I always thought waiting until 67 to take Social Security was the responsible choice, until life gave me a reason not to.
I retired early, but I’ll save that story for another time.
What mattered then was this, I’d earned enough credits to claim Social Security at 62. Under Jonathan’s guidance, the plan was simple, we wait until 67 and lock in a larger monthly check. It was sound advice, grounded in math and discipline. So I held onto it.

I’ve written two recent posts about our decision to buy a new (to us) home and sell our condo. I appreciate all the comments and well-wishes I’ve received, but I’ve decided to be candid about one aspect of this big “little” move: It’s financially stressful at a period of life where that might not seem to be…prudent.
First, the nuts-and-bolts. The home we bought is more expensive than the one we’re selling (a little more than 50% higher if you go by both sales prices).

My wife Suzie is in Spain visiting her dad and I’ve taken the opportunity for a solo trip to my vacation home. On the fourth day Suzie rang for a catch-up and told me all about the visit. After we rang off I thought back over the last few days and realised I hadn’t interacted with anyone in a meaningful way since leaving home.
It wasn’t a conscious decision. I’d visited the local grocery store and loaded up on supplies but used the self service tills,

Good Lord, I just turned to AI for a few fun facts. It answered by asking me if my question was in reference to the piece I submitted to HumbleDollar today. While I find that a bit creepy, it gave me an interesting factoid. Here it is, word for word:
The “Hidden Surcharge” Fact: > Most people think the highest marginal tax rate in the U.S. is 37%. However, when you factor in the MAGI “cliff”

It was the first time that Ron’s tax return had a balance due, and he kind of freaked out. On the recommendation of the advisor at his bank, Ron purchased municipal bonds because they were tax exempt. He was shocked to learn that his Social Security benefit became partially taxable. I explained that tax free muni interest was added in with other sources of income to determine if any Social Security income would become taxable. He immediately called his bank person,

Our condo HOA monthly fee is $950. It was $700 when we purchased in September 2018. All of the increase was higher costs associated with upkeep and maintenance, not improvements or added services. 
Now it’s likely the increase in July will be 7.4% to $1,020. ($840 a year). 
Annually the increases averages 4.82% since 2018. For reference the annual rate of inflation since September 2018 was about 3.65%, but that is not directly applicable to running a complex of nine buildings where repairs are needed on everything from elevators to fountain pumps.

My hope is this resonate with some of you and you will tell your own story. It’s probably more of an article, but my hope is it creates good conversation and your wisdom as well.
The life we built, the family we raised, and the future we prepared for were not handed to us. They were built—day by day, dollar by dollar, choice by choice.
Most people will never have the exact same story.

IT’S BEEN MORE than six years since Covid first entered our vocabulary. It goes without saying that investors have experienced a lot, and for better or worse, recent market events provide some useful lessons. The first has to do with the nature of the stock market.
What drives stock prices? Open a finance textbook, and the answer will be clear: The value of a stock should equal the sum of the company’s future profits.

I LOVE TO PLAN. My wife, Sharon, often catches me nestled in my chair, gazing out a window at a distant object as my mind wanders even farther afield. My musings become scribbles on a scrap of paper, destined for discussion with Sharon at length over coffee and long walks. Eventually, we hammer out the settled strategies we think will best bring us happiness in adventures ranging from our next hike to the next few decades of life.

A RECENT article by Adam Grossman relayed an interesting story of the 2015 merger of Kraft and Heinz.  One of the aspects that made this merger unique was the involvement of Warren Buffet. Adam’s story is a cautionary tale for investors – research shows that, more often than not, the hoped-for corporate synergies and growth are elusive. The story provides more evidence for the benefits of indexing to investors.
There is, however, another side to this story that is very important to an individual’s personal financial life.

The Tension Worth Keeping
Andrew Clements wrote an excellent piece about growing up in Bangladesh and the idea of “enough.” I’d add this: some have earned great sums, yet decided—quite intentionally—what “enough” would be for them.
We sometimes talk as if there are two kinds of people: those who pursue wealth and those who give it away.
History suggests a third category—those who do both, and do both seriously.
There have always been men and women who earned great sums and gave great sums.

I thought I would seek solace in the Humble Dollar community for my latest self inflicted wound: an own goal of reasonably epic proportions.
It started innocently enough. I noticed a split developing on our twenty year old, 600 gallon plastic oil storage tank. Visions of catastrophic failure danced in my head. I pictured the tank groaning under a full load of fresh kerosene and then… well, you can imagine.
After gathering quotes for supply and installation of a replacement,

I asked my friends AI, what percentage of pre-retirement income to retirees actually live on. Of course, most of the data is survey based. The answer was 66% on average. 
A T. Rowe Price/NewRetirement survey found that, nearly three years into retirement, retirees report living on 66% of pre-retirement income on average—and 57% said they live as well or better than before. 
A Goldman Sachs Asset Management survey showed retirees receive ~60% of pre-retirement wages on average,

How your spouse handles an inherited IRA can shorten—or extend—your children’s tax-deferred growth.
I read, but did not comprehend the article (link below) which I received from Morningstar this morning, but think it may be of value to others.
Bottom line for me is I will inform my wife this morning that after my death she should not do anything with my traditional IRA until she discusses this issue with our estate attorney.
PS Does anyone else despise the term Kids as my wife and I do?

I recently explained some facts about Social Security spousal benefits and upon doing so discovered there were some questions related to the linkage of spousal and survivor benefits. I delved deeper into survivor benefits and found some interesting facts about them as well.
Survivor vs spousal benefits. Survivor benefits are separate from spousal benefits. While spousal benefits are capped at 50% of the workers full retirement amount (FRA), survivor benefits can pay up to 100 % of what the deceased was receiving or entitled to receive.