Curtis Ryan

Comments:

• I also have an interchangeable first and last name. Many people call me Ryan Curtis, I suppose it sounds better or correct to them. Wikipedia says Ryan became a popular name in the 1970s due to Ryan O'Neal starring in Love Story. Now I just use Ryan when asked my first name at Starbucks, it's just easier.

  Post: What’s in a Name?

  Link to comment from August 26, 2023

• Where I live (Seattle) cash is not accepted at many places, it's very common to see debit/credit only signs. I seldom carry cash around anymore because I don't get to use it much in my daily life. Living here I've become accustomed to using my phone (Apple Pay) for most purchases relieving me of needing to carry a wallet with physical cards or cash.

  Post: Cash Is Back

  Link to comment from August 12, 2023

• My local gas station here in Seattle offer a significantly lower price per gallon at the pump for debit cards vs.credit. Many places won't accept cash at all, only cards, they just build the fees into the cost of doing business.

  Post: Cash Is Back

  Link to comment from August 12, 2023

• My ex wife is a hoarder, it’s very difficult for her to make a decision to let something go, she’ll just procrastinate sometimes for years. Meanwhile, she keeps buying more, it’s the “thrill” of buying that she enjoys. Her love of stuff eventually destroyed our marriage. I finally realized that she loved her possessions more than me and nothing I could say was going convince her to change. I walked out after 33 years taking nothing except for my clothes.

  Post: Other People’s Stuff

  Link to comment from June 24, 2023

• I've been a USAF retiree for 20 years now. I opted for the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) hoping it would be the worst investment I ever made. By living a long time after military retirement the SBP "investment" looks worse every year. If I had died young the investment would have been great, paying my wife 55% of my pension until her death. In 2003 I was the sole breadwinner for my wife and 10 year old child, so buying the SBP was a no-brainer, my wife would never have signed off on declining the option anyway. Although, I'm still paying for the SBP for another 10 years, it was still the best choice for my family at the time.

  Post: A Job With Teeth

  Link to comment from June 7, 2023

• I no longer fly coach internationally, too much of my younger years were spent on long flights (work trips) twisted like a pretzel. I would rather take one international (business/First class) trip a year than several in coach. If I can't afford it then I don't go.

  Post: Wishing My Life Away

  Link to comment from April 8, 2023

• Couldn't agree more, my discretionary spending (hello Amazon!) is several times more than the monthly gas bill, there are several expenditures that could be eliminated if needed. Gas prices are like the weather, everyone wants to complain about it, though it's totally out of their control. One last comment...no elected official can ever control gas prices, but many people like to assign blame based on their political beliefs ignoring the fact that oil is a global commodity. The Godfather reference is apt, stop complaining about the weather, inflation, politics, expecting the next elected savior to fix your life.

  Post: Inflation Nation

  Link to comment from August 20, 2022

• I’m a white male baby-boomer in good health. Although I grew up in a family without wealth, I was still born on third base with those three attributes, very privileged indeed. There is no guilt, just acknowledgement of facts.

  Post: Course Correction

  Link to comment from June 4, 2022

• Enjoyed your story Kevin. I learned the "hard way" too by taking my first $10K down to a local Ameriprise office where a junior broker steered my hard earned cash into an IRA wrapped in an annuity. To make the investment even worse, he put me into high-fee Ameriprise funds. I eventually wised up and got out (paid surrender fees too) with less than my original investment. The broker made a few dollars, but AMEX lost a customer for life! Never again will I let someone else manage my money.

  Post: Big League Lessons

  Link to comment from May 25, 2022