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

[BeanCounter]

Give serious consideration to an electric car.  Depending on your circumstances it could well be the best solution. 

After 2 1/2 years and 31,000 miles with a Chevy Bolt we know we will never buy another ICE car.

We've talked about this. Even possibly a Tesla. The math on a Tesla doesn't work out for us. Most of the other electrics he doesn't like the size or look of. The only one he might consider would be a Ford Fusion plug in Hybrid. We drove a Fusion on our Yellowstone trip and he enjoyed it, and it was a comfortable ride for the family. My cousin had one (plug in hybrid) and loved it. Said it was peppy and saved her on gas.
I sent him a link to the Fusion to see if he might want to take a peek. From the Ford site it looked like it could check all the boxes to me and the price for fully loaded is about the same as the Accord. Highway MPG says 97 which is much better than the Accord Hybrid. We would have to have a plug put in our Garage though. I don't think that's a big deal.

I'm hoping to switch to the electric when my CRV dies. I like the look of the Bolt. Not sure if two teenage boys can fit in it with us?

[PathtoFIRE]

Not a car person by any stretch, but I used the website linked below for our last car purchase, and have decided going forward that I will only go with vehicles that have an excellent past record. The info is focused on major drivetrain issues, not more minor stuff that could still require repairs/hassle, and is based on cars that have been through auction, so there's a little bit of a bias, and the data is only directly applicable to used vehicles and so of only indirect use regarding a new vehicle unless the model is at the end of its cycle.

The history of the Ford Fusion is not super great, though there is no granular detail to distinguish between ICE-only, hybrid, plug-in, etc. varieties if they share the same model type. Based on the overall score, I'd only consider the Camry in this category, though someone more knowledgeable that me is free to let us know if this type of data is less useful than it appears. Also, if you scroll down to the lower graphs, you see that the overall scores are dragged down by the initial release years as well as what appears to be relatively disastrous 2013 vehicles, which is oddly mid-cycle, and maybe the better-than-average reliability of the 2009, 2011, and 2012 years would be enough to convince you to go with one of those cars.
http://dashboard-light.com/vehicles/Ford_Fusion.html

[BeanCounter]

Not a car person by any stretch, but I used the website linked below for our last car purchase, and have decided going forward that I will only go with vehicles that have an excellent past record. The info is focused on major drivetrain issues, not more minor stuff that could still require repairs/hassle, and is based on cars that have been through auction, so there's a little bit of a bias, and the data is only directly applicable to used vehicles and so of only indirect use regarding a new vehicle unless the model is at the end of its cycle.

The history of the Ford Fusion is not super great, though there is no granular detail to distinguish between ICE-only, hybrid, plug-in, etc. varieties if they share the same model type. Based on the overall score, I'd only consider the Camry in this category, though someone more knowledgeable that me is free to let us know if this type of data is less useful than it appears. Also, if you scroll down to the lower graphs, you see that the overall scores are dragged down by the initial release years as well as what appears to be relatively disastrous 2013 vehicles, which is oddly mid-cycle, and maybe the better-than-average reliability of the 2009, 2011, and 2012 years would be enough to convince you to go with one of those cars.
http://dashboard-light.com/vehicles/Ford_Fusion.html

Oh Interesting! Thanks for posting this.
According to this he should get a Lexus ES or Toyota Camry. Lexus might be a no because of price and it being a "luxury car". He's always said the Camry isn't as much fun to drive as the Accord. I don't know.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

Give serious consideration to an electric car.  Depending on your circumstances it could well be the best solution. 

After 2 1/2 years and 31,000 miles with a Chevy Bolt we know we will never buy another ICE car.

We've had a lot of nice/fancy cars & the Bolt is my all time favorite car ever. Love it.

[2sk22]

Oh Interesting! Thanks for posting this.
According to this he should get a Lexus ES or Toyota Camry. Lexus might be a no because of price and it being a "luxury car". He's always said the Camry isn't as much fun to drive as the Accord. I don't know.

There's a big group of people including me who don't find driving much fun in general :-)

One of the cars we have in my household is a hybrid Camry and I can confirm that it accelerates smartly indeed - ought to be sufficient for most needs. We bought the Camry over the equivalent Lexus ES 350 hybrid for two reasons:

• Its a lot cheaper, equally comfortable and is mechanically identical.
• We are just not the types who like to draw attention ourselves.

