Author Topic: At what age you are FIRE'd / planning to FIRE and when did you hear about FIRE?  (Read 29190 times)

MonkeyJenga

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1. Firebattical at 31, again at 33, and might be going back to work soon.

2. First heard about the idea at 12/13. It wasn't called early retirement, and there wasn't a community, just a rich dude who flung off his earthly possessions and traveled the world writing about the underground economies of the countries he visited.

Read ymoyl at 28, which led to mmm/ere/bogleheads.

3. My main goals were travel, activism, and visiting friends. They've shifted after doing that for a while. Now it's long-term relationships, mental health, and charity/activism.
And wearing pants ;-). The nice thing about FIREing early is that your plans (and life) can be constantly evolving to embrace new things and experiences that you may not have the opportunity to engage in when working a job you need to support yourself.  Your life when FIRE isn't any more set in stone for life then it is when job dependent. Even less so.

Pajama pants these days!

Missy B

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I learned about FIRE at 10 years old, when I calculated how quickly my money would double in my savings account, which was then at 10% interest. (I'm old.)
I didn't know how much money it took to live at that time, but it struck me that  if I spent less than I made, and saved it all in my savings account at 10% compound interest, that some day I could live off the interest. And then I wouldn't have to work. Not that I hated the idea of working, but the idea of *not having* to do something had quite a bit of appeal.

But not retired yet.


DocToDisco

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1. At what age did you FIRE'd or planning to FIRE?

I F.I.R.E.'ed at age 47.

2. When did you hear about FIRE and started planning for it?

I heard about F.I.R.E. through YNAB maybe about 6 or 7 years ago.  Didn't pay much attention.  But when my work became unbearable, I searched the web which led me to ChooseF.I. around 2017.  I crunched the numbers and I was already regular F.I.  So, I worked for two more years and F.I.R.E.'ed - no regrets!

3. Top 3 goals
- lost ~15 lbs, trying to maintain a healthy diet now that the weight is off
- getting my work/stress-related health issues managed
- cultivating close but neglected relationships

Fishindude

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Checked out of the workforce and got away from a paycheck a few years ago at 57.   Still serve on board of directors of a company which requires a day or two per month and play around doing farm work.
Never heard of FIRE untils reading a few forums like this, but certainly understood early retirement.

My goals are just continuing to do all the fun things we do; lots of hunting and fishing trips, vacation travel, spending time at our other properties, playing around the farms, enjoying the kids and grandkids, trying to stay healthy.   I like not living to a schedule and taking off and doing things rather spontaneously, without plans.   

friedmmj

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Planning to FIRE shortly after 55th birthday.  Been planning it for about 8 years now.  Been counting the days for most of that 8 years.

LaserCat

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1. At what age did you FIRE'd or planning to FIRE?  47-49ish, I'm working a well paying job now and I'm planning on doing that for the next 3 years saving as much as I can.  Then graduate school, and letting my funds just grow without me adding anything or taking anything out.   Then I am switching to a new career, that pays less, but is more rewarding.  I should have enough stashed then that I can choose to work full time or part time, so that will give me some flexibility. I doubt I would have the funds to not work at all (or it would be very tight), but that's not the plan for me anyways. 

2. When did you hear about FIRE and started planning for it?  in 2014 I heard about FIRE, but I didn't really understand what I was supposed to do and why that was a benefit.  Being frugal by nature, I had more money coming in that I could spend,  I just didn't know what to do with it.  By 2016 it all started to make sense, I read YMOYL and started my wallchart and started tracking, then MMM and I started with Betterment (that's when it dawned on me that I could make money without doing anything), after about 6 months of Betterment I switched to Vanguard.  Then I got a well paying job that I hated, and that kicked my butt in gear, as I began to realize that the profession I chose in my 20s was not something I wanted to do for the rest of my life.  I would have normally just focused on making loads of money until I retired, but once I started to pursue my passion outside of work, I decided that I wanted to make a career shift instead when I am able.   It definitely took me awhile to figure out what that new career shift would be though, I spent years in "I hate my work but I don't know what else to do" mode.

