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Diogenes

I'll add to the recommendations for the Ecobee. I had one installed in a house I don't live in 6-8 months of the year and it has been trouble free. Even paid for itself once when it notified me via email that the temperature had dropped too low in the Winter. Furnace broke. But without it I wouldn't...

Diogenes

We currently have 5% compound inflation, so in 20 years when I will be 83 (about the time my mom went on claim), we'll each have a daily $527 benefit or annual benefit of $192,355, and policy benefit each of $961,775. Total benefit of $1,923,550 for the total 10 years. I can, at anniversary, reduce...

Diogenes

I think LTCi has been confused for a way to fund long term care as opposed to fund a low probability event yet very high cost case of needing long term care (where assets may be depleted). If long term care becomes a high probability need then premiums must go up. There is no free lunch. True. But ...

Diogenes

Is there really anyone who buys a product, "prepared" for the price to later double? Why would you? Are there any BH's who have actually done so in the past 5 years or so? Any recent purchasers of a non-subsidized LTCI product? Curious about the calculation of the _buyers_. Maybe I'm missing somethi...

Diogenes

Rate increases and lack of lifetime coverage is the reason the asset based policies are gaining traction. You are are an insurance salesman, correct? Could you comment on what the average commission is when you sell a LTCI product? Also, it would be useful to know the largest companies who still wr...

Diogenes

An insurance agent who sells these policies will of course see the 'benefit'. Most others don't in today's structure. Granted, insurance companies are not welfare agencies, they're it it for the money, as are insurance salesmen. But the use of fear to try to squeeze $150k from someone, knowing you w...

Diogenes

Good list, but I would slightly modify what Timelord mentioned about there being a 'Number 4.' We can't ignore it. If the first three are Sufficiency, Comfort, and Abundance, then we must address the OMY situation as: 4. Failure to Accept — You have achieved option three, but are not convinced, or a...

Diogenes

Sounds like you have a not-so-great insurance plan, and that you didn't properly check with them to determine if he was actually a covered provider. Why take it out on the Doctor? You received the service, correct? Ask the office for their cash price and explain it to them nicely. Then pay it and mo...

Diogenes

I thought the limit for gifts to spouse that are non-citizen is $149,000. I would suggest the OP see a very good accountant because this is very complicated. That's the annual gift limit. The OP is talking about using up his unified estate/gift tax amount of currently $5.5M. Gifts over the annual a...

Diogenes

Of course you will pay Federal tax on both anyway, so the difference in the State tax probably shouldn't be a deciding factor. If you haven't already tried some of the calculators out there, do so. There are other variables. MaximizeMySocialSecurity is one very good one, although it is I think $40/y...

Diogenes

Still, the most trouble free for many is a simple $100 Garmin to leave in each vehicle and you're done. My wife uses it and would never use Waze or Sygic and download maps, etc. No need to worry about it we have the right maps, or the app running in the background running down the battery. A Sygic m...

Diogenes

If you travel frequently to Europe and drive while there, get the Garmin with lifetime EU and U.S. updates. Very handy to quickly hit the ground running when inevitably your phone will not function on the local network or you haven't had a chance to pick up a sim. Much more dependable in spotty area...

Diogenes

Where else will you get a guaranteed 8% return, on COLAed income? Not enough information here to be certain (TSP balances, expenses, other savings) but it almost always pays to delay SS. Tapping TSP earlier will reduce RMDs as well. Do you want $1500/month each now, or $2000/month each in 4 years? ...

Diogenes

Probably best to seek out those who have actually lived/worked overseas. You can find some here, but more on the expat forums.
First, you should engage with someone at your company that has done it since much advice is company/job/location specific.

Diogenes

Another good feature of the new T-Mobile plan is the ability to turn it off for months at a time while keeping your number, for $0 per month. I am only in the States a couple of times per year, but need to keep my same number. I prefer using a local sim otherwise.

Diogenes

I live in an overseas location where many seasonal expats, mainly from Europe, bought with the same idea in mind. Problem is that they most wish to visit at the same time as the peak rental time. There are many empty and many for sale as the owner finally becomes tired of trying to deal with realtor...

