First time....First Post...Am I seeing the Forest through the Trees

[kumquat]

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Originally Posted by afntrn56 Doesn't it freak you out to give them all the info to log into your accounts

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Originally Posted by Marc1962 Not really, no. Mint.com is no fly-by-night operation. It is owned by Intuit.

It's not Mint.com or Intuit that will misuse this information. Think about:

• How much Mint.com budgets to protect this information from outsiders.
• Whether a Mint.com employee might be tempted to steal it.
• Whether a Mint.com employee might be in a position to steal it.
• Whether Mint.com defenses are up to snuff.
• Whether Intuit has isolated themselves from liability from failures by Mint.com to protect this information. Think limited liability corporations.
• Whether you have any protection from your financial institutions if something bad happens and you have willingly shared this info.

Then ask yourself if you really want to do this.

[lovinglife1]

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Originally Posted by mnopqr I'm just confused by something... You were divorced at 34 with 2 daughters. Now you are 54, so presumably your daughters are at least 20 years old. You have $175K in stock and options that you "plan" to use for the girls' college expenses. Are the girls in college yet? Or, planning to go some time in the future?

mnopqr,

Yes, the girls are half way through college and I'll have about 2 semesters to pay for post retirement. The total for this about $60K.

[lovinglife1]

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Originally Posted by TWBFree You've got a nice assortment of assets to draw on. DB pensions, nice sized 401k, rental properties, etc. Have you done a budget? Think taxes, medical care, travel, rental reserves, replacing the car, and other long-term major expenditures. Once you've answered these questions, take the leap. You sound ready...and able.

TWBFree,

Yes, like many on this site, I have budgeted so many times it's getting blurred. I am ok on medical with both mega-corp and military along with long term care...just putting aside deductibles+....hard to estimate though.

Yes, I have also run the tax numbers as far as I can take them modeling the 401k payouts, longer term taxes related to the rentals (carry forwards, depreciation etc), and since I have lived overseas many years I have a very good view of travel costs, including using Space A.,

I will have two new vehicles at retirement, one is a company lease car with low monthly payments and no insurance with annual replacements...a nice perk.

Thanks for the advice.

[DeborahB]

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Originally Posted by lovinglife1 Finally, I have $700K in my 401K and planning to fill it out to $750K by retirement. It is all in an interest income fund so I will need to figure out a suitable asset allocation.

IMHO, you're ready !

The one thing that caught my eye was the huge amount in the 401k that's in an interest income fund - what kind of return are you getting on it? Is it all in one fund? I'd diversify a bit if so.

I think your planning figures sound good. Not everyone can figure out everything, especially at 55. It sounds like you are fine, especially as someone living below his means for years.

It's amazing what you can manage on if you want to - without sacrificing anything that's really important.

So have fun and get out of that rat race!

[lovinglife1]

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Originally Posted by thinker25 IMHO, you're ready ! The one thing that caught my eye was the huge amount in the 401k that's in an interest income fund - what kind of return are you getting on it? Is it all in one fund? I'd diversify a bit if so. I think your planning figures sound good. Not everyone can figure out everything, especially at 55. It sounds like you are fine, especially as someone living below his means for years. It's amazing what you can manage on if you want to - without sacrificing anything that's really important. So have fun and get out of that rat race!

thinker25,

Yep, you're right....unseaonably conservative in my old age. I was big into stocks for years, just luckily moved to interest income fund just before the crash and have been to timid to move it so close to retirement. I am getting about 2.3%. I honestly have no idea what I plan to do. I will keep the 401k with my employer post retirement so i can 72t if I need to. I am just watching the market anticipating rising interest rates which, I suspect, may lead to a better return with less risk.

Thanks for the well wish....

[Westernskies]

Welcome to the board. We'll need to see photos of that new Harley.

[low bidder]

One definition of Retirement: "Disposal of fixed assets at the end of your useful life"
I guess early retirement means you start disposing of your assets a lot earlier.