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I just returned from two back-to-back cruises on Paul Gauguin in Polynesia(Cook Islands and Society Islands, Tuamotus & Society Islands). The service, food, and entertainment were great. Also, the local crew members called Gauguins offered a nice exposure to Polynesian culture. One thing that...

Thanks for the information about the foreign tax credit. I now know to leave plenty of room below the IRMAA limit.

I have the majority of my stock allocation in international because articles I've read from Vanguard, Fidelity, etc have said that the lower valuations of international mean better long term returns. However, they have been saying that for many years and international continues to fall behind...

I did Roth conversions last year with the plan for my income to not exceed the amount that would require me to pay Medicare IRMAA surcharges(I turn 65 in two years). After I received my final dividend payment in December 2023, I did a final Roth conversion to take my income to about $1000 below...

I'm seven years into retirement from age 55. Spending a tad under planned (100% success rate in FIRECalc). However, that is about double my typical spending when working mostly due to additional travel expenses in retirement.

I'm another resident of California who will likely stay put. Here in Ventura where I live, the weather along with the nearby beach and mountains make the higher cost of living worth it.

+8.35% YTD. Big chunk of portfolio in international helped this time.

I moved from a single family house in Pasadena to a townhouse in Ventura four years ago. The size is about the same. When I decided to move to Ventura, I wanted a home with a view and a location near the beach. In order to afford such a place, I was limited to condos. So far it has worked out...

North: Nordkapp, Norway East: Athens, Greece West: Sydney, Australia South: Punta Arenas, Chile Highest: Mt Whitney, California(14505ft) Lowest: Badwater, California(-282ft)

Wordle 244 3/6 ⬜⬜?⬜? ⬜???? ????? Quick one for me today

The various Star Trek series are on Netflix

I think those markings mean a 4inch plastic gas line is located 5 feet away from the arrow

Just ordered iPhone13Pro phones for both me and my girlfriend. Both of us are photographers, so I am looking forward to using the improved camera.

Monroe is ready to go to Hawaii with us.

We are scheduled to depart on September 7 for 2 weeks in Iceland and then 3 weeks in Spain. The latest surge appears to have already peaked in both countries, but still going up in the US. My biggest concern is having our flight back the US cancelled. A second concern is that one of us will...

I thought I was the only one in the world who did that.

Only side effect of the first dose of Moderna was a slightly sore arm the next day. However, the day after the second dose was another story. I felt miserable all day with body aches, nausea, vomiting, chills, low energy, etc. The next day (today) I am feeling a little tired, but otherwise fine.

I moved to an ocean view condo in Ventura after I retired from my job in LA five years ago. Although I lived in a decent area of LA (Pasadena), my quality of life is much higher here with cooler summers, less congestion, plenty of places to go bike riding and hiking, the beach a few minutes...

Spending total of $35,473 for 2020. This is 64% of 2019 spending. Similar reduction reasons as other responses: no international travel, minimal restaurant dinners, GF did my haircuts, etc.

Unless I'm traveling or have else something going on, I almost always take a 15-20 minute nap after lunch.

Around 5am, same as when I was working.

Enjoying every minute of freedom and value of investments is currently significantly higher than the day I retired. Yay!

YTD is 16.5% as of November 2. AA is 62/38. My portfolio is at an all time high even though I retired 4 years ago.

Recently sold my 1990 Acura Integra with 135K miles on it. It still ran great, but figured a new SUV would be more practical for my road trips to remote locations where I do landscape photography. New vehicle is a Honda CRV which I expect to own a long time if it has the same reliability as...

Ventura, California. Moved back to this area after moving to L.A. for a job 28 years ago. Good place to enjoy my landscape photography hobby, nice to be near the beach, and weather is very pleasant most of the time.