The Intersection of FIRE and Disney

[RamblingMad]

Pretty much what we are planning on. I am hoping I could pay out of pocket and send in for a reimbursement. It is what at least makes me consider COBRA for the first 18 months. There is a company/person that works specifically with RV families to find the best insurance based on what they feel they need and where they choose to domicile in. So I plan to talk to them this year.

Putting money in cash for the next year and taking a loan for the two purchases until we sell our house is the bigger worry to me. I hate loans, but I think it makes more sense to have cash to live off of so we might be able to qualify for a subsidy.

Having a loan is fine as long as you can service it, and its term is shorter than the life of the asset.

 

[RAL710]

Just found this thread under “new posts”. My family is about 2/3rds of the way to FI after maintaining a savings rate of about 50% the last 11+ years.

One of our splurges, however, is Disneyworld. We’ve gone at least once per year for the last 8 years. We bought into DVC about 5 years ago after discovering that 1) We loved staying on property and 2) It made financial sense -i.e. DVC would save us money in the long run. I think I calculated our break-even point at about 18 years.

In terms of healthcare, since we are at least 5 years from RE, I haven’t really looked into it because who knows what’s going to happen after the next election I just hope we have some good options when we do retire.

 

[RamblingMad]

In terms of healthcare, since we are at least 5 years from RE, I haven’t really looked into it because who knows what’s going to happen after the next election I just hope we have some good options when we do retire.

Nothing. We don’t expect the Senate to flip.

Assume no change in your planning. My SO exchange options have gotten progressively worse over the last five years. And her healthcare costs have gone up at least twice the rate of inflation. Her premiums went up about 6% over last year, and her deductible went up $500.

 

[MickeyMouseCD524]

Does anyone here invest with Fundrise? Do you like it for someone wanting to try real estate investing?

 

[RAL710]

Nothing. We don’t expect the Senate to flip.

Assume no change in your planning. My SO exchange options have gotten progressively worse over the last five years. And her healthcare costs have gone up at least twice the rate of inflation. Her premiums went up about 6% over last year, and her deductible went up $500.

Our fall back plan is for me to continue working half-time — we would be able to keep our current plan. But given what you said I may take a look at some of the possible plans for our family available on the exchanges

 

[RAL710]

Does anyone here invest with Fundrise? Do you like it for someone wanting to try real estate investing?

I have/had a small amount in Realtymogul and a site called alphaflow.com. If I had to do it all over again I would’ve probably just put the money in a REIT thru vanguard/fidelity/schwab.

 

[MickeyMouseCD524]

I have/had a small amount in Realtymogul and a site called alphaflow.com. If I had to do it all over again I would’ve probably just put the money in a REIT thru vanguard/fidelity/schwab.

We already have some money in a REIT but we had read that the dividend payout with Fundrise is better. And we're very into growing out dividend income right now haha.

 

[RamblingMad]

I have/had a small amount in Realtymogul and a site called alphaflow.com. If I had to do it all over again I would’ve probably just put the money in a REIT thru vanguard/fidelity/schwab.

That’s what I do. I’m in USRT, SCHH, and REET. I’m only in SCHH because I bought it before my broker went commission free for all trades. If I was doing this again, I’d just be in USRT and REET. I’m planning to add to REET on Friday.

 

[TreeFalls]

Does anyone here invest with Fundrise? Do you like it for someone wanting to try real estate investing?

I'm interested to hear as well, DH has brought this up a few times, but we don't know anyone else who has used it.

 

[RAL710]

We already have some money in a REIT but we had read that the dividend payout with Fundrise is better. And we're very into growing out dividend income right now haha.

i don’t know much about Fundrise but with realtymogul there is a high entry for most investments (usually $25k to $50k). I just closed a smaller investment ($12k) that “only” netted me 7.5%. I have another investment that is at about 6-8%.

For me, it was just too much work looking thru each of the investments and I am not real estate savvy.

And, there’s a lot more paperwork. Plus, you have to prove that you are an accredited investor. There seem to be new restrictions regarding this. I’m not crazy about some small company having all of my information. Maybe I’m paranoid, but if I was a hacker....that’s whom I would be targeting. Vanguard already has all my info.

the other site Alphaflow, just closed to individual investors and is going to just commercial investors.

edit: many of the investments offer 1031 exchanges so some of these investments might be very beneficial to some from a tax standpoint.

 

[RamblingMad]

Does anyone here invest with Fundrise? Do you like it for someone wanting to try real estate investing?

There are only two ways I’d invest in real estate. I’d go with an ETF like I mentioned above. Or I’d buy rental property through a real estate agent. My SO is interested in doing the later. Our preference is to spend money on stuff that generate cash flow.

 

[MickeyMouseCD524]

That’s what I do. I’m in USRT, SCHH, and REET. I’m only in SCHH because I bought it before my broker went commission free for all trades. If I was doing this again, I’d just be in USRT and REET. I’m planning to add to REET on Friday.

We own STOR and like it. I'll look at the others you mentioned.

i don’t know much about Fundrise but with realtymogul there is a high entry for most investments (usually $25k to $50k). I just closed a smaller investment ($12k) that “only” netted me 7.5%. I have another investment that is at about 6-8%.

For me, it was just too much work looking thru each of the investments and I am not real estate savvy.

