The Archive

Every Letter.

One short letter every Tuesday on building retirement income outside the stock market. Read any of them below, or subscribe to get the next one.

October 20, 2026The $231.75 that got us out of a $36,000 houseWe agreed to buy a house in Youngstown for $36,000. Then we paid $231.75 to find out we shouldn't. Here's how it went. We make offers on houses before we...
October 13, 2026$1.4 million and "scared to death"Someone commented on one of my videos that they have $1.4 million saved and they're "scared to death." I don't think more money would fix that. Once the...
October 6, 2026$700 a month, a $45,000 price, no bank in the middleA $500-a-month tenant in Girard now holds a fixed $45,000 price on the house. No bank is in the middle of it. We bought the house in August for $23,000...
September 29, 2026The family left after ten weeks. The note stayed ours.One private lender funded a $37,000 house in Youngstown. Two families have lived in it since, and neither one was the borrower on that note. We bought the...
September 22, 2026The $300,000 house we keptIn July we looked at selling a house in Mentor for about $300,000. We kept it instead, and the family living in it signed a new option to buy it. We...
September 15, 2026The $330,000 house that paid us $200 a monthIn June we sold a house in Dayton for about $330,000. We had bought it in 2023 by taking over the seller's mortgage. A tenant-buyer lived in it for three...
September 8, 2026a 30% crash costs $17,000A 30% crash in your first year of retirement costs about $17,000. That's the number for anyone whose bills will someday come out of an account instead of...
September 1, 2026the $400 that costs $12,000Before 65, one extra dollar of income can cost you thousands in health insurance. This one is for anyone who stops working before Medicare starts at 65...
August 25, 2026a $1,500 bill is worth $562,500Erasing a $1,500 bill from your month is worth about $562,500 in savings. That applies to anyone still carrying a mortgage, a car loan, or any payment...
August 18, 2026sell at 63, pay more at 65Medicare sets your first premium using your income from the year you turn 63. That matters if you own a home you might sell in your early sixties...
August 11, 2026a payment someone owes you every monthYou can replace a paycheck with a payment someone owes you every month. This one's for anyone who wants income in retirement that doesn't depend on the...
August 4, 2026when a layoff beats retiringGetting laid off a few months before you retire can pay better than quitting. If you're still working and have a retirement date in mind, here's the...
July 28, 2026giving the house to your kidsGiving the house to your kids while you're alive costs them a tax break they only get by inheriting it, and it applies to anyone who owns a home, land, or...
July 21, 2026your borrowing power disappearsYour borrowing power disappears the day your paycheck does, and that hits anyone planning to retire who might still want a mortgage, a refinance, or a...
July 14, 2026paying cash for a carPaying cash for a car turns off the income that money was paying you. The average new car now runs about $49,000. Sitting in a high-yield savings account...
July 7, 2026the automatic Social Security cutThe automatic Social Security cut coming in 2032 applies to everyone counting on that check, and it happens whether Congress votes or not. The June 2026...
June 30, 2026the survivor keeps one checkIf you're married, the survivor keeps one check, and the higher earner's claim age decides which. When one of you dies, Social Security stops one of your...
June 23, 2026the worst asset to inheritIf you've got a traditional 401(k) or IRA and you plan to leave money to your kids, that account may be the worst asset to inherit. Here's why. Every...
June 16, 2026your lowest-tax windowIf you've stopped working but haven't started Social Security yet, you're in the lowest tax bracket you'll see for the rest of your life. It won't last...
June 9, 2026The bank's seat in real estateYou can get monthly income from real estate without owning the property. Banks have done it this way forever. A bank doesn't own your house. It lends...
June 2, 2026The $90K Survivor MistakeThe higher earner's Social Security claim age isn't really about their own check. It's about the survivor benefit that lasts fifteen to twenty years after...

Want next week's? Get the letter.