Having too much stuff can be like a boat anchor, I know, I have several. Now in retirement, one of my goals is to reduce the size and how many I have. Having less stuff is also less for other people to steal. Last year my garage was broken into and I loss over $2000 in cordless power tools and batteries.
I sent check thru the mail to missionary group down south who had an urgent need. I sent it certified with a return receipt. Over the years it was my experience that certified mail received special handling and usually arrived before first class. This time tracking showed it arrived at a post office close to the missionary offices and was just sitting there. I finally went down to the main post office here in Milwaukee and asked what was going on. The counter people gave me a local customer service number to contact. I talked to a very nice lady who said she would call down to the post office and ask them to send it along. It was delivered the next day. I was thinking, why couldn't they do that themselves? I've also given up sending magazine subscription renewal checks to anywhere in the New York/New Jersey area. They never arrive and are never cashed. It's like they disappear into a black hole.
I retired three years ago. A couple of years before retiring I thought about how much I needed to retire. I came to conclusion I needed to replace my take home pay, not my gross. By taking a pension instead of a lump sum and waiting until my full social security age I was able to replace 95% of my take home pay which is what you really live on. It worked because when retired you're no longer paying SS taxes, my state, Wisconsin, doesn't tax SS benefits, and federal taxes are lower also. I was lucky to have a pension option but for people who don't things are different.
Those big drops are the time to buy (stocks on sale). Portfolio diversity is the way to plan for large drops. It's very rare that everything is down at the same time. Even with index funds you need to diversify to funds that cover different market sectors and countries.
100%, it really wasn't that hard, pretty basic stuff. To figure the compound interest just keep multiplying by 1.02 five separate times. It's sad that the average is only 29%. Those questions are something everyone should know the correct answers to by the time they graduate from high school Everyone should be required to take a course in basic finical concepts. They should know how to by a car with a loan, a house with a mortgage, setting up a budget (the less you make the more important it is to have a budget), the difference between a collage loan and a grant, etc....
It's been my experience that when you can't find new aftermarket parts and start resorting to salvage yards that's the time to make a change. I have a 96 Chevy Lumina minivan with 318K miles that I like a lot but it needs a new windshield. All the windshields that windshield replacement companies said they had all turned out to be bad, now my only source is a windshield from a salvage yard. The catch is that none of the windshield replacement shops will install an owner supplied windshield (beats me why not). I'm left to replacing it myself (youtube video's). I'm still keeping the van but went out and paid cash for a new 2025 Honda Ridgeline truck. The plan is to have a shop do a partial restoral on the van to have frame rust (Which is causing the body to twist and flex) fixed before I try the windshield replacement.
Stock valuations are high because they've been artificially boosted by the massive increase of the money supply by the Federal Reserve. This was started during the 2008 finical crisis and expanded during the pandemic.
After doing a lot of research before retiring in 2022, almost all the finical advisors advised to wait until 70 if possible to get that extra 8% increase per year. There were a few that said only do that if you're married because your wife will get benefits from your account. If single, don't wait longer than your full benefit age because if you die, your SS money goes right back into the SS money pool. Since I never married I retired at my full retirement age, 66 and seven months. When I did the math, waiting until 70 wouldn't have made that much difference anyway. An extra 15 or 20 dollars per month.
The under 40 act like they are the only generation to have a hard time. I was born in 1956, the oldest of 6 kids (4 boys, 2 girls). Myself and my bothers and sisters all had to get newspaper delivery routes when we were in junior high school in the middle 1960's. That was so we could pay for our own school books. Although my dad had a good paying united auto workers job with American Motors, he had to get an additional part time job to support his stay at home wife and 6 children. I graduated from high school in 1974. Twice over the next 20 years I lost good paying factory jobs because of bad recessions in 1975 and 1980 and had to start over. Under 40's also seem to think the government is supposed to protect them from making bad choices. They take out school loans with no regard to the amount or if the collage degree they are after will lead to a good enough job to let them pay back the loan. They complain they can't find a house and that interest rates are too high. Most won't buy a fixer upper. I lived at home until I was 35 and had saved enough for a 10% down payment for a house. My first and only house was a fixer upper that I could afford in a run down but up and coming neighborhood. I thought I was lucky to get a mortgage with an interest rate of "only" 8% on a 15 year loan in 1992. In 7 years I had paid off the loan and when I retired 3 years ago had no debt hanging over my head.
I saw too many people who retired before me get into trouble with their lump sum. During my retirement research almost every financial advisor recommended a pension (which most companies don't have anymore) over a lump sum. The company I retired from, AT&T, has been doing very well lately. The stock is at a several year high (even last week it was one of the few stocks that were up). I checked before I retired, the pension fund was almost fully funded, and that was when the stock price was at a low. They've also been paying down debt. The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is there as a backdrop. My pension is well below legal maximum that they guarantee. Nothing is 100% safe but I sleep a lot sounder with my pension instead of a lump sum.
Comments
Having too much stuff can be like a boat anchor, I know, I have several. Now in retirement, one of my goals is to reduce the size and how many I have. Having less stuff is also less for other people to steal. Last year my garage was broken into and I loss over $2000 in cordless power tools and batteries.
