Behavior

MANAGING MONEY IS about managing risk. But which risks? We all have a different collection of financial worries, and that drives the investments we buy and the insurance we purchase.
Problem is, every choice we make comes with a tradeoff. If we seek to fend off one risk, we often open ourselves up to other dangers. Consider five such tradeoffs:
1. Dying young vs. living long. When should we claim Social Security?

I have a write up that includes some math formulas.  Does this discussion forum support entering math formulas in these text boxes?  Simple stuff like a superscript for a square of a number.  My guess is it’s simple text only.
 
Alternatively, if it’s acceptable, I can provide a link to a public Google Doc that has my write up.  I’d rather not do that as it will cut down on the number of readers as they will be required to click a link.

We often talk about narratives—the stories we cook up to explain why, say, the stock market went up yesterday or why our favored political candidate didn’t get elected. These stories are simplified versions of what actually happened and they may take liberties with the truth, but they also help us to make sense of the world.
But what about the narratives we tell about ourselves?
Most of us have a collection of jokes and anecdotes that we tend to repeat,

November is my birthday month. A good time for reflection. With advancing age, we can all give more thought to how we can improve the quality of our lives—enjoy our days and gain peace of mind. When we don’t have as much life left, we want to maximize the time we have.
One of my pet peeves has always been dealing appropriately with rude and disrespectful people. With maturity, we are motivated to avoid jerks and futile conflicts.

MY LIFE’S GOAL WAS to make money. I make no apologies for this. I’m not particularly gifted in this pursuit, but I did persevere.
I take satisfaction that I stuck to my goal despite all obstacles. There were many trips, falls, mistakes and failures along the way. I had to work hard and seek a new job each time my old employment ended. I set out to do something—and I did it.
That all changed when I retired.

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,

THE WAVES AND WEATHER are always changing on the coast of Maine. Last summer, I paddled my canoe to a nearby island in the sun, and two hours later had to feel my way back through a fog that hid the mainland.
There are longer-term forces at play here, too. The black mussel beds I steered around as a child are all gone now. So is the sea grass that made a good hiding place for crabs.

I have been pondering for a week whether or not to post this out of concern it will be misinterpreted – I have experience with that. 
As Jonathan once told me,  “those who are financially prudent will most likely enjoy success, even if events don’t always go their way.” That’s it for me, mostly prudent and very patient. 
Is it always necessary to follow all the “rules,” to be precise with every financial decision you make,

Whether in marriage, music, business, etc., it seems as though an astute , hard working and loyal partner, or in many cases, partners, thousands of versions and the like. will enhance the marriage, boost record sales and popularity, and make virtually any business better and more profitable.
Buffett said the late Charlie Munger was the architect of Berkshire, and the” abdominal no man”, while Warren Buffet was mostly in charge of executing the decisions , and so forth. 

I’m not much of a musicals guy, but I’ve always loved the song “Try to Remember” from The Fantasticks. Maybe it’s because as a kid growing up in Dallas, my parents took me to see a local production of the show. It ran 42 straight years off-Broadway, quite a record.
The first and best version of the song was by Jerry Orbach, who most folks know as the sarcastic cop Lenny from Law and Order.

BEFORE HE DIED LAST year at age 99, a friend asked Charlie Munger if he planned to leave his considerable wealth to his children. Wouldn’t it impact their work ethic, his friend asked?
“Of course, it will,” Munger replied. “But you still have to do it.”
“Why?” his friend asked.
“Because if you don’t give them the money, they’ll hate you.”
Few of us are billionaires. Still, I find Munger’s comment instructive. It illustrates a reality about personal finance: that the notion of a perfectly optimal answer to any financial question is just that—a notion.

Gosh, is it just me? Am I the only one who wishes that the pace of tech “Progress” would just slow down? I mean, I just updated to the latest IOS version, and I just read that there its another one coming soon and I have yet to use a single new feature from the last one. All these tech changes make it harder to deal with life including ones money. Do you have your ID.ME credentials set up yet?

I’VE BEEN HAVING DOUBTS about some of the financial decisions I’ve made. I don’t know if it has to do with age. They say you tend to lose confidence as you grow older. Life-altering events, such as the death of loved ones, health issues and retirement, can weigh heavily and sow doubt.
For instance, I’ve been thinking about whether I should have sold my condo in 2020, during the pandemic. If I’d kept it, it would be worth quite a bit today.

Every so often, we get an outbreak of generational warfare here on HumbleDollar, with the site’s generally older readership decrying the financial habits of younger generations, while proclaiming that things were so much better when they were growing up.
I find this rather silly. As I see it, people don’t fundamentally change from one generation to the next. Meanwhile, we’ve seen extraordinary progress in recent decades, but that’s also meant new challenges. Consider eight points.

THOMAS JEFFERSON once said that eternal vigilance is the price of liberty, and the philosopher Socrates opined that the unexamined life isn’t worth living.
Although they were talking about political freedom and personal philosophy, respectively, Jefferson and Socrates could well have been discussing personal finance. One of the best ways to engage in financial vigilance and self-examination is to keep a daily financial journal.
I’ve kept a personal journal since I was 14 years old,