Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!

[GettingClose]

We just hit $3M today! There is absolutely no one IRL with whom this can be shared - so it feels great to post here!

The plan is for my spouse to retire by 09/01/2018 and then for me to work for another year to see how it goes. Yes, we're really cautious.  I tracked all of our spending last year, and it was about $65k, but health insurance alone would cost $1750/month for both of us (currently paid through work).   So that's another $21k, and then who knows how much more we'll spend in retireiment ...  My spouse, although careful with money, hates spending restrictions.

We're trying to get permanent residency status for Canada, which adds another layer of uncertainty.

[Car Jack]

Nice job and "happy graduation".  Are you backing down your AA at this point, since "you've won the game"?

[GettingClose]

Nice job and "happy graduation".  Are you backing down your AA at this point, since "you've won the game"?

Thank you!  Our AA was backed down a couple of years ago when we hit $2.5M; a good deal more conservative than I'd like.

[Exflyboy]

Fantastic.. Does that include equity in your house, pensions etc?

[Bateaux]

Job well done Gettingclose.  That cost of healthcare scares the crap out of me.  I'd hoped 500k invested could be enough to cover health costs at a 4% withdrawal rate.   Maybe I'll need to up that amount.   

[GettingClose]

Fantastic.. Does that include equity in your house, pensions etc?

No pensions, but it does include the house.  This, however, is about to be sold (offer in hand, fingers crossed) - and we'll probably clear $50-100k above the number I've been using when calculating net worth.  The plan is to move to Canada and rent until we figure out "what's next".  The house is hugely expensive to run/insure/maintain/pay property tax on, so changes in housing costs are more unknowns coming up.  It's possible that renting a modest, energy-efficient home could cost less than owning a mortgage-free, 4800-sq-ft monstrosity with huge windows everywhere and an indoor pool ...  A lot of change and discovery ahead. 

[Dicey]

Fantastic.. Does that include equity in your house, pensions etc?

No pensions, but it does include the house.  This, however, is about to be sold (offer in hand, fingers crossed) - and we'll probably clear $50-100k above the number I've been using when calculating net worth.  The plan is to move to Canada and rent until we figure out "what's next".  The house is hugely expensive to run/insure/maintain/pay property tax on, so changes in housing costs are more unknowns coming up.  It's possible that renting a modest, energy-efficient home could cost less than owning a mortgage-free, 4800-sq-ft monstrosity with huge windows everywhere and an indoor pool ...  A lot of change and discovery ahead.

Sounds exciting! Can't wait to hear more as your new life unfolds.

[BTDretire]

One word, itchyfeet: philanthropy.

PTF. If I include the value of DH's defined benefit pension, we're there. I'm not counting our paid-for 1.3M home or the equity in our (lightly mortgaged) SFH rental properties. We're not racing anymore though, just cruising along, enjoying life, and the scenery, and smelling the roses.

Dicey, if you don't mind my asking, how do you assign a value to your husband's defined benefit pension? My husband should get about $27K/year (flat,non-COLA'd,

 I don't want to through a monkeywrench in here, but I went searching for a calculator that would give me the buying power of $27k with 13 years inflation at 3%. After 3 different searches I didn't find it!
 I put $27,000 in Excel and subtracted 3%,  13 times and got $18,172.
At 4% I got $15,881. At 5%, 1/2 of your buying power is gone, ($13,860)
  While I was at it, I ran the proverbial $40,000 of income for an MMM after 13 years @ 3%.
I get $58,741 or $1,469,000  required nestegg.
  It will be fine if someone checks my numbers, my logic doesn't always compute.

[DavidAnnArbor]

It's all lifestyles of the rich and famous on this thread.

[AdrianC]

That cost of healthcare [$1750/mo] scares the crap out of me.  I'd hoped 500k invested could be enough to cover health costs at a 4% withdrawal rate.   Maybe I'll need to up that amount.

Right now, as long as you keep your income down you'll qualify for a subsidy. I haven't managed it yet, but next year I'm projecting a subsidy of $1000/mo on a Bronze policy costing $1320/mo. That's pretty nice.

For 2019 who knows? My FIRE plan includes for healthcare costs rising at 13% per year and spending our deductible each year. I thought that was reasonable...until this years 80% increase in premiums if we stayed Silver with no subsidy.

Race to $5M?

[Dicey]

It's all lifestyles of the rich and famous frugal on this thread.

FTFY

[farmecologist]

It's all lifestyles of the rich and famous frugal on this thread.

FTFY

Ha that's better.  I don't think many of us are famous ( but who knows )! 

[MaybeBabyMustache]

We just hit the 3M mark, but I'm including the equity in our house. Background: I'm 41, my husband is 50. We both work in tech, and live in a VHCOL. Almost half of that 3M is in our 401Ks. The rest is split between liquid investments & home equity. My plan is to start spending down the liquid (if needed), as I'll be quitting my high paying job in June. I think our net worth will stay roughly the same, as our investments will grow, and my husband is hitting the sweet spot of his stock vesting schedule.

From a timing perspective, our net worth grew as follows (and, using the numbers I have available on my tracking chart - not because they are particularly round). The large increases are mostly due to stock vests.
-1/11 - $790K
-2/13 - $1,025,000
-10/14 - $1,514,000
-5/15 - $2,056,000
-11/16 - $2,381,000
-12/17 - $3,098,000

[Dicey]

It's all lifestyles of the rich and famous frugal on this thread.

