Day: July 27, 2025

Old Man Looks At Modern Problems

Geezer perspective on a, to me, astonishing article in today’s NYT: Retirement saving mistakes. I know about the Target Shopping thing from my neighbor/adopted Grand Daughter/BFF/Rescue Dog Owner. We routinely share our recipes and victories with supermarket markdowns.

  1. Say what! – The average consumer spends $118 a month on food delivery and $78 a month at coffee shops, according to a 2023 survey of 1,000 U.S. adults by Empower, a financial services firm. (A month plus of coffee made at home is less than $12. And get your butt out and go pick it up! Better yet COOK – it ain’t rocket surgery! $118 + $78 buys months worth of Folgers and Chicken and Veggies!)
  2. Most consumers don’t realize that the minimum payment on a credit card barely covers the interest rate charges, which on average currently range from 21.16 percent to 22.73 percent.  (Bank pays me way, way less than that on my CD and HYS – guess who wins, Suckers? It is, financial Rape.)
  3. “Getting out of debt becomes even harder when you keep charging items to your credit card. “The ability to just grab your phone, tap a few times and have something sent to you that day, within a couple hours, makes it a lot easier to overspend and to do so without truly thinking it through.” (Yeah, maybe, just maybe, think it through. Divorce Lawyers live on this, as in “I want it my way and I want it NOW!)

Being owned by your debt is no fun whatsoever. Knocking on 75 turns around the Sun, seen it – explains divorce from first marriage. Wanna see pathetic – old folks with no bucks. Nah, no thanks, I’ll go my own way. So 70 cents for a 12 oz Miller Beer at home vs $5 for the same pour at local restaurant/bistro. Or what ever the ridiculous fees are for “Door Dash, et al. There are, special occasions that justify the cost delta and spending some “go to hell money”. Like tickets to attend the Ballet in Paris ($60 Euros). Or Anniversary dinners. Or graduations. But denial is, not a River in Egypt. If you ain’t got it, don’t spend it. You need a roof and a rack and chow (just ask the folks in Gaza). Leather Memory Seats, Remote Start, Lane Assist, Blue Tooth, Rear Cameras, etc, etc, etc – not so much. Disclaimer: I do have a $30, oxymoronically named “SmartPhone”. Works! I start the Washer & Dryers in my apt. complex laundromat with it. Rollover triple minutes keep accumulating when I buy a 90 day Plan and add a 12 months of coverage for 15 months of service – about $70. Keep it in the truck in case I need to call AAA or electricity internet goes out. Else, I’m reading and writing on my $139, open box, lightweight Chromebook with 14″ screen, full keyboard and 12 hour plus battery life – WiFi with 400 MBPS at $39.99 a month.

Yeah, what is it that you need? Different than what you want – even if you haven’t thought about it. Go your own way.