AS AN ENGINEER and a believer in keeping things running, I haven’t owned many automobiles during my lifetime. Instead, my focus has been on extending each one’s longevity.
Among the maintenance and repairs I’ve undertaken: oil changes, spark plug and wire replacements, carburetor cleaning and adjustment, belt and hose replacements, distributor and timing settings, brake replacements (disk and drum), master and slave brake cylinder repairs, clutch adjustment, alternator repair, radiator repair, heater core repair,

Todays article Digging Out is about a solution for credit card debt. However it has morphed into a discussion about our pets. What length will you go to if your beloved pet needs expensive medical procedures? What goes into your consideration?
A good friend rescued a young dog that soon became very ill. He spent nearly $8000 at the vet without any regrets at all. What would you do?
 

Question for the forum, does anyone research the banks/CUs they use to assess bank health/safety?  I have leveraged Veribanc for years to check up on my banks and have both left banks as the ratings for that bank fell into disfavorable as well as not choose a bank after reviewing their report card and finding it less than stellar.  Just wondering what others on here might be doing (looking for ideas that will improve my processes here). 

Adam Grossman recently wrote a good piece about “barbell” strategies.
A barbell—literally—is a metal bar with weights on each end like you see in a gym or an old Popeye cartoon. There are no weights in the middle, just on the opposite ends.
In investment terms, a to implement a barbell strategy is to overweight assets at opposing ends of the spectrum. A common approach is to create a barbell of bond funds with short-term maturities and those with long-term maturities and not much in the middle.

I was just on Threads and read a discussion about tipping. One person from the U.K. noted that they don’t tip. It’s not up to customers to pay servers wages he said. Really? I’m guessing the expense of those wages are built in the price of food. In other European countries a close look at the bill shows a service charge. We all tip, one way or another.
Then you have the folks from Canada or U.K.

“IS THAT INDIA or something? Where was that picture taken, Richie?”
“You’ll never guess, Stevie. Remember 266 Washington Avenue?”
“That brown brick, 114-unit apartment building in Brooklyn that Grandpa bought 75 years ago? Mommy said he saved for the down payment with money from the kosher butcher shop he opened after he got here from Poland. But didn’t we sell it in the 1970s? It looks like the Taj Mahal now.”
“Yeah, it’s obviously been spectacularly upgraded over the years.”
“How did you get the picture?”
“Robin and I were in New York last month and went to see it.

LIKE MANY AMERICANS, Sally found herself caught in a whirlwind of unexpected expenses and mounting credit card debt. It wasn’t lavish vacations or shopping sprees. Rather, it was veterinary bills for her aging dogs.
I conducted a credit-card debt-reduction workshop for Sally. Here’s a glimpse at her finances:

Her Mastercard balance was $12,970 at a hefty 17% interest rate.
Despite that, she had an exceptional credit score of 820.
She also had a $26,000 emergency fund.

This HumbleDollar guide explains mutual funds and ETFs. Which do you favor, and why? Do you choose differently depending on whether the investments are in a taxable brokerage account, a traditional pretax account such as an IRA or 401(k), or a Roth account such as a Roth IRA or Roth 401(k)?
Mine are all mutual funds, in all three types of accounts. Initially that was because ETFs weren’t available when I started investing. Now it’s because I don’t wish to deal with bid-ask spreads,

You faced no financial disasters through life, you were not disabled, you simply went through life with no specific financial plans for the future and now you are old, retired with minimal income or resources.
How would you feel accepting money or substantial gifts (car) from adult children?
Glad, embarrassed, ashamed, entitled, grateful?

WHAT DO WE MEAN BY an “enjoyable” retirement?

I suspect there are as many answers as there are retirees. But one thing remains a constant: the need for an adequate income. Given a choice, I don’t think many people would choose to live a frugal, barely financially sufficient retirement.

My father retired at age 66. I say “retired,” but the reality is one day the owner called him into the office and said he was no longer needed.

Over the last 17 years, I have been saving a modest amount each month in a 529 plan. I have been doing the same for my daughter for the past 14 years. Given the market performance and our steady contributions over time, these modest monthly contributions have grown to be a sizable amount. While I am thrilled that we should have most of our college cost covered, I’ve often wondered if the 529 plan was the best bet in saving for college.

I only own two individual stocks. I have shares in the company I retired from in my 401(k) and shares in my current company in my Roth IRA. Returns so far this year: 93% for my old company and 122% for my current employer. Did you ever buy stock in your employer’s company, and how long did you hold it?

My husband and I are in our early 70s and have been retired for 5+ years. Our net worth is significant and we are fortunate to have a generous retirement income and lifestyle.  Our adult children are in their 40s,  have good incomes and various retirement benefits. Is there a good, better, best time and way to share our estate plans, net worth or other details about our future plans with your adult children?

We are in this time of life. One of our elderly parents who lives alone has memory issues. How did you know when it was not safe for your parents to be in their home anymore?  Chris

It’s easy for someone like me with a pension and Social Security as income to harp on the need for a steady income stream in retirement. The thought of coming up with a withdrawal strategy from investments combined with the possibility- even unlikely – of  running out of money scares me no end. The complexity of strategies I read about is just as disturbing. I doubt I could do it.
On the other hand, quite unintentionally I have built an income stream with two dividend paying stocks and a few bond funds.