I quit and got out of rat race in 2023. Reason, I had "enough" to leave a legacy, per my financial advisor. I was going to do all the cool things all of you had mentioned about travelling and seeing the world etc. I was waiting on my wife to finish her PhD in Q1/Q2 2025. Then life threw a curve ball - diagnosed with bladder cancer in Jan 2025. Had to meet with my financial planner and change life expectancy to 75. Wasn't going to collect SS till 70 - now I decided to start it this year. My whole perspective has changed - all the focus is on dealing with cancer. So, something to keep in mind is that life's curve balls can completely derail the meaning of what we think is enough, what we think our retired life looks like etc.
In a stable world environment, I agree this is a good strategy. Things to worry about - worldwide turmoil - North Korea threat on Japan/South Korea; China's threat on Taiwan; China economic growth. Europe innovation is down the tank and the war in Ukraine does not help. France and Germany elections looming. UK is struggling. So, I am not sure now is the time to go global. If I may suggest, pick up mutual funds related to Indian stocks - more stable with significant growth (8+%) - large middle class consumption. Indian currency has been pretty stable. Newly elected government (3rd term) helps continue to drive infrastructure growth in India. BTW, VTWAX seem to have a large service fee when purchasing. US and India should do IMHO.
This is a heart-wrenching article, Jonathan, but I understand what you are trying to do. I had heard this phrase that the two problems in life that is not yours are birth and death. You are trying to rewrite that phrase to the degree you can. Wishing you hope and prayers.
Hats off Howard - doing my own is bad enough not sure I could stomach more. There is always that fear that you screwed up something and will get audited by IRS - so I have been using TurboTax, and use their audit defense for peace of mind. I preferred the old 1040/A/B/C - now it's all kinds of new forms which I have not even bothered to figure out. -Duke
Jonathan - I briefly saw the linkedin comments yesterday and finally got a chance to see this article. I am shocked and deeply saddened. Now that you know what you know - make sure you keep your hopes alive despite the challenges. It is surprising if you believe in something, the universe will try to support you. I also suggest taking up some meditation and yoga - which in some cases has proven to help. Be proud for all your accomplishments and for helping all of us over the course of many years. I have been reading humble dollar and thoroughly enjoyed every article which were well written and thought out, I am sure with your editing and insights. You are in my prayers. Strength and courage to the family. -Duke
Out of curiosity I ran the same question through a few other chatbots - MS Pilot and OpenAI's ChatGPT for the same question. Responses were mostly along the same lines.
Interesting article. My journey was similar - setup 2 custodial accounts for the two kids and started gifting stock each year (no 529's) - eventually when my daughter wanted to buy a house, she was able to dip into it. My daughter got quite a bit of grants from university - I gave her stock for the grants she earned - since I had planned to pay for kids college anyways. My son's is compounding, 90% stock and 10% cash. They have both started working. I am curious about one issue I have - I have stocks with lots of capital gains. I was planning to dip into my 401k and other retirement funds first and reduce RMD on them to a 22% or so and plan to leave the stock I have to the kids after I pass away so that they can get a stepped up basis - any thoughts anyone?
Thought provoking article! I am struggling in this chasm as well. Whether to retire or not - besides finance, are all these open ended unknowns worth the risk. I am doing an ROI calculation of continuing to work till you drop and do the best you can vs. retire and struggle to figure out SS, Medicare, keeping busy, social aspects, retirement community etc. etc. All this for a decade of good life and then eventually succumb to home-doctor office-hospital-home routine and god forbid relying on hired help :-(. Retirement sucks - my 2 cents.
Comments
I quit and got out of rat race in 2023. Reason, I had "enough" to leave a legacy, per my financial advisor. I was going to do all the cool things all of you had mentioned about travelling and seeing the world etc. I was waiting on my wife to finish her PhD in Q1/Q2 2025. Then life threw a curve ball - diagnosed with bladder cancer in Jan 2025. Had to meet with my financial planner and change life expectancy to 75. Wasn't going to collect SS till 70 - now I decided to start it this year. My whole perspective has changed - all the focus is on dealing with cancer. So, something to keep in mind is that life's curve balls can completely derail the meaning of what we think is enough, what we think our retired life looks like etc.
