The Special Conversation

I get my hair cut every three weeks. It might be getting gray, but it still grows fast.

The barber shop is in downtown Plymouth and has been there for years. Lauren always cuts my hair. Her barber chair is situated in the corner of the shop alongside two other chairs. As she spins me around to cut different parts of my hair, I get interesting glimpses of the activity going on around the shop.

Last week, my attention was drawn to an “experienced” barber preparing the chair beside us for his next appointment. He was tall and a bit hunched over, moved very slowly, and had a full head of thick, pure white hair. You could tell he had been at it for a very long time and had seen days that were easier than today.

Eventually, Lauren spun me around again, and sure enough, his client was sitting in the chair. The client was also very old and also had a full head of thick, white hair. The two of them made quite a pair.

Lauren and I carried on our usual conversation about our children and their interesting summer activities. However, as we got toward the end of my haircut, both of us were drawn to the conversation between the elderly barber and his elderly client sitting just next to us.

It started when the client confirmed that the barber’s birthday was coming up in August.

“Is it seven or eight this year?” he asked.

“Eighty-eight,” the barber replied.

I was amazed. This man was 87 years old and still spending his days standing on his feet cutting hair.

The conversation then became even more interesting. It was obvious that these two had known each other for decades as barber and client. In a low, somber voice, the barber told his client that he was thinking about “hanging it up.”

The client quickly made him clarify that he meant only his profession, not his life. Lauren and I both smiled.

The client then asked how long the barber’s father had cut hair. The barber said his father had worked until age 90, but he wasn’t trying to beat that record.

That was just one of the many amazing parts of the conversation.

There was something special about watching two elderly gentlemen, who had probably been barber and client for decades, talk about the approaching end of that relationship.

It’s inevitable that we all think about end-of-life issues from a personal standpoint. Many of us have had the opportunity to say goodbye to loved ones who were gravely ill.

This was different. I was listening to an experienced professional begin saying goodbye to his career. You could tell that he was still getting used to the idea himself, even as he explained it to a long-standing client.

I don’t normally like to eavesdrop, but this was a truly special conversation. It was a good reminder of the importance of relationships and the inevitability of careers coming to an end. Whether we want them to or not, eventually the time comes.

The fact that this barber may be able to end his career—and these long professional relationships—on his own terms was not lost on me.

Here’s hoping we all have the opportunity to do the same.

Fun Fact: The familiar barber pole recalls the days when barbers did much more than cut hair. Medieval “barber-surgeons” also performed bloodletting, pulled teeth, and treated wounds. According to the traditional explanation, the pole’s red represents blood, while the white represents bandages. Blue later became common on American barber poles, although historians disagree on whether it represents veins or was added as a patriotic reference to the American flag.

Trump Accounts Revisited: Don’t Pass Up Free Money

A few months ago, I wrote about Trump Accounts when many of the details were still unknown. The accounts officially became available on July 4, so we now have a better understanding of how they work.

Think of a Trump Account as a starter retirement account for a child. It is not a college savings account or an account the child can freely spend when they turn 18.

Here are the important points.

1. Some children qualify for free money.

Children born from 2025 through 2028 may qualify for a one-time $1,000 federal contribution.

The Michael and Susan Dell Foundation has also pledged a separate $250 contribution for eligible children age 10 and under who live in Zip codes with a median household income below $150,000.

Some employers are also beginning to offer Trump Account contributions as an employee benefit.

None of this money arrives automatically. An account must first be properly established.

2. The parent normally opens the account.

In most cases, the parent or legal guardian opens the account. To claim the federal $1,000, the person opening it generally must be the person who claims, or expects to claim, the child on a tax return.

Grandparents and other relatives may contribute once the account is open, but they generally cannot open a separate account for the child when a parent or guardian is available.

3. Start at the government website.

The opening process has three basic steps:

1. 1. Begin at TrumpAccounts.gov.
   2. Submit IRS Form 4547 using the official app, an IRS online account, or with a tax return.
   3. After approval, activate the account at TrumpAccount.com.

New accounts are initially administered through Robinhood. You cannot presently open the original account directly at Schwab, Fidelity, or Vanguard, although transfers to those, or other firms may eventually become available.

