I was sitting on the deck of my holiday home, enjoying the morning sunshine and breakfast, when a deep rumble announced the arrival of an expensive, sporty car. It was my neighbour. He’s a very nice man in his 40s who always dresses impeccably, with two well-turned-out kids and an immaculate wife – to all intents and purposes, a family living the dream.
Contrast that with me: I drive a seven-year-old SUV with 70,000 miles on the clock,

Recently, on the Saving and Gifting thread, I listed the organizations I support: “a reading service for the blind, the local hospice, Planned Parenthood, public radio and TV, and the [retirement] community’s benevolent fund”, to which I should have added Royal Oak, the US affiliate of the National Trust. I added that “having grown up in what some Americans no doubt consider a Socialist country [UK], I consider charity to be the job of the government,

Callie’s 5 mind blowing facts!
I’ve always liked these kind of facts/research. Hope you do too!

I’ve been working to educate myself on the US pension system, particularly the retirement decumulation landscape. It’s a challenging endeavor, but through diligent research, I’m slowly grasping the essentials. From an outsider’s viewpoint, the complexity that various US administrations have introduced into this system is striking. As a UK citizen, I find several aspects particularly perplexing:
The Sheer Number and Variety of Retirement Accounts: In the UK, it’s largely about defined contribution and defined benefit pensions,

There is a Boglehead Conference in October.  Has anybody attended previous conferences? I’m considering attending and I’d appreciate your hearing about your experience. Did you find it valuable?
Thanks,
Jackie

I met a few months back with the vice-president  of Fisher Investments. One of the benefits of our meeting was a hardcopy brochure titled “99 Retirement Tips.” You can get an electronic version via this link, without having to attend an actual meeting, though it may still come with some very persistent phone calls from Ken and Company.
It makes for a brisk though useful read as every retiree could benefit from going over the basics every now and then.

Read any article on retirement planning and there will be something about the expenses that go away upon retirement.
Usually the top two are no more mortgage payment or saving for retirement followed by commuting and other work related costs, less driving hence less gasoline, less spent on clothes. Some articles mention no longer paying life insurance premiums, less dining out and fewer subscriptions. 
Some of these may be significant and others not so much. Certainly if a mortgage is paid off at retirement that is a big reduction and no doubt most will see a drop in their savings rate especially if saving was a significant percentage of income. 

The occasional heated posts directed at a certain esteemed, HumbleDollar contributor, regarding his disdain for spreadsheets, always amuse me. While I find them entertaining, they sometimes become a bit uncivilized. I actually sympathize with his views, and my own use of spreadsheets is quite sparing. I believe that common sense, rule-of-thumb heuristics, and an individual’s intimate knowledge of their own circumstances are more than sufficient for everyday budgeting. However, I do construct the odd spreadsheet, very occasionally.

Saving money is the greatest of the financial virtues—and, for much of my adult life, I could hardly have been more virtuous.
This frugality didn’t come naturally. I wasn’t a “born saver.” Rather, I had no choice. Within a few years of graduating university, I found myself married to a PhD student and raising a family in one of the world’s most expensive urban areas. On my junior reporter’s salary, scrimping and saving were the only options.

I was watching a TV program this afternoon about a couple living really frugal lives, all so they could escape their former high-pressure jobs. And really? I just don’t get why people would choose that. It didn’t seem appealing to me. The thing that kept going through my mind was how pressurized their new, “improved” lifestyle seemed – always looking for bargain clothing, short-dated discounted food, hustling for money to pay the bills. Why not just consider a part-time job with less pressure?

Not trying to post here with an intent of bullying etc not actually specifically wanting an individual response though I think it would be of value to him.  But given RDQ’s repeated themes of criticising outlets he comes across for missing some vital element of personal finances like tax or being fraud like FIRE sub 50 and maintaining that any spreadsheet or budget approach to life is unnecessary or too stressful, I truly think he would benefit from trying to learn how it might be done.

I really enjoy hearing from folks in other countries. It provides a great new perspective, but it would help in the discussions to know where a person is.
When there is mention of say pensions or Social security it could mean different things around the world.
Perhaps a designation after a name would help.
JJones-Aus or UK or something like that.
 

I have a new job, a chauffeur no less. This involves conveying my grandson to school. I don’t know how much education he receives, but on the journey, I’m certainly getting an education on the colourful language of Generation Alpha, for those not in the know that’s kids up to age fifteen.
While I freely admit this post has very little traditional financial content, I would contend it holds a vital message. So, without further ado,

You list each piece of data you want, need and obtain from a spreadsheet and I’ll see if I can match it with my all online bank multi-account, single source consolidated investments approach. 😎
And yes I realize some people just enjoy spreadsheets.
No 🔻please it’s just a fun exercise.

Today, I have the not-so-joyful task of collecting my suit from the dry cleaners. This instrument of torture is, of course, for a wedding I’m attending in a few weeks. Suzie and I are close friends with the bride’s family, and for the past 18 months, we’ve been “in the loop” on all the drama and discussions surrounding the planning. It seems every visit to a bridal show adds a new “must-have” addition to what’s become quite the circus,