Hey Everyone! I’m back from my summer vacation. My brothers and I went to visit my dad in Thailand. He had radiation treatment for prostate cancer earlier this year. He seemed much weaker physically after the treatment and we wanted to check on him. Fortunately, the treatment was highly successful and his PSA is much lower now. The doctor said he should be fine for a long time.

We also took this chance to visit my aunt in Australia. The flight from Thailand was super cheap on VietJet Airlines. I paid $212 for a one-way ticket from Bangkok to Sydney, with a stopover in Ho Chi Minh City. Maybe it was low season because it was winter in Australia when we visited. The flight was not enjoyable, though. VietJet gave the passengers absolutely nothing for free. No pillow, blanket, drinks, or food service. You have to pay for anything extra. The plane was a “classic” Boeing and had no entertainment screen or charger plugs. They allowed 15 pounds of carryon luggage. You could pay for more additional carryon and/or check in luggage. It was a long no-frill flight. Fortunately, I was able to sleep most of the way and listened to NPR podcasts the rest of the time. I probably shouldn’t be cheap on these long flights. The flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Sydney took 8 and a half hour.

Mrs. RB40 and RB40Jr flew from Portland to meet us in Sydney. They flew Air Canada and had a comfortable experience. Air Canada is a good carrier with newer planes, but they recently got rid of their free luggage check in policy for international flights. Now, they charge $75 to check a bag. The segment from Vancouver, BC to Sydney took 15 hours. That was a very long flight. Mrs. RB40 said she doesn’t want to do that again. Next time, we’ll stop in Fiji for a few days or something like that. These long haul flights are getting tougher as we get older.

*Blogging update

I did not log on to Retire by 40 at all during my vacation. It was awesome to get away completely. I also neglected my business email and missed the renewal notice from Siteground. I had the site set on auto renewal and it renewed for 2 years. Haha… I guess I’ll keep blogging for at least 2 more years. Although, I feel better about blogging after 6 weeks off. It feels good to write again. Thank you for your encouragement in my previous blog post – The FIRE is Gone. I really appreciate it.

Thailand 2026

I plan to spend half the year in Thailand after RB40Jr goes off to college. The cost of living there is much lower than in Portland and I’d like to be closer to my dad. He is pretty healthy now, but he is 81 years old. He probably would need more help in a few years.

On this trip, we spent most of our time in Bangkok. Things are cheaper, but inflation did its magic. Bangkok isn’t as cheap as it used to be. Here are some examples.

Food in Bangkok

A meal at a midrange restaurant cost around $10. I had a BBQ pork plate, fish maw and crab soup, and a lime ice tea. It was a good amount of food for $10. This would cost $40+ in Portland. However, I feel like food was cheaper in Bangkok 5 years ago. You could still eat street food or grab a boxed lunch for around $2. My dad complained the whole time we were in Bangkok. He said everything was much cheaper in Chiangmai.

A pork katsu sando, a drink, and a very nice view for about $10. This was at MAMAFU, a small rooftop food station at the new Dusit Central Park.

This was at a chain restaurant called Have a Zeed. I had basil fried rice topped with grilled picanha and an egg. The drink was a lemongrass and pandan leaves concoction. This meal cost around $10 as well.

Thai desert for about $1. This was at the Terminal 21 mall’s food court.

Clothes

I picked up a few shorts, pants, and t-shirts in Bangkok. Most clothes at Uniqlo and Muji (Japanese chain stores) cost about half the price of the U.S. stores. A good t-shirt cost about $7-$10 each from a local store.

Prescription glasses

I decided to splurge a bit on this trip and purchased this progressive glasses from OWNDAY, a Japanese Chain. It cost about $400. This was about half of what Mrs. RB40 paid for her last progressive glasses. My dad said you could get much cheaper glasses, but I’m pretty happy with it.

Entertainment

I paid $30 to for a general admission ticket to see the ONE Championship fight at Lumphini Boxing Stadium. It was so much fun. I had to get there about an hour early to secure a nice spot, but it was worth the wait. The general admission got me a seat at the concrete bleacher. You can see the general seating behind the stage in the picture above. I was in the 7^th row and I could see all the action clearly. The concrete bleacher was fine because I was alone. If Mrs. RB40 was with me, I’d pay more (2x-3x) for assigned and more comfortable seating. The live bouts were so much more fun than watching on TV. The audience really got into it and my adrenalin was pumping. My dad said I was crazy to pay that much to see Muay Thai, but it was great because I knew many of these fighters. I would go again if I’m in town for a match.  

