Jonathan Clements's Blog, page 14

The real world of saving, income and retirement beyond the HD community – cause for guilt?

The purpose of this post is simply to illustrate that the world of retirement planning and living is vastly different than that of many, if not most, in the HumbleDollar community of writers and readers. No judgement intended.

While we debate, saving, budgets, annuities, investment and withdrawal strategies, the real world, doesn’t or can’t save or invest adequately let alone accumulate wealth. 

According to the Federal Reserve, the median retirement savings for individuals age 55-64 is $185,000 and the average $537,560. It is only slightly higher for those 65-74. 

We discuss on HD how to use the 4% or other withdrawal strategies, but for most retirees it doesn’t matter much - because 4% of $185,000 is $616 per month possible income. Plus Social Security provides a big chunk, if not most of their income. 

The median net worth for those 65-74 years old is about $410,000 and $334,700 for those 75 and older. Given that includes their home and all assets, most seniors have little flexibility to work with - including emergency savings. 

According to the Pension Rights Center the median income of individuals age 65 and older is about $29,740 and for households $50,290 which of course, means half have lower incomes. 

The SSA reports as of August 2025, the average benefit for “retired workers” is $2,008.31, no median is available, but it is less for sure. 

For approximately 39% of men and 44% of women who are Social Security beneficiaries aged 65 and older, the benefits represent 50% or more of their total income. For about 12% of men and 15% of women in the same group, Social Security accounts for 90% or more of their income.

I don’t know about you, but these sobering numbers raise a feeling of guilt. My property taxes and HOA fee are nearly equal to the median retiree income. While most retirees rely heavily on Social Security, we are busy planning how to give our RMD to charity, children and grandchildren. 

I can make the case we earned what we have and were prudent with money for 56 years, but so did others and we can’t discount our tremendous good fortune and absence of misfortune.

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Memories With a Cold Spanish Beer

I was in Cartagena yesterday, the beautiful Spanish deep water port city once contested by the Roman Empire and the other great power of the ancient world, Carthage of "Hanniball marching elephants through the Alps" fame. After visiting the ruins of a Roman theater, I was paying for an eagerly anticipated beer when a thought crossed my mind.

As always I had used my multi-currency prepaid debit card, the same one I've used in many different parts of the world. It made me wonder: when was the last time I'd used a traveler's check? I can't remember and don't even know if they're still a thing.

When I was first introduced to the humble traveler's check, I thought it was such a brilliant idea—very sophisticated. I was young and felt like a wealthy gentleman signing all those little stubs, thinking about it now has certainly brought back memories. I suppose money is meant to provide memories and experiences, and those checks certainly delivered.

From cashing them at a sleepy taverna in the middle of nowhere on a tiny Greek island whose name I can't recall, to using them for a two-day snowmobile trek inside the high Arctic Circle where daylight never came, rummaging through my backpack in tropical northern Queensland for that last crumbled check to quench our thirst with one last beer—they were my passport to adventure.

It's sad how quickly they've become nothing but fading memories from my thoughts. Most younger travellers today would look at a traveler's check with bewilderment. But I guess convenience with cards is undeniable—my seamless 2-euro beer purchase is proof enough—but there's something to be said for the old way.

I think the physical nature of it—the deliberate act of signing, the interaction, the eye contact with the taverna owner examining your signature, the pause while they verified the watermark—it forced a moment of human connection at every transaction. It anchored you in the moment and location creating a snapshot memory in a way that tapping a card never will.

I suppose the years move on, technology advances, faster and faster, no time for silly sentimental memories. Our elaborate dance, the traveler's check ritual is no more. Farewell old friend. Now the tap of a card is better…isn't it?

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Traits of “successful” people

I've been observing the traits and habits of people I would consider successful.  Not only with finances (that goes without saying here)  but with life in general. Here are some traits I've noticed:

Get up earlyExercise regularly, eat right, sleep wellHave an active social life (friends , family, etc)Follow a daily routinesKeep their minds engaged, whether it be some work in retirement, reading ,doing puzzles, etc.Have good financial habits.

What are some traits or habits that you have, or that you have noticed.

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Throw, hit or kick … it all add$ up

If you have young children or grandchildren, you may know the answer to this question.

How much do families spend on their children’s sports activities? 🏈🏒🥍⚾️⚽️

The answer is a lot, often thousands of dollars a year. I know that from experience in our family. My children each spend four thousand more or less for their children’s equipment, team fees, travel costs and in some cases lessons.  

