Early Retirement Extreme Forums

<r>Hi JennyPenny, <br/>
Another thing to consider in any high traffic area is the mass transit offerings as they relate to potential living arrangements. I did some Google-ing and this is the site for the DC metro area:<br/>
<URL url="http://www.wmata.com/">http://www.wmata.com/</URL> <br/>
It may ...

<t>What boggles my mind are the folks (I've known several) who work for The Man for 30 (or more) years of their life... then go back to work in the same office as a contractor, all the while complaining about the job, the inefficiencies, the office politics... I really don't understand, it's like ...

<t>LS, I'm curious about how as a federal employee you've managed to let go of the "must work for 20 or 30 (or however long it takes to qualify) years to get my pension" idea. Most companies don't offer pension nowadays, not to mention the reduced health care costs from a federal retirement. Just ...

I prefer to donate to the local library or Goodwill, it seems to take less time and effort than craigslist or eBay ($$$). Then you can always write the donation(s) off on your taxes as a charitable deduction.

I second C40's remarks -- at the end of the day it's debt on a depreciating asset. You'd be a lot better off selling for a small profit/to break even or having someone take over payments then spending 5k on a five to ten year old vehicle with great mileage.

<r>Saw lendingclub.com advertised on mint.com then read an article on this P2P lending company. If it works, there's a great interest rate attached to loaning money to someone who checks out credit-wise. Does anyone here have experience with such things? Sounds like they have some good systems in ...

<r>Something to help with the snack urge that is also vv healthy from <URL url="http://nomnompaleo.com/">http://nomnompaleo.com/</URL><br/>
<URL url="http://nomnompaleo.com/post/15661311142/brussels-sprouts-chips"><LINK_TEXT text="http://nomnompaleo.com/post/15661311142 ... outs-chips">http ...

<t>Lentils, black beans with your veggies or peanut/almond butter are good high fiber/protein options to help make you feel full. Noticed my local grocer had tofu BOGO this week.<br/>
My challenge is sticking with an Atkins/Paleo diet on a budget. Thankfully this week HarrisTeeter has strip steak ...

SWR = ?

<t>At the moment I have a financial advisor with LPL Financial at 1% based on what he earns for me. Not sure if it was this forum or another that did the math on a 1% commission and the actual numbers were painful! I do this b/c I'm not yet confident that I have the knowledge/skills to do a good job ...

<t>Harris Teeter is fairly pricey however if you have the discipline to stick with loss leaders, you can walk out with 50% off of lots of great, nutritional items. This week several meats (steaks, pork loin, Jenny-O turkey burgers) and other items for BOGO, a few buy 2 get 3 free or 10 for $10 sales ...

<r>Anyone taken a look at the Vanguard HSA? The options look pretty good (granted I am not an expert investor):<br/>
<URL url="https://hsaadministrators.info/vanguard-funds-list">https://hsaadministrators.info/vanguard-funds-list</URL><br/>
@Dragline - "I would put the money in the HSA until it ...

<r>I'm been looking into this as health insurance (affording it in the long term) is a big concern for my ERE goals. I'm considering the Vanguard HSA as it has a decent portfolio. <br/>
Vanguard HSA: <URL url="https://personal.vanguard.com/us/whatweoffer/overview/healthsavings"><LINK_TEXT text ...

<t>@George - LOL I mentioned on the MMM site, if those MSN commenters saw the ERE forums their heads would explode. Which may do some of them a favor, judging from the repulsive remarks.<br/>
@Hoplite - there were a lot of folks that assumed illegal activity on MMM's part (i.e. tax evasion) and ...

<r>Congrats! Wish I was just starting out and came upon an ERE blog, you are SO ahead of the game. <br/>
Job hunt is tough but guess who is always hiring: <URL url="http://www.usajobs.gov/">http://www.usajobs.gov/</URL> <br/>
Just ran a search on "software engineer" and there were ~76 postings which ...

<r>Just wanted to drop a line on yesterday's MSN post of Mr Money Mustache's "how I retired at 30" article. Some of the responses from "readers" are ... mind-boggling. Flat-out hateful, it's such a pity.<br/>
<URL url="http://money.msn.com/retirement-plan/article.aspx?post=dd544488-f716-496b-b314 ...

Wouldn't this also depend upon your taxable income?
If you are in the high end of 25% or in the 28% tax bracket doesn't it make sense tax-wise to put the max out both Roth and 401k? I've been doing this for years to prevent overpaying The Man on 15 April.

<r>Over a year ago I dropped my AT&T prepaid and went with Tracfone (<URL url="http://www.tracfone.com/">http://www.tracfone.com/</URL>), it's a much cheaper alternative. Note that some Tracfone phones offer "double minutes for life". I purchased a double minutes for life phone and yes, all my ...

<r>Hi Nico, <br/>
I think a lot of folks experience the exact same sense of "what if", I know I do! This is a great post about the importance of safety margins on MMM's site which I found quite handy:<br/>
<URL url="http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/10/17/its-all-about-the-safety-margin/"><LINK ...