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This may sound like a dumb question, and I think I already know the answer, but I want to check here to make sure. Sometimes I think I "already know the answer," but it turns out I don't. :angel: This part I understand: When you're using the 4% rule, the amount you are allowed to withdraw is...

I retired three years ago. Here are some observations: 1. I'm lazier than I imagined. I don't mean "lazy" in a critical, judgmental way; it's just the word that seems to capture it. There are a wide range of social, cultural, educational, and touring activities I could be doing, but by...

I'm two years into retirement. When I calculate my withdrawal rate, should I be using the baseline figure (the amount I had when I retired), or the current value of the accounts? Just to clarify, I'm not basing my withdrawals on a calculation of withdrawal rate. I'm withdrawing whatever I...

Real estate prices have really shot up in my city over the past year, and from what I've heard, this is happening all over the place. A few questions: 1. What's going on? Why are prices jumping so high, all of a sudden? 2. Do you expect this to be short-lived, then prices stabilize? Or...

Last year, when I hit the 1-year mark post-retirement, I wrote about what I'd learned. I'm at the two-year mark now, so it's time for an update. I suspect this will be my last one, since things are leveling out for me. I'm not sure if this will apply to anyone else or not, but I thought I'd...

I had an experience today that brought home to me how fortunate I am to be FIREd and to no longer have to do anything for the sake of money or for any extrinsic rewards. I have the awesome gift or privilege of being able to do things simply because I enjoy doing them. I don't have to do...

Now that I've crossed the 59 1/2 mark, I've been puzzling over whether I should roll the 403b from my job over to my Vanguard Roth IRA. Help me out here a little, if you would. I am not a financial wonk and get befuddled by taxes sometimes. As I understand it, and correct me if I'm wrong...

Anyone else here doing any writing or blogging in retirement? (By "writing," I'm talking about blogging or doing something for publication, even if only a self-published e-book.) If so, how has it been going? What's your experience been like? Any suggestions? I retired a year and a half...

I am 19 months into my retirement, and so I figured it was time for a refresher course, a tune-up so to speak. I revisited my old notes on retirement planning and re-read some old books on the subject. I made some notes along the way, and I thought I'd share some of them. These are my own...

Quick question about US vs. International Bond mix. I've got mine set at 80/20 in Vanguard. Is that about right? Also, do you know of any good Fidelity international bond index funds? I am currently 100% in US bonds in my Fidelity account, and I think I should diversify a bit. However...

Hi, folks. A quick question about asset allocation. Fidelity's analysis of my profile gave me the feedback that my AA was too high for someone my age. It said that most people my age have a more conservative asset allocation, and that I was potentially exposing myself to too much risk. My...

What do you think of retirement communities? Are you living in one now? Did you consider it, then decide against it? Why? I'm just curious. I'm exploring my options for relocation, and a retirement community is one of them. I don't have any specific location in mind, just exploring...

This morning I read about hedonic adaptation, which is the phenomena where your mind adapts to change and you return to your normal, baseline levels of happiness. It happens with good things and bad. For example, people who become paraplegic are back to normal levels of happiness in about a...

Lessons from the First Year of Retirement I’m approaching my one-year retirement anniversary, so I thought I’d share the main lessons I’ve learned. If you’re approaching retirement, you might find some of this helpful. If you’ve already retired, maybe you’ll relate to some of this, or perhaps...

Just a brief note -- nothing big -- to say I'm enjoying my first Spring in retirement. I retired last year at the end of June, the middle of summer. I'm in the deep south, so when I say summer, I mean summer. My least favorite season. So this is my first Spring in retirement. It's...

Time for another news/politics fast! I do them periodically, to cleanse my brain. After a while of watching news and politics on a daily basis, I notice that I become more irritated, distracted, pessimistic, and cynical. Doesn't take much -- sometimes just a couple weeks. I'm more...

Hi folks. I currently fund my retirement, which began 8 months ago, with dividends and a small pension. As we potentially approach a recession, I'm wondering how my dividends will hold up. I did some reading on the subject prior to retirement, and here's what I learned: 1. Dividends are...

Just a quick note to say that I like the absence of likes and other reactions on this forum. Most forums and social media discussion groups incorporate some form of emotive reactions to each post, which I'm sure everyone is familiar with. Social media companies have discovered that these...

As title suggests, I'm wondering how long you need to go, post-retirement, before you no longer need to be concerned about sequence of returns. "Sequence of returns" risk is the label I know it as, but I'm not a financial guy, so you may know it by other terms. I'm referring to the risk of the...

I already posted on surprises in the first and second months of retirement. There were no real surprises in the third or fourth month, but here are some from the fifth month: 1. I'm spending more than I thought I would, and that's fine. My quarterly spending is about $1000/month more than I...

I've been retired for two months now. I had some surprises in the first month, which I mentioned in a different thread. Here are some surprises I've had in the second month: 1. I don't want to move; I want to stay put. Before I retired, I figured I would probably end up moving. East TN...

I just completed my first month of retirement, and I made a list of the things that have surprised me. Thought I would share. Some are good surprises, some not so good. Even the 'bad' ones have an upside, though. 1. My sadness over leaving my colleagues/career only lasted a day or two...

As I move towards retirement, I'm looking for new stuff to occupy my time. I've got a lot of possibilities, and I'm experimenting. One of the things I'm trying out is book clubs. I'm referring to in-person book clubs, where you meet once a month or so to discuss a particular book. I've...

Anyone here interested in videogames? I didn't get into them until I was 40. I'm 57 now, so I've been enjoying them for quite a while. I've gotten pickier as I got older, but I still enjoy them. I play about 5 to 10 hours a week, I don't watch TV or movies. I'm retiring soon, so I'll have...

When I ignore a member, there is still a notification in the thread that "This post is not visible because you have ___ on ignore" (or words to that effect). Is there a way to disable that? I'd rather not be reminded of the person I'm trying to ignore.