Recent content by HI Bill

Yes, and there are variants with loose definitions depending on spending levels in retirement (Lean FIRE, Fat FIRE). Most of the press today goes to people trying to ER super early (30s, 40s), but most here ER around 50-55, and most here save enough to have a comfortable lifestyle with enough...

That's fine, as long as you won't be spending any of it....

What I never considered fair was the difference in contribution limits between a 401(k) [currently $23K; +$7.5K catch-up] vs an IRA [currently $7K]. In the government's attempt to be somehow fair, they disadvantage employees without a 401(K) by not allowing them to save as much tax-deferred...

When I first ER'd about 3 years ago, I was a Type A person. I had goals, and felt like I needed to accomplish something every day. I volunteered, but driving to the office, picking up a field vehicle, driving to a remote site over a rock road, and setting up barricades felt a lot like w$rk...

Welcome to the forum! I also have hobbies and like to spend. My wife likes to spend on what she wants, and admittedly, her purchases are a small fraction of what I spend. It took nearly 11 years of being together, but I discovered that if I allow her to buy whatever she wants, I can buy...

Probably not. Umbrella insurance is risk-based, and they seem to care about whether you have a swimming pool, trampoline, business on site, number of people at the house, ages, assets, etc. Each driver and vehicle, and other 'risky' asset such as trampolines up the odds that you'll have a...

$238/yr/M with GEICO, house with pool, 2 people, 2 cars in HI

For most ER folks and FIRE folks, Net Worth is more of a fun figure than a useful one. My tracking spreadsheet includes NW, but the most important number for me, is at the very top: Invested Assets (IA). I use the IA value to calculate my SWR, annually, using Boglehead's VPW. Later, I'll add...

This household net worth calculator is based on Federal SCF data, and it's more granular: https://dqydj.com/net-worth-percentile-calculator/

If you choose Investigate for a given success rate (95%, 100%) to determine a maximum 'safe' WR, mine shows a horizontal line that tapers off precipitously after the resulting successful spending level.

I trust VG's forecasts more than others, but they've been conservatively wrong for a while. US markets are propped up by the IRA and 401(k) investors. Every two weeks, every one of them makes a purchase, likely of an ETF or MF they chose a long time ago, without regard to its value or PE...

If your wife is like mine, I'd hide all columns except A, B, C, J & K. Then apply the Round function to all $ values: Round (Cell#, -3) to show all values in thousands. If she questions how you got the numbers, you can unhide the other rows, and her eyes will likely glaze over, as she says...

I don't believe they are linked, at least not generally. Including a house in NW is correct, according to the definition, but the house's value shouldn't be used in FIRECALC unless you plan to sell it and live off the proceeds. It should be considered an asset that could be sold if you run low...

"You don't need a fortune and piles of money to retire or be happy in life." True for some. But after scrimping, investing, saving, and LBYM for my adult life (and living in 800 sf condos), I was able to buy a home in Hawaii with a partial ocean view, a scuba compressor, a sports car, and a...

Japan's Fed has been VERY slow to respond to anything, keeping interest rates negative far longer than needed. The country has significant structural and societal problems when it comes to salaries, performance, and w#rk. I think it's fair to consider them an outlier when comparing to the...