[texxan1]

With my impending fire in a few months.. wanted to update my numbers

10/25/20

TNW   3.18m
LNW   2.66m

It would seem, that im far above my FIRE number of 2mm lol.   The firehose of cash is about to end, but with a nice years worth of severnce.

Glad to be hanging out and FIRE soon... T minus 64 working days

Tex

[Exflyboy]

With my impending fire in a few months.. wanted to update my numbers

10/25/20

TNW   3.18m
LNW   2.66m

It would seem, that im far above my FIRE number of 2mm lol.   The firehose of cash is about to end, but with a nice years worth of severnce.

Glad to be hanging out and FIRE soon... T minus 64 working days

Tex

Very nice..:)

[achvfi]

With my impending fire in a few months.. wanted to update my numbers

10/25/20

TNW   3.18m
LNW   2.66m

It would seem, that im far above my FIRE number of 2mm lol.   The firehose of cash is about to end, but with a nice years worth of severnce.

Glad to be hanging out and FIRE soon... T minus 64 working days

Tex

Very nice, congratulations! Is the severance negotiated or part of your job benefits?

[Bateaux]

With my impending fire in a few months.. wanted to update my numbers

10/25/20

TNW   3.18m
LNW   2.66m

It would seem, that im far above my FIRE number of 2mm lol.   The firehose of cash is about to end, but with a nice years worth of severnce.

Glad to be hanging out and FIRE soon... T minus 64 working days

Tex

Great job.  Enjoy the fruits of you hard work.

[texxan1]

With my impending fire in a few months.. wanted to update my numbers

10/25/20

TNW   3.18m
LNW   2.66m

It would seem, that im far above my FIRE number of 2mm lol.   The firehose of cash is about to end, but with a nice years worth of severnce.

Glad to be hanging out and FIRE soon... T minus 64 working days

Tex

Very nice, congratulations! Is the severance negotiated or part of your job benefits?

The severence is part of an early out expression of interest program.. I work for a MegOil Corp and due to Covid they are offering early out for over 10k employees... its funny, because in our global managers meeting when they announced the cuts and EOI to all the managers, i raised my hand... The Local VP says... Thomas, do you have a question... i Said, Nope, just raising my hand to volunteer NOW...   He was pissed lol

[achvfi]

The severence is part of an early out expression of interest program.. I work for a MegOil Corp and due to Covid they are offering early out for over 10k employees... its funny, because in our global managers meeting when they announced the cuts and EOI to all the managers, i raised my hand... The Local VP says... Thomas, do you have a question... i Said, Nope, just raising my hand to volunteer NOW...   He was pissed lol

LOL.. Awesome. Congrats again

[EscapeVelocity2020]

With my impending fire in a few months.. wanted to update my numbers

10/25/20

TNW   3.18m
LNW   2.66m

It would seem, that im far above my FIRE number of 2mm lol.   The firehose of cash is about to end, but with a nice years worth of severnce.

Glad to be hanging out and FIRE soon... T minus 64 working days

Tex

Very nice, congratulations! Is the severance negotiated or part of your job benefits?

The severence is part of an early out expression of interest program.. I work for a MegOil Corp and due to Covid they are offering early out for over 10k employees... its funny, because in our global managers meeting when they announced the cuts and EOI to all the managers, i raised my hand... The Local VP says... Thomas, do you have a question... i Said, Nope, just raising my hand to volunteer NOW...   He was pissed lol

We had 3 folks in their 50's do the same in my 15-person Facilities group this last go-around.  They wondered if anyone in their 40's put their hand up, but I would have been a likely candidate and I'm content to ride this thing for a few more years if possible, if just for the health benefits...  but the income isn't the worst thing either.  By not taking the package though, I'm essentially agreeing not to ER (voluntarily quit) for another 3 years.  But my plan has always been to make them fire me or agree to severance, if it comes to that.  Nice to still have some power in what has felt like a powerless year...

[soccerluvof4]

With my impending fire in a few months.. wanted to update my numbers

10/25/20

TNW   3.18m
LNW   2.66m

It would seem, that im far above my FIRE number of 2mm lol.   The firehose of cash is about to end, but with a nice years worth of severnce.

Glad to be hanging out and FIRE soon... T minus 64 working days

Tex

Very nice, congratulations! Is the severance negotiated or part of your job benefits?

