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Hi I'm Jeanne and trying to ER very soon
Old 08-22-2011, 07:59 PM   #1
Confused about dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
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Hi I'm Jeanne and trying to ER very soon

25 years with same huge soul-sucking corp - will be 55 in a few weeks
share a home with life partner who has 33 years with same huge corp - he's already 55

Been trying to determine if we have enough $$ to leave... as of 12/1/11 we both qualify for pension and health insurance, but both gave up about half in previous divorces, so they aren't full pensions.

Just bought a house together in 2008 and don't want to move... love our house with it's nice park-like yard and pool. But in looking for solutions traveled to Panama in June with thoughts of moving there. After one visit, those thoughts are gone... will stay put for now.

So now real questions just yet, just saying hi and will be posting.
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Old 08-22-2011, 08:03 PM   #2
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Hi Jeanne, welcome to the boards.
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Old 08-22-2011, 08:26 PM   #3
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Hey TJ, and welcome. I'm curious why you didn't like Panama.
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Old 08-23-2011, 01:42 AM   #4
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Welcome. You will find a lot of great ideas here.
Have you tried firecalc already? The calculator is a fantastic tool.

My favorite old fashioned approach:
Track expenses in great detail and in writing for some months. This will give you a reliable understanding on where your money goes today.
A lot of trackers have also found that tracking already reduces the expenses...

Then you can calculate if you need to adapt your lifestyle to make ends meet with the post ER income or if the life you want to lead post retirement needs additional funding.
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Old 08-23-2011, 05:06 AM   #5
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Welcome. Have you run the actual numbers on your pension benefits? In a divorce the ex-spouse often gets half of the value of the pension as of the date of the divorce, not the final pension value. So, you might have more than you thought.
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Old 08-23-2011, 05:09 AM   #6
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Welcome, Jeanne.
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Very conservative with investments. Not ER'd yet, 48 years old. Please do not take anything I write or imply as legal, financial or medical advice directed to you. Contact your own financial advisor, healthcare provider, or attorney for financial, medical and legal advice.
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i too am curious @ Panama
Old 08-23-2011, 09:30 AM   #7
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i too am curious @ Panama

Hi Jeanne,
Welcome - I know all too well about working for soul-sucking entities.

Where'd you go in Panama and what didn't you like about it?

Good Luck
TR
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...way down here, you need a reason to move
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Old 08-23-2011, 11:02 AM   #8
Confused about dryer sheets
 
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Originally Posted by travelover View Post
Welcome. Have you run the actual numbers on your pension benefits? In a divorce the ex-spouse often gets half of the value of the pension as of the date of the divorce, not the final pension value. So, you might have more than you thought.
Yes, we've run them. The only way we can get them at our company is to request it be calculated and mailed to us. Both spouses got 1/2 the lump sum value, and it reduced the monthly pension benefit. So we know what's coming on that front.
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Old 08-23-2011, 11:06 AM   #9
Confused about dryer sheets
 
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Originally Posted by TeeRar View Post
Hi Jeanne,
Welcome - I know all too well about working for soul-sucking entities.

Where'd you go in Panama and what didn't you like about it?

Good Luck
TR
We traveled most of the country via car for 2 weeks. I loved Boquete, and would consider living there, but unfortunately since we don't have equity in our home, if we wanted to buy, it would not be cheaper than the US. You could probably rent there more cheaply.

But we have a new 6 mo grandson and although it's close to the US, it's still an all-day trip especially if we lived in Boquete, since the David airport does not yet fly to the US. So we'd have to either drive to PC or fly to PC from David... very long trip.
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Old 08-23-2011, 11:08 AM   #10
Confused about dryer sheets
 
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Originally Posted by MichaelB View Post
Hey TJ, and welcome. I'm curious why you didn't like Panama.
Dirty, and if you're in PC the people drive like maniacs. But I HATED PC so wouldn't even consider living there. Out in the countryside, the driving isn't so bad. Not as cheap to live there as you might think unless you rent. A number of other reasons... guess international living just isn't my thing as this time
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Old 08-23-2011, 11:09 AM   #11
Confused about dryer sheets
 
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Originally Posted by chris2008 View Post
Welcome. You will find a lot of great ideas here.
Have you tried firecalc already? The calculator is a fantastic tool.

My favorite old fashioned approach:
Track expenses in great detail and in writing for some months. This will give you a reliable understanding on where your money goes today.
A lot of trackers have also found that tracking already reduces the expenses...

Then you can calculate if you need to adapt your lifestyle to make ends meet with the post ER income or if the life you want to lead post retirement needs additional funding.

Haven't tried firecalc yet... not even sure what it is or where to get it
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Old 08-23-2011, 01:20 PM   #12
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Originally Posted by Travel-Jeanne View Post
Haven't tried firecalc yet... not even sure what it is or where to get it
Look at the bottom of this page.
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Old 08-24-2011, 02:32 AM   #13
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FIRECalc: A different kind of retirement calculator

It's a great retirement calculator.
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