Home - HumbleDollar

HD Reader’s Demographics

Mark Bergman | Jun 16, 2026

"Jonathan published an article, The Other Half, in 2018 that said this: “Indeed, HumbleDollar’s audience tends to be more affluent and more financially self-disciplined than the broad population. A recent survey of the site’s readership found that 74% of you have annual incomes of $100,000 and above.” Today's equivalent value is $132,555."

- Dan Malone

Many seniors think we paid for our Social Security benefits based on the FICA taxes we paid. Let’s dispel that myth- we didn’t

R Quinn | Jun 15, 2026

"I believe I read that in the 1983 SS reboot Congress set the goal of capturing 90% of earnings under SS ... There are way too many people making over the 184,500 cap today. Seems like it has to go up"

- George Counihan

What Addiction Couldn’t Take: My Sister’s Story

Andrew Clements | Jun 17, 2026

"Thank you Jeff. I love that you and your sister still share stories about Roger and that your children know him through those memories. In many ways, that’s how we keep people alive. Your observation about addiction also rings true. The addiction may not have been a secret, but the depth of the struggle often is. Thank you for sharing Roger’s story and reminding us that those we lose are remembered for so much more than their battles. "

- Andrew Clements

…..taxes and you

Dan Smith | Jun 11, 2026

"Is that really true about the minimum tax on older cars? I always have older cars, and this year I paid: 2005 Sienna: state: $66, town: $82.50 2004 Sentra: state: $48, town: $42.50 2012 Focus: state: $54.50, town $48.00 1980 man lift: state: $40, town $30.50 2003 popup camper: state: $13.20, town $35.50 various one-axle trailers: state: $13,20 (one was $3.30), town $10.50"

- Jon Daley

Interesting insight

Mike A | Jun 13, 2026

"I wonder about this, too. I find I can live on my Social Security income alone (admittedly, it would be a spartan lifestyle), but I've reached the age of RMDs. I spend part of my RMD and save/invest the balance. At the same time, the boom you've described is growing both my investment and retirement accounts - in spite of all the bad news we're pounded with each day. One of my two kids is doing very well for himself. The other was doing fine until all the wheels fell off - job loss, divorce, kid expenses, etc. I can be a financial backstop as needed and within reason, but not forever. In your second to last paragraph you refer to Boomers not being immortal. That's all well-and-good, the end comes to us all. But I intend to keep living as well and as long as possible - so the Boomer wealth transfer will need to wait!"

- Jeff Bond

Fixing Social Security is not that hard, here’s how

R Quinn | Jun 13, 2026

"There is a difference. With Medicare? All recipients pay a premium. With SS, there are spousal beneficiaries who never contributed."

- Marilyn Lavin

A Sunday Thought About Money

Mark Crothers | Jun 14, 2026

"I am so jealous...my kids haven't had kids, so my best grandparents' years are going to waste. I thought your grandparents might enjoy this comedy from Kathleen Madigan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LeOMMqvwLI&t=8s. The grandparents' part starts at 1:45."

- Mike Lynch

Bonds vs. Bond Funds

Matt Halperin | Jun 12, 2026

"Thank you all for the comments. Mark's line — "the main issue here is a misalignment of timeline and purpose" — really does get at the heart of it. When you put money into a bond fund without ever looking at the index it's managed against, you're not choosing a risk profile, you're inheriting whatever risk profile that index happens to carry at that moment, and that profile isn't fixed. As the Hartford chart shows, the Agg's duration has swung meaningfully over time, drifting higher as rates fell and issuance patterns shifted, then snapping back as rates rose again. An investor who bought in with a rough mental model of "this is a five-year-ish bond fund" could easily find themselves several years later holding something with a noticeably different interest-rate sensitivity, without ever having made an active decision to change it. That's the randomness I'm pointing to: not that the fund is mismanaged, but that its risk level is set by the bond market's borrowing patterns and the benchmark's construction rules, not by your goals. That's exactly why a bond ladder, or a CD ladder, is a useful alternative for some investors: you pick the duration profile that matches your own timeline and risk tolerance, and it stays matched to that purpose rather than drifting with the index. And the CD ladder point is well taken too. For someone who wants that certainty without dealing with the secondary-market mechanics of individual bonds, a CD ladder is often the simplest way to get there. Matt"

- Matt Halperin

SpaceX IPO: Is Margin Optional?

