Of my first investments beyond CDs. Bought into a mutual fund in mid-1987 not understanding front-end loads and high expense ratio, not to mention residing in the bottom quartile. Invested in a REIT that immediately and constantly fell in value. Then Black Monday happened to the mutual fund, and the REIT had no secondary market I could sell to.
But the investments were small and the lessons learned huge. I learned that the market came back pretty quickly and that mutual funds are not created equally,

I recently asked HumbleDollar Forum readers if they talk about money with friends and family members. Though the sample is small, the answer is clear. It seems nearly everyone except me keeps their nose where it belongs–out of other people’s business
Perhaps my work as a physical therapist has dulled my sense of relationship boundaries. I’ve asked thousands of patients personal questions such as “Do you need help bathing?” Apparently, it’s just a small step from there to quizzing a close friend about her retirement plans.

A recent comment in the Forum got me thinking about the inherent value of certain fixed income instruments. The commenter said they did not include their traditional pension or Social Security retirement benefit in their balance sheet when calculating net worth. This makes sense since neither of these is easily convertible to cash.
But pensions and SS clearly have significant value, and in many cases are the largest asset a retiree owns. I think it’s useful to get a feel for these amounts.

I always like seeing Jonathan’s monthly top hits list for articles, which is based on page views. I thought I’d compile something similar for the Forum to recognize posts that had the highest engagement last month. My engagement metric uses a proprietary formula based on a combination of likes and comments.

Quinn Relents/Dick Quinn
Feeling Lucky/Jonathan Clements
Humble Bragging/Jonathan Clements
Nobody Wants to Pay Healthcare Bills/Dick Quinn
Vanguard vs Fidelity/Steve Abramowitz
New Car Envy/Rick Connor
CCRC is not an Assisted Living Facility/Kathy Wilhelm
They’re Sunk/Jonathan Clements
Would You Leave a Note?/Rick Connor
Monday Rant/Dick Quinn

How about the three most liked posts?

I RECENTLY READ AN article by Anna D. Banks, an executive coach and human behavior consultant, who talks about the importance of cultivating friendships in retirement. She discusses embracing new activities, volunteering, reconnecting with old friends, using technology, attending social events, and being open-minded about forming friendships with people from other backgrounds.
All this got me thinking about HumbleDollar.
The Breakfast Club is a coming-of-age movie from 1985—a movie,

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.