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+1 If I were in your situation I would sell the car with the highest yearly depreciation in order to bring down the 19K outstanding car loans. The car payment 'saved' could be used to pay down your cc debt.

This has been my daily mantra and will probably be my parting words of wisdom when DD goes off to college in 3 years.. Look both ways before you cross!

Thanks for the welcome, sorry I haven't been on here what with some drama going on in my life. Please do come back to Singapore when you are retired and perhaps stay awhile. The place is still a-changing, new train lines are now being built, when you visit again in a few years' time...

Fans of OITNB and other prison shows may find Wentworth interesting. All 5 Seasons are available on Netflix. It is Aussie made and imo far superior to OITNB in terms of plot, acting and character development. Season 6 is in the pipeline, can't wait!

Wait a darn minute! How is it that folks here pay under $200 for their bifocals? I just did my progressive glasses, collecting them today, and they cost me a whopping $1250! These don't even give me X-ray vision!

I know of retirees who'd shower in our condo's shower facilities to save on their own water bills. It takes all kinds.:laugh:

Thank you so much for the welcome! I agree this is a great place for help and information. People around me talk about early retirement as though it's as unlikely as encountering a unicorn whereas people on this forum take steps to make it happen.

I get what you mean about the 4% and 25x expenses not being relevant to me now. What matters to me would be the rental yields, repair costs and vacancy rate. It would be much easier to park funds in index funds and bond funds and draw down on them but Asian stock markets are not as robust as US.

Instead of asking for a 4-day work week why not ask for 1 day work at home/ telecommute? DH went through this at the beginning of this year with positive outcome. He decided against asking for a 4-day work week as he felt he will end up having 5 days' work compressed into 4 days while taking a...

Thanks , Independent, for taking the time craft a reply to my newbie question, it's folks like you who make this site such a wonderful resource. I understand about the assumption that the interest from my instruments will need to be 4% or higher to cover inflation. As for withdrawal, does it...

I am currently watching Samurai Gourmet, a Netflix original series. The story is about a 60 years old salaryman, newly retired from 39 years of corporate life, he likens his newfound freedom to that of a masterless samurai. Each episode centers around a particular Japanese dish and the viewer...

Congratulations! Your financial prudence and perseverance paid off, not needing to work is such a sweet spot to be in.

Don't be so hard on yourself. You've done your best and that's all anyone can ask of you. Take care and Stay strong.

Out of curiosity I'm working out my numbers using your method- Couple's annual Budget $80K, local SS equivalent CPF Life 32K, have at least 3 mio mostly invested in rental properties. We intend to live off rental income for as long as possible without drawing down. DH will retire at 54, I will...

Congratulations on your ER! A parachute jump is exactly how I'd imagine ER to be, you take a leap out of an airplane when there is nothing mechanically wrong with the airplane, you just don't want to go where the plane is going. Does that make sense?:laugh: Where did you go that you had to...

I can identify with your experience. My dad was a baker, we were raised on bread and cakes which were past their sell by date. Back in the day these baked goods stayed on the shelf much longer so they were pretty stale by the time we got them, in fact the bread seemed to be imprevious to butter.

Yes, I'm doing the exercises religiously, 15 mins twice a day. If I know I'm going to be sitting for a prolonged period of time, hairdresser's, dentist's or flights, I would bring along a small cushion for lumbar support. Gosh, 54 years is a lifetime ago! Singapore was still part of the...

I lived in HK for 6 years until 2014. The worst living quarter would be the cage home. The landlord would install bunk beds stacked 3 high, as many stacks as possible with narrow walkways in between, the tenants share a bathroom and kitchen. The cage home gets its name from the wire mesh that...

Thanks, Bruce, my reasons for not pulling the trigger was posted just before yours. It's true though, why wait when we already have our ducks in a row. Gotta have a think about it.

You made me laugh out loud with this, good one.

When Netflix downloads to 99%, pauses for what seems like an eternity and then pops up a message that the video I want to watch is current unavailable. Oh realllly.

Thanks for the welcome, euro! 2020 is when our only DD goes off to college, we plan to send her to a university overseas so we can be freed up to travel. DH's current situation also gave us some incentive to hang around, his employer may be putting the business up for sale so DH could stand to...

At the beginning of this year DH's friend introduced him to Blade Buddy which essentially strops the blade. He has been using the same blade since March, 5 months and still as sharp as the first shave. A pack of 8 Mach3 blades sells for $20 where I'm at and DH goes through 1 new blade a week...

DH and I have plans to ER in 2020 but it is hard to talk about it with friends who have a different take on life. Imagine my pleasure at happening upon this site with so many like-minded people! We worry about not socking away enough to make it to the end so it is heartening to read about...