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WBraun
climber
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Apr 13, 2017 - 04:45pm PT
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You can retire to a cave in Afghanistan, very cheap.
The US will even send you a nice free package by air to help .......
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AP
Trad climber
Calgary
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Apr 13, 2017 - 04:51pm PT
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What about health care?
I don't imagine Northern Pakistan rates very high unless the Ismailis built a good hospital.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Apr 13, 2017 - 05:26pm PT
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Okay....consider Chile. Health care is good and very inexpensive. The government is stable and progressive and the quality of the air and water in the south is the world's best.
Edit: Regarding Pakistan and Tajikistan my tongue was only partly in my cheek.
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i-b-goB
Social climber
Wise Acres
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Apr 13, 2017 - 05:31pm PT
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^^^
Hey WBraun you can also retire early too, no need to wait!
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MikeL
Social climber
Southern Arizona
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Apr 13, 2017 - 06:45pm PT
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Sounds very tempting, Donini.
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jgill
Boulder climber
The high prairie of southern Colorado
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Apr 13, 2017 - 09:29pm PT
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Regarding retiring early to climb, take the long view and consider your life if you are badly injured or cannot climb anymore for whatever reason. Would it have been worth it? Just a thought.
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jstan
climber
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 14, 2017 - 04:36am PT
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Yesterday China urges avoiding "unmanageable tension". So I looked at gold's spot price. The biggest move of $10 came on 4/12, oddly. (The present reminds me of 1914.)
http://www.kitco.com/news/2017-04-13/-Gold-Thrives-In-Absence-Of-Leadership-1-330-A-Possibility-ICBC.html
‘Gold Thrives In Absence Of Leadership; $1,330 A Possibility’ — ICBC
Anna Golubova
Thursday April 13, 2017 19:40
Gold has a tendency to quickly fill in a “vacuum” in the absence of economic and geopolitical leadership, ICBC Standard Bank said in a report.
“At certain times, the absence of political leadership and/or direction in other markets can play strongly in favor of gold. Now appears to be such a time,” ICBC Standard strategist Tom Kendall said in a note.
Gold is currently benefitting from the U.S. Congress recess, especially being driven by the lack of new information about Republican fiscal and spending plans, Kendall said.
What's more, there are increased tensions around the Korean Peninsula, as well as no clear direction in which the U.S.-Russia foreign policy is heading, especially in regards to the Middle East. These elements have also boosted the yellow metal, Kendall added.
Other factors contributing to the rally include a drop in 10-year yields by 40 basis points in the space of two weeks. “Another 20bps lower and rates would be back at September 2016 levels, when gold was trading around $1,325-30,” stated Kendall.
U.S. jobs data also disappointed last week, and there was no positive action in U.S. equity markets, according to the note.
Many have asked how sustainable the recent gold rally really is and whether the yellow metal has room to go above the key psychological $1,300 level to trade at $1,330.
Kendall said he believes it is possible.
“Comex speculative positioning is currently moderate, the net non-commercial positioning is around half of last year’s peak of 31 million oz, while ETF inflows appear to have picked up momentum again. So, if the vacuum of leadership on both US economic and global geopolitical issues continues, the answer is yes,” he explained.
On Thursday, gold continued to see a boost from safe-haven demand, with June Comex gold settling 0.81% higher at $1,288.50 an ounce.
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hobo_dan
Social climber
Minnesota
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Apr 14, 2017 - 05:21am PT
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Gold bugging for retirement makes me nervous. but so do whacko politicians and an 8 year bull market.
My extremely valuable advice for an investment would be to go with a big telecomm provider like VZ. They get $40/month for all the cell phones and they don't need to sweat the new model changes. My students live in their cellphones so I don't see these things going away + 5% or so dividend. Free advice and worth every penny!
8 weeks to go.
I went climbing last weekend and Boy was it ugly!!! But it was fun.
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MikeL
Social climber
Southern Arizona
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Apr 14, 2017 - 08:03am PT
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jstan: (The present reminds me of 1914.)
Jesus, I didn’t know you were THAT old.
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Anxious Melancholy
Mountain climber
Between the Depths of Despair & Heights of Folly
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Apr 14, 2017 - 10:08am PT
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Congrats to those who made it to retirement, or those nearing that magical date!
Financial diversity has seemed to work OK for me so far: IRA, stocks and bonds, CA STERS pension, home ownership. Even though I went bankrupt as a building contractor in the 80s and my house burned up in San Diego's Cedar Fire, I managed an employment escape 2 years ago (age 57).
Could have been even more financially secure if I worked longer, but it probably would have shortened my life expectancy, and really, how much does a person really need?
We're following a well thought out plan, at least it's working so far. 6 months before retirement we purchased a 5th wheel trailer to live in full time and rented out our house. We lived in a trailer park and worked out some of the kinks of long term trailer life, and then upon the magic date we hit the road.
With solar panels supplimented with a propane generator it's easy for us to stretch the dollars camping (if you can call it that!) off the grid and away from campgrounds in the extensive national forest and BLM lands of the west.
We're giving ourselves time to figure out what best suits us: travel vs staying put long enough to really explore an area. And my wife, as an educator, still feels strongly about community (while I tend toward the Lonesome Road). As such, she's volunteered with the NPS, and recently accepted a seasonal paid position with them (unplanned fun money!). We had a long discussion about travel vs stuck in one place while she works. Compromise? Well, heck, I can find plenty to do here in the Zion NP area! (Glad it was her idea. Can't imagine how that conversation would have gone if I promoted it. "Hon, what do think about you working while I retire and play full time? HA!)
