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03 Jan '24How to Retire with $10 Million
Continue readingHow realistic is it for a new college graduate to retire with $10 million? Turns out, a million dollars isn’t what it used to be. The movie “How to Marry a Millionaire” was released back in 1953. It seems at that time—70+ years ago—being a millionaire was the epitome of financial success. Yet today, instead […]
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19 Oct '23Exploring Household Income – Financial Voyeurism Part 1
Continue readingTech employees are known for their high household income. Yet the cost of living in tech hubs like Seattle and the San Francisco Bay Area often makes it seem less glamorous. To keep things in perspective, I eagerly await the Federal Reserve Board’s Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) every three years. This report sheds light […]
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11 Oct '22Retirement Spending
Continue readingAre you saving enough for retirement? Can your investments support your retirement spending desires? These are difficult questions to answer. It boils down to how much money you need in retirement to maintain an acceptable lifestyle. Unless you are close to retiring, you likely don’t have a good grasp of your retirement spending needs. How […]
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26 Sep '22Savings Bonds Revisited—9.6% Yield
Continue readingBack in May 2021, I initially discussed the surprising merits of the humble U.S. Savings Bond in my post SAVINGS BONDS – INFLATION HEDGE SERIES. At that time, the Series I bond was paying 3.54%. Today, Series I Savings Bonds yield 9.6%. These bonds are paying 9.62% annually for purchases through October 2022. This rate […]
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23 Feb '22Amazon Doubles Pay Cap!
Continue readingAmazon is doubling down on its efforts to retain talent and attract new hires by increasing its cap on base cash compensation to $350,000, more than double the previous amount, according to an internal announcement. The company cited “a particularly competitive labor market” as the reason for the move, which was only for salaried corporate […]
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01 Nov '217.1% interest, risk-free! But is it for real?
Continue readingWhen an investment advertises a high return, that seems too good to be real, it almost certainly is. In these “too good to be real” situations, you often take on a undisclosed high level of risk, or the quoted return is based on “return of capital”, not earnings. See Hazardous Advice – Reaching for Yield for […]
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01 May '21Savings Bonds – Inflation Hedge Series
Continue readingArguably, the simplest of all investments—U.S. Savings Bonds—may be the best current hedge against inflation available. As discussed in my prior post, Are TIPS a Good Investment, TIPS are nearly the perfect inflation hedge. Your return is fully protected from inflation since the bonds yield is adjusted based on actual inflation experienced. You receive a […]
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12 Jan '21Financial Rubbernecking – Part 2: Net Worth
Continue readingHow do your finances stack up? How are doing compared to others? Are you accumulating assets faster or slower than your peers? How does your net worth measure up to the rest of the country? This is the second posting in a series exploring these questions. (See Part 1 – Income) Every three years I […]
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28 Sep '20Are TIPS a Good Investment – Inflation Hedge Series
Continue readingWith the Federal Reserve “printing” massive amounts of new money to fund Congress’s record-breaking deficit spending, I thought it would be a good time to review investments considered good hedges for inflation. Ideally a good inflation hedge would maintain (or increase) its real value during periods of high inflation. Today’s post will consider Treasury Inflation-Protected […]