Post: Never Enough
Link to comment from February 15, 2025
In a stable world environment, I agree this is a good strategy. Things to worry about - worldwide turmoil - North Korea threat on Japan/South Korea; China's threat on Taiwan; China economic growth. Europe innovation is down the tank and the war in Ukraine does not help. France and Germany elections looming. UK is struggling. So, I am not sure now is the time to go global. If I may suggest, pick up mutual funds related to Indian stocks - more stable with significant growth (8+%) - large middle class consumption. Indian currency has been pretty stable. Newly elected government (3rd term) helps continue to drive infrastructure growth in India. BTW, VTWAX seem to have a large service fee when purchasing. US and India should do IMHO.
Post: Stuck at Home
Link to comment from November 23, 2024
This is a heart-wrenching article, Jonathan, but I understand what you are trying to do. I had heard this phrase that the two problems in life that is not yours are birth and death. You are trying to rewrite that phrase to the degree you can. Wishing you hope and prayers.
Post: No Slowing Down
Link to comment from July 28, 2024
Hats off Howard - doing my own is bad enough not sure I could stomach more. There is always that fear that you screwed up something and will get audited by IRS - so I have been using TurboTax, and use their audit defense for peace of mind. I preferred the old 1040/A/B/C - now it's all kinds of new forms which I have not even bothered to figure out. -Duke
Post: Many Unhappy Returns
Link to comment from June 19, 2024
Jonathan - I briefly saw the linkedin comments yesterday and finally got a chance to see this article. I am shocked and deeply saddened. Now that you know what you know - make sure you keep your hopes alive despite the challenges. It is surprising if you believe in something, the universe will try to support you. I also suggest taking up some meditation and yoga - which in some cases has proven to help. Be proud for all your accomplishments and for helping all of us over the course of many years. I have been reading humble dollar and thoroughly enjoyed every article which were well written and thought out, I am sure with your editing and insights. You are in my prayers. Strength and courage to the family. -Duke
Post: The C Word
Link to comment from June 18, 2024
Out of curiosity I ran the same question through a few other chatbots - MS Pilot and OpenAI's ChatGPT for the same question. Responses were mostly along the same lines.
Post: What Mom Wrought
Link to comment from May 29, 2024
Consider your Alma Mater that helped you get to where you are, I suppose. That's kind of what I did.
Post: When to Give
Link to comment from July 29, 2023
Interesting article. My journey was similar - setup 2 custodial accounts for the two kids and started gifting stock each year (no 529's) - eventually when my daughter wanted to buy a house, she was able to dip into it. My daughter got quite a bit of grants from university - I gave her stock for the grants she earned - since I had planned to pay for kids college anyways. My son's is compounding, 90% stock and 10% cash. They have both started working. I am curious about one issue I have - I have stocks with lots of capital gains. I was planning to dip into my 401k and other retirement funds first and reduce RMD on them to a 22% or so and plan to leave the stock I have to the kids after I pass away so that they can get a stepped up basis - any thoughts anyone?
Post: When to Give
Link to comment from July 29, 2023
oh my god - this is really unfortunate. Thanks for sharing your story. Have you considered moving to a new country perhaps?
Post: Ask Before Quitting
Link to comment from June 17, 2023
Thought provoking article! I am struggling in this chasm as well. Whether to retire or not - besides finance, are all these open ended unknowns worth the risk. I am doing an ROI calculation of continuing to work till you drop and do the best you can vs. retire and struggle to figure out SS, Medicare, keeping busy, social aspects, retirement community etc. etc. All this for a decade of good life and then eventually succumb to home-doctor office-hospital-home routine and god forbid relying on hired help :-(. Retirement sucks - my 2 cents.
Post: Ask Before Quitting
Link to comment from June 17, 2023