Input on newer blog

[gwix98]

FYI,

Take a look at CanIRetireYet.com


Curious what board members think of this newer blog.

[arebelspy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gwix98 FYI, Take a look at CanIRetireYet.com Curious what board members think of this newer blog.

Decent articles, and the writer writes clearly.

Not a fan of the free ebook gimmick to harvest my email address, nor the penny stock advertisement of turning $200 into "a mountain of cash" (their words). Won't be adding to my RSS feeds.

[Bestwifeever]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gwix98 FYI, Take a look at CanIRetireYet.com Curious what board members think of this newer blog.

What do you think about it?

[Nords]

He had a nice writeup in USAA's magazine:
USAA Winter 2011

Compared to most personal finance bloggers, he's being extremely restrained in his advertising.

I've subscribed to his blog and I'll let you know my opinion in a few months. Maybe you could do the same.

Maybe I'll have a chance to meet him at FINCON12 or an upcoming USAA blogger event. The PF field needs more geezer bloggers...

[gwix98]

I actually like the blog so far, and have had several nice e-mails with
the author. The "free book" is quite harmless "IMHO". The advertising is minimal, and I don't really think his goal is to make big sums off this thing.
But time will tell.
The writing is well done in my opinion.

gwix

[gwix98]

Been a while since I've been on here, and nice to see old familiar posters like
Nords. Hope all is well in my favorite islands!

[Nords]

I'll revive an old thread with an update.

We've mentioned Darrow Kirkpatrick's blog in a couple other threads:
http://www.early-retirement.org/foru...ion-61994.html
http://www.early-retirement.org/foru...ram-63028.html

... and he was just profiled on Yahoo! Finance:
How to Retire by 50 - Yahoo! Finance , including a video with stunning vistas of his local trails & views.

He says the Yahoo! article and 4:37 of video required about six hours of interviewing/filming. Farnoosh Torabi parachuted jetted in separately for her two-hour contribution and then flew out again while the rest of the crew finished up. I often wonder if celebrities like that ever reflect on the differences between the jetset (literally) life they're leading and the life of an early retiree. Or maybe they don't see the comparison as relevant. But Darrow says she's actually extremely nice, very unpretentious, and (from reading her books) a hard worker who started out frugally like the rest of us.

But the thoughts that resonate most strongly with me are in Darrow's latest guest post on MrMoneyMustache.com:
Guest Post: Why You’ll Become Busier After Retirement | Mr. Money Mustache

[Spanky]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gwix98 FYI, Take a look at CanIRetireYet.com Curious what board members think of this newer blog.

Very nice blog. Thanks for sharing.

[nun]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords I'll revive an old thread with an update. We've mentioned Darrow Kirkpatrick's blog in a couple other threads: http://www.early-retirement.org/foru...ion-61994.html http://www.early-retirement.org/foru...ram-63028.html ... and he was just profiled on Yahoo! Finance: How to Retire by 50 - Yahoo! Finance , including a video with stunning vistas of his local trails & views. He says the Yahoo! article and 4:37 of video required about six hours of interviewing/filming. Farnoosh Torabi parachuted jetted in separately for her two-hour contribution and then flew out again while the rest of the crew finished up. I often wonder if celebrities like that ever reflect on the differences between the jetset (literally) life they're leading and the life of an early retiree. Or maybe they don't see the comparison as relevant. But Darrow says she's actually extremely nice, very unpretentious, and (from reading her books) a hard worker who started out frugally like the rest of us. But the thoughts that resonate most strongly with me are in Darrow's latest guest post on MrMoneyMustache.com: Guest Post: Why You’ll Become Busier After Retirement | Mr. Money Mustache

The video leaves a lot unanswered. Things like how long will his money last and how much reliance will they put on his wife's pension (she's a teacher) when she retires and on SS in the future. Her health insurance is certainly helping and how much of the $4.5k a month budget does her salary pay for.

I though we were going to get some numbers half way through, but he was pretty coy about his actual savings, there's a big difference between $1M and $2M. The principles are excellent, live in an inexpensive part of the country, LBYM, monitor spending, invest regularly and sensibly, but what would happen to his plan if his wife retired?

[btbw2380]

Agreed the principles are excellent but standard stuff written a thousand times before. I don't see how someone calls himself early retired though when his wife is a full time teacher with no doubt excellent benefits. There are countless families with one wage earner; is the stay at home mom/dad raising a family "retired"?

[ShortInSeattle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by btbw2380 Agreed the principles are excellent but standard stuff written a thousand times before. I don't see how someone calls himself early retired though when his wife is a full time teacher with no doubt excellent benefits. There are countless families with one wage earner; is the stay at home mom/dad raising a family "retired"?

