Author Topic: listen to arebelspy answer the most common "Ask a Mustachian" FAQs!  (Read 46446 times)

FiveSigmas

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I listened to the show a couple nights ago and really enjoyed it. Thanks, 7years and ARS, for putting it together.

Didn't you get the live version about 5 months ago? :D

Haven't you ever re-read a good book? ;-)

arebelspy

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That was a nice thing to say!
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

RadicalPersonalFinance

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Re: listen to arebelspy answer the most common "Ask a Mustachian" FAQs!
« Reply #52 on: October 12, 2014, 05:53:49 AM »
Podcast topic (forgive me if you've done it, I haven't been an avid listener yet) - Taxes. Not just basics, but certain complex strategies. One I've been kicking around a lot lately but haven't been able to put into words properly to post about yet:

Carrying a big mortgage pre and post FIRE, either personal or rental property, can reduce ordinary taxable income.
Investing excess cash into qualified investment income vehicles could create a tax hedge of sorts.

Once again, I didn't explain it well. It's in my head, but I can't get it out properly. It's really just another angle on the "Kill Debt vs. Invest" argument, but it adds another wrinkle I haven't heard mentioned much. Why pay off a 15-28% tax deduction while simultaneously forgoing a 0-15% tax?

It's not as clear on a personal residence due to the itemized/standard hurdle, and the fact that most FIREman carry low expenses, but on rentals this could be a very powerful tool. Get all the debt you can, reduce your rental income as much as possible, take all positive cash flow and rather than pay down rental debts create a pipeline of Qualified Dividends/L-Term Cap Gains.

This strategy should certainly work excellently to a point. The nice thing about your strategy is that you could swap out the properties from time to time with like-kind exchanges and avoid paying tax on the capital gain during your lifetime. Then, the properties could be positioned to received their step-up in basis at death and as long as you avoid the transfer (estate, GST, & gift) taxes, your heirs would inherit them tax free.

The challenge is whether it's worth it to go to all the trouble just to avoid taxes and also whether there's an opportunity cost of higher profits you could be earning. It's very dependent on the actual situation and the reason for investment.

If you're interested, so far, I've done three shows on the academic framework around tax planning:
http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/15/ "How to Eliminate Your Taxes! The Basic Foundation You Need to Understand To Do Good Tax Planning RPF0015"
http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/36/ "Major Tax Planning Strategy #1 — Adjusting the Timing of Income for Maximum Effect RPF0036"
http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/41/ "Major Tax Planning Strategies #2 and #3 — Shifting and Converting Income From High Rates to Low Rates RPF0041"

I also did one on the structure of the 1040...I really struggled with it though and it wasn't nearly as good as I wanted: http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/53/ "How Does My Tax Return Work? An Explanation to the Structure of IRS Form 1040 RPF0053"

And then, on the radical side, there are a few fun interviews and ancillary topics so far:
http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/67/ "If You’re Tired of Paying Heavy Taxes, Why Not Move? Interview with Andrew Henderson, Founder of www.nomadcapitalist.com and the Nomad Capitalist Report RPF0067"
http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/17/ "Should I Stop Paying My Taxes On Moral Grounds? An Interview About War Tax Resistance with David Gross, author of “99 Tactics of Successful Tax Resistance Campaigns” RPF0017"
http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/39/ "What Can We Learn From the 400 Highest Income Tax Returns? Profits Are Better Than Wages! RPF0039"

I have many more planned, especially with details. Now that I've established a foundation (I think), I can start working through all kinds of fun strategies.

RadicalPersonalFinance

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I'd like to learn about SRI- Socially Responsible Investing.

That's a good idea for it's own show.  Not a FAQ, per se, but an interesting question.

I bet Joshua could find someone who runs a blog around that topic to interview...

I've gotten a lot of interest in SRI and I'm planning to do a show on it. I'd like to do it in an interview format though as I'm not an expert.

Do any of you know of someone who might be a good fit in this area? If so, let me know.

I've got some people I can reach out to in the mutual fund wholesale business and also in the philanthropic world...but if you all know someone awesome, that will help!

Also, I took a stab at answering the question and just giving a few thoughts around the subject in a recent Q&A show. The segment on SRI starts at 1:43:15
http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/75/ "Friday Q&A: Calculating Life Insurance for Special Needs Planning, How to Get Started as a CFP, Another Mistake I Made, What To Do When You’ve Done All You Can, Ethical Investing & 4% Rule Clarifications RPF0075"

meadow lark

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Re: listen to arebelspy answer the most common "Ask a Mustachian" FAQs!
« Reply #54 on: October 12, 2014, 11:28:13 AM »
Excellent podcast - ARS, I loved hearing your voice again!
And I am glad to find a source of excellent podcasts!  I like to listen while I clean the house (since I don't enjoy cleaning.)

brooklynguy

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Re: listen to arebelspy answer the most common "Ask a Mustachian" FAQs!
« Reply #55 on: October 12, 2014, 12:09:02 PM »
Just want to add my thanks to Joshua and Joe for doing this podcast, which was excellent!  It's great to be able to put a voice to the name and face.