The severence is part of an early out expression of interest program.. I work for a MegOil Corp and due to Covid they are offering early out for over 10k employees... its funny, because in our global managers meeting when they announced the cuts and EOI to all the managers, i raised my hand... The Local VP says... Thomas, do you have a question... i Said, Nope, just raising my hand to volunteer NOW...   He was pissed lol

thats awesome! congrats

[soccerluvof4]

With my impending fire in a few months.. wanted to update my numbers

10/25/20

TNW   3.18m
LNW   2.66m

It would seem, that im far above my FIRE number of 2mm lol.   The firehose of cash is about to end, but with a nice years worth of severnce.

Glad to be hanging out and FIRE soon... T minus 64 working days

Tex

Very nice, congratulations! Is the severance negotiated or part of your job benefits?

The severence is part of an early out expression of interest program.. I work for a MegOil Corp and due to Covid they are offering early out for over 10k employees... its funny, because in our global managers meeting when they announced the cuts and EOI to all the managers, i raised my hand... The Local VP says... Thomas, do you have a question... i Said, Nope, just raising my hand to volunteer NOW...   He was pissed lol

We had 3 folks in their 50's do the same in my 15-person Facilities group this last go-around.  They wondered if anyone in their 40's put their hand up, but I would have been a likely candidate and I'm content to ride this thing for a few more years if possible, if just for the health benefits...  but the income isn't the worst thing either.  By not taking the package though, I'm essentially agreeing not to ER (voluntarily quit) for another 3 years.  But my plan has always been to make them fire me or agree to severance, if it comes to that.  Nice to still have some power in what has felt like a powerless year...

Nothing wrong with that plan!

[soccerluvof4]

Be glad to get on the other side of the election and get that at least resolved to see /let this market hopefully at least settle down some on that news. Then there will still be the matter of the Virus and Stimulus but the election perhaps will stop some of the bleeding. Almost to the point I would put some money in but holding for now as seems like even though we rallied into the close Friday there is going to be some rumbling going forward.

[Much Fishing to Do]

With my impending fire in a few months.. wanted to update my numbers

10/25/20

TNW   3.18m
LNW   2.66m

It would seem, that im far above my FIRE number of 2mm lol.   The firehose of cash is about to end, but with a nice years worth of severnce.

Glad to be hanging out and FIRE soon... T minus 64 working days

Tex

Very nice, congratulations! Is the severance negotiated or part of your job benefits?

The severence is part of an early out expression of interest program.. I work for a MegOil Corp and due to Covid they are offering early out for over 10k employees... its funny, because in our global managers meeting when they announced the cuts and EOI to all the managers, i raised my hand... The Local VP says... Thomas, do you have a question... i Said, Nope, just raising my hand to volunteer NOW...   He was pissed lol

We had 3 folks in their 50's do the same in my 15-person Facilities group this last go-around.  They wondered if anyone in their 40's put their hand up, but I would have been a likely candidate and I'm content to ride this thing for a few more years if possible, if just for the health benefits...  but the income isn't the worst thing either.  By not taking the package though, I'm essentially agreeing not to ER (voluntarily quit) for another 3 years.  But my plan has always been to make them fire me or agree to severance, if it comes to that.  Nice to still have some power in what has felt like a powerless year...

My wife laughs at me every-time someone or the news mentions a voluntary or forced retirement with severance...she knows I'm jealous and pretty upset that hasn't happened to me!

[EscapeVelocity2020]

With my impending fire in a few months.. wanted to update my numbers

10/25/20

TNW   3.18m
LNW   2.66m

It would seem, that im far above my FIRE number of 2mm lol.   The firehose of cash is about to end, but with a nice years worth of severnce.

Glad to be hanging out and FIRE soon... T minus 64 working days

Tex

Very nice, congratulations! Is the severance negotiated or part of your job benefits?

The severence is part of an early out expression of interest program.. I work for a MegOil Corp and due to Covid they are offering early out for over 10k employees... its funny, because in our global managers meeting when they announced the cuts and EOI to all the managers, i raised my hand... The Local VP says... Thomas, do you have a question... i Said, Nope, just raising my hand to volunteer NOW...   He was pissed lol

We had 3 folks in their 50's do the same in my 15-person Facilities group this last go-around.  They wondered if anyone in their 40's put their hand up, but I would have been a likely candidate and I'm content to ride this thing for a few more years if possible, if just for the health benefits...  but the income isn't the worst thing either.  By not taking the package though, I'm essentially agreeing not to ER (voluntarily quit) for another 3 years.  But my plan has always been to make them fire me or agree to severance, if it comes to that.  Nice to still have some power in what has felt like a powerless year...

