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    Retire without Regret

    Other than 30+ years of saving for it I didn't put any thought into retiring. I always figured I'd work into my 60's or 70's but one day I just decided I'd had enough. It was during covid and my wife and I were each working in our home offices. I walked into hers and told her I was done then...
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    Looking to buy small binoculars

    Good timing on this thread since I'm also looking for a pair of 8x30 or 8x32 binoculars. My wife has a pair of Vortex Viper 8x42 which are very nice but I want something a bit smaller that I'm more likely to always have on me when hiking. I haven't bought any yet but I'm leaning towards the...
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    Should Financially Secure Boomers Help their Millennial and Gen Z Kids? Thought Provoking Example...

    What school and what years are you using? I just researched average cost of tuition, fees, room, and board for a public universities for 1984 and 2023. In 1984 it was $4167 which is sounds about what I paid at Ohio State University that year. Plugging that into an inflation calculator says...
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    Opening up the dialog to give money to my kids

    I have two grown children in their 20's. One is married with a newborn and the other is single. I give them both money by contributing to brokerage accounts that I set up when they were younger. My intent is to help them build up a house down payment but once I give them the money it's...
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    Tesla's Robotaxi

    Will it come with a vomit sensor for those late night bar pickups or will the next passenger just get a nasty surprise?
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    The curious case of the extremely nosey neighbor!

    Good grief, it's just a lonely old women who's maybe got some dementia. The bad neighbor in this scenario is the one who just shrugs off their dog getting loose. Being a hound has nothing to do with it (I've had four). A properly trained dog with a fence does not just get out. And in my area...
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    Food sensitivity or intolerance as we age

    I developed a lactose intolerance that can be bad enough to put me in bed for a couple days. What's strange is I've also become very intolerant of yoghurt which has the same effect on me even though yoghurt is low/no lactose. I'm still scratching my head over that.
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    Who wears a wedding ring

    I wore one for years even though I shouldn't have, but my wife wanted me to. I saw my first burn from contact with a car battery post when I was a freshman in college and saw a degloving when I was a sophomore so I knew better. I finally decided I couldn't take the risk anymore and haven't...
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    These college students need a lesson on LBYM

    This has been my position for years. Want to bring down the cost of college? Get rid of the federally backed loan program. The buildings on my campus were ugly concrete block. I was astounded when I started touring campuses with my kids and saw the virtual palaces they'd become. Meal plan...
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    These college students need a lesson on LBYM

    When I went to college in-state tuition plus dorm and meal plan was about $5,000/year. Minimum wage was $3.35/hr and $5/hr was considered darned good for a part time job. So it took 1000 hours of work, or 19 hours a week, to pay my way through college. Tuition plus room & board at that same...
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    Battery chain saws

    If you're already invested in batteries for drills and stuff then buy one that uses those batteries. I have a lot of Milwaukee stuff so I bought an M18 chainsaw and pole saw. Both work great and are so much more convenient than gas saws for normal homeowner sized jobs. I even took down a...
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    These college students need a lesson on LBYM

    I also blame parents when kids end up with a big pile of student loan debt because they clearly failed at financially educating their children.
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    Things you bought by accident you didn't know existed

    We were visiting my in-laws one time and I was in the mood for a gin & tonic. My wife came back with a fifth of gin that cost about $6.50 and was 35 proof. Basically just bottled water.
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    These college students need a lesson on LBYM

    This thread title blames the students when it's pretty obvious the blame lies with the parents who are paying for it.
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    Do I need to pack that?

    I traveled by motorcycle for many years so I know how to pack light. My wife... not so much. She makes huge lists and still forgets important things because her monolithic lists don't make a distinction between "necessary" and "maybe needed once in a blue moon". When we first got our...
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    “Purpose” in Retirement -

    You don't need a medical to be PIC of a glider. Depending on when your last class 3 expired you can fly under BasicMed which just requires a visit to your regular doctor, not an AME, and doesn't have the medical restrictions of a class 3. If your class 3 was too long ago you can also fly under...
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    Retiring at 43, how do you find retired friends in the same age group?

    It can make a big difference depending on your hobbies. For example, we like to kayak. It's best done on weekdays because rivers get crowded on weekends. Most people our age have to work on the days we want to be out doing things. We also like to take camping/hiking trips that last 1-2 weeks...
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    “Purpose” in Retirement -

    Some days my purpose is to catch a few small mouth. Some days my purpose is to take a nice bike ride. Some days my purpose is to take my dog for an extra long walk. Some days my purpose is to read for awhile and then take a nap. Some days I combine tow or three of these purposes. Some days...
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    Vinyl Plank Flooring helps or hurts home sale?

    Since the OP's question is about resale value of a home with vinyl planks, I'd say it's fine unless it's a very high end home. We've been house shopping for a couple months and most of the houses have either vinyl plank or laminate flooring. As a potential buyer it doesn't phase me in the...
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    Suzy Orman Ditches HO Insurance (don't do this at home)

    If the insurer refuses to cover it then I'd say the people who paid premiums are. I have two friends who are still fighting with their insurers for flooding due to hurricane Ian 2 years ago. They're unlikely to see a penny. I know others with Florida properties that decided to self-insure...
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    Gifting inherited equities to spouse

    I never thought of this before, but if gifting a spouse isn't a taxable event and there's a step up in basis wouldn't it be prudent to always gift to a spouse before any withdrawal from a taxable account to avoid capital gains? Seems like quite a loophole.
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    Comfortable withdrawal rate in ER

    3 years in and my gains have been almost identical to my withdrawals so the current and original portfolio values are the same.
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    Comfortable withdrawal rate in ER

    I retired at 54 with a 4.2% withdrawal rate. I'm 3 years in. All the calculators said I'd be fine since it will drop to about 1.7% once Social Security and a very small pension kick in. It's very situation dependent so my numbers don't necessarily mean anything to anyone else.
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    Selling a Vehicle to Private Party

    For big ticket items I'll only accept a wire transfer. Anything under $20K or so I'll only accept cash. I've never sold a rare or expensive car but I doubt I'd allow a test drive. I'd let them ride in the passenger seat while I showed them that it ran fine. When I sell airplanes I go along...
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    Disinheriting a Family member?

    I'm in the middle of settling my mother's estate. I'm the executor and she mentioned to me several times over the years that she was helping out both of my brothers and that it would be taken out of their share of the estate. I have a hand written record of everything she's given them for the...
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