FTFY

Ha that's better.  I don't think many of us are famous ( but who knows )!

I suspect even if there are famous folk here, they'd value frugality over fame. Otherwise, why would they be here?

[itchyfeet]

We just hit the 3M mark, but I'm including the equity in our house. Background: I'm 41, my husband is 50. We both work in tech, and live in a VHCOL. Almost half of that 3M is in our 401Ks. The rest is split between liquid investments & home equity. My plan is to start spending down the liquid (if needed), as I'll be quitting my high paying job in June. I think our net worth will stay roughly the same, as our investments will grow, and my husband is hitting the sweet spot of his stock vesting schedule.

From a timing perspective, our net worth grew as follows (and, using the numbers I have available on my tracking chart - not because they are particularly round). The large increases are mostly due to stock vests.
-1/11 - $790K
-2/13 - $1,025,000
-10/14 - $1,514,000
-5/15 - $2,056,000
-11/16 - $2,381,000
-12/17 - $3,098,000

+700K in the past year. You must be getting nose bleeds!

[MaybeBabyMustache]

We just hit the 3M mark, but I'm including the equity in our house. Background: I'm 41, my husband is 50. We both work in tech, and live in a VHCOL. Almost half of that 3M is in our 401Ks. The rest is split between liquid investments & home equity. My plan is to start spending down the liquid (if needed), as I'll be quitting my high paying job in June. I think our net worth will stay roughly the same, as our investments will grow, and my husband is hitting the sweet spot of his stock vesting schedule.

From a timing perspective, our net worth grew as follows (and, using the numbers I have available on my tracking chart - not because they are particularly round). The large increases are mostly due to stock vests.
-1/11 - $790K
-2/13 - $1,025,000
-10/14 - $1,514,000
-5/15 - $2,056,000
-11/16 - $2,381,000
-12/17 - $3,098,000

+700K in the past year. You must be getting nose bleeds!

We can only take some of the credit. The company we (both) work for has had quite a stock increase. Which has led to our vested (unsold) options being worth quite a bit more. And, I'm finally really accruing meaningful options, which was tougher a few years ago when we were both newer to the company. But, the gravy train will be slowing down very quickly once I leave (planned date of end of June, 2018)

[itchyfeet]

Have the options been exercised, or is that the book value of the unexercised option?

 If the latter have you accounted for the tax liability on the options... if any is triggered on vesting or exercising.

It’s hard to imagine growing NW by $700k without a similarly hefty tax bill.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

Have the options been exercised, or is that the book value of the unexercised option?

 If the latter have you accounted for the tax liability on the options... if any is triggered on vesting or exercising.

It’s hard to imagine growing NW by $700k without a similarly hefty tax bill.

These are exercised options. We have the taxes automatically withheld before sale. There is a marginal amount left after that, which we save for, but our taxes for the holding is set & not adjustable. This isn't our first year of stock - our options have been vesting for four years. The amount has just grown more meaningful given length at the company.

[itchyfeet]

Nice!!!

Nothing more to be said really. Comgrats!

[DavidAnnArbor]

To the east side (movin on up)
To a deluxe apartment in the sky.
Movin' on up (movin on up) To the east side (movin on up)
We finally got a piece of the pie.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=moving+on+up+to+the+east+side+lyrics&view=detail&mid=A95A073956BE39814DE9A95A073956BE39814DE9&FORM=VIRE

[oldtoyota]

Best part about being a Mustacian between $2M and $3M is that no one knows.
Mustacians in this savings bracket don't stick out as presenting an image of being "rich."
Most people who display the image of being rich really are living paycheck to paycheck.

A guy bought in iPhone 5 off me via Craigslist about a month ago. He was in the US from Costa Rica in order to skydive at 7 different locations. He drove a 1990s VW van (not old enough to have value and definitely not running well). He looked like a 50 year old hippy, yet I would wager that he is more financially independent than most of my gold-collar friends.

Stealth wealth is the place for me.  I'm just not comfortable letting people know my NW has crested 2M.  Since we still work it doesn't show much.  I shop at the dollar store and Goodwill.   My vehicle is 9 years old.  We haven't moved out of the home we bought in 1992.

Stealth wealth for me, too. I also shop at thrift stores, if I buy clothing at all, and my cars are oooolllld.

[Bateaux]

I feel right at home in my soon to be 10 year old F250 XLT.  It will haul my stuff and I don't wash it.

[Exflyboy]

I feel right at home in my soon to be 10 year old F250 XLT.  It will haul my stuff and I don't wash it.

10 years old?.. our F250 was built in '89.. of course it uses so much gas we don't drive it much...:)

[Bateaux]

I hope to keep it a long time, 12 miles per gallon ain't very Mustacian.   We kept my wife's old Honda Accord,  190k miles.  Maybe I'll buy an electric car in a few years, never a new gasoline car for sure.

[GettingClose]

With the security of the $3M stash achieved, I just negotiated an 8-week leave of absence, starting in late January.  I need to come in half a day a week to do some key management tasks, but can probably skip that a couple of times.

I don't plan to go anywhere; have been working since 1991 for the same company without ever taking more than 2.5 weeks off, and I'm just tired.  It's one big push or project after another. 

