Heads-Up – I received a notice this morning letting me know to use the 2025 TurboTax desktop software will require Windows 11, released in 2021.  Windows 10 or earlier will need to be upgraded to Windows 11.  You can check whether your PC is compatible by running a PC Health Check, find in your PC settings or do a Google search.  (Looks like I’ll be purchasing a new computer as mine isn’t compatible with Windows 11.)
I’ve been using TurboTax for years to both file my taxes and plan for capital gains and other variables. 

Although I’m more inclined to introversion, I’ve always had the gift of the gab. I can switch this on at will, whether I’m talking to an audience or striking up a conversation with a stranger. I guess it’s a gift of some kind.
Talking with a stranger is more about listening carefully and understanding, whereas talking to an audience leans more toward narration and storytelling. Writing articles falls into the storytelling genre as well.
There have been a few calls on Humble Dollar encouraging readers to submit posts and share their retirement experiences.

I noticed in one of the responses to a recent article that someone expressed some concern about investing in ETFs as opposed to Mutual Funds.  I thought if might be helpful to talk about this topic.  To help open the discussion here is a link to FINRA’s page on the topic:
https://www.finra.org/investors/insights/etf-vs-mutual-fund
Just one more advantage not mentioned in that summary, is that gifting mutual fund shares is hard to do, whereas gifting ETFs is relatively easy.  

Have you ever used a throwaway line you’ve regretted? I have, and it came back to bite me right in the butt.
During the final throes of handover during the sale of my business, the unwise line fell out of my big mouth: “If you’re ever stuck, give me a shout and I’ll help you out.” Well, the call came recently. I could hardly say no, although I thought about it.
A former employee who handled a large account with a guy who is,

For the past year or so I find myself repeating this phrase over and over.
Here’s the scoop. As I have written we have been retired for just over five years now both retiring at 62. From copious reading about retirement guidance we are “waiting until we turn 70” to claim Social Security to maximize our monthly payments.(waiting to see your comments Dick, but I can guess 😂). In the meantime we have been financing our lifestyle via inherited IRAs in order for our own IRAs to increase in value.

When I started taking QCDs and RMDs, several years ago, I called Vanguard each time. Then, last year, I was able to do the whole thing on the website. Naturally, I expected to be able to do it on the web site again this year.
I started with the QCDs. I found the description of what I was supposed to do after a search on the website. I found the correct location. The options presented bore no relationship to the instructions,

I’ve been getting lots of balance transfer offers from credit card companies. For a small transfer fee of only 4%, I could transfer my debt and receive an interest free period of 12 months to pay it off.
For example, one could transfer $10K, pay a transfer fee of $400, pay $867 over the next 12 months. The payments plus the transfer fee would amount to $10,400, making the true cost of the loan 7.3%. (The higher interest rate is due to the ever shrinking loan balance).

After reading Kristine’s post on luck and timing, it brought to mind the one opportunity we passed over that cost Suzie and me a seven-figure sum. It’s come to mind on occasion over the years. Although it causes me a pang of regret, it’s not really something I dwell on.
It was during the Irish property boom that started in 2000 and peaked in 2007. Property values tripled, driven by the peace process and deregulation of the local financial markets.

I was sitting in the car outside my grandkids’ school this morning while my wife Suzie dropped our granddaughter into preschool. I noticed my grandson’s friend being dropped off in a shiny new VW Transporter Multivan. I know his parents, they don’t do camping. It seems like an awful lot of cash and car for a family of four. They’re everyday folks with normal-paying jobs.
This trend for large, expensive vehicles seems prevalent with the thirty-something drop-off crowd at my grandkids’

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for giving to charity, but I would never give 10% of gross income plus we are very selective about the charities we give to. We look to those that can best directly serve people. St Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital is our priority.
In my opinion, tithing 10% can create undue pressure and financial hardship and a skewing of priorities. 
To me the first priority is family and their security and eventually helping children and grandchildren when appropriate.

Hello, everyone!
I have been lurking for a few months, getting to know you from afar, and enjoying your posts and comments. Since I have wanted to chime in on a few threads, I figured it would be good to introduce myself.
My wife and I retired on July 1, 2025 from teaching (I ethics, she English) at the university level. While only three and a half months into it, retirement has been more wonderful than we expected.

Longtime readers of Humble Dollar will know a semi-recurrent theme to my writings involves the idea that luck, timing and not-following-certain-financial-rules have helped shape my financial journey. 
Perhaps most notable is the purchase of a home I made in late 2018. I was well-acquainted with the rule that stated nobody should purchase a home if they don’t intend to live in it for at least five to seven years. And yet I really had no choice.

I found a dead cockroach, feet up in the air, in the kitchen, and it struck me that I haven’t done anything productive either over the last two months. Even sleeping late has proven impossible, thanks to my Shih Tzu. My efforts to start a second, part-time career is bogged down in paperwork—far more than I ever anticipated. Apparently, working in my field for over 40 years with a solid reputation is enough to convince recruiters of my competence,

People think being an income tax preparer is all about possessing some super-human knowledge of the income tax code. It’s not. With the proper amount of continuing education and good computer software, you too could become a tax preparer. But to be a good one, you have to excel at customer service. You have to be accurate and thorough, you need to answer the phone and to be there for your customers. 
Still, sometimes, I had to let a client go.

As a business owner, I was constantly required to be in the customer spotlight, which unfortunately meant adopting an extroverted façade—a sharp contrast to my naturally introverted self. My professional life, with its constant interaction and performative elements, was the biggest stage for this alter ego. Essentially, I was an entrepreneur with a separate, exhausting full-time job: character actor.
My favourite part of the day was 5 a.m., sitting in the sunroom with a coffee while my wife Suzie and the children were still asleep—the calm before donning my character mask and heading out for the day’s business.