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Old 04-23-2010, 08:32 AM   #121
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OK, I'll say it. I think this thread has turned into more of a bragfest than an actual discussion.
Actually, I don't see it in that manner, at all.

All it proves is that we are all different and look at life's opportunities in a different manner.

Some would like to have a home (maybe several) to "get away".

Some (such as my DW/me) would rather travel.

Some don't want to do either, even if they have the financial resources along with the time to do so.

All options are fine. It's your life and if I understand this thread (and this forum, in general), there is no perfect answer that we must all adhere to.....
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Old 04-23-2010, 09:18 AM   #122
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Originally Posted by rescueme View Post
Actually, I don't see it in that manner, at all.

All it proves is that we are all different and look at life's opportunities in a different manner.

Some would like to have a home (maybe several) to "get away".

Some (such as my DW/me) would rather travel.

Some don't want to do either, even if they have the financial resources along with the time to do so.

All options are fine. It's your life and if I understand this thread (and this forum, in general), there is no perfect answer that we must all adhere to.....
I find it to be extremely valuable to learn about alternate lifestyles. Up until this thread, I was getting the feeling that most everyone here lives on $25k a year and never goes anywhere. And that "the good life" was beyond reach.
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Old 04-23-2010, 09:24 AM   #123
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Personally I love first, second, third, etc. vacation homes as DH and I are really really great houseguests
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Old 04-23-2010, 09:26 AM   #124
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I find it to be extremely valuable to learn about alternate lifestyles. Up until this thread, I was getting the feeling that most everyone here lives on $25k a year and never goes anywhere. And that "the good life" was beyond reach.
Of course, the beauty of it is that we all have different definitions of "the good life." I think we'd all agree that having "enough" means to live on is vitally important, but beyond that I'd think we all have different ideas of how much luxury is included in the "good life."
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Old 04-23-2010, 09:38 AM   #125
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I find it to be extremely valuable to learn about alternate lifestyles. Up until this thread, I was getting the feeling that most everyone here lives on $25k a year and never goes anywhere. And that "the good life" was beyond reach.
Keith, since coming into my inheritance I could afford a second home and constant worldwide travel if that was what I wanted in life. But do I have to brag about it?

Honestly, both sound like a dreadful PITA from my perspective, for some reason. I spend less then $25K a year and don't really go anywhere, but that is because I am perfectly happy doing so, not because "the good life" (by your definition) is beyond reach.

I enjoy my life immensely just as it is. If I find something that would enhance it, then I am learning to "let go" of those pennies and buy it. Examples would be the new car and the Kindle that I purchased this spring.

I don't think the human condition could allow for any more happiness than I have experienced in the five months since I retired.

I guess this is a case of "different strokes for different folks", as the saying goes.
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Old 04-23-2010, 10:03 AM   #126
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Exactly. I think you will treat yourself to more "extravagances" as time goes by. But I agree that being perfectly happy on $25k a year gives anyone a leg up for early retirement.

(PS if you were living in Vancouver, the cost of accommodation and food makes $25k impossible. I think the same is true of Seattle, NYC and San Francisco, maybe even Hawaii but then a relocation presents a cost-saving opportunity after retirement.)
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Old 04-23-2010, 10:06 AM   #127
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(PS if you were living in Vancouver, the cost of accommodation and food makes $25k impossible. I think the same is true of Seattle, NYC and San Francisco, maybe even Hawaii but then a relocation presents a cost-saving opportunity after retirement.)
Yeah, with a paid-off home and no debt, you can live on $25K in much of "flyover country," particularly if you have subsidized health insurance. No chance of that on the coasts.
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Old 04-23-2010, 10:52 AM   #128
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But do I have to brag about it?
I don't think anybody on this thread is "bragging" about anything. Each of us described what is important in our lives, and how we are persuing our dreams.

I just don't get the "message" as you or others are saying that anybody is trying to be better (e.g. bragging) than anybody else.

Hey, I don't have multiple "vacation homes" (heck, I don't even have one). But if others have this option and can afford it in their respective lives, what's wrong with that?

As for my wife/me? We're fortunate to be able to travel the world. So what? Others, I'm sure would not want to persue such travel and that's their option.

I would also say that it gives us a break of caring for our adult disabled "child" (who we are in contact with - and his care givers every day, regardless of where we are in the world). I doubt very much if anybody would say we are wrong in trying to get a little bit of joy out of life, based upon our "challange" of the last 40+ years.

My DW/me do not live on $25k a year. That's our option and due to living a strict LBYM lifestyle for many, many years.

If you have a problem with what I've posted, then it's your problem - not mine...
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Old 04-23-2010, 10:58 AM   #129
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I guess this is a case of "different strokes for different folks", as the saying goes.
Agree 110% That extra 10% is for changes in one's own definition of what the good life is. I retired in 2004 after an ugly diagnosis. My first reaction was "there is no way in hell that I am going to work until I am too sick continue". My second reaction was "and there is no way that I am going to sit around and do nothing but raise pansies". (A good friend had just retired and was doing pretty much just that.) The idea of staying at home and watching soap operas, rocking on the porch, or just being idle was unbearable.

I had to get away, do something exciting. Well, perhaps selling everything, buying a sailboat to live and cruise on was a bit extreme, but we had a great time. Then we sold the boat and traveled pretty much non-stop up until last year when my health deteriorated enough so that we had to settle down again.

Guess what? Life is great. I have discovered the pleasures of being idle. I can't explain it, and do not mean to brag in any sense. I expected to be miserable, but quite the contrary.

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Old 04-23-2010, 11:13 AM   #130
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Exactly. I think you will treat yourself to more "extravagances" as time goes by. But I agree that being perfectly happy on $25k a year gives anyone a leg up for early retirement.

