Early Retirement Extreme Forums » Recent Posts

George the original one on "Investments Trade Log"

George the original one — Sun, 27 May 2012 10:26:31 +0000

MAT is now high enough in my criteria to warrant more attention. Current yield of 4% vs. the 30-yr bond at 2.8%. Consistently grows the dividend higher than the worst inflation we've seen since 1970 -- something the 30-yr bond will never do!

Dragline on "For those already retired...What do you do all day?"

Dragline — Sun, 27 May 2012 10:11:49 +0000

And I thought the answer to the headline question was always "Bang on a drum." But I'm over the age limit here.

Dragline on "Financing the sale of property"

Dragline — Sun, 27 May 2012 07:08:47 +0000

Thanks. The advice I seem to be getting consistently is along the lines of celliot's. Assuming everything else works out (like they have decent prospects and are willing to overpay for the property), I'm thinking of proposing a 25% downpayment with a 30-year amortization at 6% interest but with a balloon payment due at the end of a five-year term. And we're rolling those closing costs into that loan.

"I suggest you get a lawyer to create the contract and file the lien."

Fortunately for me, I resemble this remark . . . ;-) I have found that one of the best perks of lawyer-ness is that it tends to keep your counter-parties honest from the get-go.

Dragline on "RioPapago's Journal"

Dragline — Sun, 27 May 2012 04:40:56 +0000

That's a nice plan you have outlined there. Of course, the most important part was getting the buy-in from your partner! That makes all the difference.

tylerrr on "I Want a Straight Razor to Last My Entire Life"

tylerrr — Sat, 26 May 2012 21:11:34 +0000

"One problem with straight razors (note, you can get them with replaceable blades: Tondeo TSS3) is that if you fail on a sharpening (once honing no longer works, it needs a sharpening), the ruined blade will be hard to recover. Razors are hollow (concave) ground and that's not easy to sharpen.

The blade and the sharpening tools likely cost more than a safety razor and a decade long supply of blades (see ebay---I just bought some 200+ no-name blades for <$20). "

Yes, looks like the safety razor is best option for ERE.

I love this forum! I can even get advice on which razor to buy and people don't think I'm a freak!

Hoplite on "Financing the sale of property"

Hoplite — Sat, 26 May 2012 21:03:47 +0000

I have had enough experience to know that @celliott's advice is as good as it gets. I wish I had something more hopeful to say, but I have never seen a non-commercial owner financing deal work in the long term. Sooner or later they stop paying, so it's best to get them into conventional financing as quickly as possible, probably by means of a balloon payment. And without a sufficient down payment, you're out the closing costs and possibly a broker's commission and likely damage to the house, among other costs.

If you do the deal, also charge reasonable interest under a loan agreement; the IRS will treat a portion of each payment as imputed interest income, so it should be added to the return of principal.

Hoplite on "LonerMatt's Journal"

Hoplite — Sat, 26 May 2012 20:47:20 +0000

@LonerMatt,

The Sovereign Man site has some good content, but be skeptical of the investment advice (as one should for all investment advice). Some other sites that might help:

For work opportunities:
http://www.expatnetwork.com/

An omnibus site with many categories and resources by country:
http://www.justlanded.com/

Hoplite on "Conventional Wisdom on Divorce"

Hoplite — Sat, 26 May 2012 20:16:22 +0000

A new study finds that one-third of divorce filings mention Facebook as a contributing factor in the breakup:
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/facebook-causing-a-third-of-all-divorces-survey/261023-11.html

As to those well-educated happily married folks, I know a fair number, and @DutchGirl pegged it:
"In other words: I think the ladies are upgrading their feelings to give socially acceptable / jealousy provoking answers."

Educated people know how to keep up appearances, and know very well how to dissemble with some Nosy Parker with a survey :)

Hoplite on "New Escapologist"

Hoplite — Sat, 26 May 2012 19:56:15 +0000

A recent post just struck home:
http://newescapologist.co.uk/2012/05/09/350000-quid/

I cringe when I see people take their life's savings and spend it on some labor intensive business idea, like a vineyard (huh?), a restaurant (are you kidding??) or here, a bed and breakfast.

The post concludes with a delightful thought:
"I’d just curb my consumer desires, retire at once, and spend the money slowly on top-notch cakes for the next fifty years."

