Hi, I'm Hellbender

[hellbender]

I am 52.5 years old. I will retire from the civil service in about 2.5 years. I don't own stocks. I like to talk about money and investing.

 

[crazy connie]

I own some stocks and mutual funds and enjoy the conversations education and humor here! Welcome aboard Hellbender! The next couple of years will fly by and you will be ready to enjoy life more.

 

[hellbender]

Hi crazy_connie,

Thanks for the welcome.  I am already starting to exhibit the rosy glow of a short-timer.  I have purchased land where I intend to build my retirement abode and spend most of my vacation time there.  it seems to good to believe that a secure retirement is so close.  I still feel like a kid.

 

[crazy connie]

Glad you have the place lined up do tell all the good stuff please! I am still kinda looking around. May be 116 today here in Phoenix... Dry Heat is still HOT. Time to look for a more temperate location.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

May be 116 today here in Phoenix... Dry Heat is still HOT. Time to look for a more temperate location.

Welcome, Hellbender. It will be interesting to see how not owning stocks affects your plans. You are in a distinct minority here.

Connie, when I lived in Tucson, it was always a big deal that we were typically 8-10 degrees "cooler" than Phoenix. I poo-pooed that for a while, but once you get past the 110s, an 8 degree difference is huge. Between higher elevation and less concrete heat mass, Tucson really was more comfortable much of the year.

Stay cool.

 

[hellbender]

Glad you have the place lined up do tell all the good stuff please! 

Thanks for asking.   :  I will be retiring to my personal vision of paradise . . . . a little slice of heaven in the ancient and beautiful Blue Ridge mountains of Southwest Virginia.   I will be building on a 3 acre parcel with a 360 deg view and easy access to a wide variety of outdoor activities.  The parcel is located at the confluence of a major stream and a scenic mountain river.  Think of this area as a "natural" theme park.  Since I have to have a place to live anyhow, the admission is free to enjoy all the gardening, canoeing, kayaking, swimming, boating, fishing , snorkeling, hiking and bicycling that anyone can stand.   I discovered this place 30 years ago while I was attending Virginia Tech and was so entranced, I was ready to chuck it all right then and there and live in a tent.    Instead, I graduated, worked a full and rewarding career, got married and raised and educated two beautiful daughters (the younger of which is a senior at Virginia Tech).  It's now time for me and my wife to kick back and enjoy.  I think of my current return to the mountains as the culmination of a 30-year dream.  Life is sweet!

 

[hellbender]

Welcome, Hellbender. It will be interesting to see how not owning stocks affects your plans. You are in a distinct minority here.

So far not owning stocks has had no effect on my plans  since they were never a major part of my retirement plans in the first place.  I have owned equities in the past but only in very small portions.  A few years back, I decided they were totally unnecessary.  Since I will be receiving an inflation-adjuted pension which is greater than what I need to live on and have accumulated substantial assets on the side via my real estate investing activities I dropped the equities altogether.  My temperement isn't really suited to such an investment.  I dislike the wild gyrations of the equities markets, appreciate the predictability of my fixed income holdings and enjoy the span of control that my real estate investments give me.  I believe that no one should be expected to take risks beyond those necessary to achieve their financial goals.  Since I don't have to assume the risks of the equities markets, I prefer not to.

 

[Scrooge]

Wow, talk about persistence of vision!   I haven't been to the area since 1995, but I recall that it was quite peaceful and almost serene at times. Good luck with the project!

By the way, I don't own any stocks either. It may not be the best strategy in the long run, but it's the one that lets me sleep at night.

 

[hellbender]

Wow, talk about persistence of vision!   I haven't been to the area since 1995, but I recall that it was quite peaceful and almost serene at times. Good luck with the project!

By the way, I don't own any stocks either. It may not be the best strategy in the long run, but it's the one that lets me sleep at night.

