Of the four advantages of index fund investing—cheapness, flexibility, tax efficiency and transparency–I had long thought the last to be the most straightforward to implement. Just define your criteria, find stocks that qualify for inclusion and remain fixed forever.
But two weeks ago I found myself frustrated trying to reallocate my portfolio by size and position along the growth-value continuum using the ubiquitous Morningstar Style Box. Did the creators of our beloved indices not succeed in validly classifying stocks into their correct category?

If you are retired or expect to be in the near future, what is your primary concern (planning issue) income or spending?

‘Once retired, managing spending may be easier than trying to adjust income, but many people see expenses as the main issue.
‘’What is your opinion?

WHEN MY SON STARTED graduate school seven years ago, we enticed him to save money by living at home. The catch: He’d need a set of wheels. Lori and I offered to help, provided he was open to a used vehicle. He agreed, and off we went to the nearest Honda dealership.
We were greeted in the parking lot by an enthusiastic salesperson. He invited us inside to chat, and promptly asked us what monthly car payment we were seeking.

Early in my career, I took a quiz meant to determine how suitable a person was to be an entrepreneur. A high score indicated that one’s personality and interests were aligned with a life of entrepreneurship. A score close to zero was neutral, indicating neither a proclivity nor an aversion to being an entrepreneur. I scored deep in negative territory. I determined at that point to always be a salaryman, a path that worked out well for me.

Investors who desire a broader market index fund than is offered by the 500 large-cap stocks in the S&P Index Fund often opt for the 3,500 or so stocks in the ostensibly more encompassing Total Market Index Fund. But are these two funds—among the largest on the mutual fund landscape– really all that different?  Let’s find out.
The Portfolios
It makes sense to begin our investigation of just how alike the S&P surrogate and Total Market Index are by comparing several characteristics of their portfolios.

I HATED SCHOOL. There, I said it. From reading the bios of other HumbleDollar contributors, it appears most, if not all, enjoyed their academic experience. Many have gone on to acquire advanced degrees. I, too, went on to acquire post-college education, but only when my employer paid.
But the best education I received wasn’t found in the classroom, but in day-to-day life. It came from observing what others did or didn’t do.

I was reading this New York Times Article today titled: ” How one man lost $740,000 to scammers targeting his retirement savings”. See this link.
This is a shocking reminder that scammers are getting more and more sophisticated. It is going to get worse. Criminals on the internet are increasingly going after Americans over 60 for their retirement savings. Potential losses last year were over $3.4 billion.
Here’s another link that’s relevant.
What steps should we take to protect our assets from scammers?

My 2014 Honda Accord hit 10 years recently. It has 97,000 miles. It still runs well; cosmetically it is average.  I use it as a 2nd car. We use my wife’s 2022 Honda Pilot for the majority of our driving. It’s a fine car, but not exciting.
I bought this Accord when I was driving from Valley Forge, PA to northern VA frequently. But that stopped after a few years when my company role changed. I probably put on half the mileage in the first two years.

Is being rich the same as being wealthy? Nope. Being rich means you have a high income, live well, perhaps lavishly. Being wealthy means you have accumulated growing assets.
You can be rich, but not wealthy and you can be wealthy, but never rich. 
The secret to accumulating wealth is accumulating stuff- stuff that grows in value – not luxury cars or designer clothes or even tattoos. My wife’s engagement ring has increased in value ten fold –

I thought it might be interesting to ponder the things about our lives we are perfectly content with and would not change regardless of money.
If you received an unexpected inheritance of $20 million, would you move to a different house/location?  Would you drive a different vehicle?  Would you eat or dress differently?  I don’t think I would.  I’m living exactly where and how I want to live.  Of course, this is easy to say now. 

I have just read a guest post dated 7/25/2024 to Collabfund.com titled Fill The Bathtub by Ted Lamade the managing Director at the Carnegie Institution for Science. I recommend reading this thoughtful article about trust.
A link to the article is –
https://collabfund.com/blog/fill-the-bathtub/
I have been thinking a lot about why I read HumbleDollar most every day. I think the key for me is the trust I have that what is posted is the truth as experienced by the writers whether the source is the editor,

AMONG THE FINANCIAL topics grabbing investors’ attention, inflation for many years was near the bottom of the list. In fact, between 2010 and 2019, inflation averaged just 1.8% a year, and the Federal Reserve was looking to lift that rate. Throughout 2019, the Fed lowered its benchmark interest rate multiple times, citing inflation that was running below its preferred level of 2%.

But just a few years later, in the midst of the pandemic, all that changed.

You’ve gone long-term the S&P 500 and you think you’re diversified. Lots of luck. Others of you are smug because you opted instead for a total market fund. At least you guys had the right idea. Truth is, neither of you is adequately spread out. Why not? Because you are horribly underinvested in small cap stocks
 
The S&P has absolutely zero small stocks represented, according to Morningstar’s definition. And small companies make up only 8% of the broad market alternative’s holdings.

WHO HAS TIME TO die? I never realized death would be so busy.
I thought I had my financial affairs in good order. But in the two months since my cancer diagnosis, I’ve made countless financial tweaks, mostly with a view to making things easier after my death for my wife Elaine and my two children.
Here are just some of the steps I’ve taken:

I took my two checking accounts—my personal account and the business account for HumbleDollar—and made Elaine the joint account holder with rights of survivorship.

Recently we were visiting one of our sons and his family, include a 13- year old granddaughter.
Out of the blue she stated she didn’t like millionaires. I couldn’t let that go unexplored. 
Why not, I asked. They think they are big deals and they show off.  How do you know a person is a millionaire, I asked. Because they have lots of stuff, fancy cars, and live in big houses. 
My son was afraid of where I was going with this and gave me a look.