3. Top 3 goals
Buy a house for once, or better yet, buy land, design and build my own house and huge garden with fruit trees.  I've been a renter up to this point, and I'm in my 40s  (I am so sick of sharing walls with other people)
Make a difference in the lives of people and the planet. 
Learn, learn, learn  (I'm someone who would have been a perpetual student if I could afford it)

and as another poster said "Do all of this without rushing!"
« Last Edit: October 17, 2020, 05:11:34 PM by LaserCat »

Steeze

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1. Planned on FIRE age 42 originally (2030) but now I think I’ll pull the plug closer to 39 in 2026/2027 when I hit FI. From there I will work for myself part time at least until my kids are out of the house - but I’m thinking 8-12 hours a week initially. Kids should be out of the house when I am mid to late 50s. Have my first on the way this spring.

2. Heard of FIRE/MMM in 2016 when reading about the stock market, kept seeing articles which referenced MMM and started reading the blog - I was about to payoff $100k in student loans in 2018 and was looking at what the next steps were. I knew nothing about the stock market and only had a few grand in my 401k. I started maxing all my retirement accounts in 2017 and hit 0 net worth in April 2018.

3a. Be a role model for my kids, help them create an honest life and be educated
3b. Take care of my parents and in-laws as they age, provide for my parent’s retirement
3c. Take care of my wife, make sure she achieves her goals/dreams an is comfortable
3d. For me: Snowboard trips to Alaska, Japan, the Alps, and Chili, homestead, design my own home, manage rentals & build up a portfolio, build an indoor skatepark, learn piano & Chinese, travel slowly and extensively, learn to surf, catch 10,000 sunsets, see the northern lights, drive a Porsche at a track a few times.

If I can do all of that I can die without regret.

rae09

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1. At what age did you FIRE'd or planning to FIRE? Shortly before my 39th birthday.

2. When did you hear about FIRE and started planning for it? About 12 years ago. I've always been a saver but not much an investor. So, I changed my strategy, took on more risk, be more active in getting higher paying jobs.

3. Top 3 goals
- Be a better person mentally, emotionally, physically every single day. Get out of my comfort zone.
- Spend more time with loved ones.
- Fix my personal/mostly childhood issues that I still carry on to this date.

time is money

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1. At what age did you FIRE'd or planning to FIRE? Plan is 5 years from now. I will be 42. My wife 36

2. When did you hear about FIRE and started planning for it? Heard about it about 2 years ago. I was quite fed up with work and just told myself - can't do this til age of 65. It was actually MMM site that I bumped into at that moment. It took a while to read through the blog posts and getting familiar with the concept and maths. Properly with monthly investments started to focus on the plan just from March this year.

3. Top 3 goals

- First of all I am excited and looking forward about living the life with not spending 9 hours daily in office chair
- Change of lifestyle - spend more time outdoors, camping, kayaking, travel, gardening, fishing etc
- Spend more time with family and friends. I am living in a different country now, meeting parents and sister only once a year or so. I will retire in my home country - therefore hoping to spend more time with them and meet them more frequently than now.

Mrs. Healthywealth

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1. Just became FI, but will FIRE mid to late 2021 to ensure DW can FIRE too and we have a large buffer.
2. Heard about FIRE think in 2011 or 2012 when reading extreme retirement blog and MMM. We changed course this year by purchasing rentals and that slashed our Fat FIRE from 4-5 yrs to less than a year.
3. Focus on well-being (health, meditation), learn to have leisure time, pick up skills-guitar, building a house, etc. I’m not planning to retire to something, just figuring out where life takes me, and being ok with that.

FireBob7

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1. At what age did you FIRE'd or planning to FIRE?   Fired and FIRED at 43. 
2. When did you hear about FIRE and started planning for it?   2014
3. Top 3 goals

Diet and Exercise
Learn Spanish
Latin Dance

deborah

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1. At what age did you FIRE'd or planning to FIRE?

FIREd at 53

2. When did you hear about FIRE and started planning for it?

Learnt about FIRE at 57 when I found MMM. I guess I started planning for retirement at about 50. It had never dawned on me that you could retire early. We have superannuation instead of a 401k, and the superannuation companies run free seminars about the ones you’re in. I was keen to learn about them, and I talked to the presenters to find out more. At one of them, there was a financial planner in the audience, unrelated to the company, but the presenter told us he was there. He told me I could retire tomorrow. It took me three years to convince myself that I could.

