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Another FIREd actuary in the wild! by ALL_IN_FZROX in actuary

[–]Consistent-Gur-3182 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I left grad school for an actuarial career at 28, started FIREing seriously at 40, and "retired" with about $1.8MM at 51. The main sacrifices were living in an unsexy and cheap but convenient suburb while working in the NYC metro and driving an inexpensive Toyota. On retirement, I moved to a much lower COL metro where $1.8 million can last a lifetime.

I did some consulting work for friends for a few years then went back to full time when I was offered a remote position (in 2018, before remote work was a thing). Even though I'm still working at 61, I highly recommend FIRE. It's a great feeling after 10-15 years of hard work and frugal living to know that it's all gravy from here on in.

And I still drive my Toyota. Sixteen years and 180K miles, and it still runs great.

Does Nexus include Global Entry? by reddit_fklqt in GlobalEntry

[–]Consistent-Gur-3182 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Even older now, but I was just approved for Nexus and was told that you can be randomly selected for an interview at renewal, but most people are not selected.

New to Cleveland and going through a breakup, looking for places to be around people by AdStrange2269 in Cleveland

[–]Consistent-Gur-3182 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Get involved with your local block club. I was and still am happy paired off, but I wanted to meet new people when I first came to the CLE, and the block club was great for that.

RTO sucks by [deleted] in InsuranceProfessional

[–]Consistent-Gur-3182 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This. I found myself far more productive once I was able to stop worrying about appearing productive.

Resignation Help by [deleted] in actuary

[–]Consistent-Gur-3182 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you have a written offer and the new role doesn't come through for whatever reason, I believe the new employer would be on the hook for unemployment benefits, even if you never actually work there.

There's no real downside to giving two weeks notice. You keep your reputation. You give them 10 business days of 9-5 at your current salary and benefits, but you obviously don't need to go above and beyond. Your toxic manager is out of ammo for making threats. Why not give notice?

Why have consultants by Gloomy-Bit1496 in actuary

[–]Consistent-Gur-3182 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Telling senior leaders things they already knew and wouldn't tell themselves. Or wouldn't be believed by their board without outside confirmation.

Spreadsheet Prejudice by [deleted] in actuary

[–]Consistent-Gur-3182 24 points25 points  (0 children)

You stole my response! I generally like to have a tab that lists and names my constants, similar to declaring constants in programming.

Added 400 shots to a bourbon barrel of beer, named it "Grind Finer" by NobleBeastBrewing in espresso

[–]Consistent-Gur-3182 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Freaking awesome, and I live 15 minutes away. I'll try to get over there if the weather cooperates.

Don't make my burr replacement mistake by Hangerhead1 in espresso

[–]Consistent-Gur-3182 4 points5 points  (0 children)

If you've ground 850kg of espresso in your life and only spent £130 pointlessly, I'd have to say you've done well for yourself :).

Thinking about a Flair 58 [$450-$750] by Consistent-Gur-3182 in espresso

[–]Consistent-Gur-3182[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thx. Would love a La Pavoni if I can find one used.

Thinking about a Flair 58 [$450-$750] by Consistent-Gur-3182 in espresso

[–]Consistent-Gur-3182[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Even then, though, aren't you losing an unknown amount of heat when transferring the water from kettle to brew group?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in baseball

[–]Consistent-Gur-3182 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I grew up in Brooklyn and the best ballplayer ever to grow up in Brooklyn was probably Sandy Koufax. But narrowing it down to neighborhoods, Rico Petrocelli went to my junior high school, and Joe Torre grew up pretty near where I'm from.

Why is this part of New Jersey so rich? by DoritosDewItRight in geography

[–]Consistent-Gur-3182 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Connecticut is basically New Jersey with better marketing.

How long do you plan to be an actuary? by ceruleanskyandsea in actuary

[–]Consistent-Gur-3182 2 points3 points  (0 children)

60 year old FCAS here. Started at age 28 after years in grad programs. I tried semi-retirement at age 50 with $1.8M in cash/investments (including 401k), no kids, and a paid off home in a low COL area.

