Recently retired newbie

[aida2003]

I didn't read every post, just skimmed through the thread. Lots of great advice. Wonderful advice about the rental and Kats' link to MMM's blog to enlighten more about landlording.

Like Kats mention, you're missing lots of expenses in your budget, but I found that Cell/TV/Landline 300 & Life Insurance 250 quite pricey. Do you/DW carry a UL or Whole Life insurance? Term LI shouldn't be that expensive unless you're smokers or other sticky issues are involved. This is in case you need to cut expenses.

You're a family so your DW's earnings should be included in the big picture, IMO. What's the rate on her student loan? How many years are left on it? How much does she pay monthly for it? Her taxes don't seem high after contributing $3k to her 401k (6% of $50k), so her net pay should be above $2k/mo. Does she contribute to the family's monthly expenses?

[SumDay]

Quote:

On the rental, it was property handed down from family, but we really don't have any emotions tied to keeping it. I guess we thought that if it paid for itself, we could own it outright in 10 years (if we could hang on long enough). Maybe we should consider selling it to give us a cash reserve, but the market hasn't been real good lately

I'm on the "SELL IT" bandwagon. I too inherited property, and I find being a landlord is anything but passive income. It's expensive, people are getting more & more diabolical about stealing a few months free housing out of each & every place they land, and there is no end to the havoc they can wreak when the eviction papers are served. Some investors do well with it, I find it a 24/7 worry, which I don't need.

Good luck on your ER, you're asking the right questions, at the right place!

[Russman]

Thanks, Kats. This was a really interesting article and actually took me a couple of passes to read through it. All legitimate arguments.
Appreciate your earlier messages as well.

I'm finding that the folks are this board are quite wise and insightful, and actually seem to care about others welfare.

Thanks.

[Bestwifeever]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Russman ...I tried approaching the selling point with my wife earlier, but this aspect of the recovery makes my argument for selling a little less compelling. Also, because this was the home that she grew up in, I'm sure there is some part of emotion tied to it for her......

So is the rental house a property that your wife inherited? In that case I think she should decide what to do with the property, even if it is now jointly held.

[pb4uski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Russman ....I'm finding that the folks are this board are quite wise and insightful, and actually seem to care about others welfare. ......

True, and the irony is that for some (not me) if their colleagues and co-workers had the same attitude of sharing and caring then many of the folks on this board might still be working.