3. Top 3 goals
- Be happy. Enjoy life and leave the world a bit better.
- Learn. Satisfy my curiosity, and become skilled.
- Interact. Create and maintain friendships, be part of my community, and have satisfying relationships.

fraylock

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1. At what age did you FIRE'd or planning to FIRE?   Goal of coast FIRE ~2025 and then fat FIRE 10-15 years later
2. When did you hear about FIRE and started planning for it? 2018 
3. Top 3 goals

Live abroad seasonally
Practice medicine in volunteer capacity (no more answering to corporate structure or insurance companies)
Be more present with with my wife/kids/family/friends

Much Fishing to Do

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1. At what age did you FIRE'd or planning to FIRE?   Went from 60/hr weeks to 20 hr/wks (which is enough to cover current expenses) at 47.  Will likely pull the plug completely at 50 (except for my school crossing guard job that I love, will likely do that for as long as I can).
2. When did you hear about FIRE and started planning for it? Planned for it at 30, well before I ever heard of the term, as I was having to spend a lot of time away from my family (basically just home on weekends) working in chunks of time but making plenty to then take off chunks of time if we kept our spending reasonable (like 3 months on, 2 months off, and the less we spent the longer the time off).  Really helped me divide income from expenses which was important for me to understand.  Occurred to me this all seemed possible on a grander scale, lifelong.  As my circumstances and growing nest egg allowed me to take bigger risks, I was able to work from home, and then the RE part was no longer so important, but the ideas had been planted.
3. Top 3 goals - That's a tough one and that it is is probably why I haven't pulled the trigger yet.


Metalcat

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1. At what age did you FIRE'd or planning to FIRE?

-I had to medically retired at 38, had I been able to continue working full time, I would have hit FI by early 40s

2. When did you hear about FIRE and started planning for it?

-I heard about FIRE not long after I finished school in my early 30s.

3. Top 3 goals

-My goals haven't changed just because I'm not working, but they are always in flux as I'm always taking on new things. I don't really have a 'Top 3 goals' as such, just an overall goal to live a really rich and fulfilling life no matter what the circumstances.

FLBiker

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1) We hit our FI number this year (1.2M) but just moved to Canada from the US so I want to see a year's worth of expenses.  I'm 44, DW is 40.
2) I don't know when I found MMM, but I've always been very frugal / invest-y (since high school, if not younger).  I spent my 20's living in Asia (frugally, but not making much of anything) and DW came to the relationship with some debt, so we kind of started in our 30's.
3) I don't really think in terms of goals, but since you asked: be a good dad and husband, grow a significant portion of my own food, meditate daily and go on retreats.

Ishmael

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1) Somewhere between the age of 50-53, which is not very far in the future NW is currently ~1.6m, and should be around 2m when I pull the plug. Wife early retired a couple of years ago, which has made my working easier as I have less to deal with.

2) My Dad had retired at 52, and impressed upon me the magical nature of compound interest, so I started investing soon after I got a real job. I discovered MMM around 2013?, when I was at a job that didn't suit me well, but was "too good to give up". I was aiming for LeanFIRE ASAP.

Luckily, without intending to take chances, I happened to invest in some things that have consistently beat the market over a long time frame (Apple, Google, Cdn Banks, etc). I was trying to pick stocks and build a portfolio of good companies, and just got lucky. My returns for the past few years have been:
  • 2013: 21.1%
  • 2014: 26.7%
  • 2015: 9.3%
  • 2016: 13.1%
  • 2017: 11.8%
  • 2018: -3.7%
  • 2019: 27.7%
  • 2020: 28.3%
Then, just as I hit my LeanFIRE number (about 3 years ago), I finally got a job where I had been trying to get hired at for a few years. I definitely wanted to give it a try, and ended up liking it pretty good - even better than I expected to. Working because I was choosing to, and not because I have to, makes a big difference, in addition to the job itself just being way more interesting. So the LeanFIRE goal has turned into FatFIRE, and the combination of a) kind of liking my job (as much as I believe it's possible to do so, anyway); b) logistics of kids in school; and c) nice amount of vacation time means I'll stick with it until my eldest graduates high school.

3) Goals... I guess I try to be a good husband to my wife (almost 25 years!) and Dad to my kids, and follow the Dalai Lama's simple advice: "If you can, help others. If you can't, at least do not hurt anyone." I guess I want to expand my circle of friends slightly, but that's on pause until this pandemic is over. I also want to do some of the travelling that we never seemed to get around to doing. Our dream now includes a camper van, with a lot of time in it seeing other places in Canada, and also global sights. We had a plan to finally do a family trip to Europe in 2020, but that got COVIDed. A long journey seeing the sights in New Zealand would be pretty awesome, too. Finally get into meditation, take some more time for my health and hobbies.

