Alistair Leigh

Comments:

• While the Senior Golden Pass is definitely a bargain, there is a danger we are loving our National Parks to death. Deferred maintenance FY 2023 was over $20 Billion. Perhaps we should consider paying more to visit these great places to ensure they are preserved for future generations to also enjoy.

  Post: Read This for FREE!

  Link to comment from September 10, 2024

• Perhaps it is time to stop optimizing your real estate portfolio and start simplifying your life and assets. I have a friend who has several rental properties and he'll definitely die with more than me, but I've done a lot more travel and bicycle rides than him!

  Post: Covid and Money Fever by Steve Abramowitz

  Link to comment from September 3, 2024

• 1) Healthcare costs are either paid for by "extra" taxes (UK model) or as part of the cost of goods and services (US employer provided coverage, excluding Medicare, Medicaid). 2) Populations are living longer and there are now more healthcare services available than we can probably afford as a society - e.g. joint replacements, cardiac operations, cancer treatments, all types of scans and tests, extensive end of life care, to name but a few as well as the cost of drugs for numerous conditions and diseases. Individual patients want everything because it's their life which is at risk while nobody wants to pay for it all.

  Post: This deserves a rant. The United States approach to paying for healthcare is a joke.

  Link to comment from August 16, 2024

• Hi Matt, I burned out / retired early in 2015 figuring that we had about enough assets based on the 4% rule with 95% in stocks (index mutual funds/EFTs), 5% in cash and no mortgage or debt. Dividends provide about 2% of our income annually and even with some stock sales our portfolio has doubled, though who knows if it will do as well in the next 10 years. We have spent the past 2+ years traveling in Europe and have not regretted the 2015 decision at all. Go for it while you still are young enough to take full advantage of your mental and physical health.

  Post: A Big Question For Me Heading Into Retirement

  Link to comment from August 12, 2024

• We had a 1 year French Visa de Longue Sejour so we could stay in Schengen for longer than 90 days out of 180.

  Post: Our Nomadic Life

  Link to comment from June 5, 2024

• Great post, Michael. We are traveling in Europe for 2+ years. Initially we obtained a one year visa and now we are doing the 90/180 days in Schengen with the other 90+ in the UK / Ireland. We have Google voice #s for US calls and a mobile plan from Free in France. We have a medical insurance policy for accidents and have just paid for other medical and dental expenses out of pocket - mostly in the UK.

  Post: Our Nomadic Life

  Link to comment from June 5, 2024

• Hi Richard - great article to inform about this. For couples MFJ, does "the lifetime" apply to both taxpayers jointly or individually - the IRS instructions for Form 8889 states "You can make only one qualified HSA funding distribution during your lifetime." e.g. is it possible for a husband and wife to each contribute $8750 from their respective IRAs over a two year period?

  Post: Roll This Way

  Link to comment from August 28, 2023

• In 1997, after working for a few years I started an evening class MBA course. In the first Finance class, the professor said that there were only two people, Warren Buffett and Peter Lynch, who have beaten the market on a risk-adjusted basis over a long time period. Therefore he recommended investing in index funds because 'being average' was the best one could do. 25+ years later I'm very happy with his advice.

  Post: What are the smartest financial moves you’ve ever made?

  Link to comment from June 19, 2023

• Hi Mike - I'd be interested to know how your alternative investments did. Since the 2008/9 financial crisis, the financial services industry seems to have been pushing these (e.g. forestry in Georgia, mining in Montana etc) as a diversification strategy, but as you mention they generate complex K-1 tax forms resulting in higher annual tax filing expenses, thereby reducing the investment return.

  Post: Coming Together

  Link to comment from June 19, 2023