Whip Inflation Now

     Remember that old line from President Ford? Actually, I think it was subject to a lot of ridicule, because it seemed so ineffective at the time. And of course it is ineffective as a national policy. But there are some practical ideas -- as well as a particular frame of mind -- that can help us save some money and deal with inflation that's currently running at about 6 percent or so.

     For example, Billionaire Warren Buffett knows a thing or two about saving (as well as earning) money. He famously lives in the house he bought for $31,500 in 1958, now worth about $700,000. He equally famously relied on a $20 flip phone for years before he finally gave in and bought an Apple phone in 2020 -- coincidently at about the same time he also bought a chunk of Apple stock.

     Says Buffett: "I do not save what is left after spending. I spend what's left after saving." He also said, "If you buy things you don't need, you will soon sell things you do need."

The Library: It's not just books

     Of course, that's Buffett, who has a way with money that the rest of us don't have. But I saw a good suggestion from a more normal woman on the internet:  Use your library, she says.

     Ask for a tour of your local library and use everything they have to offer. Free books and DVDs. Free access to a computer. Many libraries also offer free classes, book clubs, movie discussion groups, day trips to local museums and concerts.

     A neighbor of mine has been after me now for a couple of years about changing over to a Medical Advantage plan, instead of traditional Medicare plus supplemental plan. He gets prescription coverage as well as dental and vision coverage . . . all for a lower price. The one caveat is that he has to stay within his medical network, but that doesn't seem to bother him at all. Plus, he gets free admission to a local gym -- and he's over there twice a week for a yoga class.

     It's not for everybody, he says. But it's worth thinking about for the next Medicare open enrollment period in the fall.

     Speaking of medical expenses, a friend of ours recently had his knee replaced, and he told us about a medical library run by our Parks & Recreation department. The town loans out all kinds of medical equipment like wheelchairs, walkers, crutches, etc., to town residents for free. If you're going to need some equipment, it might be worth checking out if your town has a similar program.

     I know many people who have "cut the cord" and dispensed with their cable plan, in favor of streaming Netflix and Amazon. It seems like a smart thing to do if you're not the kind of fan that watches live sports on network TV. But even that is changing as some streaming services are starting to carry live sports.

     Others have switched to cheaper cellphone service. We have Verizon. It's a good service, no problems. But it is expensive. So we're beginning to explore some alternatives offered through AARP. There's another service called Cricket. Don't know much about it; but I've got it on my list of services to check out.

      Shop at thrift stores. My brother-in-law reports that he finds lots of gently used name-brand clothes at Goodwill, the Salvation Army and GreenDrop. It takes a bit of picking through the racks, he admits, but he finds some good stuff that looks brand new once he gets it home and puts it through the laundry.

     I'm sure you might have some other ideas. But they all seem to come down to one basic philosophy, as Will Rogers once said: "Too many people spend money they haven't earned, to buy things they don't want, to impress people that they don't like."

     One last tip, since it's getting to be tax time, and you might be puzzled and frustrated with all the different forms and schedules. Various organizations have volunteers who will do your taxes for free, if you make less than a certain amount of money. In my area it's the Bucks County Opportunity Council. In your area . . . well, check at the library, they probably know where to go.

     Meantime, just a word of sympathy from the smartest person in history. It was Albert Einstein who said, "The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax."

Past Is Present

     My wife and I took a trip up to New York City to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We wanted to see the exhibit of Winslow Homer paintings.

     I honestly didn't know much about Winslow Homer, except for his famous painting called "The Gulf Stream" which depicts a black man stranded in a boat surrounded by sharks.

     Homer, born in Boston in 1836, began his artistic career as a magazine illustrator, then went on to paint powerful scenes from the Civil War. He was able to capture the emotional struggle of both the enslaved people . . . 

"Near Andersonville" (1865-66) -- Black woman in a door
with Confederate soldiers in the background

     . . . as well as common soldiers on both sides of the battlefield.

"Prisoners from the Front" (1866) -- Union Army officer with four captured Confederates

     After the war he turned his artistic eye to the struggles found at sea. He moved to the Maine coast in 1883 and spent most of the rest of his life (he died in 1910) chronicling the energy, the wrath and the threat of the ocean.

"The Life Line" (1884) -- Inspired by a rescue Homer witnessed in Atlantic City, NJ

     He also voyaged down to southern climes, painting scenes in Bermuda, the Bahamas and Key West, Florida.

"Flower Garden and Bungalow" (1899) -- Watercolor of picturesque landscape in Bermuda

     But he always returned to the sea for his most inspired works.

"The Gulf Stream" (1899) -- Black man faces sharks in turbulent waters

     We ourselves were inspired by Manhattan -- first from the roof of the museum . . . 

View from Metropolitan Museum, looking south down Central Park and the East Side

     ... and then by the view from our hotel in Jersey City, NJ, just an eight-minute ferry ride across the Hudson River from downtown Manhattan.

Looking at Manhattan from our hotel restaurant where we had brunch

     Note to fellow travelers. The Winslow Homer exhibit is open until the end of July, alongside all the other artistic and historical offerings at the Metropolitan Museum. (Masks are required.)

     Yes, prices have gone up. We were shocked by how much we had to pay for our hotel room (over $300) . . . which is why we stayed only one night, in Jersey City, because prices are higher still if you stay in Manhattan. (We saw a report while we were there:  median rent for an apartment in Manhattan is now $4,000 per month.)

     We've already booked a trip to Wisconsin, to see my daughter. Fortunately, we made reservations a while ago, when prices were still semi-reasonable. But (gulp!) we're still going to have to pay over $5 a gallon for the gasoline to get there.

     It seems if you're going to travel these days, you really, really have to want to go there. We're glad we were able to visit New York City. But we're probably not going back anytime soon. We've got credit card bills to pay!

It Costs How Much?!?

     We toyed with the idea of taking a special vacation this summer. Back in March my daughter in Wisconsin talked about traveling to Italy and wondered if we'd like to join them for a few days.

     A vacation in Italy? Sounded pretty cool. I checked American Airlines. A round-trip ticket was $985. Expensive, but doable.

     We didn't hear any more about the trip from my daughter, so we didn't do anything about it. Then last week, she brought it up again. I went back to American Airlines. Oops . . . now the round-trip fare is $1,359! It's gone up by over $300 per person. And if the airfare has gone up, so too have the hotels, restaurants and anything else we'd want to do.

