My wife is the child of an Irish mother and a Punjabi father, a family dynamic that has taken on a much deeper meaning for me as I’ve gotten older. I can’t speak for the nearly one billion people on the Indian subcontinent or the vast diaspora of Indian families around the world, but the extended Punjabi family I’ve known for forty years makes family the bedrock of their lives.
I’ve essentially been adopted into their family and culture.

I hope I’m not overstepping here, but since I read the news yesterday, I’ve been thinking that it would be nice to have a thread in which we thank Jonathan for the various ways he touched our lives, whether it be as a writer or just a manager of our finances. I’m hoping it’s something his family might enjoy reading when they’re ready.
So here’s mine:
Unlike many of you who go back to Jonathan’s WSJ days,

https://ofdollarsanddata.com/why-the-5-rule-is-the-new-4-rule/
An additional take on Bergen’s new book and data, which I posted about 6-8 weeks ago.
Nothing for me to add except Nick is a smart guy,  and the table in the article is pretty compelling.

Being in Spain at the moment, I took the opportunity to use the excellent train network to travel and see my father-in-law, who has lived in the country full-time since retiring ten years ago.
He lives comfortably, if humbly, within his means. A UK state pension and a small personal retirement account to bolster it are all he requires. I don’t think I could live on his retirement income, and I don’t think he could have managed without the geoarbitrage he undertook to make it work.

If this post is appearing, it means I’ve succumbed to cancer or one of its side effects. Please don’t feel sad for me. I’ve had a life filled with love, great experiences and wonderful career opportunities. Despite my demise at a relatively young age, I consider myself beyond fortunate.
I’m hoping that, under the tree in front of our little Philadelphia rowhome, my wife Elaine will place a stone tablet inscribed with my name, and the year I was born and died.

The rule of 72 is a convenient mental math tool to quickly estimate the future value of today’s investments, extrapolated some years forward. It’s quite handy, as Jonathan noted in the Math section of HumbleDollar’s Guide. Expecting a 7.2% return from your stock funds? Your holdings should double in value over 10 years (72 divided by 7.2). Of course, the rule assumes a magical world where your returns are always the same and markets are perfectly linear (ha!),

It’s easy to learn the inflation rate, it’s published monthly, generally the CPI- W applicable to retirees. But what really counts is your individual rate because you may or may not be affected by the components of the index.
Years ago I signed up for and received my individual monthly inflation rate – based on a questionnaire- from the Federal Reserve. Then the message just stopped coming.
In any case, it might be interesting to build your own inflation rate based on what items mostly apply to you
For example,

I read now on HD concern for the 4% withdrawal strategy, potential – inevitable – market declines, the lack of COLAs in pensions (mine included) and annuities, asset allocation, general concern about preserving life-long retirement income and more. All of which is clearly justified.
I have said many times and been criticized as often, that the key to a secure retirement is a strategy that provides more steady income than one thinks they need based on pre-retirement income and lifestyle.

I’m going to curse myself, question my own intelligence, spend nights sleeping poorly, and firmly consider the wisdom of “stay the course” as no more useful than a chocolate fireguard. Checking my portfolio balance will become a preoccupation to make myself nauseous.
The market is at an all-time high, every metric is stretched, and knowing how I’m going to react come the inevitable correction, I’m still not changing my asset allocation. But I have made preparations—I’ve purchased sick bags.

FOR MANY INVESTORS, talking about bonds is about as interesting as watching paint dry. They aren’t nearly as interesting as stocks. But if you have a portion of your portfolio allocated to bonds, or plan to, it’s a topic worth some discussion.
The bond market is actually much larger and much more diverse than the stock market. For most investors, though, there are just a few types of bonds to consider. We can examine each in turn:
Total Bond Market
Perhaps the most well known type of bond investment is a total-market fund.

THE IRS JUST released a new form called Schedule 1-A, which includes all the new tax bill deductions.
I wanted to quickly go through some of it, so that you are more aware of the new potential savings opportunities.
I’ve previously discussed some portions of the bill, but this is the first time we have a peek of the new lines.
All of these deductions are in addition to the standard deduction or itemized deduction.

Hello everyone,
I wanted to share a quick introduction in relation to Elaine’s update. As she mentioned, Jonathan has selected me to help moderate the forum.
Some of you may have seen my previous articles:
Breaking down the tax impacts of OBBBA
How the new tax car loan deduction works
Home improvements tax tips
A little about me: I graduated with an accounting degree and became a CPA in 2022. I live in Chicago with my wife.

Through our 56 years of marriage Connie only bought GE appliances and in recent years their Profile line. I have to admit all the washers, dryers, dishwashers, ovens and refrigerators have served us well.
These products are made in the US and the prices show it. Our new fridge was $4,149, the dishwasher $829 and the stove $3,289. Not with all the bells and whistles possible either. You can get a fridge with a Keurig coffee system in the door.

Dear Humble Dollar community,
My beloved husband, Jonathan, is currently in end-of-life hospice care.  While he shared with you that I would be administering the website, I am choosing to forgo this task with his blessing.   Going forward, the site will be administered by Bogdan Sheremeta, who has authored several recent forum posts and who has many more to come.
In the months ahead,  all subscribers will begin receiving  the Humble Dollar newsletter from the following email address: 

I’m not talking about Lite beer. The Olive Garden announced new additions to its menu. Smaller portions for lower prices. The article didn’t say how soon the roll out would happen, nor did it say which stores would get the new additions. 
This addresses my complaint that portions are too darned big at most restaurants. I don’t like dealing with doggy bags, and sadly, I am the kind of diner that always has room for those last few slices of pizza.