Recent content by horfield

London->California->Arizona Due to my job location, have owned in expensive areas and always traded up. Getting a foot on the property ladder at the age of 25 was the best thing I ever did. Brought a London UK) apartment in 1985 for 40,000 pounds and sold in 1989 for 90,000 pounds Brought a...

For my current Porsche 911, NOT having PPF would diminish the value of the car in any future resale. It's pretty essential to protect the paintwork from being shot blasted by road debris. Also living in Arizona there are always small rocks and other unmentionable things hitting you. PPF really...

Update from OP. Thank you everyone for the excellent advice and comments. I set up a Silver PPO yesterday on (Arizona) Healthcare.gov based on a 2023 income of $36,000 which came out at only $577/month for myself and my wife and covers our existing doctors and medications. On that income, the...

Again thanks everyone for helping me get informed! Yes, I received a lump sum severance so it is all in this tax year. I am covered under my work insurance until December 31st so it's a fairly clean break. To answer your question above, We are not big consumers of HC. I just had one annual...

Awesome! Thanks for all the useful help as I get my head around all this. I do not want to go on Medicaid. However, I just went onto the Arizona healthcare marketplace website and there is a calculator where I typed in household income ranges for 2 people in my zip code. At $25,000/year, there...

Can I ask for opinions and insight into my FIRE strategy as it pertains to my own and my wife’s healthcare in 2023? Excuse me if the question is very basic as I have not had to think about this before. My situation. I turned 63 this October and my job has just been eliminated due to downsizing...

Thanks! Not much, a few days of snow a year. Its usually gone in a day or two.

When my kids were younger our houses had great local schools but never any good views. The houses with the best views always had mediocre schools. Now they are grown up we decided to overcompensate. (View from our balcony in Northern Arizona)

I was planning to semi-retire now I am 60.. then last week was offered a dream executive role right in my wheelhouse that is expanding massively due to Covid-19. (There are some) It makes sense for me to pile additional earnings into investments while the market is low. That I really want to do...

The emotional part of being ready (as well as financially) is so important and you have to be honest with yourself. I was just about to semi-retire when I hit 60 last month, I thought I was emotionally ready, I am financially ready, both my parents have passed on, my children are now...

Just "downsized" to a $1M+ home in Sedona AZ with stupendous views for the next 10-15 years as I head into semi-retirement. It's a lot but a $1M+ home in a desirable tourist destination with a highly restricted supply is not going to lose anything over this time. Bought mainly cash with the...

OP here. The value of our house is at least $1.8M and we may realize significantly more given the current state of the market here. Looking to downsize to a smaller property in the $600K range so our savings in mortgage, property taxes, utilities etc will be very large. As our children are grown...

Thanks @target2019. We have already accepted we will move to a lower cost area/state. The SF Bay Area is in another universe compared to most places (short of NYC) and we are investigating areas that are much less expensive. (Especially property and local taxes) @exnavynuke. Actually not...

I would like to thank everyone for the feedback so far - it is greatly appreciated. I have a retirement investment advisor who has independently calculated I could draw down $8,700/month from a $2M (or just over) portfolio which is equivalent to $104,000/year. That roughly correlates with...

After 35 years of working in media and technology I have come to realize I am burnt out. I am 59 later this year and am seriously contemplating semi-retiring. I am in a business where even 40-year olds can encounter subtle age discrimination. I don’t look my age (or act it) but I am getting...