My wife laughs at me every-time someone or the news mentions a voluntary or forced retirement with severance...she knows I'm jealous and pretty upset that hasn't happened to me!

We had a divorced guy in his early 50's decide he'd had enough and up and quit.  Moved to Florida to get on with his relatively simple life (and possibly stop paying alimony).  About 2 months later, the company handed out voluntary severance packages (worth at least $300k in accelerated incentives and enticements for ER, plus unemployment (if you want to claim it), health benefits and COBRA...).  That left a pretty big impression on me - you really need to feel strongly and be willing to 'pay the price' for just up and quitting.

From what I heard, he's over it now, but I don't know anyone who'd be happy to give up $300k+ for 2 months of easy work.  Money isn't everything, especially if it is just 'extra' money, but it's got a psychological value.  Kinda' nice to hang it up feeling like you are ending the game with a win.

[Dicey]

With my impending fire in a few months.. wanted to update my numbers

10/25/20

TNW   3.18m
LNW   2.66m

It would seem, that im far above my FIRE number of 2mm lol.   The firehose of cash is about to end, but with a nice years worth of severnce.

Glad to be hanging out and FIRE soon... T minus 64 working days

Tex

Very nice, congratulations! Is the severance negotiated or part of your job benefits?

The severence is part of an early out expression of interest program.. I work for a MegOil Corp and due to Covid they are offering early out for over 10k employees... its funny, because in our global managers meeting when they announced the cuts and EOI to all the managers, i raised my hand... The Local VP says... Thomas, do you have a question... i Said, Nope, just raising my hand to volunteer NOW...   He was pissed lol

We had 3 folks in their 50's do the same in my 15-person Facilities group this last go-around.  They wondered if anyone in their 40's put their hand up, but I would have been a likely candidate and I'm content to ride this thing for a few more years if possible, if just for the health benefits...  but the income isn't the worst thing either.  By not taking the package though, I'm essentially agreeing not to ER (voluntarily quit) for another 3 years.  But my plan has always been to make them fire me or agree to severance, if it comes to that.  Nice to still have some power in what has felt like a powerless year...

My wife laughs at me every-time someone or the news mentions a voluntary or forced retirement with severance...she knows I'm jealous and pretty upset that hasn't happened to me!

We had a divorced guy in his early 50's decide he'd had enough and up and quit.  Moved to Florida to get on with his relatively simple life (and possibly stop paying alimony).  About 2 months later, the company handed out voluntary severance packages (worth at least $300k in accelerated incentives and enticements for ER, plus unemployment (if you want to claim it), health benefits and COBRA...).  That left a pretty big impression on me - you really need to feel strongly and be willing to 'pay the price' for just up and quitting.

From what I heard, he's over it now, but I don't know anyone who'd be happy to give up $300k+ for 2 months of easy work.  Money isn't everything, especially if it is just 'extra' money, but it's got a psychological value.  Kinda' nice to hang it up feeling like you are ending the game with a win.

Except at the time, he didn't know if it was going to be two weeks, two months, two years or more...

[pecunia]

Maybe, if you can hang it up and live a while, then it's a win.

How many times have you heard of these guys who retire after thirty to fifty years of work and just drop dead?  I used to work with an old guy, Frank.  Frank saved every penny for years.  He finally retired at 66.  A few months later Frank had a brain tumor and didn't last long after that.  Sometimes time is worth more than some extra money.

Do you want OMY of retirement or OMY of work?

[BeanCounter]

Maybe, if you can hang it up and live a while, then it's a win.

How many times have you heard of these guys who retire after thirty to fifty years of work and just drop dead?  I used to work with an old guy, Frank.  Frank saved every penny for years.  He finally retired at 66.  A few months later Frank had a brain tumor and didn't last long after that.  Sometimes time is worth more than some extra money.

Do you want OMY of retirement or OMY of work?

I know so many stories like that.

[EscapeVelocity2020]

Maybe, if you can hang it up and live a while, then it's a win.

How many times have you heard of these guys who retire after thirty to fifty years of work and just drop dead?  I used to work with an old guy, Frank.  Frank saved every penny for years.  He finally retired at 66.  A few months later Frank had a brain tumor and didn't last long after that.  Sometimes time is worth more than some extra money.

Do you want OMY of retirement or OMY of work?

