Here's a statement of the obvious: The opinions expressed here are those of the participants, not those of the Mutual Fund Observer. We cannot vouch for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of it, though we do encourage civility and good humor.
Worksheet 1-1. Taxpayer's Modified AGI—Line 2a
1. Enter your adjusted gross income (AGI)* from Form 1040,
line 38; Form 1040A, line 22; or Form 1040NR,
line 37 ............................ 1.
2. Enter any tax-exempt interest from Form
1040, line 8b;…
I may pay $0 for OC - see question here.
http://www.mutualfundobserver.com/discuss/discussion/20854/obamacar-aca-can-anyone-explain-the-income-rules-for-me
>> If OC was the law before my retiring I may have had second thoughts.
Dex, when you were running the numbers at 51 for healthcare costs until Medicare, what did you plug in and what did you base them on? Was your nonjob private insurance …
Edit: I am paying then around $3600 annually for health insurance. But that is still far cheaper than the close to $7000 I was paying before Medicare kicked in. And that private policy had a $2500 deductible.
Thanks, I currently have $8,500 budg…
Edit: Wait till you get to 65 and Medicare. In my opinion the greatest thing since sliced bread. But you have to get the supplemental policy that covers 100% of what Medicare doesn't pay.
How much does medicare cost for a single person and the …
Dex, everyone here enjoys your retirement articles including your personal journey. Did I miss it or have you written why you retired at such a young age? I took early SS at 62 (4/09) and have not regretted it in the least. That was money I didn'…
i think we have at least 5 more years of this low interest rate environment. It could be more. The debt, aging population, unemployment, wage stagnation will help to keep it down.
I don't think anyone would recommend retiring with just 5 years of cash flow in the bank and $300,000 in other investments. So, let's use $1,000,000 as your goal plus the first 5 years with SS.
Interest rate 5%
Years 30
Starting amount $1,050,000…
Here's an example:
$50,000 budget/ year
250,000 Spending
-000,000 Pension - you don't have one
-100,000 Social Security
-100,000 Dividends/Interest Apx 300,000 paying dividends/interest You have other $
= 50,000 withdraw from savings - 10,000 i…
Do this exercise and let us know how it affect your retirement investment.
Line item budget for 5 years
- pension
- social security
- dividends
= amount to withdraw from investments (or deposit). Put 1 year of this in a money market account, the r…
We in the USA have lived a charmed life. The middle class we have in our minds is an animality in the world. Look towards Greece/Europe for the next step in our future.
The normalcy bias, or normality bias, is a mental state people enter when facing a disaster. It causes people to underestimate both the possibility of a disaster and its possible effects. This may result in situations where people fail to adequately…
All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first, the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms.
Then th…
Baltimore Mayor: ‘Gave Those Who Wished to Destroy Space to Do That’
http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2015/04/25/baltimore-mayor-gave-those-who-wished-to-destroy-space-to-do-that/
Second, if you are a moderate to heavy drinker, stop or cut back. That is a lot of money being pissed away. Your body will thank you again.
Thank God I'm only a light drinker ...
Dex you said "For you younger people hoping to retire comfortably - give up the dream." I'm saying that people will find a way. It may not be your way or my way but they will find a way.
I think you mean "Love Will Find a Way" by Yes in 1987.
Thanks Dex. Very instructive. Wonder how long you've operated on this budget?
I own my home (no mortgage), truck and travel trailer, single (no debt). I retired in '07 at 51 and since then I averaged $27,000 in spending - that includes health i…
I guess I used a poor attempt at an illustration of how are we ever going to be able to retire to show problem solving and for lack of a better term, the American Way.
I don't know what that sentence means.
Best Wishes for wise decision making.
Those are all good suggestions. I'd say another step most people forget is doing a basic line item budget and project it into the future. Then determine if their investment profile and assets can support tha…
I think you mean well Dex but I can't help but wonder how that mindset would have worked coming out of Black Tuesday (Great Depression), Black Monday (crash of 1987) the last Great Recession or any number of hard times. Truly some will give up at an…
If anything will be different for those younger than you and I it will be that defined benefits will not be a common component of retirement.
In a way defined benefits were never a common component for retirement. People didn't get it if they d…
Comment: I wish we could just get the last part of a message using the quote function instead of copying the whole thing. I'll post a comment in tech side. ( I see that it does display what I want. It looked like the whole thing was going to post …
Our only disagreement is about enjoying life when you are young because it will suck at 55+. At 68, life has never been better - both financially and health-wise. No way would I want to go back to my younger years. They sucked!
You get off my la…
"For you younger people hoping to retire comfortably - give up the dream."
Oh, already done (the given up the dream thing.) Thanks, though.
Get off my lawn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Here is '15's budget. Not very extravagant and I really just buy what I want. I'm not constricting myself in any way. The total is what is important - it is close in the end.
Basic Living
House
1,981 RE Tax
2,556 HOA - includes outside m…
Ok we got all the reasons for getting a crown ,But when is a crown not necessary, a regular filling will be sufficient? Had my share of crowns, Two went bad, now he wants to do implants or bridge work, for what? how many more years with new teeth?
H…
@Dex, you might find this to be of interest to you.
http://www.medicinenet.com/dental_crowns/page2.htm
I think that was written by a dentist!
True story - I was a kid, teenager I forgot how old, I knew my family didn't have money so I had some ca…
It will get even worse for PR as Cuba opens up. Cuba will suck up a lot of tourist $, tourist capital investment, and Cuba will provide, cheap, educated, hard working workers for companies looking for it.
But a friend of mine recently made a move into where the real action has been the past many weeks and that is emerging market debt. May move some there.
I think you need to watch the US$. If the Fed raises rates and US$ strengthens, then those fu…
The middle class has been getting smaller since the late 1960s and stock buy backs had nothing to do with it.
It began with US factories not modernizing after WWII, while new fuel efficient plants were built in the re-building countries. Also, thos…
I'm still 100% in HY Muni bonds paying me about 5.1% - only state tax. Munis haven't seen capital appreciation this year. My guess it is the possible Fed increase later in the year holding them back.
My current plan is to stop the re-investment…
