I just read a wonderful article about someone who quit drinking at the age of 70.
https://www.wsj.com/health/wellness/its-never-too-late-to-quit-drinking-alcohol-i-should-know-cbaf6aea?st=tG27gv&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
I have been reading more and more articles about how dangerous even moderate  drinking is and I have been considering quitting completely.
I wanted to know how readers of HD handle drinking and if it has affected their life and finances.  I look forward to your comments.

My dad was the oldest child of a successful rancher. When my grandpa needed someone to help him with the farm, Dad reluctantly left his career as a fighter pilot in the Air Force and came back to Nebraska. He always made it clear that he did not enjoy ranching, but he loved the time he had to spend with his family.
Growing up, we never wanted anything but our expenditures were also not extravagant. My parents purchased new Chevy Suburbans,

Healthcare can be one of the biggest expenses you’ll face in retirement. That’s why it’s so important to make the right Medicare decision when you turn 65.
Medicare’s open enrollment for 2026  is October 15 to December 7, 2025 or 3 months before you turn 65. If you’re approaching 65 — or helping a loved one — here’s what you need to know before making a choice.
You Have Two Options at 65
When you sign up for Medicare,

With Roth conversions touted as a savvy move—pay taxes now, enjoy tax-free withdrawals later—it’s tempting to jump in. But what if the U.S. tax system shifts from income taxes to leaning heavily on tariffs? This idea, gaining traction in 2025 policy debates, challenges conventional wisdom and suggests a contrarian take: maybe we should limit Roth conversions.
Here’s why. Converting a traditional IRA to a Roth means paying income tax upfront at today’s rates. The payoff is tax-free growth and withdrawals,

Being a human being and a long term investor is ….. challenging.
I think we all probably know the accepted wisdom. Timing the market is almost impossible. Trading is a fool’s errand. Long term investing is the only way to reliably build wealth. The key is to determine your plan, set your allocations then stick to it.
But because we, as the HD community, take an interest in personal finance, we are also likely exposed to financial media.

We have a more than sufficient income. Our income is not dependent on withdrawals or the stock market. Our net worth is more than adequate. By standard measures we are into the 90th percentile for any age. So why do I still worry about money?
I have done some research and I’m convinced it’s all psychological, past experiences and unjustified fear playing with my mind. Maybe yours too. 
For many people, money isn’t just a tool — it’s a symbol of safety and control.

I was just reading an interview with Christine Benz from Morningstar. She recommends also having a portion of your portfolio allocated to bonds and cash. Here is her rationale:
“I can definitely see investors emphasizing dividend-payers in their equity portfolios, maybe going exclusively with dividend-payers, but I would augment them with some safer investments. Coming back to cash, coming back to a little bit in high-quality bonds.

…you’re protecting yourself in a few key scenarios. One would be that sort of market downturn if stocks are down and you have something else to pull your cash flows from in retirement,

I don’t know if there’s an academic term for one aspect of my personality. I honestly struggle to articulate what it is. The best I can do is describe it as a total lack of emotional investment in the political and economic situation in the world around me, an absence of the ability to deeply care about the personalities and themes of the great political and financial stage. It puzzles me that people feel so passionately about these events and figures.

Right now, the bulk of my US stock holdings are in my Rollover IRA, split unequally between VFIAX (Vanguard 500 Index Fund Admiral Shares) and VEXAX (Vanguard Extended Market Index Fund Admiral Shares). The split has become more unequal than I originally intended. I am taking the whole of my RMD from the 500 fund (and investing it in other funds in taxable), but I’ll still need to move money to VEXAX to rebalance. I am wondering whether it wouldn’t be better (it would obviously be simpler) to combine both funds into VTSAX (Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Admiral Shares).

Here is how we use Social Security benefits voluntary withholding to pay all of our estimated Federal tax obligation. This eliminates the need for quarterly filings and payments and is as painless as when taxes were withheld from our employee paychecks.  And since most of our income as well as expenses are on a monthly cycle (including a monthly RMD withdrawal moved to our brokerage account) the monthly automatic tax payment keeps everything in balance and on budget.

There is a long list of past HD writers, some fairly prolific in the past. Where are they?
Some of us are still telling  our stories and taking our licks with a bit of risk without the comfort of Jonathan’s editing. A few welcome new faces have appeared – a couple also prolific, right Mark😉
If you were a writer in the past or entirely new to HD, including those from across the pond or oceans,

My wife passed away in June. Our 2024 MFJ tax return was in the first IRMAA premium tier.  Our 2024 MAGI was $256K which included a $106K Roth conversion. The 2024 tax return will be the basis for my SS Part B fee including the IRMAA premium. That would put me in the 4th IRMAA premium tier for single filing. I expect SSA will initially show me in the 4th premium level. At that point, I can file an IRMAA appeal using FORM SSA-44 to request that they use my 2026 income estimate instead which will save me a lot of money.

Last month, the IRS issued final regulations related to several provisions of the SECURE 2.0 Act relating to employer sponsored retirement plan catch-up contributions. Some plans allow additional, or catch-up, contributions for employees 50 and over. For 2025, the regular limit is $23,500. The catch-up limit for those aged 50 and over is $7,500.  Starting in 2025, there is a higher “super catch-up” limit of $11,250 or those turning age 60, 61, 62, or 63 during the year.

The normal thinking would have us believing that a bubble is a dangerous situation for our retirement accounts. What if I told you that I believe a market bubble makes your portfolio more resilient? Would you believe me?
Everyone fears bubbles. You should harvest them.
Don’t worry, I haven’t lost the plot, let me be clear: I’m being deliberately provocative to make a point about something some investors neglect when things are going splendidly well, disciplined rebalancing.

Tomorrow morning I’ll be up early and take my grandson to school. I enjoy our chats on the journey. Back home, it will be a quick breakfast and then off to meet some older friends for a few hours of pickleball and a bit of craic. I should be back to base by early afternoon for a catch-up with my wife Suzie while we plan what to buy for dinner that evening. My daughter and granddaughter will be joining us for the meal…