RadicalPersonalFinance

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Re: listen to arebelspy answer the most common "Ask a Mustachian" FAQs!
« Reply #56 on: October 23, 2014, 11:26:48 AM »
Arebelspy and I are scheduled to record the next show in this series...of the list, what topic do you all want us to cover next?

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Re: listen to arebelspy answer the most common "Ask a Mustachian" FAQs!
« Reply #57 on: October 23, 2014, 11:34:50 AM »
Here's your list re-arranged in my preferred order for what it's worth:
  • should I invest in real estate or stocks? - Done
  • should I pay off my mortgage/debt or invest?
  • what SWR is "safe enough?"
  • my significant other isn't on board...help!
  • roth IRA or traditional?
  • retirement accounts or non-retirement accounts?
  • should I rent or buy my residence?
  • should I count social security?
  • how do I calculate my savings rate?
  • is my budget ok?


But based on the last podcast, choose wisely because you might only get through one topic. ; )

arebelspy

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Re: listen to arebelspy answer the most common "Ask a Mustachian" FAQs!
« Reply #58 on: October 23, 2014, 11:38:22 AM »
But based on the last podcast, choose wisely because you might only get through one topic. ; )

Heh.  When Joshua, or I, gets excited about a topic, we can go on for quite awhile.  :)

Maybe we could do a "fire round" scenario where we try to answer rapid fire (or capped at 5 minutes or something).  Or maybe we skip that, and just explore the topic.

/shrug, YMMV, etc. 
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

Cheddar Stacker

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Re: listen to arebelspy answer the most common "Ask a Mustachian" FAQs!
« Reply #59 on: October 23, 2014, 11:41:57 AM »
But based on the last podcast, choose wisely because you might only get through one topic. ; )

Heh.  When Joshua, or I, gets excited about a topic, we can go on for quite awhile.  :)

Maybe we could do a "fire round" scenario where we try to answer rapid fire (or capped at 5 minutes or something).  Or maybe we skip that, and just explore the topic.

/shrug, YMMV, etc.

I think you know this, but that was not a criticism at all, I thoroughly enjoyed listening and I like conversation to flow wherever it wants. An agenda is like a budget or a forecast, it's just a plan and in reality it will not work out that way. Thanks for taking the time to discuss guys.

lauren_knows

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Re: listen to arebelspy answer the most common "Ask a Mustachian" FAQs!
« Reply #60 on: October 23, 2014, 12:25:18 PM »
Finally got around to listening to this marathon podcast.  Great stuff in there.  Still makes me sad to be in my particular real estate market :(

Joshua, you have an excellent "radio voice".   Good to hear Joe's voice as well haha.

arebelspy

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Re: listen to arebelspy answer the most common "Ask a Mustachian" FAQs!
« Reply #61 on: October 23, 2014, 12:35:48 PM »
Still makes me sad to be in my particular real estate market :(

My real estate market doesn't work numbers-wise either, unfortunately.   I wish it did.
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

brooklynguy

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Re: listen to arebelspy answer the most common "Ask a Mustachian" FAQs!
« Reply #62 on: October 23, 2014, 12:51:53 PM »
Maybe this should take a back seat to the more substantive topics, but I would be interested in hearing ARS's perspective on the growth and evolution of the early retirement community (especially since he seems to be an omnipresent member of it).

RadicalPersonalFinance

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Re: listen to arebelspy answer the most common "Ask a Mustachian" FAQs!
« Reply #63 on: October 23, 2014, 01:26:00 PM »
The lightning round is an interesting idea...but we need to cover the in-depth treatment first!

arebelspy

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Re: listen to arebelspy answer the most common "Ask a Mustachian" FAQs!
« Reply #64 on: October 23, 2014, 01:33:16 PM »
Maybe this should take a back seat to the more substantive topics, but I would be interested in hearing ARS's perspective on the growth and evolution of the early retirement community (especially since he seems to be an omnipresent member of it).

That'd be a good question for Nords, IMO (who should be added to Joshua's interview list).  I mean, I have some thoughts on it, but he's been around it years longer than I have.
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

Nords

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Re: listen to arebelspy answer the most common "Ask a Mustachian" FAQs!
« Reply #65 on: October 26, 2014, 11:18:26 AM »
Maybe this should take a back seat to the more substantive topics, but I would be interested in hearing ARS's perspective on the growth and evolution of the early retirement community (especially since he seems to be an omnipresent member of it).

That'd be a good question for Nords, IMO (who should be added to Joshua's interview list).  I mean, I have some thoughts on it, but he's been around it years longer than I have.
I'm happy to show up for anyone's podcast.  Being a guest is the easy part!

I didn't get started on ER forums until 2002, and I didn't put up my first post until 2004.  However The Motley Fool used to have a busy financial independence forum in the 1990s.  TMF shot themselves in the head by starting a paywall, so everyone in the TMF ER forums decamped for a number of other forums.  A few of you MMM members were there and may wish to post your own recollections of those pioneering days.

