Life Events

New Year’s Eve is the ultimate reminder that the clock never stops. As we prepare to flip the calendar, it’s natural to look back at the year, and the decades, gone by. We often focus on what we want to change in the future, but rarely do we consider which part of the journey we’d actually like to keep.
Youth has many advantages—health, strength, vigor, and vitality. Everything feels possible, and you’re certain you know what’s right and wrong in the world.

IN THE WORLD of personal finance, some topics are serious—and others less so. Since it’s the holiday season, it seems appropriate to look back at some of the year’s less weighty stories.
Early delivery. The year started off on a positive note for an Alabama couple. Sha’Nya Bennett was in labor and on her way to the hospital when a snow squall rolled in, forcing her to pull over. The expecting mom ended up delivering in her car,

I posted a link earlier today about a scam perpetrated on a retired attorney in an article in the New York Times. So here is another article from the Washington Post on how your info can be stolen from one of the credit bureaus, TransUnion. This is scary as well. Here is a free link:
https://wapo.st/4pZzLcm
 
 

During his final months, my husband Jonathan worked tirelessly to complete his last book, Money and Me.  The book is now available to order .
What’s so special about this book?  This book features Jonathan’s best and most personal HumbleDollar articles.  The articles are curated in such a way to teach everyone about personal finance through Jonathan’s own money journey.  And sadly, his terminal cancer diagnosis is part of this journey about which he candidly writes.

MY RETIREMENT HAS been wonderful so far. Honestly, sometimes I have to stop and remind myself how lucky I am. Rachel and I have our health and enjoy each other’s company, which is not always true when a couple retires. However, there are four things that concern me as I reach my mid-70s.
Loneliness
I tried calling Mark, my old high school friend, a couple of weeks ago, and I haven’t heard from him.

It was a beautiful November Saturday, sunny, with temps approaching 70 degrees. It was as if some benevolent spirit had ordered up this unseasonable pleasant weather. 
Our day kicked off at Saint Peters Church in Philadelphia. Saint Peters first opened for business in 1761. Its first rector, William White, was also the chaplain to the U.S. Congress, during the Revolutionary war. The original high-backed box pews are still in use today, including the box reserved for the then mayor Samuel Powel,

Thank you to all who attended the service. It was good to have met so many of you. Here is a video of the service.

Jonathan’s memorial service will be held at Saint Peter’s Episcopal Church, Philadelphia on Saturday November 8th beginning at 11am EST.   The event will be live streamed using Facebook.  Here is the link to the event:
https://facebook.com/events/s/jonathan-clements-memorial-ser/1159281123061275/?
My thanks to all for your condolences and best wishes. Jonathan’s reach was far and wide.  Nick.

Great article and tribute about Jonathan in the New York Times. This is a link to it that hopefully you can read without a subscription.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/23/business/jonathan-clements-wsj-personal-finance.html?unlocked_article_code=1.rk8.3FoY.S-b5ghKuzDQY&smid=url-share

This is  just in case you missed it. 
Dave Lancaster was kind enough to post all the information for Jonathan’s memorial on Saturday, November 8: 
https://humbledollar.com/forum/information-on-jonathans-memorial-service/
He also asked if there was interest in HDers meeting for pizza at Pizzeria Vetri on Chancellor St on Friday 11/07. I would sure like to put faces with the names of my HumbleDollar friends. I hope you can add your name to the list.

The information below was gleaned from William Perry’s post of the obituary published on Legacy.com by Logan Funeral Home, Inc earlier today.
A Memorial Service will be held on November 8, 2025 at 11:00 am at:
St. Peter’s Episcopal Church
313 Pine Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
A light luncheon reception for family and friends will follow at:
The Hill-Physick House
321 S. 4th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
(A three-minute walk from the church)
My question is: Are any readers planning on attending?

Dear Bogdan, would you please send your email address to the HD writers group? There are times when we need to reach you, such as when WordPress holds a new piece whenever it has embedded web links.
Best,
-David

HUMBLEDOLLAR FOUNDER and longtime Wall Street Journal columnist Jonathan Clements passed away earlier this week. He was 62.
I reached out to several of Jonathan’s close friends and colleagues to ask for their remembrances. Taken together, they paint a picture of someone who was as beloved by his peers as he was by his readers.
As Jason Zweig put it, “I have just lost a friend, and so have you.”
Christine Benz,

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,