My plans:
1) work out 6 days/week. I already do 4-5x, but after working 9-10 hours, so I never do stretching or put in an extra 10 minutes.
2) cook dinner every night
3) convert all my photo albums over the years to Shutterfly books
4) do what yardwork can be done, depending on the weather
5) spend much more time with my grandkids
6) read a lot
7) maybe scan all receipts, tax forms, etc, in two big filing cabinets, to permanently eliminate that clutter.   This is 25 years' worth ... Does anyone have any experience with good software/hardware for doing this?

So excited!

[itchyfeet]

Hmmm, excited about filing.... can’t see that ever happening to me.

Whilst not exactly going completely crazy with consumption, I would say that DW and I are quite conspicuous with our financial good fortune, unlike most here.

Our income is quite high (not as high as some, but higher than most), and I am perfectly happy with us spending half and saving half. I monitor our money closely but haven’t felt the need to real in spending.

We blow a big chunk of earnings on travel to all sorts of exotic locations all over the world, which we then facebrag about shamelessly in a very un moustachian way..... this is the main way we are conspicuous.

I am a little embarrassed at our financial good fortune, and by how much we spend on travel, but YOLO (blush) and there is nothing else we particularly want to spend the money on.

We share 1 car and it’s almost 6 years old. Our last car we kept for 12 years. We don’t spend much on clothes or furniture or other junk. It’s not hard for us to save half of what we earn and still travel to wherever we want, even if it’s only for a few days, making the cost per day ridiculous.

Despite this flaunting of spending power, I don’t think I could ever get the courage to tell anyone straight up what my net worth is. It’s not even that high, but still higher than most could ever accumulate.

[GettingClose]

Hmmm, excited about filing.... can’t see that ever happening to me.

Hahaha! The excitement wasn't related to filing :-)

We're not overly mustachian either, our (hopefully soon to be sold) house is ridiculous for two people, and we travel quite a bit, too.  However we drive older used cars, do our own yardwork, re-use, recycle, and comparison shop.  We too could never mention net worth, or that the house is paid off, etc.

[farmecologist]

With the security of the $3M stash achieved, I just negotiated an 8-week leave of absence, starting in late January.  I need to come in half a day a week to do some key management tasks, but can probably skip that a couple of times.

I don't plan to go anywhere; have been working since 1991 for the same company without ever taking more than 2.5 weeks off, and I'm just tired.  It's one big push or project after another. 

My plans:
1) work out 6 days/week. I already do 4-5x, but after working 9-10 hours, so I never do stretching or put in an extra 10 minutes.
2) cook dinner every night
3) convert all my photo albums over the years to Shutterfly books
4) do what yardwork can be done, depending on the weather
5) spend much more time with my grandkids
6) read a lot
7) maybe scan all receipts, tax forms, etc, in two big filing cabinets, to permanently eliminate that clutter.   This is 25 years' worth ... Does anyone have any experience with good software/hardware for doing this?

So excited!

Wow only 2.5 weeks a year vacation?  No disrespect, but maybe that's why you are tired! 

I have also worked since 1992 at the same job ( tech firm ).  And while it is a high pressure job, I *always* take all of my vacation.  To me, it is one of the key ways I can keep my sanity while working here.  Some of the 'workaholics' don't always like it but I tell them that the company gives us vacation for a reason...lol.

As far as scanning receipts and such...we don't do that.  We charge everything and the credit card summary is enough of a record of what we spent money on.

[Dicey]

With the security of the $3M stash achieved, I just negotiated an 8-week leave of absence, starting in late January.  I need to come in half a day a week to do some key management tasks, but can probably skip that a couple of times.

I don't plan to go anywhere; have been working since 1991 for the same company without ever taking more than 2.5 weeks off, and I'm just tired.  It's one big push or project after another. 

My plans:
1) work out 6 days/week. I already do 4-5x, but after working 9-10 hours, so I never do stretching or put in an extra 10 minutes.
2) cook dinner every night
3) convert all my photo albums over the years to Shutterfly books
4) do what yardwork can be done, depending on the weather
5) spend much more time with my grandkids
6) read a lot
7) maybe scan all receipts, tax forms, etc, in two big filing cabinets, to permanently eliminate that clutter.   This is 25 years' worth ... Does anyone have any experience with good software/hardware for doing this?
8) Take lots of naps

So excited!

Wow only 2.5 weeks a year vacation?  No disrespect, but maybe that's why you are tired! I hope OP means 2.5 weeks at a time, not total per year. If you're reading it correctly, that would be so, so sad!

I have also worked since 1992 at the same job ( tech firm ).  And while it is a high pressure job, I *always* take all of my vacation.  To me, it is one of the key ways I can keep my sanity while working here.  Some of the 'workaholics' don't always like it but I tell them that the company gives us vacation for a reason...lol. Great response!

As far as scanning receipts and such...we don't do that.  We charge everything and the credit card summary is enough of a record of what we spent money on. Erm, I'm guessing this indicates you have never been audited? This is NOT a Best Practice #askmehowIknow

Getting Close, you missed one. FTFY.

[GettingClose]

With the security of the $3M stash achieved, I just negotiated an 8-week leave of absence, starting in late January.  I need to come in half a day a week to do some key management tasks, but can probably skip that a couple of times.

I don't plan to go anywhere; have been working since 1991 for the same company without ever taking more than 2.5 weeks off, and I'm just tired.  It's one big push or project after another. 