And then there are the fund raisers each team conducts. Ma and Pa are a go to source which is fine with us, but maybe not for those retired on a tight budget. 

There is social pressure to participate in a different sport each season of the year. Baseball used to be spring and summer. No more, now there is “Fall ball” too. A good little league bat costs $200 or more.

When I was a kid the equipment was a broom stick and a pink rubber ball. We never heard of soccer (or proper football). Never mind soccer, what about lacrosse? A mid-range lacrosse kit of equipment runs around $300. And then there is field hockey. A mid-range stick can be $250. 

The only travel we did was climb the fence in our apartment’s back yard to get to the local park or walk a half mile with a wood bat, ball and glove to a (dirt, not artificial turf) ball field. Where we live now I can easily walk to four artificial turf football, baseball, soccer/ lacrosse fields all equipped with night lighting, electronic scoreboards and grandstands. One has a snack bar. And you wonder where your property taxes go. 

Today travel teams actually travel. Two of our grandchildren have traveled from NJ to Florida, Georgia, Virginia, and Maryland with their teams. 

According to New York Life’s Wealth Watch Survey, on average, parents report spending about $3,000 per year on children’s sports. The Aspen Institute says the average is $1,500 per child - that’s for average income households. The number climbs with family income. 

In addition to the cost, there is a tremendous time commitment for the child and the family, not to mention the pressure - sometimes extreme - to win. I’m not opposed to sports, but I think it has gotten a bit too high on the priority list for children.  

The ever pragmatic me secretly wonders, does this spending on sports mean less saving for retirement-or more credit card debt for many families trying not to disappoint their children? 🤑

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Tributes to Jonathan Clements

HUMBLEDOLLAR FOUNDER and longtime Wall Street Journal columnist Jonathan Clements passed away earlier this week. He was 62.

I reached out to several of Jonathan's close friends and colleagues to ask for their remembrances. Taken together, they paint a picture of someone who was as beloved by his peers as he was by his readers.

As Jason Zweig put it, “I have just lost a friend, and so have you.”

Christine Benz, director of personal finance and retirement planning for Morningstar and author of How to Retire

Since his untimely passing, almost everyone who has mentioned Jonathan Clements has spoken of his wit, his kindness, his desire to leave the world better than he found it. It’s all true. Helping others gave Jonathan so much joy and purpose that he did it right up until the end of his life, even sharing his thoughts on his cancer diagnosis and the dying process.

What I’ve seen less about is Jonathan’s fearlessness, his willingness to speak truth to power. Those qualities permeate his work, especially the collected Wall Street Journal columns in the book The Best of Jonathan Clements: Classic Columns on Money and Life.

Jonathan railed against brokerage firms and asset managers peddling the investment du jour, even though many of them doubtless were Wall Street Journal advertisers. Rather cheekily, as someone on the Journal’s payroll, he also criticized the financial media for parroting Wall Street jargon and pinning deep meaning on daily market gyrations.

Perhaps most significantly, Jonathan was an early and ardent supporter of investing in broad-market index funds rather than individual stocks or actively managed funds.

Index investing has been thoroughly mainstreamed over the past few decades, but it certainly wasn’t the default in the early 1990s, when Jonathan began urging investors to stop trying to beat the market and opt for inexpensive index funds instead. Like Vanguard founder Jack Bogle, he was ahead of the curve in realizing that bypassing expensive active strategies is the best way for investors to receive their fair share of the market’s gains. Broadcasting that message certainly wasn’t in Wall Street’s interest, but it helped scores of investors get closer to their goals. Along with his kindness and deep body of work, that impact will be an enduring part of his legacy.  

 

William J. Bernstein, author of The Four Pillars of Investing

Not many financial journalists reached a wider audience than Jonathan. Fewer still had his influence. None were as well loved.

The reason why was obvious to all who knew him: His capacity for friendship, for starters. His ability to find humor in almost everything, including his own impending death. His sense of what matters on this earth. And, most importantly of all, his infectious and ever-present smile.

Jonathan was beyond generous with his time.  Early in our friendship, he took my wife and me on a tour of the Journal. I still remember the room full of bored copy editors staring glumly at spread out newsprint, and to this day I treasure a sketch he had made of me in the Journal’s famous pointillist style. For fourteen solid years, he lived under a weekly deadline gun; I’m sure he had better things to do with his time than to spend an hour showing people around the office.

There was, however, one class of people who didn’t love Jonathan: Wall Street “pros” whom he helped millions of investors—to their great good fortune—to avoid.