4. Families can contribute up to $5,000 annually.

Parents, grandparents, and others may contribute, but total private and employer contributions generally cannot exceed $5,000 per child per year.

An employer may contribute up to $2,500, but that amount counts toward the $5,000 limit.

Family contributions are not tax-deductible. The investment growth is tax-deferred, not necessarily tax-free.

5. The money is invested in stocks.

During the child’s early years, the investment choices are limited to low-cost funds holding primarily American stocks. The current default investment tracks the S&P 500.

That gives the account significant long-term growth potential, but its value will rise and fall with the stock market.

6. This money is intended for retirement

Withdrawals generally cannot be made before age 18.

At age 18, the account becomes a traditional IRA under the child’s control. Withdrawals may then be taxable and may also face the traditional IRA 10% early-withdrawal penalty unless an exception applies.

That makes a Trump Account much less flexible than a 529 college plan or an ordinary investment account.

My Take

Claiming the available federal, Dell, or employer money should be the first priority. Free money is difficult to argue with.

Whether parents or grandparents should make substantial additional contributions is a separate question. If the main objective is education, a 529 plan will often provide greater tax benefits and flexibility. A Trump Account makes the most sense when the goal is to give a child an exceptionally early start on retirement savings.

Fun Fact: If a newborn receives the government’s $1,000 contribution and it earns an average return of 10% per year for 65 years—without anyone ever adding another dollar—it would grow to approximately $490,000. While no one can predict future investment returns, it’s a remarkable illustration of the power of compounding over a lifetime.

*Rules and procedures are current as of July 2026.

Ask if You Dare: Best Ways to Determine Longevity

When it comes to longevity and aging, I increasingly remind myself of the following: “Growing old is mandatory. Growing dull is entirely optional.” I try my best to keep it interesting, and make it a point to learn something new every day.

When it comes to retirement planning, you can’t avoid making a guesstimate about how long your money needs to last. One of my fancy retirement planning software programs politely uses the term “end of plan” to describe that important ending date. I don’t think they’re fooling anyone.

You may, for any number of reasons, including retirement planning, decide you want to take a more careful look at your expected longevity. The standard numbers for those retiring at age 65 look like this: The average male has 18.4 years of life expectancy remaining while the average female has 20.8 years. That’s based on the CDC’s final 2024 mortality data.

If you want to get further into the weeds, and possibly more exact for you personally, you could peruse the website longevityillustrator.org, which is very helpful in forecasting the combined life expectancy of a husband and wife. My wife is seven years younger than I am, so she has a much higher chance of living 30 years past my retirement age than I do. Based on that website, the conservative approach would be for my wife and me to plan our lives out for 35 years from next year. By the way, my wife is a buzzsaw when it comes to her career, so retirement is not in our cards anytime soon.

If you wonder how your personal health information and family history influence your life expectancy, then try Livingto100.com, which gets really detailed. I just ran through it this week, and it gets into everything from sleep to family history to whether you floss your teeth. Unfortunately, you do have to set up a free account before it will give you the estimate.

If you just want to keep it really basic, you can simply go to the Social Security Administration and type in your gender and age. By way of perspective, the Living to 100 website gave me 10 more years than the basic Social Security website.

Most retirement planning predictions are based on a 30-year retirement period. With the profound advancements in medicine and personal health in recent years, I expect life expectancies to continue to rise. In 2006, there were estimated to be 58,600 Americans over the age of 100. Just 18 years later, in 2024, that number had grown to 101,000. That’s a 72% increase.

When it comes to longevity and retirement planning, you can be general or more specific. The ball is in your court.

Fun Fact: The city known for the greatest longevity in the United States is likely Loma Linda, California. It’s one of the original “blue zones,” and both Honolulu, Hawaii, and San Jose, California, are close behind. Interestingly, Loma Linda is home to a large Seventh-day Adventist population, and the lifestyles of that population are consistent with longer lives—plant-based diet, no smoking, almost no alcohol and a commitment to rest and work detachment on the Sabbath. On average, men lived 7.3 years longer and women lived 4.4 years longer than comparable Californians.