My wife and I spent years saving for our retirement. We were good at it and retired with a nice nest egg. The problem, of course, is that its hard to break a lifetime of habit. Changing from being a saver to a spender over night is not likely. It takes time, and as my wife and I approach 80, we still have plenty and realize that there are probably not enough years left in which to spend what we have. As a result, we have been more generous to our son and been able to spend more freely on ourselves. We don't need more things, but travel while we still can, meals out, gifts to charity, theater subscriptions, etc. - all things we would have scrimped on in years past, now seem more "affordable." Its not exactly "SKing," but its not hoarding, either.
Great idea, only I expect the machines might not much care about a Constitutional amendment, or would simply find some clever legal strategy to circumvent such restrictions. Ultimately, it isn't the machines I worry about so much, as it is the people who are creating and running the machines.
...and, you've probably had great performance over time. The issue becomes: what happens in a severe downturn? If you are comfortable with the risk and have the means of living through a 30-40% (or more) market decline, great. However, this ability often takes both greater investment sophistication and more money than most investors possess. That doesn't make the strategy is wrong, but Caveat Emptor does apply.
It seems to me that today's weddings are increasingly large, complicated and - oh yes!- expensive. The idea of a "destination" wedding no longer means at a camp ground near the beach, but Italy or Paris at minimum, or even further for the really adventurous. Custom suits and dresses for the attendants? Of course. And the bride's dress? Sorry, but family heirlooms will no longer do. Aside from the obvious expense, what troubles me the most is that a wedding is just a single day, whereas a marriage will (hopefully) last many years. I can also say from firsthand experience, that I remember little of my own wedding day, other than I how long and tiring it was, and how happy my wife and I were to be finally married. I wish you all the best of luck with your daughter's wedding, with the sincere hope that she has found the "right one" and that their marriage will flourish and endure.
For my wife and I, our house payment rule was that we always wanted to be able to make our payment on one income. It meant that we bought less house than we could afford, but it also meant that we never experienced the real threat of a forced sale that too many families have had to face. It also allowed us to pay ahead on our mortgage, which saved money and meant our house was paid for when we retired.
Dick: Given that 55-65% of Americans describe themselves as living paycheck to paycheck, the 43% estimate of retirement security may be low. Traditional pensions are almost extinct and 401K plans only help if you have sufficient means to contribute. Thus, in order to save for retirement, you have to have disposable income: income beyond what it costs you to live that can be saved and invested for the future. If, in fact, a large majority of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, it should hardly be surprising that so many do not expect to retire comfortably - or retire at all.
Nope. Virtually anything that occurs in a stadium, surrounded by thousands of noisy, ill-mannered people is simply not on my list of things to do, no matter what the price. That said, I appreciate someone else can have a different opinion of witnessing an event in person - even when the cost is exorbitant. Great for them. If I'm lucky, I may be able to watch the same event on my television, sitting in a comfortable chair with clicker in hand to pause the event when I need to refresh my drink of choice. It also saves me from buying one more useless hat or T-shirt that I will never wear in public.
I have been successfully retired for 12 years, but still get asked for advice on how to prepare for no longer having a job. The simple answer I give is that you need something to spend time on as the euphoria of the "vacation" phase of retirement will eventually end and you need something to do to occupy your time, mind and hands. By all means travel, but full time travel is not an option for most of us and gets harder as you get older. Instead, you need a hobby and/or volunteer gig to fill some time. A focus on fitness and exercise should also be a part of your plan as you will be surprised by how the aging process speeds up over time. And, last but not least, you need time to read, listen to music, go to movies, visit friends and do other similar things that were hard to do when you were still working. The adage that "..getting old is not for whimps" is true, but you can also enjoy this phase of life if you put some thought and effort into how you want to use this time.
No, I think I'm busy enough. I volunteer a couple of days a week, swim everyday and help friends and family manage their retirement accounts. But, please don't ask my wife whether she think I'm busy enough!
I spent my career in the investment business and a spent good deal of time explaining to our clients why our years of experience, security selection expertise and asset allocation models would produce results that justified our fees. By the end of my career, when running a group that invested for smaller clients using only funds, it became apparent to me that the fees we charged covered a lot of the services we provided, but did not necessarily produce any better results than the fund approach we used for smaller clients. In retirement, I no longer have access to the information services that were available when I was working. I have also become very sensitive to the effect that fees have on returns over time. As a result, I only use low cost funds and mostly limit my trading to raising cash when needed or rebalancing as necessary. As for my returns, they have averaged over 8% a year, which has prove more than adequate to fund our retirement and still grow our assets for whatever the future might hold. Bottom line, I own no individual stocks and cannot imagine doing so in the future.
Comments
My wife and I spent years saving for our retirement. We were good at it and retired with a nice nest egg. The problem, of course, is that its hard to break a lifetime of habit. Changing from being a saver to a spender over night is not likely. It takes time, and as my wife and I approach 80, we still have plenty and realize that there are probably not enough years left in which to spend what we have. As a result, we have been more generous to our son and been able to spend more freely on ourselves. We don't need more things, but travel while we still can, meals out, gifts to charity, theater subscriptions, etc. - all things we would have scrimped on in years past, now seem more "affordable." Its not exactly "SKing," but its not hoarding, either.