My plans:
1) work out 6 days/week. I already do 4-5x, but after working 9-10 hours, so I never do stretching or put in an extra 10 minutes.
2) cook dinner every night
3) convert all my photo albums over the years to Shutterfly books
4) do what yardwork can be done, depending on the weather
5) spend much more time with my grandkids
6) read a lot
7) maybe scan all receipts, tax forms, etc, in two big filing cabinets, to permanently eliminate that clutter.   This is 25 years' worth ... Does anyone have any experience with good software/hardware for doing this?
8) Take lots of naps and drink lots of hot chocolate

So excited!

Wow only 2.5 weeks a year vacation?  No disrespect, but maybe that's why you are tired! I hope OP means 2.5 weeks at a time, not total per year. If you're reading it correctly, that would be so, so sad! Yes, I have 5 weeks of PTO + 10 paid holidays, and I do take it all.

I have also worked since 1992 at the same job ( tech firm ).  And while it is a high pressure job, I *always* take all of my vacation.  To me, it is one of the key ways I can keep my sanity while working here.  Some of the 'workaholics' don't always like it but I tell them that the company gives us vacation for a reason...lol. Great response! Yes, the higher the pressure, the more vacation is needed.

As far as scanning receipts and such...we don't do that.  We charge everything and the credit card summary is enough of a record of what we spent money on. Erm, I'm guessing this indicates you have never been audited? This is NOT a Best Practice #askmehowIknow

Getting Close, you missed one. FTFY.  I appreciate that :-)

[farmecologist]

With the security of the $3M stash achieved, I just negotiated an 8-week leave of absence, starting in late January.  I need to come in half a day a week to do some key management tasks, but can probably skip that a couple of times.

I don't plan to go anywhere; have been working since 1991 for the same company without ever taking more than 2.5 weeks off, and I'm just tired.  It's one big push or project after another. 

My plans:
1) work out 6 days/week. I already do 4-5x, but after working 9-10 hours, so I never do stretching or put in an extra 10 minutes.
2) cook dinner every night
3) convert all my photo albums over the years to Shutterfly books
4) do what yardwork can be done, depending on the weather
5) spend much more time with my grandkids
6) read a lot
7) maybe scan all receipts, tax forms, etc, in two big filing cabinets, to permanently eliminate that clutter.   This is 25 years' worth ... Does anyone have any experience with good software/hardware for doing this?
8) Take lots of naps and drink lots of hot chocolate

So excited!

Wow only 2.5 weeks a year vacation?  No disrespect, but maybe that's why you are tired! I hope OP means 2.5 weeks at a time, not total per year. If you're reading it correctly, that would be so, so sad! Yes, I have 5 weeks of PTO + 10 paid holidays, and I do take it all.

I have also worked since 1992 at the same job ( tech firm ).  And while it is a high pressure job, I *always* take all of my vacation.  To me, it is one of the key ways I can keep my sanity while working here.  Some of the 'workaholics' don't always like it but I tell them that the company gives us vacation for a reason...lol. Great response! Yes, the higher the pressure, the more vacation is needed.

As far as scanning receipts and such...we don't do that.  We charge everything and the credit card summary is enough of a record of what we spent money on. Erm, I'm guessing this indicates you have never been audited? This is NOT a Best Practice #askmehowIknow

Getting Close, you missed one. FTFY.  I appreciate that :-)

Whew! Glad you do take advantage of your vacation.  You scared me there for a minute. :-)

Like I mentioned, where I work, there are MANY ( often grumpy ) people who use very little vacation.  It boggles my mind and I'm not afraid to tell them ( in a gentle way ) why they might be a little bit 'grumpy'. 

As for the receipt scanning thing...I'm aware that it's probably not a 'best practice'.  However, I also know that very, very few people do it.  An excuse?  Absolutely...but I guess I'll take my chances.

And one more thing.  As I get closer to FI....or have already arrived, I feel less and less pressure on the job.  I'm not sure that is a good thing...because I also feel less motivated! 

[JoJoP]

Hmmm, excited about filing.... can’t see that ever happening to me.

Whilst not exactly going completely crazy with consumption, I would say that DW and I are quite conspicuous with our financial good fortune, unlike most here.

Our income is quite high (not as high as some, but higher than most), and I am perfectly happy with us spending half and saving half. I monitor our money closely but haven’t felt the need to real in spending.

We blow a big chunk of earnings on travel to all sorts of exotic locations all over the world, which we then facebrag about shamelessly in a very un moustachian way..... this is the main way we are conspicuous.

I am a little embarrassed at our financial good fortune, and by how much we spend on travel, but YOLO (blush) and there is nothing else we particularly want to spend the money on.

We share 1 car and it’s almost 6 years old. Our last car we kept for 12 years. We don’t spend much on clothes or furniture or other junk. It’s not hard for us to save half of what we earn and still travel to wherever we want, even if it’s only for a few days, making the cost per day ridiculous.

Despite this flaunting of spending power, I don’t think I could ever get the courage to tell anyone straight up what my net worth is. It’s not even that high, but still higher than most could ever accumulate.

If you're saving half of what you earn, that seems pretty great by any standards.