Post: Frugality, Minimalism, and Aligning Values
Link to comment from August 30, 2025
I sent check thru the mail to missionary group down south who had an urgent need. I sent it certified with a return receipt. Over the years it was my experience that certified mail received special handling and usually arrived before first class. This time tracking showed it arrived at a post office close to the missionary offices and was just sitting there. I finally went down to the main post office here in Milwaukee and asked what was going on. The counter people gave me a local customer service number to contact. I talked to a very nice lady who said she would call down to the post office and ask them to send it along. It was delivered the next day. I was thinking, why couldn't they do that themselves? I've also given up sending magazine subscription renewal checks to anywhere in the New York/New Jersey area. They never arrive and are never cashed. It's like they disappear into a black hole.
Post: A Record Journey
Link to comment from August 23, 2025
I retired three years ago. A couple of years before retiring I thought about how much I needed to retire. I came to conclusion I needed to replace my take home pay, not my gross. By taking a pension instead of a lump sum and waiting until my full social security age I was able to replace 95% of my take home pay which is what you really live on. It worked because when retired you're no longer paying SS taxes, my state, Wisconsin, doesn't tax SS benefits, and federal taxes are lower also. I was lucky to have a pension option but for people who don't things are different.
Post: 100% Base Pay Replacement: What Does It Mean?
Link to comment from July 26, 2025
Those big drops are the time to buy (stocks on sale). Portfolio diversity is the way to plan for large drops. It's very rare that everything is down at the same time. Even with index funds you need to diversify to funds that cover different market sectors and countries.
Post: Going to Extremes
Link to comment from July 26, 2025
100%, it really wasn't that hard, pretty basic stuff. To figure the compound interest just keep multiplying by 1.02 five separate times. It's sad that the average is only 29%. Those questions are something everyone should know the correct answers to by the time they graduate from high school Everyone should be required to take a course in basic finical concepts. They should know how to by a car with a loan, a house with a mortgage, setting up a budget (the less you make the more important it is to have a budget), the difference between a collage loan and a grant, etc....
Post: I’m Guessing Most HD Readers Will Score 100%
Link to comment from May 31, 2025
It's been my experience that when you can't find new aftermarket parts and start resorting to salvage yards that's the time to make a change. I have a 96 Chevy Lumina minivan with 318K miles that I like a lot but it needs a new windshield. All the windshields that windshield replacement companies said they had all turned out to be bad, now my only source is a windshield from a salvage yard. The catch is that none of the windshield replacement shops will install an owner supplied windshield (beats me why not). I'm left to replacing it myself (youtube video's). I'm still keeping the van but went out and paid cash for a new 2025 Honda Ridgeline truck. The plan is to have a shop do a partial restoral on the van to have frame rust (Which is causing the body to twist and flex) fixed before I try the windshield replacement.
Post: How have you decided when it’s worth it to fix an old car?
Link to comment from May 24, 2025
Stock valuations are high because they've been artificially boosted by the massive increase of the money supply by the Federal Reserve. This was started during the 2008 finical crisis and expanded during the pandemic.
Post: Ignore Valuations?
Link to comment from May 24, 2025
After doing a lot of research before retiring in 2022, almost all the finical advisors advised to wait until 70 if possible to get that extra 8% increase per year. There were a few that said only do that if you're married because your wife will get benefits from your account. If single, don't wait longer than your full benefit age because if you die, your SS money goes right back into the SS money pool. Since I never married I retired at my full retirement age, 66 and seven months. When I did the math, waiting until 70 wouldn't have made that much difference anyway. An extra 15 or 20 dollars per month.
Post: Breaking even? Why should anyone care? I don’t
Link to comment from May 18, 2025
The under 40 act like they are the only generation to have a hard time. I was born in 1956, the oldest of 6 kids (4 boys, 2 girls). Myself and my bothers and sisters all had to get newspaper delivery routes when we were in junior high school in the middle 1960's. That was so we could pay for our own school books. Although my dad had a good paying united auto workers job with American Motors, he had to get an additional part time job to support his stay at home wife and 6 children. I graduated from high school in 1974. Twice over the next 20 years I lost good paying factory jobs because of bad recessions in 1975 and 1980 and had to start over. Under 40's also seem to think the government is supposed to protect them from making bad choices. They take out school loans with no regard to the amount or if the collage degree they are after will lead to a good enough job to let them pay back the loan. They complain they can't find a house and that interest rates are too high. Most won't buy a fixer upper. I lived at home until I was 35 and had saved enough for a 10% down payment for a house. My first and only house was a fixer upper that I could afford in a run down but up and coming neighborhood. I thought I was lucky to get a mortgage with an interest rate of "only" 8% on a 15 year loan in 1992. In 7 years I had paid off the loan and when I retired 3 years ago had no debt hanging over my head.
Post: Generational Perspective
Link to comment from May 10, 2025
I saw too many people who retired before me get into trouble with their lump sum. During my retirement research almost every financial advisor recommended a pension (which most companies don't have anymore) over a lump sum. The company I retired from, AT&T, has been doing very well lately. The stock is at a several year high (even last week it was one of the few stocks that were up). I checked before I retired, the pension fund was almost fully funded, and that was when the stock price was at a low. They've also been paying down debt. The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is there as a backdrop. My pension is well below legal maximum that they guarantee. Nothing is 100% safe but I sleep a lot sounder with my pension instead of a lump sum.
Post: Tariffs and our retirement assets
Link to comment from April 5, 2025