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Four months before my birthday, I got my notice in the mail that my driver’s license will be expiring on my birthday. This blog post is a brief escape from the maddening world of personal finance and my quarterly portfolio reports. This is one of the necessary activities that all of us will have to undertake sometimes in our lives. However, I don’t remember the last time I took the written test to earn my driver’s license. Thus, I had to study.
No doubt the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Veterans Administration are two huge bureaucracies but, in my opinion, they receive over the top criticism. They are both underfunded, understaffed and unappreciated through no fault of their own, so what else is new. It is certainly not the fault of the people who looked at my documents, administered the test or provided me with Veteran Status Verification Form. On top of all the talk about inefficiencies, long lines and funding troubles that our governmental institutions are in these days, I experienced helpful V.A. volunteers and DMV’s good employees.

The voters of California elected a new insurance commissioner! A new and young promising politician is what voters need in the 21 century. As with all politicians, it is what they promised to do IF elected that counts.
Mr. Lara was elected–I am happy!
In this blog, I posted an open letter to Mr. Lara to begin a discussion on a topic largely ignored. My fellow advocates and I are anxiously waiting for our challenge and his promise to take care of California consumers.
On his campaign website he wrote:
“Stand With Ricardo
Together, we can make a difference.
As California’s Insurance Commissioner, I’ll work tirelessly to represent the great people of California, not the corporations, the billionaire class, the pharmaceutical or the INSURANCE COMPANIES (emphasis mine). I plan to work with anybody who is willing to come to the table, but my allegiance will always be first and foremost to the consumers, the patients, our working families, and our most vulnerable communities in our Golden State.”
There are hundreds of thousands of public school teachers and their beneficiaries who need protection from the 403(b)/TSA annuity sales force.
We are confident that he or a member of his staff will begin a discussion with us on this wholly neglected topic: reforming insurance code 770.3 and the 403(b) retirement plans sold to teachers.

Do you have a personal hero? I have had several over my life, and grateful for every one of them. Personal heroes are a real treasure that many of us give to ourselves to emulate so we can become better people. There is always a need to improve my life!  All of my heroes have the same deep ethical behaviors that I wish to emulate: humility, commitment, thriftiness, courage, and kindness. The minute I discovered Jack Bogle 25 years ago and read a little about his investing philosophy, I knew right then and there he was my hero.

My husband of 40 years, co-author, lifetime companion, friend, confidant and the kindest person to all left this world on October 20, 2015. He died with grace, courage and at peace from leukemia.