So, where do you like to travel to?    We're travelers, also.  We don't brag about our travels, and try to emphasize the frugality of our adventures.  (Thailand!  5 dollars for a full 3 course dinner!)  We're extremely frequent travelers (I filled a passport in 4 years), and that is hard to downplay when one is unavailable to go to a movie or dinner, because they are out of the country.  Currently we're traveling internationally about 6 times a year, mostly to Europe, with other destinations sprinkled in.  It's a dream come true.  We are not high budget travelers, though, and have found that we can travel Europe for about half what it costs to do the same thing at home.  I've stayed in 1000 year old castles for less than $50 a night. But frugal is who we are.  We can talk for 20 minutes over the merits of a $40 vs. $60 hotel room, and often do.   We do fancy hotels occasionally, but only if some sort of amazing bargain was found.  10 cents on the dollar is about right to lure me.
Really, having a high NW is a blessing.  We have earned every penny, made good choices over decades, had some good fortune (along with plenty of mistakes), and worked hard (yes, yes we did!).   Frugality got us here, and that doesn't change with more money tossed in.   We help our family, including taking them on trips and making generous gifts.   Our kids get a good college education and we don't have to scrimp because of it.  We drive dependable vehicles, albeit until they die or become less dependable.  We live in a nice house with nice stuff, go on trips, enjoy ourselves,  AND can still spread it around.   

As far as  actually spilling the NW value... DON"T!  Talk to us instead!   Some friends of mine recently sold a business and the gossip was that it sold at a 1.5 million price tag.  It pricks up everybody's ears, including mine.  They are living frugally compared to most, and that's a topic for the spendthrifts in and of itself.  The green monster lifts his head over these topics.  Financial success is just so rare in this world, that it's an alluring topic.   

[JoJoP]

[

My plans:
1) work out 6 days/week. I already do 4-5x, but after working 9-10 hours, so I never do stretching or put in an extra 10 minutes.
2) cook dinner every night
3) convert all my photo albums over the years to Shutterfly books
4) do what yardwork can be done, depending on the weather
5) spend much more time with my grandkids
6) read a lot
7) maybe scan all receipts, tax forms, etc, in two big filing cabinets, to permanently eliminate that clutter.   This is 25 years' worth ... Does anyone have any experience with good software/hardware for doing this?
8) Take lots of naps and drink lots of hot chocolate

So excited!
[/quote]
  That should be very gratifying.  We are winding down our work, too, and it's so nice to be able to tackle all the things that have been low on the priority list.  For me, it was my garden and de-cluttering.  The garden is thriving, and most of it was planted earlier this year.   I wanted to emphasize native plants that are bird, bee and butterfly friendly.  It's like a little ecosystem out there.   It's so rewarding! 

And one more thing.  As I get closer to FI....or have already arrived, I feel less and less pressure on the job.  I'm not sure that is a good thing...because I also feel less motivated!

Sounds great!  Time is like closet space- you'll fill it with the tasks at hand.  Enjoy the R & R, and congrats!

[itchyfeet]

Hmmm, excited about filing.... can’t see that ever happening to me.

Whilst not exactly going completely crazy with consumption, I would say that DW and I are quite conspicuous with our financial good fortune, unlike most here.

Our income is quite high (not as high as some, but higher than most), and I am perfectly happy with us spending half and saving half. I monitor our money closely but haven’t felt the need to real in spending.

We blow a big chunk of earnings on travel to all sorts of exotic locations all over the world, which we then facebrag about shamelessly in a very un moustachian way..... this is the main way we are conspicuous.

I am a little embarrassed at our financial good fortune, and by how much we spend on travel, but YOLO (blush) and there is nothing else we particularly want to spend the money on.

We share 1 car and it’s almost 6 years old. Our last car we kept for 12 years. We don’t spend much on clothes or furniture or other junk. It’s not hard for us to save half of what we earn and still travel to wherever we want, even if it’s only for a few days, making the cost per day ridiculous.

Despite this flaunting of spending power, I don’t think I could ever get the courage to tell anyone straight up what my net worth is. It’s not even that high, but still higher than most could ever accumulate.

If you're saving half of what you earn, that seems pretty great by any standards.

So, where do you like to travel to?    We're travelers, also.  We don't brag about our travels, and try to emphasize the frugality of our adventures.  (Thailand!  5 dollars for a full 3 course dinner!)  We're extremely frequent travelers (I filled a passport in 4 years), and that is hard to downplay when one is unavailable to go to a movie or dinner, because they are out of the country.  Currently we're traveling internationally about 6 times a year, mostly to Europe, with other destinations sprinkled in.  It's a dream come true.  We are not high budget travelers, though, and have found that we can travel Europe for about half what it costs to do the same thing at home.  I've stayed in 1000 year old castles for less than $50 a night. But frugal is who we are.  We can talk for 20 minutes over the merits of a $40 vs. $60 hotel room, and often do.   We do fancy hotels occasionally, but only if some sort of amazing bargain was found.  10 cents on the dollar is about right to lure me.
Really, having a high NW is a blessing.  We have earned every penny, made good choices over decades, had some good fortune (along with plenty of mistakes), and worked hard (yes, yes we did!).   Frugality got us here, and that doesn't change with more money tossed in.   We help our family, including taking them on trips and making generous gifts.   Our kids get a good college education and we don't have to scrimp because of it.  We drive dependable vehicles, albeit until they die or become less dependable.  We live in a nice house with nice stuff, go on trips, enjoy ourselves,  AND can still spread it around.   

As far as  actually spilling the NW value... DON"T!  Talk to us instead!   Some friends of mine recently sold a business and the gossip was that it sold at a 1.5 million price tag.  It pricks up everybody's ears, including mine.  They are living frugally compared to most, and that's a topic for the spendthrifts in and of itself.  The green monster lifts his head over these topics.  Financial success is just so rare in this world, that it's an alluring topic.

We travel wherever takes our fancy. Sometimes we go el cheapo, sometimes not.