Fifty years of cakes--bless you Mr. Wringham!

Hoplite on "ERE songs"

Hoplite — Sat, 26 May 2012 19:44:42 +0000

"Ride My See-Saw" by the Moody Blues. The singer invites the listener to take his seat, his number in the race, for free:

I worked like a slave for years,
Sweat so hard just to end my fears.
Not to end my life a poor man,
But by now, I know I should have run.

LonerMatt on "LonerMatt's Journal"

LonerMatt — Sat, 26 May 2012 18:23:53 +0000

Permanent Portfolio: 25% chas, 25% LTB, 25% Gold, 25% Total Stock Market.

I'll check that website out now, thanks! One of the advantages of being Australian, speaking English, having a degree in English, and a degree in Education is that I can basically work in any country.

As long as English continues to be a language of international significance (which isn't stopping in the forseeable future) I will have the possibility of working in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and even in the US/Canada/etc. There are lots of programmes in HK and Singapore to get Australians teaching English there - and it's pretty cool.

I will start contributing to get the government return, probably another boatload of paper work in bureaucratic Australia!

Bytta on "LonerMatt's Journal"

Bytta — Sat, 26 May 2012 14:59:12 +0000

Hi LonerMatt, sorry for the long overdue response :). I've been rather too relaxed (read: lazy) lately and had some short trips here and there. Ahhh... the life of mini-retirement. So, your aspiration is pretty much similar to mine. I think you should check this website out: http://www.sovereignman.com/. Once you quiet down the doomsday message, it has decent argument and concept of living independent internationally.

As for superannuation, putting extra $50 per week or per month now is worth a lot more than contributing extra $500 when you are 55. Especially if you plan to quit working at some stage. I did salary sacrifice years ago and it helps me to hold the super balance when I quit my job. But salary sacrifice is not qualified for the govt co-contribution. Only do it when your tax is over 30%.

Ps. what is PP, anyway?

Bytta on "Conventional Wisdom on Divorce"

Bytta — Sat, 26 May 2012 14:49:04 +0000

@DutchGirl: I agree with you. The 4.3 years average is the thing that sticks out the most for me. 4.3 years are mostly still in honeymoon period. The number would look totally different when they stretch the duration to over 10 or 20 years. More importantly, durability doesn't always equal quality in marriage. I know some people who stay married but separated because they don't want to split the asset. Again, being dependent to your spouse or doing it for the sake of children are not uncommon reasons for people to stay married despite being unhappy.

@George the original one: twice widowed AND twice divorced?? what are the chances for that to happen to anyone?

OTCW on "I Want a Straight Razor to Last My Entire Life"

OTCW — Sat, 26 May 2012 12:49:46 +0000

Shaving is definitely a comfort thing for me too. Hair on my neck is awful, but even a few days growth on my face becomes unpleasant.

Scott 2 on "I Want a Straight Razor to Last My Entire Life"

Scott 2 — Sat, 26 May 2012 12:16:45 +0000

Comfort. I find hair on my lower neck or lip to be unpleasant, especially as it grows longer. Doing something active makes it even worse.

jennypenny on "I Want a Straight Razor to Last My Entire Life"

jennypenny — Sat, 26 May 2012 10:33:05 +0000

Once you're ERE, or at least FI, I'm curious why would you shave regularly? DH has his beard cleaned up and trimmed when he gets his haircut. Seems more economical. I don't think he even owns a razor at this point.

jacob on "I Want a Straight Razor to Last My Entire Life"

jacob — Sat, 26 May 2012 09:35:24 +0000

One problem with straight razors (note, you can get them with replaceable blades: Tondeo TSS3) is that if you fail on a sharpening (once honing no longer works, it needs a sharpening), the ruined blade will be hard to recover. Razors are hollow (concave) ground and that's not easy to sharpen.

The blade and the sharpening tools likely cost more than a safety razor and a decade long supply of blades (see ebay---I just bought some 200+ no-name blades for <$20).

Scott 2 on "I Want a Straight Razor to Last My Entire Life"

Scott 2 — Sat, 26 May 2012 07:32:47 +0000

I geeked out my shaving around 5 years - Merkur safety razor, Moss shaving skuttle, Truffet and Hill shaving cream, a shaving brush, nice blades, etc.