Finally, in the last year of his life he taught the rest of us just how to laugh in the face of death. Like all physicians, I’ve watched too many people meet their ends; I’ve never seen anyone do this as gracefully, and with as remarkable a sensitivity to the discomfort of others, as Jonathan did.

Rest in peace, old friend. You did well in this world.  

 

James Dahle, founder of The White Coat Investor

Jonathan was obviously a talented personal finance writer, but his most important attribute was not his ability to decipher the financial literature and point out the truth about the financial services industry.

Jonathan was particularly exceptional at recognizing and teaching what really matters in life. For Jonathan, money always remained in its proper place, as a tool to enable us to build better relationships and make a difference in the world. During the short period of time between his diagnosis and his death, he showed all of us, in the words of Tim McGraw, how to “live like we were dying.”

We're all on death row down here, whether we choose to recognize it or not, but that shouldn't stop us from wringing every last bit of happiness possible out of life while leaving the world a better place for those left behind. May we all be as good as Jonathan at “leaving it all on the field” and having no regrets when the eventual end comes. 

RIP Jonathan, I miss you already.

 

Rick Ferri, host of the Bogleheads on Investing podcast.

“Hey! This is Jonathan Clements from the Wall Street Journal. Is this Rick Ferri?”

That was the first time I heard Jonathan’s distinctively English accent. It was 2001. He called to interview me for an article on low-fee investment advice. I didn’t believe it was him, but he convinced me otherwise, and I am forever grateful for the mention he gave me in a Getting Going article that month. Interest was so great from people reading the article that my phone rang off the hook for the next year. It put my fledgling asset management company on the map.

Jonathan and I stayed in touch over the years. When he left the WSJ for Citigroup, I boldly questioned his leap to the dark side, which didn’t make him happy. Jonathan thought they were going to do great things at myFi, a personal finance startup within the conglomerate. After a year or so, he started to realize that creating something beautiful inside a Wall Street bureaucracy was not going to be. But then he did create something beautiful. Jonathan started HumbleDollar in 2016, and it was a huge success.

I had lunch with him about five years ago and asked why he started HumbleDollar as a not-for-profit rather than a commercial site. He said he wasn’t doing it for the money, he was doing it “because I want to continue being part of the conversation.” I will never forget Jonathan’s answer, and I hope you all join me in ensuring that he stays part of the conversation.

Rest in peace, Jonathan. You made a difference.   

 

Peter Mallouk, president and CEO of Creative Planning

I grew up reading Jonathan Clements. He was one of the few in the financial world who spoke plain English, told it straight, and gave advice that stood the test of time. Along with John Bogle, his writing shaped how I think about money — and life. Both men were straight shooters who believed in long-term, buy-and-hold investing, and in focusing on what really matters: your quality of life.

Years ago, I called Jonathan out of the blue and asked if he’d consider doing a podcast with me. To my surprise, he said yes. He came to Kansas City, and that’s when I first met him in person — and first realized he even had an accent. From that day, we became fast friends. He was also the one who came up with the name of our show, Down the Middle.

Over the years, we recorded many episodes together. Jonathan once told me it was one of his favorite things he’d done in his career, because it let him reach so many people with a consistent, simple, wise message. My favorite episode came just last month, when we talked about the keys to happiness. Another was our “Signal or Noise” episode, where Charlie Bilello and I dedicated the whole show to Jonathan’s wisdom. He was on top of his game then, but afterward, he admitted he didn’t expect to do too many more.

Jonathan left a real imprint. Few people truly change the way we think about money and life. He did. I’ll miss him.

 

Mike Piper, author of the Oblivious Investor blog

Jonathan's writing has been a source of both learning and enjoyment for me for many years. As a financial writer myself, I've always seen Jonathan’s work as the example to strive for: clear and direct, soundly based on the facts, and most importantly, motivated by kindness and caring for the reader.

In 2018 I finally got to meet Jonathan in person at the White Coat Investor Conference in Park City, Utah. He was, unsurprisingly, as kind in person as he is in his writing. What really struck me though was that in person you could see the same twinkle in his eye that somehow came through in his written words—the punchline at the end of the article, that he couldn't wait to share with you.

It has been a privilege to work on the  Jonathan Clements Getting Going on Savings Initiative  in his honor and now in his memory.

 

Allan S. Roth, founder of Wealth Logic and author of How a Second Grader Beats Wall Street

I was lucky enough to call Jonathan Clements my friend. Those who knew Jonathan knew how easy it was to both admire him and simply enjoy being around him. Jonathan had a gift for making the complicated seem simple - not just in money but in life.