Last week I had some business in France, so I organised to meet DW in Finland afterwards and we flew up to Lapland to do a husky safari and squeeze in a little skiing. We squeezed a lot into 4 days and had an awesome time.

We keep saying we should spend less on travel, but then some opportunity presents itself and we just keep concluding that we have never regretted the things we have done, just the things we didn’t do. Hence, I try to make that list as short as possible.

At the end of it all we might have to work an extra year compared to what would have been the case if we had passed on all the travel opportunities and stuck to 1 overseas trip every couple of years. Working the extra year is the right choice for us.

Retiring at 46 or at 47 is much of a muchness, and we have had a life full of incredible experiences exploring the world. We would never wish to have replaced our experiences with a couple of hundred grand extra in the bank..... but these are the words of someone who got pretty lucky on the money front.... yes there was hard work, persistence, risk taking and good decision making involved, also a fair amount of stress and way too many hours sitting in airport terminals........but also a fat slab of good fortune.

In 2 weeks we fly to Sydney. Yay!

[GettingClose]

Last week I had some business in France, so I organised to meet DW in Finland afterwards and we flew up to Lapland to do a husky safari and squeeze in a little skiing. We squeezed a lot into 4 days and had an awesome time.

We keep saying we should spend less on travel, but then some opportunity presents itself and we just keep concluding that we have never regretted the things we have done, just the things we didn’t do. Hence, I try to make that list as short as possible.

At the end of it all we might have to work an extra year compared to what would have been the case if we had passed on all the travel opportunities and stuck to 1 overseas trip every couple of years. Working the extra year is the right choice for us.

Sounds like a good balance of "now" and "later".

Retiring at 46 or at 47 is much of a muchness, and we have had a life full of incredible experiences exploring the world.

I'm right around these ages ... when did you FIRE?

[itchyfeet]

Last week I had some business in France, so I organised to meet DW in Finland afterwards and we flew up to Lapland to do a husky safari and squeeze in a little skiing. We squeezed a lot into 4 days and had an awesome time.

We keep saying we should spend less on travel, but then some opportunity presents itself and we just keep concluding that we have never regretted the things we have done, just the things we didn’t do. Hence, I try to make that list as short as possible.

At the end of it all we might have to work an extra year compared to what would have been the case if we had passed on all the travel opportunities and stuck to 1 overseas trip every couple of years. Working the extra year is the right choice for us.

Sounds like a good balance of "now" and "later".

Retiring at 46 or at 47 is much of a muchness, and we have had a life full of incredible experiences exploring the world.

I'm right around these ages ... when did you FIRE?

Planning to FIRE mid 2019. Still working and squeezing in life around the demands of my employer.

I am fortunate to get 6 weeks leave a year, plus the 10 public holidays here, so effectively 8 weeks of adventures each year, but split into smallish chucks. Looking forward to slowing things down post FIRE. Maybe half the trips, but each trip triple the duration.

[Secretly Saving]

Hmmm, excited about filing.... can’t see that ever happening to me.

Whilst not exactly going completely crazy with consumption, I would say that DW and I are quite conspicuous with our financial good fortune, unlike most here.

Our income is quite high (not as high as some, but higher than most), and I am perfectly happy with us spending half and saving half. I monitor our money closely but haven’t felt the need to real in spending.

We blow a big chunk of earnings on travel to all sorts of exotic locations all over the world, which we then facebrag about shamelessly in a very un moustachian way..... this is the main way we are conspicuous.

I am a little embarrassed at our financial good fortune, and by how much we spend on travel, but YOLO (blush) and there is nothing else we particularly want to spend the money on.

We share 1 car and it’s almost 6 years old. Our last car we kept for 12 years. We don’t spend much on clothes or furniture or other junk. It’s not hard for us to save half of what we earn and still travel to wherever we want, even if it’s only for a few days, making the cost per day ridiculous.

Despite this flaunting of spending power, I don’t think I could ever get the courage to tell anyone straight up what my net worth is. It’s not even that high, but still higher than most could ever accumulate.

If you're saving half of what you earn, that seems pretty great by any standards.

So, where do you like to travel to?    We're travelers, also.  We don't brag about our travels, and try to emphasize the frugality of our adventures.  (Thailand!  5 dollars for a full 3 course dinner!)  We're extremely frequent travelers (I filled a passport in 4 years), and that is hard to downplay when one is unavailable to go to a movie or dinner, because they are out of the country.  Currently we're traveling internationally about 6 times a year, mostly to Europe, with other destinations sprinkled in.  It's a dream come true.  We are not high budget travelers, though, and have found that we can travel Europe for about half what it costs to do the same thing at home.  I've stayed in 1000 year old castles for less than $50 a night. But frugal is who we are.  We can talk for 20 minutes over the merits of a $40 vs. $60 hotel room, and often do.   We do fancy hotels occasionally, but only if some sort of amazing bargain was found.  10 cents on the dollar is about right to lure me.
Really, having a high NW is a blessing.  We have earned every penny, made good choices over decades, had some good fortune (along with plenty of mistakes), and worked hard (yes, yes we did!).   Frugality got us here, and that doesn't change with more money tossed in.   We help our family, including taking them on trips and making generous gifts.   Our kids get a good college education and we don't have to scrimp because of it.  We drive dependable vehicles, albeit until they die or become less dependable.  We live in a nice house with nice stuff, go on trips, enjoy ourselves,  AND can still spread it around.   

