Early Retirement Extreme Forums

<r>An update after a month . . . I had high expectations for retirement and I am pleased to say that, so far, they have been exceeded. It is such a joy to wake up every morning to do what I want to do and on my schedule. Time was flying by at such a rapid rate but the most amazing thing happened, it...

<t>Now only two days left! <br/> I am getting the usual mix of responses from my colleagues. From those who are supportive and even envious to several who say I will be bored and want my job back. Come on! I hope to fly my homebuilt airplane all over North America instead of sitting behind a desk st...

<r>Well, now the start of my last week!<br/> Yes, my employer pays my insurance in retirement. I have to pay my contribution which is under $100.00 a month for very good coverage. It is the only thing I get from them other than the contributions they made to my 403b plan while I was working.<br/> I'...

<t>This morning I went to Human Resources and signed the paperwork. My last day at work will be next Friday. I'm not really ERE as I am 55 but still, over at HR, they thought I was awfully young to retire. I have been planning for this for over 10 years and I am almost there! <br/> BTW, all I get fr...

<t>I have always thought that a small amount of long term capital gains should be tax free. If it was, let say, $20K a year that would allow a retiree to supplement their income by selling appreciated assets. All other long term capital gains would be taxed as regular income. The problem with the cu...

<t>I agree with jasonr . . . I know some frugal Mormons and I know one couple on their way towards consumption fueled bankruptcy. Well, they would be if not for the fact that they went that route about 6-7 years ago. The first time taught them nothing.<br/> About the Amish. I was photographing in a ...

I take issue with #2) Money matters is not likely to cause divorce.
When one is on board for saving and the other is not it often leads to divorce. Been there, done that!
Choose carefully.

<r>For a few years I want to travel and explore. First, the US and Canada by air:<br/> <URL url="http://www.flyinglowandslow.com/blog/the-plan/">http://www.flyinglowandslow.com/blog/the-plan/</URL><br/> Then the Caribbean and perhaps Europe by sailboat. I sailed the east coast of the US and then the...

<t>As an aside . . .<br/> One day I was looking for someone at work to turn in some paperwork. I was told she was sick. The next day when I went to see her she confessed that she had a bad case of "anal glaucoma". She explained that when she woke up the previous morning she just could not see her as...

<r>I'm planning something similar. I am 54 an plan to retire at 55. I should have enough dividend income from a taxable account to provide about one half of my expenses. I may be able to make up the rest from a part time job/business I started about a year ago. But as a "plan b" I can take IRS 72(t)...

<t>I called it quits many years ago and went sailing for 3 years. After that, back to work but always planning to get out as soon as feasible. And feasible should be in about 10 months. Why then? Lots of things come together around that time. My son will graduate college in a few months and that exp...

<t>I love this comment posted to yahoo as several on this forum have similar issues:<br/> "i could and would love to live like this guy.i get 2700 a mo. from SS and pension..all i want is a fishing boat and a RV to live in ..but i have one proablem ...a wife..she does not like anything i do.out door...

@JohnnyH: I think that is what the 529 plans allow. Like an IRA for college while the state plans offer a guarantee of tuition regardless of how much it goes up.

<t>When I moved to TX almost 20 years ago they were just setting up their plan. They closed it several years later. My kids were older than yours but the youngest is still in college. I enrolled all three and paid a lump sum. You might not want to hear what the prepaid cost was for 120 credits in a ...

I'm reading this book now . . . for the second time. As I am getting close to RE, I picked it up again for inspiration, motivation and planning. Anyone in the ERE mindset should enjoy it. It is a nice escape in its own way.

<t>I had a car that was "totaled" and signed the title over to the insurance company. The short story is that it was eventually repaired and put back on the road but the title was never transferred. I got a call over a year later (at about 2:00AM) from the police as they were in pursuit of "my" car ...

I'm planning on being there.

<t>I am a state employee and have a 403(b) plan which is very similar to a 401(k). Like the 401(k), I can take withdrawals penalty free at 55 if I "retire". So, I asked at our HR department what that meant, Did it mean that I could never come back to work? I was told that I could come back to work a...