Thank you, @Miriam2!
For those Bogleheads I haven’t met yet, I started with the old Morningstar Vanguard Diehards forum. I’ve written & talked about personal finance for over 20 years.
My spouse and I are dual-military retirees. We started our careers in the early 1980s, and the Navy ordered us to Oahu in 1989. We reached financial independence in 1999 on a high savings rate. I retired in 2002 on an active-duty pension, and she retired in 2008 to a Reserve pension which started in 2022.
Personal finance has somehow become our family business, and now I’m paying it forward. Our daughter is a Navy vet (and a part-time paraplanner), while our son-in-law is at 10 years of active duty. They’ve reached their own FI and recently moved back to Oahu with our four-year-old granddaughter. (She’ll start at our daughter’s old neighborhood schools in summer 2025.) Our family dinner-table conversations revolve around Navy retention, the glamorous FI lifestyle, raising money-savvy kids, surfing, and... more chaotic home-improvement projects.
I first met Gouri in 2017, and we’ve chatted a little about April’s BH meeting format. I am not a fan of PowerPoint presentations, and after the introductions I’d prefer to jump straight into the Q&A. I’m in my 60s and I’m comfortable with questions that will help people get more comfortable with their paths to financial independence. Since we’re starting at 2 PM Hawaii time, I’m happy to answer questions for as long as people keep asking them.
Today we have our lifestyle dialed in and our core expenses are ridiculously low. We could play very good defense, but we’re spending some of our money on slow travel for as long as our go-go years last. We continue to draw down our wealth through gifting & philanthropy.
Our reliable inflation-fighting pensions (and Social Security in 2030) make us comfortable with short-term volatility in the rest of our investments. In the 1980s-90s we made all of the classic investing mistakes, although a high savings rate can make up for a lot of ignorance. Today our asset allocation is >95% VTI in a joint taxable account and two Roth IRAs.
I experimented with angel investing between 2007-18, and today I’m awaiting the exits on the three survivors of 11 startups. It’s been a losing exploration that’s immunized me against temptation in my 70s.
We also own a rental property, a single-family home with a 3% cap rate. We’ve landlorded it for 26 of the last 30 years, and I’m over it. My spouse still enjoys the challenge & fulfillment, so we’re analyzing our exit options... other than probate.
Due to my family’s history of Alzheimer’s, my spouse and I have devoted quite a bit of time & effort on our disability & estate plans. To help reduce caregiver stress, we’ve given our daughter extensive authority over our financial accounts. If my spouse and I become disabled, our daughter can immediately step up and be our fiduciary.
Yet the more I’ve learned about personal finance, the more I’ve realized that it’s not about the money.
I’m extremely familiar with the emotions of behavioral financial psychology, the potential failures of the 4% Safe Withdrawal Rate, and Just One More Year syndrome. I’m a member of ESIMoney’s Millionaire Money Mentors forums, where even multi-millionaires are worried about making $10M last for the rest of their lives. The emotions of personal finance will derail the math & logic every time.
As you approach the tripwire of the 4% SWR, you’ll design the next phase of your life. Keep working as long as you feel challenged & fulfilled, but you can stop trading your life energy (which you might not have) for more money (that you do not need). I’ve helped hundreds of people through that transition.
Before we start our live conversation on 17 April, we can certainly discuss questions here. You can also send me a PM or e-mail NordsNords at Gmail.
For those Bogleheads I haven’t met yet, I started with the old Morningstar Vanguard Diehards forum. I’ve written & talked about personal finance for over 20 years.
My spouse and I are dual-military retirees. We started our careers in the early 1980s, and the Navy ordered us to Oahu in 1989. We reached financial independence in 1999 on a high savings rate. I retired in 2002 on an active-duty pension, and she retired in 2008 to a Reserve pension which started in 2022.
Personal finance has somehow become our family business, and now I’m paying it forward. Our daughter is a Navy vet (and a part-time paraplanner), while our son-in-law is at 10 years of active duty. They’ve reached their own FI and recently moved back to Oahu with our four-year-old granddaughter. (She’ll start at our daughter’s old neighborhood schools in summer 2025.) Our family dinner-table conversations revolve around Navy retention, the glamorous FI lifestyle, raising money-savvy kids, surfing, and... more chaotic home-improvement projects.
I first met Gouri in 2017, and we’ve chatted a little about April’s BH meeting format. I am not a fan of PowerPoint presentations, and after the introductions I’d prefer to jump straight into the Q&A. I’m in my 60s and I’m comfortable with questions that will help people get more comfortable with their paths to financial independence. Since we’re starting at 2 PM Hawaii time, I’m happy to answer questions for as long as people keep asking them.
Today we have our lifestyle dialed in and our core expenses are ridiculously low. We could play very good defense, but we’re spending some of our money on slow travel for as long as our go-go years last. We continue to draw down our wealth through gifting & philanthropy.
Our reliable inflation-fighting pensions (and Social Security in 2030) make us comfortable with short-term volatility in the rest of our investments. In the 1980s-90s we made all of the classic investing mistakes, although a high savings rate can make up for a lot of ignorance. Today our asset allocation is >95% VTI in a joint taxable account and two Roth IRAs.
I experimented with angel investing between 2007-18, and today I’m awaiting the exits on the three survivors of 11 startups. It’s been a losing exploration that’s immunized me against temptation in my 70s.
We also own a rental property, a single-family home with a 3% cap rate. We’ve landlorded it for 26 of the last 30 years, and I’m over it. My spouse still enjoys the challenge & fulfillment, so we’re analyzing our exit options... other than probate.
Due to my family’s history of Alzheimer’s, my spouse and I have devoted quite a bit of time & effort on our disability & estate plans. To help reduce caregiver stress, we’ve given our daughter extensive authority over our financial accounts. If my spouse and I become disabled, our daughter can immediately step up and be our fiduciary.
Yet the more I’ve learned about personal finance, the more I’ve realized that it’s not about the money.
I’m extremely familiar with the emotions of behavioral financial psychology, the potential failures of the 4% Safe Withdrawal Rate, and Just One More Year syndrome. I’m a member of ESIMoney’s Millionaire Money Mentors forums, where even multi-millionaires are worried about making $10M last for the rest of their lives. The emotions of personal finance will derail the math & logic every time.
As you approach the tripwire of the 4% SWR, you’ll design the next phase of your life. Keep working as long as you feel challenged & fulfilled, but you can stop trading your life energy (which you might not have) for more money (that you do not need). I’ve helped hundreds of people through that transition.
Before we start our live conversation on 17 April, we can certainly discuss questions here. You can also send me a PM or e-mail NordsNords at Gmail.
Statistics: Posted by Nords — Sat Mar 30, 2024 11:17 pm — Replies 1 — Views 306