As far as  actually spilling the NW value... DON"T!  Talk to us instead!   Some friends of mine recently sold a business and the gossip was that it sold at a 1.5 million price tag.  It pricks up everybody's ears, including mine.  They are living frugally compared to most, and that's a topic for the spendthrifts in and of itself.  The green monster lifts his head over these topics.  Financial success is just so rare in this world, that it's an alluring topic.

Jill P, I'd love to hear about your favorite places -- 1000 year old castles and more all on a budget!

[Bateaux]

Please share your travel stories.   My wife and I haven't traveled much at all.  Just too busy with work and family.   I'd love to strike out upon the world as a nomad.

[PhrugalPhan]

I read this complete thread and enjoyed reading about how you can calculate your 'stache.  As I only have about $850k in all of my accounts I didn't think I could fit in here, then I reconsidered.  Maybe the group can say if this makes sense.

Here goes.... while I am single, I am in a 6+ year relationship where she is going to move in with me when she retires.  My GF has just over $1 Mil in her TSP & inherited IRA (about $1.01 Mil right now).  Since most people include significant others, if you combine our 'staches we have about $1.85Mil.

In addition we both have pensions at our jobs.  She is a Fed and can retire at the end of 2018 with a $30k/year payout for life with a COLA (and mostly paid for health insurance).  Using the 25X multiplier, that would be an approximate $750k 'stache addition.

And then I have a pension I am working towards as well.  Its a solid local government pension.  I am currently vested at $29k/yr and if I continue working 5 more years I can get it right away and will probably be $40k/year.  If I left now, I have to wait a decade to start getting it.  If I take the $29k/year, use the 25X multiplier, and discount it by 25% (I figure that's a conservative number?), that gives me $543k to add to a 'stache. 

Is it safe to say we already have an $3+ Mil 'stache?  That seems crazy beyond belief.  I also have a paid off house that comps in at about $350k too.  I didn't mean to write and brag, but while I knew we wouldn't have to worry about money really, I had no idea we could consider that we are worth this amount.

[Car Jack]

Sounds like you've jumped right through the $3M point.  Waiting for someone to start a $3M->$4M thread.  I know some here are reluctant, taking to heart the MMM story.  How could anyone have more than $1M and not retire?

[farmecologist]

I read this complete thread and enjoyed reading about how you can calculate your 'stache.  As I only have about $850k in all of my accounts I didn't think I could fit in here, then I reconsidered.  Maybe the group can say if this makes sense.

Here goes.... while I am single, I am in a 6+ year relationship where she is going to move in with me when she retires.  My GF has just over $1 Mil in her TSP & inherited IRA (about $1.01 Mil right now).  Since most people include significant others, if you combine our 'staches we have about $1.85Mil.

In addition we both have pensions at our jobs.  She is a Fed and can retire at the end of 2018 with a $30k/year payout for life with a COLA (and mostly paid for health insurance).  Using the 25X multiplier, that would be an approximate $750k 'stache addition.

And then I have a pension I am working towards as well.  Its a solid local government pension.  I am currently vested at $29k/yr and if I continue working 5 more years I can get it right away and will probably be $40k/year.  If I left now, I have to wait a decade to start getting it.  If I take the $29k/year, use the 25X multiplier, and discount it by 25% (I figure that's a conservative number?), that gives me $543k to add to a 'stache. 

Is it safe to say we already have an $3+ Mil 'stache?  That seems crazy beyond belief.  I also have a paid off house that comps in at about $350k too.  I didn't mean to write and brag, but while I knew we wouldn't have to worry about money really, I had no idea we could consider that we are worth this amount.

Looks like you fit in fine here!  The numbers are just a general guideline...people calculate in different ways and differ on what they include in the 'final number'.

As for us, I am not currently counting my wife's pension...only 'investable assets' and the paid-off house...to arrive at our 2.4M number.  Adding in her pension would result in a greater number...but who cares?   One could also factor in future Social Security income..but none really do ( however, pretty much any retirement planner does...like personal capital, etc... ).

[Bateaux]

I haven't seen any hard set rules on how to tabulate your wealth as a requirement to pos5 here.  I toss in paid off real estate to make the cut.  We all welcome your input.   I know I've personally learned a ton from these folks.

[Exflyboy]

Yes same here.. I tend to include the current value of pensions because that turns into real income which is what we want our Stash to do as well.

 I tend to exclude the house because we are more than likely to stay here for the forseable future despite dreams to the contrary, even then we still need somewhere to live. Its also hard to value because there are few comps to our little farmette.

I any case

Stash - $1.94m
Pensions - about $0.51m
House -- about $0.4m or so.

[Dicey]

After years of budgeting and watching the pennies, we are richer now than we ever imagined possible. We realized that between RMD's, DH's pension w/ COLA and health benefits, and Social Security, we stand to make more per year in retirement than we ever did working. Therefore, I don't count every penny of NW, because we have "Enough". I think we could level up if a new thread was started, but I'd have to calculate and include the value of his pension, which I am too lazy to do.

I like following along on the $500k --->$1M, and the $1M--->$2M threads too. It's fun to see people making good decisions and great progress!

[Secretly Saving]

After years of budgeting and watching the pennies, we are richer now than we ever imagined possible. We realized that between RMD's, DH's pension w/ COLA and health benefits, and Social Security, we stand to make more per year in retirement than we ever did working. Therefore, I don't count every penny of NW, because we have "Enough". I think we could level up if a new thread was started, but I'd have to calculate and include the value of his pension, which I am too lazy to do.

