Prepping: Tech Bench Sunday

Radio gear for emergencies?  Prepping?  Figuring out the Big Picture?  You’ve come to the right spot. While I usually don’t post a column on Sundays, we continue pressing on with all kinds of odd pursuits.  Some of which include ham radio, more ham radio, hacking space-time, using LLLT therapy for inflammation reduction and neural stimulation, … Read More

Forget Retirement: Try “Downscaling”

With so many people asking “Gee, what should we do to really retire?” I thought it would be worthwhile to explore a whole different concept. I call it “downscaling.” After we get through the charts and such, we will dig in to the Golden Years and see whazzup… More for Subscribers       ||| SUBSCRIBE NOW!       |||   … Read More

America: Running Out of “Bash?”

One of our frequent posters to this site totally nailed it in one of the overnight posts.  His list evokes the terrible crisis sure to follow when America runs out of (Trump) “Bash:” “…just think about what they have done so far to try and discredit him.. well Racism didn’t work, sexism didn’t work, undermining … Read More

Prepping: “Required Spares”

A week or so back, Elaine came wandering over to the shop.  “Got a hose washer around, anywhere?” Whenever she comes to the shop looking for something, my first reaction is to see how big her problem is and confirm that her solution is the ideal one.  She hasn’t been wrong on a parts call … Read More

Cyclical Thursday, Summer Rallies?

We begin today with a short review of economic cycles, what this being the first day of summer, and all. There are two kinds of investors:  The pragmatic “mathemetists” (quants) who believe is there aren’t a few arcane math symbols in someone’s forward view of markets, there certainly can’t be any accuracy to the outlook. … Read More

Coping: Check-Out Line Brain-Power

My friend (and co-author) Gaye Levy really likes “adult coloring books.”  So much so, she even has an article “Pursuing Your Passion: Getting Started With Adult Coloring” on her website. I have been thinking this one over in background for almost a year now, “Should I try this…or do I need another hobby?” Then, an … Read More

Solving the Early 401(k) Problem

Several readers and two of our children are asking the same question at about the same time: “If I take an early 401(k) distribution because of a change in where I work and pay taxes on the money, how’s the best way to spend or invest it?“ Today, we play out a few scenarios – … Read More

Just Another Prescient Market Call

If you are visiting UrbanSurvival today and wondering “What the hell’s going on  with Markets…collapsing like they are this morning…” the answer’s simple. You missed Monday’s column, or you would have already been braced for what’s coming at the (bloody opening) this morning. I say bloody because we were looking at the Dow dropping between … Read More

Coping: Why There is No “Retirement”

I heard it again from a neighbor down the road from us:  “I don’t have any TIME now that I’m “retired.” Amen, and ain’t that the Truth, brother. Like us, this fellow likes to tinker and build…and since “pulling the plug” on scheduled work life at the end of September, the noises from his property reveal what’s … Read More

Eyeing Possible Global Collapes

Our work in ‘matters economic’ are of more than passing interest.  Already, even before the US markets opened, I’d made a “new Camry-sized bet” about what I thought will happen in markets today.  It would be inappropriate for me to reveal the specifics of that trade because it might be construed as “financial advice.”  So I … Read More

Coping: A New Book’s Arrival!

“Food for the mind, George – Ehor” There are books and then there are books.  The delightful gift of a book that landed Saturday from my long-time friend Ehor Mazurok was definitely in the latter category.  Published first in 1952, “Metals and How to Weld Them” is occasionally updated by the James A. Lincoln Arc Welding … Read More

Rethinking Synthetic Growth (2)

Picking up from Wednesday’s report, we give some clear examples of where synthetic growth may come from… A kind of how-to for policymakers. More for Subscribers       ||| SUBSCRIBE NOW!       |||   Subscriber Help Center

Four Witches, a TV, and a Tax Bill

The four witches refers to the fact that this is quadruple witching day..  That’s when index options, stock options, commodities, and bonds all go through the process called settlement.  It’s the quarter “Make good on contracts” event. It’s not unusual to see a decent-sized market move from Thursday to Friday because of how options settle.  … Read More