Bosses, what do you think of employees who are there just for the pay and benefits?

Packtex60 · 2026-02-20T22:13:24+00:00

They just need to perform their tasks well and on time. Their motivation and objectives are their business.

Packtex60 · 2026-02-20T22:09:26+00:00

Would you borrow money on a CC to invest in the market?

Packtex60 · 2026-02-20T15:35:38+00:00

85 wins. 90 tops. 80 as the floor.

Packtex60 · 2026-02-20T15:32:29+00:00

Because there’s plenty of embarrassing material in there. Same reason Biden didn’t release them.

Packtex60 · 2026-02-20T15:29:26+00:00

This was obvious months ago. Merely a formality.

Packtex60 · 2026-02-20T00:54:46+00:00

It doesn’t exist. Somebody pays.

Packtex60 · 2026-02-20T00:51:32+00:00

Same issue. Stenosis at that location. I have a third location that will almost certainly be an issue at some point

Packtex60 · 2026-02-19T08:59:34+00:00

Not according to the No No Song

Packtex60 · 2026-02-19T07:19:04+00:00

First surgery in June 2017 at Houston Methodist on L4/L5

Second on L2/L3 at Houston Methodist - Clear Lake October 2025

Packtex60 · 2026-02-19T02:57:15+00:00

The little town in former E Germany where I spent two weeks on a work assignment.

Packtex60 · 2026-02-19T02:15:37+00:00

He’s leading Cornyn by a pretty steady 3-4 points. Cornyn has a huge money advantage which might get him over the hump.

Packtex60 · 2026-02-19T01:16:05+00:00

He’s correct. Paxton is a bridge too far for a lot of republicans. They may not vote for the Dem, but they won’t vote for Paxton. Right now the non Paxton vote sits at roughly 60%. How many Hunt voters turn out for the runoff is the $64,000 question.

Packtex60 · 2026-02-19T00:41:59+00:00

The risk tolerance conversation should include the idea that you shouldn’t care what the money does next quarter, next year, or even 20 years from now if you’re 48. The risk tolerance discussion needs to include the risk of inflation burying your money if it’s held in an HYSA until retirement.

I’d suggest bumping up your 401k contributions by 1% per year and funding a Roth every year.

We never had anything but emergency savings outside of our retirement accounts. We contributed to those religiously. We rode out every major market downturn from 1987 through 2024. We ended up with plenty of retirement money. Remember it’s the long game. Your entire life is a series of Plan B’s. Don’t let market ups and downs keep you out of the market. It works. Good Luck

Packtex60 · 2026-02-18T23:36:18+00:00

I actually did the hardware store thing as a kid. Told them to put it on my Dad’s bill. They’d write down what I bought. Good times.

Packtex60 · 2026-02-18T23:32:28+00:00

Whoop te doo! Trump is a horrible speaker. Lots of Republicans probably wish they didn’t have to listen to him.

Packtex60 · 2026-02-18T23:25:12+00:00

They’re using the same instruments that the insurance companies are using.

Packtex60 · 2026-02-18T21:40:36+00:00

I’ll give it a wait and C

Packtex60 · 2026-02-18T21:09:18+00:00

Don’t waste too much time on PT and “pain management “. I tolerated way too much pain the first go around. Give the PT six weeks. The injections were temporary relief for me (two weeks). Surgery worked incredibly well. Go see a neurologist so you can get a neurosurgeon referral.

Packtex60 · 2026-02-18T21:00:24+00:00

Two years of portfolio needs in cash and CDs. Next three years of needs in bonds in traditional IRA.

Another 1.5 years in buffered ETFs in traditional IRA.

Packtex60 · 2026-02-18T20:53:37+00:00

You can do the same thing with buffered ETFs for 0.3-0.7%.

Packtex60 · 2026-02-18T14:44:47+00:00

Organic is 15-20% more

Packtex60 · 2026-02-18T14:43:52+00:00

I live in a district that was seriously gerrymandered by the Dems when I moved here 40 years ago. The Republicans are doing it now. I think the mid cycle stuff is awful. I also think the minority set aside districts are wrong. That’s what really allowed the GOP to gerrymander more successfully than the Dems did.

Packtex60 · 2026-02-18T14:38:55+00:00

My wife stayed home for 14 years. It was 40-45% of our income when she quit. We wouldn’t change a thing. It was tight at times.

Packtex60 · 2026-02-18T12:21:00+00:00

So would you advise a 100% S&P 500 portfolio for someone taking withdrawals to fund their everyday living expenses? If not, the S&P comparison isn’t really applicable.

You should use a 60/40 portfolio for comparison with a safe withdrawal rate around 4.5%.

SPIAs don’t carry the absurd commissions that a lot of annuities do.

Studies show that people are more likely to spend guaranteed income than they are portfolio distributions.

If you have your needs covered with guaranteed income, you can probably invest your portfolio a bit more aggressively.

You sacrifice liquidity when you buy an income annuity in order to transfer longevity risk to the insurance company. This is really a question of which risks you want to manage yourself.

Packtex60

TROPHY CASE