SECTION 415(D) OF the IRC requires the Secretary of the Treasury (IRS) to annually adjust limitations for cost-of-living increases. So, let’s dive into some of the changes:
 
401(k), 403(b), and Most 457 Plans:

For 2026, the 401(k)/403(b)/457(b) amount you can contribute is increasing from $23,500 to $24,500. If you are in a 24% marginal tax rate, that’s an additional $240 of federal taxes you can defer. If you are over age 50, the catch-up contributions are also increasing by $500,

Have I got a job for you.
As a boy I was into tropical fish. I had several tanks, I raised fish and tried to sell them – anything to make money.  At one point I had eight large tanks of fish. 
At 13 I wangled my way into a job after school and Saturday at a pet store for $5.00 a week and the occasional free fish.
After all these years I finally learned the money in tropical fish is not in the fish,

About  a year and half ago I posted the following article. (It benefited from the wonderful editing of Clements.)  Given investors will soon start receiving distributions from mutual funds, I thought I would repost it. The original post and comments can be found here.
I SOLD A MUTUAL FUND in my taxable account that was up an average 6% a year over the past 10 years—and ended up with a tax loss. That’s right,

I read this Morningstar article this morning. I thought I had posted it then. Although is not pertinent to me I know it is to other HD readers.
Until now, however, QCDs came with a thorny reporting headache. They were reported on IRS Form 1099-R as a regular distribution from an IRA, with no indication that the amount was a QCD.
Effective 2025, an IRA custodian may enter Code Y in Box 7 of Form 1099-R to show that the amount represents a QCD.

In my short time in this forum, I’ve noticed that we spend considerable time discussing both commendable and questionable decisions—our own and others’. Exploring these decisions humbly and methodically can be quite helpful. Models of behavior are one of the fundamental ways we learn ethics and good decision-making, and I’ve certainly gained wisdom from the stories many of you have shared.
This past Tuesday, while driving to CrossFit, I listened to a stimulating conversation on “The Rational Reminder Podcast”

I’ve decided my outer extremities have made the giant leap to sentience. I think it’s a distributed system. Over the last nearly sixty years, my only internal monologue was the one happening between my ears. Thankfully it’s always been a single voice and not a baker’s dozen whispering peculiar thoughts.
Retirement seems to have been the breakthrough point. I’ll be sitting in a quiet room, minding my own business, when the rebellious parts of my anatomy decide to join the party.

EVERY FEW MONTHS, I come across yet another article claiming that delaying Social Security is like earning an 8% guaranteed return. It’s a comforting phrase—clean, simple, and easy to repeat. Unfortunately, it isn’t true.
Yes, the Social Security Administration awards an 8% delayed retirement credit for each year you postpone benefits beyond full retirement age. But that 8% is simple interest, not compound. And no matter how attractive the credit looks on the surface, it ignores an uncomfortable fact: You’re giving up three full years of monthly checks to earn it.

As I have written recently we have begun investigating CCRCs. I am curious as to what other bills that you paid when you owned a house are eliminated or reduced, and if reduced by what percentage. Also what additional charges/bills might be incurred from the CCRC other than the obvious monthly fee.
Ideas I’m thinking may be eliminated are expenses such as property taxes, fuel for heating/cooking etc. is electricity included in the monthly charge. How many meals etc.

Guys, this site is valuable to all. I assume hundreds who, like me, have not made a contribution still benefit greatly by reading posts from the gentle, informed folks who comment here.
Those of us on the west coast were delighted to see the video of his service and it is good to see the good work continue. I am certain Jonathan would be pleased.
All the best,
Dennis McGillis

A post on X (was Twitter) offers an interesting twist –
“A guy just used @AnthropicAI Claude to turn a $195,000 hospital bill into $33,000. Not with a lawyer. Not with a hospital admin insider. With a $20/month Claude Plus subscription. He uploaded the itemized bill. Claude spotted duplicate procedure codes, illegal “double billing,” and charges that Medicare rules explicitly forbid. Then it helped him write a letter citing every violation. The hospital dropped their demand by 83%.

I think on occasion it’s nice to highlight a simple little pleasure of retirement—nothing earth-shattering, you understand, just something the gift of retirement time has allowed you to accomplish.
Late yesterday morning I found myself standing on a mile-long sandy beach, the Atlantic breakers sounding like a jet engine and the wind trying its playful best to knock me over. I was accompanied by eight other retired individuals as we marshalled ourselves to conduct a voluntary beach and sand dune clean-up.

Managing money may be simple, but it isn’t easy. Most of us struggle to save diligently, invest intelligently and figure out what will make us happy. HumbleDollar aims to help readers make rational financial decisions, especially when it comes to retirement. But we’re also acutely aware of the human side of money.
Those are Jonathan’s words. They are as close to HumbleDollars mission statement as I can find. This forum is Jonathan’s plan to perpetuate his dream.

An AI editor helped research and polish this, but the overthinking is all mine.
Two months into retirement,  I’ve been thinking less about how to build wealth and more about what to do with it once you’ve reached a point where you feel “done” with the accumulation game. Maybe you’ve been there too—saved enough, checked the boxes, and then looked around wondering, *What now?*
One recent post on Of Dollars & Data estimated that a U.S.

It was a beautiful November Saturday, sunny, with temps approaching 70 degrees. It was as if some benevolent spirit had ordered up this unseasonable pleasant weather. 
Our day kicked off at Saint Peters Church in Philadelphia. Saint Peters first opened for business in 1761. Its first rector, William White, was also the chaplain to the U.S. Congress, during the Revolutionary war. The original high-backed box pews are still in use today, including the box reserved for the then mayor Samuel Powel,

Now that the World Series is complete, MLB news at this time of year will typically be all about awards for last season and trades for next season. But instead, we get the bombshell that Emmanuel Clase and Luis Oritz of the Cleveland Guardians are accused of throwing pitches in MLB games to profit themselves and a group of bettors. It would appear very likely to end their baseball careers.
Now, you might think that these guys must have been offered enormous sums of money to risk their professional baseball earnings.