Recent content by NC 57

I never tried to negotiate a severance deal outside of RIF for myself. I was once approached by a 20 year employee (VP HR) who was burned out on the corporate world and asked for a severance package commensurate with his years of service. His plan was to go into a business partnership with...

I am age 69 this year, wife 68. We will draw SS at age 70. Currently at 50/50 equity/fixed mix with 30% international. No debt. We depend on non inflation indexed pensions for about half our spending and income from investments for the rest. We've never had to draw our entire interest and...

We have the trim paint on our house touched up every 5-6 years. Each time we've discussed painting the gutters with the painter. Two different painters have recommended against an overcoat of paint on the existing gutters and downspouts. Both concluded the new paint will peel in 2-3 years...

Leaf Guard Brand Gutter We installed Leaf Guard brand gutters when we built our house 20 years ago. They have performed we with respect to shedding leaves and not clogging. However I would not recommend them. About 5 years after installation, the paint on the gutters began fading in...

Expenses cut in retirement Lower costs: Commuting, second home (sold it), contributions to retirement savings, clothing. We are much more frugal in shopping for food and household items, storing up when on sale. We take full advantage of senior discounts. Dropped financial advisor and...

I've heard the stock market has taken a tumble but I haven't been watching it nor have I been looking at my investments. I'm sticking with my asset allocation and letting my diversified funds ride the waves just as I did during and after the 2008 financial crisis. I use Vanguard PAS...

I have a 2012 iMac desktop which I used for email, word processing, spreadsheets, photo editing, and video production. I have maximized its ram memory. Then internal fusion drive was dying. Instead of trying to replace the internal drive with another internal drive (not something I was...

I know of two instances where a spouse decided she wanted a particular house in a neighborhood. In both instances the husband approached the owners and paid through the nose to buy the house. In the first instance the husband paid twice the then current market value and then spent $300,000 on...

The Festool Planex system is designed for removing popcorn ceilings quickly and dust free. The device "sands" off the popcorn and vacuums it up at the same time. Here's a link to a YouTube video of the system being used: Here's a link to a "House Beautiful" article about using the Planex...

Original goal to retire at 55. Retired in 2013 at 58. No regrets and in hindsight could have gone out at 52. My indicators of "enough": 1). I occasionally buy a lottery ticket. I never think to check to see if I won until I stumble across the tickets weeks later when clearing off my...

Genealogy can be a rewarding and inexpensive hobby thanks to the rapid pace digitization and posting on the internet of historic documents by government agencies, Family Search, archives, libraries, and individuals. Many public libraries have excellent local genealogy and history resources...

Approach to Leaving the Company for Early Retirement My sister in law was in a similar situation. She was a long term middle management employee with one company (about 30 years), age 62, transferred into a job she didn't like with a new young boss. The boss was increasing her stress level...

I am Mr. Speedy and a dime tossed onto the top blanket will bounce. As to a YouTube video, I'll give it some thought.

I was a military brat and was taught how to properly make a bed earlier than I can remember. Mine gets made properly everyday. It is part of the morning ritual.