Hi scrooge.  I am interested on hearing your rationale for avoiding equities.  At first blush it sounds like we have the same investing temperament when it comes to stocks.  I currently live and work in the DC area.  I just got back from a one week vacation in SW Va.  We leased on house on the New River.  I have a bad habit on these excursions of trying to cram too many activities in.  This time I spent a lot of time fishing and just relaxing on the deck, sucking down a few cold ones, listening to the river and enjoying the wildlife.  There was a resident population of 4-5 dozen Canada geese that cavorted on the river right outside the cabin.  They were very entertaining.  I also tried out my new crawdad trap.  The idea was to catch some for bait for the smallies.  Surprisingly, all I could catch were these monster specimens which were more suitable for human consumption.  Here's where I try to insert an image for the first time. . . . . .  This thing was photographed in the bottom of a plastic bucket and measured about 7 inches overall, (about as big as they get here).

 

[unclemick]

Hmmm

The picture makes me hungry - a boiling pot, small red potatoes, onions, water, a little salt and Zatarrain's liquid or bag seafood boil. Maybe some extra Cayenne red pepper for a little extra zoom. Toss in some ears of corn near the end of the boil.

heh heh heh heh - a little Cajun music on the boombox.

 

[SteveR]

Hmmm

The picture makes me hungry - a boiling pot, small red potatoes, onions, water, a little salt and Zatarrain's liquid or bag seafood boil. Maybe some extra Cayenne red pepper for a little extra zoom. Toss in some ears of corn near the end of the boil.

heh heh heh heh - a little Cajun music on the boombox.

You beat me to it Unclemick....I was just going to post that I was sure you had a good idea what to do with that critter.

 

[hellbender]

You guys are killing me! I spent a few years in Louisiana back in the 80's working for the Army and ate my share of mudbugs. My first few weeks there I attended some type of office function and ate my first crawdad on a dare. One of the girls sitting at the table said that I should eat them like the Cajuns do . . . . . and I said whatever do you mean? She said that I should suck the heads after eating the tails. I asked her to show me how it was done. She refused and the whole table erupted in laughter exclaiming that it was the cleanest call of her bluff that they had seen.

 

[PsyopRanger]

I discovered this place 30 years ago while I was attending Virginia Tech and was so entranced, I was ready to chuck it all right then and there and live in a tent. Instead, I graduated, worked a full and rewarding career, got married and raised and educated two beautiful daughters (the younger of which is a senior at Virginia Tech).

Go Hokies!!!! I like you already.

 

[Scrooge]

Hi scrooge.  I am interested on hearing your rationale for avoiding equities.  At first blush it sounds like we have the same investing temperament when it comes to stocks.

It's just like you said:

I dislike the wild gyrations of the equities markets

But at least you invest in real estate while I have always stuck to cash and short term government paper. Unless you count my primary residence, that is, which started out as a "um, I need a place to keep all this stuff", but turned out to be a pretty good investment  

Intellectually, I know that this is most likely not the best way to handle retirement funds. I have studied hundreds of tables and graphs going back to the 19th century and have some idea of the risks associated with each type of investment. Stocks are too volatile for my taste, long terms bonds can be killed by an inflation spike, real estate requires a lot of work, etc.

Now that I-Bonds and TIPS are available, I may reconsider my position, but, of course, even though they are "inflation adjusted", they are also subject to inflationary pressures due to the way the tax system works. There is no silver bullet given my investment temperament, but as long as I am living on <20% of my income and saving the rest, I figure it offsets my suboptimal investment strategies. If you can even call them that

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Since I will be receiving an inflation-adjuted pension which is greater than what I need to live on and have accumulated substantial assets on the side via my real estate investing activities I dropped the equities altogether.

COLA pension sounds great. Good luck from a Cavalier in your piece of Virginia heaven.

 

[hellbender]

Go Hokies!!!!  I like you already.

Civil Engineering, '77

Daughter:  Business '07  

 

[Dawg52]

  I dislike the wild gyrations of the equities markets, appreciate the predictability of my fixed income holdings and enjoy the span of control that my real estate investments give me. 

