Congrats Mike on making a decision to purchase your dream car. Not only have you sacrificed your entire life; youāve now got both the cash and courage to do what most of us never will. Sounds to me like a lot of fun. Enjoy and be safe.
Rick you made the right move. At 99K miles the car is barely broken in. Hondas are some of the most reliable cars on the road and the Accord is one of Hondaās best sellers. I have a 2018 Accord and itās only got 74K miles, so at less than 10K miles a year I expect to have it for years to come. I have yet to get a brake job done which is considered normal wear and tear. Sounds like you have many more miles to go before replacing her. Our last car was a 2003 Honda Odyssey. We sold it after 20 years and 218K miles. We replaced many parts on it, which was far cheaper than purchasing a new car. I agree with your other readers. When it becomes too much of a headache then get rid of it. Of course you can always bless a college student with it. Safe travels.
Good for you folks. Iām happy to hear youāve made a decision that you can live with. Like you I read hundreds of articles convinced that Iād wait until my FRA. I retired early (61), and would have had to draw down on our nest egg for six years before collecting social insecurity. After praying about it and discussing it with my wife and our financial advisor we decided NOW was the best time for us. This way with my pension and both my wife and I drawing social insecurity we can take a much smaller draw on our IRA. It works for us. Honestly the government has you coming and going no matter when a person draws, so it all comes back to āitās a personal decision based on your unique circumstances. There is no free lunch.
Yea I wouldnāt worry (cuz worrying doesnāt fix anything) about the proposed reduction coming in the next ten years. If Congress doesnāt fix it by then (they love waiting for the last minute to do anything except give themselves a raise), then they all should be fired. No tax on Social Security would be nice, but Iām not holding my breath.
Love reading your articles R. Quinn. Thanks for being a regular contributor. Today I think youāre just stirring up trouble (the good kind). Youāre right. It probably doesnāt matter in the long run, but most people are inquisitive and would like to know regardless. It makes them feel better knowing they have gotten all of the money back that they have contributed over the yearsā¦assuming they live to see that day. Based on what Iāve read and my own calculations most people break even at or around the seventh year. Iām on year three, so for me personally I will be celebrating once I recoup my āinvestmentā. Everything after that is as they say āgravy on the biscuitā.
We have done both during the past 40 years and have done well. Now that Iām retired we have someone who is very knowledgeable, asks us what our goals are, tells us what rate of interest he can guarantee us (based on the marketās past performance), and keeps us informed all along the way. Weāre happy with the returns and the level of risk; and are willing to pay 0.75 of our balance so we can spend our time and mental energies elsewhere. Weāre glad there are people out there who are experts and more knowledgeable than us regarding investing. At the end of the day we are making the decisions and they are executing our plan. They too have to make a living and we donāt mind paying a fee. I donāt pull my own teeth, repair my own car, or perform surgery on myself b/c I lack the expertise. We could put all our funds in a passive mutual fund on autopilot if we wanted, but we also want the ability to pick up the phone and ask questions or get advice when making large and life changing financial decisions; especially during turbulent periods. With a financial advisor thatās exactly what we do. Different strokes for different folks. Thanks for the conversation.
Well Iām a boomer and my wife and I have two children in their 30ās, but they donāt share many of their contemporarieās views. They both own their own homes (and yes we helped with the down payment), but they learned early on that hard work and frugality was key in their long term success. They recognize that no one is going to give them something for nothing and that you get out of life what you put in it. They also rely on God as their sole source and believe that their income, their savings, and investments are simply resources.
Thanks for asking the questions Jonathan. I pray you are doing well with your health and making the most of each day. Iām praying for you my friend. Let me take a crack at some of them: 1. My risk tolerance is probably due to life experiences. At one point I was very conservative. Today I donāt mind taking a reasonable amount of risk, but I still consider myself to be conservative. 2. Giving money away is by far and away the most rewarding thing we have ever done with money. 3. The stock market is going to do what the stock market does. Good or bad we have no choice to accept its results if we choose to participate. 4. I retired during the COVID debacle. I loved my job, but was only going to put up with some much from Uncle Sam my employer for 38 years. Near the end it got so bad that I was glad to retire. So I did earlier than planned. I absolutely was a success in my career. I led our office and most of our agency in productivity for more than 3 decades. When I retired (years before I had planned), we were financially stable and now four years into retirement we are making as much money as before retirement. God is good! 5. We have enough money. More would be nice, but we are CONTENT! We are grateful for what we have. If I had more perhaps I would deny God. However our trust is in Him, not the stock market. 6. One of the greatest contributors to my happiness in retirement has been to help care for my wifeās uncle who lives alone and is 89. He still prepares his own meals and bathes himself, but Iām able to shop for him, help clean his apartment and do his laundry as well as take him to doctorās appointments. This is a joy for me. And Iāve been able,to pursue lots of fun things as well like travel, ski and just plain goof off on a regular basis. Life is good. š 7. God has taken care of me for 64 years and Iām confident Heāll care for me til the day I die. I donāt know the specifics, but I donāt worry about it either. 8. My wife and I have done what we think is a good job in estate planning. We have two grown children and four grandchildren and neither of our kids have ever asked us for a dime. We are happy to give to them and their children as we can and I KNOW they will both be blessed and very grateful for their share of their inheritance.
Comments
š I agree with you.
Post: What About Gold?
Link to comment from June 8, 2025
Congrats Mike on making a decision to purchase your dream car. Not only have you sacrificed your entire life; youāve now got both the cash and courage to do what most of us never will. Sounds to me like a lot of fun. Enjoy and be safe.
