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View Full Version : Looking ahead



dmc
12-25-17, 5:04pm
I’m planning on rebalancing soon and actually dropping my asset allocation to 55/45 stocks to fixed income. Previously I’ve been 60% or higher stocks. But with the market doing great and I’m pretty sure the new tax laws are going to let me keep more of my own money, I’m thinking it may be time to reduce my exposure.

Ive been retired now for a little over 10 years and I also turned 60 this year. So I’m getting older and my net worth has grown quite a bit since I quit working, so evidently I am still living below my means.

So I’m thinking I’ve probably only got 10-15 years left where I’m still physically able to do some of the things that I do now. I don’t see a lot of active pilots flying high performance, complex aircraft at 75, even John Glen gave it up at 80. Also while there are many older golfers at the country club, I can see a point where it would not interest me to just beat it around. Also I don’t see myself traveling as much if it gets where I’d have to use one of those motorized carts that seem popular now.

so I guess where I’m getting at is the next few years I’m going to be a little more conservative with my investments, but much more liberal with my spending.

frugal-one
12-25-17, 8:25pm
Same here. Have already dropped asset allocation to 55/45 and was 60% or higher also previously. Am also spending more than previously (at least trying to do so). It helps that we no longer have encumbrances such as a dog or aged MIL in area. i have to admit it is hard to spend after being frugal for so long. There are still some things I cannot bring myself to spend large $ for. The only thing I am not sure of is that the new tax laws are going to let me keep more of my money since I am not one of the top 1%????

Rogar
12-25-17, 10:20pm
Maybe I've been into a simple lifestyle so long it's become habit, but if I made conscious decision to up my spending I'd have to think for a while of what to buy that would bring more value to my life. It seems like at some point there are diminishing returns to spending. I suppose it all depends on what we get pleasure from.

My investments are more conservative. A friend put it as he no longer needed a home run or double, but was fine with just getting one first. My version of that is keeping up with inflation. We've seen the dot com bubble, the financial crisis, and probably a couple of other market set backs. I don't have a decade or more drawing down my savings in a down market wondering how soon it's will recover. That has some risk of impacting my lifestyle.

Within some rational limits, there might not be a right or wrong. A simple lifestyle and conservative investments got me to an early retirement and that's what has worked for me. My take looking ahead anyway.

dmc
12-25-17, 10:23pm
The tax tables I saw would help many more than just the top 1%. I should pay a couple % less. The stock market effects me much more than tax policy. So hopefully the drop in the corporate rate will help there.

dmc
12-25-17, 10:44pm
Maybe I've been into a simple lifestyle so long it's become habit, but if I made conscious decision to up my spending I'd have to think for a while of what to buy that would bring more value to my life. It seems like at some point there are diminishing returns to spending. I suppose it all depends on what we get pleasure from.

My investments are more conservative. A friend put it as he no longer needed a home run or double, but was fine with just getting one first. My version of that is keeping up with inflation. We've seen the dot com bubble, the financial crisis, and probably a couple of other market set backs. I don't have a decade or more drawing down my savings in a down market wondering how soon it's will recover. That has some risk of impacting my lifestyle.

Within some rational limits, there might not be a right or wrong. A simple lifestyle and conservative investments got me to an early retirement and that's what has worked for me. My take looking ahead anyway.

Nothing wrong with this, My investments are much more conservative now than in the past. I can actually live quite well if I just lived on my fixed income portion.

But looking ahead I also don’t see a need to leave my kids with a large inheritance. I’ve joined a new country club that has a golf coarse I like better, my wife likes the old club, so I’m a member of both. I just bought the wife a nice new car, I’ll probably buy myself one soon, it’s just nice sometimes to get new things. What good is money if you don’t use some of it?

bae
12-26-17, 1:12am
I’m 54, and am tempted in the coming year to move to a nearly-all-cash position, from a 100%-invested position.

Not because I fear market swings and whatnot, but simply to reduce fuss, bother, paperwork. I don’t see my current lifestyle getting significantly more expensive (less so, as daughter is finishing college this summer), and I think I can just put all our loot under the mattress and not run out before I’m 99.

It would be great to just not have to think about finances at all.

sweetana3
12-26-17, 6:19am
We moved most of our investments to a carefully chosen group of index funds. I think our allocation is around 60/40 stocks/cash. Not much work needed.

We are having a lot of fun playing Santa thru the year giving funds to various carefully chosen organizations for specific needs. I like to do this more than spending money on myself.

Rogar
12-26-17, 9:11am
My neighbor travels a little and plays golf a couple of times a week in decent weather, although he uses a golf cart. He's 90 and his expenses are probably fairly minimal, but it's not like the fun or spending has to end at 75.

catherine
12-26-17, 9:24am
I’m 54, and am tempted in the coming year to move to a nearly-all-cash position, from a 100%-invested position.

Not because I fear market swings and whatnot, but simply to reduce fuss, bother, paperwork. I don’t see my current lifestyle getting significantly more expensive (less so, as daughter is finishing college this summer), and I think I can just put all our loot under the mattress and not run out before I’m 99.

