Being my father’s son and of Scottish heritage, I consider myself to be extremely wary when it comes to falling prey to the grifters and scammers of the world. But this morning, I almost got taken.
I was scrolling through my Facebook feed to see what was going on when I came across a post from an acquaintance who I went to high school with announcing that her family was clearing out items from her father’s house.

A picture of a Shell Gas Station advertising gas for 33 cents per gallon in 1972 periodically appears on Facebook. It’s followed by a long list of people gushing about either how cheap it was then, or how expensive it is today. But using an online calculator, a dollar in 1972 is worth about $7.50 today, making the inflation adjusted price of that gas about $2.50 per gallon. Now comes the fact that I am only using a third of the gas today due to increased efficiency.

After making progress on estate planning, documenting financial records, and updating family history, it suddenly occurred to me that I should make a list of life lessons I have learned along my life journey.
 
Obviously, these life lessons are a lot more than strictly financial, but certainly they will contribute to overall success and a fulfilling life for the next generation.
 
I came up with these and put them in a document along with my financial records.

As we rapidly approach the end of the year our thoughts naturally turn to family, friends, holidays gatherings, gifts, traditional foods, decorations, and …. Year-end tax planning.
There are lots of articles that point out the X things you should do at year-end to simplify, optimize, and minimize your taxes. That’s not what this post is about.  In this post I want to highlight one of the best government-led programs I’m aware of – the IRS’ Voluntary Income Tax Assistance,

THE JUNE 16, 2021, edition of The Washington Post carried this headline: “Cristiano Ronaldo snubbed Coca-Cola. The company’s market value fell $4 billion.”
The incident in question had occurred a few days earlier, at a press conference in Budapest, where the soccer star was set to play in a high-profile championship game. Coca-Cola was a sponsor of the tournament, so when Ronaldo sat down at the microphone, he found two bottles of Coke positioned in front of him.

When I read posts on social media, the word “free” pops up all too frequently.
Free health care, free education, free flu shots, free birth control, freedom from taxes is popular too. Is this wishful thinking or a reflection of a serious lack of understanding about how things work?
I look for offers including free shipping, but what if I must spend $200 to receive it? Buy two get one free, but I only need one.

In January 2020 I invested inherited six figures cash in Vanguard’s Intermediate Term Bond ETF (BIV). The rational was that this money would not be tapped for more than 5 years (just did to replace a dying car with a new Toyota) so during the interim I would expect to gain significantly more return than investing in CDs.
The plan was going great and by 7/2021 I had earned over 13K in returns. Even in 12/2021 I had earned nearly 10K in gains.

THE TOUGH PART COMES last.
Saving for retirement is pretty straightforward: You sock away as much as you can, favor stock funds, diversify broadly, keep investment costs low and make the most of tax-advantaged retirement accounts. By contrast, paying for retirement can involve mind-boggling complexity—and a big reason is the tax code.
The good news: Once you quit the workforce, you have a fair amount of control over your annual tax bill, especially if you aren’t yet taking required minimum distributions (RMDs) from your traditional retirement accounts,

On 11/12/2024 John Rekenthaler’s last regularly scheduled column for Morningstar was published.  The column shares his thoughts about his career, the future and a self described tale of triumph in moving from full time writing in the financial arena to the retirement of his choosing which may include some writing as he plans to continue to submit articles to Morningstar when a topic interests him.
I have enjoyed his regular columns, I look forward to any future ones he graces us with and will miss his writing when those future articles eventually ends.

Not that this is a great surprise but a sad state affairs for those who are enticed by the “low” premiums with added benefits but feel eventually trapped by MA when they need it the most. For the folks in NY (in this article) who are lucky enough to be able to switch from MA to Original Medicare. I can’t imagine for those in states where they can’t switch and are truly trapped.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/insurance/the-sickest-patients-are-fleeing-private-medicare-plans-costing-taxpayers-billions/ar-AA1tUtML?ocid=nl_article_link

Somehow the word budget has gotten a bad name.  An innocent financial tool has been equated with penury, and excessive frugality.  Some people think budgeting is synonymous with obsessively tracking every penny spent. But it doesn’t have to be. 
In Personal Financial Planning, budgeting is a tool to help us manage our finances, make better decisions, and achieve our financial goals. It can be tailored to fit your situation. If you find there is “too much month at the end of your money”,

How did you know it was time to retire? How will you know?
For many folks, this is purely a financial question. They hand in their notice when their portfolio hits a target size or when their likely retirement income surpasses what they think they need.
But what about you, HumbleDollar readers? Was the realization it’s time to retire about more than just money? For those still in the workforce, what will be the signal that it’s time to quit—and will that signal be solely financial or will other factors play a role?

When I was working full-time, I always saved the maximum to my 401(k). Before my employers had a 401(k) plan, in the early 1980s, I saved the maximum to an IRA—a princely $2,000. Pretty soon I felt rich. I had $40,000 saved.
For this reason, I always pay attention to changes in plan savings limits. And there are higher savings limits for 401(k) plans in 2025, plus a new “super catch-up” category. For those who are interested,

In the past week I have received important notifications via email from two experts in their field that will impact your finances:
1) Phill Moeller who’s website is called Aging in America- is considered one of the the foremost authorities on Medicare writes:
Medicare announced that Part B monthly premiums would rise to $185.00 in 2025 from $174.70 this year – an increase of $10.30, or 5.9 percent. The annual Part B deductible, which most people must pay before their Medicare coverage begins,

I’m sure like myself Humble Dollar readers have fellow readers that when they comment you look forward to their insight, and trust their judgement. Who is yours? …and you can’t pick Jonathan cause that’s obvious.
I have several, but will just mention one as not to possibly influence others’ choices (as if I have that power).
I will pick Andrew Forsyth. His comments on financial, but especially tax matters are very detailed and insightful. I thought his chosen profession was a CPA,