Excellent Adam. Every word of wisdom in your article from points 1 to 12 gave me a feeling as if it was written by our beloved Jonathan Clements. Thank you. I'm going to share this article with two young adults in my family.
Whether we like it for not, ID.me is the way many U.S Government agencies are turning to. They also have Login.GOV id, but off late they prefer us to use ID.me. If one pays estimated taxes via IRS Direct Pay, he/she already has to use ID.me for a few years now. We have to simply trust that the U.S Government agencies are security conscious to protect the online safety and financial interests of the U.S Citizens.
Hi Chris.
Are you referring to what the great Jack Bogle of Vanguard preached which then got popularized by his ardent fan Taylor Larimore (blessed at age 102 now)? Three-Fund Portfolio I have been accidentally using it since Mar/1997 and it has worked very well so far which I can humbly state now at my age 62. If this is not the one you were thinking of, it is still a useful topic to study as it is frequently discussed in the Bogleheads online forum. Jonathan Clements also wrote in favor of it in many of his articles. https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Three-fund_portfolio All the very best.
Great Mark G with your suggestions. Any Government regulation is better than nothing. USG definitely needs to play a leadership role. Other countries may not even know where to start since all the major AI companies are operating from our land here. As a simple software engineer continuing in the Tech Industry for four decades, I wrote my view on this topic a week ago in three pages which can be read or downloaded as PDF from the following URL. https://lnkd.in/p/eyhTxmbs Cheers.
Thanks Sanjib for such a detailed response. Does that mean your taxable brokerage, pre-tax 401k, after-tax Roth 401k and after-tax Roth IRA accounts (if any) have no positions at all in any equity/stock? If your answer is going to be an "Yes", then that is a very safe and ultra conservative investment style to have no major downturn ever in your portfolio.
Thank you Sanjib for another gem. Ever since I started in 2021 to read Humble Dollar without fail every morning, I always pay special attention when you publish an article. Because, your articles give so much learning on practical aspects of Personal Finance. I'm happy for a fellow Software Engineer to bring the same rigorous analysis as done in coding to his writings on Finance related topics. Continue your great work here and at your Dollar Mentor. How you manage your short term savings (via VTIP and VUSB) is clear to me now via this article. Could you please enlighten us about what you prefer for your longer term investments with the money you will not need for five or more years that can be allowed to compound and grow. If you use any specific low expense ratio Vanguard ETFs or mutual funds for that purpose, could you please share that detail here? I would like to see how aligned I'm with your long-term investment approach. Thanks again.
Thank you JC as you continue to read, write and listen to everything from above. I recently read two fascinating books: Knowing Enough by John Bogle and William Bernstein, Bogleheads' Guide to the Three-Fund Portfolio by Taylor Larimore. In both the books, there are many references to Jonathan Clements' timeless quotes, wisdom and tips.
Hi Mark. It is great that you ran your own business successfully for 30 years to profit from it and then retire in your late 50s. Nicely done. Would it be possible to enlighten us with a high-level description of what your business focused on and in which industry? Thank you.
Hi Byjove. Excellent post where you shared your inner feelings that often strike in the first year of retirement. In Oct/2024, I retired after my 39 years of well-paying and enjoyable Software Engineer job from a 114 year old technology behemoth. It has been my goal all along to make a transition from such a large company job at my age 60 to become an Independent Software Consultant. It took me the first six months to streamline this new way of life. I'm now on a routine to allocate my hours usefully and effectively. I'm hoping to continue this as a glide path until my FRA (Full Retirement Age) here in the U.S As a medical professional at age 65, your skills can be put to use either in the Gulf or in India for the hours per week and for the total duration you are comfortable with. You will also find it useful to read the beautiful writings of our beloved Jonathan Clements on the topic of "Enough". Good luck to you. https://humbledollar.com/money-guide/enough/https://humbledollar.com/2025/02/never-enough/https://humbledollar.com/2024/09/never-quite-enough/https://humbledollar.com/2019/07/thats-enough/
Dear Mark. You have been amazing for the past several months in lighting up this forum with many creative and useful Personal Finance articles. Thanks for your time and regularly putting your thoughts in writing for us to consume and learn. Spreadsheets can help to some extent. There are much more effective tools available created from years of knowledge by the financial specialists. One particular tool is BoldIn (formerly NewRetirement). The free version is good and the paid version with annual subscription is even better. The CEO of BoldIn Stephen Chen knew our beloved Jonathan Clements well. They wrote about each other's strengths in their respective blogs. https://www.boldin.com/ Stephen Chen's excellent Feb/08/2018 interview of the incomparable Jonathan Clements: https://www.boldin.com/retirement/podcast-episode-3-money-behavior-happiness/
Comments
Excellent Adam. Every word of wisdom in your article from points 1 to 12 gave me a feeling as if it was written by our beloved Jonathan Clements. Thank you. I'm going to share this article with two young adults in my family.
Post: Financial Lessons
Link to comment from September 26, 2026
Whether we like it for not, ID.me is the way many U.S Government agencies are turning to. They also have Login.GOV id, but off late they prefer us to use ID.me. If one pays estimated taxes via IRS Direct Pay, he/she already has to use ID.me for a few years now. We have to simply trust that the U.S Government agencies are security conscious to protect the online safety and financial interests of the U.S Citizens.
