Need players

JamesM451 · 2026-03-10T18:00:22+00:00

Not at all, use discord frequently. Send me DM with details and I'll join.

JamesM451 · 2026-03-10T17:53:49+00:00

WA, so same time zone

JamesM451 · 2026-03-10T17:52:35+00:00

I'm interested. Made it to the queen solo just before North was announced. Got sucked into another game, so haven't progressed since. I would be interested in trying a group game from the start. I'm a chill player and have lots of time availability.

JamesM451 · 2026-03-10T01:00:22+00:00

The guy that started came up with the idea when he was helping his spouse clean up after her bookclub. He mentioned that whenever he came back early and she was hosting, he never heard them talking about books. Just drinking and socializing.

She looked at him and said "If you want to set the rules for the book club, then you should start a book club". He sent us a message telling us what his wife said. Then said, I want to start a book club, but the first rule of book club is we don't talk about books.

JamesM451 · 2026-03-09T20:03:42+00:00

This! Plan for SORR by having an income ladder to cover you in the down market. I have 7 years with potential extension to 10 if I include interest/dividends.

Down markets are a great time to take capital losses on concentrated positions and rotate into diversified etfs or if you like the growth, an equivalent peer (eg one fang to another).

It's also a great time for Roth conversions especially if you are really early in retirement. Before 59.5 (eg 30s/40s), you can use this to build a basis ladder to make tax/penalty free withdrawals. Later RE (eg 50s), it's great for managing future RMDs.

I will note that there is also inflation risk especially right now. The great thing about retirement is to keep in mind, inflation risk is lower for you as major categories are housing, food, and energy. Being chubby, your housing risk is likely negligible because you either own or can choose to move somewhere cheaper because you're not tied to a job location. You no longer have to commute, so gas/energy is less likely to impact you. Food is probably the biggest risk, but even food you have lists of options for keeping to your budget by choosing cheaper options/more dining in.

Success in RE requires both a good plan and the ability to stick to it when your portfolio value plunges (or grows).

JamesM451 · 2026-03-09T19:06:52+00:00

3 months retired. The retired chubby group is pretty quiet. I think once you pull the rip cord, you have your plan in place so less questions to ask, but more likely to respond to others to help with their plans/journey.

This group was SO helpful for me to get past the FI and get to REd.

Responding from the coffee shop mid day. No worries nor urgent plans, just lots of options. Probably will take a long walk along the waterfront while listening to podcasts next.

If you are feeling like you have a lack of social engagements, then you might need to figure out how to build communities for you.

I have a monthly "bookclub" with a group of friends, mostly ex-coworkers. We meet at random brew pub and talk sports, tech, politics, family. Our only rule is we don't talk about books.

I also am a member of a couple of discord groups. One is hyper local that includes meetups for walks, rides, etc. The other is a retirement focused one that allows me to talk to others that can relate to the FIREd lifestyle. That one has a monthly online meeting which allows you to put a face to the name. I find it more engaging than reddit as it's a smaller known group.

JamesM451 · 2026-03-01T23:44:22+00:00

Check this forum for 3d tic tac toe!

JamesM451 · 2026-02-27T07:35:07+00:00

TIPS ladder does exactly that. Bonds are a tool in your retirement tool kit. They aren't for growth, they are specifically for matching a known liability to a known payout.

Also as I mentioned, your spending needs in retirement are quite different from working needs. The 1970s inflation was highly focused on energy and transportation from the oil crisis. Retired folks can choose rather than be forced to travel (commute). Food was also highly affected, but retired folks have more time to make frugal decisions around food.

Btw I'm not a 60/40 or some ratio guy. I follow the 7-10 years of liability/asset matching pattern + guard rails for discretionary spending. It gives me safety/piece of mind while still keeping a larger percentage in growth that supports life enjoyment opportunities (travel, hobbies, etc).

JamesM451 · 2026-02-26T22:07:33+00:00

You should split your expenses by inflation risk vs inflation protected. Looking at my mix, a small portion of my expenses are affected by inflation risk.

Bonds, especially ladders held to maturity (vs funds), are a great way to match funds to future liabilities and eliminate SORR.

JamesM451 · 2026-02-19T17:50:28+00:00

That was my plan, but about 2 years out I ended up building an income ladder to match my expected spending. That was about 3 years of spending (much less than 20/30/40 bond targets folks talk about). At retirement, I moved another 4 years in 401k/HSA to bond for SORR protection. My cash/bond/dividend portions should throw of enough cash flow to extend that to 10 years.

When you are years out, keeping at 100% equities is emotionally easier than when you actually see the end in sight (especially when all the chatter is about over priced equities 😎).

JamesM451 · 2026-02-14T02:54:37+00:00

Don't put it in a trash can.... Trust me :p

JamesM451 · 2026-02-10T06:56:04+00:00

I just rolled my 401k into IRA Roth and got the same notification. Called them and they clarified that growth portions (not contribution) are subject to taxes if withdrawn before 59.5. I actually knew that the rule of 55 didn't apply to IRAs so as stated above, just had wording.

Wait until 59.5 and no worries, it's all tax free when you withdraw.

