Freed Up to be Free Indeed

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This year is a big deal for the people of the United States because we’re celebrating a major milestone—it’s been 250 years since we broke free from the rule of King George III and Great Britain’s control back in 1776. It’s a huge anniversary, and freedom is something that’s on lots of people’s minds. We’re … Read more

The Caregiving Principle—Article #3: Healthcare Planning (With Medicare)

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This article is part of the Biblically-Informed Framework for Retirement Stewardship (BIFRS) series. Even if you retire before age 65, Medicare becomes the foundation of healthcare coverage once you reach that age. It isn’t a perfect system—it has gaps and limitations—but it’s what we have, and it’s worth understanding well. I view Medicare as part … Read more

A Risk Earl Didn’t Consider

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Earl is concerned about “sequence of returns risk,” and the “safe withdrawal rate” typically guides every spending decision in his life with clockwork precision. But it doesn’t appear to apply inside the Costco building. I generally don’t like shopping, but I don’t mind going to Costco. I sometimes go with my wife to get a … Read more

It’s Simple

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It’s simple. When interest rates rise, bond prices fall. Stocks get nervous. Yields go up. Good for retirees? Maybe, or maybe not. Any questions? Interest rates have been in the news for a while now, which is a polite way of saying they have become a regular and mostly unwelcome topic, showing up in headlines … Read more

The Caregiving Principle—Article #2: Healthcare Planning (Before Medicare)

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This article is part of the Biblically-Informed for Retirement Steward series (BIFRS). Planning for healthcare, both before and in retirement, isn’t fun or glamorous. It’s not as exciting as planning for travel or hobbies in retirement. But it’s absolutely essential. Without adequate healthcare coverage and planning, a single medical crisis can severely impact your financial … Read more

A Practical Guide to the Instruction Letter Earl Hasn’t Written—and How to Keep It Safe

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I wrote this article because the “Earl password cartoon” and article actually identified the real challenge at the heart of this whole exercise: the more complete and useful your information/instruction letter is, the more dangerous it becomes if it falls into the wrong hands. A document good enough to hand your whole financial life to … Read more

Somewhere in a Box in a Cabinet

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Earl has a plan (he always does), and he mostly works them through to some stage of completion. He’s reallocated his retirement portfolio, run his Monte Carlo simulations (about 20 times and counting), updated his beneficiary designations, and recently had his and Dot’s wills and other documents reviewed by a professional who charged by the … Read more

Meet Pastor Dave

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Pastor Dave has been Earl and Dot’s pastor for eleven years. During that time, he’s preached through most books of the Bible, married their kids and some of their friends’ kids, and answered Earl’s questions—and follow-up questions—on all kinds of topics, especially stewardship and retirement. He’s not exactly a financial whiz, though. He’s got an … Read more

The Caregiving Principle—Article #1: Preparing to Give and Receive Care

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This article is part of the Biblically-Informed Framework for Retirement Stewardship (BIFRS) series. In the previous series of articles, we explored the Self-Sustaining Principle, which is the biblical call to plan wisely so we don’t become an unnecessary burden on others. We discussed saving adequately, generating sustainable retirement income, managing expenses, and building wealth responsibly. … Read more