I don't know of anyone at my company that has died on the job, maybe that's why I think it's such an odd thing to worry about.  One guy did get cancer and his health insurance really saved him.  He did make some mistakes setting up his assets for his wife in case he were to pass, so now he is working in order to rebuild before ER.  If he had been ER at the time and on crappy medical insurance, he'd probably be bankrupt or dead, since the basic treatment he'd started on wasn't working and he was able to get a new doctor and an experimental treatment.  He spent a lot of time in the hospital and was on long term disability (paying 66% of his salary) for over a year.  Yet another story that left a bit of an impression on me.  Plus I have 2 teenagers on my insurance and I now have a pre-existing condition, so it's a valuable perk.

[couponvan]

Maybe, if you can hang it up and live a while, then it's a win.

How many times have you heard of these guys who retire after thirty to fifty years of work and just drop dead?  I used to work with an old guy, Frank.  Frank saved every penny for years.  He finally retired at 66.  A few months later Frank had a brain tumor and didn't last long after that.  Sometimes time is worth more than some extra money.

Do you want OMY of retirement or OMY of work?

I know so many stories like that.

Ditto - the worst was the partner one month prior to mandatory retirement. Heart attack in the office-at least he had a gorgeous view of the Bay Bridge and the Ferry Building in SF when he died. He was my favorite male partner name Gene. The head of our firm, another Gene I had worked with, got brain cancer and wrote a book “Chasing Darkness” about his impending death. It makes you want to make sure to enjoy your life more along the way.

[FireLane]

Maybe, if you can hang it up and live a while, then it's a win.

How many times have you heard of these guys who retire after thirty to fifty years of work and just drop dead?  I used to work with an old guy, Frank.  Frank saved every penny for years.  He finally retired at 66.  A few months later Frank had a brain tumor and didn't last long after that.  Sometimes time is worth more than some extra money.

Do you want OMY of retirement or OMY of work?

I don't know of anyone at my company that has died on the job, maybe that's why I think it's such an odd thing to worry about.  One guy did get cancer and his health insurance really saved him.  He did make some mistakes setting up his assets for his wife in case he were to pass, so now he is working in order to rebuild before ER.  If he had been ER at the time and on crappy medical insurance, he'd probably be bankrupt or dead, since the basic treatment he'd started on wasn't working and he was able to get a new doctor and an experimental treatment.  He spent a lot of time in the hospital and was on long term disability (paying 66% of his salary) for over a year.  Yet another story that left a bit of an impression on me.  Plus I have 2 teenagers on my insurance and I now have a pre-existing condition, so it's a valuable perk.

I know of two people at my company who died over a weekend. Neither was especially old or in bad health. It's not something you likely have to worry about, but it does happen. We never get to know how much time we have.

[Buffaloski Boris]

True that you could keel over at any time.  But it's also true that if you enjoy your work and are fulfilled by it, then what's the problem with that?  What's tragic is when you're working at some miserable grind and then die prematurely on the way to some long term goal that due to your mortality you'll never get to attain. 

[EscapeVelocity2020]

True that you could keel over at any time.  But it's also true that if you enjoy your work and are fulfilled by it, then what's the problem with that?  What's tragic is when you're working at some miserable grind and then die prematurely on the way to some long term goal that due to your mortality you'll never get to attain.

I find work to be very fulfilling and most folks I work with also feel a bit 'spoiled' by having a good situation.  It's nice to have the FI to ER but still want to work, probably the ideal situation to be in - but we're not the folks that start blogs or comment extensively. 

But I understand the ethos of the community, I was there once, desperate to FIRE.  I was tossed about by the markets and struggled to figure out what I wanted.  And then there is now - ACA, over a decade of solid equity growth, and washed ashore upon a company that pays me well and treats me well.  I guess I'm in paradise :)  Although I'm not ER, I'm not gonna complain.

[pecunia]

It's a smart person that recognizes a good thing and is content before it ends.

[EscapeVelocity2020]

It's a smart person that recognizes a good thing and is content before it ends.

That is the only sad thing, that it will come to an end sooner or later.  But in the meantime, you are 100% right, showing gratitude is important.  I totally understand that many folks out there work jobs that suck on many levels.  But work, in and of itself, does not suck as many ER's attest to (since many find meaning in a new form of work), and getting well taken care of is a nice side benefit too.

[soccerluvof4]

It's a smart person that recognizes a good thing and is content before it ends.

