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Having come into adulthood in the late 70's ... I think interest rates right now are fantastic! :dance: ( Returns on bonds .... not so much :( ) It's just too bad I don't need to borrow any money right now.

Well, I hope you're right ... 'cause I been waiting a while for there to be some real "blood-in-the-streets" so I can pick up some more stock oriented funds on the cheap. I really have no clue if/when that might be. Not holding my breath though.

Haven't noticed the price of building materials or labor going down any. IMO, The cost of new construction generally sets the tone for $ per sq ft of all houses in any area. (special local circumstances excepted) If new houses are $110 per sq ft .... you'll probably not find any resale...

Anecdotal, I know ... but that's what we did. Went from a gorgeous 3500 sq ft house, 3 acres, pool, etc to a brand spanking new 2100 sq footer in a suburban neighborhood with an easygoing HOA (lets me keep my boat & other toys in the back yard) Also going from the big house in Texas to this...

I'm perfectly fine with panhandle winter weather, we get a little cold snap two or three times in the winter where we might see 30's occasionally, or even mid-high 20's at night ..... but it generally lasts only a few days & we're back up to 60's & 70's. (gonna be hitting near 80 every day...

Rented a soundside waterview townhouse on Navarre Beach, FL with a dock on the sound for a year (this was about 5 yr ago) .... 3 bed/2b, 2 car garage, built in 1999. Really nice place for $1450 a month. But we rented it from a fighter pilot who lived there while stationed at Eglin & had been...

I read a couple of articles the other day about how they are kicking around the idea of increasing the Federal gas tax to fund infrastructure. Saw the figure of an extra 25 cents per gallon mentioned a couple of times. (current is 18.4 cents per gallon) Anyways, while I'm certainly not...

Don't panic. I've thought it over and the answer is definitely 42. Now ... what was the question? :coolsmiley: *

Life is just better down here on the Emerald Coast ... ya'll :coolsmiley:

I have figured this middle-income early-retired family will benefit somewhere between $300 and $700 per year. Unless of course, the House bill's provision to eliminate the tuition-waiver exemption for graduate students goes through .... then it will probably be about a 4k per year loser for us...

We never saved separate money for our child' education ... figured it was all just part of the big family money pot, and it would cost what it cost. When working I fully maxed out whatever tax-advantaged accounts I was able to ... but never bothered with trying to do any kind of tax-advantaged...

As was I .... someone in a previous comments suggested future benefit cuts as a possible reason to take SS earlier rather than later.

I do the same ... Excel from an outdated version of MS Office 2003 my sister gave me for free some years ago. Office 2003 is not even supported by microsoft anymore, but I don't care ... it does everything I need it to do and I didn't even have to pay for it. Call me "old-school"...

Not trying to be political, just a prediction ... someday when SS gets in such trouble maintaining benefit levels that Congress is forced to do something to "fix" it .... I predict rather than slashing current benefits they will just raise or perhaps eventually abolish the SS wage cap for...

The government kind of expects me to take my SS at 62 because that's when they cut my FERS supplement off that I get for retiring early as a Fed LEO. So, I guess that's what I'll do.

This is one I use. I do a lot of my own maintenance and mechanic work. I found out I can order the part through Advance website and usually get a 20% discount ... then go down to the store not far from me & pick it up same day. Can't get that discount if I buy it at the store without...

Hope you don't mind ... I kind of took some of the "noise" out of your OP & just broke it down to the pertinent facts. Current retirement monies: Simple IRA 58k Pension fund balance: 26k 401k's: 21k Savings: 183k Total: 283k Current Income: 140k Years to desired retirement: 11 Expected SS...

My work situation before I left the Feds had become "toxic" in some respects. Take a lot of annual & sick leave if you have to.

That's me ... except I shop every year. The local independent agency we use always seems to beat the big guys out (including USAA.) And I kinda like being able to stop by their office and look 'em in the eye while discussing various insurance options. (Except our new 2nd home we bought out...

So even if you pay cash and don't take the special financing you pay the same price? Seems to me then, they must have the financing interest cost built into the price of cars nowadays, regardless of how you pay for it? I wonder if this will become the standard business model for car...

Once you get beyond the basic necessities of food, shelter, health care .... this is really kind of a big psychology thing. I don't know about the rest of ya'll but my monthly retirement income would have been incrementally higher had I decided to retire at 57, 62, 65, 67 etc than it is since I...

What's up with people taking the zero percent financing on new cars? Have things changed? The last two new vehicles I purchases in 2000 and 2011 I would have had to give up a several thousand dollar incentive if I took the special low rate financing offer.

Here's the only personal experience I have knowledge of. When my Dad passed away some 20 years ago my brother, sister, and I all lived States away from where we grew up in Mississippi and all of us knew we would not be moving back there. To simplify splitting up the estate my brother...

I tend to think the final bill will end up looking a little bit more like the current Senate version than the current House version .... and whatever that ends up being the House will vote for it. Too much political credibility on the line not to pass something and the margins for passage are...

Depends on how many kids an MFJ couple might happen to have upon which to to claim personal exemptions ... as I understand. Seems to me middle income non-itemizers with four or five kids (like my neighbors) might take a hit.