.
3) Heated mugs (Nextmug from Amazon). You can take an hour to drink that amazing latte, and it never gets cold. I actually take these out with me too, as I find most places the coffee gets cold too fast
4) We live in Montana, and we now have an electric snow shovel for the front sidewalk and an electric snow blower for the back driveway. So much easier, faster, and way less chance of a back injury
5) We go to the local runners store to buy our athletic shoes. A while ago my wife bought her running shows on Amazon to save money. Ended up creating a stress fracture in her toe due to a not-so-go fit, and that cost $600 and 4 months not working out. Total waste of money saving money!
6) Costco membership. The fuel saves you a ton. I never bother to look at the price of petrol as it's always the cheapest, and, per Consumer Reports, the best. I also like to get my tires done at Costco. Way cheaper.
7) Consumer Reports subscription and the print magazine. I've found that the print magazine brings me to stuff I would never look up. Just upgraded my wife's lip balm to the "best" based on the CR reviews
8) Walmart+ membership. Didn't use it for months, but just figured that getting groceries delivered is VERY nice indeed.
9) Paying to not have to watch ads on whatever platform. Ads are awful.
10) Paying for a month on a particular streaming service for a particular show. We don't go to the movies, so spending $9 to watch amazing shows on Britbox is a steal
11) We have the Delta Reserve AmEx card. We pretty much have to fly Delta out of here, and the card gives you upgrades and, the most important part, access to the SkyClub. We just got our "complimentary" (obviously it's not, as we pay $600 for the card) free companion ticket, and we're both flying first class to Belize for Spring Break.
12) Top quality coats. Being cold is awful. Coats from Patagonia, Black Diamond and Arc'Teryx are stupidly expensive, but very light and very effective, and so very much worth it.
13) We have two old cars. Honda Ody, bought brand new 24 years ago, and now has 275k miles on it. Runs like a dream. I always buy good tires (from Costco) for it, plus have a very reliable local mechanic. The other is a 21 year old Honda Civic, just 105k miles on it. As someone else said, having two cars when at least one is old is just the right choice. Cheap to insure.
14) Good car insurance. I don't want to have an issue if there's an issue.
Comments
Fabulous post, thank you! "At that point, the question isn’t “How do I maximize my retirement balance?” It’s “What is the best use of my next dollar?” My wife and I were with friends this weekend, and they asked us about when we'll take Social Security. My wife is 7 years older than me, and I'm the main money earner. We decided to take her Social Security at 62 years old. It's not the "100%" solution, but a "99% solution" from the calculator that's been posted here on HD. The key for us is that we'd get the money to spend on travel when we wanted to, and can, travel. We feel this is the "best use of the next dollar". Our mortgage is paid off, kids college is paid for. What your article highlights, which I had not thought about, is the level of dollars in my 401k that gets you to this crossover point from “How do I maximize my retirement balance?” to “What is the best use of my next dollar?”. That was really incredibly useful.
Post: Should You Stop Contributing To Your IRA?
Link to comment from February 17, 2026
Your suggestion on planning ahead, simplicity, connection, and individuality combined for us last week. Our daughter has been a fan of the globally famous k-pop group BTS for a decade, and has managed to get my wife to love them too. Me, not so much. BTS is playing in a small number of huge stadiums in the US in September. My daughter's job was to procure the tickets, and we told her that this was probably the only time my wife would go, so we were all in: get best available tickets, VIP, whatever was possible, and to use our credit card (daughter does not have enough credit). Daughter miraculously secured amazing tickets. The Simplicity was to just get tickets,whatever the cost. I immediately booked the flights to Los Angeles and an Airbnb in Manhattan Beach for the entire week. I am certain that the flights were not the cheapest, and the Beach Airbnb is also not, but they are locked in. Simplicity. With BTS tickets in hand, and flights and accommodation secured, there has been much time spent looking forward to the experience. My daughter lives in Portland and we live in Montana, so this is a chance for my wife and daughter to connect over a shared passion. Connection. I get to not have to go to a BTS concert. Individuality. There has been an excessive amount of happiness in our home this week!
Post: Financial Happiness
Link to comment from January 26, 2026
Mark, this is an excellent post. I bothered to read through all the comments, and see that the numbers in the main (first) post are not correct. Would it be possible to update them to be correct? Otherwise you have to read through the comments, in the correct order, to figure out what is going on. The problem with this is, of course, the comments then become meaningless.
Post: Please Sir, Can I Have Some More?
Link to comment from December 23, 2025
Could someone please direct me to Jonathan's last article? The one where he mentioned at the beginning about a stone in his front garden.