It would be great to just not have to think about finances at all.

Interesting perspective, and I agree with you in many ways. I'm wondering if your thinking is all due to a "no fuss" financial life, or if there is anything philosophic about it? After all, you could just plop the money in an ultra conservative place in the market and forget about it.

I definitely need to be strategic in my finances at this point, so all cash is definitely not an option, but if I knew my money was going to outlive me, I'd consider all cash also. Kind of an "opt out of the system" approach.

dmc
12-26-17, 10:07am
My neighbor travels a little and plays golf a couple of times a week in decent weather, although he uses a golf cart. He's 90 and his expenses are probably fairly minimal, but it's not like the fun or spending has to end at 75.

While I hope it doesn’t stop, I’m sure there will be a point where the spending decreases somewhat. I’m also looking at my family history and even if the body holds up we tend to lose our minds.

Float On
12-26-17, 11:09am
I love my Dr. He tried retirement in his 60's and got bored so started taking patients again. As he put it it, "There is only so much golf or fishing one can do and still feel excited about it." Working 3 days a week keeps his mind sharp and keeps him useful. He's in his late 80's.

Gardenarian
12-28-17, 2:37am
I’m 54, and am tempted in the coming year to move to a nearly-all-cash position, from a 100%-invested position.

Not because I fear market swings and whatnot, but simply to reduce fuss, bother, paperwork. I don’t see my current lifestyle getting significantly more expensive (less so, as daughter is finishing college this summer), and I think I can just put all our loot under the mattress and not run out before I’m 99.

It would be great to just not have to think about finances at all.

I do not enjoy the financial game and try to think about finances as little as possible.

What's not in savings is in property, and I use a property management company that takes care of most everything.

As far as spending - I might get a lighter, more robust electric bike. Maybe. That, and a bit of travel.

jp1
12-28-17, 11:00pm
I love my Dr. He tried retirement in his 60's and got bored so started taking patients again. As he put it it, "There is only so much golf or fishing one can do and still feel excited about it." Working 3 days a week keeps his mind sharp and keeps him useful. He's in his late 80's.

That's awesome. He sounds a lot like my mother-in-law. She's 85 now, a nurse and had quit a few years ago. She was keeping busy with lots of stuff. Events at the library, delivering meals on wheels, going on trips with her children, etc. But it just wasn't enough, so now she's back to working for the doc's office she retired from for two days a week. We were just there for Christmas and she's still spry and alert as can be. When we drove up she was outside brushing the snow off my sister-in-law's car because SIL needed to leave for work soon. There isn't a rocking chair in her life anytime soon.

The comparison to my father, who passed away at 85 a few years ago after spending the last 4 years of his life sitting in a rocking chair in his little assisted living apartment staring at the tv on full volume (because he just never got around to going to get fitted for hearing aids so he couldn't even have a conversation with someone unless they were yelling at him) basically waiting to die, couldn't be more stark.

pinkytoe
12-29-17, 11:45am
It would be great to just not have to think about finances at all.
I concur. I am nowhere near wealthy but have little stashes of cash and Vanguard funds that I rarely look at. It is all more complicated than I wish to think about.

iris lilies
12-29-17, 12:36pm
When I was working, I didnt think about finances much. I just threw money into investment vehicles, looked at our total assets one time a year, and that was it.

Now that I have a little more time I tally our monthly expenditures and record that number to get an idea of how our spending is changing. I am still far from watching individual investments and their performance.

All I get from close scrutiny of investments is worry about how much should be in cash vs growth. We have crap loads in cash. Yet, That allows me to sleep st night. i do not want to dwell on it since there is no clear answer.

But I do keep my ear cocked to the daily Dow report.

jp1
1-3-18, 10:24pm
I'm of the same mindset as iris lily. In fact it was last week that I re-balanced my investments and just yesterday that I updated my spreadsheet to see where things stand for the year. Last year I deposited a little over $41k (including my employer 401k match) into my various investment accounts and saw about $25k in growth on top of that. I'm pleased with that result. It could have been larger, but I was nervous about what a trump presidency might bring so last year's re-balance was towards a more conservative strategy. This year, in light of the tax cut, I went the other direction, figuring we've probably got some time before the economy overheats, interest rates go up, and it all falls apart. May as well ride that wave. Depending on how things are looking I may do a mid-year re-balance next summer.

It's probably not in the cards that I will ever be able to go strictly cash and stop thinking about investment income. (although who knows, that powerball ticket I bought sunday may pay off bigly!) I currently spend a little over $45k per year on everything from rent to vacations so I'm steadily marching towards FI. If I could convince SO (and myself) to move to Hermann MO and buy a $79k house I could retire today. While I'm sure that IL would be a lovely neighbor my preferred retirement locales don't involve snow and don't have $79k housing options unless we want to buy an old RV and park on a street corner somewhere, so I'll likely continue working for at least a few more years...

dmc
1-27-18, 9:47am
Well I did rebalance to 55/45, and now it’s out of wack again. Damn republicans and their new tax laws.