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On a couple of real estate issues........ referring to a 1% or 2% annual appreciation in residential housing values. Hocus, are you overlooking the value of free rent? I fully agree. If appreciation of owner occupied housing is included in an annual valuation of total assets then the free-rent issue...

Ataloss; I am a big fan of Bob!
Me too! I assume like all good engineers he can't write very well. Is that why he doesn't post himself?

Hocus In a previous post I once dipped a tentative toe into the murky waters of the intercst issue - now I'll put in a whole foot (always putting my foot in it :D sorry for the poor joke - but couldn't resist it) Like some others, I tend to find continued debate about intercst somewhat unproductive....

no tradition of public libraries
some of the former Brit colonies sometimes have good library systems - might not have proper sewage systems though.

you pocketed the difference? No, no, no - never so generous - such arrangements have to be agreed with accountants :twisted:- who seem to think that employees getting cash out of such a deal is unreasonable - don't know why? The mortgage allowance was about 30% of the rental value of the housing pr...

I've frequently been provided with 2500 to 3000 sq ft housing as part of an expat package. Some years ago I managed to get a deal where the employer instead provided a mortgage allowance to buy my own place and I got a 1200 sq ft living area with big garden. Very happy living in that amount of area ...

i know, i know: 20 year olds like to step in puddles. In fact it's a quote that my daughters might well have used. I get the impression that the generation now in their 20's are less inclined to the greed/conspicuous consumption of most of those now in their 30's/40's/50's. I may be wrong (I don't ...

Saw the following recently (somewhat paraphrased) but unfortunately can't remember where. If we all lived at the standard of living of the 50's we would all have to only work 20 hours / week and then have more leisure time. Instead we work longer hours at high stress to buy bigger houses, bigger TVs...

Me confused, kenm. I recall you making a case a while back, in a back and forth with mark, re: how much fun/liveability you experienced in rather modest circumstances in Hong Kong Phooey. Now you sound like you would prefer to indulge your expensive hedonism. Maybe I misinterpreted I think I was sa...

The late nineties were a real disservice to the novices wanderer (why do I always want to type in "wandered" ?), that's also one of my conclusions from my analysis. I think that there are probably only very limited periods of time (such as the 90's) when the "conservative" appro...

if that's their view Ah, but wanderer, you misunderstand me - that's my view, not that of my conservative daughters. I'm a child of the 60's 8)- to me my daughters views seem to have been middle-aged since they were 18. What is modern youth coming to :shock: I also tend to wonder what your reaction...

I was hoping somebody was going to tell me my calculations were wrong. Otherwise the situation looks depressing to me if the standard equity/bond savings route to FIRE is used. I have re-done the calcs. Assume:- At 25 salary is now $50,000 At 55 salary will be $100,000 in present day prices (i.e. in...

I've told my daughters I expect to live to a ripe old age so if they want to achieve FIRE they had better do it themselves rather than wait to inherit all my money :D. Problem is, in talking to them about achieving FI, I can't talk to them on the basis of long term average returns etc because I've a...