It’s that time of year that Patti and I make sure we’ve given what we want to give to those we care about. We always spend and give our annual Safe Spending Amount (SSA). As in the several past years we have not spent it

I look at my imagined wine barrels and large vat every December 15, but it’s good for me to take a snapshot of what has happened since my sale of securities on December 3 for our 2019 Safe Spending Amount. (That has turned out

This is my imagined workday every December 15. I even mark this day as “Bottling Day” on my calendar. I imagine that I dress warmly for my annual work task out in our garage. The high was 46^o this year, warmer than in recent

The calculation year for Patti and me ended November 30. I sold securities the next business day – Monday, December 3 – to get our total Safe Spending Amount (SSA) for 2019 into cash. Then my portfolio took a sudden, steep hit. My stocks declined

I knew this before entering our 12-month returns ending November 30 into our calculation sheet: our Safe Spending Amount (SSA) – the amount that results in zero probability of depleting our portfolio through 2034 (Patti’s age 87) – is unchanged in spending power for 2019.