     So we're not going to Italy this summer.

    We paid $504 to fly to Wisconsin in March. Now I was curious. So I checked. The price is now $622. I'm not sure if we'll be going to Wisconsin this summer either. (And with gas at $4.59 driving isn't any better.)

     It's not like we canceled our trip to Italy. We hadn't actually made the plans. It's just that we decided not to do it.

     I wonder what you're deciding not to do because prices have gone up.

     We are trying to save in other ways as well. We already cut back to one car last summer. And boy, it definitely helps the budget not to have to come up with that second car payment . . . plus insurance, registration, upkeep. And besides, with gas prices the way they are, we've actually been driving less.

     I don't think it's been a conscious decision. But instinctively, we've been walking more, batching trips, going to our local supermarket rather than making the drive over to Costco. I bought a garden rake and bag of grass seed at our local hardware store, because I didn't think it was worth driving down to Home Depot. I'd save a couple of bucks at Home Depot; but spend the savings on gasoline.

     We haven't let go any of our newspaper or magazine subscriptions. But we were remarking just the other day:  the Sunday NY Times now costs $6.00. For one lousy newspaper! We'll be looking at those subscriptions as they come up for renewal. Do we actually read them? Do we really value what they have to say?

     We will not cancel Netflix or Amazon. We watch a fair amount of TV on those two services. (I'm watching the latest season of Better Call Saul; B is watching Old Enough; and together we're watching Friday Night Lights.) 

     But ordinarily, we might be signing up for HBO Max or possibly Hulu. Not now. Netflix and Amazon have both raised their prices, and we surely don't need another streaming bill layered on top of everything else.

     I read recently that overall prices have gone up 8.3% since this time last year. The "typical" American family is spending $340 more per month just to keep up with the basics.

     The cost of food is up 9.4%. We're still eating pretty well. That's important to us, and so we pay the price. But we got out of the restaurant habit when Covid arrived two years ago. Lately, we've been thinking of going back now that the weather is warmer and we can eat outside. The other day we talked about going downtown to one of the outdoor venues. But then we thought -- nah, let's just do takeout. So we didn't drop $50 or $60 on a restaurant meal, we instead spent $18 for takeout from our local chicken place. 

     So to deal with inflation, we're cutting back on travel, driving, restaurants, streaming services. Are you doing anything to economize these days?

     A lot of us are on fixed incomes, so maybe you always have an eye toward economizing. Some people make a game of it -- whether it's clipping coupons, scouring Amazon or shopping the flea markets and seasonal sales. Others consciously limit their purchases to try to save the earth. If you don't eat meat, it not only saves money, it saves the planet.

     But for us these days, it's the prices that are setting the rules of the game.

What Would You Do if You Were Rich?

     What would you do if suddenly you came into a lot of money -- like ten times the amount you now have? We asked this question at a Socrates Cafe session we attended (on Zoom of course). The question was seen as a way to get to the more fundamental issue: What do we want money for?

     (Socrates Cafe is a discussion group through our local retirement learning center. It's part of a larger movement encouraging people from different backgrounds to exchange views and perspectives based on their own experiences.)

     There were about 16 or 18 people on the call. The first person piped up: "My first reaction:  I would buy a bigger house." Then she paused. "But even as I'm saying it, I realize that might not be the right answer -- not because I want to be politically correct, but because maybe that's not what I really want." She paused, reflecting, "With a bigger house comes more work, more cleaning, more upkeep, more worry." Then she brightened. "Actually, maybe what I'd really want is a second home -- a house on the beach!"

     The second person to offer a response said, "I'd hire myself a personal assistant -- someone to handle all the annoying but necessary chores in my life from paying bills to making appointments, answering emails, cleaning the house, organizing the insurance, the medical bills. I'd really love to be free of all that hassle."

     So . . . what would YOU do with a whole lot of extra money?

     One guy raised his hand. He paused for a moment, then said: "I would do nothing." When met with surprised stares he explained, "I pretty much have everything I want right now. Besides, I'm in my 70s. I'm trying to get rid of stuff in my life, not acquire more things."

     One woman explained that her nephew suffers from learning problems and mental health issues. He graduated from high school, but he has trouble keeping a job and is prone to fits of paranoia. She knows he will never be able to fully take care of himself. If she had the money, she would set up some kind of trust for him, so she could rest assured that he'd never end up living on the street or in some terrible shelter.

     Another fellow is an immigrant from a Caribbean country. He came to America in 1970, got an engineering degree, had a successful career, was able to support his family -- and even send some money back to his immediate relatives. If he had more money, he said, he would set up a foundation to help feed, clothe and educate all the people he left behind.

     Another woman said she was less ambitious than that, admitting she didn't have any special cause she wanted to support. She'd give some of it to charity, of course, but what she really wanted to do was travel more. "If I had plenty of money," she said, "I'd go to Hawaii, I'd go to Asia, I'd take a river cruise in Europe ... and maybe the Galapagos. I'd love to see the Galapagos."

     If you think the idea of suddenly receiving a boatload of money is preposterous . . . not so fast! The government just announced that Social Security payments are going up a bracing 5.9% next year. And a group called The Senior Citizens League is campaigning for special $1,400 payments to Social Security recipients. So if you got a $1,400 bonus -- or presumably $2,800 if you're a couple -- are you traveling to Hawaii or sending it to disadvantaged people in the Caribbean?

Remember Inflation?

     B came home the other day and said to me, "Gas prices are way up again. I paid over $3 a gallon!"

     We've gotten used to a low gasoline prices for the past year, ever since they plummeted due to the pandemic. But I checked. B is right. Gas prices have gone up -- by 15% in the last month alone. And today they are 3% higher than this time last year.

     Then we got a notice from our town. We were told that due to Covid, which has caused town expenses to go up and revenues to go down, our town taxes are increasing 12% this year. 

     The school tax has edged up just 2%. But that's still higher than the general inflation rate of 1.4% as reported by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. And with all the pressures that schools are under, I wouldn't be surprised if 2021 brings a much larger increase.

     Fortunately, our Social Security benefit is adjusted for inflation, at least by some measures. We got a 1.3% increase for 2021. But some of that extra money got stripped away by a 2.7% increase in Medicare premiums.

     Food prices are up. I read that chicken prices are 20% higher than last year. Meanwhile, the price of plastic is 8% higher, raising the cost of virtually every packaged good we buy.