Evgenia

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1. At what age did you FIRE'd or planning to FIRE?

38, which was mid 2015.

2. When did you hear about FIRE and started planning for it?

I first heard of the concept in Your Money or Your Life, which I came across somehow (maybe Oprah, maybe the copy sitting around at my grandparents' house?) in the mid 1990s. I started saving in earnest as a college student in 1998 (I worked full time and attended school full time as my parents had no money), to get the free 401(k) match money). I heard of FIRE 10 years ago. Until then, I had never associated the idea of retiring early with my blue-collar-born self. Who could conceive of not working?!

3. Top 3 goals

Spend as much time with my husband and dog (preferably outside) as possible. Continue doing what I'm doing, all of which I love. Never have another job interview.

anni

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1. I want to be FI by 30-31 but don't currently plan to RE, at least not fully, I just want to start working weirder/less stable/seasonal jobs or start a small business that involves one of my hobbies. I'm about 1/5 of the way there!
2. I first learned about FIRE from the MMM blog by accident when I was 18 and it directly led to me going to grad school at 20 to pursue my current career, so shoutout to MMM.
3. My first goal has always just been to not be worried about money, to really be able to take care of myself and friends in need. Otherwise I just want to spend really good quality time with my loved ones for as long as I have them, and keep my mind and body active and healthy for as long as that's in the cards.

Abe Froman

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1. At what age did you FIRE'd or planning to FIRE?

I am currently FIREing at the ripe old age of 46. My goal was to beat 50.

2. When did you hear about FIRE and started planning for it?

I think I heard about it somewhere in 2016. I started planning for it in 2017-ish - but already had a plan for a stash by that time. I mostly was savign hard for something - but did not know the goal of FIRE until I started reading through this MMM forum and all the links (blogs/calcs/dreams) shared.

3. Top 3 goals

Be OK with lingering in boredom for once, appreciating a slower life - and living in the moment with my wife and kids.
Spending time with my pre-teens before they run to their HS/College friends.
Sail down the East Coast to FL, maybe the islands.

sideways

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Planned for age 40, and now I'm 40, and I did it. Still reeling.

My goals are:

1. Spend more time with the kids while they still want to spend time with me
2. Catch up on my open source software hobbies
3. Study physics with the goal of understanding electroweak symmetry breaking

Physics is a terrible career but a wonderful topic, I will re-enroll in college (nearby state university) to learn this stuff.

Malee55

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Planning on retiring this year so I will be 55.

I first found MMM about 4 years ago but had no intention of retiring early as I loved my job and found it very self fulfilling. I am just naturally relatively frugal so we are financially able to stop work.

3 goals are 1 not work
                 2 socialize more
                 3 get more exercise and get fitter so I am healthy as I get older.

Maenad

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While going through different topics, got a thought to check the following..

1. At what age did you FIRE'd or planning to FIRE?
2. When did you hear about FIRE and started planning for it?
3. Top 3 goals

1. FIREd a year ago at age 45.

2. Heard about it from John Greaney's Retire Early Home Page and the associated Motley Fool message board in 1998. Told DH and we started planning immediately.

3. a. Lose weight - almost done, the pandemic stress had me going in the wrong direction my first 6 months of retirement.
    b. Help my parents more - going well, they need it and I'm glad to do it.
    c. Catch up on house projects and revamp our yard - eh, still working on that one.


MishMash

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I FIRED 3 years ago at 35, didn’t mean to, I quit a terrible job with the intention of getting another one but taking a few months to get overdue medical stuff taken care of, and three years and three spinal surgeries later, I’m still without a job and not employable in my old field anymore.  Thankfully I was paid very well in my 12 years of working and we never spent a dime of my salary, because you never know what could happen.

 DH was working until he hit 20 in the military which is this year.  This secures pension and the biggie...medical for life. 

Goals, finish recovering from surgery number 3, which was excruciatingly painful and doesn’t appear to have helped at all so far

2. Come to terms with my new limitations, which I must say is taking a bad mental toll on me

3.  Try to find new things that I enjoy that don’t involve bending over or lifting over 10lbs, and try to exercise more, which is difficult with the pain level and loosing feeling in my feet. 