John Greaney's RetireEarlyHomePage.com was one of the first sites to appear out of the interest generated by "Your Money Or Your Life", and it accelerated after TMF's paywall.  He started it in April 1996 (as you can tell from its layout) and he still puts up quarterly posts:
http://retireearlyhomepage.com/chronidx.html
Greaney put together a ER spreadsheet which later evolved into FIRECalc.
Greaney has largely disappeared from the ER public to enjoy his own life.  From what I can see of his online activity, most of it revolves around a macabre and personal obsession with a notorious troll.  I'll say no more about that because it just puts a spotlight on the problem. 

Raddr (a radiologist) did some popular research in 2004 and started his own forum which is still in business:
http://raddr-pages.com/research/
http://www.raddr-pages.com/forums/
His most popular thread is the hapless Y2K retiree who blithely follows the 4% SWR no matter what:
http://www.raddr-pages.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1208&hilit=Y2K
That withdrawal rate has risen over 10% for the last three years, and the portfolio will probably not recover.
Note:  Nobody blithely follows the 4% SWR.  The thread is intended to demonstrate how easy it is to detect the problem years in advance and adjust as necessary.

Morningstar also ran a number of ER forums (maybe they still do, but they were terrible), and one of the more popular ones was Vanguard Diehards.  In the mid-2000s the notorious troll began posting there and M* was very slow to moderate him.  M* also had a number of site administration problems, so nearly a third of those posters broke away to form Bogleheads.org.  One of its most valuable assets is the Bogleheads Wiki.

One day a co-worker of "Dory36" was retiring, and someone jokingly taped a printout from REHP to the co-worker's office door.  Dory noticed that and joined the TMF and REHP forums, eventually starting his own in 2002.  Here's a history of the ensuing chaos:
http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f32/the-history-of-early-retirement-org-53657.html
Here's the first post on E-R.org:
http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f29/retirement-afloat-13853.html

Believe it or not, Dory used to run E-R.org with only himself as a moderator-- via a cell phone from his boat for an hour or two in the afternoons.  By 2005 the forum had grown from a quiet neighborhood bar to a raucous Studio54, so a half-dozen of us formed its first moderator team.  A few of us original E-R.org moderators still stay in touch on a private forum nicknamed "The Bar". 

One of the early E-R.org posters, Bob Clyatt, was newly ER'd but interested in the idea of semi-retirement.  In 2005 he wrote "Work Less, Live More" with a lot of feedback from us other posters.  Bob created one of the first variable-withdrawal schemes, the 4%/95% system which leads to a higher overall SWR (perhaps 4.5%).  Bob is still happily retired and a world-class sculptor (his high-school avocation) near NYC: http://www.clyattsculpture.com/  He rarely posts on E-R.org these days.

Dory took Greaney's ER spreadsheet and programmed FIRECalc, eventually growing it to v3.0.  In 2007 he sold both the E-R.org forums and FIRECalc to an entrepreneur who runs a collection of various forums.  Dory is still happily ER'd today although he's a partner in a web design firm.  MMM may work on houses, but Dory works on websites and spoils his grandkids.

Bob's WLLM project led to a side discussion on E-R org about how somebody should write a book for military ERs.  The "REWahoo!" character who compiled that E-R.org history linked above is a military veteran and a big contributor to Chapter 6 of The Military Guide to Financial Independence and Retirement.  He's also a good friend. 

E-R.org has been a life-changing experience for me in more ways than the book and the blog.  I've met up with a number of E-R.org posters here on Oahu and during my travels.  When my daughter was a high-school sophomore doing her college search, a large group of E-R.org posters in Houston pointed out that she should seriously consider Rice University.  (I met up with those guys during just about every annual Family Weekend from 2010-2013.)  I no longer start threads on E-R.org, but I check on it every week or so and post once in a while. 

A few of you MMM posters may have been around E-R.org as long as I have.  (I'm lookin' at you, FUEGO!)  I won't reveal your alter egos here, but feel free to share your own recollections...




RadicalPersonalFinance

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Re: listen to arebelspy answer the most common "Ask a Mustachian" FAQs!
« Reply #66 on: October 26, 2014, 05:32:48 PM »
That is amazing and fascinating. I had no idea about all of that history! How cool that you were there to see and participate and now recount it to those of us earlier on the path.

brooklynguy

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Re: listen to arebelspy answer the most common "Ask a Mustachian" FAQs!
« Reply #67 on: October 27, 2014, 09:33:54 AM »
I agree this is fascinating.  Thanks for the history lesson, Nords!

Joshua, I hope you take him up on his offer to participate in a podcast.

arebelspy

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Re: listen to arebelspy answer the most common "Ask a Mustachian" FAQs!
« Reply #68 on: October 27, 2014, 09:56:42 AM »
Anyone know someone who is a good interviewer (besides Joshua)?
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

brooklynguy

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Re: listen to arebelspy answer the most common "Ask a Mustachian" FAQs!
« Reply #69 on: October 27, 2014, 10:08:31 AM »
The Mad Fientist.

