I LIKE TO THINK I’M rational in the way I spend my dollars, and I suspect most readers do, too.
We are, of course, deluding ourselves.
Spending is never simply about buying what we want or need. Instead, behind every dollar that leaves—or doesn’t leave—our wallet is a complex mental dance that reflects how we feel that day, the influence of others, how we want to be perceived, and our own financial history. We might declare that we’re using our money to buy happiness.

I have come to believe that we retirees can and should help younger generations understand the benefits to get going on their saving, spending, budgeting, planning and other aspects of life’s financial journeys. Yesterday’s article, which touched on this subject, was entitled “Getting Going” which also happens to be in honor of our humble editor’s Wall Street Journal byline.
We retirees have experienced the impacts of compounding, inflation, tax-creep, tax-law changes, up and down stock markets,

WITH THE ADVANTAGE of advanced age and flawless hindsight, I now believe the three most important contributors to retirement prosperity are a robust savings rate, an aggressive allocation to stocks and funding tax-free accounts, both Roth and health savings accounts (HSAs).
What about other financial factors, such as the investments we pick, whether we buy income annuities, when we claim Social Security and what Medicare choices we make? These matter on the margin, but I don’t think they’re as crucial to a successful retirement. 

It seems all conventional wisdom says, as we get closer to retirement, gradually shift the allocation (mix) of your portfolio from equity funds to bond funds. I subscribe to the Boglehead investing methodology and agree with much of what Mr. Clements, and many others, have written on this site. My wife and I have been investing much of our savings in Index funds over the past 15 years. We are truly blessed and should be financially independent,

Among the many options we have in retirement such as travel, volunteer work, and spending more time with children and grandchildren; we also have a host of hobbies to consider.  While too numerous to list, hobbies provide more than entertainment.  They can elevate your mood, and improve memory and problem solving skills. You also get a brain boost and a sense of purpose and achievement when you undertake a new hobby.
One of the best things about having a hobby is that if one becomes more of a bother than a pleasure,

MY WIFE WENT TO New York for five days with a friend. I don’t mind because I could use the rest. Over the past year, we’ve traveled from the West Coast to Europe three times, flown across the country to visit my sister and brother-in-law in Tennessee, and taken a number of car trips.
My wife loves traveling and has a lot of energy. Because of all the air miles she’s logged, she’s now qualified for United Airlines Premier Gold status.

I was just reading through the responses to a Forum post on charitable giving. And, as often happens to me, my brain has these thoughts that seek to escape. This morning, they are all about the futility of using/expecting our giving to charity to make things fundamentally better. I usually make our annual gifts to food banks, figuring that this is a safer way to avoid charity frauds and expense issues. But, I know, that even if we gave all of our funds to the food banks,

It would be nice, quite a windfall.
However, we didn’t pay for our benefits. In the aggregate, beneficiaries pay for about 15% of all benefits received, hence maximum 85% of benefits being taxable. I checked my records a found that within six years of starting, I collected benefits (including spousal benefit) equal to all the taxes I and employers paid since 1959. 
The law says the benefits are taxable income, but given the standard deduction, a lower income retiree may pay very little or no actual taxes on the benefits received. 

I’m old and perhaps out of touch, I admit it, but it still upsets me when I hear talk of little opportunity, no money to be made, unfairness, inequality even. What’s new? I say there are always opportunities, just look for them even if it occasionally means lower self-esteem. Never give up. 
During the years working, like a lot of people, I was subjected to the affects of nepotism, playing favorites, back stabbing and all the baggage that goes with corporate life.

IN WASHINGTON, 2025 is beginning to look a lot like 2017. Republicans again control the White House, the Senate and the House of Representatives. But a key difference between then and now is that today the Republican majority in the House is far narrower.
This means more negotiation will be required, and agreement on a new tax bill may take months. In the meantime, here are some key areas that investors will want to keep an eye on.

One of the main principles of investing is the Risk vs. Return trade-off, which according to investopedia.com:
Risk vs. Return trade-off states that the potential return rises with an increase in risk. Using this principle, individuals associate low levels of uncertainty with low potential returns, and high levels of uncertainty or risk with high potential returns.
It is a principle that every investor needs to understand before they buy their first stock or preferably their first broad-based low-cost index fund (BBLCIF).

I posted this on Bogleheads and got some good suggestions. I welcome the comments and suggestions of the HD audience as well.
*******
I serve on the board of a large (60k members) non-profit. I am on the Finance Committee which, among other things, monitors our investments. We sold real estate in 2024 that doubled the size of our investment portfolio to $3M. We also requested proposals for investment advisory services and selected a firm to provide those services.

In a recent post Dick Quinn asked for help about buying a car. He was in a time crunch because he and his wife were heading to Florida in a few days, I presume to get out of the cold. I live about an hour south of Dick, and I can attest that it has been cold of late in the northeast. We’ve had single digit mornings, and feels like temperatures too low to mention.
I enjoy living in a location with distinct seasons. 

IT’S THE ONE ASSET we’re all born with, and it pretty much defines our financial life. I’m talking here about our human capital, our ability to pull in a paycheck.
That paycheck—or the lack thereof—drives our ability to save, service debt and take investment risk. It also dictates our insurance needs and how much emergency money we should hold. Put it all together, and our human capital should arguably determine how we manage our money over our lifetime.

My ten year old car needs $8,000 in repairs. It’s worth about $5,500. I’m thinking not worth more investment.
So, do I pay cash, loan or lease?
Take a deal on a loaner with 6,100 miles or go for something new?
Have to decide in four days. HELP😩