Rough budget for living
#61
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Joined: Oct 2014
Location: Penang
Posts: 618
Re: Rough budget for living
Sushifan:
But do you still think you will do that if you are 65+ and have visited over 30 places/countries? There will be a time that "running away" from your home, several times per year, to give yourself the impression that you are doing something useful, will make you feel silly.
It is important to find a way to lead a useful life that supports your self-esteem during the periods that you are at home, wherever that home may be.
As for myself, I am 70+ and I do still enjoy travelling.
As there are two of us, WE do not consider it to be 'running away from home', we actually consider it to be doing something useful.
Or, using your vocabulary, maybe we have successfully managed to convince ourselves that we are doing something useful :-)
With this I just want to point out that opinions differ on what is considered to be life quality and essential for self esteem can be different.
Yes, there will be a time when one cannot or does not want to do whatever one finds to be important in life anymore.
But I think that this is a generally applicable fact of life, not only related to travel.
But do you still think you will do that if you are 65+ and have visited over 30 places/countries? There will be a time that "running away" from your home, several times per year, to give yourself the impression that you are doing something useful, will make you feel silly.
It is important to find a way to lead a useful life that supports your self-esteem during the periods that you are at home, wherever that home may be.
As for myself, I am 70+ and I do still enjoy travelling.
As there are two of us, WE do not consider it to be 'running away from home', we actually consider it to be doing something useful.
Or, using your vocabulary, maybe we have successfully managed to convince ourselves that we are doing something useful :-)
With this I just want to point out that opinions differ on what is considered to be life quality and essential for self esteem can be different.
Yes, there will be a time when one cannot or does not want to do whatever one finds to be important in life anymore.
But I think that this is a generally applicable fact of life, not only related to travel.
Last edited by Gunnar45; May 17th 2017 at 11:59 am.
#62
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Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 706
Re: Rough budget for living
Yes, it would be an issue. Hopefully with property it would be, income wise, a little more protected but for investments it could be big issue. We are waiting actually as the hang seng is to high at moment, so want to buy for less. It's a dividend share based on the top 50 or whatever companies in HK.
Still hope the phrase as safe as houses is more than a phrase
Still hope the phrase as safe as houses is more than a phrase
#63
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Thread Starter
Joined: Nov 2016
Posts: 45
Re: Rough budget for living
Actually, I love crashes as there will be a lot of value to pick up in the market. Even at a relatively high withdrawal rate of 4-5%, a crash of 4-5 years should not matter too much and a judicious use of leverage during panics can be highly rewarding. Since my withdrawal rate is much lower than that, this makes it even safer. The crash of early 2016 was the most recent bonanza for me (but I went in with very little cash so nowhere near where it could have been ) though seeing the portfolio drop sharply was a bit scary even if it was obviously overdone. Keeping 5 years of basic expenses in safe cash helps for that in my experience!
#64
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Joined: Aug 2015
Location: Penang
Posts: 959
Re: Rough budget for living
If you have enough time remaining after that crash you still have a change of recovering from it. So it better happens early in life than late in life. Plus, crashes help you learn that you should diversify.
Last edited by SushiFan; May 18th 2017 at 7:49 am.
#65
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Posts: 959
Re: Rough budget for living
Just to be clear visiting places isn't something we do to make ourselves feel useful? I am not sure where this came from as i personally haven't met any one who has given that as a reason, its enjoyable, interesting and on occasions stunning, but never thought of it as giving myself a Raison d'ĂȘtre.
#66
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Joined: Aug 2015
Location: Penang
Posts: 959
Re: Rough budget for living
As for myself, I am 70+ and I do still enjoy travelling.
As there are two of us, WE do not consider it to be 'running away from home', we actually consider it to be doing something useful.
Or, using your vocabulary, maybe we have successfully managed to convince ourselves that we are doing something useful :-)
With this I just want to point out that opinions differ on what is considered to be life quality and essential for self esteem can be different.
Yes, there will be a time when one cannot or does not want to do whatever one finds to be important in life anymore.
But I think that this is a generally applicable fact of life, not only related to travel.
As there are two of us, WE do not consider it to be 'running away from home', we actually consider it to be doing something useful.
Or, using your vocabulary, maybe we have successfully managed to convince ourselves that we are doing something useful :-)
With this I just want to point out that opinions differ on what is considered to be life quality and essential for self esteem can be different.
Yes, there will be a time when one cannot or does not want to do whatever one finds to be important in life anymore.
But I think that this is a generally applicable fact of life, not only related to travel.