     And I hope you don't want to buy a house. According to the most recent Case-Shiller report the price of the average home in the U. S. is up by 10.4%  from Dec. 2019 to Dec. 2020.

     Inflation has been low for a number of years. It is possible we've been lulled into a false sense of complacency?

     Inflation can have a big impact on retirees, since many of us live on fixed incomes. And even though we no longer have to feed a family or save for a child's high-priced college education, we still have to cover food, housing and medical bills. As an example, if the inflation rate goes to 3% and stays there, our costs will go up by 16% over five years and 34.5% over ten. So ten years from now that $3 gallon of gas will set us back a little over $4, and everything else we buy will cost a third more.

     Of course, you might think . . . ten years from now, who cares? But assuming Covid doesn't kill us, a lot of us will be around not just for another ten years, but for 15 or 20. Today, the average 70-year-old  lives to age 85 -- and one in five of us will live past age 90. So we need to consider our financial lives well into the future.

     For example, you might want to check your pension. Many pensions are not adjusted for inflation, but some are. If you have a pension, it would be good to know if your payment is tied to inflation, so you can modify the rest of your life accordingly.

    You might also want to bring up the issue with your financial adviser, if you have one. In the meantime, you should know that if you have an annuity, or invest in bonds, the higher the inflation rate the more you lose out. On the other hand, stocks (or ETFs or mutual funds) in your 401K or IRA will generally go up along with inflation -- unless we hit a period of hyperinflation like we did in the 1970s. Commodities like gold -- and yes, evil oil -- tend to outperform during inflationary times. Maybe bitcoin, too. I don't know. I wouldn't know what to do with a bitcoin.

     Real estate rises along with inflation, so owning your own home is a good hedge against inflation. (See the 10.4% increase in home values cited above.) Rental property also pays off during inflationary periods since you can usually raise the rent. But remember, when you're a landlord you're not truly retired. Managing real estate takes time and attention, and not everyone thinks it's worth the trouble.

      You can always fight inflation by downsizing. You can sell off a second car, or move to a community with a lower cost of living. Or you can decide not to travel. We're now looking at a rental place for next winter in South Carolina -- the same place we've rented twice before. The quoted price is $1,500 a week -- which is 5% more than last year's price (when we didn't go) and 12% (gulp!) higher than what we paid when we were there in 2019.

     Or you could always get a job. Unlike pensions, wages and salaries often increase with inflation and so employees are carried along on the inflation ride. But I don't know about you. I'm retired. I don't want to have to go back to work just to buy chicken or pay the town tax.

     However, we'll have to see about that vacation. I'd hate not to be able to go on vacation.

Do We Need Life Insurance?

     Last week I went to the dentist, which in a perverse sort of way got me thinking about insurance -- maybe because getting insurance is about as much fun as going to the dentist. But like going to the dentist, it’s something we need to do.

     So of course we all have health insurance (or we'd better!). If we own a car we have car insurance. If we own a home we have home insurance, and if we rent we might have renter's insurance, at least if we own clothing, jewelry or electronics that are worth anything.

     What about long-term care insurance, or life insurance? Personally, I have long-term care insurance; I do not have life insurance. I gave up life insurance when I retired, about the same time my dependents went off to college and started work.

     But there are other reasons to have life insurance, so I arranged to consult with Brett Wilson, vice president of Ethos, a new company that avoids traditional insurance agents to provide "easy access to modern, simple and ethical life insurance." Wilson himself, with an MS in management from Stanford University, has a decade-plus experience in the insurance industry.

     I started off by admitting that I have no life insurance and asking why I would need it.

     If you don’t have any financial dependents, and don’t have any debts that loved ones would have to assume -- and you also have funds set aside for funeral expenses -- then it isn’t necessary to purchase a life insurance policy. But if you do have dependents – for example, a spouse who is not eligible to continue receiving your pension, or a child who depends on you for college tuition – then you should strongly consider life insurance.

     Okay, so what kinds of life insurance are there? I’ve heard of term insurance, but I know there are others.

     There are two broad categories of life insurance: term life insurance and permanent life insurance. The main objective of term insurance is to provide protection for a specific period of time – presumably the time when you are financially responsible for anyone else such as a spouse or children. The main objective of permanent life insurance is the accumulation of capital, and it generally requires higher premiums than term life insurance. Examples of permanent insurance are whole life and universal life insurance.

      Most of us who are retired no longer have dependents. But I’ve heard that some life insurance can provide long-term care payments. Is that true?

     First of all, to explain, typical stand-alone long-term care insurance policies provide benefits only when the insured needs long-term care. Benefits are provided for services assisting them with activities of daily living like bathing, dressing and eating. To qualify, policyholders have to meet certain criteria such as the inability to perform two or more daily activities, or be diagnosed with cognitive impairment. These services can generally be used at home or in an assisted living environment. The downside to long-term care policies is that they are only accessible when the insured suffers from a qualifying condition. If long-term care services are not needed, benefits are not payable.

     Some life insurance policies combine the death benefit of a life insurance policy with “living benefits” to provide the insured with care while still living. They are sometimes referred to as “combo policies.” These policies (or attached riders) allow for the acceleration of the death benefit related to specific qualifying conditions such as long-term care or terminal illness. The insured can request that a portion of the death benefit be made available for medical bills or long-term care. Accelerating the death benefit will of course reduce the amount payable at the time of death.

      Is there any role for life insurance in estate planning?

     Yes, there can be. Death benefits paid from life insurance policies are generally not subject to federal income tax and, in many cases, state inheritance taxes. There may also be tax benefits associated with the investment component of permanent life insurance policies, although they can be complex. It's a good idea to seek the advice of a tax expert when thinking about this.

     So if I need, or want, life insurance, how much should I get?

     It depends on your financial circumstances. You can compare your current debts and financial obligations against your assets and aim for life insurance to cover the difference. So ask yourself if your spouse or partner could assume any debt payments (like a mortgage) and living expenses in your absence. If they have their own income, how long would that sustain them in the event of your death? Have you already put away money for your own funeral costs? Again, you want to cover with life insurance what you can’t cover with the assets you leave behind.

     One last question. If we buy life insurance now, how can we be assured that 10 or 20 years from now, when we die, that the company will still be around and able and willing to pay benefits?

     Ethos partners with industry giants including Legal & General America as carriers, as well as reinsurance companies like RGA, to make sure the financial assets are sufficient to pay benefits for many years into the future.