Nords

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Re: listen to arebelspy answer the most common "Ask a Mustachian" FAQs!
« Reply #70 on: October 27, 2014, 11:55:01 AM »
Anyone know someone who is a good interviewer (besides Joshua)?
Off the top of my head:

Podcasts--
Todd Tresidder at FinancialMentor.com
Ryan Guina at TheMilitaryWallet.com
Steve Stewart at MoneyPlanSOS.com
Jim Munchbach (Social Business)
Christa Miller (Object Wealth)
Miranda Marquit, Tom Drake, & Glen Craig (Money Mastermind), and of course
Pat Flynn (SmartPassiveIncome).
I'm sure I'm leaving out another half-dozen just because I haven't followed them recently.

Media--
Farnoosh Torabi, Jean Chatzky, Gerri Willis (The Willis Report), Gerri Detweiler (Credit.com), Michael Dubrow (MoneyTips)... I could go on for a while.

yandz

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Re: listen to arebelspy answer the most common "Ask a Mustachian" FAQs!
« Reply #71 on: October 27, 2014, 12:54:57 PM »
Anyone know someone who is a good interviewer (besides Joshua)?

I have mixed feelings about these guys being "good interviewers" but the Listen Money Matters guys (matt and Andrew) are interesting; almost for lack of skill(?) stuff comes out of guests they interview that hasn't come out elsewhere.  You know when you hear one person interviewed by a few different people and it is same old, same old? These guys take rabbit trails.  For better or worse. But it is often for better if you are super interested in their guest. Honestly, they did one of my favorite MMM interviews to-date.

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Re: listen to arebelspy answer the most common "Ask a Mustachian" FAQs!
« Reply #72 on: November 04, 2014, 11:47:06 AM »
Here's the next episode in the series... Early Retirement FAQ: Should I Pay off Debt First or Should I Invest?

http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/early-retirement-faqs-should-i-pay-off-debt-first-or-should-i-invest-an-interview-with-joe-aka-arebelspy-rpf0095/

Enjoy!

RadicalPersonalFinance

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Re: listen to arebelspy answer the most common "Ask a Mustachian" FAQs!
« Reply #73 on: November 05, 2014, 11:52:40 AM »
Hehe...judging by the crickets, this must not have been the most compelling show!

Arebelspy, I guess everyone decided that simply knowing what you sound like is enough. Who cares about your ideas. ;)

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Re: listen to arebelspy answer the most common "Ask a Mustachian" FAQs!
« Reply #74 on: November 05, 2014, 12:08:06 PM »
Josh & Joe, I listened to it in it's entirety. Great conversation, long but with a good flow. I'm a proponent of debt and understood/agreed with many of those concepts/arguments already, but I also learned a few things. I thought it was well worth the listen.

Thanks for taking the time again. If the series keeps going, I'll keep listening.

arebelspy

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Re: listen to arebelspy answer the most common "Ask a Mustachian" FAQs!
« Reply #75 on: November 05, 2014, 12:36:51 PM »
Hehe...judging by the crickets, this must not have been the most compelling show!

My guess is most the readers here (who would be commenting on this thread) don't have a debt issue to worry about - hopefully it'll be helpful to others though.  :)

Josh & Joe, I listened to it in it's entirety. Great conversation, long but with a good flow. I'm a proponent of debt and understood/agreed with many of those concepts/arguments already, but I also learned a few things. I thought it was well worth the listen.

Thanks for taking the time again. If the series keeps going, I'll keep listening.

Thanks!
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

brooklynguy

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Re: listen to arebelspy answer the most common "Ask a Mustachian" FAQs!
« Reply #76 on: November 05, 2014, 01:21:28 PM »
Completely agree with Cheddar.  I've only had time to listen to about half of the podcast so far and planned to post here with my feedback after completing it.  It's much easier for me to carve out time to read and post on the forum (which I can do during the workday) than it is to listen to a podcast -- I suspect the same is true for many forum members, so you guys shouldn't read anything negative into the lack of response so far.  Thanks to both of you for taking the time to put this together, and I hope you continue with the series!

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Re: listen to arebelspy answer the most common "Ask a Mustachian" FAQs!
« Reply #77 on: November 05, 2014, 01:45:45 PM »
Just finished listening to the first Podcast.  I won't get to the 2nd one today.  That being said overall a great listen.  My big take away was a home warranty.  I was raised with the perception that insurance is a rip off so I have never considered the merit's of a home warranty.  It is something I may have to consider.  Not sure that it is the fix all but certainly it could play a roll depending on the situation.

I am new to the Rental world or Landlord world.  Going on 15 years now.  I just chanced into my first rental being that no one wanted to purchase it at the time.  The real estate agent was able to work me into it with owner financing.  It has worked out well to date as the property value has increased quite substantially but more importantly the Tenants are paying my mortgage on  the property.  That with the first one beside it both cash flow quite nicely.

