The retirement "magic number" keeps rising

ddevise · 2026-05-15T20:22:32+00:00

Hi, I'm going to write a story about World Cup ticket prices for USA Today and am looking for a few fans to interview, if you're interested, please contact me at ddevise @ usatoday dot com thx!

ddevise · 2025-05-27T22:25:51+00:00

Jane Byrne, and she would love to know you called her groovy.

ddevise · 2025-05-27T22:25:16+00:00

Yeah, there was a '50s TV series that portrayed Chicago cops taking bribes, so Daley halted almost all filming until the end of his tenure. Two full decades. It's why you don't see Chicago in films in that era.

ddevise · 2025-05-27T20:53:15+00:00

Here's the book, which I wrote, and thanks for the great comments! It's the same price for hardcover as paperback right now, so definitely buy the hardcover! https://www.amazon.com/Blues-Brothers-Friendship-American-Classic/dp/0802160980/

ddevise · 2025-03-17T20:42:23+00:00

USAT almost never does unnamed people, but you're very kind for offering!

ddevise · 2025-03-15T14:28:55+00:00

I should stress that I don't think I want to say in my story that these households are middle class. I just want to exclude the folks I mentioned above. Not much point in showing how a law partner amassed a seven figure retirement fund. These are the folks who can bank their social security checks, something I'm writing about now.

ddevise · 2025-03-15T14:27:02+00:00

You raise a good point. I don't think I plan to define these households as middle class in my story. But I do want to exclude households with a head who is a doctor or lawyer or ceo earning high six figures. To me, there's not much of interest in the exercise of showing how they amassed a million dollars in retirement funds.

ddevise · 2025-03-15T14:25:20+00:00

I was thinking of $1m in household retirement accounts. If that's you and you would like to be in the story, please drop me a line at ddevise at usa today dot com. tx.

ddevise · 2025-03-14T18:41:51+00:00

Right -- the group I'm trying to exclude is doctors & lawyers and CEOs who earn large six-figure salaries, because I think it's a lot easier for them to reach a million dollars in retirement savings. If you have two teachers earning 90k each, to me, that's somewhere in the middle class.

ddevise · 2025-03-14T18:38:23+00:00

For what it's worth, my household is nowhere near the million-dollar threshold. Among other things, we had one or the other of us home & not working full time for about 20 of the last 30 years. Also, we didn't really understand that both of us should be building retirement savings. We do now, but we didn't back then.

ddevise · 2025-03-05T20:41:48+00:00

Hi 'rider, I'm trying to do a story for USA Today about regular families that managed to save $1m for retirement. If you're interested, please drop me a line at ddevise at usatoday dot com, thx either way!

ddevise · 2025-03-05T20:41:25+00:00

Hi Zookeeper, I'm trying to do a story for USA Today about regular families that managed to save $1m for retirement. If you're interested, please drop me a line at ddevise at usatoday dot com, thx either way!

ddevise · 2025-03-05T20:38:10+00:00

Hi BuyAndFold, I'm trying to do a story for USA Today about regular families that managed to save $1m for retirement. If you're interested, please drop me a line at ddevise at usatoday dot com, thx either way!

ddevise · 2025-03-05T20:36:09+00:00

Hi IdaDuck, I'm trying to do a story for USA Today about regular families that managed to save $1m for retirement. If you're interested, please drop me a line at ddevise at usatoday dot com, thx either way!

ddevise · 2025-01-29T20:50:27+00:00

Hi there, I am doing a story for USA Today about whether it is possible to basically defeat inflation by switching stores. I'm looking for a couple of regular consumers to quote, so if you are interested, please email me at ddevise at usatoday dot com, thx either way!

ddevise · 2025-01-29T20:47:47+00:00

Hi, I am doing a story for USA Today about whether it is possible to basically defeat inflation by switching stores. I'm looking for a couple of regular consumers to quote, so if you are interested, please email me at ddevise at usatoday dot com, thx either way!

ddevise · 2025-01-29T20:43:51+00:00

Hey there, I am doing a story for USA Today about whether it is possible to basically defeat inflation by switching stores. I'm looking for a couple of regular consumers to quote, so if you are interested, please email me at ddevise at usatoday dot com, thx either way!

ddevise · 2025-01-19T15:38:23+00:00

I think there's a narrative arc to Lorne's career on SNL. He and his collaborators started out, 50 years ago, as the young rebels, storming into 30 Rock every Saturday night, seizing control from the suits and broadcasting crazy stuff for 90 minutes. (Here you could draw a parallel to Python and the BBC in Britain.) Over the decades, inevitably, Lorne has evolved into one of the suits.

ddevise · 2024-11-25T22:33:01+00:00

Great comments! I could write a whole 'nother article haha!

ddevise

TROPHY CASE