Star*Bucks ERE Journal

Where are you and where are you going?
Star*Bucks
Posts: 288
Joined: Wed Mar 05, 2014 10:27 am
Location: California

Re: Star*Bucks ERE Journal

Post by Star*Bucks »

Q1 2019:



Q1 Progress

January + $9,687
February + $3,205
March + $5,211

Total Q1Progress $18,103


Current SWR 4.49%

It’s been a decent quarter.

Generation-X
Posts: 50
Joined: Mon May 06, 2013 4:43 am

Re: Star*Bucks ERE Journal

Post by Generation-X »

Star*Bucks wrote:
Mon Apr 01, 2019 2:15 pm
... I rolled over my IRA twice within a 12 month period which is against tax law/rule. I never knew there was such a rule and I don’t think it should even exist! The banks/brokerages can transfer the IRA’s (MY MONEY) between one another an unlimited amount of times but me trying to be a good steward of my life savings and moving the money to get 1% more interest is the big problem for the IRS. In the big scheme of things I would have been better off never contributing to my 401k’s/IRA’s in the first place because now that I’m making so much more money the amount in taxes I will pay is at the highest bracket, I also have a 10% “early withdrawal” penalty, and a possible 6% penalty for some other bullshit. This law was passed in 2015 which is why I didn’t know anything about it. I’ve contacted a CPA and just waiting to hear back from him. I can literally lose more than 50% of my IRA.
According to IRS if this is a trustee to trustee transfer, this isn't considered a rollover and exempt from this rule. Otherwise, relief appears unlikely, due to the tax court ruling - Bobrow v Commissioner Tax Court.

https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/ir ... -year-rule

https://www.kitces.com/blog/understandi ... transfers/

Star*Bucks
Posts: 288
Joined: Wed Mar 05, 2014 10:27 am
Location: California

Re: Star*Bucks ERE Journal

Post by Star*Bucks »

April 2019 Update:


Current Assets:
Cash $101,035
401k $1,169
IRA $40,322
Roth IRA $163,577
HSA $16,330
Home $70,000
Car $13,300

Current Debts:
Credit Card -$142

Prior Months Net Worth $401,466
Current Net Worth $405,591

Net Worth Increase of $4,125

Prior Months SWR 4.49%
Current SWR 4.44%

Finance:

Alright, so the big issue I had to tackle in April was my IRA Debacle. Due to rolling over my Traditional IRA 1 too many times in a 12 month period. I was lucky enough to still be within the 60 day window so I was able to convert the 150k Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. This means taxes will be due for 2019 Federal Tax Returns but I will avoid all the other penalties. I’ve dropped my payroll withholdings for State & Federal to zero but I estimate by the end of the year Federal taxes withheld will be 25k-30k and I’m expecting to owe approximately 75k in Federal Taxes (haven’t researched State Taxes yet). My goal is to pay the majority these taxes in the most efficient way and to not pull current money out of savings/CD’s which are currently earning 3% interest or more. I am also planning to pay quarterly Federal Taxes to avoid penalties & fees for under withholding.

I applied; and was approved for 2 Credit Cards. Both cards have a bonus of $150 each when you spend 3k or more in the first 3 months. Both cards are cash back cards; one being 1% and the other being 1.5% cash back, they have no annual fee, and best of all they both have zero interest for the first 15 statement cycles. So the following is what I plan to do in May for Q2 Estimated Federal Tax Payment

-Card#1 $5,000 Spend
1.5% Cash Back $75
Bonus $150
Credit Card Processing Fee 1.87% -$93.50
Total $131.50

-Card#2 $5,000 Spend
1% Cash Back $50
Bonus $150
Credit Card Processing Fee 1.87% -$93.50
Total $106.50


So I will be at a Net Positive of $238 after these first transactions. I will pay 1k per month towards these two credit cards with only the minimum payment due on the 1% Cash back card and the rest of the 1k towards the 1.5% cash back card. In September (the end of Q3) I plan to put 15k on the 1.5% cash back card. The cost of the transaction after the fee charged and cash back received will be $55.50. So I will still be at a Net Positive of $182.50 and I will have 15k remaining due in Q4 of the 40k that I wanted to pay in quarterly tax payments for 2019. This is where I plan to apply for another card which has a zero percent balance transfer offer in late November. I’ll transfer the balance from my 1.5% cash back card & charge the final 15k on it again in Q4 getting me to my 40k goal and still a Net Positive after all these transactions of $127. This is the tentative game plan anyways and I like the fact my money is staying in accounts earning interest.