FIREby35

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1. When did I hear about FIRE start planning for it? April 13, 2013 in the Washington Post; https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/meet-mr-money-mustache-the-man-who-retired-at-30/2013/04/26/71e3e6a8-acf3-11e2-a8b9-2a63d75b5459_story.html That was a lightening bolt for me.

2. At What age did you FIRE or planning to FIRE? I was 28  when I read that. I had been practicing law for two years. I made the goal to retire at 35. In the end, the power of being financially independent enabled me to practice law solo and for clients and causes I wanted. By the time I hit 35, I was winding down a significant part of my law practice to focus on jury trial work exclusively. I reduced the size of my practice big-time. But, since I have so much control over what I do and who I do it for, I no longer feel the need to "retire." I'm just living and working on my terms now.

3. Top 3 Goals: In truth, I achieved so many things, I'm trying to move past achievements and goals and focus on what's right in front of me. If I gained freedom from money worries from MMM, I also gained freedom from chasing worldly achievements/goals. But, I'm an active person. I garden, play music, write, run community activities, engage in civic/government activism. I've got three small kids, a wife, a dog, the whole show. But, thanks to MMM and the money advice, I don't have to worry about money and just try to fill as many roles as I can for as many people as I can. It's awesome to be able to empower others to get stuff done by offering free legal advice, a few hundred bucks and some encouragement.

Laserjet3051

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1. First Heard about FIRE at age 46. Starting planning for it at age 47.

2. Love my career but hate the power these assinine employers have over us and their twisted politics. Planning to be FI ASAP. Planning to fully RE in the 65-67 age range. Possibly semi-RE as early as 62.

3. Top goals are stay healthy and engaged in my pursuits. Work towards FI/stay employed. Get kids through college and no longer be financially dependent on parents (us).

BlueHouse

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1. At what age did you FIRE'd or planning to FIRE?

FIREd at 53.   (5 weeks ago).  I was planning to go one more year into 2022, but I got there early and I just didn't want to work anymore.

2. When did you hear about FIRE and started planning for it?

First heard of the FIRE movement in 2013/2014.  I had just bought a big house in a HCOL area and was panicking about what that meant to my financial future.  I assumed I'd be working until age 74.  Then I learned I had options just by paying attention to what I spent.

3. Top 3 goals

Just want to live a good life.  good = good to myself and to others.

anotherAlias

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1.  I'm 45 and will be officially retired tomorrow.
2.  I first heard about FIRE about 20 years ago when I read an article about the Kaderli's.  At first I thought it was nuts but then as I read more about finances and retiring early, I slowly realized it was possible for me.
3.  Goals?  stay healthy, have fun, and enjoy my family

itchyfeet

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1. Will FIRE next year aged 50.

2. Have always been sensible with my money. Always worked hard to be able to enjoy life, travelling the world and splurging on good times.. but also always had one eye on my growing stash.

At around 40 I became a bit disillusioned  that I had achieved enough from my career and turned my eye to post work. I started tracking my costs and building spreadsheets. At that time I had in mind I would want a house worth $500K and $80K a year spending, which I thought would require me saving $1.6M, so I thought I was targeting a total net worth of $2.1m by 50. At that time I had a bit over $1M NW.

At about 42 I started reading about early retirement and doing my homework to check amd fine tune my plans. First I came across ERE, then bogleheads and finally MMM. I learnt so much!

At 43 I managed to secure a job in the Middle East. The move revitalised me work wise.... for a while. Haha.

Since 43 I have been grappling with “how much is enough”. My post FIRE spending ambitions have grown significantly over the past 10 years as my NW has grown. In particular in FIRE we are now looking at buying a home worth $1.5M AUD+ rather than $500K and when I FIRE at 50 my net worth will be well north of double what I thought I was aiming for 10 years ago.

3. Goals...hmmmm.

  1. I want to be there for my family when they need me. Especially my parents (I want the time to help them in their final years with whatever they need to be comfortable) and my nieces and nephews. I don’t have my own kids but would like to make a meaningful, potentially financial, contribution for my nieces and nephews to get them set in life. Potentially pay their university tuition or provide a deposit for their first house. Maybe just be a mentor to them when they need some perspectives. I’ve made plenty of mistakes, and come out pretty unbruised.

