On occasion I have claimed to be frugal. But after a bit of research, I’m not sure that is always true. For sure we have avoided debt except a mortgage. Our last car loan was thirty years ago and we never had credit card debt, but beyond that my claim of frugality slips a bit. I think we may just be prudent.
When I read a comment about being frugal as part of living in retirement,

I always loved newspapers. I even gave reporting a try back in 11th grade on my high school paper. It didn’t last long—I struggled with deadlines and once botched the front page with a layout mistake called a “tombstone,” where two headlines sit side by side and confuse readers. Still, that didn’t stop me from becoming a devoted reader over the years.
Recently, I came across an article from The USA Today that hit close to home for me.

Bill Bengen, the godfather / creator of the 4% safe withdrawal rate (SWR), or rule, has just published a new book available on Amazon: A Richer Retirement: Supercharging the 4% Rule to Spend More and Enjoy More.
I have not read the book, however, he has done a number of interviews on YouTube.  The gist is that with a more diversified portfolio, as compared to that used to generate the original 4% rule,

How long will we live? Based on an article I just read, I’m guessing that it is probably longer than we think. Here’s why.
The authors pointed out that statistics (and I suspect my intuition) are based on death rates, which only take into account the people who have…wait for it…already died. Those still alive are living longer than they used to, based on the trend of longer, healthier life that has persisted up until now.

My first home computer was a Comodore 64.  Let us not dwell on when that was in terms of the year.  Suffice it to say that it was long ago.  My first PC when I was employed  was an IBM PC with 2 5 1/4’ floppy drives, and no hard drive.  It cost the company maybe $5500.  I have owned many PCs since then.  So, even though I clearly remember using old tech like wired phones,

My grandparents were all gone while I was still in college. Looking back, I don’t think I ever bonded with them. None of them was born here. They never shared their stories, dreams, or advice with me. Was that my fault or theirs?
Fortunately, that distance I experienced is not being repeated with my grandchildren. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
When we married, I explained to everyone that the word “step” did not exist in our blended family.

Do you remember ERTA, 1981 legislation which liberalized the Individual Retirement Account statute so everyone with wages could contribute up to $2,000 a year and take a tax deduction? Contributions increased from 4.8 Billion (1981) to 28.3 Billion (1982) or 490%!
And, do you remember the Tax Reform Act of 1986, which did not change eligibility to contribute to an IRA, every American wage earner and their spouse remain eligible to contribute, but by mucking up the tax deduction,

ONE OF THE MARKET’S worst-performing stocks over the past year was, not long ago, one of its best. Novo Nordisk is the Danish company that pioneered the hugely popular weight-loss drug Wegovy, also known as Ozempic. After it hit the market in 2021, the company’s stock rallied, tripling over the following three years. Since then, however, things have been far more challenging. Over the past 12 months, the stock has dropped 60%.
This highlights a key challenge for investors: On the one hand,

That question just popped into my head. The answer is part of a long journey that always included some form of saving albeit quite modest for many years.
When I was a kid, raising money for important stuff like miniature plastic soldiers, caps for my six guns, beans for the pea shooter and ice cream cones was a necessity. No allowance in my home. 
We acquired our wealth by selling Kool-Aid, collected empty soda bottles for the two cent deposit,

THE OBBBA WAS SIGNED on July 4, 2025. There are a lot of different changes in various areas, including student loans, Medicaid, SNAP, etc
My goal is to focus on reviewing the Title VII – Finance, specifically focusing on Subtitle A – Tax.
There are many changes and my goal is to focus on the most important provisions impacting individuals and small business owners.
Let’s get into it:
Section 70101. Extension of the tax rates.

Planning often costs nothing but time. Even then, the hours we devote to it can buy us buckets of happiness. Some plans may go no further. No matter. There’s no harm done. We’ve spent no money and taken no risk. 
A personal financial plan, on the other hand, can be costly–whether it’s implemented or not. For instance, if we don’t do what we know we ought, actions like making a Roth conversion or moving money out of a high-fee mutual fund,

I have a few hundred pounds of out-of-circulation notes. The Bank of England moved from paper to polymer notes a few years ago, and I had forgotten about some paper notes at the bottom of our safe. By the time I rediscovered them, they were no longer legal tender, and the period to exchange them at normal banks had ended.
Knowing I was flying to London, I decided to bring them with me and present myself at the Bank of England headquarters to exchange them for crisp,

So, Friday August 8th, the sale of our business settled. We had struck a 2 week delay, which was quite an annoyance, but ultimately didn’t prevent the sale and handover from going remarkably well. It’s wonderful to feel that we have given the new owners the very best chance of success. In the last few weeks customers and staff were spending more time talking with the new owners and less with us, exactly as we hoped!

If you own Treasuries, TIPS, or a well-diversified bond portfolio, you already know what safety looks like: steady income, predictable maturity dates, and the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.
Stablecoins? They’re a different animal.
A stablecoin is a digital token pegged to the U.S. dollar and usually backed by assets like Treasury bills. It can be transferred instantly worldwide, which sounds great — until you remember there’s no FDIC insurance, no government guarantee,

While researching an article on the impact of the recent One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) I stumbled upon a very useful, free Social Security Taxability calculator. The calculator is a downloadable Excel spreadsheet. I found it while viewing a YouTube video presented by The Retirement Nerds. The video did a nice job of explaining some of the provisions of the tax bill, especially the new $6,000 bonus senior deduction. The presenter used the calculator to demonstrate the interaction between income,