Figuring we'll do this for the next several years and then, when we slow down a bit more, using SS$ for international travel. Tempted to go places and stay several months at a time, depending on visa restrictions.
Course I could fall off one these sandstone majesties tomorrow and it would all be moot.
Carpe Diem
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phylp
Trad climber
Upland, CA
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Apr 14, 2017 - 07:59pm PT
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That's a nice story, Anxious Melancholy.
Welcome to the retirement life!
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Bad Climber
Trad climber
The Lawless Border Regions
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Apr 15, 2017 - 07:21am PT
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+1 what Phyllis said. Sounds like you've dialed it in as much as possible, Anxious Melancholy (classic handle, btw). Just four weeks of the job left more me starting Monday. Oy.
BAd
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Bob D'A
Trad climber
Taos, NM
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Apr 16, 2017 - 11:12am PT
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First world problems.
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Moof
Big Wall climber
Orygun
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Apr 16, 2017 - 11:59am PT
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Majid, did you liquidate the whole thing in a single year?! That would be a horrible taxation train wreck!
It should be taken out slowly, as it is taxed at regular income! Keep the annual withdrawals down in lower brackets and use brokerage savings, or any Roth accounts to keep your withdrawals low enough such that they should mostly be at a level where they will be tax free. Slow and steady is the best strategy for winning the IRS battle in retirement.
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jstan
climber
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 16, 2017 - 01:03pm PT
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Calculate now what your taxes will be after you turn 70 1/2.
Nasty.
Also if you have tax exempt income from Roth accounts this will reduce your social security
to an important degree.
Even nastier.
At retirement I did a net present value calculation on my SS. Prior to the institution of means adjustment of SS, the return on my SS taxes was quite fair, I thought.
Now, not so much. SSDI was pasted onto SS with no new funding.
On my first visit to SS I ran into a thirty year old whizzing around
on a skate board who was collecting his SSDI check. He sure wasn't physically disabled. And I who, at 65 hadn't collected a dime, was the one who really could rightly claim mental disability.
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Bad Climber
Trad climber
The Lawless Border Regions
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Apr 17, 2017 - 06:20am PT
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26 days. But that last week I'm only on campus 3 days. Sooo...
BAd
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MikeL
Social climber
Southern Arizona
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Apr 17, 2017 - 07:02am PT
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Jstan: I did a net present value calculation . . . .
A technical set of notes:
1. Assuming the same discount rate throughout a time period rarely mimics reality. That is, your risk premiums will change, sometimes often. The projected state of the conditions (the world) is impermanent.
2. The discount rate may change beyond what is planned, and if it does, it can have a quite an impact on the investment.
3. A loss or gain anywhere in the time horizon (especially early) that is not assumed can also have a large impact on the investment.
4. Real options are almost never considered, and they cannot be easily projected because of unpredictability and bounded rationality. “Interesting opportunities” will (!) show up. One may be able to say what the opportunity costs are today, but not tomorrow.
Spending times on a budget (how you plan to live) is sometimes more useful than thinking about how much money you are going to have to spend. (I know this seems like the same thing, but it’s really not: investing is not budgeting.)
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Gunkie
Trad climber
Valles Marineris
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Apr 17, 2017 - 07:15am PT
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45 days...
Rode the elevator with a guy who is retiring in 20 work days. He was effectively gloating in a kind, funny manner with his fellow employees at Janney (investment house). He was very happy.
45 days for you, Locker. About 2500 +/- days for me.
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jstan
climber
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 17, 2017 - 11:31am PT
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Moof:
I suspect I too read that Fool article. It was way below the Fool's normal standard.
A Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) increases AGI and that can cause up to 85% of your SS benefits to be taxed.
If you are going to do any ROTH conversions try and do them before age 70.5. After 70.5 the forced RMD causes you to be forced into a higher marginal tax rate. Never assume taxes in retirement will be less.. They can easily be higher.
Social security admin adds tax exempt interest to your AGI to yield what they term as Modified AGI (MAGI). Depending on your MAGI you are not "taxed", but your SS Benefit is "reduced". It can be a real bite on top of the 85% taxation. This is termed "Means Testing."
Were the time value of money to remain close to zero, I am unpersuaded holding onto and investing money owed to the government (the IRA idea) makes sense, if you are taxed heavily later investment monies are taxed as simple income. Depending on your AGI the efficiency with which you may do ROTH conversions drops. I use the ROTH idea for three reasons:
1. I think taxation has eventually to go up. ROTHs=good then.
2. As diversification.
3. With no ROTH all one's tax advantaged accounts are forcibly extinguished by the RMD.
On the downside, ROTHs have to remain under management by a financial institution that makes some investments onerously regulated.
Just a matter of strategy.
M/L:
Simply using a spreadsheet you can assess how future scenarios affect present value. Present value being just how much money you have to have NOW to afford the future. The only hard part is including the complicated tax code.
Oh for a Fortran subroutine! Excel probably has a Fortran capability but I have not looked for it. Excel is so easy to debug. Debugging is two thirds of the work in coding.
When my work area involved coding I imposed the condition a hundred hours of software verification had to be done for each hour of coding. Every time this was not done, all hell broke loose.
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