Finally, I can be more active on the forum!

[Coolius]

Hello, everyone.

I joined this FIRE forum several months ago, and since then have thoroughly enjoyed all the snippets of wisdom from the sages and gurus on this board. Really learned tons of relevant, ( and not so relevant ) stuff.

My job as a Regional Director for a scientific instrumentation company, responsible for Asia Pacific, kept me on the road often enough that I had confined myself to lurking on the few occasions I visited here.

Well, no more.

Two months ago, hung up the briefcase and passport, and took the giant leap of faith into the world of FIRE ( no boss, no reports, no commute, no TSA airport groping, no paycheck, no health benefits, no bonuses )

Now, with the newfound luxury of indefinite time on my hands, I believe I can now participate more often, and to contribute to the breadth & diversity of this forum.

I just turned 60, and own my home in Northern California free & clear. Retirement assets about $500K, and taxable assets right around $600K.
Large portions are in a Bond ladder and a CD ladder going out until 2020. I maintain a brokerage account for trading, and hope to be a little more aggressive in this area. Mostly invested in Oil Majors, preferred stocks, and energy MLPs.

Honored to be a member of this forum.

 

[freebird5825]

Congratulations on your FIRE and no longer having to lurk on the forum

I'll admit to being one of the not-so-relevant contributors here.
Just kidding
My days of being a serious Engineer were over 4 years ago. I like to joke around and enjoy life. Sounds like you will be doing the same in real time.

 

[MBAustin]

Congratulations! Of course, you may be like me and find there is plenty to fill up the days. I enjoy the forums very much but must confess that I sometimes miss a day or three without even checking in. YMMV. Enjoy!

 

[chinaco]

Welcome

 

[Purron]

Yeah Coolius! Welcome

 

[Coolius]

Thank you all! Nice to be finally visible to all of you!

I have equipped my home office with a fast computer and dual screens for stock trading; so I expect to access this forum daily.

So nice to wake up and not have to face the commute and problems of the office. And not having to be on call during evenings ( my job was mainly International Sales in Asia ) is something I will never miss!

Time to take a well deserved nap, me thinks.

 

[73ss454]

Welcome Coolius, it's good to have you here. Just be careful with the day trading, market timing doesn't usually work out with a good ending.

 

[Coolius]

Yes, day trading comes fraught with huge risks. I have been burned before, and am still suffering the hangover effects. Not going to forget that anytime soon.

So, in this phase of my life, where I do not really count on trading to generate living expenses, I will be much more of a buy and hold type of guy.

I am reasonably familiar with options, so will probably initiate simple covered calls ( ITM ) on large cap stocks, hoping to derive maybe 4-7% annual return from a combination of dividends, call premiums, and capital gain.

C

 

[obgyn65]

Welcome Coolius.