Diogenes

A huge mistake I humbly believe that many people make on this site is equating "maximum wealth" with "happiness" and "better life"...the latter is much more correlated with peace of mind. In that context, deciding when to start benefits is easy. Very well said. Also for the OP, you make $400K per y...

Diogenes

Dear Bogleheads, My wife and I are thinking about buying a 25% stake in a vacation home in France. My wife's three brothers will each have 25% shares. GS Never, ever get involved in jointly owning property with relatives, friends, strangers, anyone. Location is irrelevant. Disputes will invariably ...

Diogenes

From the Reddit page, a good one-pager link that summarizes Bill's work:

https://earlyretirementdude.com/4-rule- ... ity-study/

_D_

Diogenes

I - The SS system will be defunct by the time I'm eligible due to gross mismanagement - 401k can be taken from me by the stroke of a pen. We're living in a unique period of history. Will it always be thus? (Probably not....) So it's rather likely I'll need to keep working until I'm in the grave. Bu...

Diogenes

I am 58, and I don't ever see myself retiring. It's not that I wouldn't have the money to do so, it's that I still feel young, I want to be challenged, I like the structure of working, and I need the social contact. Am I the only person to feel this way? No, but many who say that are really using i...

Diogenes

chuckb84 wrote: ...Since I retired at 61, if I postponed SS to age 70 to maximize total retirement spending, I'd draw down my 401k by 40% before I got there, OTOH, if I took SS at 62, the drawdown is no more than 10%. Postponing SS to 70 results in about 1% more total spending in retirement (from 6...

Diogenes

Someone even earlier mentioned accounts being frozen - this seems like a double standard. On one hand, as an expat (but still US citizen), you're expected to still pay US taxes. BUT, you aren't allowed to have US-based financial accounts? I haven't found this to be a serious issue over the past 10 ...

Diogenes

If your rent is less than 10 percent of your monthly gross, it really is a non-issue. Keep the place you have and be happy. Housing costs are not significant to you, as long as your income is stable over the long term. If/when you marry and have kids, your housing priorities will change anyway. Some...

Diogenes

I take frequent 6-14 hour plane rides and have done so for years. After first trying the Bose corded version, QC15 I think, I have never intentionally been on a long flight without them. Always arrive much better rested. After about 4 years of heavy use, the plastic band cracked. Contacted Bose supp...

Diogenes

According to https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/comparison.jsp Living abroad is cheaper than in US One country every year. Sell everything in the US (no property tax), no car expense. Do Roth conversion every year to 15% bracket for zero cap gain tax on aft-tax account. Pay cash for health care ...

Diogenes

Only a month?
Why limit yourself?
At 73, the hardest part will be the flights. Take longer if you can.

Diogenes

Haven't use them but what about https://transferwise.com Fee seem to be about 1% for currency transfer or $1.30 if not transferring. There is a list of supported currencies and countries on the site. There is a USD limit of $10k after which they say they have to ask questions... but they yearly lim...

Diogenes

I have an Alarm.com system at a house that I rarely live in. The system was installed by a professional and has an option for monitored or not. In either event you have a robust interface to control it. Works well for me.

Diogenes

Schwab is great for rebating overseas ATM fees. I have one but use it only for backup and leave it locked up.Backup card is essential. Primary for ATM use is USAA. They also rebate and are a great company. Using them I can isolate my other accounts at Schwab and other places. Only risk is the cash I...

Diogenes

CFM300 wrote:
Diogenes wrote:If you travel overseas often, just get a VPN. Problem solved.
Depends on the country. Some countries, like China, block VPNs!

Except the OP is not in China or North Korea. In the other 98 percent of the World, the VPN will take care of this issue quite nicely.

Diogenes

"Tumbling" sounds a tad forced. The US dollar has actually been rising for the past few years. Yes. it seems the term 'tumbling' is from cable news. It has ups and downs, but the historic post election market bump has more than made up for that. I'm an expat with my investments in the U.S. and have...