It's about turning shaving into a manly experience, with a focus on the best shave. It was novel, but also dreadfully slow and much easier to end up with a cut on my face. Oh, and if you go a few days without shaving, you have to make multiple passes to get all the hair.

The two minute shave I can get with cheap disposable and some cheap shaving gel is almost as good. If I skip shaving for days at a time, it's still only one pass with the razor.

I think this is an area where optimizing for time is more effective than optmizing for price.

For some folks, electric razors just do not work well. I have tried several over the years, including some fairly nice ones. They miss hairs and leave my neck red and burny. No thanks.

celliott on "Financing the sale of property"

celliott — Sat, 26 May 2012 05:23:03 +0000

Get a down payment, finance the balance with a 30 year amortization for 3, 5, 7, 10 years with a balloon payment at the expiration whichever of the above loan periods you choose.

Interest rates usually higher than the retail lender market for the risk you're accepting.

Usually you will pick a number of year allowing the buyer time to get other financing in order by the time the balloon payment for the balance is due.

I suggest you get a lawyer to create the contract and file the lien.

mikeBOS on "For those already retired...What do you do all day?"

mikeBOS — Sat, 26 May 2012 03:20:42 +0000

They have a pretty epic thread going on at the ER forum that's up over 10k posts regarding what retirees do all day.

Just not too many under 40 over there.

Christopherjart on "Financing the sale of property"

Christopherjart — Fri, 25 May 2012 20:27:56 +0000

Perhaps it isn't the case there, but here to get a loan you have to prove a certain minimum level of income so perhaps this person has hobby income or other non-payroll income that the bank isn't accepting to meet that minimum level. Anyway, I'm just saying it isn't necessarily bad credit.

RioPapago on "RioPapago's Journal"

RioPapago — Fri, 25 May 2012 19:56:18 +0000

Hello All..

Extremely excited to start my journal on this blog. I have been reading and studying the blog for quite a few months now, and am ready to take the plunge into my ERE recording.

Here is some background information on myself and situation. I am 30 years young with a sweet new baby boy. My partner and I have been together for ten years and committed ourselves to saving and getting out of debt two years ago. I have always been interested in finances. I consider it a sport in a sense.. something to study, commit to, watch, implement new techniques, apply constant repetition towards, and have fun with.

When I was in college, I read Richest Man in Babylon and was hooked. I immediately set up a retirement account, dream fund, and money market account for my nest egg. Eight years down the road... I withdrew money from all accounts for debt, first mortgage downpayment, and car purchase. Two years ago is when my partner jumped on board to become debt free and have gazelle intensity (Dave Ramsey :) towards our finances. We moved in with a friend for a year to get out of debt and save for our dream home's down payment. It was a trade- we watched her kid a few days a week for free rent. We were able to pay off and save the following in two years:

2008 Subaru outback 18k
2002 Toyota Tacoma 11k
Timeshare 8k
Credit Card 1 7k
Credit Card 2 4k
Taxes 7k -We took out my partner's 401k to pay off the subaru, so we could get the house. We did not realize we would be hit with an early withdrawal penalty plus the 10% hit we received after it was taxed. Our debt to income ratio was too high otherwise to purchase the home. And we just had to have our dream house, in our dream neighborhood, with our dream white picket fence. Yes, dumb I know ;)

House Downpayment 35k for a 350k home

Current Debt/Liabilities:
Credit Card 1: $1600
Student Loan: $3500
Town home: $161k
Home: $311k

Current Savings/Assets:
Cash Stash 1: $1000 Emergency Nest Egg
Cash Stash 2: $1060 Baby's extra curricular activity fund- sports, passions, lessons, etc.
Town home Rental: 180k (what we bought it for- they are selling now for 170ish)
Home: 350k
Timeshare: 4k (Bought for 12k and could possibly get 4k for it)
Roth IRA: $2050
College Fund: $1500
401k $2500
Bond Fund: $200
Mutual Fund: $400
Savings Fund: $15k
Subaru Outback: $15k
Ford Explorer: $3.5k
*Home Rental: 235k
*We will close next week on this home. Bought for 235k and will put 16k down. Will need to put about 10-15k in remodeling to rent top and bottom out to make $500-700 cash flow each month. The 15k for remodeling will come from the sale of the subaru.