This picture is an official photo from ONE FC. They didn’t want the audience to take photo or video. The security guards kept scolding people, but they didn’t kick anyone out.

Transportation

Public transportation was pretty cheap. A ride on the public boats, buses, and light rails cost about $1 to $2 each trip. Taxi from the airport to the city center cost about $10-$20, depending on the traffic.

Haircut

I got a haircut for $7 at Easy Cut, an affordable chain salon. Generally, men’s hair cut cost around $5 to $10.

All in all, Bangkok is cheaper than the US, but it isn’t a bargain that it used to be. Chiangmai should be cheaper, though. That’s where I plan to live anyway. Bangkok is way too hectic for me.

Australia

We visited Sydney, Cairns, and Melbourne. It was great. Australia cities seem much better managed than U.S. cities. They are cleaner and seem chaotic than here. Public transportation is much better too. We really enjoyed visiting and we will encourage RB40Jr to apply to some universities in Melbourne. My aunt invited us to stay with her for as long as we want to. Mrs. RB40 and I plan to go back for a long visit in a few years.

The cost of living in Australia seems to be on par with the U.S. Although, eating out was a bit cheaper because they didn’t have to worry about tipping.

Alright, that’s it for today. I had a nice long vacation and will need to adjust to being back home in Portland. Thanks for reading! I hope you had a great summer as well.

The post Summer Vacation 2026 appeared first on Retire by 40.

Hello friends. I hope you’re enjoying the summer break as much as my son is. RB40Jr just wrapped up an incredibly busy freshman year of high school. Now, his main goal seems to be playing video games until 3 a.m. and waking up at noon. Actually, I have no idea exactly how late he stays up because I’m out cold by 11 p.m. Life is sweet for a teenager when school is out.

Things are going pretty well on my end, too. My glacial pace transition to full retirement is almost complete. I left my engineering career way back in 2012 and have been meandering toward the finish line ever since. This year, I dialed back on blogging to once a month and cut way down on my catering delivery side gig. That translates to about 15 hours of work per month. These days, I’m staying busy with pottery, ukulele, home repairs, and just goofing off.

However, I do have a bit of a confession.

The Post-FIRE Reality Check

Cutting back on blogging totally killed my interest in the FIRE movement.

When I was writing more frequently, I sought out other FIRE blogs and articles for inspiration. Now? I rarely look at personal finance content online. The internet has changed tremendously due to AI. Everything is served up on a silver platter, and old-school blogs are becoming irrelevant. Ouch, that’s kind of harsh. It’s still good to read real experiences from real people. AI doesn’t have that real-life experience we can relate to.

Truthfully, it’s been a struggle to write lately. Writing less often means the words don’t flow like they used to. I don’t really know what to write about either. At this point in my life, the financial equation is pretty much solved. We spend less than 3% of our net worth and live a comfortable, moderate lifestyle. The only major financial challenge left is minimizing taxes during our withdrawal phase. That’s a pretty boring long-haul project.

Life Beyond the Numbers

I still have plenty of challenges, but they have nothing to do with money or FIRE. They are simply about midlife.

• The Sandwich Generation Dilemma: Mrs. RB40’s parents are older and need more assistance. She has been spending about half her time down in California to help them out. This is a challenging situation for us. RB40Jr gets along with his mom, and he needs her around.
• Long-Distance Family Support: My dad is also getting older and needs more support. Earlier this year, he underwent radiation treatment for prostate cancer. The prognosis is good, but he feels weaker than ever. I want to be there to help him recover, but I need to be here for my son during the school year. Fortunately, my dad has a younger “friend” who is stepping in to help. I’m heading to Thailand soon to see what I can do.
• Teenage Life: RB40Jr had a tough freshman year. He loaded up on challenging classes and activities, and lacked the time-management skills to succeed fully. He still pulled off an acceptable 3.75 GPA, but he was mad because he could have done better. He left points on the table by turning in assignments late and missing some crucial classes. Next year, we’ll help him manage his time better.
• Health in my 50s: Staying healthy is another big challenge at 52. I recently stopped going to the gym due to persistent joint pain. Instead, Mrs. RB40 and I have been taking daily walks. I know it’s not enough, but my joints feel a lot better. Once I get back from Thailand, we’ll set up a home gym. RB40Jr wants to start working out too.
• The Relocation: We are planning to sell our duplex and move after RB40Jr heads to college in 3 years. The plan is to spend six months in California and six months in Thailand. I don’t know if it’ll work out as I envision, though. Things seem to keep changing.

