Stan Benson's Web Page
I'm a semi-retired software developer, turned financial planner. I now manage our family retirement office. Born and raised in Albuquerque, NM, I earned a BS in Business Information Systems back in the `80s after doing an 8-year enlistment in the US Navy, where I was a computer technician. While attending classes at CU Boulder part time, I worked for Bell Labs as a programmer for about 8 years, and then spent 10 years with IBM in the 90s where my software development skills grew to include project planning and management. I started investing in mutual funds in the `80s, in the `90s I turned my attention directly to the stocks market, and in the `00s earned a post-graduate certificate in financial planning, did some prop trading, and had the opportunity to work with and for many professionals servicing Wall Street in the New York area. I have a passion for trading and investing, retirement planning, and computer automation. Over the last twenty plus years, I've learned how to be, initially, a Consistently Profitable Trader, and later, a true Market Professional (i.e., someone that can make their living in The Market for tradable securities).
My wife Linda was born and raised in Jacksonville, FL. We met in `81 at the local community college. At that time, I was attending classes part-time while stationed at the Naval Air Base. In the summer of `82, as my enlistment was ending, we agreed to hook-up and move out to Boulder, CO, where she would continue to attend classes full-time and I would work for Bell Labs full-time and continue my education part-time at CU. We had a lot of ups and downs in our early years. Truth be told, we both had to learn how to build a good marriage. All relationships require work, patience, and a healthy measure of respect; but I have to confess, being married to Linda is my best investment ever.
Here are some pictures of us ranging from when we first met to when we retired.
It has been a wonderful life, well lived, and with few regrets.
In the summer of 2023,
my extended family purchased additional property in the
Brazos Mountains, NM.
My brother and his wife were able to acquire a charming cabin that surprisingly came back onto the market while we were there.
My sister and brother-in-law already had a wonderful cabin that backed up to the spectacular and private
Ticonderoga wildlife preserve.
My sister and I (and spouses) were able to jointly buy two contiguous 5+ acre lot in Ticonderoga.
The following pictures were taken there.
This web page gives me a chance to write about a subject that is very important to me,
my quest for Health, Happiness, and Financial Freedom.
I define financial freedom as having the skill and capital needed to retire in reasonable comfort
without eating into that capital base (our retirement savings).
I do these pages mainly for my personal benefit as this effort helps me to organize and clarify my thoughts.
I make these pages public to give friends and family a chance to learn from my life experiences
and in hopes of fostering synergy with like-minded peers.
I do this in a number of papers. In the first, I address my General Philosophy on life.
The second is an Open Letter to the Next Generation,
which is my attempt to share knowledge I've mostly had to learn the hard way.
And in my third set of papers,
I share my Simple Two-by-Four Approach to trading and investing,
a Summary of Investment Insights,
my general understanding of the Economy and Markets (a deeper look),
and a set of rules that govern my Retirement Plan.
Warning: These web pages, like my life, are a work in progress and subject to change.
If you've been here before, please reload (F5) the page to ensure that you have the latest information.
Also, please inform me of any typos you find, about information that is unclear and especially about information that seems wrong.
I reserve the right to be wrong and to change my mind when presented with new information.