Bond yields are getting to the point where I might be able to retire from my day job, and work on stuff that really matters. There are lots of A- and better corporate bonds with yields above 6%. Another fifteen months, and I get to collect a small state pension.
In some ideal world, there would be an organization prepared to pay me $1 a year and put me on their health insurance to work on the sort of legal research that I am really good at doing. But $1 a year and health insurance is apparently more than I am worth to the gun rights organizations.
You probably want to calculate what that health insurance costs and open a fund to raise it for yourself. That way you're still ok if there's a financial problem with some 501(c) that's helping you out and nobody can be pressured to cut you off. You should also look into a concierge practice so that your doctor has a sustainable business model too (pick one likely to retire after you won't need medical care anymore).
ReplyDeleteA good insurance person should be able to calculate what that figure is for you given your current age and health status.
I have thought about such a fund, but the details of how to create a 501(c) are complex, especially if there are a small number of people who receive benefits from that fund.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it likely that any 501(c) is going to find what I do valuable, anyway.
What is concierge practice?
Concierge practice, you can search for more information, but basically you pay a monthly fee for access to a doctor, and it includes a lot of stuff including a couple visits a year. A lot of concierge doctors will take calls outside of office hours, and will do things like home visits. Essentially, they are walking away from accepting insurance and possibly more importantly, the stilted medical billing system (that's what keeps them from doing phone consultations and the like, btw, because there's not billing codes for stuff like that.)
ReplyDeleteSee Wikipedia for a basic rundown.
Hi Clayton,
ReplyDeleteI did well on one of your bond recommendations back in 2007.
Mind doing it again?
thanks,
Terry
Terry: my recommendation is: not quite yet. We still have some room for yields to rise, which will depress prices.
ReplyDeleteThere's a reason why bonds are paying 6%: risk.
ReplyDeleteThe possibility of hyperfinflation still looms.
A lot of Big Money doesn't seem to think it will happen - all the holders of government fixed-return debt.
I wish I knew why. The U.S. cannot run $1T deficits forever. The Federal Reserve is creating huge amounts of new money to cover the deficits. Prices are going up in the stores. How long can the sword of Damocles dangle?
One thing I would not do is bet my future on monetary stability, such as assuming bond income will be sufficient long term.
I am aware of the risk. I have a couple of scenarios: one involves paying off the mortgage; the other does not.
ReplyDeleteI also work on the assumption that a return to the 1970s (or worse) can't last for more than 4-5 years without a revolution taking place, rendering all assumptions moot.
You don't need a 501(c) to set up what I was talking about. Go to an insurance agent that is independent and they can give you professional advice but Health Savings Account (HSA) is how I've been explained it.
ReplyDeleteYou essentially self-fund your normal health care and get a very cheap high deductible plan for a sort of reinsurance if something rare and catastrophic strikes you.
Insurance companies know how to price that risk and given a high enough balance in an HSA, the premiums are not that bad.