Venue for April 25 - Oaklawn again

[JolyB]

Originally Posted by cal828

Speaking of comparing taxes(and other expenses), I was reading last night about a young couple that retired in their 30s and moved to Arizona and are living off their investments which totaled about a million dollars. After the Covid sell-off they had lost about $232k, but said they would be staying the course which is probably best, I think. Anyway, there was in indication of their expenses and what I thought was amazing was what they reported spending on insurance which was $170 a month for 2 cars and their home. That seemed crazy low to me. I pay about $170 for my house alone and probably 2 and half times that for my cars, but I have one more car than them. One thing that might have something to do with it though was they live in the middle of the desert where not much grows except creosote bushes so maybe they get a break because not much danger of fire or water damage as that is a scarce commodity in the desert. Here in Arkansas, the danger to your house is fire, which destroys it quickly or water, which destroys it slowly or of course, the occasional tornado, which I am guessing is probably a very rare, if unheard event in the desert.

This is way off topic, but I wanted to reply to your observations. That insurance number is much lower than I have experienced also - although the liability component of auto insurance up here is very expensive, and in this litigious world it is essential to have liability coverage that is greater than the state's minimum requirements.

I'd love to read the article you referred to so that I could understand how that young retired couple makes their budget work. The nest egg is impressive until you consider just how long it needs to last. I assume that they don't have children and don't plan on having any. Even so, financial planners often suggest that your annual expenditures should not exceed 4% of your nest egg, but I think that is for retirees in their 60's, not retirees in their 30's. Perhaps they are in an area with low property taxes and they may reduce utility expenses with solar power from the Arizona sun and be otherwise self-sufficient. The cost of health insurance must take a very sizeable chunk of their budget, and it will continue to increase as they get older.