Post: Anyone For S.K.I.ing?
Link to comment from September 26, 2026
Great idea, only I expect the machines might not much care about a Constitutional amendment, or would simply find some clever legal strategy to circumvent such restrictions. Ultimately, it isn't the machines I worry about so much, as it is the people who are creating and running the machines.
Post: The Ultimate Tail Risk
Link to comment from September 19, 2026
...and, you've probably had great performance over time. The issue becomes: what happens in a severe downturn? If you are comfortable with the risk and have the means of living through a 30-40% (or more) market decline, great. However, this ability often takes both greater investment sophistication and more money than most investors possess. That doesn't make the strategy is wrong, but Caveat Emptor does apply.
Post: Structuring Bonds
Link to comment from September 19, 2026
It seems to me that today's weddings are increasingly large, complicated and - oh yes!- expensive. The idea of a "destination" wedding no longer means at a camp ground near the beach, but Italy or Paris at minimum, or even further for the really adventurous. Custom suits and dresses for the attendants? Of course. And the bride's dress? Sorry, but family heirlooms will no longer do. Aside from the obvious expense, what troubles me the most is that a wedding is just a single day, whereas a marriage will (hopefully) last many years. I can also say from firsthand experience, that I remember little of my own wedding day, other than I how long and tiring it was, and how happy my wife and I were to be finally married. I wish you all the best of luck with your daughter's wedding, with the sincere hope that she has found the "right one" and that their marriage will flourish and endure.
Post: A Wedding Too Far
Link to comment from September 12, 2026
For my wife and I, our house payment rule was that we always wanted to be able to make our payment on one income. It meant that we bought less house than we could afford, but it also meant that we never experienced the real threat of a forced sale that too many families have had to face. It also allowed us to pay ahead on our mortgage, which saved money and meant our house was paid for when we retired.
Post: Jonathan’s Parting Thoughts: No. 7
Link to comment from September 12, 2026
Dick: Given that 55-65% of Americans describe themselves as living paycheck to paycheck, the 43% estimate of retirement security may be low. Traditional pensions are almost extinct and 401K plans only help if you have sufficient means to contribute. Thus, in order to save for retirement, you have to have disposable income: income beyond what it costs you to live that can be saved and invested for the future. If, in fact, a large majority of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, it should hardly be surprising that so many do not expect to retire comfortably - or retire at all.
Post: A bleak picture for retirement in the future?
Link to comment from September 5, 2026
Nope. Virtually anything that occurs in a stadium, surrounded by thousands of noisy, ill-mannered people is simply not on my list of things to do, no matter what the price. That said, I appreciate someone else can have a different opinion of witnessing an event in person - even when the cost is exorbitant. Great for them. If I'm lucky, I may be able to watch the same event on my television, sitting in a comfortable chair with clicker in hand to pause the event when I need to refresh my drink of choice. It also saves me from buying one more useless hat or T-shirt that I will never wear in public.
Post: FIFA Financials
Link to comment from July 26, 2026
I have been successfully retired for 12 years, but still get asked for advice on how to prepare for no longer having a job. The simple answer I give is that you need something to spend time on as the euphoria of the "vacation" phase of retirement will eventually end and you need something to do to occupy your time, mind and hands. By all means travel, but full time travel is not an option for most of us and gets harder as you get older. Instead, you need a hobby and/or volunteer gig to fill some time. A focus on fitness and exercise should also be a part of your plan as you will be surprised by how the aging process speeds up over time. And, last but not least, you need time to read, listen to music, go to movies, visit friends and do other similar things that were hard to do when you were still working. The adage that "..getting old is not for whimps" is true, but you can also enjoy this phase of life if you put some thought and effort into how you want to use this time.
Post: Fear of the Unknown…
Link to comment from July 26, 2026
No, I think I'm busy enough. I volunteer a couple of days a week, swim everyday and help friends and family manage their retirement accounts. But, please don't ask my wife whether she think I'm busy enough!
Post: Haunted Head
Link to comment from July 11, 2026
I spent my career in the investment business and a spent good deal of time explaining to our clients why our years of experience, security selection expertise and asset allocation models would produce results that justified our fees. By the end of my career, when running a group that invested for smaller clients using only funds, it became apparent to me that the fees we charged covered a lot of the services we provided, but did not necessarily produce any better results than the fund approach we used for smaller clients. In retirement, I no longer have access to the information services that were available when I was working. I have also become very sensitive to the effect that fees have on returns over time. As a result, I only use low cost funds and mostly limit my trading to raising cash when needed or rebalancing as necessary. As for my returns, they have averaged over 8% a year, which has prove more than adequate to fund our retirement and still grow our assets for whatever the future might hold. Bottom line, I own no individual stocks and cannot imagine doing so in the future.
Post: Independence Day
Link to comment from July 5, 2026