If you are successful trading stocks, why not continue doing that in the tax-deferred account? Perhaps you have more in the taxable account than in tax-deferred.
DW, DS, and I went to Delicate Arch & Canyonland NPs last week. Going in, I thought the person who would be hurting after series of hikes up and down the canyon would be DW. She does not work out as much I do. But after a 3 mile hike on the 3rd day, I found that it was my knees which were hurting the most. I played a lot of BB and soccer all my life and it definitely showed. After coming back from the trip, it made me think hard about pulling the trigger. I think I have limited time left on my knees before my trips involve just sight seeing.
.... I think I have limited time left on my knees before my trips involve just sight seeing.
You can just get new knees. Uncle was a mailman and wore his out.... got new ones and is doing fine. Neighbor is getting a new one in November.
So just keep working and supporting us with the taxes you pay.
As you are still having a mortgage you can enter the mortgage amount and payout date into FIRECalc. That should allow you to spend more money in the early years, as your later years will not have that mortgage burden, plus you will be covered by SS and Medicare. But if you have many years left on the mortgage, then it's not so cool.
As you are still having a mortgage you can enter the mortgage amount and payout date into FIRECalc. That should allow you to spend more money in the early years, as your later years will not have that mortgage burden, plus you will be covered by SS and Medicare. But if you have many years left on the mortgage, then it's not so cool.
But unless you plan to move to a lower cost area and cash out that equity, it is not doing much for you. It may even make you feel rich and spend more money.
For the $550K equity that you have, in my town you can get a nice home of 3,800-sq.ft., with 5 BR, 3-1/2 bath, 3-car garage, swimming pool, ready to move in, and in a nice secluded low crime rate area, with hilly terrain and near a mountain preserve. And in this suburb of a metropolitan area, all shopping one needs is within 5 miles.
It only requires you to stand 2 months of summer with temperature of 110F+. But as ER, you can just stay indoors in cool AC surfing the Web, and go out only after sundown, or shortly after sunrise.
But to your point, there are a lot of places we can move where we can buy a decent, downsized house for $200k. For now, we will keep it as an option. Then there are places like Cambodia, Nicaragua. I think maids and servants come with the house .... 
Yeah, the heat does take some getting used to here!I am pretty sure I am allergic to 110F+ temperature, with or without AC.
Particularly after living a right along the bay where the breezes made it generally 10-20 degrees cooler than even just 10 miles inland. Our new home is the very first one I ever lived in with AC, and I'm sure glad we had it this summer. That said, this summer it was pretty darn hot even where we moved from, way hotter than normal, and our old house didn't have AC, so we lucked out on the timing of our move.
I found out last month that the area has a number of major Indian casinos nearby. I winced when I found out b/c of number of my relatives who had gambling problem. I ended up taking my dad to one of them (he wanted to go) and I promptly won a jackpot from a slot machine. I now have mixed feelings about the area & casinos ...
woo-woo!
...Then there are places like Cambodia, Nicaragua. I think maids and servants come with the house ....
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