Diogenes

So for 100K paid up front, the salesman takes 4-6K off the top, and the buyer gets a 6K per month for 25 months (150K max) or 5.3K per month for life (132.5K over 25 months, average stay 28 months). Good deal for the salesman, but can't see how it is good for anyone else. Especially when you factor...

Diogenes

If you travel overseas often, just get a VPN. Problem solved.
Vanguard is not the only one that blocks btw.

Diogenes

So for 100K paid up front, the salesman takes 4-6K off the top, and the buyer gets a 6K per month for 25 months (150K max) or 5.3K per month for life (132.5K over 25 months, average stay 28 months). Good deal for the salesman, but can't see how it is good for anyone else. Especially when you factor...

Diogenes

In my experience, no one buys these policies without the lifetime rider. Can you give us an illustration of policy premiums with and without the rider? For the example, let's say it's a 65 year old female in good health. When you have the rider what is the maximum annual reimbursement rate after th...

Diogenes

Health insurance is the biggest financial hurdle to early retirement, as BH members have posted. My family of 3 sees premiums going over $2500/month. I just finished an interesting book, The Healing of America , by TR Reid. He travels the world interacting with various countries' healthcare systems...

Diogenes

In my opinion, for many, buying LTCI reduces need to take risk, increases ability to take risk, and keeps willingness constant. These sortof cancel, leaving a constant AA. The standard answer is that one takes no more risk than one needs to take, therefore reduced need means investing more conserva...

Diogenes

Below topic has discussed this, as have several others. It's always wise to explore your options. In the 1st world places you would want to be for healthcare, getting a work visa will not be easy. In those 2nd world places with decent care, the wage scale will be low even if you could get the work v...

Diogenes

This conversation is both eye-opening (something I had not yet thought about) and terrifying at the same time. I enjoy hearing from American's living overseas and their experiences with foreign healthcare...something people tend to demonize here. Not to start up any political talk, but it makes no ...

Diogenes

I always smile when I hear people talk of planning to move overseas primarily for healthcare reasons. It usually means they haven't lived in any of those places, or anywhere else besides the States. Vacations don't count. Most people accustomed to the U.S. lifestyle would not appreciate Third World ...

Diogenes

Any products that are good for parking assist on the sides? We have a water heater that is on one side of where DW parks. Rather not put in a pole, just a gentle reminder...

Diogenes

Coincidently, at work today I learned one of my co-workers is doing the same thing as we are considering. He and his wife recently bought a house in a high priced resort area. He is 15 years out from retirement, and they are currently renting it out and just about breaking even once taxes are consi...

Diogenes

Smitcat,

You're absolutely right, I was not trying the long form iORP. Took a look and it asks for a great deal more information than I have. Sent it to him to figure out!

Diogenes

This never fails to be an interesting topic. Let's try this: My business partner will retire at age 62, about three years from now. Given his set of circumstances, he feels his spouse, who retired this year at age 59, should claim her SS at 62. We have discussed this a few times as he feels I shoul...

Diogenes

Alarm.com system, hardwired, with separate video surveillance system, also hard-wired. Backed up on-site and personal cloud. A couple of years ago I was researching this topic to remotely cover a house for the long-term that is not lived in most of the year. What I found were a few things that jumpe...

Diogenes

I've made this comment in another thread but it is worth repeating. I can get the WSJ free on my iPad via the Overdrive app from my public library. Really quite painless even for me that's not all that internet savvy. If you're on the fence about subscribing this would be a good way to get a free t...

Diogenes

This never fails to be an interesting topic. Let's try this: My business partner will retire at age 62, about three years from now. Given his set of circumstances, he feels his spouse, who retired this year at age 59, should claim her SS at 62. We have discussed this a few times as he feels I should...

Diogenes

m may have a section on this (?). Yes, here: m The proposal appears to be off the table for now because the EU and airlines/pilots balked at the thought of flying with hundreds of batteries in the checked luggage. Didn't see anything in the link about it being 'off the table.' There are already man...

Diogenes

Moving overseas strictly for healthcare reasons is a prescription for disappointment. That's a guarantee if you have significant health issues upfront. Healthcare is only one factor in the quality of life comparison. Many other factors could easily outweigh that for most. If you venture out to actua...

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