I was almost 14 years old when America celebrated its bicentennial in
Continue readingWelcome to the blog
I’ve seen a few articles on the Internet lately trying to determine how much money we need for early retirement. A lot of it has to do with your lifestyle. If you are someone who likes to travel, eat out, or go to shows, you may need more money to
Continue readingXbox Cuts Workforce 20%
Microsoft announced on July 6th, 2026, that over the next year they would be cutting 3,200 jobs from the Xbox division. The first 1,600 employees laid off will happen immediately. Xbox is also divesting five development studios. The company’s gaming strategy has struggled to scale. Cost structures were high while
Continue readingEbay Shipping in 2026
Shipping rates have been on the rise, and it’s taking a bite out of seller profits. You have to be very careful about how you handle shipping. If you frequently list items with free shipping, you may want to take a look at your older listings to make sure your
Continue readingAmerica 200 and 250
I was almost 14 years old when America celebrated its bicentennial in 1976. My best memory was when my father won $1776 in the state lottery. That was a big deal for our family back then. It would be worth $10,460 in today’s money, as a result of inflation. I
Continue readingThe Data Center Dilemma
There has been some noise on the Internet about how local LLM’s (large language models) are going to make the need for AI data centers unnecessary. This feeds into the fact that a lot of people are concerned when they find out that a data center built is planned near
Continue readingThe 50-share test buy
My investment journey started with a set of rules for buying stock. One of them was that I would only buy stocks that were under $30 a share. Today, almost 40 years later, my maximum price limit is $80 per share. These days, that rules out most semiconductor and tech
Continue readingOur Social Security Experience
Applying for Social Security in 2026 is an adventure especially if you are trying to do something that is less common. This was my first experience with SS, as I was helping my girlfriend navigate the system. She had reached her full retirement age this year and was ready to
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