I have missed out on some great deals and narrowly escaped some not so great deals.  I have bought homes at a good price range and have one that I paid too much for.  It will work out in the long run with all the rest but it was a learning experience for sure. 

I specifically like that you emphasized it is an individualized approach and the same approach is not for everyone.  I have over the years talked to many friends about getting into being a Landlord.  Many of which are no longer in it with the worst case scenario allowing the properties go to tax sale because the area he bought was just too toxic.  The last property was a meth lab or something like that.  Being a landlord is work and not a quick easy way to being wealthy.  For those wanting to get into Real Estate I usually try to share a mix of the good with the bad.  Give the truth so to speak.  Thanks for the pod cast I look forward to listening to the next one in line.

I agree with one of your last statements "you have to treat it like a business"


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Re: listen to arebelspy answer the most common "Ask a Mustachian" FAQs!
« Reply #78 on: November 05, 2014, 06:20:05 PM »
Another good show. I love how Joshua mentionned wrapping up around the one hour mark, and you two were still at it for another hour. Please pick a mildly controversial question next time so I have something to listen to for my 8 hour thanksgiving road trip?

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Re: listen to arebelspy answer the most common "Ask a Mustachian" FAQs!
« Reply #79 on: November 05, 2014, 07:29:27 PM »
Another good show. I love how Joshua mentionned wrapping up around the one hour mark, and you two were still at it for another hour.

lol.  There kept being more relevant considerations!

I agreed with him at the hour mark.  Heck, here's an email I sent to Joshua before the show (we had scheduled the call, and then he had emailed me asking if we should tackle the payoff debt or invest question that night):
Quote
Sure!  I don't think the other ones will take nearly as long [as real estate], we can probably do 3-4 questions in an hour (15-20 min each).

...so maybe I was off on my estimate.  :P

Quote
Please pick a mildly controversial question next time so I have something to listen to for my 8 hour thanksgiving road trip?

That'd be a fun format, to pick something we disagree on and do it "debate" style.  Unfortunately I think we both have too much ability to see all sides of an issue.  But I can play a good devil's advocate.
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

RadicalPersonalFinance

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Re: listen to arebelspy answer the most common "Ask a Mustachian" FAQs!
« Reply #80 on: November 06, 2014, 05:41:37 AM »
I was raised with the perception that insurance is a rip off so I have never considered the merit's of a home warranty.

This same thing affected me when I was younger. I believed the blanket statements that "insurance is a total waste of money" and nobody taught me how to actually consider the advantages and disadvantages and specific costs and benefits.

Insurance is certainly an inefficient way to handle certain expenses. But sometimes you can find something that's a great deal for your situation.

If you're interested, I did a show last week on how to figure out if I "need insurance" or not. Let me know what you think: http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/do-i-need-insurance-a-mental-model-to-analyze-methods-of-dealing-with-risk-rpf0091/

RadicalPersonalFinance

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Re: listen to arebelspy answer the most common "Ask a Mustachian" FAQs!
« Reply #81 on: November 06, 2014, 05:44:14 AM »
That'd be a fun format, to pick something we disagree on and do it "debate" style.  Unfortunately I think we both have too much ability to see all sides of an issue.  But I can play a good devil's advocate.

We would have to be really committed to sticking to our guns if we were to do that. As you said, I think I can argue just about any side of any financial argument and I'll bet I could convince most people of the veracity of my argument.

I thought the bit we did on the myth behind the myth behind the myth of mortgage interest deduction was interesting. It illustrates how you need a deeper understanding and financial self-defense skills. That's a big reason why I do the show!

RadicalPersonalFinance

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Re: listen to arebelspy answer the most common "Ask a Mustachian" FAQs!
« Reply #82 on: November 13, 2014, 01:18:21 PM »
FYI, for anyone following this thread who listens via iTunes, I recently broke my iTunes feed permanently. If you're subscribed to the old feed you won't be receiving updates.

All you need to do to get the new shows (in general and in this series) is:

1. Unsubscribe
2. Search the iTunes store for Radical Personal Finance
3. Subscribe

It'll work!

Thanks!

arebelspy

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Re: listen to arebelspy answer the most common "Ask a Mustachian" FAQs!
« Reply #83 on: November 13, 2014, 02:04:04 PM »
FYI, for anyone following this thread who listens via iTunes, I recently broke my iTunes feed permanently. If you're subscribed to the old feed you won't be receiving updates.

All you need to do to get the new shows (in general and in this series) is:

1. Unsubscribe
2. Search the iTunes store for Radical Personal Finance
3. Subscribe

It'll work!

Thanks!

Does it now have all the back episodes, or is it still limited to 50?
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

RadicalPersonalFinance

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Re: listen to arebelspy answer the most common "Ask a Mustachian" FAQs!
« Reply #84 on: November 13, 2014, 03:10:36 PM »
It has all the back episodes now. All 250 hours or so worth! :)

I got rid of Feedburner (which is why the feed was limited) and switched to a better feed.

