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?

I met with a Vice President of Fisher Investments, a very large and very well-advertised fee-only investment advisory firm, to see if they would be a good fit to manage my portfolio. It turns out they weren’t, and after they asked why, this was my reply:
Frank,
Thanks for taking the time to meet with me to explain how Fisher Investments works.
I respect you for asking for feedback. And since you asked:
1. I’m not a fan of the fee structure:
-Its size: Paying you $70,000 a year to manage my portfolio seems like an awful lot of money.

I’ve recently observed cases where family and friends undertake serious medical interventions with not the best outcomes. These interventions seem well intentioned to rehab issues, but I now wonder if they sometimes are a money grab when potentially better health outcomes might exist. In fairness to the Doctors, we want instant and complete resolution to sometimes niggling health issues – many caused by our own lifestyles or basic aging.
Here are a few observations:

My uncle had his prostate removed in his late 70’s,

For many, perhaps most of us, taxes are pretty simple, especially with the higher standard deduction.
So, did you prepare your own taxes, use a free tax preparation service, an accountant or fee base tax preparer?
Did you directly download 1099s for investments from your record keeper as opposed to manual entry?
Why did you make the choice you did? We’re you satisfied with results?
I have used TurboTax for several years. It works for me,

One option per the IRS –
Pay online and click on extension. Taxpayers simply pay what they owe using an online payment option, then click on extension as the reason for the payment. The taxpayer will receive a confirmation number of their extension for their records. There’s no need to file any additional forms.
https://www.irs.gov/payments
The failure to pay penalty is 0.5% per month. The failure to file penalty is 5.0% per month.

At a time when American society has become increasingly polarized, I can’t think of a more propitious time to look at an example of how respect, civility and friendship  can flourish and overcome dissenting factious opinions.
There is no finer example of this than the friendship that existed between former Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg,  who eventually became to represent two branches of the Supreme Court.  Affectionately known as R.B.G by her supporters,

From IR-2025-47, April 14, 2025
The Internal Revenue Service announced today tax relief for individuals and businesses in the entire state of Tennessee affected by severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes and flooding that began on April 2, 2025.
These taxpayers now have until Nov. 3, 2025, to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments.
The full announcement IR-205-47 at the following link –
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?pli=1#inbox/FMfcgzQZVJzzFxfSCzRrbMsrFXCPDFTm
Imagine having worked long hours for months on end.

I’ve mentioned my dumb luck at having most of our money in cash, earning about 4% as of 4/1. My strategy is to dollar cost average back into the market between now and the end of the year. If you ask my reasoning on this, I’d just say that I don’t want to be late to the party that follows the end of trade war. I have begun the process with my IRA, and will soon start on Chris’s.

What do you look for when buying a car? Quality, reliability, safety features, good mileage? Yup all that plus I like technology and friendliness.
My new car has more cameras than Kodak. When I use the navigation it shows a live image of the turn so it’s hard to miss. It uses the cameras to find a space and park itself. If I get lost I just say, “Take me home.”
When I start the car it says,

A number of events over the past few months have me thinking about aging, mortality, legacy, frailty, and – of course – financial planning. These events included attending funerals, preparing tax returns (ours and dozens of others), visiting old friends and distant family, minor traffic accidents, winter doldrums, and the recent discussions on HumbleDollar on the unique estate planning needs of childless retirees. Recent market volatility may have played a small role.
My wife and I have a lot of real-world experience caring for aging and infirm parents,

The first Social Security retirement check was issued to Ida M. Fuller on January 31, 1940, for an amount of $22.54. She had paid SS taxes a little less than three years. She died Jan 27, 1975 at 100 years old. It’s a pretty good bet she didn’t pay for her own benefit.
But that is not the point. The point is Social Security has worked quite well paying benefits for 85 years. The is no justification to attack it.

Unfortunately I have had a lot of experience in this realm. In an 18 month period during 2017-18. I first lost my twin brother at 59 years old; then almost 1 year later my father, and six months after that my mother each on one side or another of 85. Unfortunately all of them suffered from some type of dementia. As a result at the time of their passing we were unable to communicate with them.

For more years than I remember I have saved my pocket change. Every day I put it in a tray on my dresser. When it overflows, Connie bags it and eventually rolls it for deposit. That happens at around $80.00.
I never pass a penny on the ground. In fact, on occasion I dig one out of the soft tar. Some coins are so mangled it’s hard to tell what they are at first. Sometimes people stare at me,