Approximate Net worth: 90k (Not including mortgage balances)

Forward to now- 10 months from purchasing the "Dream Home"...
Partner got a new job in city and I cut work load in half because of baby. The commute for my partner is about 25 miles one way. In addition to the full time job, she has two additional jobs, so add about 40 miles a week into travel time.

Here is what we are currently doing to start our road to ERE:

1-Selling house to live within 5 miles of partner's new job
2-Selling Subaru to try and be a 1 car family
3-Selling Ford Explorer to get a smaller car that gets better gas mileage- thinking honda civic or toyota corolla.
4-Just bought a home under seller finance for an investment property or to live in main home and rent out basement. Whether or not we live in this home depends on if we sell our house by closing time. The house is in need of some repairs. We close next week and our goal is to have the top and bottom rented out by July 1st. Our management company took a look at it today and it appears that we will make between $500-700 cash flow on the property every month. Our town home is also rented out right now but we do not make any money on it. We are about $100 in the hole every month for the town home. We plan on selling it when we can get what we paid for it.
5-Once we sell our home, we will use the money we make to buy another investment property to live in or rent out. We have decided that we will always buy homes with a mother-in-law apartment or one that has the potential to be one with minimal costs to make it happen.

Next post I will share our current budget, cuts we will be making, the FI "plan", goals, and what we do to make $.

Cheers!

rachelFLF on "NYC-area Meetup (June)"

rachelFLF — Fri, 25 May 2012 19:43:34 +0000

Yes the last one was lots of fun! The hubby (Mr. Overlord) and I can only do the beginning of the month unfortch so it's looking like we're not going to be able to attend, based on how the voting is looking. He is abstaining from the poll because he's not sure it's ethical for us both to vote. :)

dragoncar on "Financing the sale of property"

dragoncar — Fri, 25 May 2012 19:14:56 +0000

I'm curious about this too. It seems like the risk would be great -- presumably if they asked, then that means they cannot get traditional financing, or can't do so at a good rate, implying bad credit.

In general, this would be an investment with very little diversity. Can you get PMI for this sort of thing? If you have to foreclose, would you still be in the area?

In short, what are sellers who offer this thinking??

aussierogue on "For those already retired...What do you do all day?"

aussierogue — Fri, 25 May 2012 15:32:20 +0000

@jenny penny...lol you are quite correct. Wrong side of 40 and 11 years married = watching dvd's when we should be doing some horizontal gymnastics..

I never said there arent areas we need to work on...

Dragline on "Conventional Wisdom on Divorce"

Dragline — Fri, 25 May 2012 14:08:56 +0000

Advice for having a good marriage from "30 Lessons for Living: Tried and True Advice from the Wisest Americans":

1. Marry someone a lot like you, with the same core values. And forget changing someone after marriage.

2. Friendship is as important as romantic love. Marry someone for whom you feel a deep friendship as well as love.

3. Don't keep score. You can't get out exactly what you put in. The key is having both partners trying to put more in than they are getting out.

4. Talk to each other. Long-term married partners talk to each other about the things that count.

5. Don't just commit to the partner -- commit to the marriage itself.

Most marriages that fail will fail on one or more of the foregoing.

There is also a chapter from "The Millionaire Mind" that discusses that a good choice of mate is a key part of financial stability and success.

I agree with Jacob that getting married too early is usually a mistake and can lead to problems, although there are still many exceptions to that general rule. But most people don't "figure out who they are" until at least their late 20s if not later. And if you are not sure who you are, adding another person in the mix who may be similarly not-fully-formed usually doesn't help.

Finally, some of this is generational. Baby Boomers have high divorce rates and the biggest "growing" group of singles is in that age bracket. Younger people are more wary of marriage in the first place.

Dragline on "Financing the sale of property"

Dragline — Fri, 25 May 2012 12:47:21 +0000

I'm in the process of selling a house with few takers and have been approached by a potential buyer to see if I'd be willing to do owner financing.

Has anyone ever done this? And under what conditions? Is there any typical structure?

