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The discussion is 100% regional. For example, in my town, Portland, Oregon, it is impossible to buy property that is cash flow positive. If I were to buy the condo I currently rent, it would cost me 2x my current rent. IMO, it's dumb to buy an investment that requires all the stars to align in...

Nice post. A few things to think about: * The $1M or $2M number is a bunch of crap. You can retire on much less. Lots of people do. * It's less motivating to sock away money early when expected returns are 6% than when they're 16%. * ER doesn't mean sitting like a blob in front of the tube. It...

It's interesting that so many on this board are paranoid of outliving their money when they're in their 80s or 90s. That's the "upside" of the actuarial table. The downside is that many of us will die in our 60s or heaven forbid, our late 50s. Read the obits sometime. To me, eating ramen at 90...

I do agree that $600K might be lean, but it's within the realm of being able to begin to wind down one's career, maybe go part time, start working those consulting contacts, etc. You've already done the heavy lifting. Regarding health coverage, I think the younger among us have an advantage...

Hmm. Am I wrong to think that some people here are spoiled? $2,000/mo is more than many people in this country live on. Here in Oregon, one can rent a nice 2 bedroom apartment for $700/mo. $300/mo for food, $150 for utilities, etc. Aside from health insurance, this is very doable. If you want...

We're a 45 person high-tech company in Oregon. Our insurance has a $500/year deductible, pays 80% of most stuff, has a lifetime cap of $2M and a yearly out-of-pocket cap of around $5,000. The premium I quoted is from a sheet I receive each year that shows the total costs of keeping me around...

IMO, those that are 15-20 years from retirement have the least to worry about. Health care is very inefficient right now, with escalting treatment costs not showing comparible benefit to overall health. I expect that within 15-20 years, we'll see a tiered health care system where if loaded, one...

REITs primarily hold commercial real estate, which responds to different variables than housing. Housing is a rabid dog right now, but strip malls and office buildings aren't currently insanely valued relative to rents. Jon

Good question. The fund is just a collection of stocks and bonds. These all have a market value and can be liquidated by Vanguard at will. The fund itself is mearly a convenience that Vanguard makes available to you for a fee. i.e. you pay us 0.20%/year and we'll save you the trouble of buying...

Lazy, How true. I dropped out of school at 15 to take care of a sick mom. I will never get an inheritance. I'd much rather have my teen years back than a "housing windfall". Luck can even out if you're positioned to take advantage of opportunity. I agree that success seems easy to those who...

Not to stray into the political, but the current incentives for homeownership (interest deduction, tax-free appreciation) may hurt housing affordability more than help it (at the low end, anyway). The mortgage interest deduction is useful only to the extent it exceeds the standard deduction...

Thanks for the responses! The young couple that bought my house were pretty leveraged. They'll work their entire lives to pay off the interest on my tax-free profit. Funny the breaks sometimes. Equity does matter, though. One can always sell and rent in a cheaper area. Rents haven't at all kept...

Hello all. Please bear with me for the following rant. I'm usually an analytic person. I've tweaked my asset allocation to maximize return vs. risk, saved like crazy for the last 8 years (I'm 32), minimized expenses, etc. Basically done it "the right way". Here's the rub: it all feels...

Hi Rob. Congratulations on being one of the richest people on the planet. $1M is enough to ask yourself "what do I _really_ want to do?". Sounds like your industry changed and you aren't feeling particularly needed. That hurts. Sounds like more of a spiritual/lifecycle issue than a financial...

When financially unsophisticated people ask me for advice, I generally suggest a Lifecycle fund (target retirement). It really is that easy for most people. It's sad when people choose not to save because they're afraid of having to make investment decisions. Also, after expenses, taxes, and...

Holding stocks in a taxable account isn't that bad - you're generally taxed at favorable dividend rates (15%) and you can postpone most of the gain by using tax-efficient index funds. The problem comes if you need to hold bonds in your taxable account (i.e. don't have room in 401k, IRA, etc.)...

I think it's good for ballpark estimates. One thing I noticed: The house 3 doors down from mine is exactly the same floorplan, but with some upgrades. Zillow shows their value to be 8% LOWER than mine. I know I couldn't sell my place for what they're indicating...

Oh man, this is a pain. I work for a company that makes payroll software. We have someone that monitors each state's department of revenue web site for tax law changes. If we could only count on them to only make the changes at the start of a quarter...

I save around: 401k: $15K Roth: $4K Taxable: $8K ========= Total: $27k 32, single, income around $78K. Have around $300K in the pot so far...