Barbaraok

Considering there are truck combos 65' or longer climbing all of those passes, I'm not sure what you are so worried about. We pull over to the right going over passes if there is run, otherwise, our tax money is as good as anyone else. And the Grapevine is not that big of a deal. We routinely climb it 1-2 times a year. BTW - a 40 ft RV is almost always a diesel and they climb very nicely.

Wait, you have a husband? Would he also be moving? What is his field. You need to slow down and get that degree and then see where the jobs are.

We're chemists, and I really don't know what they will be looking for at Western in the next few years. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't look at the school in detail - as with a lot of other schools that you might want to look at all over the country. If yo want to stay in academia, you will have to go to where the jobs are - - which is what we did for 40 years. Yes, you might be a long way away from your parents - but that is the way things go when you pursue education. There are also a lot of biotech firms in the greater Seattle area as well as in the Tri-Cities areas (Richland/Pasco/Kenewick) on the east side of the Cascades. Yes, the DMV will accept the RV park addresses where you have annual stays. Barb

If your parents are in Vancouver, BC then I would suggest you would want to look at Bellingham (assuming you want to stay on the US side of the border). What field of study are you pursuing. There is a terrific university in Bellingham (obviously terrific because Dave and I went there!) if you are looking for academic job. Lots of other things in the area and things are much, much cheaper than in the Seattle area. And there are a lot of RV parks on the north side of of Bellingham - that's where we spend 6-8 weeks each summer. Barb

Look at getting an annual site at Tall chief in Fall City. Lake Pleasant in Bothell and Lakeside in Everett have annual sites, but also have a waiting list. As to land, you will be will be way out from the city. Finish your degree than see where you are. A lot can change in a few years, including where the jobs are going to be.

When we bought our coach (diesel pusher) I put 10% of the purchase price into. MAINTENANCE/REPAIR fundand and add to it every month. I also set aside 1/12th of any annual bills into another fund. Thus, when bills come due, we have the cash to pay for it. Not everyone can do that, but if you can you will be ahead in the long way. Remember that maintenance will also include replacing batteries and tires on your rig. We always try to do that when in Oregon to save a little on sales tax. One of the best things you can do is read the blogs of people who post on the different RV forums. There is a wealth of information out there and you will be amazed at all the different ways to fulltime and all of the places people go!

Since you have about 10 years before retiring (correct?) you will have a better feeling about 2 years out. The biggest question will be health care and how you will cover your spouse and any dependents that haven't left the nest by then. Other parts of your budget will be similar to what you do now. While it is commendable to make charity part of your budget, I would suggest that you make sure you have at least 6 months worth of donations always in reserve so that you can cover any needed repairs - AND THERE WILL BE REPAIRS. It isn't a question of "if" but of "when" repairs will be needed. We always give at the end of the year knowing that if something needed to be covered at the first part of the next year, we can use our RMD withdrawals to cover it.

Loads of people stay in stressful jobs for all sorts of reasons. And I would venture we all know people who talked of working just one more year to make just a little more for retirement and then dropped dead never getting to enjoy what they had worked for. I guess I’m confused by why people criticize those who take early retirement for whatever reason.

Did I say anything about being inactive? We may have slowed. Down a little after 12 yrs, but inactive is not something I associate with any RVer. After decades in high Ed administration, the stress reduction was palatable. Just being able to sleep all night with no interruptions was WONDERFUL!

We also took retirement at 62 and did it all wrong. Guess many believe it would have been. Better for Dave to keep working so he would have been dead by 70. Fortunately we listened to our inner. Voices and, having each survived a life threatening illness, made sure we had time to enjoy our retirement. Turns out, retiring early helps your body to last longer. 😃

We have been with Vanguard for over 30 years, you made a good choice. Don't worry about the thread, it will 'close' itself over time.

I agree with Kirk . From the number of times over the past few years we've seen people come and ask this question regarding Schwab, I'd just get the transfer of funds going and be done with them. And what state are you in - if it is one with a state income tax, that simple letter could end up cost you a lot of money.

I would run, not walk, my money away from Schwab. We use Vanguard and have never had a problem, including opening joint accounts as we began taking RMDs each year.