Mark Gardner | Jun 4, 2026

"A good article from Morningstar explaining the Space X impact on index funds. The SpaceX IPO: How Index Funds Are Adapting | Morningstar"

- Harold Tynes

How well off are Americans compared to the rest of the world? Fun facts.

R Quinn | Jun 16, 2026

"I should modify my comment. Living P to P is always real, just not always necessary and surely not always or mostly associated with low income as generally assumed."

- R Quinn

What’s in your portfolio ?

Larry | Jun 12, 2026

"We used to hold Fidelity Floating Rate High Income. Still think it’s a good choice, just decided to keep things simple. Managers of our biggest bond holding Fidelity Total Bond can invest in these issues if they want."

- Michael1

Defining Enough

Mark Gardner | Jun 10, 2026

"For me, "enough" is both a portfolio number and a spending mindset. I have a target portfolio value that I believe can support our desired lifestyle, but I also recognize that retirement won't unfold exactly as planned. That's why I plan to use a simple Green-Yellow-Red system. If markets perform well, we spend as planned. If they don't, we're willing to reduce discretionary spending until things recover. In other words, "enough" isn't just having enough assets—it's also having the flexibility to adapt when necessary."

- Fred Miller

HD Reader’s Demographics

Mark Bergman | Jun 16, 2026

- Dan Malone

Many seniors think we paid for our Social Security benefits based on the FICA taxes we paid. Let’s dispel that myth- we didn’t

R Quinn | Jun 15, 2026

- George Counihan

What Addiction Couldn’t Take: My Sister’s Story

Andrew Clements | Jun 17, 2026

- Andrew Clements

…..taxes and you

Dan Smith | Jun 11, 2026

- Jon Daley

Interesting insight

Mike A | Jun 13, 2026

- Jeff Bond

Fixing Social Security is not that hard, here’s how

R Quinn | Jun 13, 2026

"There is a difference. With Medicare? All recipients pay a premium. With SS, there are spousal beneficiaries who never contributed."

- Marilyn Lavin

A Sunday Thought About Money

Mark Crothers | Jun 14, 2026

- Mike Lynch

Bonds vs. Bond Funds

Matt Halperin | Jun 12, 2026

- Matt Halperin

SpaceX IPO: Is Margin Optional?

Mark Gardner | Jun 4, 2026

"A good article from Morningstar explaining the Space X impact on index funds. The SpaceX IPO: How Index Funds Are Adapting | Morningstar"

- Harold Tynes

Manifesto

Jun 17, 2026

NO. 38: AS STOCK prices fall, our enthusiasm should climb. The decline raises expected returns and offers the chance to buy at lower prices, both with new money and through rebalancing.

act

Jun 17, 2026

DROP UNNECESSARY insurance. If you no longer work or have enough saved for retirement, you can likely ditch your disability insurance. If the kids have left home or you have a sizable nest egg, you might drop your life insurance. If your car is old and doesn’t have much value, you might get rid of your auto policy's collision and comprehensive coverage.

Truths

Jun 16, 2026

NO. 52: WE CAN’T forecast returns, but we can manage risk. Will stocks plunge? As the saying goes, “If you ask a stupid question, you’ll get a stupid answer.” Forget trying to guess whether stocks will nosedive. Instead, ponder the consequences: Would a sharp market drop imperil upcoming goals—or could you shrug off the short-term financial hit?

think

Jun 15, 2026

FLOW. We imagine what we want most is time to relax. But in truth, we get great satisfaction from work—provided it’s work we find challenging and interesting, and feel we’re good at. All this is captured by psychology professor Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s notion of flow. During moments of flow, we can become completely absorbed and lose all sense of time.

