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in our area, coastal South Orange County, California, home costs are driven by proximity to the ocean. Down to the 1/100th of a mile, quite literally. And desirability follows, as you might imagine. I love it here, and can not imagine any circumstance that would take me further from the ocean...

That we're bored. Which I find so ironic, because the most bored I ever was in my entire life was my last two years of w#rk, when I was so over my job I could have shot myself. In years one and two of ER, I would respond with a long list of activities to assure them (and probably myself) that...

Went on a 12 mile hike with DH, which was just glorious. Came home, cleaned up, then enjoyed the leftovers from last night's Greek restaurant dinner for lunch. Took a deep breath and dove into Michaels Crafts to pick up a needlepoint project I'd done and had framed (an adorable birth record...

Our 'usual' has been to go to a fairly nearby ballroom dancing and dinner event. Not too terribly pricey at $50 a person, and a very nice, romantic way to end the year, though quite often we'll leave around 11:00 PM because we're tired and ready to head for home. I find the ringing in of the New...

Woke up at 2:00 AM just because (I'll be glad when *this* phase is over), so I went ahead and planned out the menu and shopping list for a cookie exchange dinner party I'm having here tomorrow. Also did my book club reading (Mark Twain's Roughing It), all before 6:00 AM. Headed to Target at 7:45...

I have had many wonderful (i.e., significant) days in my lifetime, but I am convinced the best is still to come. This year, my 52nd, has been my best year ever . . . six months of amazing travel around the US, the return to a job nearby of one of our daughters, a fabulous trip to Peru, and the...

We've sailed to Alaska twice, with gorgeous weather in May, when it still should have been rainy, and rainy weather in August, when it should have been slightly less rainy. As both captains said every morning when giving the day's weather report, "Take Alaska for what Alaska is . . . rain...

It buys us back two feet of garage, which leaves enough room to continue to access our rear garage side door. Great feature.

Great info so far, thanks all. We've been to a good number of third world and developing countries, we've driven on the left side of the road, we're both very adept driving cars with manual transmissions, we've visited countries that seem to have frequent, but fairly benign uprisings (Thailand...

Congratulations! It is wonderful, isn't it . . . time to bake, time to decorate, time to listen to music, time to attend the many wonderful events this time of year, time to entertain, time to be entertained, and best of all, time to get in and out of stores during the quiet midweek days, and...

athena, am curious what your thoughts are on just staying with a 2.5% withdrawal rate when SS arrives, and instead kicking up the spend? We likewise have been at between 2.4% and 2.5% since ER'ing, but are thinking there's no reason not to continue doing same even after pensions, SS and...

I'm with you on this, trust me. We use our travel trailer about 100 days a year, so it's been fully vetted and found to be 'justifiable' both from a cost and storage impact perspective. :) EDIT: I just added up our usage days for 2014 - 147 nights out. So it would appear the excess 'stuff'...

Hi all, Looking for a quick assessment of Fiji and American Samoa as on-your-owns, particular with regard to driving around both. I am putting together a trip to visit American Samoa, Fiji and New Zealand, and we can either do it entirely on our own, or hop on a 28 day cruise that visits all...

Does it mean I win if we not only park a car, but also our travel trailer in our two car garage? :)

Are you by chance reading "The Overspent American" by Juliet Schor? If so, or even regardless, after finishing the book, I was struck by how much lifestyle creepage has occurred since the 1950's. Dishwashers, microwaves, TV's, multiple autos, full clothing closets and shoe racks, traveling...

Ordered most of my Christmas gifts online yesterday, which included a $100 REI Gift Card (DD needs new rock climbing equipment), $100 Ruth's Chris Steakhouse Gift Card for the parents of our new GD (includes free babysitting too , of course ;)), and from Amazon, a princess popup tent and a...

+1 to all comments above. SIL will or won't get to where you hope he will go based on his individual aptitude. Trying to control him will not improve your future relationship, it will only damage it. Step away from the situation and accept that it is not yours to manage. Focus on enjoying your...

I worked in upper middle management, insurance industry. DH worked in senior management (executive ranks) also in insurance industry. Key to our ER was establishing a standard of living way back when, and staying there. That meant our savings rate percentage grew every single year. We started...

Super easy solution - pour it onto a piece of tinfoil laid inside of a bowl. Once it cools, lift out the tin foil, fold it up carefully, and place it into trash can. Done! If you use paper bags for your trash, possibly place above into a small sandwich zip to ensure no spillage. (We use...

Leisurely wake up over coffee with DH, as usual. Did Spanish homework just in time for my 10:00 AM class, home for lunch, then to the gym for a late workout (60 minutes on stationary bike, plus 45 minutes on weight circuit), home to shower and R&R for an hour or so before leaving for a concert...

BTW, this made me remember spending Thanksgiving aboard Cunard's Queen Victoria a few years back. On Turkey Day (what we Yanks sometimes call Thanksgiving) DH and I excitedly asked our waiter at breakfast what the Thanksgiving dinner menu would look like. Rather nonplussed, he responded that...

I'm not sure, but I can assure you I am looking forward to the challenge! What I'm seeing is that we are spending more for each trip as we edge closer to the class of luxury travel, compared to the rice and beans travel we did in our younger years. So, even if we travel less going into our...

Our spending initially decreased because we dropped a lot of lifestyle expenses we were doing to keep ourselves sane while at our high stress j#bs. It has remained flat for four years in ER while allowing us to feel that we are living as 'big' as we have energy to do so. The only category I see...

In looking back over four years of very detailed budget spreadsheets, we have not been surprised by anything. I consider that good planning, though, not luck. Other than something completely unexpected such as a divorce, or, say, our home suddenly sinking into the ground, I'm not sure what or...

- A 45 minute group dancing lesson for 2 (American foxtrot most recently), which also includes 'free' entrance to the three hour open, social dancing that immediately follows. At $15 pp, free parking, that still leaves $10, which we often finish on the way home with a stop for frozen yogurt at...