My wife Suzie has a particular look she reserves for my more idiotic ramblings. I noticed the look developing as I started to discuss the tax implications of my engaged daughter’s announcement for a possible wedding date. I’ve been married a long time and have developed a survival instinct. I closed my mouth and decided to listen with rapt attention as my daughter and future son-in-law explained their reasoning for the possible date for the big day…apparently February flowers are delightful.

Occasionally, I read a newspaper article or web posting where the author prophesies that digital payment systems will eventually dominate the economy, and cash (currency and coinage) will become obsolete.
Not so fast.
While the use of digital payment technology is widespread and growing, cash will remain an important backstop in times when digital payment systems fail. And they do fail. Unfortunately, power grids and communication networks aren’t as robust as we’d like to believe.
We know that severe weather events can knock out power grids,

I know we’re all dedicated index investors, but I’ve been given a real hot tip that I’m going to give serious consideration to investing in if it ever comes on the open market. Since it’s Christmas, I thought I’d let you all in on the possible opportunity. At the moment it’s a massive private manufacturing and just-in-time integrated distribution concern with deep history and a worldwide market.
Let me walk you through the fundamentals because they’re genuinely extraordinary.

I wrote this in my wife’s nail salon. On the way there today I was informed she had also made an appointment for me to have a pedicure and manicure.
Yup, a first. It was pointless to resist, besides I was curious. On the other hand,  it would be difficult to get more into unnecessary spending. 
I recall in Copenhagen there was a shop where you put your feet in a tub of water filled with little fish who nibbled dead skin off your feet.

Rachel and I live comfortably now, but it didn’t happen by accident. For most of my adult life, I lived simply—sometimes inconveniently so—and saved steadily. At the time, it felt normal. Only looking back do I see how much those quiet choices shaped the life we have today.
We married in our 60s, in a house I had inherited and was still fixing up. I remember hugging her upstairs and whispering, “If you marry me, we can have a wonderful life together.” I believed it because we were already aligned.

In 2026 the fee for an American Express Platinum card is increasing to $895 a year. That sounds expensive even though AMEX added some extra benefits. I hadn’t utilized all the benefits before but I am pretty sure I am close to maximizing them now.  The primary reason I signed up for the card was the ability to access airport lounges due to my desire to “see-the world”. I have owned the card for a few years and it has taken me a while to grasp all the other benefits offered by the card.

We had to rent an apartment in the Chicago Loop in 1989 after my daughter won a role in a musical. We had many options and chose a place on Wabash at E 9th Street. It was a great location with Grant Park nearly across the street, and Buddy Guy’s blues bar, Legends, right next door.
It also had a nice market one block over on State Street that we could easily walk to. 
Toledo is not like that,

I consider myself fortunate when it comes to Christmas—not just because the anxiety of buying gifts for my wife Suzie is long behind us, but because this year, despite thinking we wouldn’t, we’ll all be together.
My daughter who lives in London had to work the morning after Christmas day, which meant she couldn’t make it home for the holiday. We were disappointed—it would have been the first Christmas ever that one of our children wasn’t with us on that special day.

I read here and elsewhere concern about profits. It seems people are concerned about the profits made by car dealers, health insurance companies, drug companies, health care providers, mutual funds, etc.
On the other hand, we seem unconcerned over profits made by professional sports teams, concert producers, casinos, gaming companies, celebrities, etc.  This group provides very little real value to us.
The first group provides goods and services we need or want.
Is that the difference?

Modern life depends on constant upgrade; but I am sitting this one out.
My 5-year-old laptop runs on Windows 10, and it cannot be upgraded to Windows 11 due to hardware requirements. Turbotax 2025 cannot run on it, and I’d rather avoid using the online version. Schwab’s ThinkorSwim app for stock market data display and transactions will stop supporting the Windows 10 version. Since Windows 10 support already stopped, I also worry about the security of my laptop with all the personal data stored locally.

Today, December 14, is our 57th wedding anniversary. Like back then, the weather is terrible, it’s snowing. In 1968 it was raining and that night  there was a blizzard and we were stranded at Kennedy airport for almost 24 hours before getting out for our shortened honeymoon for which I had taken advance leave from the army. 
Looking through some old papers I found the receipt for our tickets to Freeport. One ticket cost $143 round trip.

27 months. No, I’m not talking about the gestation period of a Black Alpine Salamander.
It’s been just 27 months since I responded to Jonathan’s request for new writers to come forward with their stories. In my first attempt, I talked about the unlikely path that my work life followed. From driving a beer truck for 30 years, to being the owner of a tax preparation practice, to my present situation as a full time retiree,

Another day, another article about a scam perpetrated by fraudsters. This one from the New York Times that starts with a retired lawyer having problems with his iPad and connecting to Microsoft outlook and wanting to get technical assistance. He googled Microsoft’s number and wouldn’t you know it, the number google provided was that of a scammer. To read the rest of the story go to:
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/12/business/tech-support-scam-bank-fraud.html?unlocked_article_code=1.8E8.0Dgr.Bku6U1c1S2Yo&smid=url-share
 

Is there such a thing as a perfect “normal” day? I don’t mean vacations and special occasions, just a normal day. I’m not sure if there is: but I can easily describe my days that come closest.
For me, any Wednesday is an ideal candidate. That’s when automatic payments from two separate annuities drop into my checking account—easily covering all my essential spending. Getting to this point took decades of consistent saving, long hours and some luck,

Occasionally I meet a customer who has a sophisticated technical requirement. Recently it was a visiting corporate IT specialist who pinpointed a laptop he liked because the solid state drive could be expanded. Before completing the purchase, I suggested he look at another high performing computer on display in which both the memory and solid state drive could be upgraded. After some deliberation and research, my recommendation made sense to him. 

There are instances when someone may need a computer that can be performance enhanced based on potential future needs.