I learned while doing my research that I’m still eligible to contribute to a Roth IRA since conversion money isn’t counted as earned income when calculating for IRA contributions eligibility. I also learned that as long as you pay the IRS 85% of what you owe them before year ending there will not be any penalties for under withholding. This is good because I’m estimating I will owe between 73k-78k and I am planing to pay between 65k-70k total by year end; which is well over the 85% mark.

May will be a 3 paycheck month. I hope this will be enough to offset the 10k in debt I will take on so my NetWorth will stay flat or go down just by a little bit. Big Bills in April were Property Taxes and paying off the 2018 Tax Bill I owed. My mother cashed that $2,500 check I sent to her last month so she could pay off her credit card.

Fitness:
Did a couple of jog/runs shortest one being 3 miles. I need to get better running shoes. I have Plantar Fasciitis and really need supporting shoes.

Fun:
My main source of enjoyment came from watching Game of Thrones. I’ve waited a long time for this final season. Haven’t had time to do much else. To date I’ve still only had 1 day off in 2019.


Goals for April were:
-Get my taxes straightened out DONE

Goals for May:
-Declutter, donate things I’m not using and throw away the rest
-Pay Q-2 Estimated Federal Tax Payment
-Go get a good pair of running shoes

User avatar
unemployable
Posts: 1007
Joined: Mon Jan 08, 2018 11:36 am
Location: Homeless

Re: Star*Bucks ERE Journal

Post by unemployable »

Star*Bucks wrote:
Wed May 01, 2019 2:11 pm
Alright, so the big issue I had to tackle in April was my IRA Debacle. Due to rolling over my Traditional IRA 1 too many times in a 12 month period. I was lucky enough to still be within the 60 day window so I was able to convert the 150k Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. This means taxes will be due for 2019 Federal Tax Returns but I will avoid all the other penalties.
Did you do this due to advice someone gave you on another thread here? More to the point, did I save you $15k because you're not paying the 10% penalty on the $150k?

Considering how the $150k pushed you into a much higher tax bracket I would consider contributing to a traditional IRA rather than a Roth this year.

States are weird on the subject of taxing conversions. Illinois used to consider the whole thing "retirement income" and didn't tax it, although Colorado taxed me after I moved there and did a conversion.

Be very careful about taking capital gains for the rest of 2019, such as to pay those taxes. You may end up paying the capital gains tax at a higher rate (the obamacare tax) because your income is so high.
I am also planning to pay quarterly Federal Taxes to avoid penalties & fees for under withholding.
This shouldn't be necessary. You don't owe a withholding penalty if you make more in year X+1 than in year X but only make witholdings/estimated payments as if you had year X's income.

Separately I don't like counting the value of cars in net worth for several reasons: they do nothing but depreciate, their terminal value is zero or close thereto and you might as well write it off at the start, you can't get an "equity loan" on your car, you always get less than you think when you sell and if you do go without a car you still have to get around somehow and public transportation isn't free.

classical_Liberal
Posts: 2283
Joined: Sun Mar 20, 2016 6:05 am

Re: Star*Bucks ERE Journal

Post by classical_Liberal »

Hey Star*Bucks!

I just read through your entire journal. Yours is the second journal on here I've read in it's entirety over the past couple of weeks. I can't believe I've missed it before, many similarities in our paths. I too completely restarted my life at $0 financially circa 2009 and found ERE at a similar age. You've done such a great job recording your journey over the years. It's greatly appreciated and entertaining!

I'm really sorry to read about the tax situation. It sucks bad! I have an alternative thought here. Would you consider just quitting your job now and taking a sabbatical? Hear me out, because I have a few good points. Reducing your earned income in 2019 would significantly reduce the amount of the IRA conversion that ends up in the 32-35% bracket, saving a big chunk of the 75K in taxes, no? You could use that tax savings to take the rest of the year off. Spend time with your family, finally reach some of your fitness goals, get a taste of what all that free time feels like. Secondly, you have been pushing full force at up to 100 hrs a week for a very long time. I realize you have a ton of things you want to do once FI, but I think that transition is going to be very difficult. More so for you than average, given the time commitment work has been taking from you. Plan on reentering the workforce next year for your last push to FI with a MUCH better idea what being FI is really like. Alternatively, you are very close to your financial goals anyway, even after the tax hit. After the sabbatical you could choose to take a semi-ERE approach for 5 years, work some, travel a lot, date some, etc while the Roth seasons. Then, at least, you'll not have to pay much in the way of taxes later and have a more stepped down approach to retirement vs the 100 mph to dead stop you currently have planned. Give it some serious thought.

