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DW and I have looked at the idea of living off cash and possibly the sale of our home for the first few years of retirement (1/1/2017 retirement date). We'd like to delay withdrawals from our 401k's and IRA's as much as possible, and wait on SS until 2021/2022 (age 66 for each of us...

Thanks for the tip on the spreadsheet output, Lbscal -- I'm going to take a look at that. Current portfolio is about 70/30.

Thanks, Independent -- I like your idea of converting assets to actual cash/short terms before retirement. Kind of the "bucket" approach. Based on our current lifestyle, 60k is actually a pretty comfortable number for us to play with (at least the first few years). We're also researching...

Revlefty -- We have one kid that is completely independent already and another that is on the verge of college graduation. Even if he has to depend on our help for a bit while he gets launched, I don't have too much fear that by 2017 he'll be out and on his own.

Thanks Meadbh -- I liked this simple visual of what goes in the body under conditions of stress. Explained better than most long-winded technical articles could do.

Thanks Katsmeow -- I think your philosophy and approach is similar to how I'd like to look at our situation. I like to play with FIRECALC in such a way that I assume conservative input and see what the worst case scenario is with that input. Even if our BS buckets get filled sooner than we can...

Thanks for this response, Katsmeow. It expresses pretty much my own philosophy (or pipe dreams, anyway, as I'm still w*rking) and what I've tried to do when I play with FIRECALC. I figure if I throw in variables that TEND toward more conservative expectations, the better chance I have at taking...

Yep, I've run it several different ways with today's existing portfolio balance and our projected contributions. We have lots of time yet, and many scenarios that could play out, including DW going to a part time job if her BS bucket fills more rapidly than mine.

My jack-o-lantern from last night

Thanks Ziggy29. Our combined SS (at 75%) in 2022 will be about 36k, so we'd only have to make up about 24k annually out of our portfolio. I think you verbalized what I didn't in my original post, though, and that's a bear market happening at an inopportune juncture.

In the field that DW and are in (and I'm sure others use the term, too) we have a term called "scope creep". It happens when a project's design/fabrication goes on WAY too long and things just keep getting added to it. Regarding the design we have to reach retirement, we aren't at BS Full...

I always feel very poorly informed when others talk of annuities. I know that SPIA's (single premium immediate annuities) don't have the same negative connotations as variables, but I'd love to have a brief explanation of the difference, and reasons why SPIA's are OK.

Wow! Your story is inspirational, Jeremy! I've started reading your blog and I'm hooked. Your writing and Winnie's photography immediately grabbed my curiosity to learn more about your story. Both DW and I are home from w*rk today due to a lovely April blizzard moving through the Twin Cities...

Thanks Kramer -- I always look forward to your posts and replies.

Thanks Michael. I figured that was the case, but I also wonder if some treatment methods that are commonplace in other countries might not make the cut, such as acupuncture, acupressure, chiropractic, voodoo, The Force, etc. (I think my health plan does cover some "acu" treatments.) I haven't...

Is it permissible to use HSA money to pay for medical expenses outside of the U.S., or would they be non-qualified right off the bat?

It would seem the prudent thing to do would be to "plan for the worst and hope for the best". I'll stick with the Constant Spending model for my budgeting for now, and if Bernicke turns out to be a more applicable model to my future situation, I should come out ahead. I intend to play with the...

If Bernicke's Model is that flawed (no allowance for HC factor), should it even be a choice as a model? Or is it only a good choice for those that don't anticipate rising HC costs? I have no trouble putting away the rose-colored specs in favor of the more conservative model, but I'd like to hear...

Thanks Bondi. The fact that Bernicke didn't figure in high health care costs seems very short-sighted indeed. It's only THE big question mark for most folks trying to do the math. Unless I hear from others that Bernicke's formula in FIRECALC has been adjusted, I'll probably stick with "constant...

Maybe not print money, but minting giant coins to cover it, now THAT's an idea!

I'm curious to know which FIRECALC choice is favored by those on the forum. I prefer to use "constant spending", but the Bernicke approach gives me a significantly higher annual spending ceiling, at a 99% success rate (93k vs 58k). Should Bernicke be considered with a grain of salt, or can I go...

This is really helpful, Kramer -- thanks! I'll be doing some rooting around on World Nomads web site.

Thanks very much, kramer. Based on the limited amount of reading I've done to this point, I've come to pretty much the same conclusion: "It's too early to tell." DW and I are still about 5 years from making any kind of move, so hopefully the picture will be made more clear by then. For now I'm...

Thanks Kevin -- can you provide any ballpark numbers on typical costs for a World Nomads policy to cover a visit (or visits) back to the States?

Wow. I can hear that agent's "gulp" from here. In order to claim Mexico as "home", though, wouldn't I need to reside there a minimum of 330 days, or some such number?