     So, I'm convinced that life insurance can be complicated, but it can also be important. Right now, Wilson told me, some 70% of families in the U. S. would go bankrupt within three months if their primary breadwinner died. As a result, more and more people end up relying on crowdsourcing tools like GoFundMe, just to raise money for funeral costs. I, for one, would not want to leave my partner or loved ones with that burden.

     I'm not promoting Ethos. I have not dealt with them. And I probably will not get life insurance, mostly because I already have long-term-care insurance. But this is all something to think about, to discuss with your loved ones and perhaps your financial adviser. And I have to say, if I had it to do over, I might just go another way.

Two Useful Guides

     You may have heard that the federal government has made a few tax and Social Security changes for 2020.

     If you're like me, you haven't paid much attention. But I saw a clear and useful summary on my friend Jeremy Kisner's website, and so I thought I'd pass on the links -- for those who want an easy guide to the new rules.

     The first reference guide is called 2020 Important Numbers. It provides all sorts of information, including the revised tax brackets, standard deductions for both single and married taxpayers, Social Security annual limits, retirement plan annual limits, estate and gift tax limits . . . and a raft of other numbers, all in a quick easy-to-read format.

     The second guide, called 2020 Social Security Cheat Sheet focuses on everything you need to know about Social Security, including maximum benefits, how much benefits are reduced for retiring early, earning limits for people collecting Social Security.

     Anyway, don't rely on me. Check out the two guides. You might need to zoom in on the computer to see them better. You might also want to print them out for future reference -- for this is an information world we live in, and so it's information that gives us both prosperity and empowerment.

How to Give Money to Your Children

     B and I recently redid our wills, and this got us thinking about how -- and how much -- money to leave for our children and grandchildren. Then we realized we are not alone. Over the next couple of decades by some estimates Baby Boomers will leave around $30 trillion to their Gen-X and Millennial children.

     Of course the answer to how much we give away is: whatever is leftover after we die, minus a few minor bequests to a couple of favorite charities. But of course the issue is more complicated than that. For example, should we give some money to our kids now, while they're still young and could really use it to buy a house, pay for day care, or start a college fund for the kids?

     For some clear and sensible advice I turned to my financial guru, Jeremy Kisner, Director of Financial Planning & Senior Wealth Adviser at Surevest Wealth Management in Phoenix, AZ. He has covered various aspects of the issue in his blog, Clear and Concise Financial Advice, and so with his permission I've cribbed some of his counsel.

     Can you afford it? The first thing to consider is: Can you afford to give away assets now without concern that you may run out later in life? The last thing you want to do is give away money, then become a burden to your children in a few years when they themselves are pressed for money to send kids to college or save for a retirement of their own. You can give money more confidently if you have long-term-care insurance to handle future medical expenses and you have guaranteed income sources such as Social Security and pensions that cover all or most of your living expenses.

     Will an inheritance affect the recipient's motivation? Many clients who have substantial assets earned them on their own. In fact, 80% of millionaire households did not inherit their money or enjoy any kind of windfall. These people are generally proud of the struggles they went through and the prudent financial decisions they made. Ironically, they then often want to make life easy for their children and grandchildren. Paving an easy path for children can deny them the pride-inducing sacrifices that make life's journey meaningful. This is less true if you are gifting to children who are older (in their 50s or 60s), and also less true for gifts that provide experiences, such as sponsoring  family vacations or reunions, or subsidizing educational expenses.

     Will you give equally? There is almost nothing you can do to create more hurt feelings and dysfunction in your family than gifting unequally among a group of children or grandchildren. It may seem reasonable to support one child or grandchild more than others, either because one child needs more help, or one child wants to start a business or go back to school. Just be careful. You don't want to be perceived as playing favorites.

     But does equal always mean fair? My advice is to leave equal bequests to your children and grandchildren, unless there is a clear and persuasive reason for the inequity. You should always communicate why you are making an unequal distribution, either while you are alive or else by leaving a letter with your estate-planning documents. This can be uncomfortable to do, but your children will likely come up with their own explanation (e.g. my parents had a favorite child, and it wasn't me!) if you don't communicate why you made the decisions you made.

     What about giving to charity? I also recommend a conversation or letter explaining why/if you're taking some of "their" inheritance and giving it to a charity. It may seem as though you shouldn't need to explain what you do with your money, but better to err on the side of oversharing, because hurt feelings can last a lifetime and overshadow all the good times you had together.

     What are the tax ramifications? To the IRS it makes little difference whether you make your bequests during your lifetime or after your death. In 2019 you can transfer up to $11.4 million  without the gift being subject to federal gift or estate taxes. (Some people think this amount is too large, contributing to inequality, but as things stand it will slowly get larger since the amount is indexed to inflation.) You are also free to give up to $15,000 annually to as many people as you like without owing any federal gift tax, or using up any of the $11.4 million lifetime exemption. You can gift more than $15,000 in a year, but you must file IRS Form 709 to let the IRS know that you are using part of your lifetime exemption. All these amounts can be doubled if you and your spouse each make a gift.

     Is it better to give cash or appreciated assets? Parents usually give their children cash, because it's the easiest thing to do. However, when assets such as stocks or real estate are passed with your estate the recipient steps up the cost basis to the time of your death rather than using your original cost. In the event you have substantial assets, or assets that have appreciated in value, it's probably a good idea to discuss your strategy with a financial adviser.

     How do we talk about this? It's important for people to have open, honest communication about money with family members before they inherit assets. This does not mean the kids need to see copies of your financial statements. You just want your beneficiaries to know what to expect -- and you can use these discussions to pass on your values along with the money. One way to do this is to tell personal stories  -- some of them may even be humorous -- about the risks you have have taken and the sacrifices you've made in order to build a successful business or career. Gifts that are shared without purpose or intention can feel like welfare. Beneficiaries tend to have a greater sense of ownership and responsibility when they are included in family discussions about bequests, however generous or modest they may be.

How We Can Save Money

     One way B and I save money is by paying our bills on time. We never (well, almost never) pay a late fee on a utility bill or tax bill, and every month we pay off our credit cards on time -- so no interest, no penalty.

     As an aside, we have several credit cards ... which is probably not the best way to do it. But both of us agree, we'd rather pay one bill for $500, and then a second bill for $700, rather than have to swallow one bill for $1200 all at once. I realize this makes no financial difference ... but don't you agree, it makes it easier?

