(FAQ archive) Nords personal profile

[Nords]

The FAQ archive gives us a way to link info without having to type the same responses over and over. Posters certainly aren't going to take the time to dig through thousands of posts to learn more about us, either, so this seems to be the next step.

Hopefully someone would read one of my posts, wonder "Why does he say/do that?!?", look up this profile, and think "OK, that makes sense." PM me if you'd like to add your own personal profile to this archive.

Here's my professional, personal, & financial info:
Retired Navy submariner. ER'd in 2002 on Oahu at age 41.

Enthusiastic surfer, voracious reader, engineering/computer geek, taekwondo, and survivor of many home-improvement projects.

Favorite ER books: Bob Clyatt's "Work Less, Live More", Bernstein's "Four Pillars", and Dimson & Marsh's "Triumph of the Optimists".

Favorite ER calculators: FIRECalc and FinancialEngines.com. FE is more detailed & conservative but lacks performance data on some ETFs (like PID).

U.S. Naval Academy '82 & Naval Postgraduate School '87-89
USS JAMES MONROE (SSBN 622 BLUE) '84-86
USS NEW YORK CITY (SSN 696) '90-92 (Weapons officer)
I finished my 20 years at staffs & training commands.
More details at United States Navy - Together We Served

Pension is $37K/year in 2008 with a CPI COLA.
Spouse drills in the Navy Reserve and will collect her pension in 2022.
Raising a teenager who starts college in fall 2010, probably NROTC.

ER portfolio is moving toward three ETFs and one stock: 23% Berkshire Hathaway, 21% PID, 21% DVY, 17% IJS, and 8% cash. As the last stocks & sector ETFs are sold then the rest will move toward 23%. 8% cash is two years' expenses for a bear market and to ride out the volatility swings.

No bonds, no REITs, no commodities. With COLA pensions & flexible expenses the rest of our ER portfolio can be way out on the risk/return curve. We're renovating a 30-year-old rental, and when the tenants move out then we're selling it for a cheap REIT. Commodity returns seem to be fueled by a dropping dollar instead of fundamental values.

~16% of our ER portfolio comes from our home mortgage, a 30-year 5.375% loan that pays off in 2034. It's invested in the small-cap value ETF and returning a bit more than the interest rate.

Military retiree families pay $460/year for TRICARE health insurance with additional copays and prescription fees.

I've been interviewed at Doug Interview and
Retired at 50 - Doug Nordman (5) - FORTUNE

I'm writing an ER manual-- "The Military Guide to Financial Independence and Retiring Early: FIRE!" Bob Clyatt and the Kaderlis have provided huge advice & support and the book cites the examples of over two dozen veterans & families. I'll publish in some form by the end of the decade with profits going to military charities. Email me if you'd like to contribute your advice or sea stories.