Money Guide

Manifesto

Jun 17, 2026

NO. 38: AS STOCK prices fall, our enthusiasm should climb. The decline raises expected returns and offers the chance to buy at lower prices, both with new money and through rebalancing.

Spotlight: Behavior

Lessons you have learned from articles by Jonathan

smr1082 | Jan 22, 2025

While there are thousands who have been following Jonathan’s columns and articles for decades, I started reading his articles only about a year and a half ago.
His articles influenced me to change my investing behavior. Now I am focused only on broad market ETFs and not reacting to frequent market gyrations. I am sure many of you have learned much from him and made changes to how you think about investing.
This goes beyond financial lessons.

On My Own Time

Edmund Marsh | Feb 5, 2025

WHO OWNS TIME? WE speak of “my time” and “your time” as if it were a possession we hold in our hands. But we can’t stash it away for future use, nor can we trade or transfer our allotment to another person. Is it truly ours? For the moment, let’s say that it is.
Appraising time. How much do we value our time? Some days, we treat it as a precious commodity. On those days,

What Wisdom Can You Share?

Kathleen Boss | Feb 19, 2025

Hi Jonathan,
I found you by reading an article you wrote for AARP, which led me to your HumbleDollar site and everyone’s articles. Very informative and useful!
I too got a surprise diagnosis of metasticized cancer a few years ago and fortunately have been successfully treated, so far. It has indeed illuminated my perspective on life. I expect to have more than a few months but am more cognizant of what is truly important in life.

Eyes Forward

Adam M. Grossman | Jun 21, 2025

AT THE 2016 SUMMER Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, South Africa’s Chad Le Clos challenged Michael Phelps for the gold medal in the 200-meter butterfly. A famous image emerged from that event: Throughout the semifinal, Le Clos repeatedly looked over at Phelps as he struggled to keep up. Meanwhile, Phelps just kept looking forward. The result: Phelps ultimately won the gold, while Le Clos trailed in fourth place.
I believe there’s a parallel between what we saw in that race and what we see in the investment world.

Quinn’s latest rant has serious consequences

R Quinn | May 12, 2025

My favorite, beautiful word is “consequences,” and how it seems to be ignored.
We tend to forget that no matter what we do, there will be a result, a reaction. There will be consequences, some intended, others not. We tend to address one problem but fail to think through possible consequences.
The best examples are at the national level. Apply a surcharge such as IRMAA and people will attempt to keep income lower.
Roth accounts were intended to increase retirement savings,

Don’t Push It

Jonathan Clements | Apr 11, 2025

I’M ALL IN FAVOR of striving. But I’ve also belatedly come to see the appeal of acceptance.
Should we strive for more, or should we accept what we currently have and what’s currently on offer? As I’ve noted in earlier articles, there’s great pleasure in striving. We love the feeling of making progress, even if our achievements don’t make us happy for long. It’s an instinct we no doubt inherited from our hunter-gatherer ancestors.

Bogleheads 2013 post – I Bonds, CPI, and the Government Shutdown answer

William Perry | Oct 2, 2025

I own Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS), a small amount of I Bonds and my wife and I are both receiving social security benefits so I have a lot of interest in what the federal government will do as far publishing the appropriate indexes that determines the upcoming inflation adjustment for TIPS, I Bonds and our social security benefit given the 10/01/2025 shutdown. Looking around on the internet I came across this 10/15/2013 Boglehead's article. In the article there is a link to the federal register on the topic which Appendix C, 1 includes the following - c) If, while an inflation-indexed savings bonds is outstanding, the applicable CPI-U is discontinued or, in the judgment of the Secretary, fundamentally altered in a manner materially adverse to the interests of an investor in the security, or, in the judgment of the Secretary, altered by legislation or Executive Order in a manner materially adverse to the interests of an investor in the security, Treasury, after consulting with the Bureau of Labor Statistics or any successor agency, will substitute an appropriate alternative index. Treasury will then notify the public of the substitute index and how it will be applied. The Secretary's determinations in this regard will be final. The conclusion of the Boglehead's 2013 article was "In other words, they get to make one up. This sentence may mean that they extrapolate, but "based on" could mean many things." From what I have read if our 2025 shutdown lasts for an extended period then the unavailable indexes will be determined by the using the provisions of this section of the Code of Federal Regulations to determine an appropriate alternative index. I hope that any such alternative index, if one is necessary, will reflect a good faith estimate of the actual inflation.