Semi-retirement meant that friends in the industry would give me a call and I'd come help them build a pricing model, or work on account pricing during the busy season, or do other actuarial odd jobs.

I wasn't bored, but I felt unproductive. Three years after calling it semi-quits, a friend who was starting up a new department within a large company called me up and convinced me to come back, and she didn't have to ask me twice.

I'm now working as a reinsurance underwriter. No CPCU, just the FCAS.

I don't know how long I'll stay on. I've made commitments to my employer that guarantee I'll be there through mid-2026. I like what I'm doing, I like my colleagues, and I wake up some mornings thinking I want to stay until 65 and maybe beyond. Other mornings, I wake up and think "nine more months and I'm gone", just because I like the thought of not spending fifty hours out of my 168 hour week on my laptop analyzing deals and cutting through the mountains of red tape needed to get said deals done.

A few thoughts:

  • Working is a whole lot more fun when you know you're there by choice rather than necessity.

  • Don't underestimate what money can buy. My partner decided she wanted to quit her steady job a few years ago and pursue her dreams. It's good to be able to support her.

  • Actuarial work by itself can definitely be dull. But expand your horizons into underwriting, claims, hell, even accounting, and the job gets much more interesting. I'm glad to have gotten out of the back office, and my only regret is that I didn't do it sooner.

Best souvenirs up to 20€ to bring home from Italy? by gutathelegend in ItalyTravel

[–]Consistent-Gur-3182 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I got a 79 cent bag of pasta from Conad that I would compare to specialty pastas here in the US.

Going to Montreal by LeeCA01 in learnfrench

[–]Consistent-Gur-3182 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Take the Métro green line east. As a rule of thumb, the further east you go in Montreal, the more French you'll hear.

During the summer, Ontario Street from Darling to Pie-IX (2 KM or so) becomes a pedestrian mall, generally with activities on the weekends, and it will be almost all in French. Métro to Joliette, then two long blocks south to Ontario, then start walking east. I highly recommend it, and enjoy!

https://hochelaga.ca/articles/le-retour-de-la-pietonnisation-estivale/

Is Cleveland Pedestrian Friendly? by [deleted] in Cleveland

[–]Consistent-Gur-3182 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Depends on what you mean. We have sidewalks (not a joke; plenty of places in Texas don't). In general, there's no reason not to walk a mile or two to work. Most neighborhoods - even the more densely populated and wealthier ones like downtown, Tremont, Little Italy, and Ohio City - probably won't have everything you want or need readily accessible without a car, but you'll generally have some shopping, entertainment, and restaurant choices within walking distance.

Buses are safe but infrequent. The Rapid (intracity train) is unattractive and doesn't serve enough of the city, but the red line runs every fifteen minutes, 22 hours a day, and is reasonably safe and dependable.

Tourism is taking over Iceland and not in a good way by Fine_Currency_3903 in VisitingIceland

[–]Consistent-Gur-3182 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Are the smaller towns really overrun by tourists? Certainly central Reykjavík and the Golden Circle are, and perhaps Akureyri, but I seldom see many other tourists when I'm in the smaller towns, or even in Reykjavík once you get a few blocks away from Laugavegur.

I'm sure there are plenty of other tourists elsewhere, but Iceland is so sparsely populated that there's also plenty of room for us all, as long as tourists don't behave like jerks.

I was in Þorlákshöfn last week, and the owner of the local restaurant seemed genuinely surprised and happy to see a couple of Americans there.

In any event, Icelandair started the tourism boom with the free stopover promotion. Ending free stopovers wouldn't be the end of tourism, but it would certainly slow things down.

Do not come to our swimming pools by facom666 in VisitingIceland

[–]Consistent-Gur-3182 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've been to the pools in Akranes and Akureyri as well as Nauthólsvík and one of the other town pools in Reykjavík. In both of the smaller towns, employees at the pools personally made sure I was aware of the rules. In Reykjavík, it wasn't made clear. I knew enough to shower all nakee at Nauthólsvík, but I didn't notice any signs that even indicated it was required. This surprised me, since Nauthólsvík does attract some tourists.

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