I retired at 58 years young. I feel there’s always been tension in the retirement world around when to actually pull the trigger. The common argument goes like this: your late fifties mark the peak earning decade of your career, so retiring early is basically sabotaging your future self. It’s a valid point, and the numbers usually back it up.
But here’s what I think: while the maths matters—and for some people makes early retirement impossible or genuinely foolish—for others,

We’re putting it off, we are planning to … when I turn 70. We will be doing that in a few years…
As I read HD I see many people mention plans they have for the future. For people retired, I have a suggestion. The future is now – Carpe diem
I don’t care what assumptions you put into your spreadsheet or what the SS actuarial table says, in retirement the old adage “Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today,”

Sharing this article (free link, I hope) because it does a great job explaining the ACA “subsidy cliff” — how a small change in income can suddenly make health insurance unaffordable. Hoping it helps people explain this to family or friends and sparks a real conversation about why subsidies matter and how the rules could be improved.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/upshot/obamacare-subsidies-financial-cliff.html?unlocked_article_code=1.JVA.k0hc._GnYquc58qF6&smid=url-share
I’ve tried to explain the ACA and subsidies to a number of friends to limited success.  Between calculating MAGI,

Like most investors, I learned early about the elegance of the 60/40 portfolio.
Sixty percent stocks for growth. Forty percent bonds for stability.
I studied why it worked. Stocks historically delivered long-term returns, bonds reduced volatility, and periodic rebalancing enforced discipline.  60/40 has proved itself as a durable framework. It wasn’t exciting, but it was resilient.
I understood its importance. It shaped how I thought about diversification, risk, and balance—and it still does.
For many investors,

I’ve always been interested in retirement account alternative withdrawal strategies. Different strategies provide different outcomes. Some support higher initial spending rates, others leave larger amounts for a legacy. There is a middle ground with higher initial rate, and modest remaining amount.
RMD (Required Minimum Distribution) is an often discussed method of withdrawals from retirement accounts. There are others and Morningstar is publishing a series on nine different approaches. These range from simple to complex. “The best retirement withdrawal method depends on what’s most important to you.” The articles look at differing approaches with can support different withdrawal rates.

Vanguard just announced that they cut expense ratios of many funds:
“Vanguard has lowered expense ratios for 84 mutual fund and exchange-traded share classes across 53 funds, amounting to nearly $250 million in fee reductions in 2026. ”
Some popular ones:
VBIL 0-3 Month Treasury Bill ETF from 0.07% to 0.06%
VIG Dividend ETF from 0.05% to 0.04%
VUG Growth ETF from 0.04% to 0.03%
VV Large Cap from 0.04% to 0.03%
VB Small Cap from 0.05% to 0.03%
Full list

Prior to being on Medicare, I had a High Deductible insurance policy. I stayed on top of my claims, probably because I was using my hard earned dollars to pay for services. That was over seven years ago, now with Medicare I have become very lax about reviewing claims. What the heck, once I pay my deductible, Medicare and Plan G takes care of the rest; What, Me Worry?
My laxness is exacerbated by the fact that I live in a paperless world,

I know in the US you don’t have to file your tax return until mid April. Here in the UK the filing date has just passed at the end of January. I’m always amazed by the sheer number of people who fail to meet the filing deadline, as if it somehow sneaks up on them despite being the same date every single year. Last year, even with reasonable extensions, it was close to 10% of the population who ended up getting hit with late fines.

A couple years ago I wrote a check to the IRS  for a tax payment with more than enough funds in my account to cover it.     The bank rejected the payment.  I went to the bank and they told me that the IRS was the one who rejected payment, not them.  Called the IRS a number of times as well as wrote them with all the relevant bank statements.  They said the bank denied payment.

Financial institutions frequently offer bonuses in exchange for transferring substantial amounts to new or existing accounts. I’ve taken advantage of these a couple of times at Schwab.
There’s a current promo at Marcus by Goldman Sachs, where I already have a savings account, which I’m seriously considering. It offers $1500 for $100,000 in new money , $750 for $50,000, and $100 for $10,000. In addition, the funds only have to remain there for 90 days after the initial funding period.

HD contains numerous articles and comments about taxes, many of which talk about avoiding or minimizing those taxes. There are some like FICA that are certain. But income taxes are far more complicated and I guess you could say flexible.
I have the impression that Americans are unique in complaining about taxes, in part because they don’t see the connection between taxes and what they provide, at least not as much as many Europeans do. 
The United States is not a high tax country,

Just a short update on Trump Accounts.   https://trumpaccounts.gov/
Myself, I wish they had named these “Ben Franklin” accounts, in honor of the first American, the Favorite Founder. 200+ years ago, Ben showed us how to do super long term investing.
Read: M. Meyer, Benjamin Franklin’s Last Bet, The Favorite Founder’s Divisive Death, Enduring Afterlife, and Blueprint for American Prosperity, 2022, Harper Collins
Beyond Ben
Not only will you want to investigate this opportunity. You will also want to prompt your employer to consider adding Trump Accounts to your employer’s IRC 125 cafeteria plan (pre-tax contributions for health and welfare benefits –

LISTEN TO THE financial news, and you’ll often hear reference to “the VIX.” But what exactly is the VIX, and how important is it?
The VIX index is intended to be a measure of investor sentiment. For that reason, it’s often referred to as the market’s “fear gauge.” How can investor sentiment be measured? While the math is complex, it’s based on a straightforward principle: When investors get nervous, they look for ways to protect their portfolios and are sometimes even willing to pay for that protection.

MANY PEOPLE don’t know, but there is a net investment income tax of 3.8% that applies to some of your income. Today, I want to discuss what it is, how we can reduce its impact, and how we can save money.
Let’s dive right in:
Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT)
The net investment income tax is imposed on investment income if the modified adjusted gross income (adjusted gross income + foreign income exclusion) is more than $200,000 for single filers or $250,000 for those married filing jointly.

Gold fever seems to be everywhere at the moment. My grandson asked me the other day, “Do you own any gold, Pops?”
I said no and asked why he was curious. Apparently, even ten-year-olds know that gold is having quite a run. Pushing through the $5,000 mark had captured his imagination.
There’s something amusing about being financially questioned by a ten-year-old who only recently discovered the tooth fairy isn’t real. I’ve been investing for decades, and I’m getting the third degree from a kid whose worldly wealth consists entirely of football cards and a bag of loose change.