109R | Big ERN from Early Retirement Now joins the show to talk about the current market climate: How is it impacting investors, who could benefit, and what markers he uses to evaluate its actual condition? We also share a voicemail from Abby, who provides a few more helpful hints for teaching abroad. Highlights from the show: Brad maxed out his HSA for 2019, and talks about how he’s prioritizing fitness. Easy choices, hard life. Hard choices, easy life. Preview of who will be at the coming CampFI that Brad plans to attend. Review of Monday’s episode about teaching abroad, and the wide variety of opportunities available. A voicemail from Abby H., who is currently teaching in China and has experience in several other countries as well. Abby tried teaching in Kuwait, but found that despite a high salary the cost of living was also extremely high. Suggestions from Abby: Don’t just look for jobs in the Middle East, or other “high salary” locations. Try negotiating your salary/benefits offer. Look for options that don’t require purchasing a car. How did Rob and Scott, from Monday’s episode, replace fear with flexibility in each of their lives? Big ERN joins the show to talk about the current market situation: What is “sequence of returns” risk, and why does it matter? Under the assumption that the great recession or the dot-com bust will not repeat, Big ERN thinks it’s too early to worry about the current market climate. The 4% rule isn’t as untouchable as people think. With a small market downturn, it’s possible that some people will need to draw as much as 5%. If someone’s portfolio decreased this year, should they work a few more years to rebuild it, or count on the market recovering? If someone is still many years away from retirement, they shouldn’t worry too much about the market, and might actually be benefit from low stock prices. If you have a 50% or higher savings rate, you are going succeed financially, regardless of this drop in the market. The U.S. economy is still strong, so the value of the market isn’t necessarily going down – the price is just down. If someone has a sum of money ready to invest, should they invest it all at once, or employ “dollar-cost averaging”? Who should be concerned about the market and what should they be looking for? Look at the fundamentals of the U.S. economy to evaluate the conditions of the market. Big ERN just retired. His family is just settling in to a new house in Washington. Links: ChooseFI Local Groups are helping to build on-the-ground community TeachAway Early Retirement Now