One thing about the area in which I live is that the traffic is not all that bad on a good day. But there are times when it seems to be backed up for little or no reason. Today was one of those days. I was riding to work when I ran into a giant traffic jam. It tried my patience for sure.

The worst part about the whole experience is that I saw no reason for the pileup in the first place. Maybe the accident was cleared before I got there or the emergency was over with. Whatever the reason, I was still stuck. Some things just don’t make any sense.

It is always great to hear of a story when the outcome helps someone who has given so much to a community. The story of the Chagrin Hardware Company warms my heart. A man named Jim Black went online and invited 40 of his friends to spend some money at a local hardware store that is near his home.

His friends responded and invited many more friends of their own. Anyway, the store was swamped with customers and had one heck of a great sales day. It is great to see a small business get support from the community.

One thing that most Americans will do in the future is retire. There are those who work their life away, but that’s not for everyone. If you do plan to retire, making sure you have sufficient funds to do so is important. The common view is to have enough to draw at least 4% from your savings annually.

The best advice is to start planning your retirement early. Putting money into a sock is good, but putting it into escrow is better. One thing you can do is to seek professional advice. That’s what I recommend.

Since Christmas is over, I have been on one last buying spree. I am taking advantage of all the last minute sales at the local stores. I have come across some pretty good deals and have been filling out the items that were forgotten during Christmas.

I think that this is a good thing as many stores are trying to get rid of the merchandise they have before the new year sets in. there are no losers during this period and everyone wins.

One thing that is always on my mind is the amount of insurance that I have. I always think that the more I have is the better. I learned this lesson early in life when I lost a great deal of money because I wasn’t covered properly. I won’t go into the story now, but trust me when I say I learned my lesson.

I think everyone should check into the amount of insurance they have and be sure that it is enough. Accidents happen everyday and you never know what is around the next corner. All I am saying is make sure you are covered for every event.