First Post

[livingfree]

Hi all,
First off, great website with tons of great info and stories.
Wanted to share some quick notes. I will plan on retiring in 2011 before my 45th birthday. My definition of retiring is leaving the corporate structure type of employment, but certainly not rocking chair time. I'm going through so many emotions as I'm sure all do. Exciting times

I should have about 1.3 million in traditional IRA, 600K in non-retirement assets, and 80K in Roth

No wife, no dependents, and going to be living in SE Asia. Education and travel will definitely be part of plan. The rest, time will tell.

I will plan on taking SEPP distributions from my traditional IRA, life expectancy method, and plan on submitting request with my IRA custodian on @ 6Jan2012, to get full benefit of IRA balance on 31Dec2011. I'm very interested in corresponding with anyone in my similar situation who is or will take advantage of SEPP/72T from IRA

I could keep working, socking away 100K or so each year in additional savings, but it is the age old question of TIME-versus-Money? Everyone must determine what works best for them. Sometimes I wish there was a user guide to make these tough decisions, but then it would not be as exciting either.

*Side note, not having much luck in getting family,friends,co-workers to understand what I'm getting ready to begin. Hoping I can develop discussions with ambitious ER experts on this board to improve my experience.

Regards to all

 

[Westernskies]

Welcome to the forum.
Sounds like you are on the right track!

 

[Onward]

livingfree, where in SE Asia have you chosen, and why? I've spent a good bit of time there and I'm always interested in other people's favorite spots.

 

[OrcasIslandBound]

Plan looks excellent. Might turn out that you meet some sweet Asian gal and get married, live happily ever after, have 6 kids, run low on money, form a new corporation, and become a billionaire!

 

[traineeinvestor]

Welcome to the forum.

I'm also based in Asia (HK) and will be retiring here sometime between Feb 2012 and Feb 2014. Whereabouts will you be retiring?

One issue to watch out for living out here is a mistmatch between the currency of your investments/income and the currency of your living expenses. A few people I know who have their incomes denominated in USD or GBP but are living in places like Thailand or Singapore have been hit pretty hard by the appreciation of the local currencies.

 

[livingfree]

Thanks all for replies...I've been to several SEA countries over the years and all have pros and cons. Big factor is Visa procedures for each based on being 45, most get easier when over 50. I will do some travelling before I make final decision, but Thailand, Philippines, or Malaysia are all possibilities.

Yes, all my investments are dollar denominated, but major part is in IRA which I have diversified into international/domestic stocks/funds. Tried to plan for the worst (exchange rate/cost of living) and hope for the best. Initially, cost of living should be well under investment income allowing for continued re-investment, although, not overloptimistic on future of dollar exchange rates.

Will travel light and keep things simple. Plan to make the most of the experience and could always settle into local business venture if it suits.

Sbwitte…I will make sure to drop you a note if I find myself heading down the path you forecasted J

 

[Purron]

Welcome! You might want to take a look at this post:

http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f46/inspirational-traveler-sites-blogs-51580.html

 

[REWahoo]

hi guys...

happy 2011, it's my first time to your community and im looking forward for more details in your site. hoping to learn a lot of new information and impart some of my ideas.

Hello lovepril.

Your profile says you are in NJ. Are you guys having a cold winter?

 

[kumquat]

Enjoy!

 

[chinaco]

Welcome.

If I were in your situation, 45 and single with about $2M, I would hang it up too.

Probably the best way to ease family and friends into it is to tell them you are going to take a temporary time-off to see the world while you are young and healthy. There will be many people giving you helpful advice (i.e., warnings)... but it should minimize the: "That's Crazy Talk" debate.

Overtime, if you decide to remain FIREd... they will have had time to make the mental adjustment.

I am 10 years older than you and married. I am getting my story together. But at my age, ER is a little more common.

To ease everyone into the notion that I am going to stop working, I am going to say, I will give it a try and if we have problems or if I get bored (not hardly) I will go back to work (or part-time work). It is not an untruthful cover story.... if I find that we are heading toward financial ruin, I will go back to work. (It is just a very very low probability )

My response to the gloom and doom warnings is that I have a pension and and SS and with reasonable budget we can make it. The trade-off more personal time for less earnings and a budget!

 

[livingfree]

Good tips Chinaco, things are still on track here and the market has been doing very well this year. Future Inflation concerns and dollar value erosion are out there, but only time will tell. Getting ready for "temporary time-off "

 

[freebird5825]

Here's a belated hello and welcome