[UCGal]

My mom had issues with drinking so I constantly monitor myself. That said – I like a cocktail or glass and wine here and there.

Because of my issues with my mom, we set household policies: We don’t drink every night – every other is ok. 2 glasses of wine or 1 martini is ok, more than that is not.

Exceptions can be made for special occasions – but that’s our normal policy.

This works for us. May seem kind of arbitrary… but it relieves my anxiety that I’ll end up drinking too much, yet still allows me to have a glass or two of wine a few days a week.

[UCGal]

We did an approach similar to what’s mentioned above.

We started with a larger term policy – but as we’ve been paying down the mortgage, we’ve been reducing the size.

My husband is retiring soon/semi retired – so we need less insurance on him. I still have a couple more years of working – so we need more insurance on my for income replacement.

We also factored in loss of passive/benefit income (lost SS, etc.) and how that impacts our income streams if someone dies sooner… so we’ll maintain small policies for a while – till we no longer have to worry about loss from these income streams.

But always term. I’m very fee adverse and whole and universal life have so many fees, are so complex, and have things that I rub me the wrong way like surrender charges. I’ve never liked them.

[UCGal]

Why do all these conversations make it sound like all women/wives are shrews?

I’ve seen a lot of men anxious to buy and the wives questioning whether it makes financial sense.

FWIW, and this is just MY opinion… the phrase Happy Wife Happy Life is annoying. Marriage is about compromise – at least it should be. That means some of the time the husband is less happy, some of the time the wife is less happy. If it’s 100% happy wife then the marriage isn’t really a partnership – it’s a dictatorship. Do you guys really live your life that way?

[UCGal]

I’ve seen a few developments in similar situations – and folks with cash were able to take advantage. I think Waterbridge was one of these. (A condo community in Rancho Bernardo.) Folks who bought on the dip made a nice gain when the lawsuits were settled.

[UCGal]

There are significant new reporting requirements for having bank accounts overseas. I frequent a few expat forums and the reporting requirements are challenging.

The FBAR form seems to be the one that draws the most ire based on what I read.

From what I read on one forum – it’s almost impossible for a US citizen to open a swiss bank account – even if they are legal residents and live in Switzerland… because of this new reporting.

You’ll have to decide if the extra interest is worth the extra paperwork.

[UCGal]

Don’t give up on true love, Kev – it can happen. I was in my late 30’s when I met my hubster. He was in his late 40’s. Now, 14 years and 2 kids later, we’re looking at early retirement, etc. Neither of us had been married before.

The key is to keep working your plan regardless of marital status. (Save, work your career, etc.) When the right person comes along you’ll wonder why you wasted time with the others.

[UCGal]

Public records don’t always reflect all permitted work.

When we added our granny flat – public records properly increased the bedroom and bath count, but did not increase our total square footage.

All of this was done on permit – so no clue why the public records are wrong.

I updated zillow to reflect the proper square footage and saw a big jump on the zestimate.

[UCGal]

I was pretty frustrated by it at first. I recently upgraded to 8.1 and it’s not as bad.

I admit I run it exclusively in the desktop mode. My kids have laptops with 8.1 and they run mostly in the tile mode except to run minecraft.

[UCGal]

[quote=sdgrrl]

Flash forward to my hubbie- he invest in his 401k to the max, but the numbers still don’t make us feel comfortable. My income goes to savings as well, but it will take a great great deal of work to have the retirement my GF and FIL have had.[/quote]

As someone who’s a boomer by the definition above, but not by other definitions… (I’m 52 – my parents were born AFTER the greatest generation, dad served in the Korean conflict, not WWII, etc… )
I can offer this hindsight on retirement savings.

Saving early and maximizing doesn’t make big impacts in the early years… but once you reach a certain point, the compounding really kicks into gear. It took a REALLY long time to save my first $100k in my 401k. It was quicker to double it to 200k. Then it doubled again… etc. At some point the gains are bigger than the contributions, and your money is making money for you, not just increasing by the savings.

