Recent content by Sycamore

Totoro, Good point you made through your example, thanks for that input

I certainly suffer from analysis paralysis syndrome. In my case I see it when trying to figure out my retirement safe withdrawal rate. I frequently wonder if 3% is safe, 2.5%? ???

Glad to hear your return was accepted and you have the extra security measure.

Welcome to the board fired_up. I admire your decision to adopt the two children you mentioned in your post.

Since your time frame is short and the money is for a home purchase I agree with the other posters that recommend a laddered risk free investment such as CDs or government bonds. You might look at some of the online banks and consider a CD ladder that splits the $14k into one year, two year...

Thanks Dusty. The reason I asked my question is that my employer is close to concluding a major merger, and in my industry mergers usually initiate cost cutting. I think about raising my hand with my manager and letting him know I'm open to listen to a good offer.

It is interesting to see the wide range of nest egg size to spending ratios. In my case I would like to reach a minimum of 35X due to a possible 40 to 45 year retirement duration. I often wonder if I'm being prudent or too conservative. Reading some of the posts on this thread, and other...

Dusty, First congratulations on the position you've put yourself in, impressive. I'm curious about your negotiated severance, was your company downsizing? Like other posters have mentioned you negotiated great severance terms, especially around healthcare for the next year. Good Luck and...

jjim, One consideration is the yield from an ETF you mentioned, SPY. It's currently yielding 1.91%. VXUS, Vanguard's total int'l index ETF is yielding 2.82%. Would you be comfortable spending the yield from an ETF portfolio? It might be possible to build a diversified EFT portfolio that...

Fuego, Congratulations on your anniversary. I've been reading your blog for the last 18 months and appreciate your openness in sharing personal details about your finances. You mentioned you started your blog on a whim, and that you're now able to cover most of your expenses with the blog and...

Congratulations. You'll achieve the next million a lot faster than the first million.

I'm not retired and my number has crept up by $200K or so. One big reason is a desire to make sure my college age children get through school and establish their careers. It seems to be a little tougher today compared with 35 years ago when I started my career. Also I really want a strong...

Looking forward to information you found useful to get you where you are today. Congratulations

I browse Kitces web page every week. He targets his blog at CFPs often writing about practice management issues. However he often writes some very interesting and relevant particles for early retirees. His post on how the year 2000 and year 2008 retire are fairing using the four percent rule...

I'm not retired yet. My savings to spending ratio is 31x. I'm targeting a 35x multiplier as my FI target. Recent and projected market returns are a concern for me given our planned 40+ year retirement time frame. It's interesting reading actual experiences from other posters. Sometimes I...