Yeah. While I have no crankiness towards those who make a different choice, I find the "one retired, one working" thing to be a bit odd. DH and I are both toiling towards FI. It wouldn't seem fair for one of us to clock out and leave the other in the trenches.

I suppose it makes sense if one spouse just doesn't want to stop working, or there is a health issue. And certainly it's none of my business if it works for them,

But I find it a bit odd.

SIS

[nun]

Quote:

Originally Posted by btbw2380 Agreed the principles are excellent but standard stuff written a thousand times before. I don't see how someone calls himself early retired though when his wife is a full time teacher with no doubt excellent benefits. There are countless families with one wage earner; is the stay at home mom/dad raising a family "retired"?

Having only one spouse working is quite a feat these days, so they have done well. There are lots of ways to spend your time and the guy just seems to have decided he can do better things with his time than sit at the computer coding.......he can sit at the computer and blog . Actually I can understand how you can burn out and just want to do something a bit different where you are free from constraints...the big thing about financial freedom is the freedom to do what you like. Of course his wife isn't quite free to stop her work yet. That could be an interesting conversation for some couples, "Honey I'm going to retire....you're ok staying in work as we need the health benefits....right?"

[haha]

This blog proves once again, if that were needed, that advice is cheap and it will be offered by anyone with or without any standing to offer it.

I will say that this would never have happened two generations ago. My father would have had nothing but scorn for advice givers, and my grandfather wouldn't even have had that.

People must have become very unsure of their ability to navigate their own paths, as advice seems to be one of the few growth industries left in America.

Ha

[nun]

Quote:

Originally Posted by haha This blog proves once again, if that were needed, that advice is cheap and it will be offered by anyone with or without any standing to offer it. I will say that this would never have happened two generations ago. My father would have had nothing but scorn for advice givers, and my grandfather wouldn't even have had that. People must have become very unsure of their ability to navigate their own paths, as advice seems to be one of the few growth industries left in America. Ha

Here are some FAQs about the blogger's ER situation. Looks like his wife will be working up to retirement age so they can get the health care benefits.

One thing I'd be interested in is how he is managing his withdrawals. While they might not need the wife's salary, I wonder if it makes it possible to have spendable income without having to do 72t stuff.

[foxfirev5]

I guess by this guys parameters I could be considered retired. My DW quit working last year and I don't work very hard at all, just go out meet people and talk. If I rationalize the situation I'm already there. But isn't that true of most things?

[btbw2380]

I wish Darrow well but I find it somewhat disingenous he's writing about being retired early when he's not. Does that lets say 50k teacher's salary regularly coming into the family coffers represent the new retirement? A significant part of FI is the anxiety and uncertainty associated with not having a regular income. Take away the safety net before offering advice to others based on your experience. I wonder if once Darrow's wife becomes vested in retirement benefits and the markets at the time are completely tanking if she'll walk away from her job? Not a chance and I know I won't have that "new retirement" fall back position!

[nun]

The advice is good and I don't think there should be any ER police, but maybe Darren should put a bit more emphasis on the income and benefits his wife provides and how they mesh with his withdrawal strategy and plans for income when they are both retired.

His blog has a lot of psychological stuff, you know adjusting to retirement, as well as Bogleish financial advice, I'd like to see some numbers and exactly how he's managing stuff so we can see exactly where the income is coming from and how it will be managed through the stages of retirement.

[haha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nun The advice is good and I don't think there should be any ER police,

I am not sure about this. IF someone gives advice based on "been there, done that", he should be there and do that. Which he is not doing.

My motto is to not trust money advice from someone who is not a fiducuary and thus to some extent financially on the hook, or alternatively is a completely non-commercial source and who it can be ascertained is in fact what he says he is. This last one is a hurdle that few can meet.

Ha

[nun]

Quote:

Originally Posted by haha I am not sure about this. IF someone gives advice based on "been there, done that", he should be there and do that. Which he is not doing. My motto is to not trust money advice from someone who is not a fiducuary and thus to some extent financially on the hook, or alternatively is a completely non-commercial source and who it can be ascertained is in fact what he says he is. This last one is a hurdle that few can meet. Ha

I don't trust anyone . But this guy is just out there blogging. He isn't forcing anyone to take his musings as gospel or setting himself up as a guru. He's reasonably up front with the fact that he and his wife would have a hard time making it without her salary and benefits so basically who cares. The only reason this is an issue is because some production assistant was given the task of finding an interesting story by searching the blogosphere. Blogging and contributing to forums have a big element of egoism which can get people in trouble. But this blog seems pretty benign.

[pb4uski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by btbw2380 ..... is the stay at home mom/dad raising a family "retired"?

Seemed like a sure-fire way to get DW royally pi**ed off was to refer to her as "retired".