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DURING MY FINAL NINE years with the Coast Guard, I was involved in decisions regarding search-and-rescue operations. We were almost always working with imperfect information. For three of those nine years, I was responsible for all missions in one section of the Great Lakes and, in my last year, I made the final decision on when to suspend search-and-rescue operations in an even larger area.
To lower risk, we often assumed the worst, and threw copious operational resources at the situation.
IN JANUARY 1987, I was an unmarried junior Coast Guard officer just beginning the flight stage of U.S. Navy flying training. I decided to see a financial advisor who’d been recommended by friends.
This wasn’t just any advisor, but rather a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and fighter pilot. He worked for a firm whose advisors were comprised mostly of retired military officers, and they marketed their services primarily to military officers. If there was anyone I could trust,
Comments
Casey, in 2009 I was in almost the same position as you. Just retired from the military, but with 4 kids to get through college with the oldest in his second year. Before I retired, I bought the house I still live in and put over 50% down. My strategy was to keep my fixed expenses as low as possible in order to stretch may retirement cash flow every month. I had done much saving for college and thus we could have gotten by on my retirement income, however, we would never have gotten ahead. So, I worked sporadically over the next 10 years, made some good money at times, and this income took away any financial worries. What's hard to anticipate, but you must, are all the unexpected expenses. At one point I owned 6 cars, paid over $800 per month for car insurance, and had a cell phone bill way over $400. During these years, kids cost money. In 2020, all my kids were off the payroll with living wage jobs and we found spending to come much easier because our expenses are way, way down--and I own a Certified Pre-Owned Outback! So good luck and be ready for the financial bogeyman should he come.
Post: Spending Without Guilt: An Overlooked Retirement Skill
Link to comment from January 24, 2026
Ahhh...a man with enough. Now that's a great position to be in. With "enough" comes contentment, a close relative to the more mercurial happiness. :)
Post: Spending Without Guilt: An Overlooked Retirement Skill
Link to comment from January 24, 2026
In a fit of boredom during the doldrums of the pandemic, in January, 2021 I decided to pay off my mortgage. I ran the numbers over and over and decided to go for it after concluding some decision like this are not purely rational. I had paid 9 years on a 20 year mortgage at 3.875%, so not a bad rate, however, with cash paying nothing at the time I decided to just pay it off. My wife was all for the decision and we've never looked back. I like the extra cash flow every month and the peace of mind of being totally debt free.
Post: The $8,000 Cost of Peace of Mind
Link to comment from January 24, 2026
Thank you Adam. Articles on happiness always make me a bit happier. :) With regards to a will, my wife and I finally updated our will in 2016 after 23 years and 2 more children after the first will. When I got that completed, I wasn't happier, necessarily, but it bought a big dose of peace of mind.
Post: Financial Happiness
Link to comment from January 24, 2026
I think the sunk cost fallacy is one of the biggest drivers of poor financial decisions that most of us deal with. Like the 2005 Lexus RX330 I bought in 2019. I think I spent almost the purchase price on repairs, a new stereo (it came with a lousy aftermarket system so I put in one with bluetooth phone and Apple CarPlay), and then, last summer, after it was all fixed up with new tires, I gave it to one of my daughter's best friends who badly needed a car. The young lady works hard as a nurse, didn't come from wealth at all, and so could greatly benefit from it. Now, I get pleasure from hearing the car still works great and the young lady is really enjoying it. I don't mean to be blowing my own horn here, just showing how the sunk cost fallacy can really work on a person when you get your emotions involved.
Post: Irrational Financial Choices
Link to comment from January 18, 2026
Try 6.5 to 7% as your inflation rate and see how the portfolio performs. Why? Since we went off the gold standard in 1971, the money supply has grown about 6.6% annually. The Fed announced last month they will begin a program of "Reserve Management Purchases", a euphemism for injecting money into the banks, also known as money printing. M2 began to rise again in Nov 2022, and it's only going to get worse. Over a long retirement, if you assume inflation is whatever the government says, now about 2.7%, you will fall behind. You will end the months with less and less money as your car insurance, home insurance, health insurance, food, etc., all increase more than the government's official rate of inflation. I think the hurdle rate going forward that each investor must earn, just to keep head above water, is about 7%--a return hard to get without a great deal of risk. And with more and more Fed rate cuts looming, retirees, savers, investors will be forced further out on the risk curve, again, just to break even. Retiree and savers, and those just trying to get ahead in life, are going to find the treadmill getting faster and steeper.
Post: Considering a Lost Decade When Retirement Planning
Link to comment from January 17, 2026
I agree with Randy on the settlement fund issue. It's annoying to have to manually buy a money market fund when Vanguard and Fidelity automatically sweep it into a MMF. It's sort of like Schwab wants your money for free.
Post: Schwab or Vanguard?
Link to comment from January 17, 2026
Great article Adam. I have never invested in China in any form. To me, why invest in a Communist country where they can confiscate your property at any time? Besides, there is much fraud there.
Post: China Market Risk
Link to comment from January 17, 2026
For me, the most significant aspect of gold's ascent is the fact that it has eclipsed U. S. Treasury securities as the largest reserve holding by the world's central banks. Basically, what other central banks are saying is that we'd rather hold gold, a neutral reserve asset that can't be debased or seized by the U. S., than those greenbacks--which says a great deal. This year, the U. S. must roll over over $12 trillion in debt, which will most likely be done if the form of short term treasuries. Over time, if central banks keep reducing their Treasury holdings, who is going to buy all our debt? This trend doesn't bode well for the U. S. and I don't see it getting better any time soon.
Post: Gold Isn’t Special
Link to comment from January 10, 2026
48 National Parks. Now that's a real accomplishment Rob. In June of 2024, I managed to make it to Capulon Volcano NM, Great Sand Dunes, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and Great Basin NPs on a drive from Mobile, AL to Cody, WY, and then on to Oakland, CA. I think Great Basin NP is an underrated gem. The drive across U. S. Hwy 50 (The Loneliest Road in America), through Nevada, is spectacular.
Post: At what age did travel start feeling like work—and what changed your plan?
Link to comment from January 3, 2026