(PS if you were living in Vancouver, the cost of accommodation and food makes $25k impossible. I think the same is true of Seattle, NYC and San Francisco, maybe even Hawaii but then a relocation presents a cost-saving opportunity after retirement.)
I could afford the increased housing costs on the west coast if I watched what I spent, but I am not madly scrambling to move there right now. Why? Dunno. Personal taste, I suppose. Having lived there, and in "flyover country", I prefer the latter.

I hope you are right about the extravagances. I am getting such a huge kick out of my Kindle right now.
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Old 04-23-2010, 11:19 AM   #131
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Up until this thread, I was getting the feeling that most everyone here lives on $25k a year and never goes anywhere. And that "the good life" was beyond reach.
One would think that on a forum such as this that (IMHO) is based upon the LBYM lifestyle and the "minimum" you need to retire you would have those who proudly show how they were able to retire at an early age and try to live a minimal lifestyle.

Then there are those of us (I believe more than post here) that have lead a LBYM lifestyle, but in retirement find that they have more than they need for a minimum existence (as my DW/me).

We led very frugal lifestyles. Sometimes required (in our early years) and the same as we got older. Heck, we're in our early 60's but still basically live the same as we lived much earlier in our lives.

We don't live extravently, but we do live well at this time of our lives. Part planning, part luck.

I apologize for nothing...
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Old 04-23-2010, 11:23 AM   #132
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Then there are those of us (I believe more than post here) that have lead a LBYM lifestyle, but in retirement find that they have more than they need for a minimum existence (as my DW/me).
And that's fine. But your comments lead me to think you're suggesting the fact some people can be satisfied with a low-income retirement means that they think *everyone* should, and that by extension anyone who wants a higher standard of living than that in retirement is somehow a "failure" at LBYM and is wasting a lot of money.

So I think you're taking offense to something no one is saying.

No, the point is that we all have different wants. Some people have fewer "wants" that cost money than other people. If you can afford it, go for it. It's that simple. When says something works *for them*, it's not automatically an implied indictment of those who would do differently.
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Old 04-23-2010, 11:33 AM   #133
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So I think you're taking offense to something no one is saying.
What I take offense to is the idea that some folks on this thread think those of us that have more than a minimal existence (e.g. multiple vacation homes or travel) are "bragging" (more than one post).

I've posted that everybody is different based upon their wants/needs, financial/family situation.

It's apparent (at least to me) that there are those that think that those who live a certain lifestyle are somewhat "deficient" in nature (no, I don't need to take a tent to rent out on my travels, for example)..

The comment about "bragging" does not apply. Additionally, Keith's observation (e.g. some folks spending more) seems to support my contention that a lot (not all) folks think about ER being just a "basic existance".

I (and others) are just pointing out that it does not need to be (with a little luck, and much planning)..
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Old 04-23-2010, 11:34 AM   #134
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We don't live extravently, but we do live well at this time of our lives. Part planning, part luck.
I'd call that LBYM payback time.
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Old 04-23-2010, 11:35 AM   #135
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I'd call that LBYM payback time.
I believe this is what Dave Ramsey calls "living like no one else so you can live like no one else."
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Old 04-23-2010, 11:37 AM   #136
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I'd call that LBYM payback time.
Amen
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Old 04-23-2010, 11:44 AM   #137
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What I take offense to is the idea that some folks on this thread think those of us that have more than a minimal existence (e.g. multiple vacation homes or travel) are "bragging" (more than one post).

I've posted that everybody is different based upon their wants/needs, financial/family situation.

It's apparent (at least to me) that there are those that think that those who live a certain lifestyle are somewhat "deficient" in nature (no, I don't need to take a tent to rent out on my travels, for example)...
I found your post responding to mine to be totally confusing, which is why I didn't respond to it. My phrase with a "rolleyes" about bragging was meant as a playful double entendre to both travelover and kcowan, who seemed to me to have different views about who was doing the bragging (those living the good life, or those LBYM'ing?). As I also said in my post, different strokes for different folks. I could care less if you have 16 vacation homes, three RVs, a transoceanic yacht, and a couple of million frequent flyer miles as long as your lifestyle makes YOU happy. Likewise I would hope to receive (as I did from kcowan) the same tolerance from others for living the lifestyle that makes ME happy.
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Old 04-23-2010, 11:46 AM   #138
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I'd call that LBYM payback time.
Yep! Same here! We made careful choices when younger, and now we reap the rewards (sustainably).

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Old 04-23-2010, 11:49 AM   #139
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I found your post responding to mine to be totally confusing.
Sounds like me ...

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Old 04-23-2010, 11:55 AM   #140
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Count us among the travel lovers. It is true that sometimes when we talk passionately about what we love to do, it may come off as bragging. And I do apologize about it, as I know some other people here love to travel too, but are not able to do it for one reason or another.

Yeah, at some point in life, one has to turn up the spigot a bit. I am proud that despite my dropping out of a lucrative job at a megacorp (a component of the Dow 30) at the age of 40 to join a couple of startups that crashed and burned leaving me with nothing to show for my hard work, our LBYM lifestyle allows us to have two comfortable homes and a 7-figure portfolio. My wife quit her megacorp job (another Dow component) after 25+ years there. No pension, no benefits whatsoever, and we survive fine so far. LBYM RULES!

No, the 2nd one is just a "home", not a "vacation home" as it is only 2-1/2 hr away, and in the same state. Same as Westernskies, we use it to escape the "dry heat" of the low AZ metropolis, although not working full-time, I am sure we get to use ours more than he does his.

For vacationing, we just got an RV. We may skip international travel for the next couple of years.

Heh heh heh, we are going to like to travel like a "turtle" with an RV. In fact, we just made a short 3-day trip, and loved it. Will make a post about this later.
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