That is the only sad thing, that it will come to an end sooner or later.  But in the meantime, you are 100% right, showing gratitude is important.  I totally understand that many folks out there work jobs that suck on many levels.  But work, in and of itself, does not suck as many ER's attest to (since many find meaning in a new form of work), and getting well taken care of is a nice side benefit too.

Well put! Goes back to the ole saying its not work if you enjoy what your doing. For me I loved what I was doing and fortunately when I didnt anymore I was able to get out.

[soccerluvof4]

Everybody go beyond the beyond or Broke? this is the quietest I remember this thread ever being.
Thought for sure we would have some new people or people hitting some new levels. In any case will see how this plays out going through the end of the year and forward. Good news on Vaccine gave us a nice jump back and now if we could just get control of this Pandemic that would be a very good thing. Dr. Gotlieb says the roughest months though are still to come. Everyone be safe!

[LightTripper]

Well, it's not a very round number but I just hit £3.5m including house.  Probably more meaningfully, I passed £2m excluding house and pension in the summer, so I am pretty definitively FI now, even at my fat spending levels.

I think I'm on my way to agreeing a 1 day a week contract at work starting in January (in reality it will be lumpy - so some weeks of 0 hours and some weeks closer to full time).

I suspect I will pull the plug on work altogether mid-year, but it seems worth a try to see if I can re-discover my former enjoyment of my work by doing less of it and being less tired!

[pecunia]

I pulled the plug six months ago.  I've been living off savings.  I've been ignoring the money thing.  I checked it yesterday.  Net worth is up.

Will stocks continue to rise or will they fall as we work through this Covid thing? It just seems that when it's over and people are working again that we should have more prosperity and spending which leads to economic growth and good stuff.

[Dancin'Dog]

I've been riding motorcycles and working on household projects at our mountain place.  The riding is wonderful and there are plenty of unfinished things to do on the cabin, so it's a good situation.  Today a buddy and I went out on a dual-sport ride on forest service roads on a mountain next to Watauga Lake.  As we crossed the river we saw dozens of kayakers getting in.  That reminded me that I'd like to explore the next lake over, South Holston Lake, if the weather remains so mild. 


I'm enjoying the playing, but I need to remember to cut some firewood while the weather is nice.  There are a lot of trees down on our property, so clearing it & gathering firewood are sort of the same project.  Of course I could buy wood & pay to get the downed trees cleaned up, but I enjoy the exercise.  I'll pay a buddy to help so it'll be more fun and go quicker. 


Covid-19 is flaring up & will be getting even worse.  Who knows how the economy will do?  Biden winning the election brings hope that we be listening to medical & scientific experts again, so that gives me hope that things will improve. 


We have a property under contract and there seems to be a lot of interest in another that we recently subdivided.  It will be nice to get all of the real estate sold.   It's all vacant building lots, so not producing income.  (I don't know why anyone would want to build at the moment, but I'm glad that there are a few that do.  :)  ) We noticed a couple of new lots nearby on Zillow yesterday that are priced much higher than ours, so that will help us remain firm on our prices.  Sometimes competition is a good thing, right? ;)


I hope all of you and your families are staying happy, safe, and well. 

[2sk22]

Everybody go beyond the beyond or Broke? this is the quietest I remember this thread ever being.
Thought for sure we would have some new people or people hitting some new levels. In any case will see how this plays out going through the end of the year and forward. Good news on Vaccine gave us a nice jump back and now if we could just get control of this Pandemic that would be a very good thing. Dr. Gotlieb says the roughest months though are still to come. Everyone be safe!

Heh - we are up a ridiculous amount in November. At the moment, we are probably at the highest invested net worth ever. I'm embarrassed to even say how much, I have a suspicion that its probably one of the highest numbers posted here :-)

After retiring at the beginning of October, work related stress, has dropped to zero but generalized covid and election related anxiety remains. Thankfully, without work, its easier to keep anxieties under control!

[Fomerly known as something]

I should actually hit the $2 million mark sometime next year excluding my fuzzy math from my pension. 

In other news, I was stunned with the checks I opened yesterday.  A few weeks ago I go notified by USAA that they were sending out additional checks to people who used their home selling/buying service a few years ago, you know the referral ones who end up with you getting a kick back from the agent commissions.  I was like meh, probably will be something trivial like $50.  Turned out to be .4% of the purchase price.  So it was a wind fall of close to 3k.

