Okay, when did those 65 years pass? Medicare is for old people, right? Does that mean I am old? Many people before me have asked those same questions as well as many people in the future will do the same. It is the normal progression in life. After a lifetime of contributing to Medicare from my payroll check, as well as decades of my working lifetime, since 1993, I was self-employed, so I also contributed the employer match. Even to this day, and for the next year or two, I will be still contributing to the entitlement program. Though, effective February 1, 2023, the Federal Government will be paying the lion’s share of my health insurance costs. For those that have their health insurance premiums paid for by their employer, some take that benefit for granted, or better said, do not fully appreciate what the true out of pocket costs are for those benefits. Large group plans usually offered quality coverage to the participants.

Investors have gladly hit the reset button after last year. What started with a record high on the first trading day of 2022 quickly fizzled out, and what followed was a volatile bear market resulting in nearly a 20% decline in the S&P 500 by year-end. From a historical perspective, this marked the fourth worst year calendar year return for the index since 1950 – a lifetime for most investors today. It was a year marked by many firsts, notably the worst bond market ever (yes, ever) which exasperated the pain as fixed income did not provide the diversification benefit that it traditionally has during periods of equity declines. Even those holding significant amounts of cash saw the purchasing power of their money erode quickly as everything from cars to eggs got more expensive by the day.

January has come again, and just like the previous 3 Januaries (except for that one year we pushed it back to February because I got Covid), we were off to Disney! While we may have been going to the same destination, this trip felt different than the others, but in a good way. We had a great time, and really designed this trip to align with the things we knew we cared about along with trying some new things.