Most people first knew him through his writing—whether in The Wall Street Journal, his books, or later with HumbleDollar. He had a rare talent for cutting through the noise, for reminding us that money wasn’t about getting rich but about building a good life. He gave people something far more valuable than stock tips; he gave them a path to peace of mind.

For me, Jonathan was much more than a wise financial journalist. He was funny, wry, and endlessly curious. He loved a good debate, and a good laugh. He could take serious subjects and deliver them with a twinkle in his eye. And he was generous—with his time, his advice, and his friendship. He always made you feel like you mattered, no matter how busy he was.

Jonathan also lived what he taught. He didn’t chase after more for the sake of more. He valued experiences over things, integrity over appearances, and people over possessions. He showed us that simplicity wasn’t just smart finance—it was a way of living well.

I’ll miss his counsel, his humor, and his friendship. Yet I take comfort in knowing that his words will live on, guiding people for generations. Jonathan helped countless readers, and he helped his friends as well by showing us what truly matters.

Rest easy, my friend. You made the world a clearer, kinder, and better place. Many of us will work to assure your legacy lives on and continues to help people.

 

Adam M. Grossman is the founder of Mayport, a fixed-fee wealth management firm. Sign up for Adam's Daily Ideas email, follow him on X @AdamMGrossman and check out his earlier articles.

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Best of Jonathan’s HumbleDollar Posts

WE LOST A brilliant mind and generous writer, Jonathan Clements, whose words guided thousands on life, finance, and happiness. Even as he faced the unimaginable, he continued sharing wisdom with clarity, humor, and humanity.

I wanted to take some time and dig into Jonathan's earliest posts on HumbleDollar. Posts that even the most loyal readers may not have read. With that, I also summarized some main takeaways and learnings that can help us all better navigate our own complex lives.

As I was digging into the early articles, I kept coming back to the piece he wrote, "The C Word."

In that reflection, Jonathan shared the discovery of the cancer that would take his life. Yet even then, he wrote about gratitude, small daily joys, and the power of focusing on what we can control. Despite a limited prognosis, he remained positive.

Specifically, he reflected on uncertainty, risk, and generosity: how life is unpredictable, yet we can act to protect those we love and help others along the way. Even confronting mortality, he remained committed to his purpose, emphasizing that he wanted to continue sharing his learnings with, "I intend to keep HumbleDollar going."

It's inspiring to me that he wanted this site to continue, and I want to honor that and continue sharing that message. It's up to all of us to do so. With that, let's dive into some of those older posts.

 

Careers and Early Adulthood

Passion may pay less, but it pays in fulfillment

In "Career Day," the earliest post on the HumbleDollar site, Jonathan emphasized that there's a tradeoff between money income and psychic income. Passion may pay less, but it pays in a different currency. Your goal is to find the appropriate balance.

Start financial planning early

In "Tips for Grads," Jonathan shared advice for those early in their careers by committing to simple, yet not easy, decisions:

> Save for retirement from day one.

> Keep housing costs low.

> Choose broadly diversified, low-cost investments to avoid large tax mistakes with individual stocks later on.

Think long-term about your life and career

"Take the Long View" reminds us that longer lifespans mean extended careers and uncertain retirements. Planning ahead isn’t optional. It’s necessary for both happiness and security.

Even with recent events, Jonathan still hammered home this point.

Happiness and Spending

Small, frequent pleasures bring more joy than rare, expensive purchases

In reflecting on "Buying Happiness," Jonathan emphasized that we gain greater happiness from frequent small purchases or spending on others, rather than buying big-ticket items.

That $100,000 car you've always wanted to buy? The feeling will fade away. Undoubtedly.

Do things with others and capture memories

In "Simply Happy," he added that fun is amplified when shared: go to dinner, a concert, or a hike with someone else, take photos, and savor those moments long after they happen. This will be especially helpful to reflect on in later life.

A great lesson I liked from that piece is that you should pause to admire your surroundings and possessions, and reflect on how lucky you are.

Happiness is amplified by attention.

Keep fixed costs manageable and avoid long-term debt

In "Financial Wellness," Jonathan emphasizes controlling housing, transportation, and other fixed costs to reduce stress and maximize savings.

This is how you can truly achieve financial freedom - by keeping your expenses low.

Humility and Money Mindset

Embrace humility in financial life

In "Why HumbleDollar?" Jonathan explained that overconfidence, unrealistic expectations, and impatience often lead to disappointment.

