“…. call is important to us. Please wait on the line….”
“Yeah?”
Hi, I need a taxi please
“OK?”
Yeah, I’m on 23rd St, near Denny Way
“No intersections! What is the address?”
Uh… its 123 23rd St…
“Zip code?
I’m not sure… one second? (Hey, what’s your zipcode here?) Ok, it is 98112
“Ok, it will be about an hour”
An hour?!
“You still want a taxi or not?”
Yeah
“Ok, an hour.” Click!
It was already pretty late, but another glass of wine would make the time flow by nicely. We just finished a nice home cooked meal at a friend’s house, roasted chicken with herbs and vegetables from the garden, and settled in by the outdoor fountain to wax philosophical with other friends also waiting for a taxi.
The University of Washington (Winnie’s Alma Mater)
With a child on the way, we have lots to think about. What to name him/her, how to get all the proper nutrients, natural birth vs. C-section, and how to pay for college
It might be a little early to be thinking about college, but that is the point of biggest concern shared in comments on the blog and on reddit about our estimate for the cost of raising a child. In general, people are concerned that I am too optimistic about stock returns and not pessimistic enough about the rate of growth in tuition
“Hey, Congratulations! You are going to have a baby! How exciting!”
“Does this mean you are going back to work?”
We’ve been asked this question a lot recently
(The answer is no, but thanks for asking)
After all… raising kids is expensive… isn’t it? The USDA estimates that (on average) raising a child to age 18 costs $245,000. Add to this the average cost of a 4-year degree, another $100k-$200k, and kids look like a guaranteed financial disaster
In the face of these incredible costs, what is a family to do?
2013 was our first year of traveling the globe, and what a good year it was! We traveled by plane, boat, bus, car, bicycle, and foot through Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and part of the US Pacific Northwest.
We swam with whale sharks, released baby turtles into the sea, swam in underground rivers, jumped off waterfalls, witnessed many wonderful sunrises and sunsets, and ate delicious foods. We studied Spanish, guitar, jewelry making, and Mexican cooking, skills and interests that we can carry through a lifetime.
We left the stresses and inconveniences of the working world behind, and found happiness and contentment through everyday experiences. We even learned quite a bit about the finances and tax benefits of early retirement, slow travel, and medical tourism. But perhaps the highlight of all of these adventures and experiences, we met a lot of interesting people and made many incredible new friends
By any metric, our first year of early retirement was a great success
Throughout the year we have shared details of our expenses, in order to inform others who may be interested in pursuing a life of travel and adventure themselves. Let’s look back on those expenses with the benefit of hindsight
For many, the monthly social security check is a welcome sight. Part of the social contract for ages, it helps pay rent and grocery bills, put some gas in the Cadillac, and provide for the occasional trip to Florida. With all of the press about the underfunding of the Social Security trust, it still takes in more in employment taxes than it pays out, and is part of retirement planning for the majority of future retirees
Like many retirees (early and otherwise), we paid no Social Security tax in 2013 (and don’t plan to ever again*.) This raised a great question on the recent post where we shared our 2013 taxes.
“The one downside to not paying social security tax going forward is that your payout when you retire will be lower than a person paying as they continue to work….am I correct about this? If so, then the loss of a “annuity product for life” can be a major problem.”
Let’s see if this is a major problem, or even a problem at all.
Our post on how you can Never Pay Taxes Again has been quite popular. It has been linked to, shared, cited, viewed, searched for, and commented upon more than any other post. Many people love it, and are excited about the possibilities. Others wonder, “Is it real?” After all, if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.
Let’s see what happens when the rubber meets the road. And what better example than to review our very own 2013 Taxes?