RadicalPersonalFinance

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Re: listen to arebelspy answer the most common "Ask a Mustachian" FAQs!
« Reply #85 on: December 09, 2014, 08:35:49 AM »
If you like the contributions that Nords makes here in the forums, you might enjoy this interview with him! He does a great job discussing some of the history of the Early Retirement community. It's fascinating to me.

Enjoy!

http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/little-known-history-of-the-er-movement-interview-with-doug-nords-nordman-rpf0114/

brooklynguy

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Re: listen to arebelspy answer the most common "Ask a Mustachian" FAQs!
« Reply #86 on: December 09, 2014, 08:44:54 AM »
If you like the contributions that Nords makes here in the forums, you might enjoy this interview with him! He does a great job discussing some of the history of the Early Retirement community. It's fascinating to me.

Enjoy!

http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/little-known-history-of-the-er-movement-interview-with-doug-nords-nordman-rpf0114/

Thank you Joshua and Nords for doing this!  I can't wait to listen to the podcast, but just wanted to suggest that it may be worth starting a new thread to alert folks that this interview is available -- not all of the Nords groupies may find it buried in this one.

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Re: listen to arebelspy answer the most common "Ask a Mustachian" FAQs!
« Reply #87 on: December 09, 2014, 09:18:57 AM »
Yup, the wife teaches high school and I teach elementary.

I'm sure I've mentioned teaching (and slow travel) lots of times, but no comprehensive posts on the topics.  What specifically were you wondering?

I guess I just have a couple concerns.
  • Slow-travel - how do you expect to get to know the locals? Only move to places you already know someone, or just hope to make friends once you get there? This is actually why I'm interested in a job like teaching or volunteering - gives you more options to meet people, but with FI the low pay doesn't matter.
  • Teaching English as a back-up job career - how do you expect to get/be qualified for a local job? Of course, I just realized that because you're currently a credentialed teacher (with I'm sure a nice resume), that's probably different than someone like me who has no teaching experience.

I taught English in Japan. I had zero teaching experience or training of any kind.  Finding informal, part time work was extremely easy and paid very well (especially because when I was there, the dollar to  yen sucked and I was paid in yen.  Every time the dollar dropped, I told myself I'd just gotten a raise, since I could spend dollars on the military base).  All my classes were informal, though I had a few friends who actually taught in schools. 

I had several hobby groups that met weekly in community centers and just wanted to practice conversational English, learn new idioms, and maybe get some basic cultural insights.  And I had classes with children in their homes.  (I used a series of workbooks called Let's Go, which basically did all the work for me and I never had to plan curriculum. I was worried at first, but it was super easy and yet very effective.)   With my adult classes, most just wanted to chat, so or class format was just each of us talking for a few minutes about what we did that week, an interesting news story we read, etc.  I would correct, suggest new words, add appropriate idioms, and ask questions as relevant.  I always had a bagful of word games and conversation starters, just in case. 

My average hourly rate was 4000 yen/hr, though some paid more or less.  At the time, that was about $50, now it is about $30.  I had about 12-15 hours of classes per week (plus maybe an hour or two of prep time and a lot of drive or train time), and I often picked up a few more classes when people needed subs.

The classes always wanted people to commit to at least a year, so if you are wanting to move around, most of them wouldn't be interested.  Also, I got my jobs through acquaintances or friends of friends who were leaving, since most classes like the teachers to find their own replacement.  My contacts came from the military community, but I suspect there are similar contacts in the Expat community. 

I started with a few classes and because I was conscientious and I love the English language and its many idiosyncrasies, I soon was in high demand and had as many classes as I wanted, plus numerous subbing opportunities.  Word of mouth got me a lot more jobs and I ended up turning down a lot of them if they paid too little, were farther than I wanted to drive, or were unattractive in some small way. 

It was a delightful experience.  Many times, I couldn't believe I was getting paid.  I sat and chatted with kind, intellectually curious, interesting people, and then they handed me money.  Sometimes, I would go to class and ask about something odd I saw on a train, and the class would turn in to a cultural lesson for me.  And yet I was still paid.  I know you aren't always comfortable interacting socially, and I'd say that would be your biggest obstacle for doing the kind of teaching I did.  They wanted to get to know me and to chat with me, almost as a friend would. 

Teaching was truly the best part of my experience living in Japan.  I've already lined up work with some of my  old classes when I return, two years from now! 

This is a huge threadjack, but if you want to discuss it more, start a thread and I'd be happy to answer any questions.

RadicalPersonalFinance

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Re: listen to arebelspy answer the most common "Ask a Mustachian" FAQs!
« Reply #88 on: December 09, 2014, 09:27:49 AM »
I can't wait to listen to the podcast, but just wanted to suggest that it may be worth starting a new thread to alert folks that this interview is available -- not all of the Nords groupies may find it buried in this one.

Will you do me a favor and do it for me? I don't want to hijack this (or any) forum to promote my stuff. I try to be careful and respect the community.

But, if you posted it... ;)

brooklynguy

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Re: listen to arebelspy answer the most common "Ask a Mustachian" FAQs!
« Reply #89 on: December 09, 2014, 09:46:18 AM »
Will you do me a favor and do it for me? I don't want to hijack this (or any) forum to promote my stuff. I try to be careful and respect the community.