Post: Information on Jonathan’s Memorial Service
Link to comment from October 3, 2025
Holliday, I would to hear more about your travels
Post: Another HD Post About Cars
Link to comment from May 31, 2025
As a college professor, I have my retirement funds in TIAA. They offer, I feel, something pretty close to what you've described here. A portion of my and my employer funding each month goes into a TIAA annuity fund that pays a minimum of 3% interest. As someone else here said, I see that like a bond. When I retire, I can convert that money into a variety of different types of annuity, or wait to convert. The annuitization rates are very good compared to other places if you use this fund for an annuity. I think this is a solid, sensible offering by TIAA. All that said, TIAA also offer a "Social Choice" fund that I know a lot of my colleagues have their money in, as they believe it to be a socially responsible fund. Even after I pointed out to my colleagues that "social choice" actually means the fund is pretty heavy into McDonald's and ExxonMobil, I bet very few of them made any changes, showing that TIAA is also very good at marketing.
Post: 401(k) participants want annuities – some form of guarantee – RDQ
Link to comment from May 25, 2025
Jonathan, which cruise line did you take that has "access to a part of the ship with its own pool, restaurant and lounge"? We have never wanted to take a cruise, but this option might change the dynamics for us.
Post: Taking on Water
Link to comment from March 22, 2025
To be very exact on my question: If you have a 10 year Treasury bond of $120k that matures, when you "put one twelfth of the proceeds into your checking account each month" does that mean you put $12k into your checking account at the amount of $1k per month? When you "buy a new 10 year Treasury to replace the one that matured", is that a $108k bond?
Post: RDQ considers: A lump sum in lieu of a pension, withdrawal strategies, annuities and other mundane decisions – good luck.
Link to comment from March 20, 2025
Could you please do an entire separate post explaining this in more detail? : "You need to buy a 10 year Treasury bond ladder in which the value of each year is what you would obtain from a monthly annuity. Each year as a bond matures you put one twelfth of the proceeds into your checking account each month and buy a new 10 year Treasury to replace the one that matured. You invest the balance of the lump sum in some reasonable allocation plan."
Post: RDQ considers: A lump sum in lieu of a pension, withdrawal strategies, annuities and other mundane decisions – good luck.
Link to comment from March 19, 2025
I have absolutely LOVED reading this post! Thank you to all who have commented. My list (in no particular order): 1) Membership to the local indoor pickleball courts. My wife and I play 3-5 times a week. Great exercise and social connections 2) Milk frother (from the OP!) We have two. We have a Bialetti and make our own lattes every morning. 3) Heated mugs (Nextmug from Amazon). You can take an hour to drink that amazing latte, and it never gets cold. I actually take these out with me too, as I find most places the coffee gets cold too fast 4) We live in Montana, and we now have an electric snow shovel for the front sidewalk and an electric snow blower for the back driveway. So much easier, faster, and way less chance of a back injury 5) We go to the local runners store to buy our athletic shoes. A while ago my wife bought her running shows on Amazon to save money. Ended up creating a stress fracture in her toe due to a not-so-go fit, and that cost $600 and 4 months not working out. Total waste of money saving money! 6) Costco membership. The fuel saves you a ton. I never bother to look at the price of petrol as it's always the cheapest, and, per Consumer Reports, the best. I also like to get my tires done at Costco. Way cheaper. 7) Consumer Reports subscription and the print magazine. I've found that the print magazine brings me to stuff I would never look up. Just upgraded my wife's lip balm to the "best" based on the CR reviews 8) Walmart+ membership. Didn't use it for months, but just figured that getting groceries delivered is VERY nice indeed. 9) Paying to not have to watch ads on whatever platform. Ads are awful. 10) Paying for a month on a particular streaming service for a particular show. We don't go to the movies, so spending $9 to watch amazing shows on Britbox is a steal 11) We have the Delta Reserve AmEx card. We pretty much have to fly Delta out of here, and the card gives you upgrades and, the most important part, access to the SkyClub. We just got our "complimentary" (obviously it's not, as we pay $600 for the card) free companion ticket, and we're both flying first class to Belize for Spring Break. 12) Top quality coats. Being cold is awful. Coats from Patagonia, Black Diamond and Arc'Teryx are stupidly expensive, but very light and very effective, and so very much worth it. 13) We have two old cars. Honda Ody, bought brand new 24 years ago, and now has 275k miles on it. Runs like a dream. I always buy good tires (from Costco) for it, plus have a very reliable local mechanic. The other is a 21 year old Honda Civic, just 105k miles on it. As someone else said, having two cars when at least one is old is just the right choice. Cheap to insure. 14) Good car insurance. I don't want to have an issue if there's an issue.
Post: What Purchases Have Been Worth It?
Link to comment from February 22, 2025