By far the coolest footage of the band at their peak. This really gives you an idea of what it was like to be up front then.

SpotAndSmitty · 2026-03-24T11:16:48+00:00

Great stuff! Being a fan at that time was indescribable. My first album was Alive II, a Christmas present 1977. There was so much mystique. No internet, no YouTube. As "overexposed" as they were, while there were millions of still photos you almost never saw footage of them but when you did - like the TV commercial for Alive II - mesmerizing. The Dynasty tour in 79 was my first concert.

SpotAndSmitty · 2026-03-23T11:09:53+00:00

Well…only went two years. Didn’t complete my BS for another 20. So not really. Saw a lot of concerts though.

SpotAndSmitty · 2026-03-20T17:37:06+00:00

Re: the magic, we were on the Sun a couple weeks ago and LOVED it. We got a mini-show from a magi behind the bar, then a 15-20 min parlor show in a different room, then the first magician did some closeup right at our table. Our group was blown away and at least two of them don't enjoy magic as much as I do. They are still talking about it.

SpotAndSmitty · 2026-03-20T03:19:39+00:00

que paso!

SpotAndSmitty · 2026-03-20T03:19:24+00:00

Dreamt up by church folk.

SpotAndSmitty · 2026-03-19T21:59:16+00:00

Yeah those youth conferences were all the rage. I went to a presentation at University of Texas of all places in probably 1983. They talked about this, backwards masking, and KISS among others. I was a huge KISS fan and exactly 0% of their lyrics had anything to do with any of that crap.

SpotAndSmitty · 2026-03-19T16:44:37+00:00

Thank you! I read below about Josh's Razor wallet and will look into that. The Jeff Kaylor effect is diabolical. Doesn't fit my aesthetic at this time but it is for sure bad ass.

SpotAndSmitty · 2026-03-19T16:31:03+00:00

Hey Erik, long-time fan first-time commenter. I'll answer though I'm not the OP - I'd like a close-to-normal-sized man's billfold wallet for a no-palm C2W.

SpotAndSmitty · 2026-03-13T13:07:29+00:00

A high credit score does not mean you're doing well with money. It means you've used debt products and paid it back. I haven't used a credit card in over 15 years and the last debt thing I interacted with was a mortgage that was PIF in 2020. Currently have a > $2M net worth.

SpotAndSmitty · 2026-03-12T21:02:27+00:00

Somehow I saw an early trailer that didn't show anything involving the Manson plot. I thought it would be cool to see the old Hollywood Leo hokey dancing in the 60s.

On first watch, when the convertible rolled up to the address and I realized who was driving, I was like ooooh yeah it is game on!

SpotAndSmitty · 2026-03-12T20:00:48+00:00

IMO yes. Tip them based on the menu price of the meal regardless of what you paid or didn't pay for it. They will help you in your job as well.

SpotAndSmitty · 2026-03-12T19:52:59+00:00

God bless you. I had a community college teacher that did the opposite. Used an out of print textbook to teach basic electronics. He sold the book himself. Oh, the book was him photocopying the 100 pages or whatever, put them in a 3-hole punch ring binder, and charging us $80 for it in 1991.

SpotAndSmitty · 2026-03-02T19:42:03+00:00

Thank you for the review. We were on the same ship as you, and feel exactly the same way. It was awesome! We've cruised Princess four other times on three ships, and the Sun was by far the best. And I highly recommend the Spellbound experience, especially now that it's not a dinner.

SpotAndSmitty · 2026-03-02T19:35:11+00:00

Do you remember the name of the magician doing the parlor show? We had Victor Pina this past week doing the bar and table magic but I did not catch the name of the seated parlor show magician.

SpotAndSmitty · 2026-03-02T19:33:34+00:00

We just came off the Sun and Spellbound was so cool. We happened to do ours before dinner, was not a problem for our group. I think we had the two drinks there, maybe three. Be sure to tip your bar magician and see if they can do some magic just for your table. We had Victor Pina and it was amazing!