No matter what you choose, I wish you the best of luck going forward!

Star*Bucks
Posts: 288
Joined: Wed Mar 05, 2014 10:27 am
Location: California

Re: Star*Bucks ERE Journal

Post by Star*Bucks »

unemployable wrote:
Wed May 01, 2019 2:43 pm
Did you do this due to advice someone gave you on another thread here? More to the point, did I save you $15k because you're not paying the 10% penalty on the $150k?
Hi, actually I didn’t make any decisions based on the thread although I appreciate everyone who gave their input. I emailed Brandon from the MadFIentist blog and podcast. I reached out to him because he was the first person I began to listen to back in 2012 or 2013 about early retirement. He responded to my email basically stating he wasn’t sure and if he was in my shoes he would just call the info line at the IRS and ask them. That is exactly what I did and I got all my questions answered that way. The lady told me all the info could be found on Publication 590-A and I went to the IRS website downloaded the pdf and hit print. I had no clue how big of a pdf that was. I would have much rather just popped into the IRS office and grabbed one, but now I have to refill my printer ink :)
unemployable wrote:
Wed May 01, 2019 2:43 pm
Considering how the $150k pushed you into a much higher tax bracket I would consider contributing to a traditional IRA rather than a Roth this year.
I earn too much money to get any benefits from contributing to a Traditional IRA and to be quite honest I may end up earning just over the threshold to be able to contribute to a Roth IRA. I will try to pull back on the OT as the year comes to a close if it gets close.

unemployable wrote:
Wed May 01, 2019 2:43 pm
Be very careful about taking capital gains for the rest of 2019, such as to pay those taxes. You may end up paying the capital gains tax at a higher rate (the obamacare tax) because your income is so high.
As I stated, I will not be moving any of my positions, so there will be no Capital Gains issues. I will pay this tax debt with earned income and floating zero percent interest credit card debt.

Star*Bucks
Posts: 288
Joined: Wed Mar 05, 2014 10:27 am
Location: California

Re: Star*Bucks ERE Journal

Post by Star*Bucks »

classical_Liberal wrote:
Thu May 02, 2019 12:33 am
Would you consider just quitting your job now and taking a sabbatical?
My brother, that is ALL I thought about in late March and ALL of April (I was so pissed). I began looking for work overseas because of the foreign work exclusion letting a person earn 100k tax free annually if you fit a certain criteria, but then I calmed myself down. I purchased my Prius brand new in February 2016 and had it paid off in 6 months. That’s almost 23k of debt I wiped out but now I will have to pay nearly double that and within a 8 month period of time. I am making more money now than I was then and getting more overtime but that’s still a ridiculous amount of money to pay in such a short period of time.

I’ve decided to stay in the trenches since I’m in my groove. The tax hit will be hard but I believe I am still better off working after weighing all the Pros/Cons. I am still confident that I will hit my 460k goal by this time next year. In an ideal world, by June 2020 I will have sold my house and all excess belongings, be living with my family who live 2 hours from me currently, and be FI. I will still be working with my company; I will just transfer locations and I will be taking a ton of vacation time. The money I will be earning through payroll will go towards assisting my parents financially, expensive trips like Japan & Western Europe because when I am FIRE (fully quit) I will be traveling through the cheaper parts of the world like a frugal backpacker since I will want to make my nest egg last as long as possible.