     Here are a few other ways to save money. Some of them B and I practice (although, as you'll see, I don't necessarily hold us up as paragons of frugality). Others I've recently read about, or heard about. Feel free to add some others, since we could all benefit from saving a few dollars here and there.

     Vacations. Travel is expensive, and so the best way to save money is to stay at home. But we want to visit the grandkids, or go to the mountains or the beach, or take a long-dreamed-of trip to Europe. One strategy we use is to go out of season -- the beach in November or February. We have also cultivated connections. We rent the same house on Cape Cod every year, from a woman who hasn't raised our rent in the past four years. We use a rental agency in South Carolina that periodically offers seasonal or longer-term specials ... and we jump on them. One thing we do not do is frequent miles. We've never been able to figure out how they pay off. (We get cash back instead).

     Restaurants. One way to save is to go out for lunch instead of dinner, when the fare is less expensive. Unfortunately, we don't really eat much of a lunch. But when we go out to dinner we often share a plate, or skip the drink, or go for the chicken dish instead of the steak or lobster. Also, to be honest, we are not really gourmets ... we do pizza as much as anything else, and we avoid any restaurant that sports tablecloths. Also, on the rare occasion we go out for coffee, it's Dunkin' Donuts, not Starbucks.

     Transportation. We recently got our Senior Fare cards for SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority), and so we can ride for free -- which we did just the other day. We still have two cars; but we're talking about downsizing to one, because we hardly ever use both of them at the same time. Has anyone done this?

     Gambling. We don't gamble. That includes the state lottery.

     Clothing. B spends a lot on clothing. I spend almost nothing. It averages out.

     Entertainment. I play golf in a league, which always negotiates a better rate than the normal greens fees. I also play ping pong for $5 a night at the senior center. B does a lot of her entertainment at her church, which is largely free. We also get the senior rate at our local movie theater. However, I did just spend a fortune to buy two tickets to the quarterfinals at the U. S. Open in a couple of weeks. Don't do that if you want to save money. (I'm guessing it's a similar story for football tickets, but I don't know for sure, I've never been to a professional football game.)

     Souvenirs. See above, the item for clothing.

     Haircuts. According to Brandongaille Marketing the average man's haircut costs $28.30 -- plus tip, presumably. I go to an old-fashioned barber shop located in the parking lot of a mini-mall, and I pay $17 plus $3 tip for $20 total. I honestly don't know what B pays (what, you think I'm gonna ask her?!?) but she doesn't go to the fanciest place in town, and her hair looks great!

     Storage units. In my opinion, keeping stuff in a storage unit only means that you haven't made the hard decisions. And not making decisions costs you money. We rented a storage unit for a year, when we were between moves, and that lightened our wallet by over $200 a month. Fortunately, we now have that monkey off our backs.

     Gym membership. Well . . . it all depends on whether you use it or not.

     Grandchildren. B sends her grandchildren a book every month. (Remember, she's a retired librarian.) That may sound like a lot, but really, it's only a few bucks. I don't have any grandchildren yet, so my cost so far is $0.00 per month. But my first grandchild is on the way, and B thinks I'm going to be a pushover. We'll see . . .

Do You Argue About Money?

     Right now I'm in Phoenix, but I'm thinking about a time at home, about two weeks ago, when B approached me after breakfast. "I have something to ask you," she said. "It's a little awkward."

     "Okay," I replied, wondering if anything was wrong. "What is it?"

     "You have to leave the house tomorrow. Between 12 and 1 p.m."

     "Uh, okay." Now I was really puzzled. "Why is that?"

     "Melanie is coming over."

     "Who's Melanie?"

     "She's from the fabric store. We're going to talk about recovering those two chairs in the living room."

     "Ah," I said, suddenly understanding. We've been talking about those two chairs for at least a year. They seem fine to me. But B says they don't fit into our decor, and they have to be either recovered or replaced. I don't see the point. Recovering old chairs? It costs hundreds of dollars, for each chair! We certainly have better things to spend our money on than recovering perfectly good chairs that we hardly ever use.

     Which is why B is asking me -- no, telling me -- to get out of the house, and out of her way. She doesn't want me skulking around and harrumphing about how it costs too much and we don't need to do it anyway. .

     Still . . . "I have to be out of the house?" I pursued. "I can't just go upstairs, and stay there and not show my face?"

     "No. Out of the house." Clearly, she has heard enough from me. And no matter what I say, she is doing this.

     And so I went out for the afternoon. I went to the mall and bought myself a new Ping Pong paddle and had lunch in the food court. And with this scenario in mind, I thought I'd bring you some advice on how not to argue about money. Goodness knows . . . not from me. But from Jeremy Kisner, my go-to financial adviser at Surevest Wealth Management in Phoenix (which is maybe why I thought of this).

     Here's what he says. And it occurs to me that his approach might extend beyond money issues and be helpful for any kind of communication with a friend or loved one:

     Money is a hot-button issue in many relationships. It's common for partners to have different spending and savings priorities, and this often leads to conflict. Usually, one partner is more focused on the present and places a higher priority on using money to have fun, buy nice things, be generous, or engage in "retail therapy" to escape stress or anxiety. The other may be more focused on the future, feeling that the most important use of money is to provide security so they will be financially independent.

     Partners often try to convince each other that their priorities are the correct way of looking at things. But this usually doesn't go well. Discussions about money often lead to arguments or uncomfortable silences. Furthermore, financial distress is often cited as the #1 cause of divorce. So instead of avoiding financial discussions, try to follow these seven tips for better outcomes:

     Start with questions. Your first instinct is probably to "tell" your partner what you want, why your priority is important. That is the opposite of how you should approach these conversations. Instead, ask a question that might start a productive dialogue. What do you think has been your best, and your worst, financial decision? What spending decisions have brought you good memories? What was money like in your household when you were growing up? The answers show you why people think the way they do, and help you better understand their financial mindset.

     Don't focus on what you are going to say. Instead, focus on listening. Good listening is a learned behavior that doesn't come naturally for most people. It entails more than waiting your turn to talk. Good listening means asking clarifying questions, even when you think you know what the other person means. Learn to pause before speaking and repeat back what you've heard.

     Find goals you both agree on. Each of you should make a list of the goals you'd like to reach. Then find common goals and agree to work toward them. Each of you needs to be willing to make sacrifices to reach the goals, and if you're initiating the conversation, you should be the first one to offer up something. Do you need to cut down on the Starbucks visits, Botox treatments, dog grooming, poker nights?

