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Sharing My Retirement Journey
11-08-2013, 12:53 PM
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#1
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 145
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Sharing My Retirement Journey
Sharing My Retirement Journey
I want to share my financial independence (retirement?) journey through posts on this forum. How I got to financial independence. What I do with it. What I have learned (and continue to learn) that could help others reach and enjoy their financial independence. And in the process to learn even more from the feedback I hope to get.
Some of my posts will be about money management. About what I call frugality without sacrifice. About how I manage to lead a pretty nice lifestyle for less than $18,000 gross a year.
Some of my posts will be about my investment “adventures.” About how my $400,000 stash yields me $28,000 to $32,000 a year in passive income. And about the risks that involves.
And some of my posts will be about what I do with my free time and my surplus money now that I have (or think I have) full control of my time and money to do something with it.
My core money management strategy is frugality without sacrifice -- what I call playing the frugal game. Cutting the waste and getting more for my money every time I spend any of it. I know that sounds like a “duh” statement. But I’ve been amazed (and you might be too) at just how much money can fall through the cracks when one takes one’s eye off the frugal spending ball.
My investment strategy is based on creating and maintaining a high yield stream of dividend and interest payments. That also means that my strategy is more high risk than a lot of people are willing to accept. But it works for me. And many of my posts will be about how and why that is so.
I put a good deal of my time into investing and money management so that I can have the financial freedom to do what I want. But actually taking the time to do fun things is something of a problem for me. If left to myself (so to speak) I have a strong tendency to either let my time go to doing more chores (since there’s always more) or to plop down to watch a DVD movie. And that’s not how I really want to spend what’s supposed to be my free fun time.
So I am continuing to develop scheduling and routine setting tactics to “force” myself into actually using my time to hike, take trips, write these posts, do serious history reading, and develop some real hobby-interests. And I’ll be writing posts about how that is working out.
In short, it is very important to me to feel that I am in control of my life, to have goals, and to actually accomplish them. When all of that comes together, I feel good about my life and about myself. I’ll be writing these posts to help me stay on that course.
Along the way, I hope some of what I’ve learned and what I will continue to learn helps you in your quest for financial independence. And I’m pretty sure I too will learn a lot from your responses to my posts.
Alex in Virginia
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11-08-2013, 01:04 PM
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#2
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Sarasota, FL & Vermont
Posts: 36,264
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Looking forward to reading this thread Alex. Good start.
__________________
If something cannot endure laughter.... it cannot endure.
Patience is the art of concealing your impatience.
Slow and steady wins the race.
Retired Jan 2012 at age 56
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11-08-2013, 02:12 PM
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#3
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 61
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I also look forward to hearing more about your journey....thanks for the update.
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11-08-2013, 03:14 PM
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#4
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 145
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Hi, pb4uski and Singletrack...
Thanks for your good wishes.
I'm working on a couple of posts and wondered whether y'all would be more interested in some more detail on my investing approach or on my frugal budgeting process? Or something else?
Let me know if you have a preference.
Thanks,
Alex in Virginia
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11-08-2013, 03:16 PM
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#5
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 18,085
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Is there some reason you don't just create a blog?
__________________
"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."
- George Orwell
Ezekiel 23:20
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11-08-2013, 03:34 PM
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#6
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: 5-sided building
Posts: 1,183
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Brewer is correct. You oughta start a blog. You're welcome here, but a blog will offer you more control and options than you will have as a guest at this forum.
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11-08-2013, 03:51 PM
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#7
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: North TX
Posts: 1,800
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I look forward to hearing more about your travels as we are in a similar situation.
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11-08-2013, 03:59 PM
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#8
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 9,358
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I have enjoyed your posts on your frugal lifestyle so far, Alex, and would enjoy reading more. We are moving down a similar path. We have been cutting expenses for a couple years now and quite enjoy having less stuff and more free time.
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11-08-2013, 04:39 PM
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#9
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Moderator
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Eastern WV Panhandle
Posts: 25,299
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I too am looking forward to your descriptions about living on that amount.
__________________
When I was a kid I wanted to be older. This is not what I expected.
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11-08-2013, 05:34 PM
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#10
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Tampa Bay Area
Posts: 1,866
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Hi Alex. I always enjoy your posts. The blog is a good idea, but honestly - I'd be more apt to read posts here rather than go to a blog. Perhaps you can do a summary here and then put a link to the blog for more detail. I'd probably follow a link.
I'd love to hear how you can get by on only 18k a year. Can you start with your budget. My budget for healthcare alone is 30k (which assumes 7k out of pocket per year but not the 12.6k OOP max I might have to pay !).
__________________
"For the time being no discipline brings joy, but seems grievous and painful; but afterwards it yields a peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." ~
Hebrews 12:11
ER'd in June 2015 at age 52. Initial WR 3%. 50/40/10 (Equity/Bond/Short Term) AA.
