Early Retirement Extreme Forums

right around the 3.0% I believe. Edit: I suppose I ought to clarify what I'm actually counting as well: my numbers exclude the condo (because it's not an investment property) and the expenses continue to include the mortgage payment. If I netted out the outstanding mortgage and the total investments...

Well, at the last Chicago get-together it was suggested that I should post about a successful across the finish line. I'll throw something up in the Journals, but for here I can pull out my trusty tracking spreadsheet (started in 2006). For the WR, i'm just going to use my ballpark current budget wi...

Honestly, I treated pre-paying debt (ahead of required schedule) in two ways: 1) round up to next number (whether the next round $10, $50, $100, whatever seemed reasonable) and set the autopayment on that. I still have this setup on my mortgage, and I'm pre-paying the principle by around $250/month....

It was good to see everyone! Long time no posting, but good to catch up as well. Hopefully I won't be a stranger this coming year.

For what it's worth, I've found the comments sections on The Economist website to be pretty high level for the most part, in particular on the blog posts (since it tends to be more the regulars rather than outside visitors). The level tends to drop when there is a major article about China or India,...

<t>Be sure that you consider any extra costs - my HSA plan (through work) has a $3/mo fee if the account has less than $3000. Also, since I believe that you can use HSA funds for COBRA premiums, I don't expect to have a problem spending them at some point (and thus avoiding taxes), so I tend to trea...

<t>look up the CREATE project in Chicago for the modernization of freight and passenger rail in Chicago. Major project to get some of the bottleneck that's evolved straightened out. I agree about commuter trains - in Chicago Metra sustains a huge number of suburban workers, but almost all have cars ...

<t>I'm a fan of diversified investment - I own a small condo a block from the largest freshwater body of water, in a city in the heart of food-growing country with cold winters (global warming would likely extend growing season as Kentucky et al fry), and Chicago is the major rail transit hub in the...

<t>alright, so the midpoint of that is 2025, or 13 years out. While the kids of folks our age might be screwed, you managed financial independence in 5 years. I've passed baseline, and I'm increasing to where I'd like my comfort level of lifestyle to be, and I've been working for about 9 of the last...

<t>I've been a member on that board for about 5 years, and reading it longer than that. It was a big help to me in my planning, as well as just having the sense that 1)it's being done and it's very doable and 2)I'm way the hell ahead of the pack in general, which for me helps find what I consider a ...

Jacob - you're being badly spoiled by this winter so far. Chicago can get bitter cold with a wind that cuts. I'm not complaining - I'm loving this mild winter so far, but don't assume that this is anything like normal. Just enjoy it while it lasts

<t>Jacob,<br/> Welcome to Chicago! Glad to hear that things are working out so far - which neighborhood did you end up in? If you're looking for some potential activities, send me a message. Particularly if you're interested in sailing on some of the ships this summer as a volunteer or just to get o...

<r>akratic, I'd volunteer the same 3-day weekend and we can share travel expenses. I don't know that I'm willing/able to buy one, but my brother may be looking to replace a shack on the dairy farm that the herder lives in if he buys the business in the next two years, and this could be a great solut...

<t>I don't know the california market, but you may be able to look into lowering your mortgage rate. I was able to modify mine about a week ago to 4.75 with citimortgage. They already owned the loan, so it was $475 for the modification (they just checked income, since they weren't taking on addition...

<r>Well, I majored in Mechanical Engineering and Economics (minor in models and data analysis... sort of seems like I was studying for ERE), and I've ended up working for a Civil firm, starting out with high speed rail design, then moving (with a layoff and hire-back) into transportation - mostly hi...

<t>Of course there's also the other side - filling in a last minute sail Tues until 11 pm, office in the morning, working a Wed night sail and getting home at 1 am this morning, and then going to the office. I will enjoy the weeknight sailing far far more when I've graduated from the need to get up ...

<t>Not wildly paid per hour (though not badly at 1st mate) but the tips generally average over $10/hr, which makes a big difference. A big difference for me though, is that all my office salary is budgeted, saved hard off the top, etc. The income from the boat, I tend to send the salary straight to ...

<t>Jacob, that would have been Windy.<br/> Just home from sailing, made over $700 in 2 days sailing, beautiful weather. Cooked, tired, have incredible leftovers and drinks left from the last sail's catering. Morning at the office will be rough, but being able to sit will be nice for a change. I hope...

<t>Congratulations! Sounds like about the ideal boat-owning experience. Speaking as someone who works on boats and seen people spend immense amounts of time and money (paying me in many cases) to keep them up, operate them, and buy bigger boats, I'd say your experience was perfect. My recommendation...

<r>I've talked about my second job working on a (big) sailboat on Lake Michigan, and the boat has a new owner this year. He would like to increase our volunteer sailing program. Anyone here interested with a possible eye to a part-time job next summer? The boat is a 77' wooden schooner and runs priv...