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September 06, 2010

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Linda

Hi Syd,

I hope you will still blog whenever you find time. I am looking forward to hearing your thoughts about making adjustments to your retirement life.

I learned so much from your experience, especially the challenges you faced when you started your retirement right in the middle of the US equity market crash. I think you handled it well by adjusting your budget, but you probably want to keep your desired living standard up in the long run. Your new part-time consulting work is definitely a better solution to bridge the temporary gap.

Although our nest egg had reached 33 times of our annual expenses (at ages 47 & 49), the value could be quite volatile due to the mix of our portfolio. I have been wanting to allocate funds to US Treasury bills, notes and bonds with maturities corresponding to the cash needs of our retired years, but have not found the right opportunity to do so. Until I accomplish that, I believe we have not achieved a bulletproof portfolio for the next 50 years. Thanks to our diversified asset classes, we were able to mitigate the impact of decline in the US equity and real estate market in the past couple of years by liquidating partial RE holdings in Shanghai this year. However, I still think there is much fine tuning needed for our portfolio before plunging into retirement (even though we are not work currently). I believe the game is not only in the value of the nest egg, but also in the mix of it. Our extensive overseas travel offers us a global perspective in investment and opportunities as well.

Bob

Glad you found the time to blog, Syd. I understand the thrill that comes from a new challenge and it sounds as though your part-time deal is providing that spark.

Best of luck, and be sure to take enough time to read those magazines in the backyard and enjoy.

Inheritance Advice

Thanks for the post. I am glad to hear you are enjoying your new gig.

LoveBeingRetired

I think that retirement, like anything that we do day in and day out, has the potential to become taken for granted. A little something different to spice things up - in your case your consulting gig - often provides enough change to realize what you had. Extended travel possibly offers the same thing - something different, fun while you do it, but you realize what you have back at home when you return. Have fun as you continue your retirement adventure and be sure to keep us all posted!

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