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11-08-2013, 05:44 PM
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#11
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Southern California
Posts: 3,995
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Live And Learn
Hi Alex. I always enjoy your posts. The blog is a good idea, but honestly - I'd be more apt to read posts here rather than go to a blog. Perhaps you can do a summary here and then put a link to the blog for more detail. I'd probably follow a link.
I'd love to hear how you can get by on only 18k a year. Can you start with your budget. My budget for healthcare alone is 30k (which assumes 7k out of pocket per year but not the 12.6k OOP max I might have to pay !).
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I suspect that your health care costs vary greatly depending on whether you are a) married, and b) with kids. For that matter, your overall COL is clearly going to be lower without kids. As for couples, I guess a couple that both works probably has the best scenario, followed by a couple with one income but no kids.
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11-08-2013, 05:58 PM
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#12
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 17,773
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Live And Learn
Hi Alex. I always enjoy your posts. The blog is a good idea, but honestly - I'd be more apt to read posts here rather than go to a blog. Perhaps you can do a summary here and then put a link to the blog for more detail. I'd probably follow a link......
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One could have a link to a blog in his or her profile but not in posts themselves, per the Community Rules here. /mod hat off/
__________________
“Would you like an adventure now, or would you like to have your tea first?” J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan
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11-08-2013, 11:18 PM
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#13
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Hooverville
Posts: 22,983
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Just be on the lookout for shadowy figures packing Kryptonite.
Ha
__________________
"As a general rule, the more dangerous or inappropriate a conversation, the more interesting it is."-Scott Adams
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11-09-2013, 05:29 AM
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#14
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 145
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Hi, Brewer12345, HawkeyeNFO, Live and Learn, and Bestwifeever...
Thank you so much for commenting on my original post.
All of your comments had to do with the question of whether I should create my own blog instead of posting here in this Forum. I'll give you the short version of my answer now: managing my own blog -- yes, I said managing --would be WAY more work than I would want to do. The long version of that answer I will publish in a new post that I began writing today. (And thanks loads for the idea!)
Cheers...
Alex in Virginia
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11-09-2013, 06:38 AM
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#15
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Charleston, SC
Posts: 13,566
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Dude, "managing" a blog isn't much work at all. You don't have to write every day, lol. And it doesn't take any longer to write on the blog than writing it here. Tumblr is pretty easy to use, if you want to check it out. I use Wordpress, which is harder, but lots more options.
I think you'd like it if you tried it.
__________________
“One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it's worth watching.”
Gerard Arthur Way
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11-09-2013, 06:57 AM
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#16
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Texas: No Country for Old Men
Posts: 50,004
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sarah in SC
Dude, "managing" a blog isn't much work at all. You don't have to write every day, lol. And it doesn't take any longer to write on the blog than writing it here. Tumblr is pretty easy to use, if you want to check it out. I use Wordpress, which is harder, but lots more options.
I think you'd like it if you tried it.
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Yep.
Plus you wouldn't have others interrupting your blog with cat videos...
__________________
Numbers is hard
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11-09-2013, 07:35 AM
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#17
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 17,773
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Quote:
Originally Posted by REWahoo
Yep. Plus you wouldn't have others interrupting your blog with cat videos...
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I am very disappointed--you couldn't find a video about a cat retiring or reading AARP magazine or clipping coupons to stay on topic?
Like this one
__________________
“Would you like an adventure now, or would you like to have your tea first?” J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan
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11-09-2013, 07:41 AM
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#18
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 145
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sarah in SC
Dude, "managing" a blog isn't much work at all. You don't have to write every day, lol. And it doesn't take any longer to write on the blog than writing it here. Tumblr is pretty easy to use, if you want to check it out. I use Wordpress, which is harder, but lots more options. I think you'd like it if you tried it.
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Hey, Sarah in SC (and REWahoo)...
Thanks for your replies to my post.
It's not about the writing. It's about the marketing management of the blog to drive traffic to it. Just wait a little... I'll have a full post on this fairly soon.
(And BTW, I love kitty cats!)
Alex in Virginia
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11-09-2013, 07:55 AM
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#19
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Texas: No Country for Old Men
Posts: 50,004
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Alex in Virginia
Hey, Sarah in SC (and REWahoo)...
Thanks for your replies to my post.
It's not about the writing. It's about the marketing management of the blog to drive traffic to it. Just wait a little... I'll have a full post on this fairly soon.
(And BTW, I love kitty cats!)
Alex in Virginia
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Got it - it's all about the traffic.
You want to use the E-R "discussion" forum as your blog site so you can leverage the readership to get visibility for your personal story. Too bad you can't run some ads to generate a little income.
__________________
Numbers is hard
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11-09-2013, 08:00 AM
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#20
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 18,085
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Quote:
Originally Posted by REWahoo
Got it - it's all about the traffic.
You want to use the E-R "discussion" forum as your blog site so you can leverage the readership to get visibility for your personal story. Too bad you can't run some ads to generate a little income.
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Well, he is such an altruist that ads are beside the point.
__________________
"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."
- George Orwell
Ezekiel 23:20
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