Vanguard’s Transfer on Death Plan Kit

William Perry | Mar 3, 2026

It appears that Vanguard on 9/20/2025 changed their lack of an option to transfer a joint taxable brokerage upon the death of the last owner to survive via a Transfer On Death designation. My understanding is you now may do so via completing a online form, printing, executing the form and mailing the completed form to Vanguard. Making that change does not yet appear to be an action you can currently do online. I think you can find their form here. Of course it is better to go directly to the financial website you use directly and find the form there than relying on the link I found online. Vanguard appropriately advises and urges you to consult with your legal advisor before you enroll and before making changes so that if you do not understand any of the ramifications of making the change you have been warned. Thanks to a recent Bogleheads Forum post for alerting me of this change at Vanguard. Reminds me of the quip about what I know for sure being wrong. Yep, things change, once again.

IRS Notice 2025-68 – I’m trying to understand an aspect of the new tax law

William Perry | Dec 4, 2025

On 12/02/2025 the IRS issued Notice 2025-68 which is a notice of intent to issue regulations with respect to section 530A Trump accounts that will become active no sooner than July 4, 2026, one year after the signing of the legislation commonly referred to as OBBBA. Thus the IRS is in the very early stages of the writing of the tax rules as this 44 page notice is not proposed regulations or final regulations but largely a question and answer format of IRS preliminary thinking and intent to propose regulations providing guidance. Section IV of this IRS notice contains a request for our comments regarding Trump accounts. I expect there will be many comments. There is a lot complexity in this new law and Notice 2025-68 addresses a lot of my initial questions about how Treasury/IRS is thinking about a limited portion of this new law. From page 22 of the notice (I have made the print bold for the part that bothers me) - D. ELIGIBLE INVESTMENTS Section 530A(b)(1)(C)(iii) provides that, during the growth period, no part of the Trump account funds may be invested in any asset other than an eligible investment. Section 530A(b)(3)(A) provides that an “eligible investment” means any mutual fund or ETF which (i) tracks the returns of a qualified index, (ii) does not use leverage, (iii) does not have annual fees and expenses of more than 0.1 percent of the balance of the investment in the fund, and (iv) meets such other criteria as the Secretary determines appropriate. Section 530A(b)(3)(B) provides that a “qualified index” means the Standard and Poor’s 500 stock market index, or any other index which is comprised of equity investments in primarily U.S. companies and for which regulated futures contracts (as defined in section 1256(g)(1)) are traded on a qualified…

An easy way to file a tax return extension due today

William Perry | Apr 15, 2025

One option per the IRS - Pay online and click on extension. Taxpayers simply pay what they owe using an online payment option, then click on extension as the reason for the payment. The taxpayer will receive a confirmation number of their extension for their records. There’s no need to file any additional forms. https://www.irs.gov/payments The failure to pay penalty is 0.5% per month. The failure to file penalty is 5.0% per month. Both are typically capped at a maximum of 25%. Just a word to the wise. If you owe big bucks pay as much as you can now with your extension to help keep interest and penalty as small as possible. If you overpay you can choose to apply all or part of your over payment to your 2025 taxes when you file your 2024 return. As of 12/31/2024 you can not longer purchase electronic I-Bonds with your federal tax over payment. Most tax preparers will take this April 16 off. If you will use a preparer they will appreciate you not waiting until near the 10/15/2025 extended due date, for individuals, to get your preparer your tax information and electronically file your return(s). Help your preparer, and yourself, by completing any tax organizer they provide. There are certain questions the IRS mandates the preparer ask you like do you have any digital assets or foreign accounts in 2024? To avoid headaches please verify your bank routing number, account number and type of account if you will have any over payment direct deposited or if you are are having any balance due drafted. If possible, provide your data to your preparer in the format they prefer. When I review a return for a colleague I type any notes or comments as I have lousy penmanship. I suggest you…

