Jonathan Pond

Ponderings

One of my earliest financial lessons came from a family friend – a very amiable fellow who could relate to children as well as adults. I grew up in a suburb of Washington, D.C., and he used to enjoy teaching youngsters about life as much as he enjoyed debating with my parents and other adults about political affairs. One Friday evening he came to the door to take my sister to a party along with his young daughter. I answered the doorbell, but my sister wasn’t quite ready. While he was standing at the door, he said (I can remember it as if it happened last night, although I must have been seven or eight at the time): “Jonathan, life is upside down. I’m busy with my career, but I have no money and have to spend Friday night driving my kids to parties. When I’m older, I’m going to have more money, and I’ll even have a chauffeur to drive me around. But you know what?  I won’t need the money or the chauffeur then. I could sure use them now, though. Life is upside down. When you’re young and could use some money, you’re poor. When you’re older and don’t need as much money, that’s when you’ve got it.” You won’t be surprised that I have remembered that message when I tell you who the messenger was. He was Hubert Humphrey, then a young member of Congress, later called “the Happy Warrior.”  He did what he said he was going to do: earn more money and have a chauffeur. And he also spent a lifetime in public service dispensing his timeless wisdom to young and old alike.

His remarks to me decades ago are just as accurate today as they were then. Our financial lives are, in many ways, upside down. There’s not a lot we can do about it, but it doesn’t prevent us from being able to achieve our money aspirations. Simply take positive steps toward accomplishing your financial goals. You can’t do everything at once, but you can do some things now and more later on.

Smart Money Tips

  • There’s still time to make charitable contributions. If you can spare any money or appreciated securities, this is a good time to help a worthy charity and reduce your income tax exaction. If you can mail the check or make the donation on your credit card before January 1, you’ll earn a deduction for this year even though the check doesn’t clear until next year or the charge doesn’t appear on your statement until next year. If you have the time, consider donating appreciated securities rather than cash. You’ll get to deduct the full value of the securities you donate, without having to pay a capital gains tax. The tax regulations pertaining to charitable contribution are a bit complicated, so be sure to check the current rules.
  • Get set to set some money goals for 2023. No matter your age or financial situation, it’s always important to set money goals each year. Whatever intentions you have, make them achievable … with some difficulty. If they’re too easy, you aren’t accomplishing a whole lot. If they’re too difficult, you risk getting discouraged and abandoning your good efforts.

 

 

Happy Holidays!

 

Food for Thought

As you get older, you get tired of doing the same things over and over again, so you think Christmas has changed. It hasn’t. It’s you who has changed.

     -Harry Truman

Money Can Be Funny

Christmas is the season when you buy this year’s gifts with next year’s money.

Word of the Week

bedizen transitive verb (bih-DY-zuhn) – To dress or adorn in gaudy manner.

Origin: Bedizen is the prefix be-, “completely; thoroughly; excessively” +
dizen, an archaic word meaning “to deck out in fine clothes and
ornaments,” from Middle Dutch disen, “to dress (a distaff) with flax
ready for spinning,” from Middle Low German dise, “the bunch of flax
placed on a distaff.”

Her attempts to dress stylishly failed; instead of being fashionable
she was bedizened. Her excessively gaudy clothing and jewelry made her
resemble a Christmas tree.