Post: Another HD Post About Cars
Link to comment from May 31, 2025
Rick you made the right move. At 99K miles the car is barely broken in. Hondas are some of the most reliable cars on the road and the Accord is one of Hondaās best sellers. I have a 2018 Accord and itās only got 74K miles, so at less than 10K miles a year I expect to have it for years to come. I have yet to get a brake job done which is considered normal wear and tear. Sounds like you have many more miles to go before replacing her. Our last car was a 2003 Honda Odyssey. We sold it after 20 years and 218K miles. We replaced many parts on it, which was far cheaper than purchasing a new car. I agree with your other readers. When it becomes too much of a headache then get rid of it. Of course you can always bless a college student with it. Safe travels.
Post: How have you decided when itās worth it to fix an old car?
Link to comment from May 24, 2025
Good for you folks. Iām happy to hear youāve made a decision that you can live with. Like you I read hundreds of articles convinced that Iād wait until my FRA. I retired early (61), and would have had to draw down on our nest egg for six years before collecting social insecurity. After praying about it and discussing it with my wife and our financial advisor we decided NOW was the best time for us. This way with my pension and both my wife and I drawing social insecurity we can take a much smaller draw on our IRA. It works for us. Honestly the government has you coming and going no matter when a person draws, so it all comes back to āitās a personal decision based on your unique circumstances. There is no free lunch.
Post: Breaking even? Why should anyone care? I donāt
Link to comment from May 17, 2025
Yea I wouldnāt worry (cuz worrying doesnāt fix anything) about the proposed reduction coming in the next ten years. If Congress doesnāt fix it by then (they love waiting for the last minute to do anything except give themselves a raise), then they all should be fired. No tax on Social Security would be nice, but Iām not holding my breath.
Post: Breaking even? Why should anyone care? I donāt
Link to comment from May 17, 2025
Love reading your articles R. Quinn. Thanks for being a regular contributor. Today I think youāre just stirring up trouble (the good kind). Youāre right. It probably doesnāt matter in the long run, but most people are inquisitive and would like to know regardless. It makes them feel better knowing they have gotten all of the money back that they have contributed over the yearsā¦assuming they live to see that day. Based on what Iāve read and my own calculations most people break even at or around the seventh year. Iām on year three, so for me personally I will be celebrating once I recoup my āinvestmentā. Everything after that is as they say āgravy on the biscuitā.
Post: Breaking even? Why should anyone care? I donāt
Link to comment from May 17, 2025
We have done both during the past 40 years and have done well. Now that Iām retired we have someone who is very knowledgeable, asks us what our goals are, tells us what rate of interest he can guarantee us (based on the marketās past performance), and keeps us informed all along the way. Weāre happy with the returns and the level of risk; and are willing to pay 0.75 of our balance so we can spend our time and mental energies elsewhere. Weāre glad there are people out there who are experts and more knowledgeable than us regarding investing. At the end of the day we are making the decisions and they are executing our plan. They too have to make a living and we donāt mind paying a fee. I donāt pull my own teeth, repair my own car, or perform surgery on myself b/c I lack the expertise. We could put all our funds in a passive mutual fund on autopilot if we wanted, but we also want the ability to pick up the phone and ask questions or get advice when making large and life changing financial decisions; especially during turbulent periods. With a financial advisor thatās exactly what we do. Different strokes for different folks. Thanks for the conversation.
Post: The Silent Compounding Cost of a 1% Fee
Link to comment from May 17, 2025
Amen to that.
Post: The Silent Compounding Cost of a 1% Fee
Link to comment from May 17, 2025
Well Iām a boomer and my wife and I have two children in their 30ās, but they donāt share many of their contemporarieās views. They both own their own homes (and yes we helped with the down payment), but they learned early on that hard work and frugality was key in their long term success. They recognize that no one is going to give them something for nothing and that you get out of life what you put in it. They also rely on God as their sole source and believe that their income, their savings, and investments are simply resources.
Post: Generational Perspective
Link to comment from May 10, 2025
Thanks for asking the questions Jonathan. I pray you are doing well with your health and making the most of each day. Iām praying for you my friend. Let me take a crack at some of them: 1. My risk tolerance is probably due to life experiences. At one point I was very conservative. Today I donāt mind taking a reasonable amount of risk, but I still consider myself to be conservative. 2. Giving money away is by far and away the most rewarding thing we have ever done with money. 3. The stock market is going to do what the stock market does. Good or bad we have no choice to accept its results if we choose to participate. 4. I retired during the COVID debacle. I loved my job, but was only going to put up with some much from Uncle Sam my employer for 38 years. Near the end it got so bad that I was glad to retire. So I did earlier than planned. I absolutely was a success in my career. I led our office and most of our agency in productivity for more than 3 decades. When I retired (years before I had planned), we were financially stable and now four years into retirement we are making as much money as before retirement. God is good! 5. We have enough money. More would be nice, but we are CONTENT! We are grateful for what we have. If I had more perhaps I would deny God. However our trust is in Him, not the stock market. 6. One of the greatest contributors to my happiness in retirement has been to help care for my wifeās uncle who lives alone and is 89. He still prepares his own meals and bathes himself, but Iām able to shop for him, help clean his apartment and do his laundry as well as take him to doctorās appointments. This is a joy for me. And Iāve been able,to pursue lots of fun things as well like travel, ski and just plain goof off on a regular basis. Life is good. š 7. God has taken care of me for 64 years and Iām confident Heāll care for me til the day I die. I donāt know the specifics, but I donāt worry about it either. 8. My wife and I have done what we think is a good job in estate planning. We have two grown children and four grandchildren and neither of our kids have ever asked us for a dime. We are happy to give to them and their children as we can and I KNOW they will both be blessed and very grateful for their share of their inheritance.
Post: Ask Me a Tough One by Jonathan Clements
Link to comment from April 19, 2025