     Do not be judgmental. You may find yourself thinking, Wow, it is really stupid to spend so much on XYZ. It is completely normal to have different spending priorities, but if you're judgmental, you're going to poison the well and kill any chance of progress.

     Admit your own mistakes and regrets. The best way to prepare for this discussion is not by gathering evidence of what your spouse has done wrong. Instead, evaluate your own spending and figure out which of your own decisions turned out to be mistakes, and what changes you can make. Then you might ask if your partner has any spending habits or decisions they would be willing to change.

     Be appreciative. If your partner admits to overspending, don't pounce. Instead, be understanding, even sympathetic, and ask more questions such as: What do you think would be more reasonable? Then appreciate their answer, their honesty, and their willingness to work together.

     Agree to revisit periodically. You and your partner should meet to discuss your household budget on a regular basis, perhaps once a month. This is an ideal time to reaffirm priorities and talk about financial goals. Of course, it's always easier to avoid these conversations. But as I like to say, "A lazy man works twice as hard." In other words, a little discipline prevents a lot of future headache. Good luck with your money conversations!

How to Live Within Your Means

     After we retire, we no longer get a paycheck. We knew it was going to happen, but knowing it and experiencing it are two different things.

     If you are struggling to live within your budget I've got a few suggestions that might help bring your retirement expenses into line with a more modest retirement income. (And if you have any other ideas, I'd love to hear them.)

     The most important thing, I believe, is to economize on legacy goods and services -- things you're paying for that you don't really care about anymore. For example, maybe you're still paying for a membership to a swim-and-tennis club that your kids used to use, or a gym membership that you intended to use but never did. Or, if you're like me and have remarried, you can consolidate a lot of bills -- like insurance, phone, AAA membership -- to help your monthly budget.

     Maybe you don't go to the big box store anymore, where you drop $250, and now that the kids are gone you end up throwing away half of your "bargain" purchases. And, do you really need life insurance if you don't have any dependents anymore?

     If all this seems like small potatoes, remember, one small change may not make much of a difference, but add them all up and you might be talking real money.

     I know from my own experience that if you downsize, you can sell some of the things you no longer use. Before we moved, I made about $200 when I carted several boxes of "leftovers" from our basement to the local picker's store. I could have made more if we had thought ahead and joined the neighborhood tag sale.

     Other people may have bigger fish to fry. Do you still have that old boat you bought when your kids were teenagers? Do you have an extra car that's rusting away in the driveway, or a vacation condo or time share you hardly ever use anymore? Even if your unwanted items have greatly depreciated, it's still better to have the money now rather than the headache of getting rid of it later on.

     Also, as we enter retirement we should be paying down debt not taking out more loans. There will be no more salary increases to cover those additional monthly payments. The credit card is the worst (do we all pay off in full at the end of the month?) since interest rates are high and penalties lurk around every corner. If you are running a balance, don't hesitate to call your credit company to try to negotiate a better rate. Sometimes it works!

     But we shouldn't worry too much if we're carrying a mortgage into retirement. That is the last debt to pay off. But trust me, there's no better feeling of security than living in a home that's free and clear of the bank.

     I'm not going to try to tell you how to save money when you're traveling, because I'm no expert. I don't travel that much. (But come to think of it, it's certainly one way to afford retirement -- cut down on the travel budget!)

     But I will mention something else. It's something I see all the time: Retired people still buying things for their grownup kids, or sending them a check a couple of times a year. But there's no law that says you have to subsidize their rent or pony up a down payment on a car or house. Remember the old saying about roots and wings. You gave your kids roots. Now it's time to give them wings, and let them fly on their own.

     I got this last idea at a retirement seminar I attended -- not a practical tip, but more of an attitude adjustment. One fellow stood up and told us that he retired from IBM about three years ago. He used to run a department and have people reporting to him, and he had a pretty good salary and some stock options and he wasn't shy about spending his money on a big house and three cars and a yearly trip to Europe.

     After he retired he felt like he had no purpose in life. Then he realized he had defined himself by his job -- he was an IBMer -- and in some sense he "kept score" of his life by how much money he made and how many people reported to him. Now he didn't have that anymore. He had to come up with a different way to define himself and a different way to keep score.

     Now he volunteers with Habitat for Humanity and also at the local senior center. He sold his house and moved into a condominium, and he doesn't travel much anymore. Why? Because now he defines himself as a volunteer rather than an IBMer, and he keeps score not by how much money he makes, or by how much stuff he buys, but by how many people he has helped.

     He doesn't make nearly as much money, and doesn't spend as much either. But he enjoys a closer relationship with his community. And he feels less stressed, more relaxed, and in his heart he is much happier.

Saving Money in Retirement

     I was visiting my sister in Jacksonville, FL, who is a self-proclaimed cheapskate. Maybe for that reason the topic of saving money came up . . .

     . . . because for many people, retired or not, the prospect of life without a paycheck is scary. Then the financial experts stoke our anxiety by saying we need a lot of money, as much as $1 million, or 20 times our old annual salary, saved up to provide a comfortable retirement.

     The financial experts are right, in principle. We do need a lot of money to retire -- in the form of Social Security, plus pensions and 401K plans and IRA balances, as well the value of the help we get from family and friends. But my sister and I decided maybe we don't need quite as much as the experts would have us believe.

     Why? Because after we retire, our expenses go down. And there are plenty of pain-free ways to push them even lower. Here are some that we came up with, maybe you have others.

     Clothes. This is the first idea my sister offered. You don't need any more expensive business suits, or uniforms that you have to pay for yourself; no more need to buy and inventory a closet full of shoes for every occasion. (My sister does have closets full of clothes, but hardly anything that she's bought since she retired seven or eight years ago.)

     Commuting costs. We no longer have to buy a commutation ticket for the train, or pay bus fare or parking fees. If you drive 20 miles to work every day, you'll save almost 10,000 miles a year, which at the IRS mileage allowance of 54.5 cents a mile, equals more than $5,000 a year!

     Lose a car. If you're no longer commuting, maybe you can sell off one of your two or three cars, because you don't really need it anymore. In my sister's case, she and her husband still have two cars; but her husband sold his motorcycle when they retired.