John Rekenthaler’s Farewell, For Now

William Perry | Nov 15, 2024

On 11/12/2024 John Rekenthaler's last regularly scheduled column for Morningstar was published. The column shares his thoughts about his career, the future and a self described tale of triumph in moving from full time writing in the financial arena to the retirement of his choosing which may include some writing as he plans to continue to submit articles to Morningstar when a topic interests him. I have enjoyed his regular columns, I look forward to any future ones he graces us with and will miss his writing when those future articles eventually ends. I hope John enjoys his retirement and maybe his un-retirement. The column can be found at - https://www.morningstar.com/columns/rekenthaler-report/farewell-now

FAQs IRS added March 20, 2025 regarding Employee Retention Credit

William Perry | May 5, 2025

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a spike in unemployment federal tax law was modified and the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) was born. The ERC was a refundable tax credit for certain eligible businesses and tax-exempt organizations that had employees and were affected during the COVID-19 pandemic. The business, tax community and the Internal Revenue Service continue to deal with compliance aftermath of the ERC. On March 20, 2025 the IRS updated their frequently asked questions about the employee retention credit in the section headed "Income tax and the ERC". https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/frequently-asked-questions-about-the-employee-retention-credit The three added Q&A's on 3/20/2025 appears to be good for business, tax preparers and the government. Prior to the changes explained in the updated Q&A the ERC rules typically meant that employers who received a ERC benefit would have to amend prior year business income tax returns to disallow wages that were the basis of the ERC cash the business received, often in a subsequent tax year. The updated ERC FAQs now have provisions where the business may include the prior year overstated wage expense (due to the wages being reduced by the ERC) amount as gross income on their income tax return for the tax year when they received the ERC. The FAQ detail and examples can be found at the above link. I expect this small change in a IRS procedure will eliminate a large amount of mostly useless work for all parties. I welcome a step in the direction of tax simplicity.

HD Reader’s Demographics

Many seniors think we paid for our Social Security benefits based on the FICA taxes we paid. Let’s dispel that myth- we didn’t

What Addiction Couldn’t Take: My Sister’s Story

…..taxes and you

Interesting insight

Fixing Social Security is not that hard, here’s how

A Sunday Thought About Money

Bonds vs. Bond Funds

SpaceX IPO: Is Margin Optional?

How well off are Americans compared to the rest of the world? Fun facts.

What’s in your portfolio ?

Defining Enough

HD Reader’s Demographics

Many seniors think we paid for our Social Security benefits based on the FICA taxes we paid. Let’s dispel that myth- we didn’t

What Addiction Couldn’t Take: My Sister’s Story

…..taxes and you

Interesting insight

Fixing Social Security is not that hard, here’s how

A Sunday Thought About Money

Bonds vs. Bond Funds

SpaceX IPO: Is Margin Optional?

Free Newsletter

Get Educated

Manifesto

act

Truths

think

Money Guide

Manifesto

Spotlight: Behavior

Lessons you have learned from articles by Jonathan

On My Own Time

What Wisdom Can You Share?

Eyes Forward

Quinn’s latest rant has serious consequences

Don’t Push It

Spotlight: Perry

Bogleheads 2013 post – I Bonds, CPI, and the Government Shutdown answer

Vanguard’s Transfer on Death Plan Kit

IRS Notice 2025-68 – I’m trying to understand an aspect of the new tax law

An easy way to file a tax return extension due today

John Rekenthaler’s Farewell, For Now

FAQs IRS added March 20, 2025 regarding Employee Retention Credit