Recent content by timwalsh300

As someone who first posted here at 23, I'll comment: First, I don't personally know anybody who "loves" their work. People are happy to have a job, and they know their job could be worse, but they don't "love" it. In effect, I don't know anybody who dreads weekends or holidays, or feels...

I wonder if it's not ignorance, but rather self-delusion. People just want the shiny new car or truck. They know the salesman is deluding them with talk of trade-in values and monthly payments, but they are thankful because he provides a way for them to justify the purchase to themselves and...

Yeah, that's bad. I hope it was a typo. You might want to check out this other thread I started a couple years ago, asking people about their experience in the software industry: http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f27/software-development-67218.html Tim

To those who see this in their industry, do you think it is really a matter of age, or rather a common side effect of age, i.e. more experienced workers simply demanding higher compensation? What if a 45-50 year-old, in the midst of a career change, is willing to accept compensation in line...

It's unclear if you adjusted all of your numbers for inflation or not. It sounds like you are talking about your $3,500/month savings in today's dollars (with zero real investment growth), but what about the $65k/year pension at age 50, or the 7.5% interest savings plan? If that $65k/year is in...

Whenever someone in the military mentions the possibility of a "much higher paying civilian career," I am skeptical. I think there are plenty of good reasons to leave the military, but money is rarely one of them. First, placing a $450k value on your pension seems very low to me. Even with the...

We got married for under $10k (including engagement ring, the dress, wedding bands, ceremony, reception, and honeymoon) despite having about 100 guests. We were fortunate that family and friends gave their time and talents to help with things like invitations, a cake, music, and photography. We...

No. Vanguard's Target Retirement funds have the same $1,000 minimum. And they cost less than STAR, which is the only predictor of mutual fund performance. You could just pick one of those and leave the money in there forever. Tim

Arifriekinel, people used to recommend Vanguard's STAR fund to new investors because it had a lower minimum (at $1,000) than other Vanguard funds. It's better than what you might find at other mutual fund shops, but it's more expensive (at 0.34% ER) than all of Vanguard's other balanced funds...

Over the past couple weeks, I've seen numerous threads here and in other places (e.g. bogleheads) about stock market losses. I keep thinking, "Oh gosh, what happened?" and I go look for a chart of the S&P 500... and I see that the index declined by 5%. What's the big deal? In 2013 we saw at...

I wouldn't touch it. First, I don't think there is anything unique about the TSP that warrants any special strategy. Second, their strategy, for which little rationale is given on the website, seems extremely risky. Looking back over the history of the recommendations, they have repeatedly...

Here are the same line items for us... Cell phones: $504 No TV but we do have Netflix for $96 Internet: $480 Electric: $1,200 Water: $396 No landline phone or garbage fee. I have no idea what LP is. I didn't believe that guy either; not with a 4,000 sq foot home and kids. I figure that...

Nice. I enjoy re-reading threads like that every few months to remind myself how those extraordinary times felt. The posts from "VaCollector" are gut-wrenching, especially Adios.... That, and the epic thread over at Bogleheads following "market timer," should be required reading for investors...

I think playing golf everyday actually saved me money back then. I bought a membership at a cheap course for ~$60/month which included unlimited greens fees (I always walked too, so that was free). Because I used it everyday, and it consumed so much time, it turned out to be my only...

Someone always says that, and I laugh. In my early twenties, for a period of about six months, I had the unusual opportunity to do exactly this. And it was wonderful. My brief taste of that lifestyle was further motivation to work toward early retirement for real. The comments on the article...