Let's assume for the moment that the credit check will come back relatively clean with no BKs, etc.

riparian on "Teaching to the Test--Speed v. Accuracy"

riparian — Fri, 25 May 2012 12:31:46 +0000

It's not just estimation, it's learning what area really really means.

George the original one on "Conventional Wisdom on Divorce"

George the original one — Fri, 25 May 2012 11:27:22 +0000

Half of all marriages end in divorce (as a group). For individuals, you undoubtedly know people have had several divorces... that skews the odds towards less than 50-50 chance of divorce.

My sister has been married and divorced twice. A coworker has been widowed twice and divorced twice. As a result of those two people, that means 4 more couples never reached divorce! (not sure what the statistics on widowhood are...)

So if I check my high school friends that I've stayed in touch with, only one had a divorce out of 20 friends that I've known for the past 35 years.

beav80 on "Epictetus - The Art of Living"

beav80 — Fri, 25 May 2012 11:21:02 +0000

I'm reading the book right now and find it a lot like Aurelius; do your best to know what is worthwhile and necessary and dispense of the rest in the material and mental trappings of life. Don't be put off by every little problem because if you expect to live a life without problems it's like expecting stupid people not to be stupid and so on.

Great read, one to revisit every now and then.

tylerrr on "I Want a Straight Razor to Last My Entire Life"

tylerrr — Fri, 25 May 2012 07:31:52 +0000

"I have a straight razor with a solingen blade. I don't use it-- it takes too much time to shave with it. Because I don't use it, it will probably last a lifetime. It's already about 20 years old. I suspect one reason you can find old straight razors in good shape is that people don't actually use them all that much.

The blade is basically a single piece of high quality steel, so it will last a long time. This is probably true of most decent straight razors. The handle might not last a lifetime in daily use though, conceivably the joint could fail, or by dropping it the handle might crack.

I don't drop my shaver very often, but anything used daily for a lifetime will probably be dropped a few times. I dropped the straight razor once while shaving. It was a frightening experience, but in the end it was a miss.

The cost of shaving has come up on ERE a number of times. Attempting to save money in this area seems low yield to me-- sure you might be able to save money here, but there are probably much easier ways to save more money."

Yes, I hear you....I might just go with some safety razors mentioned above. I shave every day.

I don't like the thought of buying all the individual plastic BIC razors because of the environmental consequences. Lots of plastic being thrown out. Of course, I could send them all to recycling.

Ego on "For those already retired...What do you do all day?"

Ego — Fri, 25 May 2012 06:59:06 +0000

The other day my wife asked, "How did we do it when we worked real jobs?" Our days continue to be full. The difference.... now... whatever we do, we do it really well. We do it to the best of our ability.

For instance, this morning I will be teaching a fitness class. I've spent about five hours getting the music together for it. I enjoyed every moment of searching for interesting music and stringing it together into a torture-fest for my class.

Most people would have little problem filling their day with things that interest them if they were to do those things better than the half-assed way they've become accustomed because of time contraints. We live in a world where reading a book from cover to cover is considered a luxury reserved for a beach vacation.

Mo on "I Want a Straight Razor to Last My Entire Life"

Mo — Fri, 25 May 2012 04:34:42 +0000

I have a straight razor with a solingen blade. I don't use it-- it takes too much time to shave with it. Because I don't use it, it will probably last a lifetime. It's already about 20 years old. I suspect one reason you can find old straight razors in good shape is that people don't actually use them all that much.

riparian on "For those already retired...What do you do all day?"

riparian — Fri, 25 May 2012 04:00:48 +0000

I'm under forty, I don't know what day it is, and I thought about money 3 days this month. Do I count?

Today I made two new beds and planted in the garden, decanted tinctures, had a fire and cooked dinner outside (out of propane) and started reading The Introvert Advantage. I also made $55 on the internet. :)

jennypenny on "Teaching to the Test--Speed v. Accuracy"

jennypenny — Fri, 25 May 2012 03:57:52 +0000

Re:guessing I used that word because the section titles are "Guess the ..." but they do mean estimation.

I can see both sides a little better now. I don't really use estimation so that might be why I couldn't see how it could be that useful.

@CD--haha, no instructions on the homework sheets. They just copy down problems so they don't have to carry the book back and forth.