[Bateaux]

Not much to report.  Net worth up slightly 2.55M with the election bump.   Did some fishing while at the Florida house for two weeks.  Back in Louisiana and working a bit.  Headed back to Florida in two weeks.  Have entertained thoughts of hanging it up, but expenses are just too high right now, especially medical. 955 days to go.

[Much Fishing to Do]

The last two weeks did see a crazy $200k rise in portfolio to send me to a new high, but not enough higher than my Feb, Aug, and Oct highs to feel like we've moved out of the basic 2020 trading range for the year. 

I am only about 5% from a nice round number bucket mix that I will feel like is a real move higher and was my furthest reach goal target before RE (Cash Acct for first 3 years of RE + $2M taxable accts + $1M Retire accts), so that does seem remarkably possible now.

[rmorris50]

The last two weeks did see a crazy $200k rise in portfolio to send me to a new high, but not enough higher than my Feb, Aug, and Oct highs to feel like we've moved out of the basic 2020 trading range for the year. 

I am only about 5% from a nice round number bucket mix that I will feel like is a real move higher and was my furthest reach goal target before RE (Cash Acct for first 3 years of RE + $2M taxable accts + $1M Retire accts), so that does seem remarkably possible now.

NW fell to 1.9m with March crash, now we are at 2.5m, kinda a scary swing. Closed on house end of sept so tied up 120k in house equity. Never Plan to prepay. Friends I confide in can’t believe I will FIRE with a mortgage, the idea it has to be paid off is pervasive. At 2.49 percent fixed, no way!

Now when to fire, sometime between now and March 2023. Luckily my spouse and financial advisor now understand how serious I am, but I’m tired of the question “what will you do, you hav me to figure that out before you quit”. How about just enjoy life and low stress. Cook , workout, hike and volunteer tutoring math? Ugh.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Much Fishing to Do]

The last two weeks did see a crazy $200k rise in portfolio to send me to a new high, but not enough higher than my Feb, Aug, and Oct highs to feel like we've moved out of the basic 2020 trading range for the year. 

I am only about 5% from a nice round number bucket mix that I will feel like is a real move higher and was my furthest reach goal target before RE (Cash Acct for first 3 years of RE + $2M taxable accts + $1M Retire accts), so that does seem remarkably possible now.

NW fell to 1.9m with March crash, now we are at 2.5m, kinda a scary swing. Closed on house end of sept so tied up 120k in house equity. Never Plan to prepay. Friends I confide in can’t believe I will FIRE with a mortgage, the idea it has to be paid off is pervasive. At 2.49 percent fixed, no way!

Now when to fire, sometime between now and March 2023. Luckily my spouse and financial advisor now understand how serious I am, but I’m tired of the question “what will you do, you hav me to figure that out before you quit”. How about just enjoy life and low stress. Cook , workout, hike and volunteer tutoring math? Ugh.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah, my year low LNW was around $2.3M, so it definitely has swung wildly this year (basically $3.1M to $2.3M to $3.2M).

[SwordGuy]

We're up $66K since Halloween.  :)   

To put things in perspective, the S&P 500 is now a smidge over the historical annual average rate of return for the US stock market.

[Exflyboy]

$2.52M LNW here.

Now at 59 the question of when to draw my UK pension (that fully matures on my 60th birthday) comes into play. Not drawing it means it grows at roughly 7%/yr and I can minimise income/taxes and maximise ACA subsidies.

Sounds great but at 72 there is going to be a hell of a tax hit..:)

Rich people problems!

[lhamo]

Under current policies I'd wait until you are at least 65 and on Medicare -- or until HRH is, too, if she is younger than you.  The ACA subsidies are probably worth more than the eventual tax hit will be. And by the time you take the tax hit you will be rolling in even MORE money....

If Biden manages to lower Medicare age to 60, revisit.

[Exflyboy]

Yes HRH is 3.5 years younger which would put me at 68.5, so Roth conversion opportunities are going to be limited.

HRH gets a pension too which compounds the "problem".

I need a private jet clearly..:)

[Fomerly known as something]

Yes HRH is 3.5 years younger which would put me at 68.5, so Roth conversion opportunities are going to be limited.

HRH gets a pension too which compounds the "problem".

I need a private jet clearly..:)

Costco can help with that.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/15/business/costco-private-jet-membership/index.html

[Buffaloski Boris]

The last two weeks did see a crazy $200k rise in portfolio to send me to a new high, but not enough higher than my Feb, Aug, and Oct highs to feel like we've moved out of the basic 2020 trading range for the year. 

