Out of curiosity, i decided to test this tool by looking at portfolio balance at the end of each month. For simplicity, 100% cash,  0% inflation,  0% growth on cash  Final Value target=0% Let's say portfolio is 120k and i want to deplete this to zero in 120 months (10 yrs) I am thinking my SWR = $1k/month But the calculator shows 4.46% with a safe withdraw of $446/m and at end of 120m i have $66,524 left (i was expecting this to be 0) The portfolio balance at the end of every month = (previous month balance-$446) What may i be doing wrong? thanks for any feedback jim ..read more

Our current forum is being inundated with 100,000s of spam account applications, and legit users can't sign up anymore. So, please head over here: https://earlyretirementnow.com/forum-3/ Thanks! Happy New Year ..read more

Our current forum is being inundated with 100,000s of spam account applications, and legit users can't sign up anymore. So, please head over here: https://earlyretirementnow.com/forum-3/ Thanks! Happy New Year ..read more

Our current forum is being inundated with 100,000s of spam account applications, and legit users can't sign up anymore. So, please head over here: https://earlyretirementnow.com/forum-3/ Thanks! Happy New Year ..read more

Since the year is drawing to a close, I am reviewing my finances for the year. Naturally, I want to see how well I did trading options. I am pretty much exactly following Big ERN's strategy of options trading throughout the whole year with a small number of periods of interruption due to vacation. I re-read the Part 3 article (https://earlyretirementnow.com/2019/03/27/passive-income-through-option-writing-part-3/) where there was a chart showing how much net profit he kept for every $100 of gross put option premium. My own figure this year is only $11. That's worse than every single year ..read more

What are your thoughts on holding JEPI, or a similar type fund, instead of or in addition to bond funds?  It hasn't been around that long but it has shown to outperform in flat or declining markets which is what many think we will be dealing with for the next few years.  It does this partially by writing calls as part of its investment strategy.  By doing this it limits the upside, but also the downside.  Isn't that what we look for from our bond allocation but could a fund like this do it better or at least similarly while providing additional diversification?  The ex ..read more

What is the difference between SPX and /ES (E-mini S&P)? Currently SPX is trading around 3904 and /ES is trading around 3935. However, when I look at a particular contract, the premiums are similar for the same strike/expiration date. Wouldn't it make more sense to trade /ES instead of SPX since there is more buffer? What am I missing? Thanks ..read more

I was comparing my beloved VTSAX to BRK-B after noticing Berkshire has outperformed the market in the past 12 months.  VTSAX has a better record over the past 24 months though and that got me thinking, would a 40% VTSAX/40% BRK-B/20% Bond Portfolio outperform a typical 80/20 portfolio?  The obvious problems here are there isn't enough historical data on Berkshire to backtest it properly and Berkshire may look and perform much differently in 10 years when it will likely be under new management.  Despite all of that, any thoughts on this allocation ..read more

I noticed that annuities are now yielding almost 6%. A 45 y/o male, for example can buy a 5.63% lifetime stream of income plus 10 years after his death for his beneficiaries. If he delays income for 2 years, that becomes 5.87%, and of course the payout goes up from there. I suspect these payouts will be even higher by 2Q 2023. It seems annuities could reduce SORR by fixing some percentage of one's income and protecting one against the risk of having to reinvest their bond AA at lower rates someday in the future. In a Japanification scenario, this could save one's retirement. I will try enterin ..read more

Take a look at this 33/33/33 investment strategy.  It appears farmland investment can create a better-performing, less volatile portfolio.  Thinking this asset class hasn't been around long so not much opportunity to back-test it ..read more