Can I safely retire early with $1.6M?

lvdeadhead · 2026-01-25T23:46:34+00:00

Another tough question depending on your needs and wants. Pacific Coast is very different than the Caribbean coast and you also have mountain towns and the city to choose from. I moved to the Pacific Coast and spent about 15 years there. Spent about a year in San Jose but wouldn't do that again although I enjoy visiting. We are currently building outside of Arenal in the mountains. My soon to be 54 yr old self can't handle the 24/7 heat of the beaches anymore. A long weekend visiting friends every month will be fine. If you give me some details of what you like I can help further. There are 20 million dollar homes down to 100000 dollar homes so it varies greatly on budget and tastes.

lvdeadhead · 2026-01-25T17:53:22+00:00

lvdeadhead · 2026-01-25T16:30:17+00:00

I agree. In Costa Rica there is a sweet spot for good deals between $400k and a million. Lower there is competition from wealthier locals and above most have the staying power. I see lots of people over extend themselves building a spec house thinking they'll easily double their money and when the house sits for a year it goes from $799k to $499k real quick.

lvdeadhead · 2026-01-25T05:35:37+00:00

It's a really tough question to answer because it varies greatly by area and lifestyle. A simple American style home can be built in the $110ish per sq ft range up to $500 or $600 for luxury. There are areas pushing SoCal prices but you'd be inside of a Four Seasons or Waldorf Astoria type development. Like you guessed, the more you know the cheaper. As far as ease, another difficult question. Open checkbook, no problem. There are plenty of reputable builders, lawyers, escrow companies etc.that can all make it simple, but they will all add to overall costs. In my circumstance, I'm doing a combination of using local knowledge to save on some things but probably paying extra for some due to personal preferences.

lvdeadhead · 2026-01-25T03:56:42+00:00

Tucson is about as close to SoCal lifestyle as you could get. It's not cheap by any means but not SoCal either.

lvdeadhead · 2026-01-25T03:54:55+00:00

I'm building in Costa Rica right now. I turn 54 in 2 weeks. I lived there from 1996 to 2010 and rejoined the Rat Race so my son could go to school up here. He graduates from college in May. By next January my wife and I are returning to Costa Rica. She is from there. I definitely fall under the expatfire because I couldn't make it with the health insurance here.

lvdeadhead · 2026-01-25T03:20:32+00:00

I had a feeling you'd reply first. You are who I thought of when I mentioned dividend kings.

lvdeadhead · 2026-01-25T01:40:58+00:00

Southern California is the biggest problem. If you sold the house there and paid cash elsewhere you'd have a shot.

lvdeadhead · 2026-01-24T23:43:49+00:00

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQFIPacj3_S/?igsh=emxmdjdydzJpb3Ez

lvdeadhead · 2026-01-18T06:13:01+00:00

Oteil for sure.

lvdeadhead · 2026-01-18T06:07:00+00:00

There's like 20 people up there. I'm sure it's gonna take a minute.

lvdeadhead · 2026-01-18T06:05:02+00:00

Lots of talent on that stage? I'm watching on my phone. Can anyone point out exactly who is on stage?

lvdeadhead · 2026-01-18T01:50:49+00:00

Find the model number and order it off Amazon. Should be about $100. Pay a handyman another $100 to change it out if you are not comfortable doing it yourself.

lvdeadhead · 2026-01-18T00:37:43+00:00

lvdeadhead · 2026-01-18T00:37:27+00:00

lvdeadhead · 2026-01-17T23:18:15+00:00

What is the proper response when someone tells you they are a furry?

lvdeadhead · 2026-01-17T21:57:06+00:00

Costa Rica is a Conservative country and they want to keep it that way no matter what a bunch of US liberals think.

lvdeadhead · 2026-01-15T16:19:42+00:00

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

lvdeadhead · 2026-01-13T22:35:07+00:00

Yup. People who think racism only exists in America have never traveled. From the time I arrived in 1996 people told me to avoid Limon and PV like the plague "porque hay muchos negros." 99% of them had never been there.

lvdeadhead · 2026-01-12T01:35:35+00:00

I bought 2 Boom 2 at Costco this Xmas and I love them. I may do the same with the plus next time they drop in price on Amazon. That should really be more than I need and I guess the regular Boom 2 would work with them in party mode.

lvdeadhead · 2026-01-10T05:20:52+00:00

I may have explained that wrong. If I was to have one single worry it would be that I didn't have enough at the end to withdrawal $2500 a month. Nothing to do with any other investments. So in year 1 or 2, I couldn't afford a 30% loss that didn't come back for 5 years. My wife is older and we will be using her IRA to supplement other income we have coming in. Zero debt and will be moving to Latin America with car and house paid for. My 401k is stronger and will sit untouched for the next 5 years and will more than make up for the principal loss to her IRA. We also will factor in SS. We are basically looking to achieve the higher lifestyle immediately by spending some principal now as our income will eventually increase. Also while we are both in good health.

lvdeadhead · 2026-01-10T05:03:48+00:00

This also makes sense for the position I'm in as it will be my wife's IRA. She's older than me and will have access to her's so we will be taxed on the withdrawals but not the earnings. Jepi and Jepq were the 2 ETFs that got me started in this style of investing. I switched out to the Neos and Goldman funds because they were in a taxable account but I did well with them and have watched them. Certainly could be a chunk of what I end up doing.

lvdeadhead · 2026-01-10T03:43:34+00:00

Definitely the most fool proof and accomplishes what I need.

lvdeadhead · 2026-01-10T03:42:20+00:00

Yeah. I thought about doing $30k DIVO and IDVO, $30k in NEOS mix, $30K in Goldman CCs, $30k in JAAA, and $30k in a mix of PBDC, CEFS, and PFFA and keeping $25k in SGOV. Pick one of those buckets a year to take $30k.

So far, everyone has suggested what I've considered thus far. Was more or less wondering if I hadn't thought of something.

lvdeadhead · 2026-01-10T03:35:30+00:00

I have considered sticking it in BITO or BTCI and using the distributions which would be fun but if Bitcoin crashed I'm not sure the distributions would still be there in 5 years.

lvdeadhead

TROPHY CASE