I like following along on the $500k --->$1M, and the $1M--->$2M threads too. It's fun to see people making good decisions and great progress!

Yes, it is fun to celebrate other's successes!

[farmecologist]

Yes same here.. I tend to include the current value of pensions because that turns into real income which is what we want our Stash to do as well.

 I tend to exclude the house because we are more than likely to stay here for the forseable future despite dreams to the contrary, even then we still need somewhere to live. Its also hard to value because there are few comps to our little farmette.

I any case

Stash - $1.94m
Pensions - about $0.51m
House -- about $0.4m or so.

The problem I have with pensions is personal.  Mine went away...taken by a big corporation when they 'restructured'.   Instead, they gave us a cash balance plan with NO control and they only pay 'market rate' (i.e. - crappy) interest payments to it.   BTW this has happened to millions in the last decade or two....even to people near retirement who were really were counting on the income.  Many of my coworkers fell into this trap and it was extremely sad to see.  Luckily, I was younger at the time.

If you think your pension is safe then I can see adding it in.  However, if for any reason it might not be safe, I'd err on the side of caution.  BTW this is also why many younger folks don't factor in Social Security and treat it as an extra...they fear that it very well might not be around when the time comes.

[itchyfeet]

If I ever make it $3M.... even $3M Aussie rupees, I’ll start a $3M-$4M thread just cause I could 😁. There seems to be a bunch of you that could do so today!

[Exflyboy]

Yes same here.. I tend to include the current value of pensions because that turns into real income which is what we want our Stash to do as well.

 I tend to exclude the house because we are more than likely to stay here for the forseable future despite dreams to the contrary, even then we still need somewhere to live. Its also hard to value because there are few comps to our little farmette.

I any case

Stash - $1.94m
Pensions - about $0.51m
House -- about $0.4m or so.

The problem I have with pensions is personal.  Mine went away...taken by a big corporation when they 'restructured'.   Instead, they gave us a cash balance plan with NO control and they only pay 'market rate' (i.e. - crappy) interest payments to it.   BTW this has happened to millions in the last decade or two....even to people near retirement who were really were counting on the income.  Many of my coworkers fell into this trap and it was extremely sad to see.  Luckily, I was younger at the time.

If you think your pension is safe then I can see adding it in.  However, if for any reason it might not be safe, I'd err on the side of caution.  BTW this is also why many younger folks don't factor in Social Security and treat it as an extra...they fear that it very well might not be around when the time comes.

Good point.. How that can be legal is beyond me.. But then again nothing should amaze me in the USA Oligarchy.. Place is run by criminals.

Fortunately for us, DW's pension is State funded in Oregon so it (and one day it will) would have to go bankrupt. Secondly, my UK pension is much better protected and backed by the Government to 90% (100% after I start drawing it). I guess those "evil Socialists" don't take very kindly to big company's stealing their employee pensions.

[Bateaux]

Yes same here.. I tend to include the current value of pensions because that turns into real income which is what we want our Stash to do as well.

 I tend to exclude the house because we are more than likely to stay here for the forseable future despite dreams to the contrary, even then we still need somewhere to live. Its also hard to value because there are few comps to our little farmette.

I any case

Stash - $1.94m
Pensions - about $0.51m
House -- about $0.4m or so.

The problem I have with pensions is personal.  Mine went away...taken by a big corporation when they 'restructured'.   Instead, they gave us a cash balance plan with NO control and they only pay 'market rate' (i.e. - crappy) interest payments to it.   BTW this has happened to millions in the last decade or two....even to people near retirement who were really were counting on the income.  Many of my coworkers fell into this trap and it was extremely sad to see.  Luckily, I was younger at the time.

If you think your pension is safe then I can see adding it in.  However, if for any reason it might not be safe, I'd err on the side of caution.  BTW this is also why many younger folks don't factor in Social Security and treat it as an extra...they fear that it very well might not be around when the time comes.

Good point.. How that can be legal is beyond me.. But then again nothing should amaze me in the USA Oligarchy.. Place is run by criminals.

Fortunately for us, DW's pension is State funded in Oregon so it (and one day it will) would have to go bankrupt. Secondly, my UK pension is much better protected and backed by the Government to 90% (100% after I start drawing it). I guess those "evil Socialists" don't take very kindly to big company's stealing their employee pensions.

This happened to me in (2012) 20 years into my career.   I only had 8 years (2020) to go to lock in 50% of my income for life at age 52.  Then the cash balance came.  They paid me $165,000 for 20 years of service into their new plan with a 5% rate of interest.  It's grown with contributions to 331K currently.  I make about 120k a year.  The math here isn't even close.  We got legally screwed.  Many people I've worked with didn't save past the company match in the 401k if that.  You put in 6% they match 50% so most had a relative 9% if that.  They figured the 401k would be play money.  They'd get 60-75k from pension.  It's gone!  One guy I know is 54, has 90k in his 401k, never thought it would be important, wants to retire soon. He still has debt he's paying.   Same company, same opportunity  My 401k is over 10x larger than his.  I'm 49 and have worked less years for the company.  Great guy, really likeable and not a screw-up.  There are many just like him.

[DavidAnnArbor]

State pensions and city pensions are all susceptible to being cut in a bankruptcy. City of Detroit employees had their pensions lowered due to the bankruptcy. The state of Illinois and the city of Chicago pensions may eventually be cut down in bankruptcy court.