featured blog
Security or Adventure – The Price, The Reward!
Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing. Helen Keller Recently I have been reading a book called Daring Greatly by Brene Brown. You may have heard of it. The t...Read More
How to Get Your Spending Under Control
It happens. We treat ourselves once, and then twice, and soon treats become common expenses we can’t afford. Many people find their spending habits slip out of control without their noticing. Debt piles up, savings accounts drain, it’s scary and sometimes difficult to know what’s happened. Successfully understanding where the money’s going, and how...Read More
5 Suntan Myths Debunked
We’ve shared tips on how to stay safe in the summer sun, but did you know that sun safety extends beyond trying to avoid sunburns? Tanning — even just the slight sun-kissed glow from spending time gardening or taking a walk — can be dangerous. Let’s debunk five popularly held notions about summer tans: A little tan is a sign of health A...Read More
A Dummies Guide To Downhill Skiing
Today, let’s take a break from the pressing matters of everyday life– the cost of electricity, the cost of health insurance, and adult onset toe fungus. Instead, let’s reminisce of the carefree time of our youth… Every Saturday afternoon we’d watch the opening of Wide World of Sports on television. Guys would howl laug...Read More
Technology Gives Me A Headache!
I didn’t want a cell phone. I was perfectly content with my land line telephone and felt no need to reach out, touch or be touched by anyone. I loved the quiet periods that came with driving, and wandering through shops and parks, alone and non-communicative. Now if I don’t answer my phone in the middle of dinner at a restaurant, callers worry and ...Read More
We’re 26 Years “Retired,” No $$ Woes – Here’s How!
When 2016 came to a close, I thought I would look back financially to where we started this adventure, from January of 1991. The chart below shows the ascent of the S&P 500 Index over our 26 years of retirement. On our retirement date of January 14, 1991, the S&P 500 index closed at 312.49. It has recently closed at 2262, making roughly an ...Read More
Sunday Dinner
Do you remember being a kid and all you could do on Sunday was go to church and then spend the rest of the day with family having dinner? I do! My very hard working Mother would return home from 9 AM mass, change out of her church clothes and into her cobbler apron and start preparing a Sunday dinner which was either roast beef or roast chicken. ...Read More
What’s an Ear To Do?
Beeps. They haunt me like politicians dressed for combat. Remember the good old days when people wore beepers on their belts like gun holsters? They bragged about their pagers. In the beginning, it meant that you were important. Then everyone got one. The day I saw a construction worker wearing three beepers on his tool belt I knew the device’s day...Read More
Want a Better Life? At 50, 60 and beyond? MOVE IT!
Humans are complex beings of body, mind and spirit. The more integrated we are in these three areas, the more likely we are to have a balanced life. While the spirit is something beyond the physical senses and motor functions, the body and mind are two areas that we can exercise to significantly improve our state of well-being. We have identified f...Read More
Reading Television by Gary Chalk
You know when we do most of our reading these days? When we watch television! I’m not talking about picking up a book while you sit in front of the television. Work with me… In the good old days families would gather in the living room to watch television. The remote control hadn’t been invented so fathers had to put down their Po...Read More
Retiring Early? Consider Costs That Go Along with Your Decision…
Retiring early — say, before age 65 — is a dream for many people. That dream, though, comes at a cost. Before you say, “So long!” to your salary and benefits, here’s what you need to know. Incoming revenue This is obvious, but, if your employer has a match on your retirement contributions, you are losing free money whe...Read More
Cuddling…The End of Ennui
Abandon tedium, replace redundancy. Renew the excitement of life. Get into cuddling, the next new thing.It’s a dismal, gunmetal gray day on the Georgia coast. No sun. The kind of day to cuddle up with something: a bottle, a book or a blonde. Or Waffle House hash browns. Ace Blackbanks, an old friend (chronologically speaking) drops by, shambles ups...Read More