Recent content by Papi

Yep, we get this one often. We alternate between the Dubliner and the Jarlsberg. Both great buys from CostCo!

Wow, I'm sure glad I am no longer working overseas. It was a good deal while it lasted!

Wow Nords, that is a nice deal!  I'm surprised you are not 100% equities  :)   How is it that you and your spouse will get SS as well?  I thought millitary (like a lot of other government work) had their own retirement system (i.e. no SS/Medicare withholdsings from your paychecks)?  My BIL just...

Thanks REWahoo!, now I have coffee all across THREE monitors  :laugh:

Yep, we love birding.   We have quite a few bird nesting boxes around the property.  I was just out checking a few and each one is occupied.  About half are occupied by Western Bluebirds, the other half are Nuthatches.    In a couple it looks like the baby bluebirds had just hatched today, with...

I have about 2x my salary (about 260k) LI coverage paid for by my employer.  I do not have any additional insurance due to the mortgage being low (about 150K now, 4.875%) and being about 5 years out from FIRE.   DW has teaching credential and Masters in special ed., so that, coupled with the...

I max-out my 401k as much and as early as possible.  My last contribution is usually in July.  I have been doing this for probably the last 15 years.  My problem is that since I work for a small-ish firm, and MANY of the younger (and even some older workers) do not contribute much to the 401k, I...

Yeah, another advisor I had read advised somthing similar.  I think it was Meriman, but I'm not positive.  Their argument was that you need to split your domestic investments in half and go International because you do not want what happened to the Japanese market happen to you.  To a point I...

Audrey, do you have any special strategies in a taxable account when you re-balance? Don't you get wholloped with taxes when you rebalance in a taxable account??

Hi Alex, I am puzzled as to why you are including all of your home equity in your calculations?  When you sell, you still need to either buy a new place or rent (I guess you could camp in the woods, but you didn't say that :) ).   Shouldn't you reduce your home equity amount based upon your new...

FOr the 72(t) you need to withdraw at least once a year and keep taking withdrawls for 5 years or  until you reach age 59 1/2, whichever is longer. See http://www.retireearlyhomepage.com/wdraw59.html for more info. Yeah, my dad has to do the RMD as well with his IRA.  Not only does the...

I finally bought the emergency cell phone this weekend.  I decided upon the Virgin deal : $60/year ($15 auto-reload every 3 months) and a cheap $29 phone.  Because we rarely plan on using it, I could really care less about minutes or surfing the web, etc.   And it works where I need it to work...

Yo Professor, I have my brisket in the smoker as I type. I got up at 5am to start it, and I'll let it run until about 6pm. Barbeque beans, coleslaw, and Colorado toast on the side ;) For beverages it is either a Munich Helles I made back in January or Mohitos, and for the adults... Cheers!

All I can say is you must do daily stretching to take a picture of thyself in such a position  :laugh:

So while it gives me substantial satisfaction to see these two crooks get their just dessert, what ever happend to the other crooks on the other side of the table -- the slimy Wall Street investment bankers? Anybody know? From the article below, it looks like the goverment slapped these...