What’s Next?

So, I want to turn it over to you. Would you be interested in reading about any of this “life after FIRE” stuff? After the math is done, what should I write about?

Alright, I’m heading off to Thailand for 2 months. I’ll get back to writing in September. Have a wonderful summer, and let me know your thoughts in the comments!

The post The FIRE is Gone appeared first on Retire by 40.

Hey everyone! I hope you’re enjoying the beautiful spring weather. It’s been a while since I posted an update. To be completely honest, blogging became much more difficult once I stopped posting every single week. There are always so many things to do around the house, and writing is much harder when I don’t stick to a strict schedule.

Anyway, I promised to update my withdrawal plan, so here it is.

This plan isn’t set in stone. We’ll constantly modify it to minimize taxes and respond to unforeseen circumstances. We will likely withdraw more in some years to cover “lumpy” expenses, like buying a new car. Life is full of surprises, and we’ll have to adapt as needed.

Our early retirement withdrawal plan is flexible. Right now, we have almost $1 million combined in our taxable brokerage account and Treasury bonds. However, we also have changing family circumstances to navigate. Our parents are getting older and need more assistance. Because of this, we plan to move to California to be closer to Mrs. RB40’s family when our son finishes high school in 2029. As you’ll see below, this move is a massive factor in our financial timeline.

(For context, I am 52.5 years old right now.)

The Timeline: 2026 to 2049+

2026 to 2028: The Early Years & Simplifying Real Estate

2026 is our first year of full retirement. Our active income will be minimal—probably around $5,000 from blogging and minor side gigs.

Fortunately, Mrs. RB40 has a small pension of about $10,000 annually. More importantly, her retirement plan includes group health insurance coverage. We pay the same premium amount as we did when she was working, and it’s deducted directly from her pension. This is huge. Not having to worry about the ACA marketplace or healthcare costs gives us a lot of breathing room.

• Estimated Annual Expenses: ~$75,000
• Active Income + Pension: ~$15,000
• Passive Income (Dividends/Interest): ~$20,000
• The Gap: We need to cover a shortfall of about $40,000.

The Solution: Since we are moving to California in a few years, I am winding down our Portland rental real estate. We recently put our rental condo on the market. Once sold, it should generate roughly $150,000 after fees and taxes. This cash pool, combined with our other income streams, will fund the next 2 to 3 years of living expenses.

Our Housing Adjustments: Currently, we live in a duplex and rent out the upstairs unit. However, I’ve asked our tenant to move out in 2027. RB40Jr is a teenager now and needs more space. One bathroom doesn’t cut it anymore. Mrs. RB40 also wants more room since she is home full-time. We will use the next few years to live comfortably in the whole property while fixing it up to get it ready for sale. It’s a big win that we resisted upsizing for 15 years. Most families expand their housing when they have kids.

Note on a lumpy expense: I may purchase a new car in 2027. My budget is around $30,000. Our 2010 Mazda5 minivan is still going strong, but an upgrade would be nice. I want to take advantage of Oregon’s 0% sales tax before we move.

2029 to 2032: The California Move

When RB40Jr graduates from high school in 2029, we will sell the duplex. This should generate around $500,000.

From there, we will relocate to California. Recently, Mrs. RB40 transitioned her dad into an assisted living facility. It’s a big life change, but he can’t live alone in his house anymore. Currently, she spends about half her time in California managing the property and helping both of her parents (who are divorced but live in the same town) with random logistics.

