Wisdom on Wealth

Who would design a car like this?

First there’s the sheer size. There’s just no way, at 73 feet long, it’s ever going to fit into a normal person’s garage. And at nearly 20 feet tall, it may not even go under many bridges on today’s highways. 

And how ridiculous is this…it is nearly as wide as it is long (69 feet at its widest point)! Can you imagine driving down the Interstate and seeing a vehicle 69 feet wide? You’d have to have a sign hanging on the back that said “Wiiiiiiiiide Load.”

Yet with all that size, it can only carry twelve passengers. Granted, many cars cannot carry twelve passengers. But if you need to carry that many people, just get a van. Some of those are big enough to carry 15 people. 

And the cost? Well, that’s the worst part. You could buy 100 traditional luxury automobiles for the price of just one of these monstrosities. There is absolutely no good reason to pay all that money when many other less expensive and more practical cars are available.

That is, unless you want to travel 30,000 feet above the highway at speeds exceeding 500 miles per hour. 

Question: I turn 65 this year, but I’m still working. Do I need to sign up for Medicare? I don’t really understand how it works.

Answer: Like so many other things in life…that depends. 

According to www.medicare.gov, you can sign up for Medicare (part A and/or B) during the so-called Initial Enrollment Period - anywhere from three months prior to the month you turn 65, the month you turn 65 and three months after the month you turn 65. That’s seven months total if you’re counting. 

So, what’s this about part A & part B? This is the original Medicare. 

Back when Medicare was first created (1965), it was conceived as a combination hospitalization and medical plan. So, part A pays for hospital stays and most of the charges relating to that. 

Part B pays for so-called medical costs (most often related to visits to your doctor’s office, rather than the hospital). 

Shelly never realized how simple retirement would be.

“Will I have enough money coming in each month to live like I want to live?” she said. “And will it last as long as I do?”

Very simple.

But really hard. 

At first, she thought it would be as simple (and easy) as saving enough into her 401K plan. So, she just maxed out the amount she could withhold from her paycheck each month and put those withholdings into her company’s 401K plan. The company matched her contributions up to a certain amount, and she knew she’d also get some Social Security.

She was all set. Or so she thought.

When she turned 50, Shelly thought it might be a good idea to go see a financial planner to see if there was anything she might be missing. And good thing she did.

“This is awesome!” she smiled. 

Her tiny craft seemed to almost float over the smooth waves. The water was a deep turquois blue set against baby blue skies marked with wispy white clouds. It was a beautiful day to be sailing.

Until the weather changed. Almost without warning, dark clouds lumbered their way across the sky. The wind picked up and the once peaceful waters turned choppy and violent. The little boat struggled to stay afloat during the fierce storm. She soon had a very unpleasant reminder of what she’d had for breakfast.

“This is terrible!” she wailed, heaving over the side of the boat. “Whose stupid idea was this to go sailing today?!”

Weather on the water isn’t always easy to predict and when it turns ugly, things can get dangerous quickly.

The same can be said of the investing environment. Everyone wants to see their investment and retirement accounts grow, and “as fast as possible” may sound like a good idea…at first. But then the weather changes…

Suppose you were an Englishman 200 years ago wanting to cross the English Channel to go to France. Any crossing must be done by boat. The kind with sails. 

You have several choices to make.