lazyday, "right around 100%" means w/o spending this year's "excess" we are at 100. If I spend it we are at 98.8% or something like that.
(what's tempting me to spend it is the fact that we will get some inheritance, but I have not figured this into Firecalc, nor have I put in any SS.. not wanting to count chickens before they hatch, etc.)
Some conflicting opinions here, though..
- lazyday doesn't think 4% is safe.. (I know it is always "prudent" to err on the side of caution)
- Bernstein says over a long period even an 80% of success is probably good enough..
- and don, your reasoning is perfectly sound, but you seem trusting that the future will not hold anything worse than what we have already seen.
I know it all boils down to having a crystal ball.. but when I see everyone crunching their numbers and the reasonable level of faith they have in Firecalc (a v. good app!).. it's hard not to get sucked into a level of detail (100% vs 99%... vs. 101%?) that may be unneccesarily distracting.
--
Greg wrote me about using copper sulfate to mitigate the root/drain issue, so maybe the kitchen will be project #1. Everything is more complicated because the house is entirely stone/brick/concrete/tile so even that will be a challenge. Just putting in a new outlet takes 1/2 a day (chip chip chip with a little hammer and chisel). Re-routing drain pipes means chopping up the slab floor.. what fun!
The funny thing is that this house could go on for another 50 or 100 years without changing anything; it's just that it's not really built for modern life. Everything is minimalist, from the wiring (think naked wire running underground to the garden lights -- who needs conduit?-- and "one outlet is all you need in the kitchen, right?") to the insulation (zero). I won't even go into the other electrical wierdnesses.. it would turn into a book.
However, at the time it was built (1969-70) it was the height of luxury for a "country" house!
Some people even today live in apt. buildings in Rome with no central heating, so I should just be thankful we have radiators.