  2. Tackle the great hikes in the world before I’m too old. My knees are already stiff. I don’t want to leave it to much longer to regain my fitness and to explore the worlds mountains and national parks. I used to want to hike the PCT but 4 months is to big a chunk of the limited time remaining when there are so many different hikes across the world. Now my ambition is limited to hikes between 1 day and maybe 30 days duration.

  3. I don’t want to stop using my brain post FIRE. I am not yet sure what “using my brain” post FIRE looks like, but I am considering going back to school and maybe studying something intellectually stimulating, with no aim to make a career from it. Maybe anthropology, or history or architecture or zoology or botany....I don’t know. Maybe I’ll just read and not do anything formal.

  4. I’d like to tinker with a car and be part of a club. I am trying to decide whether I’ll go the classic car route or the off road 4x4 route Maybe both.

boarder42

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2014 - 27 years old
Will fire early 2022 35 years old.
Goals
Teach personal finance
Travel
Be there for all my kids activities

2Birds1Stone

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FIRE'd at 32
Discovered the early retirement community in 2012 at 25
Started planning and getting serious in 2014 at 27

relapsed into work and now targeting June of 2023 (Age 36).....failure at its finest.

boarder42

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FIRE'd at 32
Discovered the early retirement community in 2012 at 25
Started planning and getting serious in 2014 at 27

relapsed into work and now targeting June of 2023 (Age 36).....failure at its finest.

Relapsed for monetary reasons or something too do

2Birds1Stone

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Relapsed for monetary reasons or something too do

When I discovered FI/RE, I was in one-player mode. Got married shortly after pulling the plug in 2019. That changed the numbers quite a bit for us to be FI as a household. So a little of both, since we could probably wing it with a little PT/Seasonal/Sporadic work, along with geoarbitrage. Learned some important lessons over the past year though (especially with short term rentals being sucked dry in the USA this spring/summer), and landing in a not so nice area due to costs last month, Myrtle Murder Beach.

Abe

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Plan to be FI in three years (age 38) but no current plans to retire. Maybe age 50? Probably will work part-time in research for another 10 years after, or until they think my ideas are stale. That may just end being a hobby if they don’t want to pay me.

My wife may retire sooner (she’s working part time already).

Heard about this site 7 years ago roughly, but had planned on being financially independent since my first job at age 17.


luckyme13

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I'll FIRE next year at age 47/48

I read Your Money or Your Life at age 28 and it solidified my goal of saving as much as possible so I could gain my freedom.  I've always been a hard worker and saver but that book gave me the confidence to optimize my earnings and savings.  My personal goal was to step away from anything that wasn't fulfilling me work wise by age 50.  I'm coasting at this point and marked my calendar to resign by May 2, 2022.

Top 3 Goals:
1. Spend time with my family.  More time together; less worrying about keeping up with others and buying the latest and greatest.
2. Slow travel.  Take a slow train in Europe and enjoy the scenery.
3. Possibly train for another marathon just for fun and not worry about my finish time.


Tester

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1. At what age did you FIRE'd or planning to FIRE?
For now hoping, as the planning part is not going smoothly - can't get wife to talk about long term financial plans and I don't know the expected expenses.
Hoping 2 million would be enough - which right now means it could happen at 50 years old.

2. When did you hear about FIRE and started planning for it?
I was thinking about how to not work since I was 30.
I heard about FIRE when I was 35.
I started saving at 37.
We are at 500k net worth after 6 years of saving, I am ok with this but I need to put a cap on spending...

3. Top 3 goals
Family.

boarder42

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Relapsed for monetary reasons or something too do

When I discovered FI/RE, I was in one-player mode. Got married shortly after pulling the plug in 2019. That changed the numbers quite a bit for us to be FI as a household. So a little of both, since we could probably wing it with a little PT/Seasonal/Sporadic work, along with geoarbitrage. Learned some important lessons over the past year though (especially with short term rentals being sucked dry in the USA this spring/summer), and landing in a not so nice area due to costs last month, Myrtle Murder Beach.

oh man thats not fun but its one of the things people just don't consider. too many people work too long b/c they wonder about what if.  In your case what if i get married.  But you can always flex your RE muscle then go back to work and its just a shift in life.  I really think people re-entering the workforce after RE should broadcast their stories more as it may make people feel like the RE date isnt a cliff you fall off and can never return from.  And its not a negative or a "failure" to return to work.  You base decisions based on the data you have and that changes over time.