Her dad’s house is completely paid off, and he wants us to move in there. It’s Mrs. RB40’s inheritance. Because we won’t have a mortgage or rent, the $500,000 cash from the sale of our Portland duplex can act as a bridge fund to cover our living expenses until we can withdraw from our retirement accounts.

What about college? RB40Jr will head to college right around this time. Our 529 College Savings Plan should be enough to cover his tuition… unless he gets into Stanford. Haha!

2033 to 2034: The Traditional Retirement Age Gate (59.5)

I will hit the magic age of 59.5 in 2033. Then, I can finally withdraw from my traditional IRA without the 10% early withdrawal penalty.

My preliminary plan is to withdraw roughly $100,000 per year from my IRA. This is highly flexible because I suspect we will still have plenty of capital left over in our taxable accounts. Mrs. RB40 is a year younger than I am; once she turns 59.5, we will split the distributions evenly (e.g., $50,000 from each of our IRAs) to manage our tax brackets.

Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) could become a tax problem for us down the road if we don’t start aggressively drawing down these tax-deferred accounts early. We’ll ask the AIs to help us run the math on the optimal drawdown numbers when the time comes! They should be way smarter in 10 years.

*Everything is highly speculative after this point.

2035 to 2040: Early Social Security

I’ll turn 62 in 2035 and plan to file for early Social Security benefits. Based on our projections, we won’t actually need this money for baseline living expenses. Instead, we’ll use my Social Security checks to supplement our travel budget and charitable donations.

2041 to 2048: Maximizing Benefits

Mrs. RB40 hits her Full Retirement Age (FRA) of 67 in 2041. She can choose to file then or delay until 70 to maximize her monthly benefit. Since women tend to live longer, it’s likely a smart move for her to delay filing to lock in those 8% annual delayed retirement credits.

2049 and Beyond: RMDs

I will turn 75 in 2048, which means my Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) will officially kick in by April 1, 2049. The RMD could become a problem if we don’t manage the IRA withdrawal well.

Note on Roth IRA conversion: I plan to do a Roth IRA conversion whenever we have a low tax year.

Why Our Withdrawal Strategy Shifted

If you’ve followed this blog for a long time, you know this is a significant departure from my original retirement withdrawal plan. Initially, I thought we would live off our taxable brokerage account and passive income until I turn 59.5. Then, we could draw down our IRAs.

However, our pending relocation to California changed the math entirely. By converting our illiquid real estate equity (the rental condo and our primary duplex) into liquid cash, we can fully fund our 50s without touching our core taxable brokerage account unless more surprises pop up.

Looking back, a handful of major wildcards worked out tremendously in our favor:

1. The Health Insurance Jackpot: Mrs. RB40 worked just long enough to secure a lifetime pension and retiree health insurance benefits.
2. The Housing Windfall: Moving into her dad’s paid-off house eliminates what would otherwise be a massive California housing expense.
3. Market Growth: Our investments have grown significantly since I retired back in 2012. We have a fantastic cushion in both our taxable and retirement accounts.
4. Moderate Lifestyle Maintenance: We continue to live a relatively frugal, moderate lifestyle. We share one car and cook at home almost every day. When we travel, we still fly economy and stay in mid-range hotels.

That last point is actually why I’m pushing myself to spend money on things like a vehicle upgrade and taking over the whole duplex. We probably should live it up a little more while we are healthy and active in our 50s and 60s!

The Wildcard

If it all goes according to plan, we are looking at a smooth, comfortable retirement. The primary variable left is our parents’ long-term health.

Mrs. RB40’s dad has enough personal savings to fund many years of assisted living care. Her mom has fewer financial assets, but she is currently in excellent health. Meanwhile, my dad is also doing well and has enough to fund a comfortable retirement in Thailand. If any of them need financial assistance, we’ll probably step in. (Unfortunately, my mom passed away in 2023. I still miss her.)

Everything is stable for now, but health can change in an instant when you’re over 80. I plan to spend a lot more time in Thailand when my dad needs more help. Actually, I’m thinking about moving to Thailand before Mrs. RB40 and I need long-term care. You get a lot more value for your dollars there. I plan to visit a few luxury assisted living facilities in Thailand this summer.

What do you think about our updated withdrawal plan? Has your retirement withdrawal plan changed as aging parents or family obligations popped up? Let me know in the comments!

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