In a nutshell I didn’t think I could take it mentally if my NW went backwards. Which if I traveled I would be spending money, I would still have a tax bill to pay; albeit reduced, and no income coming in. Whereas if I keep working then my NW will stay where it was when I found out about my flub ($401,466) or it will go up. Chances are it will go up. I appreciate you reading, it’s been a steep uphill climb and I’m happy to be so close now. I can already taste the Kobe beef and Asahi beer :)

Star*Bucks
Posts: 288
Joined: Wed Mar 05, 2014 10:27 am
Location: California

Re: Star*Bucks ERE Journal

Post by Star*Bucks »

May 2019 Update:


Current Assets:
Cash $110,642
401k $623
IRA $40,197
Roth IRA $162,943
HSA $15,340
Home $70,000
Car $13,300

Current Debts:
Credit Card -$10,017

Prior Months Net Worth $405,591
Current Net Worth $403,028

Net Worth Decrease of -$2,563

Prior Months SWR 4.44%
Current SWR 4.466%

Finance:
Had to purchase new tires for the Prius. I lucked out and got to Costco on the last day of a great sale; $129 off 4 new tires. Total was just over $400 after all taxes and fees. So I found myself stuck at Costco for almost 3 hours waiting for my car. I tried killing time at the food court & I shopped the isles purchased some things that were great deals and I ended up paying $135 for my items. Stores like Costco are very clever to put a service center at their locations; provides idle customers to do nothing more than spend money.

Got my second day off of 2019! It was spent running errands. I already had new tires at this point but it was time for an oil change and the key fob needed a new battery. I do all the work myself not only to save money but because I have trust issues with repair shops.

Paid my Q2 estimated federal tax payment of 10k. I also spent nearly $600 on odds n ends for work. There was a Memorial Day sale of 20% off so that’s why I decided to pull the trigger and make those purchases. I have been putting most of my expenses on the 1.5% cash back credit card and I had stored bonuses on my other cards, so I decided to use the stored rewards as cash back statement credit. The credit was over $1,500!! I will receive the $300 in statement credit from the 10k of spend next month ($150 x 2 Bonus for spending 3k with in the first 3 months).

Received Roll Over/Transfer checks from both of my remaining small 401k’s and deposited them in an IRA at my credit union. If it wasn’t for the loss in stock value due to these trade wars I think I could have broke even or even increased my NetWorth in May.

Fitness/Health:
Found out I have been ridiculously low on my fiber intake. Now I have a fiber bar with one of my daily meals as a desert and I will have another as my last meal. Not necessarily right before I go to bed but just as the final thing I consume in a day. No exercise this month other than getting in 10k plus steps a day mostly at work.

Fun:
None...

Goals for May:
-Declutter, donate things I’m not using and throw away the rest FAIL!!
-Pay Q-2 Estimated Federal Tax Payment DONE!!
-Go get a good pair of running shoes FAIL!!

Goals for June:
-Get a good pair of running shoes
-Go running or do some sort of regular exercise

Frita
Posts: 942
Joined: Thu Mar 15, 2018 8:43 pm

Re: Star*Bucks ERE Journal

Post by Frita »

I notice you skipped the decluttering goal this month. Are you trying a different strategy?

Star*Bucks
Posts: 288
Joined: Wed Mar 05, 2014 10:27 am
Location: California

Re: Star*Bucks ERE Journal

Post by Star*Bucks »

Frita wrote:
Sat Jun 01, 2019 3:10 pm
I notice you skipped the decluttering goal this month. Are you trying a different strategy?
Naw, I just didn't want to write down a goal I knew I wasn't going to be able to accomplish. June will be very busy work wise since lots of people are taking vacations and we were already short handed to begin with. I definitely plan to declutter and give away/sell a bunch of things, but I will probably get to it within the next 3 months. Too Much work for one month. I got a lot of "junk".

Frita
Posts: 942
Joined: Thu Mar 15, 2018 8:43 pm

Re: Star*Bucks ERE Journal

Post by Frita »

Decluttering can certainly seem like a Cisyphusian task. I struggle with it too, simplistically wanting to view it as an event and not a process. I seem to accumulate faster than I use up or purge.

With the extra work demands from covering vacations, June should fly by.

Star*Bucks
Posts: 288
Joined: Wed Mar 05, 2014 10:27 am
Location: California

Re: Star*Bucks ERE Journal

Post by Star*Bucks »

June 2019 Update:


Current Assets:
Cash $116,587
401k $886
IRA $40,713
Roth IRA $164,159
HSA $16,471
Home $70,000
Car $13,300

Current Debts:
Credit Card -$9,341

Prior Months Net Worth $403,028
Current Net Worth $412,775

Net Worth Increase of $9,747

Prior Months SWR 4.466%
Current SWR 4.361%

Finance:
Finally had a good month! Next Tax Payment will not be until September so I have 2 months to sandbag the NetWorth.