Post: What to do about the new ID.me login requirement at TreasuryDirect
Link to comment from September 14, 2026
Hi Chris. Are you referring to what the great Jack Bogle of Vanguard preached which then got popularized by his ardent fan Taylor Larimore (blessed at age 102 now)? Three-Fund Portfolio I have been accidentally using it since Mar/1997 and it has worked very well so far which I can humbly state now at my age 62. If this is not the one you were thinking of, it is still a useful topic to study as it is frequently discussed in the Bogleheads online forum. Jonathan Clements also wrote in favor of it in many of his articles. https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Three-fund_portfolio All the very best.
Post: Total portfolio approach?
Link to comment from September 14, 2026
Great Mark G with your suggestions. Any Government regulation is better than nothing. USG definitely needs to play a leadership role. Other countries may not even know where to start since all the major AI companies are operating from our land here. As a simple software engineer continuing in the Tech Industry for four decades, I wrote my view on this topic a week ago in three pages which can be read or downloaded as PDF from the following URL. https://lnkd.in/p/eyhTxmbs Cheers.
Post: The Ultimate Tail Risk
Link to comment from September 14, 2026
Thanks Sanjib for such a detailed response. Does that mean your taxable brokerage, pre-tax 401k, after-tax Roth 401k and after-tax Roth IRA accounts (if any) have no positions at all in any equity/stock? If your answer is going to be an "Yes", then that is a very safe and ultra conservative investment style to have no major downturn ever in your portfolio.
Post: Beyond Bank Accounts
Link to comment from August 24, 2026
Thank you Sanjib for another gem. Ever since I started in 2021 to read Humble Dollar without fail every morning, I always pay special attention when you publish an article. Because, your articles give so much learning on practical aspects of Personal Finance. I'm happy for a fellow Software Engineer to bring the same rigorous analysis as done in coding to his writings on Finance related topics. Continue your great work here and at your Dollar Mentor. How you manage your short term savings (via VTIP and VUSB) is clear to me now via this article. Could you please enlighten us about what you prefer for your longer term investments with the money you will not need for five or more years that can be allowed to compound and grow. If you use any specific low expense ratio Vanguard ETFs or mutual funds for that purpose, could you please share that detail here? I would like to see how aligned I'm with your long-term investment approach. Thanks again.
Post: Beyond Bank Accounts
Link to comment from August 24, 2026
Thank you JC as you continue to read, write and listen to everything from above. I recently read two fascinating books: Knowing Enough by John Bogle and William Bernstein, Bogleheads' Guide to the Three-Fund Portfolio by Taylor Larimore. In both the books, there are many references to Jonathan Clements' timeless quotes, wisdom and tips.
Post: Jonathan’s Parting Thoughts: No. 8
Link to comment from August 7, 2026
Hi Mark. It is great that you ran your own business successfully for 30 years to profit from it and then retire in your late 50s. Nicely done. Would it be possible to enlighten us with a high-level description of what your business focused on and in which industry? Thank you.
Post: “Hi ho, hi ho, it’s off to work we go.”
Link to comment from October 23, 2025
Hi Byjove. Excellent post where you shared your inner feelings that often strike in the first year of retirement. In Oct/2024, I retired after my 39 years of well-paying and enjoyable Software Engineer job from a 114 year old technology behemoth. It has been my goal all along to make a transition from such a large company job at my age 60 to become an Independent Software Consultant. It took me the first six months to streamline this new way of life. I'm now on a routine to allocate my hours usefully and effectively. I'm hoping to continue this as a glide path until my FRA (Full Retirement Age) here in the U.S As a medical professional at age 65, your skills can be put to use either in the Gulf or in India for the hours per week and for the total duration you are comfortable with. You will also find it useful to read the beautiful writings of our beloved Jonathan Clements on the topic of "Enough". Good luck to you. https://humbledollar.com/money-guide/enough/ https://humbledollar.com/2025/02/never-enough/ https://humbledollar.com/2024/09/never-quite-enough/ https://humbledollar.com/2019/07/thats-enough/
Post: Retirement blues
Link to comment from October 14, 2025
Dear Mark. You have been amazing for the past several months in lighting up this forum with many creative and useful Personal Finance articles. Thanks for your time and regularly putting your thoughts in writing for us to consume and learn. Spreadsheets can help to some extent. There are much more effective tools available created from years of knowledge by the financial specialists. One particular tool is BoldIn (formerly NewRetirement). The free version is good and the paid version with annual subscription is even better. The CEO of BoldIn Stephen Chen knew our beloved Jonathan Clements well. They wrote about each other's strengths in their respective blogs. https://www.boldin.com/ Stephen Chen's excellent Feb/08/2018 interview of the incomparable Jonathan Clements: https://www.boldin.com/retirement/podcast-episode-3-money-behavior-happiness/
Post: Spreadsheets: A Luddite’s Necessary Inconvenience?
Link to comment from October 4, 2025