     Move. My sister is retired in Jacksonville, where the cost of living is already low. But you don't have to relocate to Florida or Arizona to save money. I moved from New York to Pennsylvania, some 120 miles away, and now save almost $10,000 a year on my real-estate tax alone. Sometimes moving 20 miles farther out from your business hub can save a huge amount of money in housing and other living costs.

     No more kids. My sister doesn't have any kids, but I have two of them and I know that you spend a lot less after your kids have finished school and  moved out on their own. No more college tuition; no more sports equipment and sports club fees. Now they buy their own clothes . . . and you can't believe how much you save on your grocery bill!

     Entertainment. I assume everyone asks about senior discounts wherever they go. In our case, on Wednesday when it was too cold to be outside, we went out to lunch, instead of going out to dinner, and got pretty much the same meal for half the price. Then we hit the movies for the afternoon matinee . . . for $8 a piece instead of the usual $11. (We saw If Beale Street Could Talk -- I liked it, she didn't.)

     Travel. Of course, you can always spend boat loads of money if you go first class to all the hot spots. But the beauty of retirement is that you can travel mid-week, when air fares are cheaper; you can go during the shoulder season, when rates are lower. And . . . you can go visit your sister who will put you up for free!

     Save on saving. We're retired, so we no longer have to save for retirement. In my case, the kids are through college so I don't have to save for their college tuition. Since we no longer get a paycheck, we're no longer subject to the payroll tax. Instead, we are now, finally, on the receiving end of Social Security and Medicare!

Do Retirees Have to Worry About Inflation?

     After reading about my worst investment mistakes, I wouldn't blame you if you took any financial advice I can offer with a grain of salt. But again, in my defense, I offer up my own bone-headed mistakes in an effort to help others avoid bone-headed mistakes of their own.

     So here is an article I wrote for the U. S. News Retirement website that was also picked up by Yahoo Finance, as fair warning to retirees who might be worried -- or perhaps should be worried -- about the effects of inflation on their retirement nest egg.

     I don't know if you've noticed inflation creeping back into your grocery store or your monthly household bills. But since I wrote this couple of weeks ago, I ran across another sign of inflation, one that really hit me in the gut. The price of a medium-size vanilla cone, with sprinkles, at our local ice-cream stand has gone up 11.1 percent -- from $4.50 last year to $5.00 this year . . . 

Should Retirees Worry About Inflation?

by Tom Sightings

In January the Pennsylvania Turnpike lifted its toll by 6 percent – it will now cost $47.55 to cross the state. Amazon announced an 18 percent increase in Prime membership, from $132 to $156 a year. Average gasoline prices are up a solid 10 percent from this time last year, going from $2.386 to $2.631.

While it’s true that inflation has been low for a number of years, is it possible we’ve been lulled into a sense of complacency? In the 12 months through March, the Consumer Price Index increased 2.4 percent, the largest gain in a year. And Producer prices, often considered a gauge of future inflation, gained 3.0 percent for the 12 months ended in March.

There’s no reason to panic. Prices for some items, such as clothes and telecommunications, have actually gone down a little bit. And in March the CPI dipped, by 0.1 percent, its first stall since last spring. But experts now believe, especially with a tightening labor market and increasing U. S. debt, that inflation is no longer cooling down, but is instead warming up.

So do retirees have to worry about inflation? We no longer have to feed a family, or save for our kids’ high-priced college education. But we still do have to eat, and cover our housing costs and pay medical bills not covered by insurance. And even at a rate of 3 percent, costs increase by 16 percent over five years, and 34.5 percent over ten. Considering that people retiring today can expect to live another 20 years – and one in five of us will live past age 90 – we need to consider our financial lives well out into the future.

So even if you can afford your lifestyle today, are you prepared if prices start to increase. Remember the 1970s? Will Social Security keep up? Will your investments produce enough income?

For the rest of the article, and suggestions on how to protect yourself, go over to "7 Ways to Cope with Inflation in Retirement" at U. S. News On Retirement, or else Yahoo! Finance.

And may you . . . live long and prosper.

The Truth About Taxes

     The deadline for filing taxes is usually April 15. This year April 15 falls on the weekend so the deadline is pushed to the 17th. This coming Tuesday, in case you've forgotten.

     In honor of tax day I thought I'd revisit some thoughts I've had before on the truth behind the tax code -- a look at what kind of behavior the government encourages through the tax system, and what kind of activities it actually penalizes.

     Most people do not do their own taxes. They throw up their hands, decide it's too complicated and run to an accountant or H & R Block. The IRS also offers a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, typically through libraries or community centers, that gives free tax help to people making less than $54,000 a year. There's also a Tax Counseling for the Elderly program offering help focused on pensions and retirement-related issues.

     All this is convenient, of course. But when you rely on someone else to do your taxes you get no understanding of how the tax code really works -- and what it can do for you, or to you. Meanwhile, a lot of people use electronic services such as Turbotax. This is kind of like doing it yourself, but the electronic process still does hide some details of the tax system and how they affect you.

     I have always done my own taxes -- except for a couple of years when I tiptoed into an accountant's office and found out they don't necessarily do a better job, and they charge you an arm and a leg for the service.

     While it does take some time, and the process is not entirely painless, doing your own taxes can provide an educational experience. I'm not talking about practicing your arithmetic skills. What I mean is that you find out what the government is really encouraging you to do (despite what it says) and what it really penalizes. In short, you find out how the world works.

     Here are ten lessons I've learned doing my own taxes. 

     1. The Federal tax system penalizes workers. Not only do you pay the highest rates on income you earn, but you also pay Social Security (aka payroll) tax of about 7% on your salary. Your employer pays an additional 7% -- which means, at least theoretically, they could pay you 7% more if they weren't giving that money to the government. But wait . . . the government likes you if you make a lot of money -- after a worker has crossed the salary threshold of $128,400 a year, the government exempts the rest of earnings from the payroll tax.

     2. Invest in the stock market. Some of the money you make from capital gains -- the profit from selling a stock for more more than you bought it for -- doesn't get taxed at all. The rest is taxed at a lower rate than the money you make on your job. Most stock dividends are taxed at a lower rate as well. 

     3. You're a sucker if you have a savings account, or buy a bond. The interest rate you receive from a corporate or government bond, or a regular savings account, is as low as it's been in decades. It's below the rate of inflation, which means you are actually losing money. The IRS doesn't care. It taxes the little bit of interest you earn at its regular rate, meaning you lose even more money.