How do you know what I have researched? Again, I was in academia for 40 yrs. you think we didn’t do EXTENSIVE research when getting ready to retire? Really? As you noted, the 4% rule is based upon~a 2% return on VERY CONSERVATIVE investment s. It has lead a lot of people into trouble when interest rates fell to unprecedented levels after the crash. Are you suggesting that you’ve only gotten 2% or less returns on your investments. Also rate of inflation has been very low the past few years. Or are you advocating it for others but not yourself? My biggest problem with your original statements that a $1.5M principal was required for retirees - which is always put forward by investment companies trying to get new investors. If the average age on these forums was in their 30s & 40s then that might be a starting point. But I would venture that a lot of us are (1) all ready retired, (2) are not trying to maintain lifestyle similar to when they were working, and (3) have experiences as retirees that are worth exploring.

Because of a lot of different medications that Dave takes, he has to be careful with interactions. When his gastric reflux began interfering with his daily life, he tried different OTC remedies but he can't take omeprazole because it interferes with his Plavix. However, there is a new (non-generic) drug called Dexalant that doesn't interfere with other medications and Dave was given a trial set of pills. They seemed to help, but when we went to get the prescription filled, our Insurance denied coverage ($600/month) until the physicians wrote to justify the need to have that specific drug. Agreed that there is no way to have a written budget that can take into account what prescriptions you might need 6 months or a year from now! We are lucky in that our Part D plan (paid for by our former employer) is very good and for most prescriptions it is $20 for 90 days worth of medication. What is really galling is the pharmaceutical companies engaging in price gouging on generic meds, for example the cost increases for insulin!

We've been retired 12 years and with the exception of the year of the 'crash' we have made much more than the 4% on our different investments. The key is to have a diversified portfolio and hopefully not have a huge amount in the traditional 'safe' investments for retirees.

Yes, the math can get really complicated. DiffyQ is what is needed but since the variables are so difficult to pin down, it is almost as bad as trying to determine orbital probability for any atom beyond hydrogen.

Jim, are you suggesting that as a woman I would not understand the 4% rule, or that my education is in some way lacking?

You are assuming that (1) the rest of us don’t have investments that are currently growing, (2) that everyone will live 30 years past retirement, and. (3) we are all 20years away from retirement. Plus, you are assuming a LESS than a 4% growth every year the money. Are you currently retired? If not, what are you basing your amount needed in retirement? And how old are the people you are pitching your scenario to? You might be amazed to find out that people can live on less than you think.

We live quite comfortably on less than that. Plus you forgot to include SS in your retirement income stream. Plus $1.5M would give you $50K a year if you figured to spend it all by the time you are 95, without taking into account it’s earning potential.

It pays to choose your grandparents well. my mother turned 96 this summer, older than her Grandmother ( my great grandmother) who died 3 months short of 96. Her sisters are 95 and 9o, and all of them are still active, mentally as sharp as ever! I inherited a lot from my father, hoping I also got the Norwegian long life genes.😊

Linda, we did the same thing. I love the ‘What if” sheet in Turbo Tax that allows you to put in various amounts for the coming year and see how it affects your taxes. We just moved the money into the same type of fund and let it continue to grow.

Jim, I would agree with you if all of the retirement funds are not in 403b/401k/IRAs that will be taxed when pulled. By NOT taking our IRAs until 701/2 we kept them working for us. And they have done VERY well since we retired. Plus, whatever is left goes to our heirs unlike SS. It really does take some analysis to figure out what’s the best way to go and what is right for one person isn’t what’s right for another. Same with financing part of purchase of rig versus keeping tax deferred funds working. Have to run different scenarios to figure what works best for the individual.

What you got was the RV driving test. We we did ours, I had a truck carrying gas cylinders pass me and one of the cylinders came flying backward - - I was able to slow down and avoid hitting it. But got docked for not looking both ways at least three times at a 4-way stop. Dave had his test drive shortened when he was rear-ended at a stop light. Didn't heart the coach as we had an extended drop hitch which bent in the radiator of the van that hit him. It was company car and the owners paid for everything. Examiner said we both kept our heads in stressful situations, so we passed!

The test is pretty much the same for Class A and Class B exempt. Go with the Recreational/RV one - - you don't want to sign up for the CDL and have a very angry examiner on your hands. Yes, you are OVER thinking it.