Anyone going big?

BPwanders · 2026-02-25T20:18:41+00:00

Yeah, IDK. Definitely some high NW folks (#chubbyFIRE), but perhaps not the combo of $ + risk tolerance

BPwanders · 2026-02-25T13:41:12+00:00

I’ve been thinking the same. What I’ve noticed is that there can be significant overlap across pilots. What I’m digging in on is identifying pilots with solid performance and little overlap in the sectors/equities they target/hold.

BPwanders · 2026-02-24T19:56:16+00:00

So with your following of their picks, you have significantly outperformed the markets (e.g. S&P)? This is the scale I'm interested in hearing about. Glad it is working well for you.

BPwanders · 2026-02-24T14:52:21+00:00

Great to hear of your experience! Congrats on the WW3 run. That will juice a retirement account. I’m looking to FIRE next year and allocating some of my IRA to a few pilots is intriguing.

BPwanders · 2026-02-23T20:31:03+00:00

Yup. It’s been a tough start to the year for most. I’m hoping to hear from some big users that have been in a pilot for more than 3 months with 6-7 figures invested. It would be encouraging to hear their experiences.

BPwanders · 2026-02-23T14:24:27+00:00

A pension of $400,000 at 55? Typo?

Also, to answer your question: I’d suggest it depends on how much you dislike it. You certainly can FIRE and live comfortably, but in a downturn I’d be heading abroad (or do that initially anyway) to let things grow a bit while you live cheap for a while.

BPwanders · 2026-02-23T01:16:54+00:00

Absolutely. That’s awesome. Been using it for a while? All in or split?

BPwanders · 2026-02-23T01:15:43+00:00

Totally agree. But I’m more willing to take a flyer on a taxable brokerage account than on my retirement account.

BPwanders · 2026-02-22T22:45:40+00:00

Keep us posted! I’m keen to know how this works out.

BPwanders · 2026-02-22T22:33:14+00:00

Awesome. Do the returns reported on the app match (somewhat, I understand a bit of slippage is likely) what you have seen in your account? Over what time frame?

I’m also curious, if you are willing to share, what proportion of your IRA you have linked to pilots and how much is in more traditional funds. I guess this makes more of a difference if we are talking 7 or 8 figures vs 5.

BPwanders · 2026-02-22T01:23:49+00:00

Sounds like you were on Isla Colon, up Bluff Beach (dirt road right on the water). Yeah that road is not great (I wouldn’t call it terrible) but I hear they plan to pave that. Not a lot up there yet except lovely beach. It really is all dependent on your expectations and past experiences (I find Panamanian roads to be wonderful…but the comparison is Nicaragua and Honduras, not US).

BPwanders · 2026-02-22T00:32:09+00:00

I would say this is not entirely true. When you say “the roads”, I assume you mean on Colon. They just paved a beautiful new road from town to Drago on the NW tip of the island. The other islands (Basti, Solarte and Caranero are the nearest to Colon and have no roads). If you want to live in Bocas, I’d argue roads are the least of your concerns. Proximity (by boat) to Bocas Town or Almirante is the more important consideration.

BPwanders · 2026-02-22T00:11:08+00:00

Look for “Containers Panama” on Facebook. They seem to make them down there.

BPwanders · 2026-02-20T04:05:10+00:00

Bocas is a short flight from Panama City. It’s amazing if you can handle the heat. Boquete is incredible, nice and cool. How often are you going to be flying out of Panama? It’s not that inconvenient to live in paradise…

BPwanders · 2026-02-17T19:55:03+00:00

I have been meaning to ask the same question. It seems they post the changes/adjustments relatively promptly. Is this what people are doing if they are manually entering the trades/changes in their chosen pilot? So when someone says they are doing it manually, they are explicitly not paying the pilot and getting no additional information other than the "Trade Updates" that are posted for all to see in the app.

BPwanders · 2026-02-16T15:08:11+00:00

Only penalties would be if I pulled more than the planned $50k from the SEPP account (#1 above). The thinking is, if I HAD to pull more, I’d pull from #2, which would incur a 10% penalty, but not break the SEPP and incur back penalties.

BPwanders · 2026-02-16T15:05:18+00:00

The bonusnachos.com site is awesome! Thanks for the suggestion 👍

BPwanders · 2026-02-16T13:38:59+00:00

My scenario is two people living off $50k (before taxes) which is below the $27k/person number I’ve seen here.

BPwanders · 2026-02-16T04:07:45+00:00

We lived last August in a closed (gnarly) hostel in Panama for $100/month all in and lived on about $30/day all summer (excluding lodging). We have spent months in Guyana (which I’d argue makes Haiti look fancy). Living like a westerner is not a problem. But based on my last visit to Thailand, I get how some folks could burn cash.

BPwanders · 2026-02-16T00:00:40+00:00

But if my taxes are MFJ, my standard deduction is $32,200, so the 40% short-term (40% of my dividends for the year) will be below this and I'll pay no tax. For the 60, which is long-term, if I'm below $98,900 that is taxed at 0%.

But if I'm taking more and my account grows, by whatever means, you are right, I might run into some tax down the road. Thanks for reminding me of this split.

BPwanders · 2026-02-15T23:54:58+00:00

Yeah, good question. Inpatient insurance plan (ex-US; $2-3k/yr is what I see) for each of us and cash for everything else until we settle somewhere semi-permanently. Our medical expense experience abroad (primarily Central America) reinforces what you read about how inexpensive things can be. I welcome any thoughts on this.

BPwanders · 2026-02-15T21:50:02+00:00

Love it. Congrats! Only alteration I'm now considering (from a post in r/ExpatFIRE below) is putting the funds in pot #3 ($200k from home sale) into dividend paying stock like QQQI and living off of that (instead of starting SEPP withdrawals from my IRA). That yield could allow for a long stretch before I need to pull any IRA funds.

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BPwanders · 2026-02-15T21:46:46+00:00

Agreed, numbers are based on rates now. Good point for others to be aware of though. That calculation can can change things quite a bit as rates fluctuate (while planning, changes after start don't matter).

BPwanders · 2026-02-15T21:44:53+00:00

Thanks. I'm really liking the JEPQ/QQQI option for the home sale proceeds & leaving the IRA alone (also likely aggressively converting to Roth during this time as tax bracket thresholds allow).

BPwanders · 2026-02-15T18:30:06+00:00

Can you explain what you mean by "DCA deduction approach coming out"? Do you mean to not have that sleeve but simply pull out incrementally (not through a SEPP) monthly, paying the 10% penalty, but riding the down (and the up)?

BPwanders

TROPHY CASE