Recognizing the limits of money’s power is the first step toward a wiser approach. You can't get far with money if there are bigger issues at play.

We aren’t smarter than the market

This is perhaps the lesson that has carried forward for decades and one that has resonated widely. Focus on low-cost, broadly diversified index funds rather than trying to beat the market by picking individual stocks.

There are too many articles to include that repeat this advice. In "Mistakes Compounded," Jonathan shared a great reminder: "To recoup a 50% loss, you need a 100% gain." This is why investing in individual stocks can be dangerous.

This is also how I manage my own portfolio - broad-based index funds. Simple and effective.

Risk

Appreciate the bad things that didn’t happen, and plan for them

The "Happy Thoughts" post teaches us to recognize the dangers we’ve avoided and to prepare for unlikely but possible events through insurance, emergency funds, and portfolio diversification.

"But a string of good years in the stock market can cause folks not only to question the value of bonds," which is very timely advice, even though it was written back in 2016.

"We can control risk, but we can’t eliminate it. I’ve spent decades managing both financial risk and potential threats to my health. But despite such precautions, sometimes we get blindsided."

This quote, from "The C Word" reflection, is very powerful. There is always risk, regardless of which activity you engage in. The goal is to be mindfully aware of it.

Investing and Money Management

Tax-loss harvesting is overrated. Focus on long-term, tax-efficient asset placement.

"What Tax Losses?" explains that holding tax-efficient funds in taxable accounts and tax-inefficient ones in retirement accounts is often a smarter strategy than chasing paper losses.

Compounding works both ways

Debt can grow as fast as wealth.

"Mistakes Compounded" illustrates that investment gains and losses don’t add linearly, and that credit card debt can snowball if ignored.

Small decisions can have a big impact over a long period of time.

Family and Legacy

Family is a great asset

In "Keeping It Private," Jonathan explained how he provided a private mortgage to his daughter and explored how financial products could work better when structured within the family. Sometimes, setting the next generation for success is our responsibility.

Generosity isn’t optional. It’s a way to recognize the inherent goodness of others.

Across multiple posts, Jonathan reflected on how sharing time, money, and attention can enrich both giver and receiver.

Even in the face of illness, Jonathan's writing was about empowerment, perspective, and gratitude. He didn’t just share personal finance tips.  He taught us how to live well and prioritize what truly matters. The legacy he leaves is not only the wisdom in his words but also the way he lived, especially during the last 15 months.

Bogdan Sheremeta is a licensed CPA based in Illinois with experience at Deloitte and a Fortune 200 multinational. He shares insights on taxes and personal finance through his newsletter. He has over 140,000 followers on X and 130,000 on Instagram.

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Told Ya So Big Dummy

In a prior post I explained that we were in the process of doing account transfers into Fidelity. As good fortune would have it, nearly all of our money was sitting in cash when Liberation Day caused the market to tank. 

My quandary was how to get back into the market. I asked what would you do; dollar cost average (DCA), or take the plunge. Replies were mixed. 

I bet on import taxes creating havoc for the balance of the year, and chose to DCA. I bet on the wrong horse, as the market has broken one record after another.  We have been missing out on some action since mid April. 

Our current allocation is 24% equities, 33% bonds, 43% cash. I still feel like there’s danger hiding around every corner, and if disaster strikes, I’ll jump back in like my cat Sophie pouncing on a spotted lantern fly; she is a ferocious predator😾, but I digress. Just to be clear, my target equity allocation will be between 50 and 60%. 

The consolation prize has been 4% interest earned on the cash, though the rates may be changing soon. 

Those of you who implored me to jump back in may now smugly say, “I told you so you big dummy”.

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The 1% Club: Our Unnoticed Wealth

I recently read an article that really made me sit back, pause, and think. While I have no real way of validating this statistic, apparently I'm one of the wealthiest one percent of people in the entire world. This is according to findings by the asset manager UBS (formerly Credit Suisse) in their latest Global Wealth Report.

This blows my mind. I'm just a regular guy with no airs and graces about me, who likes a bit of "craic" and a Guinness with a few friends. It speaks volumes about the massive disparity and advantages those of us in reasonably affluent Western first-world nations enjoy. And yet, we complain...a lot. Maybe we should practice some gratitude and mindfulness for the privileged lives we have? Let's take a few examples of this somewhat unnoticed wealth and how it enables us in life.