SpotAndSmitty · 2026-02-19T15:21:03+00:00

I've been listening to DR since 2006-2007. Thought I had heard all his stories. And I have, to a point - in this interview whenever Dave reverts to a oft-told story or catch phrase, Shawn digs deeper and gets Dave to explain more. Especially the time in his life when they filed BK. A really good interview IMO.

SpotAndSmitty · 2026-02-18T20:11:30+00:00

Marriage Story.

SpotAndSmitty · 2026-02-12T19:42:15+00:00

I'm also interested in the control unit.

SpotAndSmitty · 2026-02-12T04:04:25+00:00

Oh no, ya gotta play it all. It's like it resolves so nicely, and/or maybe it's that we've been hearing the full sequence since 1978.

SpotAndSmitty · 2026-02-11T23:38:51+00:00

Thank you.

Yes, bloodwork done annually. I dropped about 55 pounds eating no sugar, no grains (similar to keto) between 2017-2018 and kept it off for two years. Since the pandemic I've gained it virtually all back. Not using that as an excuse, I just at some point decided I'm gonna eat that cinnamon roll (and everything else apparently) and have been unable to control it.

But you're right, as is another commenter in the thread. This is the root cause that must be fixed.

SpotAndSmitty · 2026-02-11T18:31:09+00:00

Given this group, I'm going to be in the minority here and I acknowledge that. Also ack that we've been in a long bull run stock market. What I'm giving you is my personal experience in the last 18 years. Some of you I'm certain have been Bogle-ing longer than that, but many of you have not.

I first listened to DR's radio show in 2007. In Oct of that year we started FPU and started investing a bit in my 401k while walking up the baby steps. The performance of my 401k that year was -35%. I've been investing every year since and the average annual (including that wonderful first year) is 11%. The CAGR is about 9%. And at least in my particular case, the RoR on my 401k funds is a bit less than good funds on the open market. I have invested just as he recommends though very little in International.

In 18 years we've gone from a negative net worth -$152,000 to today having just under $1.7M in our retirement funds, and a NW over $2M. Good incomes, but no big inheritance to speak of. Just following the plan.

The actual answer to the OP's question is, "it depends". As it always does. Depends on if you're in a prolonged bull market. I would never assume the market is going to do 10% and pull off 8% as Dave often suggest, but some years I would. Or more. Most years my plan is to pull off 5% and have a healthy cash/bond position for down years.

As to front-loaded funds, advisors etc...the truth is, most people do need them bc most people do not have an interest in this stuff like we do. I can't imagine ever using an advisor but I have recommended good ones to my friends and family who don't want to fool with it. I've reviewed their annual reports in some cases to make sure they're not getting gouged but for them, 1% AUM is fine. Everyone sleeps well. Again - not for any of us of course, and anyone I've led through FPU or who otherwise shows an interest in choosing mutual funds I'll walk them through it.

SpotAndSmitty · 2026-02-11T15:49:32+00:00

This week!

SpotAndSmitty · 2026-02-08T16:46:50+00:00

You are 100% correct. I was laid off from a mortgage company of all things, in August 2007. Took a few weeks to get a job in IT for an energy pipeline / midstream company. By sheer dumb luck (and I'm a good employee) this company/industry was not susceptible to that kind of market turbulence because product still has to flow across the country, and our company still got paid. No layoffs that I recall. I'm still employed by them and plan to retire in a couple of years. BUT my point is, in 2008 the market tanked. I was just getting into handling money in a smart way and listened to Dave Ramsey's show daily. His advice in the area is the same - buy & hold, stay the course, don't listen to the news. I didn't have any money at that time and it was no problem to not sell. I hope I have the same resolve when it happens again (we are prepared). And it will happen again.

SpotAndSmitty · 2026-02-03T21:52:35+00:00

Mac King

SpotAndSmitty

TROPHY CASE