I am only about 5% from a nice round number bucket mix that I will feel like is a real move higher and was my furthest reach goal target before RE (Cash Acct for first 3 years of RE + $2M taxable accts + $1M Retire accts), so that does seem remarkably possible now.

NW fell to 1.9m with March crash, now we are at 2.5m, kinda a scary swing. Closed on house end of sept so tied up 120k in house equity. Never Plan to prepay. Friends I confide in can’t believe I will FIRE with a mortgage, the idea it has to be paid off is pervasive. At 2.49 percent fixed, no way!

Now when to fire, sometime between now and March 2023. Luckily my spouse and financial advisor now understand how serious I am, but I’m tired of the question “what will you do, you hav me to figure that out before you quit”. How about just enjoy life and low stress. Cook , workout, hike and volunteer tutoring math? Ugh.

I'm a big fan of paying off the house in retirement.  But not at 2.5%. 

Being older (mid 50's) I don't get the strange stares when I talk about retiring.  Fact is, I doubt I ever will retire completely anyway.  I may well "retire" from my current job and take my pension, but I'm happy working.  It's a game to me. 

[LWYRUP]

Friendly reminder that after a big runup is a great time to take a little off the table.

I transferred net $20k from stocks to bonds tonight. 

Just a tiny course correction to keep things on track for the long term. 

[itchyfeet]

It’s been a while but I thought I’d report in.

Like others have commented, it’s been a wild ride this year. I kept buying when the market dumped and changed a lot of USD investments to AUD when the AUD was in free fall. Consequently it’s been a pretty great year financially. Almost as good as 2019.

Our NW just passed $4m AUD. Pretty much $3M USD

The last $1 million AUD took only 21 months to accumulate. Crazy stuff considering that our first million took more like 21 years. Really difficult to comprehend.

Amidst all this market excitement we repatriated to Australia, and instead of FIREing as planned for the past few years, i took on a promotion of sorts. DW has also picked up work.

So what of FIRE????

It’s still on the short term horizon.... just OMY or 2MYs 😆 Once I press eject there will be no going back, so I just want to be damn sure I am done with this “corporate dog” part of my life.

[PhrugalPhan]

Yep, it has been a crazy year...

As of this morning my investments were $1.2 Mil + $40k of savings.  My GF has about $1.3 Mil investments.  She is getting a $30/yr pension and I will be eligible for $45/yr in 2 years (currently will get $24k/yr if I leave today).  Both have COLAs.  I figure the pensions combined are worth at least $1 Mil in today's money.  And I have my paid off house in a M/HCOL area.  I don't know what I would consider the total net worth, but it must be mid to high in the $3M-$4M range.

No RE for me at the moment as I plan on working until I get my full pension amount beginning in 2023.  Until then I continue to telework and investing in Roth money (currently I am at 50/50 pre tax/post tax)

[Bateaux]

Made a move more heavily into stock today.  I was hedging with cash and bonds.  Now I'm hedging with employment for a couple of more years. 

[Car Jack]

Made a move more heavily into stock today.  I was hedging with cash and bonds.  Now I'm hedging with employment for a couple of more years.

What do you mean moving?

Did you change your asset allocation numbers?  I'm pretty Boglehead in my approach with some variation, but documented.  For me, 50/50 stock/bond with international floating from about 3 years ago, meaning that I've got international, but don't control what it's sitting at.  It sat originally at 25% of equity and today, it's 20%.

The only moving I do is when I put money in to buy more, either actively for my taxable and Roth or passively with my 401k.  I always wait until after my tax return is complete before putting my Roth money in.  I was in the phase out area due to income one year and pulling the money out with the penalties is something I'm unwilling to do again.

[Fomerly known as something]

Made a move more heavily into stock today.  I was hedging with cash and bonds.  Now I'm hedging with employment for a couple of more years.

What do you mean moving?

Did you change your asset allocation numbers?  I'm pretty Boglehead in my approach with some variation, but documented.  For me, 50/50 stock/bond with international floating from about 3 years ago, meaning that I've got international, but don't control what it's sitting at.  It sat originally at 25% of equity and today, it's 20%.

The only moving I do is when I put money in to buy more, either actively for my taxable and Roth or passively with my 401k.  I always wait until after my tax return is complete before putting my Roth money in.  I was in the phase out area due to income one year and pulling the money out with the penalties is something I'm unwilling to do again.

My solution to this was to just go with a backdoor Roth even if I might be able to qualify.