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Has anyone any experience flying with Saudia airlines? DW and I will be flying later this year to Jakarta from the eastern seaboard. The cheapest option for business class (with lay flat seats) is to fly from IAD to CGK with Saudia. Unlike other Arab airlines there is no alcohol on board and it...

DW and I have started to arrange a bucket list trip to SE Asia. We've booked a 21 day tour with Emerald cruises through Vietnam and Cambodia https://www.emeraldcruises.com/tours/grand-tour-of-vietnam--cambodia/13198 So that's all set. We will also book a 12-day scuba diving trip in Indonesia...

We just flew back from Roatan last Sunday via Miami and were surprised by the changes that have occurred since we last flew internationally (before covid; BC seems like an appropriate abbreviation given how long it seems :facepalm:) Now entry went even faster. No fingerprints taken at the kiosk...

FYI - If you use H&R Block for taxes and are taking a QBI deduction (form 8995) wait until after the Feb 14 update to file. I didn't and got this helpful message from them (twice):

Is anyone else having problems with two factor authentication (2FA) on the my social security site? Two weeks or so ago I logged on as normal. No problem receiving the 2FA text from SS. Quite recently DW applied successfully to start her SS on line. My problems started last week. I tried to...

An interesting idea out of N. Carolina: https://www.wsj.com/articles/north-carolina-faces-hospital-fight-trying-new-tack-to-set-health-care-payments-1541340000?mod=hp_listc_pos4 Sounds like a sensible approach to me. Let the Feds set prices and piggyback on their rates. IMO it would have to...

FYI - Amazon has the 6 qt instant pot duo on sale for $90 for the next 14 hours or so. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01NBKTPTS/ I know many have talked about this device here in the past. I'm a big fan and use it most nights to cook rice, potatoes, beets and beans in addition to one pot...

I read the oblivious investor blog regularly. Maybe others do but I'm sure not all of you do. I found this study referenced there to be pretty amazing (but not that surprising)...

DW and I are planning a 3-week trip to South America in early April. We can get great (cheap and fast) flights from Houston, TX to Lima, Peru. Once in S. America it's cheap to fly onto Santiago, Chile. We've spent time in Peru before on a Road Scholar trip to Machu Picchu (so have seen Cusco...

I have a 457 deferred compensation plan that I want to rollover to a traditional IRA. It's allowed by my plan after separation from service. Now the question: Is there any reason to roll this money into an existing traditional IRA at Vanguard? The existing IRA and 457 were funded 100% with tax...

The new pension law used for the first time: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/get-there/wp/2017/01/27/in-unprecedented-move-pension-plan-approves-benefit-cuts-for-retired-iron-workers/?utm_term=.9f874012f60a This only applies to multiemployer pension plans but does IMO set a precedent.

Phau article This may be of interest to some, but obviously suffers from trying to extrapolate from fitted data. He "predicts" those who retired in 2000 should limit themselves to ~3%. A few years later he predicts ~4%. Right now, I'm looking to retire mid 2017 so of interest to me.

An intriguing article by Scott Burns on the use of reverse mortgages to buy new homes with 50 percent down and then using a reverse mortgage to pay the mortgage on your 50% ownership to pay the remaining mortgage payments...

I'm very close to FIRE and have to seriously consider what I'm going to do about medical insurance. I work for a state and am eligible to opt for their BCBS administered self-insured plan. Rates have been stable for a number of years (amazing with all the stories I've seen here over the last few...

I thought this WSJ article was interesting for any who plan to live overseas as US citizens: Fatca Relief Coming for U.S. Expats Via ‘Same Country Exception’? – Opinion - Expat - WSJ In short it discusses efforts to pass a "same country exception" to FATCA: you would not have to comply with...

I thought this was an interesting brief article on the future perfomance of a 60/40 asset allocation: The Irrelevant Investor — How Should We Think About a 60/40 Portfolio? followed by a discussion of modeled returns... Then the statement I suppose that last statement (90%) could be true...

I thought this was an interesting version of the common "best city" listings. It appears to use quantifiable data to explore this issue and I hope it will help me and DW decide where we'll retire (we plan to move when we retire next year). Best Cities for Successful Aging I especially like the...

I'm a relatively new taxable investor in mutual funds (although long-time sheltered investor in IRAs/403b/457 accounts). So I'm just starting to consider tax consequences of dividends and capital gains from mutual funds. Given the recent drop in stock prices (especially international) I assume...

Visitors to Bolivia need proof of yellow fever vaccination to gain entry. Not a problem for me or DW, but this vaccine is contraindicated for people over 60. Given it is effective for 10 years after injection and booster shots cause far few complications, it may be wise to get this in your...

I'm a US/UK dual citizen. Bolivia requires a $135 visa for entry if you are a US citizen and no visa is required if a UK passport holder. So can I enter Bolivia (by road from Peru) on my UK passport and fly back to the US (from La Paz) on my USA passport? Do the airport authorities in La Paz...

Anyone here used this service? I'm curious what the breakdown of a "typical" tour (is there any such thing...?). Specifically how old are the participants? Are they mostly couples? Are they outgoing or introverts? I'm exploring the possibility of the Peru/Bolivia trip they run (going to the...