Retirement is dead, so the way we live and manage our money has to change. Here’s a quick and easy review. — Every once in a while, it makes sense to go back to basics. Especially as new people start reading my stuff and we move away from the central, overarching theme of a life that does not include traditional retirement. On their own, the idea to not carry a mortgage payment…

‘Balance your life across labor, leisure, and learning’ — First, scratch and screw old age. I prefer to call it relative old age: While I don’t consider myself old, relatively speaking I am. Relative to my daughter. Relative to how old I was at age 30, 40 and even 45. Relative to lots of things. I make this distinction…

Except in four of the nation’s 50 largest metros… and even then — The idea that you’d knowingly set yourself up to struggle financially just to become a homeowner has never made any sense to me. You can make every argument in the world — You’re building equity! You get tax deductions!! The numbers even out in your favor after 5, 10, 15…

Raw headline aside, this is actually a positive story with a likely happy ending — I look at my first 50 years as act one and my last 50 years — knock on wood — as a much wiser act two. That’s a line from a recent installment of my Living The Semi-Retired Life newsletter. In today’s Medium article, I pull excerpts from two recent…

All set or screwed: Which group are you in? If you’re screwed, what are you going to do about it? — America in 2023 and going forward: You’re either all set or screwed. If, like me, you fall somewhere in between, consider yourself lucky. As long as you’re willing to exercise your options. Some of which you might consider drastic. By the end of this article, we will have exampled all…

Here’s how renting an apartment, especially in a big city, works — Misinformation abounds about living in big cities. In a recent Medium article, I dispel the myth that places such as San Francisco and Los Angeles are dystopian wastelands where nobody wants to live. First, the people who perpetuate this irresponsible and false narrative have often never set foot in San…

Maybe it’s the people constantly complaining about retail theft In big cities — I’m beyond tired of reading portrayals of San Francisco and Los Angeles as dystopian wastelands from people who have likely never set foot in places such as San Francisco and Los Angeles, let alone lived there. For the better part of the last 24 years, I have lived in San…

These aren’t hacks, quick fixes or a pitch for my self-help course — By and large, I’m not a fan of articles about writing on Medium or Medium in general. From what I understand, Medium isn’t either. Yet, these types of articles proliferate the platform. So I don’t write them anymore. And I rarely read them. That said, this July marks my 48th…

Some homeowners are deluded by their good fortune. Others don’t listen or don’t know. A few are just looking for a fight. — I’m literally blue in the face. As much I enjoy engaging the rent versus own debate, I’m all tapped out. As I review the responses to my recent articles on the subject, most are sane and logical. …