Post: #226

@Jay I travel as much as I can. Only been to Spain (twice) in Europe, never been to Asia....

Even if I was to retire someplace internationally and low cost, you still need some $$ to live. A Toyota in Ny is going to cost a similar price in Ecuador. Food and rent can be cheaper of course......

Florida is cheaper than NY, but I still need income

Post: #227

No one needs to buy a car if they live in Ecuador lol. Nor does one need a car in NYC.Food is actually cheaper in NYC than Florida. Ukraine food even costs more. Loads of supermarket chains in NYC means more sales. The only food I find cheaper in 3rd world countries is local stuff, not meat or protein.I crunched the numbers about going to live in Ukraine permanently vs staying in America.except for rent and utilities, I found NYC to be cheaper than Ukraine.
Things I found cheaper in NYC:
1.Entertainment. Most museums are by donation. Nightclubs have promotions you enter free. Heck if you have cablevision going to the movies is free every Tuesday.
2. Food is cheaper. Eating a large meal out in Applebees is cheaper than eating a small amount of meat in Ukrainian restaurant.We at least have good pizza.
Things cheaper in Ukraine:
cigarettes, booze. Basically 3rd word countries are cheaper if you want to commit suicide by vice.

Post: #228

(05-25-2013 08:11 PM)jimukr104 Wrote:  Heck if you have cablevision going to the movies is free every Tuesday.

How so?

Post: #229

@jimukr

That's surprising, are you including the cost of owning your own spot?

Example: you drop $100K for a spot outside the USA and receive 7% on the remaining 400K versus so plying buying a spot in the USA for $500K?

I would guess the numbers favor 3rd world on the interest income alone covering the extra cost of some steak. Break it down though if you got time.

Post: #230

Ft Lauderdale vs Ukraine? I'm retiring in Fort Lauderdale : )

Post: #231

I would not retire in the Ukraine or anywhere in the former Soviet Union, even though I speak the language. Many, probably most locals over there dream of retiring abroad. Girls are easier than in the US relatively speaking, but not easy or sex deprived enough to sleep with old wrinkled fucks, except for working girls who get paid by the hour and don't even pretend to like you.

Comparing prices in NY and these countries doesn't prove that it's cheaper and/or better to retire in the US than abroad. That part of the world is kind of cheap if you grow up there, have your own place to live and know where to get good deals, but it's more expensive than America if you are an American looking for the same quality of life you had back home.

I don't know what things will look like by the time I retire, but right now I could live comfortably in, let's say, Thailand, on less than I spend on rent in the NY area. I would be going out more, getting better non-pro girls, enjoying better weather, etc. The only problem is lack of passive income.

Post: #232

Can someone explain the 401k roll-over “hack” discussed here a bit further-- not sure I completely get it:

http://wallstreetplayboys.com/hacking-your-401k/

Is the idea just that if you roll your 401k over into a Roth IRA on December 31, 2014, you can take the principal out in 4 years tax and penalty free and re-invest it? Paying taxes on the rollover and having access to the money in four years is supposed to be more advantageous than letting it grow tax free for decades?

Post: #233

(02-13-2014 11:34 AM)nmmoooreland20 Wrote:  Can someone explain the 401k roll-over “hack” discussed here a bit further-- not sure I completely get it:

http://wallstreetplayboys.com/hacking-your-401k/

Is the idea just that if you roll your 401k over into a Roth IRA on December 31, 2014, you can take the principal out in 4 years tax and penalty free and re-invest it? Paying taxes on the rollover and having access to the money in four years is supposed to be more advantageous than letting it grow tax free for decades?

The problem with a 401k is that the funds are relatively illiquid and that you have to make forced distributions starting at age 70 1/2. This can put you in a tax bracket in your 70s that has you paying a higher average tax rate than if you'd be payed your marginal tax rate today and then either paid no taxes later (if you keep it in the roth) or only capital gains (if you take it out of the roth and invest in some other vehicle). The thing I think that's missed in the article is that you have to pay state and local taxes when you do the Roth conversion. If you live in New York City that could kill the strategy. At the income level he assumes you have the total tax you'd pay would be 28% (federal) + 6.85% (state) + 3.268% (city!) for a total of 38.118%.

A better strategy would be to wait until you're income independent and then move to Florida and do the conversion there.