You related to John Galt?

 

[unclemick]

Hellbender

Squeeze the eyes when you suck heads - your looking for the seasoned juice/yellow fat. Tastes much better than it looks in print.

Suck the Heads - fer sure!, ya you rite, and absolutely! are appropriate responses - it case somebody 'Axe' s' you.

heh heh heh heh heh heh

 

[yakers]

You wil find a few govt (inc state & local) posters here. The pension is the nice part, I like the work, the pay is not the best part. I am 55 and can retire under CSRS (33 yrs in) but have one son still in high school. My countdown clock is set to Nov 07. My wife retired from teaching a few weeks ago. You say you don't have stocks, does that include no mutual funds or TSP either?
I have maxed out the TSP (for CSRS) and a Roth and have a few stocks. As soon as younger son is in college I expect to have a good idea of financial committments and then it will be time to pull the plug for me.

 

[hellbender]

You wil find a few govt (inc state & local) posters here. The pension is the nice part, I like the work, the pay is not the best part. I am 55 and can retire under CSRS (33 yrs in) but have one son still in high school. My countdown clock is set to Nov 07.  My wife retired from teaching a few weeks ago. You say you don't have stocks, does that include no mutual funds or TSP either?  I have maxed out the TSP (for CSRS) and a Roth and have a few stocks. As soon as younger son is in college I expect to have a good idea of financial committments and then it will be time to pull the plug for me.

I am obviously CSRS and I have participated in the TSP since it was first available.  I am now salting away 20K/annum into it. (includes allowable catch-up contribution).  I am 100% in the G-Fund.  I am doubly fortunate.  After deciding to stick with CSRS, my ability to contribute to the TSP continues to expand (many previous federal retirees did not have this option).  The G-Fund provides returns equivalent to a medium-duration bond fund but has virtually no credit or interest rate risk. . . . . gotta love it.

 

[UVaOK]

COLA pension sounds great. Good luck from a Cavalier in your piece of Virginia heaven.

Harmony amongst the Wahoos and the Hokies? You guys must have been out of school for quite a while...

 

[hellbender]

Harmony amongst the Wahoos and the Hokies?  You guys must have been out of school for quite a while...

After painting our logo in the middle of the UVa home field football field before our last meeting, I felt that a break was deserved.

 

[hellbender]

After painting our logo in the middle of the UVa home field football field before our last meeting, I felt that a break was deserved.

My favorite prank was this one though:  http://www.vtmagazine.vt.edu/fall98/shorts.html#short1

"Back in 1982, Mark Lindsey (architecture '82) was fresh out of Virginia Tech and working at the prestigious Richmond architectural firm of Baskervill and Son on a new locker room/dining room next to the football stadium at the University of Virginia.

"We had done several designs," says Lindsey, now a partner with Baskervill. "They didn't like any of them."

The architects sat around brainstorming and Lindsey threw in an idea. "There was a V-shaped opening at the end of the stadium. And I had a late-night inspiration that the best thing to put in this V-shaped opening was a T."

As in VT. As in Virginia Tech.

So he drew a T-shaped building." My biggest fear during the whole thing was that they were going to see the 'T,'" Lindsey told Ray McAllister at the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

But UVa. officials didn't; in fact, they picked it and Bryant Hall opened for the 1985 season. Although UVa. officials never noticed it until the VT was pointed out, it is clearly visible from the air. But not for long. As part of a $50 million stadium expansion, the university will replace Bryant Hall by the 1999 season.

"It's been a great little story to tell at parties," Lindsey says."

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Harmony amongst the Wahoos and the Hokies? You guys must have been out of school for quite a while...

And who are these "Hokies" of whom you speak?

(Class of 1971, U. Va. The school was an all mens' school at the time by the way - went co-ed my last year; wife: Randolph Macon, many a hitchhike to Lynchburg)

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

After painting our logo in the middle of the UVa home field football field before our last meeting, I felt that a break was deserved.

Which is when we first realized they could read and write.