InvincibleChutzpah

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1. At what age did you FIRE'd or planning to FIRE?
I'm 39 now and planning on retiring around 47

2. When did you hear about FIRE and started planning for it?
My father and grandfather both retired in their early 50s before the modern FIRE movement was a thing. So early retirement has always been on my radar as an option. I graduated college at the beginning of the recession and floundered a bit in my career. I had a Roth IRA and small investment account in my 20s at my fathers insistence, but didn't start seriously saving until I got my first "grown up" job at 31.

3. Top 3 goals
Health, time with my partner, free time to pursue my hobbies

boarder42

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1. At what age did you FIRE'd or planning to FIRE?
For now hoping, as the planning part is not going smoothly - can't get wife to talk about long term financial plans and I don't know the expected expenses.
Hoping 2 million would be enough - which right now means it could happen at 50 years old.



I kinda brute forced my way into this.  Just track all your spending today with how your life is.  You cut spending where you can influence it and be more efficient and save those dollars.  You can use that forecast as a starting point once you understand how much you spend today.  Future spending can be inferred as well.  We hit FI this year with my wife not really buying in either now she's going to be the first to jump ship.

Tester

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1. At what age did you FIRE'd or planning to FIRE?
For now hoping, as the planning part is not going smoothly - can't get wife to talk about long term financial plans and I don't know the expected expenses.
Hoping 2 million would be enough - which right now means it could happen at 50 years old.



I kinda brute forced my way into this.  Just track all your spending today with how your life is.  You cut spending where you can influence it and be more efficient and save those dollars.  You can use that forecast as a starting point once you understand how much you spend today.  Future spending can be inferred as well.  We hit FI this year with my wife not really buying in either now she's going to be the first to jump ship.

Thank you, this is what I am doing.
Just that lately we had some big expenses for the house and the budget is kind of funky.
I plan to get to a steady spending starting the next month and will see hot this pans out over the next 6 months.
Without the mortgage we should be fine on 2 million..
Will get to a better plan soon as passing 500k net worth and being able to buy a house has showed my wife that I am not completely nuts :-).

boarder42

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1. At what age did you FIRE'd or planning to FIRE?
For now hoping, as the planning part is not going smoothly - can't get wife to talk about long term financial plans and I don't know the expected expenses.
Hoping 2 million would be enough - which right now means it could happen at 50 years old.



I kinda brute forced my way into this.  Just track all your spending today with how your life is.  You cut spending where you can influence it and be more efficient and save those dollars.  You can use that forecast as a starting point once you understand how much you spend today.  Future spending can be inferred as well.  We hit FI this year with my wife not really buying in either now she's going to be the first to jump ship.

Thank you, this is what I am doing.
Just that lately we had some big expenses for the house and the budget is kind of funky.
I plan to get to a steady spending starting the next month and will see hot this pans out over the next 6 months.
Without the mortgage we should be fine on 2 million..
Will get to a better plan soon as passing 500k net worth and being able to buy a house has showed my wife that I am not completely nuts :-).

Part of it may be the medium for delivery. I was rewatching MMM at the world domination summit in 2016 last week. And my wife was looking over my shoulder and was like who is that I'm like MMM or Pete. She's like that's MMM he's hot. Why didn't you show me videos of him years ago I'd have watched that. On top of that his public speaking is just as good or better than his writing. I mean we're already FI but she was nodding along and was like yeah we do that we did that wow this really all did work out.

So figure out how your wife likes to consume. My wife loves the short funny videos from dude dad et al.  And Pete's speech was pretty humorous too

monarda

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1. I'm FI and reached that at 60. I'm 61. Still working but might go to half time at some point this year. I like my job.
2. Learned about the concept at age 53. Started first contributions into 403b, 457b at age 56. Been doing major catch up- something like 60%-70% gross income savings rate for the last 5 years. Joined the forums here via the rental/landlording/real estate threads.
3. No goals. Never had them. I try and always enjoy all the moments. The whole journey. I try new stuff all the time.  Work doesn't keep me from doing that. So I guess my goal is to never be bored. How's that?

Arbitrage

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1. Coast-FIRE in two weeks at age 43.  Moving to a new location and cutting way back on hours.  Full FIRE will be...?  Anywhere from 6 months to several years, depending upon part-time remote job opportunities and how much I enjoy doing part-time work.  A terrible stock market crash would also probably inspire me to keep working longer.
2. Always knew I wanted to retire early, but figured that probably meant no earlier than 59.5.  Started planning for mid-40s FIRE at age 38 after really diving in to various blogs, including MMM.
3. Family, health/outdoor activity, meaningful activism.  Not sure what form that last one will be yet - some combination of volunteering and environmental stuff, perhaps. 

