I have just read a guest post dated 7/25/2024 to Collabfund.com titled Fill The Bathtub by Ted Lamade the managing Director at the Carnegie Institution for Science. I recommend reading this thoughtful article about trust.
A link to the article is –
https://collabfund.com/blog/fill-the-bathtub/
I have been thinking a lot about why I read HumbleDollar most every day. I think the key for me is the trust I have that what is posted is the truth as experienced by the writers whether the source is the editor,

Recently we were visiting one of our sons and his family, include a 13- year old granddaughter.
Out of the blue she stated she didn’t like millionaires. I couldn’t let that go unexplored. 
Why not, I asked. They think they are big deals and they show off.  How do you know a person is a millionaire, I asked. Because they have lots of stuff, fancy cars, and live in big houses. 
My son was afraid of where I was going with this and gave me a look. 

I BEGAN INVESTING in the stock market in 2007. Within a year, I’d lost 60%. My response was like that of almost any human: I stopped investing.
That’s what happens to most people who start investing at the height of a bubble. They invest in something when everybody else does. And when everything comes crashing down, the pain of loss is so bad they swear they’ll never invest again. 
While I missed out on huge returns in the years that followed the financial crisis,

MY FAVORITE ROCK group is the Beach Boys. I particularly like their song Wouldn’t It Be Nice. It’s about young love, and how life would be so wonderful if only they were married and lived together.
I believe that phrase “wouldn’t it be nice” has been voiced by most of us at one time or another. The notion: If things were different, all would be good.
Unfortunately, few people display the persistence needed to turn their dreams into reality.

Several months ago, I wrote of my wife’s and my decision to simplify our financial lives by reducing our investments to the bare minimum. Our thinking is in the same vein as our editor’s, and a number of others in the HumbleDollar community, judging from my recollection of reader comments.
Now, I know that many others have a different opinion of where to place their money, and that’s okay. I’m not implying they’re wrong.

I SENT HUMBLEDOLLAR’S editor an email saying I was taking some time off from writing for the site. I really didn’t think I was going to write again. It wasn’t because I didn’t enjoy it. Rather, I thought I didn’t have anything to say that I hadn’t already said. But when I read Jonathan’s June 15 article, I was inspired to write about friendship.
Although I’ve never met Jonathan in person, he feels like a dear friend who I’ve known for many years.

For over 30 years, I have collect quotes. It’s a great hobby since it is easy to start or stop, the cost is minimal, and I value the message whether related to investing, retirement, or daily life.
My collection includes about 1,300 quotes from 775 people. Some of the most interesting quotes represent that person’s sole contribution, while others, such as Mark Twain, are quite prolific. The contributors include politicians, philosophers, business leaders, sport celebrities, actors,

BEFORE 2022, OUR investments were held by multiple financial firms, more by chance than choice. Fidelity Investments was the 401(k) recordkeeper. My two individual stocks were held by separate transfer agents. My brokerage account was with Alight Financial. My two annuities and a small IRA were with RiverSource. It was a mess.

Each had different processes, websites with different functionality, and customer service that ranged from nonexistent to annoying. In one case, I couldn’t take a required minimum distribution online.

WE ALL HAVE NEEDS and wants. It’s easy to know our needs because we’re constantly dealing with them: buying groceries, paying rent, getting gas for the car. Our wants, by contrast, are only limited by our imagination.
Our wants are easier to satisfy if they’re close to our current needs. You drive an older Honda Accord. Want a new Honda Accord? Not too difficult. Want a red Ferrari? That’s a different story. Your usual car budget won’t pay for a Ferrari.

Times have changed a lot since we graduated from high school or college. We have experienced many ups and downs in life and observed what works and what doesn’t. Some financial and life lessons we learned are still valuable to the next generation.
Let us share it here!
Sundar Mohan Rao
 
 

MY WIFE AND I TOOK a hiking trip last fall that included wandering through the foothills of the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas. The leaves were just starting to change colors, something I so badly miss living here in Texas.
I returned exhausted and sore, yet mentally energized and invigorated. For the majority of the trip, we were untethered from technology: no cellphone service during the day, no newspapers or TV distractions, no political talking heads,

BACK IN THE 1980s, I was working for an insurance company on Wall Street. This was when I was between marriages. There was a nearby bar and restaurant called Harry’s, located below street level. The bond market was going strong, so the bond salesmen with their fat paychecks were there, which meant the pretty young girls were also there.
The place reminded me of Cheers, one of my favorite TV shows.

I’m curious what you wish someone had told you when you were in your 40s – doesn’t have to be career or even financial advice.  Thanks.

WHEN I WAS A TEENAGER, I didn’t have a girlfriend. Now that I’m older, I realize not everyone had a girlfriend during their junior high or high school years. But at the time, I felt like I was the only one.
By this time, my father had passed away, so I only had my mother and older brother to confide in. My brother thought I might have a problem that prevented me from seeking female companionship,