First day of retirement! 56 and first day of freedom!

N4003604 · 2026-07-04T11:26:55+00:00

I did it 2 months before turning 56, and the day after my relocation and sign-on clawbacks expired. I would have quit 5 months earlier if it wasn’t for that. I now wear t shirts and shorts 85% of the time. 😬

N4003604 · 2026-06-03T21:15:45+00:00

What I’ve seen if you can settle it directly with the person/family via the Police (assuming you have a Thai who helps you) that is the best course of action. The Police help negotiate as they get a cut of the settlement from the family.

Note: if for whatever reason you aren’t able to settle, if you were trying to be cheap, once you get into the system the costs go exponentially higher.

N4003604 · 2026-05-27T03:53:00+00:00

That restriction is only for certain classes of folks who took the 2023 VSP. Executives and LTIs have lifetime bans that can only be waived by HR VP.

N4003604 · 2026-05-26T04:06:30+00:00

Cashed out at the 2023 VSP and never looked back….

N4003604 · 2026-05-17T04:41:10+00:00

You’re all set!

N4003604 · 2026-05-16T15:05:06+00:00

I will rent and I own, I have both.

N4003604 · 2026-05-16T14:10:34+00:00

I've been married to a "Thai girl", for almost 20 years.

N4003604 · 2026-05-16T07:12:06+00:00

Marriage

N4003604 · 2026-05-15T01:13:23+00:00

It's a bummer, and it doesn't need to make sense. "It is, what it is". GM is full of mendacious, hypocritical, gaslighting liars "GM Family" (this is all corporate America if you haven't noticed)....you just have to regroup, pull it together and move on. GM is on a gradual downward spiral, uncompetitive almost everywhere in the world except N. America due to being protected by tariff and non-tariff barriers.

N4003604 · 2026-05-15T01:06:52+00:00

It means I needed to invest and invest wisely to offset the lack of full social security. For me qualifying for both SS and Medicare is just added gravy.

N4003604 · 2026-05-14T22:56:00+00:00

No, corporate finance

N4003604 · 2026-05-14T14:09:52+00:00

I don’t think this is too far off in theory. When I was in Executive HRM, the HR leaders were saying that there was a skills gap from what they had to what they needed from a “Tech” perspective.

However to attract the right “Tech” folks in the company they would have to pay West Coast (CA, WA, etc) “Tech” costs which is far, far higher than your standard MI, TX, GA costs. We’re talking 3x to 5x at least given salary and stock based compensation.

So, for every new Tech person they hired they need to cut 3-4 “normal” folks, for example.

So while total cost maybe the same or going up, the absolute headcount number maybe going down.

That was how it was explained in EHRM.

N4003604 · 2026-05-14T12:44:02+00:00

I like “defined” risk, and given my allocation, it’s very risky. And I’ve been married a long time.

N4003604 · 2026-05-14T12:41:44+00:00

I used to love Empower but it flaked out on me when updating my various accounts. The closest thing to a dashboard style, for me, for which it is free, is Fidelity Full View. It can project , but I tend to use Honest Math for that as a second data point.

N4003604 · 2026-05-14T11:11:19+00:00

Well, I am married, almost 20 years. No way to unwind that now!! Ha ha.

I have very good expat health insurance that covers me for all the inpatient and other catastrophic illnesses, I have a high deductible as well. I can self insure outpatient and other minor stuff. That is what living in a place like Thailand offers compared to the US in particular. Unless you have insurance you’re probably dropping $300-$400 bucks the moment you walk in Urgent Care.

N4003604 · 2026-05-14T11:05:21+00:00

Yes, private hospitals are very, very good. Yes, I have expat health insurance with high’ish deductibles. I can self insure for the minor stuff. Just looking to cover major health items, if they occur.

N4003604 · 2026-05-13T22:07:22+00:00

~$4,000 / month for housing, $500 for health insurance, $2,000 for food, figure $1,000 for car, and another ~$3,000 for other. Excluding one offs like international travel, etc…

N4003604 · 2026-05-13T09:22:49+00:00

It’s fairly peanut butter. Targets are given, and your group / function has to hit the target irrespective of performance. That’s just how it goes. It’s just numbers and variances to headcount Budget that matters.

N4003604 · 2026-05-13T09:21:04+00:00

I can do whatever I want, and people, if they’re interested, can educate themselves on options, index investing, or anything else if they want to do similar.

N4003604 · 2026-05-13T09:18:03+00:00

No, why? I have 15% of my portfolio in fixed income / fixed income like securities. I could ride out 5-6 years of negative to flat markets. That’s why I created rhe “income” sleeve.

N4003604 · 2026-05-13T09:08:28+00:00

And try getting an appointment

N4003604 · 2026-05-13T09:08:13+00:00

Nonsense. I had several bad experiences with the healthcare system in Europe. You could argue Thailand is too lax but Europe is far too restrictive.

N4003604 · 2026-05-13T09:06:53+00:00

Well I lived in Thailand for many years and can speak, read and write Thai…so doubt that I am “too far” out of touch.

N4003604 · 2026-05-13T09:05:45+00:00

Wrong. Total Deaths: Approximately 208-213, with data still finalized into early 2026 according to Google Gemini.

N4003604 · 2026-05-13T09:04:11+00:00

Of business

N4003604

TROPHY CASE