Annual Homeowners Insurance Premium of $600 otherwise everything else was normal.

Fitness/Health:
Down 5 pounds thanks strictly to cleaning up my diet a bit. Far from perfect and I had several cheat meals throughout the month but most meals were healthy. No additional exercise was done besides my normal walking 10k+ steps per day.

Fun:
None.

Goals for June were:
-Get a good pair of running shoes FAIL
-Go running or do some sort of regular exercise FAIL


Goals for July:
-Get a good pair of running shoes
-Go running or do some sort of regular exercise

Star*Bucks
Posts: 288
Joined: Wed Mar 05, 2014 10:27 am
Location: California

Re: Star*Bucks ERE Journal

Post by Star*Bucks »

Q2 2019:



Q2 Progress

April + $4,125
May - $2,563
June + $9,747

Total Q2 Progress $11,309


Current SWR 4.361%

My last paycheck closed out the first 6 Months of 2019 and it showed 73k gross earnings!! Best 6 months I’ve ever had earnings wise. Social Security stops taking tax at 130k I believe and I am looking to exceed that amount if things continue the way they are. Hopefully that means I will see a bit more on each one of my final checks of this year.

4.361% SWR!!! That’s so close to 4% now! Never been this close. I’m very excited!

classical_Liberal
Posts: 2283
Joined: Sun Mar 20, 2016 6:05 am

Re: Star*Bucks ERE Journal

Post by classical_Liberal »

You are so close to your goal!! Congrats! Don't get sucked into the, very temping, habit of raising the goal post.

thrifty++
Posts: 1171
Joined: Sat May 23, 2015 3:46 pm

Re: Star*Bucks ERE Journal

Post by thrifty++ »

Wow you are cranking it! Must be feeling really good now yeah. You chipped away at it initially and over time the growth has started to become huge. I hope I am in your type of situation within a few years.

Star*Bucks
Posts: 288
Joined: Wed Mar 05, 2014 10:27 am
Location: California

Re: Star*Bucks ERE Journal

Post by Star*Bucks »

classical_Liberal wrote:
Fri Jul 05, 2019 2:28 am
You are so close to your goal!! Congrats! Don't get sucked into the, very temping, habit of raising the goal post.
Thanks!! Your comment has got me writing another my friend.

Star*Bucks
Posts: 288
Joined: Wed Mar 05, 2014 10:27 am
Location: California

Re: Star*Bucks ERE Journal

Post by Star*Bucks »

thrifty++ wrote:
Fri Jul 05, 2019 1:19 pm
Wow you are cranking it! Must be feeling really good now yeah. You chipped away at it initially and over time the growth has started to become huge. I hope I am in your type of situation within a few years.
Thanks Thrifty, you got it buddy. Time & Consistency... I can't wait until I am FI so I can have more time to go back and read the really good journals here like I use to back when I had 2 days off a week. So far I've only had 2 days off this year, :lol: Not Complaining just running to the finish line... Take Care Thrifty

Star*Bucks
Posts: 288
Joined: Wed Mar 05, 2014 10:27 am
Location: California

Re: Star*Bucks ERE Journal

Post by Star*Bucks »

I thought I would put a post out showing exactly what I’ve been thinking/planning. Hopefully I can hit some of these targets or get close to them.

Historical Annual Progress:
2014’s NetWorth Increase $24,786
2015’s NetWorth Increase $43,912
2016’s NetWorth Increase $76,342
2017’s NetWorth Increase $68,122
2018’s NetWorth Increase $70,282

As you can see in the graph above I was averaging roughly 72k NetWorth annually over the last 3 years; which averages out to 6k per month. Now 2019 was gearing up to be the biggest year for me but I made that mistake of rolling over my IRA more than once in a 12 month period; so this will hinder this years progress significantly.

We have 6 months remaining in 2019 so I should increase my NetWorth by 36k (6 Months x 6k average monthly progress) but since I still have to pay the IRS 30k My NetWorth should only go up by 6k from where it is at now.

$412,775 As of 6/30/2019
$6,000 Increase by 12/31/2019

$418,775 NetWorth by the end of 2019. I’m going to round this up to 420k for simplicity which leaves me 40k shy of my goal of 460k. So at 6k per month average I should reach my goal sometime between August & October of 2020 (Depending on how much the State of CA hits me for in regards to 2019 State Taxes). I hope I hit my goal in time to prep and sell my home before the next property tax payment is due. Then I will move back in with my family and get to spend time with the people I care about and haven’t seen much of over these years.