But, if you posted it... ;)

Very commendable.  Happy to do so -- I just started a new thread with the link under the "Mustachianism Around the Web" category.

RadicalPersonalFinance

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Re: listen to arebelspy answer the most common "Ask a Mustachian" FAQs!
« Reply #90 on: December 16, 2014, 07:07:30 AM »
Several of you in this thread really liked the real estate show Arebelspy and I did. If you're interested in more, you might enjoy this interview show with John Schaub. (He was a primary recommendation from Arebelspy and me.)

http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/building-wealth-one-house-at-a-time-interview-with-john-schaub-rpf0119/

Let me know what you all think!

Joshua

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CowboyAndIndian

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Re: listen to arebelspy answer the most common "Ask a Mustachian" FAQs!
« Reply #92 on: January 09, 2016, 06:38:18 AM »
Here's the next installment in the Early Retirement FAQ series with arebelspy! http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/277-early-retirement-faqs-plan-inflation-interview-joe-aka-arebelpsy-just-retired-30-schoolteachers-salary/

Fix the name and the title and the URL


He is is NOT Arebelpsy (A Rebel Psy(Psycho??)), but Arebelspy (A Rebel Spy).


arebelspy

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Re: listen to arebelspy answer the most common "Ask a Mustachian" FAQs!
« Reply #93 on: January 09, 2016, 06:51:51 AM »
Actually A Rebel Psy has a cool ring to it.  Though I'd change the y to an i at the end.
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

totesmahgoats

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Re: listen to arebelspy answer the most common "Ask a Mustachian" FAQs!
« Reply #94 on: January 09, 2016, 08:22:46 AM »
I just wanted to say how thoroughly I enjoy your podcast, Joshua.

It's my go to when our spend pants friends want financial advice via podcast.
« Last Edit: January 09, 2016, 08:28:27 AM by totesmahgoats »

RadicalPersonalFinance

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Re: listen to arebelspy answer the most common "Ask a Mustachian" FAQs!
« Reply #95 on: January 11, 2016, 07:47:43 PM »
Oops. I guess that's what happens when you hit publish too soon! Thanks for the compliment @totesmahgoats!

tj

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Re: listen to arebelspy answer the most common "Ask a Mustachian" FAQs!
« Reply #96 on: January 13, 2016, 12:19:46 AM »
Here's the next installment in the Early Retirement FAQ series with arebelspy! http://radicalpersonalfinance.com/277-early-retirement-faqs-plan-inflation-interview-joe-aka-arebelpsy-just-retired-30-schoolteachers-salary/

I'm not really understanding why Josh is so skeptical about a buy, hold and rebalance index portfolio being a reasonable plan for the long term?

My future depends on this being a viable plan, so I obviously do not think it is all that outrageous.   I've spoken with a financial planner and I'm very comfortable that i will be able to bridge the gap from 40 to standard retirement age where I can tap into IRA/401k and Social security. If I was more frugal a few years ago, I'd be there even faster. I'm currently 30. I think I could get there by late 30s, but why? The "to 40" plan assumes a gap year in my 30s. I value that more than calling it quits forever.

I have no interest in managing real estate myself - I think it's great for people who like negotiating with contractors and have the capital to diversify across several properties (would not be possible here in California)

I bought a personal residence at the recommendation of my parents and later rented that out for a few years, but I have since sold it and dumped it right into my portfolio. I'm not sure it's possible to know if my portfolio value is higher today than it would have been if I dumped the down payment into my portfolio originally and rented housing. I did not have nearly as much financial acumen when I purchased, so perhaps I lucked out, but if we are to have a major fear of major inflation - I'd rather be in equities than real estate myself. I'm not confident that Joe will always be able to raise his rents at the right time, and I tihnk that's why Joe is wanting to diversify beyond real estate.


I very much agree with EmergDoc from this thread: -

https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/posting.php?mode=quote&f=10&p=2727529

These low expectations from a balanced portfolio just don't work for me. "THIS TIME IT'S DIFFERENT". But why is it different? Why is 100% VBIAX or VSMGX or VWENX not going to be reasonable forever hold for a standard age retiree to supplement their social security? Why should they outsource their investments to someone like Northern Trust that Josh mentioned?   

My equity exposure in my taxable account is currently 100% VT*. It couldn't be any simpler than that. I'm completely okay with it because it makes sense in that its low turn over, low cost, tax efficient "diversified" across currencies, countries and companies. Apple is the largest holding at less than 2%. I don't have to worry about if my domestic is too high or foreign is too high, because the global markets are determining that for me. Could I earn more in small value funds or LendingClub? I don't know. Are those ideas higher risk? Probably. Am I exposed to bubbling assets? Definitely, but over the long term I think that's okay. I tilt away from the market in my tax advantaged accounts, but over half of my portfolio is taxable.

