Humble Dollar

Humble Dollar

The Humble Dollar column covers personal finance, long-term investing, retirement planning, and wealth management, offering users practical perspectives on financial decision-making.

Humble Dollar's Articles

Four Walls

Four Walls

Several years ago I listened to Requiem: The Story of One Sky by Dimash Qudaibergen, an internationally acclaimed singer from Kazakhstan whose music often explores

The Solitaire Solution

The Solitaire Solution

Here's something that will either comfort or disturb you: the mathematical technique underpinning your retirement strategy was invented by an unwell mathematician

Still Teaching

Still Teaching

Trusts are said to be a tool for its grantor to control from the grave. The first things I look at every morning when I open HD are Jonathan’s quips above the “

Thinking about downsizing? Think seriously

Thinking about downsizing? Think seriously

I just read an article that questioned the value of retirees downsizing, perhaps in the process relocating even to a new neighborhood. It got me thinking about

TSP G Fund as the only Fixed Income Investment

TSP G Fund as the only Fixed Income Investment

Here's something I'm debating and hoping the collective brain trust of the HD community can push me in the right direction. As a retired Fed, I have access to the

How do you prepare for the long term care cost as retiree?

How do you prepare for the long term care cost as retiree?

I watched a YouTube that said there are 3 ways to tackle the LTC problem. 1. Long term care insurance, (which is more costly as we aged), 2. Whole life w a LTC

Pricing the Future

Pricing the Future

THE WAY INVESTORS think about the stock market may be entirely wrong. Intuition tells us, and academic research confirms, that a company’s stock price should respond

How financially illiterate are Americans?

How financially illiterate are Americans?

A article in the NYTs says “Many people are not aware IRAs exist.”  Can that be true? I bet it is. One survey reports the median worker has only $955 saved for

Leverage

Leverage

Possibly a misuse of the term, in its strict financial sense. Anyhow... For decades I've heard about the value or use of leverage. It's most easily recognized in

He Said I Wasn’t Very Nice

He Said I Wasn’t Very Nice

The door bell rang unexpectedly three times in three days. The first on Wednesday, was a couple high school kids trying to drum up some window washing jobs. They