My father and I recently had our annual recorded discussion about money. This one went mostly okay.

Logan Sachon: What are you watching?

Mike Sachon: I flip between CNBC and Bloomberg. Trying to keep abreast of the world stock markets and the world economies, since I’m invested in some domestic stocks and some foreign stocks. And some foreign ETFs.

LS: What’s an ETF?

MS: It’s baskets of foreign stocks, is what it is, basically.

LS: How do you pick what you’re going to invest in?

MS: I read Barron’s magazine and I watch these television shows, and I do research at the online brokerage.

LS: So you make your own investment decisions?

MS: Right.

LS: And you’ve always done it that way?

MS: Yeah. I started investing in a tax-sheltered savings, like a 403(b) since I was a public employee. It’s the same as a 401(k), but the tax rules about it are different, slightly. I started doing that when I was about 30.

Logan: I'm trying to decide whether to ask you, the birthday boy, to ... lend me money to pay for your birthday dinner, or to ask one of the other participants — who I don't know as well — to lend me money to pay for your dinner. Mike: Does that mean you're asking me right now?

Logan and Mike check-in.

Logan: I've been doing a lot of Thinking this week, Mike Dang. Last week was my birthday which promotes thinking about aging. And then I had some old and dear friends come into town, which promotes thinking about life changes, then versus now, etc.