All that is a way of saying, don’t give up on maxing out the retirement savings. You’ll get there. I’m so glad I didn’t give up… I’m hoping to retire no later than 55…

[UCGal]

[quote=svelte][quote=UCGal]San Diego county only gets 5% of its water from the California water project (aqueducts from Oroville). [/quote]

The aqueduct does not actually go to Oroville Dam.

It starts at the San Joaquin Delta, the Clifton Court Forebay actually.

You could argue that the water in the delta came from the water behind Oroville Dam, but at that point water from Oroville has been mixed with water from rivers as well.[/quote]

You are correct.

That’s where the twin tunnels come in… (Proposed and being supported by such disparate groups as the big ag farmers in the San Joaquin valley and the Sierra Club – two groups that have probably NEVER been on the same side before.)

[UCGal]

San Diego county only gets 5% of its water from the California water project (aqueducts from Oroville). So Northern CA rain and snow will help Northern CA – but not So. Cal as much.

Kern and one other county are being cut out of the CA water project this season because there isn’t enough water. Farmers are in trouble. (Heard this on KPBS).

We had a person come in from the San Diego Metropolitan Water District a few years ago to talk about drought. She said 60-70% of potable tap water goes to landscaping and pools… not indoor consumption.

We’ve started our conservation. We have buckets in our showers – so while the water is heating up, we capture the water…. use it to deep water our fruit trees. The old Yellow/Brown rules are in place… which my boys are on the fence about – partially think it’s cool, partially think it’s gross. We’ve stopped watering the lawn – just the hedges, fruit trees, etc…

[UCGal]

The one you linked is located ON a very busy street – but has alley access so parking is less of an issue. It’s also situated on a lot that has the house well above the street.

I have friends that used to live about a block from there, on Monmouth near Foothill- and the views were VERY nice. Their house was much more original, but still sold for a tidy profit several years ago.

That said – I’d be surprised if it went for more than 1.5M. Primarily because it’s on Beryl. There’s a listing nearby on Malden that is similar size, view and quality (but quieter street) for 1.65M. I don’t see how the Beryl st house can get more than that one.

[UCGal]

[quote=scaredyclassic]What do retired people do all day?

It seems like one might feel kinda useless and without social status.[/quote]
Don’t get me started on that.

You of all people should understand this would give you more time for your passions – carrying heavy stuff up and down your hill, playing table tennis, reading books (real books, not e-books), planting trees on your estate, etc…

I find that work interferes with the things I’d like to be doing. I volunteer on a non-profit board, I garden, bake bread, cook food from scratch. I’d have more time to ride my bike to sprouts to get ingredients, vs the driving I do now. Work commitments make me feel rushed when I’m trying to pursue my real interests.

Maybe it’s different as a lawyer – the sense of identity thing. But I’ve got a few decades under my belt as an engineer and don’t need to actively be an engineer to make my sense of self complete.

Sorry for the hijack… I’m just surprised to hear that kind of statement from you, Scaredy – you’re someone who has a lot of interests outside work, so I don’t imagine you getting bored.

[UCGal]

I know someone who works at web sense…. He’s not moving. But both he and his wife have extended family here and don’t want to leave San Diego.

My understanding is that if the move is more than 50 miles you can turn down a real offer and its the same as being laid off from an unemployment insurance point of view.

[quote=flu][quote=The-Shoveler]I have been to Austin, Not my cup of tea.

If I had to move there I would be planning my escape from day one.[/quote]

I’m trying to follow ucgal’s lead into trying to retire early… Hopefully before I turn 40…. errrr….

scratch that… make that now 41….[/quote]

I’m still working my plan. I’ll be out at 55 at the latest… Sooner if the market does well. Could do it now if I was willing to sell and tell to a cheaper place, like Texas…. But I like San Diego so I’ll work a few more years.

[UCGal]

Stainless is what my hubster is saying.

[Author]

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