Thanks, guys! I like to think I've lived a good life. Both properties have more than doubled in market value, and the equity in two houses and the 401K has pretty much assured our future, as long as we continue to live within our means. We don't have many extra's living on a government pension, but we're where we want to be, and we got here sooner than we ever imagined (I turned 50 our first year here, and retired in may 2005 at age 55).
The wife does want to be near her aging parents in Kentucky, but so far she has been able to visit often enough to keep everyone happy. (At one point, I thought I was going to have to sell, some of you will remember!) I told her it's incentive to finish the plane.
Yeah, Hung, if someone had asked ME, I'd have said it's risky, and it was. The Old house sat empty for a year during remodeling, so I was making two mortgage payments on my blue collar income on overtime, plus buying materials and remodeling on weekends and evenings, and things got really tight for awhile! I didn't expect to retire early, and things tightened up again after that. That's one of the reasons why I have unfinished projects in the hangar. But, things are starting to loosen up again, and if I can stay healthy enough long enough, I should start getting some things done again.
Speaking of which, I had an ultrasound done today trying to get some problems diagnosed. They said "It's a boy!"