We complain about the ever-increasing cost of tertiary learning, but millions of young people in poorer nations dream of having the opportunity for this privilege. The very opportunity to pursue such an education, even at a secondary level, remains an unattainable dream—a pathway out of poverty they can only long for. This stark contrast underscores the immense advantage we often take for granted. For us, it's a financial hurdle; for the vast majority, it's a wishful dream that will never be fulfilled. The privilege of learning is a blessing.

Another big one that comes to mind is our world-class health systems. We understandably complain about the cost, but for millions globally, such care—from emergency services to advanced treatments—is a distant dream. It's often entirely unavailable or prohibitively expensive, leading to mothers breaking their hearts from the loss of a beautiful child, all for the want of a simple antibiotic. Our advantage is stark and disturbing.

Can we have a better democratic society than we currently experience? I'm sure it's very possible within reason, but we still complain about the systems of government we have. I think I can state without a doubt that millions dream of, fight for, and perish in pursuit of the very basic democratic freedoms and political stability that we take for granted. We have privileged lives.

The examples are endless: from the simple ability to switch on a light without fear of a blackout, to the freedom to express our opinions without reprisal, or even choosing what we eat. These aren't just conveniences; they are advantages that shape our daily existence in ways we rarely appreciate. I've won the geographical lottery, and so have you. There's no need to complain about that.

You might be wondering what this essay is all about, and to be honest, I'm not entirely sure. I don't think it's about guilt. If anything, it's probably about perspective and recognizing that my struggles and yours are real but exist within a framework of underlying advantages that others can only dream of. Maybe I think we should have a deeper sense of gratitude for the opportunities we take for granted. I'm not really sure, but knowing my elevated position in the 1% club is an enlightening experience.

Perhaps the next time I complain about a minor inconvenience, I'll try to pause and consider that my "inconvenience" might be an unimaginable luxury for many millions around the world. I'm only one person and don't have any ability to change the world, but I can, at the very least, acknowledge my privileged position. This position was achieved in part through my own hard work and financial discipline, but most of all, through the lucky break of birth. It isn't much to offer, but it's a start.

 

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I’m confused about the 4% (or any %) withdrawal strategy. Do I have it wrong?

I realize we touched this topic before, but I just watched a YouTube video where the “expert” debunked the 4% rule. His criticism was simply that is not how people spend money. He said nobody lives on the percent they withdraw giving the example that if a person had $1,000,000 and took $40,000 they may need more money for unexpected spending. Thus they will take extra from the $1,000,000 

That’s like saying nobody can live on a pension or salary for that matter because they may need more money. 

I thought that using a percent withdrawal meant your income from that was the income (plus SS) on which you decided to live. And perhaps aside from a separate emergency fund, all spending was to come from the withdrawal amount. 

In other words, the $40,000 in the example is analogous to pension income. Do I have this wrong?

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From Rakhi to Community: Lessons in Family for the Humble Dollar Family

My wife is the child of an Irish mother and a Punjabi father, a family dynamic that has taken on a much deeper meaning for me as I've gotten older. I can't speak for the nearly one billion people on the Indian subcontinent or the vast diaspora of Indian families around the world, but the extended Punjabi family I've known for forty years makes family the bedrock of their lives.

I've essentially been adopted into their family and culture. I suppose once they realized I wasn't going anywhere, they decided they might as well educate this "Irish savage" in Indian culture and their way of thinking. This experience has meaningfully shifted my mindset.

I've achieved reasonable material success through a combination of luck, happenstance, and years of hard work. Reaching retirement has given me the perspective to see that while this materialistic side of life is essential, it's not the most important element. What matters most to me is the connection with my immediate and close extended family.

At this moment, I'm wearing a Rakhi bracelet, tied to my wrist by my "cousin sister" during Raksha Bandhan. It will remain on my wrist until it falls off, a daily reminder of the close, deep-rooted family who cares for me as one of their own.

I've come to realize that the things I spent a lifetime accumulating—wealth, status, and possessions—don't provide the same fulfillment as human connection. Without this bond, my retirement would be diminished and a mere shadow of its true potential.

But my Punjabi family has also taught me something else: that families have responsibilities to each other, especially during times of loss and uncertainty. When someone passes, you don't scatter—you come together. You honor their memory by protecting what they built and caring for those they leave behind.

This deeper appreciation for human connection, perfectly symbolized by the Rakhi on my wrist, brings me to humble dollar and the tragic passing of Jonathan. The community he's created is a family of sorts for many, and I think and hope we can act with the same dignity and respect I've learned from my Indian family—to keep this site from fragmenting and keep our little online family together. RIP Jonathan.

 

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