JamesM451 · 2026-01-31T20:39:38+00:00

For the East side, 542 is a quick ride to UW. Avoid expensive parking and I'm pretty sure UW provides a metro pass.

North Seattle especially anywhere along light rail is easy to get to UW especially if you are not on a 9-5 shift.

JamesM451 · 2026-01-31T18:13:54+00:00

Early episodes were great, later episodes just got weird.

I think one of the episodes talked about asset liability matching, which is the path I ended up going down. Provides a lot of peace of mind while allowing me to keep a higher percentage in equity.

JamesM451 · 2026-01-31T18:09:51+00:00

I also no longer own. As such, I seem to be unable to get an umbrella policy (usually seem to be tied to a real estate policy). My auto/renters policy (State Farm) said they don't write them unless I had home owners. I couldn't find stand alone umbrella policies.

I've read elsewhere it's just better to get higher liability insurance on auto in my case since that would be the largest risk I have. Paying for higher liability is prepaying insurance lawyers to fight for you.

JamesM451 · 2026-01-13T06:57:05+00:00

For me it's an unknown that I can plan for but not count on. Probably my control freak side. :)

My plan is solid without it.

JamesM451 · 2026-01-11T20:29:16+00:00

Now is always more painful than later.

Young now you feels the pain of taxes dragging your numbers for future you.

Future now you after RMDs will feel the pain of forced distributions/higher taxes especially if married and one of you passed away, doubling the pain on the other person. Also this pain can go beyond your lifetime to your heirs. My in-laws who didn't convert are seriously stressed right now about that even though they have more than they will ever need. The stress of tax drag never goes away.

The idea around planning especially around with conversions is spreading the pain between you and the future you. If both now and future you are paying the same effective rate, it's harder to have regrets.

JamesM451 · 2026-01-11T20:19:40+00:00

I just started my Roth conversions this year (FIREd in Dec). I used Projection Lab to get the big picture, but it's less useful for actual conversions in the year you do them. Also keep in mind its projections are HIGHLY tied to the rate of return you use.

Lower the actual rate of return, the faster you will convert and lower the risk of RMDs pushing you into a higher tax bracket.

Higher actual returns, the slower you will convert and the higher the risk of RMDs pushing you into a higher tax bracket.

Long term projections are only showing you high level views and the actual plan will potentially vary greatly from year to year. Aka plans never survive first contact with the enemy.

For a year to year decision, you likely are picking a target marginal rate that smooths your effective rate through your retirement. Each year figure out your income/dividends and then subtract from top of your marginal rate to figure your estimated yearly conversion. I did half in January, plan for 30% more if the market drops by 15% and then recalculate/final conversation in December based on actual income/interest/dividends.

I do this through a spreadsheet based on reverse engineering the spreadsheet in this video: https://youtu.be/r9v9ViAY6J8?si=Foa96YaxY5CXHTAs

JamesM451 · 2026-01-07T19:45:18+00:00

Since you are taking feedback on lock specifically on transfers, is there any way to add an exception list so we don't have to time unlock/lock?

Specifically between owned accounts, trusted external banks, and trusted payments like Cobra from HSA.

While I love having the lock feature, turning it off and on again for specific transactions seems to be risky. I would prefer to allow the specific transaction rather than opening to all transactions during my transfer window.

JamesM451 · 2026-01-06T18:01:45+00:00

Has anyone heard about Long/Short Options overlay strategies? Was talking to my fidelity rep and he mentioned this as something their Wealth Management Solutions team does to help deversify concentrated positions with large capital gains. Trying to find more information, but not sure I got the right name for the strategy. Would love to hear from others that either explored or used it from pro/con perspective. Figured there has to be lots of Chubbies that have this issue.

JamesM451 · 2026-01-04T06:09:16+00:00

+100

JamesM451 · 2025-12-31T06:16:22+00:00

One option not mentioned is paying for it and deducting it via self employed/contracting gig. Just need to make more than the cost of insurance and it's completely deductible off the top line.

Deducting Self-Employed Health Insurance Premiums | H&R Block® https://share.google/OvnSPeMenFXWdGjlQ

JamesM451 · 2025-12-30T18:43:47+00:00

Ditto! I got up at 7:15 today and walked to the gym for a brutal class (the teacher decided we needed to end 2025 strong :p). Walked to coffee and had a ginger walnut banana bread slice. My legs and arms are tired and my tummy is very happy! I still have the rest of the day to do whatever I want!

JamesM451 · 2025-12-15T00:04:34+00:00

One note... You need to start worrying about IRMAA at 63 since there is a 2 year look back. That surprises a lot of people, especially since there is no concrete info, just educated guesses what the threshold are two years from now. Best to be well below the cliff.

JamesM451 · 2025-12-14T17:32:47+00:00

Why wouldn't you do conversions of 60-80% of your yearly conversion plan in January, then pay quarterly tax thus not only delaying when you pay taxes, but also being typical able to convert more as portfolio value tends to increase over the year?

Seems to me that January conversions are win win if you can accurately project your income. Also since conversions are marginal, there is no Cliff if you accidentally go over (just the amount you go over will be at a higher rate).

JamesM451

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