I've been waiting nearly three weeks for a quote to add railings to our front steps. He came quickly to size up what he said would be a half day job. Crickets.I have now reached out to two others. I'm not holding my breath.
Our second car is a 2010 Honda Civic with 140,000 miles. I used to drive it 500 miles a week to commute to work but since retiring in 2018 it only gets occasional use (to help discourage chipmunks from building a commune under the hood). The AC went out on it last year and it'll cost as much to fix it as the car is worth so it didn't make sense to fix it, as long as I don't drive it on hot days.
Plus here in Connecticut we pay very high annual personal property taxes on vehicles. Our main vehicle was taxed this year at $700, while the Civic is only a $70 hit. So will I be shedding it for some fancy-schmancy new one? Nope. At least not until the wheels fall off.
I am experiencing a similar issue with Avelo Airlines, which arbitrarily canceled a leg of our flight and shifted us to similar seats on a flight a day later, which we can make happen but it leaves us with questions that need answering. I found myself 415th in the call rotation because they are of course "experiencing heavier than normal call volume" so I left a callback number. That was three days ago. Crickets. So I took to social media and, voila, I got responses from three different Avelo accounts. So maybe today I'll get some things resolved. Or not.
Great piece. Your following statement really hit home for me: "Which means the moment of maximum collective dread, the point where it genuinely feels like something has permanently broken, is historically quite a good time to be invested, not a good time to be heading for the exit."It took me decades to finally grasp this concept and now, at 75, I've gotten comfortable with NOT panicking and selling when things go south. Maybe advancing age and the idea we've amassed a modest nest egg to carry us through to the end is the predominant factor here. Thanks for another thoughtful article.
Comments
One little-noticed reason for that is they don't offer squeegees for cleaning your windshield, which increases your time at the pump.
Post: Frittering away Frugality
Link to comment from July 10, 2026
I'm supposed to get a visit from No. 4 tomorrow. Not holding my breath. Ah, who needs railings anyway.
Post: Reluctantly Saving Money
Link to comment from July 9, 2026
Heading to Costco today for gas, which is about 50 cents per gallon cheaper than most of the stations around us.
Post: Frittering away Frugality
Link to comment from July 9, 2026
C'mon, who can't use a gallon of mayo!
Post: Frittering away Frugality
Link to comment from July 9, 2026
I've been waiting nearly three weeks for a quote to add railings to our front steps. He came quickly to size up what he said would be a half day job. Crickets.I have now reached out to two others. I'm not holding my breath.
Post: Reluctantly Saving Money
Link to comment from July 8, 2026
Our second car is a 2010 Honda Civic with 140,000 miles. I used to drive it 500 miles a week to commute to work but since retiring in 2018 it only gets occasional use (to help discourage chipmunks from building a commune under the hood). The AC went out on it last year and it'll cost as much to fix it as the car is worth so it didn't make sense to fix it, as long as I don't drive it on hot days. Plus here in Connecticut we pay very high annual personal property taxes on vehicles. Our main vehicle was taxed this year at $700, while the Civic is only a $70 hit. So will I be shedding it for some fancy-schmancy new one? Nope. At least not until the wheels fall off.
Post: Tempted by the Shiny and New: Another HD Car Post
Link to comment from July 5, 2026
Our philosophy: save on what you need so you can spend on what you want.
Post: Live a little
Link to comment from April 27, 2026
I am experiencing a similar issue with Avelo Airlines, which arbitrarily canceled a leg of our flight and shifted us to similar seats on a flight a day later, which we can make happen but it leaves us with questions that need answering. I found myself 415th in the call rotation because they are of course "experiencing heavier than normal call volume" so I left a callback number. That was three days ago. Crickets. So I took to social media and, voila, I got responses from three different Avelo accounts. So maybe today I'll get some things resolved. Or not.
Post: Lonely Island (Correct Edit)
Link to comment from April 22, 2026
Love this! And it's so true. My motto since we retired eight years ago: SAVE on what we NEED, SPEND on what we WANT. Seems to work.
Post: Penny Wise, Pound Foolish
Link to comment from April 13, 2026
Great piece. Your following statement really hit home for me: "Which means the moment of maximum collective dread, the point where it genuinely feels like something has permanently broken, is historically quite a good time to be invested, not a good time to be heading for the exit." It took me decades to finally grasp this concept and now, at 75, I've gotten comfortable with NOT panicking and selling when things go south. Maybe advancing age and the idea we've amassed a modest nest egg to carry us through to the end is the predominant factor here. Thanks for another thoughtful article.
Post: Recency Bias (or: You’re Running Buggy Software)
Link to comment from April 8, 2026