My wife, Suzie, is currently visiting her dad in Spain. This means I’m fending for myself, and I’ve found myself venturing into the local supermarket for essential supplies – like fruit and nut chocolate, my little indulgence! While wandering the aisles, I made an observation that got me thinking….. again!
Morning shopping, I’ve discovered, is a real delight. There are no crowds, just a quiet hum, and I even had time to chat with the checkout operator,

AT THE 2016 SUMMER Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, South Africa’s Chad Le Clos challenged Michael Phelps for the gold medal in the 200-meter butterfly. A famous image emerged from that event: Throughout the semifinal, Le Clos repeatedly looked over at Phelps as he struggled to keep up. Meanwhile, Phelps just kept looking forward. The result: Phelps ultimately won the gold, while Le Clos trailed in fourth place.
I believe there’s a parallel between what we saw in that race and what we see in the investment world.

I have decided to post this as a separate post, not to distract from Jonathan’s post today, but to further explore the concept of what makes not an individual, but a country happy. If a country is happier as a whole it seems intuitive that the individuals in said country would be happier as well.
I have received some of my highest negative net rating in the past for posting these facts on Humble Dollar but since I am a glutton for punishment will post these facts again:
Every year World Population Review ranks the happiest countries.

This morning, while sipping coffee in my sunroom, a simple thought occurred – one of those rare insights, I don’t have them often! It struck me that since retiring, my morning brew has become more enjoyable. After mulling it over, I pinpointed the reason: time. More specifically, the luxury of extra time to truly savour and embrace the entire coffee experience.
This revelation isn’t confined to my coffee cup. It’s weaving its way into other aspects of my life too.

AMERICA’S HAPPINESS plunged during the pandemic. I’d assumed that survey result was an aberration, and perhaps that’ll still prove to be the case. But recovery sure hasn’t come quickly.
There was no General Social Survey in 2020, when COVID-19 struck. But the following year’s survey found that just 19% of Americans described themselves as very happy—the lowest reading since the survey was first conducted in 1972. The “very happy” group rose to 25% in 2022,

It’s a question many of us ponder as we transition into retirement: Beyond the financial aspects, what truly sticks with us from our working lives, and what do we find ourselves missing?
For me, like many others, it’s the daily banter and camaraderie with customers and colleagues. There’s a unique energy in those professional interactions—the quick jokes, shared challenges, and the general buzz of a workplace. It’s a specific kind of social connection that’s surprisingly hard to replicate.

Released:
A SUMMARY OF THE 2025 ANNUAL REPORTS
Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees
“Based on our best estimates, this year’s reports show that……
The Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund will be able to pay 100 percent of total scheduled benefits until 2033, unchanged from last year’s report. At that time, the fund’s reserves will become depleted and continuing program income will be sufficient to pay 77 percent of total scheduled benefits……”
“As in prior years,

Hi,
I was encouraged to post here by my cousin, and HumbleDollar columnist, Ed Marsh so here goes – I’m considering a reverse 1031 exchange.  I’d have preferred it be a straight 1031 exchange but timing hasn’t worked in my favor in that my wife and I found the replacement property unexpectedly and had not intended on selling the relinquished property so quickly.  My question is twofold.  First – can the QI take title to the relinquished property instead of the replacement property ahead of the sale of said property so that I don’t have title to both properties?

When Rachel and I got married, I was already in my 60s. After our wedding, my sister said to Rachel, “You take good care of my brother.” My cousin Barb told her husband, Kent, “I don’t know what would have happened to Dennis if he had never met Rachel.”
I got the impression they didn’t think I could take care of myself in retirement — that it would be too difficult to go it alone. I get it.

The phone call from my 29-year-old daughter in London recently sparked a familiar parental concern. She and her partner were jetting home  not for a family visit, but to catch a Coldplay concert. My mind immediately did the mental math: flights, tickets… easily $500 per person. And then it hit me: this is the third major concert they’ve attended this year, on top of a holiday to the Canary Islands and my other daughter is at this very moment camping her way around Turkey and Greece.

For those of us HD readers who have warned against the problems in using Medicare Advanatge (MA), you may want to read an op-ed published in the The Hill on Sunday. Former Republican Rep. Jim Greenwood of Pennsylvania, who helped write the Medicare Modernization Act that created Medicare Advantage, stated directly: “The program no longer lives up to [its] promise.”
Greenwood once believed private competition would drive innovation and efficiency. But today, he says,

Just read this article:
https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/financial-lessons-father-long-term-care-insurance/
about 10 lessons learned when the author was dealing with obtaining benefits from his father’s LTC insurance company. My parents had policies they bought decades before their deaths. My sister was the DPOA finance so I was not privy to the details of the policies, nor any difficulties she may of had trying to access their benefits.
We don’t have policies, but I figured this information may be valuable to other Humble Dollar readers who do.

For years, my financial trajectory was meticulously planned. I’d diligently accumulated a substantial pension pot, culminating in the recent sale of my business. The path was clear: a smooth transition into early retirement at 58, aiming for a conservative sub-3% drawdown rate. Full steam ahead, I thought, to the promised land of financial independence.
But then, something unexpected happened. In the months leading up to my planned exit, a strange attraction to Fixed-Term Immediate Annuities (FTIAs) began to grow.

Our oldest child is age 55, – three children ages 14 and 12 (twins),
our second is age 54 – three children ages 14, 13 and 10,
our third age 51 – three children 18,17 and 13,
and our fourth age 50 – two children ages 20 and 17
All ages are rounded.
Look at these ages and what comes to mind, college, retirement? Pretty sure not retirement any time soon. This is what I ponder when I read about FIRE or even early retirement before age 60.

Well, mostly FI, but some RE. (FIRE standing for Financial Independence, Retire Early). Christine Benz from Morningstar recently attended a CampFI event in Spain, and wrote about her experience here.
She comments that “A lot of people have a caricatured perception of the FI community. They assume that everyone is trying to live on $10 a day in order to hang it up at age 35.” While she met some young people, she met older people as well.