Recent content by gabrewer

Hi all; I've been reading this thread with much interest, mainly due to the experience of my mother with a second marriage, and now would like to add my thoughts to the many good ones already expressed here. First of all, I will apologize in advance if anyone is offended by what I have to say...

The good news is I did retire on June 30. At age 63, not exactly the FIRE I first wanted, but still better than some of my colleagues who are in their 70's and feel they can't stop working. The bad news is my obsolete Windows 7 computer with my obsolete MS Money 98 software also decided to...

Thanks everyone for all the input. I was really surprised as to how many replies there were to my post. I appreciate everyone sharing their experiences; I definitely have more food for thought now. Best always.

Hi all; In searching the forum for posts about this it seems there's a fairly broad consensus that no more than the customary two weeks is required when giving notice, with some exceptions for high level or specialized occupations. Some background. I work remotely for a company that is not...

Just another opinion I know I'm probably not adding anything to what has been said here about Vanguard, but I had an experience today that prompted me to chime in. First of all, I got an email a week or so back from an advisor at Vanguard indicating that he would be giving me a call soon to...

We actually had a pretty good experience. Opendoor was the buyer, but we dealt with a realtor, not directly with Opendoor. Our intent was to put our 30+ year old home on the market, as is, and just see what happens. At the first meeting with the realtor, he came with a proposal in hand from...

When we lived in the Atlanta area, we often did parts of the Silver Comet Trail. I'm not sure of the total distance, but I think it almost goes to the Alabama State line. In Florida we like the St. Marks trail, which goes from Tallahassee to St. Marks on the coast -- a 32 mile round trip...

Hi all; As my wife and I advance slowly but surely to our FIRE date and hopefully get out of the 1MY loop, we are considering our options for selling our home. We are very much in a frame of mind to sell "as is." Our home is in pretty good shape for one built in 1988 in suburban Atlanta...

Thanks all for your input -- interesting perspectives. It seems like a good number believe that 5% is a good rule of thumb, but they might tolerate a little higher but keep an eye on it. I think I'm comfortable in that camp right now. I can appreciate the perspectives of those who feel that...

First of all, my apologies if this has been covered elsewhere. I did some searching and did not get any hits. Anyway, I would say this is an asset allocation issue. Many years ago I bought some stock in one of Atlanta's "favorite son" companies -- let's call it HD. As many of you probably...

Hi all; I was thinking about creating a thread, but found this one that seems to be dealing with the issue I've been pondering. I've been quite perplexed recently over the "disconnect" between interest rates and the total return I've been seeing on some of the bond funds I have money in. I own...

"Participating" is a term you sometimes see in relation to traditional whole life insurance policies -- typically sold by mutual life insurance companies. Policy owners "participated" in the financial performance of the company in the sense of getting a "dividend" -- accounting wise actually a...

Not sure if this is really an issue for the health forum or the money forum, but for me it is more financial matter at this point in time. My wife and I purchased LTC policies nine years ago (at age 51). We had a guaranteed rate period of five years. The premium has remained the same, but...

I have a couple, presuming short-term means less than one year. Back when I first started investing in the late 80's, I was attracted by a little known small cap fund call Ultra, managed by 20th Century Investors (now American Century). After seeing a dip within a few months of buying, it...

Thanks -- I've never liked that view as well. No one has a savings or investment account with social security that is earning anything. Once we file, all we will ever having coming to us is our next payment. Likewise, describing delaying payment as a "raise" as some do is to me also a fallacy...