YK-Phil

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1. I FIREd at 62, last fall. Not early by FIRE standards but I loved my job and really had no desire or incentive to leave until I started to have some issues with the top guy at my work, so I called it quits. My boss was fired, my board of directors asked me to stay on board, but I had already moved on.

2. I lead a semi-clown life with the spending that came with it until my late 40s that was somehow offset by the fact that I lived in the Arctic all my working life, making really good money but spending big on toys. No sports car or fancy clothes for me but a bunch of ATVs, snowmobiles, boats and everything you "need" to have fun in the Arctic, and regular and expensive winter and summer holidays in the "south" with my four kids. I don't really regret any of it but I should have been a little more careful.

3. Goals: my first year of retirement has been boring AF, a combination of not being able to travel freely due to the pandemic as my wife and I had planned, and the fact that I really miss all the exciting stuff from my old working life. Once the pandemic-related stuff is over, I'll resume my retirement plans which were to drive down the Panamerica with my wife. This alone should make me forget about my old life, hopefully.
« Last Edit: August 29, 2021, 02:52:01 PM by YK-Phil »

ronsbusa3

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Just fired April 1st. at age 50.
Always wanted to retire by 58..  Learned about fire at age 44...Living the dream at 50 🤘

boarder42

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Just fired April 1st. at age 50.
Always wanted to retire by 58..  Learned about fire at age 44...Living the dream at 50 🤘

Awesome how have the first 2 months been

2sk22

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1. At what age did you FIRE'd or planning to FIRE?

I retired last year in my late 50s.

2. When did you hear about FIRE and started planning for it?

I have followed Boglehead principles of saving and investing in index funds for over 25 years. But, I was not aware of the FIRE movement or even the concept of early retirement until 2018. After I discovered MMM and read through his blog and JL Collins' blog, I suddenly realized I was already way past FI and I did not have to work until traditional retirement age. I then set about getting ready to retire asap. It was mostly a matter of consolidating and cleaning up my finances which took about a year.

3. Top 3 goals

- Study math, science and philosophy
- Build model train layouts
- Do a lot of programming

ldsfire

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Quote
1. At what age did you FIRE'd or planning to FIRE?
Planning to fire by 2032, and I'll be 45. I just ran the numbers today - we should be able to pay off our house by 2030, and then put our monthly payment towards retirement for a couple years.

Quote
2. When did you hear about FIRE and started planning for it?
My wife and I started the Dave Ramsey baby steps when we got married (a couple people gave us books as wedding presents), and it has been an amazing journey. I think that caused us to focus on personal finance, and then I heard about FIRE about 5 years ago - but we were already on track.

Quote
3. Top 3 goals
Top 3 goals (right now)...
  • Spend more time with my kids to teach them hands-on things outdoors.
  • Write lots of music and finish writing books that I started.
  • Give to random strangers!
« Last Edit: June 15, 2021, 01:44:28 PM by ldsfire »

stoaX

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Quote
1. At what age did you FIRE'd or planning to FIRE?
Planning to fire by 2032, and I'll be 45. I just ran the numbers today - we should be able to pay off our house by 2030, and then put our monthly payment towards retirement for a couple years.

Quote
2. When did you hear about FIRE and started planning for it?
My wife and I started the Dave Ramsey baby steps when we got married (a couple people gave us books as wedding presents), and it has been an amazing journey. I think that caused us to focus on personal finance, and then I heard about FIRE about 5 years ago - but we were already on track.

Quote
3. Top 3 goals
Top 3 goals (right now)...
  • Spend more time with my kids to teach them hands-on things outdoors.
  • Write lots of music and finish writing books that I started.
  • Give to random strangers!

It's hard to believe that 2030 is less than a decade away.    Spending time with your kids outdoors is a fantastic and remarkably important goal!

epritch7

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1. At what age did you FIRE'd or planning to FIRE?  Plan to at 41
2. When did you hear about FIRE and started planning for it?  Around 2015 at age 35
3. Top 3 goals:  1. Be present for my wife and 3 kids; 2. Explore via slow travel in our camper and/or short term rentals; 3. Challenge myself doing part time work/service locally