The link below is to an interesting, to me, Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals tax case that was published March 19, 2025 titled

Hubbard v. Comm’r of Internal Revenue

https://www.opn.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/25a0064p-06.pdf
I was not previously aware that there are two types of criminal forfeitures and the impact, at least so far, determined the taxability of a IRA distribution after forfeiture when the forfeiture order identifies the “specific property”  (the IRA among other things) that the defendant must relinquish.

This doesn’t mean you put all your eggs in the annuity basket. You still take advantage of other retirement vehicles and accumulate assets, but adding to the guaranteed Social Security income stream with an annuity seems like a good idea for many, perhaps most retirees.
Certainly do it yourself investing, even withdrawing when retired, offer no guarantees – and a lot of planning and projecting that are challenges for many people – especially those who don’t read HD. 

Dan’s post ‘Insomnia and the Back of an Envelope’ motivated me to review our expenses.  Our top five categories are property taxes, home/car insurance, utilities, groceries, and healthcare premiums/deductibles.

Our home property taxes increased 23% from 2023 to 2025 while our home value increase 17%. The value of our ten-acre plot went down 1.6% from 2023 to 2024, but then increased 23.5% from 2024 to 2025 and property taxes increased by 30%.
Home insurance went up 46% from 2023 to 2025,

I really feel for people  who are unexpectedly losing their jobs late career because of the DOGE cuts.
I experienced something similar when I was pushed out of my 36 year banking job at age 59. I was a good performer, but when they want to get you they get you.
I struggled for a couple of years but the good news is that I finally figured things out and at age 70 I’m the happiest I’ve ever been.

I have no desire to oversee a website where folks work out their anger issues by posting snarky political comments. But lately, that anger has been on full display, and we all know why. Love him or hate him, Donald Trump clearly elicits strong emotions.
But here’s the thing: Those strong emotions may be justified—but they’re hard to justify on financial grounds, just as they were hard to justify during the Biden presidency. Consider:

The unemployment rate was 4.1% when Biden left office,

Every few decades or more often our federal tax system has a major upheaval. After I got my accounting degree in 1977 my first two jobs were working in state government auditing focused on matters internal to the function of the government. I still feel I learned a lot during those jobs but it was not a good fit for me.
In the early 1980’s I entered the world of public accounting which to a large extent is broken into two segments.

I’m  not so good in the genre of Rapper or hip hop singers, but I don’t let that deter me when my mind is in tune with a good word puzzle.  Yes, I’m hooked on the NYT word game Connections.
Chances are you played or, at least heard of the New York Times “cult”puzzles.  Over the past few years, Wordle became a staple  as part of millions of peoples daily routine, and I highly recommend the addictive Connections as a new challenge for word puzzle aficionados and word mavens.

I cannot think of a better cure for my occasional insomnia than to stare at my electronic 2024 checkbook and analyze our spending for the prior year.
I’m looking for how much money came in, and how much came out to pay bills and buy stuff, and how much went back into savings and investments.
Social Security and two dinky pensions are what I refer to as our spending benchmark. In an ideal world our spending will never exceed the benchmark.

As an AARP volunteer Tax Aide for a second tax season, I completed about 100 returns and reviewed many others prepared by other volunteers. I volunteer two days a week from February 1 to April 14 at two different senior centers and continue to make observations based my clients’ tax situations.
The Tax Aide program is free and not limited to seniors or AARP members. Even though most clients are retired seniors, we can serve all ages and incomes.

Our earliest days as independent fledgling adults, working our first job, living in our own place, are hard to forget. I still recall my first apartments in surprising detail. As I now watch my daughter live through her own such experiences, these memories are flooding back.
Mine are mostly happy, as I lived and worked through the first part of my lifetime happiness smile curve. There were a few rare exceptions. Buying my first car was one of them.

I have an irrevocable trust with my brother as my co-trustee. I would like to replace him with my son. Is there a simple way to do that, or should I contact an attorney?

Reading various social media sites it strikes me how uninformed so many people are about money and economics. No, I’m not being a snob. I make no claim to expertise on either subject, but I do make an effort to obtain a basic understanding and check facts before I comment or initiate a post. 
Billionaires and the wealthy are frequent targets. Did you know billionaires pay lower taxes than middle class taxpayers? They pay only 8% according to some sources or that’s what many people choose to believe.

Hi, my name is David, and I am a newsaholic! There I’ve said it. Admitting you have an addiction is the first step to recovery, right?
All my life I have been addicted to reading the news. I like to be informed about the goings on locally, nationally, and internationally. I think it is a way for me to lower my anxiety. Over the past 8-9 years however things have changed.
What does this have to do with taking care of my mother in law?

IT’S BEEN AN UNUSUAL year—to say the least—for investment markets. After rising earlier in the year, U.S. stocks and bonds have dropped in recent weeks. Market leaders like Apple and Nvidia have been among the hardest hit. The U.S. dollar has also dropped, helping boost the value of international shares, and gold has continued to hit new all-time highs, despite inflation cooling.
What can we learn from all this? I see seven lessons.
1.

I’m not expecting readers to answer all eight of the thorny questions listed below. But I’d love to hear your thoughts on one or two.

What in your past or about your personality explains your investment risk tolerance?
What uses of money—giving it away, saving it, specific purchases—bring you the greatest joy?
Would you be okay financially if U.S. stocks had a 0% total return over the next 10 years?
If you’re still working, what would it take for you to leave the workforce with a sense of satisfaction?