*I was at one point sticking to VTI and VEA and avoiding emerging markets, but I tax loss harvested those recently into VT to simplify, and with Emerging Markets being such a small portion of this fund (8%), that I don't think it's going to make much of a difference either way.

As far someone in the general FIRE community who is living off an index fund portfolio..isn't that exactly what GoCurryCracker ha been doing ? As I recall, he is not a fan of real estate and his real estate did not work out for him. I don't recall their blog income being all that substantial either vs their working income.

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Re: listen to arebelspy answer the most common "Ask a Mustachian" FAQs!
« Reply #97 on: January 13, 2016, 12:46:10 AM »
I'm not really understanding why Josh is so skeptical about a buy, hold and rebalance index portfolio being a reasonable plan for the long term?
...
As far someone in the general FIRE community who is living off an index fund portfolio..isn't that exactly what GoCurryCracker ha been doing ? As I recall, he is not a fan of real estate and his real estate did not work out for him. I don't recall their blog income being all that substantial either vs their working income.

My impression: He doesn't think people actually do it.  That it's all talk by financial planners to be possible in theory, but not actually useful. So he thinks it's sort of a bill of goods sold to people.

(Feel free to correct any of that, Joshua.)

I don't necessarily agree, but I do see his point that it's rare for someone to go completely passive and stick with it.  GCC is a good example, and there are probably more here in the ER community than most anywhere else.

The issue is, most people don't save an have an AA or IPS in general, so of course they don't do this.  And then, of the people who are interested in money, they tend to take a more active approach.  But there are some who do the passive approach, which is what I was trying to present at whichever part of the podcast we were talking about that.  :)
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

tj

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Re: listen to arebelspy answer the most common "Ask a Mustachian" FAQs!
« Reply #98 on: January 13, 2016, 07:36:49 AM »
I'm not really understanding why Josh is so skeptical about a buy, hold and rebalance index portfolio being a reasonable plan for the long term?
...
As far someone in the general FIRE community who is living off an index fund portfolio..isn't that exactly what GoCurryCracker ha been doing ? As I recall, he is not a fan of real estate and his real estate did not work out for him. I don't recall their blog income being all that substantial either vs their working income.

My impression: He doesn't think people actually do it.  That it's all talk by financial planners to be possible in theory, but not actually useful. So he thinks it's sort of a bill of goods sold to people.

(Feel free to correct any of that, Joshua.)

I don't necessarily agree, but I do see his point that it's rare for someone to go completely passive and stick with it.  GCC is a good example, and there are probably more here in the ER community than most anywhere else.

The issue is, most people don't save an have an AA or IPS in general, so of course they don't do this.  And then, of the people who are interested in money, they tend to take a more active approach.  But there are some who do the passive approach, which is what I was trying to present at whichever part of the podcast we were talking about that.  :)

I'm just not sure how any of us would know if someone is doing it. It's the whole millionaire next door philosophy. It's like in that powerball thread, a lot of people have said that they wouldn't actually want to win 1.5 billion, because then you would have to go public and everyone you know would be hitting you up for money. If it's not your intention to benefit financially about your successful early retirement in the pursuit of profit or gained revenue for charitable causes, what reason would most people have to go public about what they've done?

I agree that most people aren't saving enough, but the target market of this podcast is not most people. I also know that if my parents and grandparents invested my savings as a child in a broad equity mutual fund or a combo of equities and bonds, instead of your average savings account, like a lot of those older people at bogleheads seem to be doing for their kids and grandkids, I would be that much further along and could retire that much earlier. I don't think it's that crazy. The boglehead message is one that is very much anti-financial planner establishment, that you don't need this smorgasbord of acronyms that Joshua has after his name (or to hire someone who has them) to figure all this shit out. That you can have this simple investment portfolio precisely because you'd rather be doing something else with your time than taking an active role in your investments.

I think you do have to learn enough about money initially to be confident that your passive strategy will work (which I think is the point you were trying to get across, Joe), but I don't think you have to actively be looking at your valuations and trying to duplicate Warren Buffett. Having a taxable portfolio that on really good or really bad day rises or drops by more than my bi-weekly paycheck, I know that I'll do more damage by looking at it and trying to optimize it vs just investing what I can in some reasonable strategy and not looking at it for several years. I've read several times that fundholders tend to not do as well as the funds themselves because of bad market timing. I can't cite where I've read it, but it doesn't surprise me, because most people tend to be very emotional about all of life's decisions.
« Last Edit: January 13, 2016, 07:51:22 AM by tj »

tj

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Re: listen to arebelspy answer the most common "Ask a Mustachian" FAQs!
« Reply #99 on: January 13, 2016, 08:21:03 AM »
I would also like to add that while the early retirement community has been around since the late 90s in various forms, it wasn't until ERE and MMM that this idea of retiring in your 30s was really publicized, and MMM's popularity has grown even more in recent years, so I think it's likely that we'll see more successful stories of people retiring in their 30s and 40s on the forum as time goes on just because more and more people are being exposed to the idea that this is an actual possible thing that people do.
« Last Edit: January 13, 2016, 08:31:21 AM by tj »