normr60189

Comments

• I'd agree it isn't about when one gets up. It is about what one does once they are up. How long does it take to get moving and begin working? Some people are able to begin working 15 minutes upon waking. Others are drowsy for a period of time. We are all different. At the end of the day I'd guess what matters is how many hours in that day were we truly effective.

  Post: Traits of “successful” people

  Link to comment from September 29, 2025

• "The poster child of hype, bitcoin treasury company Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), has recently been valued at more than three times its bitcoin holdings. Greater fools indeed. Now it’s 1.3 times. What happens if bitcoin sells off and then marginal holders and ETF funds start dumping? The train runs in reverse, with Strategy likely valued at half or less of its bitcoin holdings’ value. Could get ugly." - Andy Kessler at the WSJ.

  Post: Why Bitcoin?

  Link to comment from September 29, 2025

• I still have a few Lira in a drawer, Riyals and a few odd European coins, too. Detritus from the past. The Riyals are still worth something.

  Post: Memories With a Cold Spanish Beer

  Link to comment from September 29, 2025

• I'd add "Learn to effectively prioritize tasks" and "Take on certain tasks at the time of the day when mental prowess is peak." For some of us, this occurs in the morning and for others it is not. I'm usually most productive in the morning and my efficiency falls off later in the day. However, when I attended night school I burned the candle at both ends. Ditto for when I began my business; it was a "side hustle" 55 years before anyone called it that.

  Post: Traits of “successful” people

  Link to comment from September 28, 2025

• More than you might think. It doesn't always take a lot of money. Watch the documentary "Hoop Dreams".

  Post: Throw, hit or kick … it all add$ up

  Link to comment from September 28, 2025

• I should add that the "specialized sports training camp" for pole vaulting lessons was in Iowa, some distance away. The alumni association had decided to invest in a new pole purchased specifically for my son. Besides, I didn't want him to kill himself in this endeavor. Vaulting is not without risks.

  Post: Throw, hit or kick … it all add$ up

  Link to comment from September 28, 2025

• With two choices, it is either-or and the odds are 50/50. "He who hesitates is lost", but "Look before you leap." In 2018 Ben Carlson wrote an article: A Lost Decade of Dollar Cost Averaging. "Investors who dutifully put money into the stock market on a periodic basis over the decade ended in 2009 would have felt dejected when looking at their statements. If you started dollar cost averaging $500/month into the S&P 500 in January of 2000, by December of 2009 you would have invested $60,000 in total. This strategy would have netted you a whopping $64k and change, not much more than the amount saved. By way of comparison, simply investing that same $500/month in one-month t-bills would have given you more than $67k." Those who think it is all going to hell in a handbasket might consider that either method, lump-sum or DCA might not do well over the next decade. In the past few months, perhaps only one bullet was dodged.

  Post: Told Ya So Big Dummy

  Link to comment from September 27, 2025

• Yes, the net worth of the Upper Middle Class is $2 million or less.

  Post: The 1% Club: Our Unnoticed Wealth

  Link to comment from September 27, 2025

• Extra-curricular activities have become the norm and it is important to provide guidance and set boundaries and keep things in balance.  For grandchildren and nieces and nephews we travel to their location and give them small gifts, some of an educational nature. The parents seem stuck. We’ll rent motel rooms at a swimming facility and with management’s prior approval have them visit, with their parents.  This is easier to do financially than I experienced with my children. I have no complaints.  We know these children would really enjoy our place in Michigan, but we haven’t been able to get the parents to leave the East Coast. It is their loss. They’ll wake-up when it is too late. My children were typical. There were sports, band, outdoors/camping, school trips, etc. These were dollar intensive and time consuming.  We lived near Chicago but because one of my sons was in a variety of high school sports including track, I found myself driving him on weekends to a specialized sports education center for pole vault training. There was a trip by one of the bands to march on a parade at Disney World in Florida. Cha-Ching.   Coordinating all of these activities was a challenge because I did the driving. At one point I concluded that I should take on a role with a youth organization as I was driving boys to all kinds of activities, some hundreds of miles distant. With more time I would have been enrolled in transporting the band.   Of course, all of this was a prequel to college, with one attending in Massachusetts. I did a lot of trips, sleeping in the car to save on motel rooms. The returns at the end of the school year were easier as the children had driver’s licenses and could share in the driving chores.  

  Post: Throw, hit or kick … it all add$ up

  Link to comment from September 27, 2025

• All spending does not have to come from that withdrawal amount and that $40,000 is not analogous to pension income because there are significant differences between a pension and a personal retirement account. It has been stated many, many, many times that 4% (or 4.68%) is merely a starting point. Some, such as Christine Benz over at Morningstar advocate a more flexible approach in which withdrawals may include guard rails, awareness of market returns, etc. I've seen "experts" make the argument that a 3% withdrawal may be too much! There are hundreds of financial related channels on YouTube with thousands of videos. There are probably a few that will make the case that 10% (or better) annual stock market returns are the new normal and so, even a 5% withdrawal rate is simply too little. If I dig deep enough I’m sure I’ll find a few who will say whatever it is that I want to hear. That doesn’t make it accurate, prescient or prudent.

  Post: I’m confused about the 4% (or any %) withdrawal strategy. Do I have it wrong?

  Link to comment from September 26, 2025