And, there’s a lot more paperwork. Plus, you have to prove that you are an accredited investor. There seem to be new restrictions regarding this. I’m not crazy about some small company having all of my information. Maybe I’m paranoid, but if I was a hacker....that’s whom I would be targeting. Vanguard already has all my info.

the other site Alphaflow, just closed to individual investors and is going to just commercial investors

The research I've done shows that the minimum investment for Fundrise is $500 and you don't need to be accredited which is part of the reason it appeals to us. We're just hoping to find another investment with higher dividends. We're currently not in a position to buy a rental property so that's out. And Fundrise had come recommended on a few different websites.

 

[RamblingMad]

The research I've done shows that the minimum investment for Fundrise is $500 and you don't need to be accredited which is part of the reason it appeals to us. We're just hoping to find another investment with higher dividends. We're currently not in a position to buy a rental property so that's out. And Fundrise had come recommended on a few different websites.

For dividends I like UNH, BX, and bank preferred stock under par. My REITs are pretty good, but the tax treatment isn’t as good. For safety I stick with CDs up to $250k and then I buy short term Treasuries less than a year at auction, not via ETFs. For risk I like VOO and QQQ. My middle ground is BRK.

I don’t want to risk being scammed and ending up on an episode of American Greed. I’ll stick to regulated securities.

 

[RAL710]

For dividends I like UNH, BX, and bank preferred stock under par. My REITs are pretty good, but the tax treatment isn’t as good. For safety I stick with CDs up to $250k and then I buy short term Treasuries less than a year at auction, not via ETFs. For risk I like VOO and QQQ. My middle ground is BRK.

I don’t want to risk being scammed and ending up on an episode of American Greed. I’ll stick to regulated securities.

how do you buy treasuries at auction? Is there a beginners guide to this?

 

[RamblingMad]

how do you buy treasuries at auction? Is there a beginners guide to this?

Yep. Two ways that I know of. I can put an auction trade order in with my broker once it’s been announced. Or you can use Treasurydirect.gov. That’s what my parents use, and that’s where I get my auction calendar from to figure out announcement dates. I can’t place an order until the auction had been announced.

 

[AlohaNow]

Finding insurance that covers us nationwide until we hit medicare is tricky.

It is tricky, but it can be done, though probably not through your state's exchange. We have purchased our health insurance directly from BC/BS for the past 13 years. Before the ACA and before the advent of the exchanges. We purchased it when we lived in MD and have kept it through moving to HI then CO. While we are outside of MD we are on what they call 'Blue Card' and have had no problems finding doctors, having surgery, etc. As long as we pay that premium every month that insurance is ours no matter where we live in the US. Until our group gets so small that it gets cancelled, which is a whole other story.....

 

[nkmorgan87]

Hello,

I've been a long time lurker of this thread and wanted to say thank you for inspiring me to budget better and pay attention to personal finance. I'm not even close to having the savings rates as people here have but one day I hope to get there

My wife and I have started to look into DVC. I wanted to ask the question of those pursuing FIRE, do you think DVC makes sense?

Right now it is me and my wife we are both 28. We have a daughter on the way due in April.

We DO NOT have the money to buy DVC upfront and would have to finance. This point seems to be where most people say don't do it as the financing charges nullify any savings from DVC

Any advice is appreciated !

thanks for the community here

 

[MickeyMouseCD524]

Hello,

I've been a long time lurker of this thread and wanted to say thank you for inspiring me to budget better and pay attention to personal finance. I'm not even close to having the savings rates as people here have but one day I hope to get there

My wife and I have started to look into DVC. I wanted to ask the question of those pursuing FIRE, do you think DVC makes sense?

Right now it is me and my wife we are both 28. We have a daughter on the way due in April.

We DO NOT have the money to buy DVC upfront and would have to finance. This point seems to be where most people say don't do it as the financing charges nullify any savings from DVC

Any advice is appreciated !

thanks for the community here

We have DVC! We could have paid the whole thing in cash up front but that made both DH and I nervous. We have an e-fund but parting with a large sum like that all at once scares me a little too much. We decided to open up a CC with a 0% interest promotion and put the cost on that and float it for a few months. It worked out well for us. Paid all off during the 15 month promo period. Got lots of points. And never paid a penny of the interest. So if you could do something like that I would say go for it. If not maybe wait a year or two before you decide to buy in.

 

[Mome Rath]

This is just my opinion; but I definitely would not do DVC. I think, from what you've said here, that you'll want to really get your financial picture in place and begin budgeting and saving more while you avoid going into debt. You don't want your vacations to become an anchor keeping you from meeting financial goals (and as a personal philosophy, I would never go into debt for vacations, regardless of interest rate).

The other aspect is to really dig into DVC and its rules, its break even point (where and how you actually save money, if ever), and its fees and how much they raise per year. It's Disney, but still a timeshare... and timeshares usually aren't the way to go from a purely financial POV.

 

[RamblingMad]

This is just my opinion; but I definitely would not do DVC. I think, from what you've said here, that you'll want to really get your financial picture in place and begin budgeting and saving more while you avoid going into debt. You don't want your vacations to become an anchor keeping you from meeting financial goals (and as a personal philosophy, I would never go into debt for vacations, regardless of interest rate).

The other aspect is to really dig into DVC and its rules, its break even point (where and how you actually save money, if ever), and its fees and how much they raise per year. It's Disney, but still a timeshare... and timeshares usually aren't the way to go from a purely financial POV.

I can’t get the math to work for me for DVC. I don’t go to Disney enough. And the dues alone are a vacation for me.