Can you live without the market?

By | September 17, 2024

Today was the first time since Friday that I really checked the market. And I didn’t really do it that much because it was really kind of boring. Yesterday was the third day of a three day drive from Phoenix to Chicago so I was more interested in the things I was seeing and talking to my wife rather than what’s happening with my portfolio. You know what, I survived. I don’t even think I checked the lottery numbers.

Today we got out and walked for an hour. And we enjoyed the cooler temperatures. The leaves are starting to change here and it’s really a nice time of year in Chicago. Right now at almost 6pm, it is 81 degrees, which is kind of warm for here on September 17.

My wife got out and bought groceries and washed the bugs off the car. I worked some but I didn’t have a full days worth of things to do.

So what are the good businesses we found along the way? Well not much. I like Love’s truck stop. We stayed at a couple Marriott hotels and for the most part they are ok. I guess the good news is we didn’t visit the tire store, the doctor, or the mechanic so it was a good trip. We tend to catch up the car’s maintenance at the Toyota dealer before a long trip such as this. We would prefer to buy U.S. products but if it’s a choice between a Ford, GM, or Dodge, or a reliable car, the reliable car wins.

I kind of wonder how things would change if we drove a camper/RV instead. We could boondock overnight at least once if we wanted to. If we needed a bathroom stop we could just take the next empty exit.

Retirement is not a distant dream at this point, but we prefer to vacation in different places and fly. The reason we are driving this time is to avoid the rental car and because we had way too much stuff to check or ship. We are also going to Nashville later so there’s that.

Well I’m off for the night to enjoy company of family and it sounds like a good meal. Hope you are doing likewise.