#67
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Thread Starter
Joined: Nov 2016
Posts: 45
Re: Rough budget for living
(All easier said than done, of course - my solution for the final and most secure safeguard is to arrange things so that I can reduce my essential costs to a minimum without undue hardship (read more rather than travel for eg). With 5 years of normal essential costs in cash, this gives a very long horizon warning if everything goes pear shaped so that there is plenty of opportunity to take appropriate actions.)
#68
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Joined: Aug 2015
Location: Penang
Posts: 959
Re: Rough budget for living
Yes, diversification is key as well as a good sense of rebalancing when valuations start getting extreme. Mistakes, even serious ones, are bound to happen but keeping a cool head and focusing on rationality have traditionally worked well. (Just my view - hopefully not sounding preachy )
#69
Re: Rough budget for living
Great word diversification, trouble is you only find out after a crash or major correction that the connected nature of the world has made your "diversified investments" overly-sensitive to the same events.
#70
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Joined: Aug 2015
Location: Penang
Posts: 959
Re: Rough budget for living
Indeed, IVV, in times of crisis seem many financial instrument correlated to each other, even though in calm times they behave uncorrelated.
#72
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Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 706
Re: Rough budget for living
At all times - good, bad, downright rotten, the age old axiom holds true: cash is king.
Unless of course, you're in India, then you should burn your 100 rupee notes stat
Unless of course, you're in India, then you should burn your 100 rupee notes stat
#73
womble
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 2,675
Re: Rough budget for living
In truth 65 is 23 years away for me so it would be difficult to guess at what my interests would be that far in the future. Maybe i didn't explain it, the aim was to travel after we stop work for a couple of years to experience other places and decide where we want to make home. I never actually saw us as spending the next 40 years wandering the globe unless we could get an apartment on that cruise ship the world, but that would get old pretty quick i would think. At the moment Malaysia looks really good for us, and it may continue, but i see no real reason to settle at 44 or 45 or what ever i would be
Just to be clear visiting places isn't something we do to make ourselves feel useful? I am not sure where this came from as i personally haven't met any one who has given that as a reason, its enjoyable, interesting and on occasions stunning, but never thought of it as giving myself a Raison d'ĂȘtre. If people over 65 want to go on holiday 7 times a year either, if its something they want and are able to do then good for them. You are right that it probably woundnt be for me to do that much travelling at that point in life, but that said i have zero idea what i will want to do at 65 at the moment, and that's actually quite exciting.
either way, advice noted it is certainly important to have a worthwhile ( to oneself) activity to keep the grey matter ticking over.
Just to be clear visiting places isn't something we do to make ourselves feel useful? I am not sure where this came from as i personally haven't met any one who has given that as a reason, its enjoyable, interesting and on occasions stunning, but never thought of it as giving myself a Raison d'ĂȘtre. If people over 65 want to go on holiday 7 times a year either, if its something they want and are able to do then good for them. You are right that it probably woundnt be for me to do that much travelling at that point in life, but that said i have zero idea what i will want to do at 65 at the moment, and that's actually quite exciting.
either way, advice noted it is certainly important to have a worthwhile ( to oneself) activity to keep the grey matter ticking over.
#74
Re: Rough budget for living
We retired at 55 (with no intention of working again) - British, but never lived there, spent our lives in Germany and The Netherlands. We had no idea where we wanted settle down - certainly not in UK, NL or DE.
We made the big decision to sell up completely and move to Asia. We took MM2H which enables us to have bank accounts and most importantly, as we don't have an address, a PO Box (in KL).
We pass through KL every 5-6 months to collect any mail, which by now consists mostly of bank stuff. Otherwise we've spent over 2 years now just travelling and for us it's amazing and the right decision. We're now on Bali for a month, after spending a month in Siem Reap.
I think the most important thing about early retirement is leaving yourself with choices. Just because you choose to do one thing doesn't mean you have to remain committed to it. Having money behind you makes that even easier. We will carry on with this way of life for as long as we are enjoying it then, who knows? We're still looking for the ideal place for us to eventually settle down.
We made the big decision to sell up completely and move to Asia. We took MM2H which enables us to have bank accounts and most importantly, as we don't have an address, a PO Box (in KL).
We pass through KL every 5-6 months to collect any mail, which by now consists mostly of bank stuff. Otherwise we've spent over 2 years now just travelling and for us it's amazing and the right decision. We're now on Bali for a month, after spending a month in Siem Reap.
I think the most important thing about early retirement is leaving yourself with choices. Just because you choose to do one thing doesn't mean you have to remain committed to it. Having money behind you makes that even easier. We will carry on with this way of life for as long as we are enjoying it then, who knows? We're still looking for the ideal place for us to eventually settle down.