Retiring at 50

galway_blow_in said:
no problem , i can think of several ETF,s ( bonds , equity and REIT,s ) which pay on average 4% per anum , thats 40 k per anum in dividends gross and your capital can also grow
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Would you care to share your 4%-dividend-paying ETFs for the benefit of everyone?
 
Yes, l have been looking at America Sky's offerings and would hope to base my own trip on one of those. Best of luck with yours.
 
For me I need temperatures between 15 degrees and 23 degrees. The thoughts of South Africa or Thailand do not really appeal to me. They are to far away. If I could get these temperatures in the South of Spain I would be happy during January and February and March. Strangely the other side of Christmas is not really a problem for me. It's January, February and March .....and this year April that I dislike.
I also like the idea of 3 weeks away and then a weeks visit home (to check on things, family, bills, house etc) then back for another 3 weeks and so forth. By doing it this way I can choose a different location for each 3 week stint. Then explore the surrounding areas during each 3 weeks.
 
username123 said:
Would you care to share your 4%-dividend-paying ETFs for the benefit of everyone?
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vanguard long term corporate bond ( market cap of $1.5 billion )

vanguard REIT index ( market cap of $29 billion )

wisdom tree emerging markets ( market cap of $ 1.35 billion )

IUKD = ishares uk dividend fund ( market cap of £814 million )

city of london investment trust ( market cap of £ 1.22 billion )


on average , all of the above pay over 4% after costs
 

thailand is incredibly humid
 
galway_blow_in said:
it certainly would not pay you to buy , are you serious , you can rent an apartment for 350 euro per month ?
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I went to Albufeira in January for two weeks, booked a studio apartment from booking.com when we got there we got upgraded to a fab one bedroom over looking the shore for the same price. We ended up staying another week and the total cost came to approx €25 per night. I met Americans there and they told me that they got their apt for €350 for the month from a site called holidays.com or something similar. So yes you don't need loads of money to be able to afford to go off for a month or two during our cold/damp winters, just wish we could have more holidays so we could stay for longer. we have a while to go before retirement.
 
Galway-Blow seems surprised that you can rent an apartment for €350 per month during the off season. You can and you can even get an apartment cheaper if you do some more work. But, you will be charged for utilities (water, electricity, refuse, public lighting, community fees etc). So before you decide to jump on the first plane out of Dublin for Portugal or the Costas - Stop - Think - Ensure what you thought you were buying is what you bought. Play safe and do not look a gift horse in the mouth.

The biggest mistake some people make on wintering in Portugal/Spain is renting in a ghost town. These towns are flowing with activity during July and August and nearly shut down completely come October through to May. If there is no good public transport service you may need a car even for the weekly shopping.

The going rate in a non-ghost-town good resort is €650 per month + electricity cost (circa €100.00) for a good two bedroom apartment centrally located. All the services are nearby, supermarkets, shops, restaurants, public transport, wi-fi, beach, level walks etc. Don't scrimp and pay dearer later, know what you are buying.
 
Mainland Portugal isn't that warm during winter either, and as Leper has pointed out, it can be like a ghost-town.
 


ive no intention of moving to portugal for the winter months , its not an option for me , was just surprised it costs so little
 
Bronte said:
But was it warm enough? And of course flights are very reasonable especially as you can just pick a flight that is not at a peak costly time.
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Temperatures averaged around 17 or 18 degrees sometimes going up to 20 degrees. T-shirt weather during the day, needed a sweater in the evenings. Flights were incredible cheap. We had bright blue cloudless skies and long sunny days. The beaches were nearly deserted with mainly elderly people going for strolls. They come down from Northern Europe, Canada and America to spend four months there from October to late February. I used to come here with the kids when smaller but there is no comparison to what it is like in the winter time. Great if you just want to get away from the cold at home and enjoy a few quiet weeks away from the rat race and the non stop incessant media coverage of Irish Water . I intend to try Malta next winter!
 
Slim said:
I have a similar idea in mind for 2018. I am looking at California, Nevada, South Utah, driving the National parks and stopping in San Francisco and Las Vegas (briefly). Would you care to share your plans? Maybe a separate thread?
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Hiring a motorhome/RV is great for a long road trip if you would enjoy the lifestyle. Especially in the areas you mentioned. Accomadation wise it is not much cheaper than hotels and hire car but you get to see a different side of America, and meet lots of people at campsites. And the great advantage is you can cook your own food / make a cup of tea as and when you like. Eating out every night is tiring and expensive and you end up with a lot of fried food. For a long trip the food savings are significant.
 
That's an interesting suggestion and one I have considered previously. We used to own a motorhome and travelled extensively in Europe with it. For the US road trip, I think an RV would be too slow, hard to fuel and with a two or three week window, it would prevent us from completing the trip from LA - San Francisco - Yosemite - Death Valley - Las Vegas - Grand Canyon - South Utah/Arizona - fly back.

Can you tell us a bit more of your experience in that type of trip?
 

Have done 7 or 8 trips usually about 12 nights at a time. Typical mileage covered would be about 150m / day. Never found it slow but we weren't in a hurry. The roads are very good and wide unless climbing mountains so no real difference to car speeds. Bit awkward if in cities for parking so we tended to avoid. Most site seeing places have dedicated places for RV to park so no worry there. Always took a Class C MH so about 10 mpg ( USA gallon is smaller than ours) . But fuel is cheap anyway and big price variation on where you fill up. Generally need to pickup and drop off same place but one way is possible for a fee. Cruise America/Roadbear /El Monte the main renters but we have used most of the time as they give a better deal to oversea visitors than you get direct with the renter. Seasonality makes a big difference to price. We buy our own cheap basic cutlery etc on arrival in Walmart then throw away rather than paying rental fee for it. If from overseas can't pickup on day of arrival for safety due to jet lag. We would normally add 2 nights at the end or start, with a car and hotel.
Good choice of places to stay - County Parks ($10)/ State Parks($20) then private campgrounds like KOA and Yogi bear etc but more expensive, from ($30 to $50). I like the Sate Parks as a good balance.
 
I do think the RV holiday in the states is a great one with loads of places to stay like JoeRoberts has suggested and the freedom to come and go as you please is definitely a plus but I feel for the type of holiday that I'm planning and have done and Slim is thinking about, a car is more suitable especially when a big part of the trip would involve overnight stays in the big cities where a RV would be more of a hassle.
 
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