     4. The IRS can't make up its mind about real estate. Real-estate investors can take advantage of certain tax breaks, such as depreciation; but are excluded from others. Rental income is taxed at the full rate, as opposed to stock dividends which get preferential treatment. Bottom line: Investing in real estate can be a good deal, but it's not for everyone. 

     5. Or owning a business. Again, many tax breaks are available to people who work for themselves, such as deductions for "travel and entertainment." But there are drawbacks as well. For one, you have to pay both the employer's and the employee's part of the Social Security tax. And the tax-filing process can be confusing and complicated, requiring obsessive record keeping, mind-numbing calculations . . . and usually the expense of paying a professional accountant.

     6. But it does want you to save for retirement. The government offers a wide (some would say overly complicated) array of options -- such as the IRA, the Roth IRA, the SEP IRA, the 401(k) plan – which allow you to escape, or at least defer, taxes on your retirement savings.

     7. It wants you to get health insurance through your business, but not on your own. The IRS doesn't tax income a worker uses to pay for health-insurance premiums -- but ony if the medcal insurance comes through the workplace or through a business. If you buy medical insurance on your own, including Medicare . . . no tax break for you!

     8. The government will cut you a break if you're sick, but only if you're really sick. You can deduct out-of-pocket medical expenses, including dental expenses, that exceed 10% of your income, or 7.5% of your income if you're age 65 or over. 

     9. The government wants people to go to college. The silver lining to the ridiculous cost of higher education is that there are several ways to deduct a portion of college tuition on your Federal tax form. Many states offer tax breaks for educational expenses as well. The 529 College Savings Plan is a relatively simple and easy way to avoid taxes on money you put aside for college . . . for yourself, your grandchildren, or anyone else in the family.

     10. The government doesn't want you to do your own taxes. The Federal tax code reportedly runs 70,000 pages or more (people can't even agree on how long it is), and details all kinds of rules, regulations, tax breaks and penalties. Plus, there are many more pages at your state level. The whole process is way too complicated for the average person. The IRS really wants you to pay an expert, who is more likely to get it right, and who will file electronically, saving the government (but not you) a little bit of money.

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

     I read recently on the Forbes website that 15 percent of Baby Boomers are millionaires. Can that possibly be true?

     But then, a million dollars isn't what it used to be. According to a 2016 report from the Federal Reserve, it takes a little more than $10 million to be in the top 1 percent. So $1 million might make you "comfortable" but it doesn't make you "rich."

     After all, if you own an average-type house and have been making your mortgage payments for 30 years, you probably now own it outright. And it's likely worth close to half a million right there. Add to that your IRAs, or 401Ks, maybe a second home, a boat, whatever, and, yeah, I guess I can see that 15 percent of us are millionaires.

     Plus, if you count the real value most of us have in Social Security and some of us have in pensions (for example, if you have a $20,000 a year pension, at a 4 percent withdrawal rate, that could be considered the equivalent of owning a half-million-dollar asset) then a lot more of us are millionaires . . . at least, of a certain kind.

     That's not to say probably at least 15 percent of us don't make $1,500 a month in Social Security, don't have a 401K plan and don't have a pension either . . . but that's a subject for another post.

     So anyway, despite all the reports of a slow-growth economy, the lack of wage gains, the greed of the 1 percenters, and the woe-is-me articles you see in the media . . . sometimes, we're better off than we think.

     With that in mind, I saw this piece from my friend Jeremy Kisner of Surevest Wealth Management in Phoenix, Ariz., who also produces a helpful website focused on "planning great retirements." He refers to a book first published in 1996, but the concepts and principles are no less true today than they were back then. And if you don't think so, I checked: the figures Kisner uses are current numbers.

     So, for some perspective . . .


     One piece of advice that has served me well, and I often repeat is: "When what you see and what you hear are in conflict, believe what you see." However, one area where that advice does not hold up is in judging how wealthy people are. We often see people who appear wealthy but are not, and visa versa.

     The book that really demonstrated this, with research, statistics and stories, is The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley and William Danko. The book's major argument is that the vast majority of millionaires do not look or act like we would expect based on popular culture.

     Most Americans would define "wealthy" the same way as Webster's dictionary: "People who have an abundance of material possessions." It is hard to believe that most millionaires do not have fancy watches, sports cars or extravagant homes. In a word, they are frugal, living on an average of 7 percent of their net worth. In other words, a household that has a net worth of $1 million, on average only spends $70,000 per year.

     "These people cannot be millionaires! They don't look like millionaires, they don't dress like millionaires, they don't eat like millionaires, they don't act like millionaires -- they don't have millionaire names. Where are the millionaires who look like millionaires?"

     The person who said this was the trust officer of a bank who was hosting a dinner for ten first-generation millionaires. The trust officer had an expensive suit, an expensive watch and a nice car. He was not a millionaire, but he thought he was looking the part. Naturally, he was surprised when the bank's wealthy clients did not look the part.

     Here are some other interesting facts and figures about millionaires:

     About 5 percent of Americans are millionaires (1 in 20). Most of them -- about 95 percent -- have between $1 million and $5 million.

     More millionaires identify as Democrat (58 percent) than Republican (38 percent).

     Many do not drive luxury cars. Ford is the second most popular car behind Mercedes, but ahead of BMW. In addition, cars are typically not the current model year and are rarely leased.

     94 percent are married.
     
     83 percent attended public schools, and 80 percent have college degrees.

     97 percent are homeowners and have on average lived in the same home for over 20 years.

     80 percent are self-made, first-generation rich. Less than 20 percent inherited significant money (at least 10 percent of their wealth).

     Most millionaires who own their own companies are in dull, low-tech businesses such as construction trades, farming, mobile-home parks, pest control, retail stores. Professionals with advanced degrees, like doctors, dentists, lawyers and accountants, are also well-represented among this group of everyday millionaires.

     On average, they save and invest 20 percent of their realized household income.

     I find the truth about the "millionaire next door" much more motivating and inspiring than the myth. The myth is that wealthy Americans inherited their money or had a large windfall (e.g. stock options). The fact is America is still the land of opportunity where poor people can -- and do -- go from nothing to significant wealth. Many hard-working Americans create life-changing opportunities for themselves, their children and grandchildren through hard work, and systematic saving and investing. We celebrate it, write movies about it, and our libraries are full of books about it.

     So if you are the millionaire next door, I applaud you! And even if you're not, let's be friends.