Once back home I will still be working for the same company I just plan to transfer to the location near my families home as I stated in a post here on June 01, 2019. Then the plan will be to work for an additional 12-18 months. Not necessarily to increase my net worth any longer but to take care of things that are important to me.

-I’d like to cut a check to my brother for 9k. On the January 2017 Update post I made I shared that my brother & I purchased our sister a 2017 Nissan Pathfinder. I paid 5k and my brother paid the rest ($23,000). Me giving him 9k would get us to a place where we both chipped in 50/50 on the Pathfinder. My sister is taking full care of two kids who are autistic and it is an absolute miracle that she is even still able to work a part time job.

-Living with my family will decrease my cost of living but not by much since I plan on helping my parents and sister out. I plan to give my sister $250 per month to help her get by with her bills, pay for gas, etc. I could just give her 3k upfront for the year but I think the $250 monthly will be a better idea. I also plan on paying the property taxes for my mothers home. This category will have a 10k budget for the year. It will cover miscellaneous things like taking my mother to Costco etc. My mother and father live on a very small social security income which is not enough to cover all of their expenses, so my brother and I help out.

-I’d like to stash away 15k and put it towards what maybe a future hobby/side gig. I’ve always wanted a quality camera and accessories ie lenses, filters, carry bag, etc. Taking on a hobby of photography may lead to being able to make money selling stock photos.

Another part of the budget will be towards a computer. Back in the day I use to buy PC’s mainly Dell and they worked good for the first 8 months or so but then they would slow down and I would have to work hard in order to make them function. Like defragmenting files, running virus scanning software, rebooting, etc. Those computers would need to be replaced roughly every 2 years and I just got sick of it so in the Summer of 2007 I purchased an Apple iMac Computer. Going in I knew it was an expensive purchase which I was ok with as long as it lasted me at least 5 years and that has always been my goal with computers; 5 years of trouble free use. Well that iMac lasted until Summer 2015, 8 Years!! And it had very few problems. I could have taken it in for repairs but I decided to just get a MacBook Pro laptop since I was planning to travel. Well, it’s been 4 years with this MacBook Pro and just like the iMac I’ve had no issues, but when the problem does arise I will have this budget to purchase something nice from Apple. If this hobby is successful I will also need a large and even expandable data storage solution for the files. I’m still a very frugal person and when/if I make these purchases chances are it will be during a big Black Friday sale and the budget is purposefully inflated because I want to be able to add a drone or other accessory if I find the need for them.

-I hope to take 2 separate 1 month vacations during this period of time. So I would be loosing the income earned which is 12k (6k x 2 months) as well as the money being spent during those 2 months which I’m budgeting 10k (5k x 2 months) So total for this category is 22k.

To Recap, If I make 72k during that 12 months I live with my family I will subtract
-9k To my brother for the Nissan Pathfinder
-10k Assistance to Parents & Sister
-15K Budget for Gear/Tech
-22k Travel Expenses and Loss of Work Income

Total Costs Here Add up to 56k. So I will have still increased my NetWorth by 16k during the year I live with my family (72k - 56k = 16k).

2Birds1Stone
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Location: Earth

Re: Star*Bucks ERE Journal

Post by 2Birds1Stone »

I love your plan. You've thought things through in great detail.

Star*Bucks
Posts: 288
Joined: Wed Mar 05, 2014 10:27 am
Location: California

Re: Star*Bucks ERE Journal

Post by Star*Bucks »

2Birds1Stone wrote:
Sun Jul 07, 2019 12:43 am
I love your plan. You've thought things through in great detail.
Thanks 2B1S :)

I totally forgot to mention that I was planning to get my TEFL certificate as well (Teaching English as a Foreign Language). So I can possibly get a job overseas. Not for the money which wouldn't be bad, but for the immediate social interaction with future co-workers. If I were able to get a job in say Spain teaching English on a 1 year contract then I could complete so much in that year of what's on my bucket list. I could learn Spanish, visit neighboring countries France & Portugal, visit all the tourist sites, eat all the foods, drink the different wines, etc. Not saying this will be a definite route but I want it as an option.

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