Recent content by KmmFIdreamer

Typed a really long update and it disappeared! UUGH. Anyway, the gist of it is that I have been working hard on cutting expenses and increasing savings. IRA/401(k) now at $120K and taxable brokerage account at $31K. $111K owed on a mortgage, but selling the inherited house (that is paid off)...

Even in Hawaii I think I could live by myself on 55K a year if my home were paid off, but my needs are simple as far as entertainment. Honolulu housing is probably more expensive than where we went on the big island. Gasoline was not any more expensive than California and the distances on an...

SW is my go to airline for leisure travel. I have never bothered paying for earlybird, I just check in at 23 - 24 hours before and usually get an upper B group position. Traveling alone - I just grab the first seat that I can put my behind into that has a place to throw my larger bag in the...

Yep, that is me too..... Actually I put $3000 though I doubt I would spend that every month. My basic expenses are around $1200/month and I would like to do some traveling in retirement.

Another thing to consider is if this is a place you will want to keep going back to yourself. Will you get bored with the place after a few years? Also, is it in a popular enough place that you could do a home exchange with someone who would want to come there if you wanted to vacation...

My parents both were in nursing care before passing. Fortunately they had enough assets to cover the cost. (My Mom paid monthly for my Dad's care for 1.5 years before he passed.) When my Mom went in to nursing care she was terminally ill and was gone in 3 months. The first month was covered by...

I rent out a vacation home thru a property manager. I picked this option instead of VRBO because it is no work for me - they just cut the check to me every month and take care of everything else. I might make more money if I did it myself, but I just don't feel that it is worth my time right...

Keystone & Dillion/Silverthorne area is still semi-affordable. I picked up my unit there 1.5 years ago for a bargain of $150K. I saw that one unit in my building with slightly more sq. ft. went for around $219K just a couple of months ago. There are a lot of units listed in the $300K range in...

+1 I would pay off the remaining $115K that I owe on my house that I am living in, which is all that is really stopping me from quitting now! The rest would be invested 1/2 in equities and 1/2 in rental real estate. I could live off the dividends and rentals quite well since I live a pretty...

Spent <$10 on candy for my adult son that is still living at home and bought one $10 gift for the charity Angel Tree at work, so pretty close to 0%. I tend to be pretty generous to the boys year round so I don't think they really need anything from me at the Holidays. The spouse and I would...

I have a 2008 Kia optima that that proven to be a pretty nice little car... Someone I worked with called Kia "throwaway cars" once, but mine has been reliable and held up pretty well. I think I will replace it in about 2-3 years though and pass it on to my young adult son who is currently...

I have rented a lot with VRBO and not had any problems. I do look for the owner operated ones but have booked one with property manager at the local ski area with no problem. (I actually use the same property manager now for my vacation rental that I own!) I have no personal experience with...

I use rewards cards a lot too. Southwest is my go to airline and I have had that card for a while. (I fly short hops on Frontier a lot too but figure their credit card bonus offer is not worth it as I get fares from $29 -$49 out of Denver anyway a lot.) I got a Hawaiian air card specifically for...

Back from my trip to Hawaii (Big Island). Stayed on budget and had a great time! Most food was expensive at the regular grocery store, but we scored a lot of cheap produce at the farmers markets. Costco and Walmart were the lifesavers on grocery shopping.... Most of the fun things we did were...

The long awaited trip to the Big Island - Hawaii starts tomorrow. Since we are overnighting in Seattle, I am looking forward to a fun dinner out there and a chance to see a glance of the city.... Forecast is rain, rain, and more rain but I have a good jacket and plan to get outdoors as much as...