Recent content by SandsofTime

1. marry a woman who is financially frugal (not into consumerism) 2. marry before you accumulate too many assets (if possible, its better to built a future together as a joint project) 3. be educated enough to make a good income. 4. save money If I was to be self-employed, then the next...

His old age is going to be hell. There is nothing you can, or should, do about it. He will hate you, yell at you, try to throw some guilt trip on you just to get the "fix" for his financial junkie lifestyle. He should have planned his life better. Now, he has to pay the piper. He is 67...

Time to dust off my old beach cruiser bike.

It is probably better to (1) eat a little less, (2) walk a little more, (3) stress a lot less, (4) retire early, and (5) sleep a little more. I would like to challenge drug makers to beat the effects of my five simple five step recipe, with any of their drugs.

@Nords: The rent, which includes internet, receptionist and electricity is a modest $400. Thanks to the terrible economy in my area, office space rents very cheap. I am paying the same rent today that I was paying 10 years ago. Yes, I make a nice monthly profit with my part-time work (which...

Great to hear that you ER'd at 30. I am self-employed and have done some interesting things with my practice: 1. About 2 yrs ago, I reduced my schedule by 1 day a week (started taking Friday off completely) since my DW was also working 4 days/wk at a teacher, by choice. I did not tell anyone...

Very true. For example, in California $700,000 barely buys you a paid off house in the Santa Barbara area. Also, property tax of $5-6000 is common is California, and there are many places in the world that you can live on $10,000/yr quite comfortably. So, really, this comparison is not very...

Very interesting that there isn't even one California town on the list. Probably put off by the cost of living here.

My God!! And I thought that I was the only one in the world who did that.

This whole thread is not necessary or helpful. Sharing this information does not assist any of us in planning/preparing for retirement, and frankly while everyone has been too polite to say this, I would suggest that it is not polite to ask these questions in the mainstream "American culture"...

I would say your point of view is more mid to late 20th century, not the 19th century. The 19th century (1800-1899) was really a terrible age of colonialism and land grabs by European powers, with little consideration for rights and obligations of those that came into the...

Nords: The final composition of a person's financial setup in retirement may be as unique as their fingerprint. I think you would agree that the bottom line is to have your expenses be less than your income. Certainly, debt is ok if one has a defined benefit pension plan etc, or other source...

Hello 2021: Your post speaks volumes about your maturity and intelligence. Therefore, with much hesitation, I venture to give you my thoughts, as I think you are fully capable of handling your future plans yourself. I would suggest the following: 1. Do not pay any attention to other's...

Congratulations on the baby. When the baby comes, open up a College fund and put a little bit in it every month (auto deposit) Even $150/month will be good. Here is my suggestion to you: 1. Pay off the car asap; 2. then pay off the student loans asap; 3. Instead of buying more homes, pay...

Social Security will be there but it will probably be turned into a SSI type welfare payment for the low income seniors. I don't see the USA turning into a complete hell-hole even in 50 years. I do see the USA having a lot more gated communities and a lot less class-mobility in the future. I...