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

[Bateaux]

Hello,
I’m joining you at net worth of just over $2M. Yeah, I’m definitely the poorest one in this group! Nonetheless, I look forward to being here.

Each extra million gets easier.   Come on in.

[Exflyboy]

Hello,
I’m joining you at net worth of just over $2M. Yeah, I’m definitely the poorest one in this group! Nonetheless, I look forward to being here.

Oh great, now I'm going to have to go wash off my hands having replied to a mere two-millionaire!  Oh Jeeves, bring the Purell forthwith...  LOL, congrats LeftA

I know right? Sometimes one just has to hold ones nose to slum-it with the great unwashed!..:)

Here is the good thing.. Chances as LeftA you will get to "beyond" by doing absolutely nothing..:)

[arcturus]

Welcome @LeftA .   Just updated the spreadsheet, net worth just crossed $3M with invested assets just north of $2.4M -- thanks to the month of June!   Oh and depending on which real estate site I believe, the net worth could be as high as $3.4M - can you believe that??!!??    I personally believe the right answer is somewhere in the middle, but I'm going with the lowest to be conservative because it again feels like there is a bit of a real estate bubble around these parts.   

Anyways, it feels good to once again establish line of sight to the goals.   Still not at my "aggressive" goal for the year (~$2.6M), but it doesn't feel as crazy as it did at the beginning of the year.  And admittedly, it was kind of stupidly aggressive, like "if I could only achieve this, I'd be back on track" sorta thing.

The kid-expenses have continued to be a bit of an drain this year, but -- ever the optimist -- those will hopefully wind down very soon.  529 accounts are depleted, so it all hits with stache dollars at this point, which is particularly painful.   

Good to hear from you all, and watching your next move with interest @Bateaux .  Best to you all!

[JGS1980]

Quarterly Update:
July-20    $1,128,599 (+197,143)
Oct-20     $1,233,581 (+104,981) *Milestone reached -over 1 million in liquid investments.
Jan-21     $1,468,865 (+235,284 for the quarter, +374,258 for the year))
April-21   $1,594,119 (+125,254)
July-21    $1,714,855 (+120,736)
Oct-21     $1,729,455 (+14,599)
Jan-22     $1,920,469 (+191,014 for the quarter, +451,604 for the year)
April-22   $1,864,657 (-$55,812)
July-22    $1,680,190 (-184,167)
Oct-22     *Did Not Calculate
Jan-23     $1,821,385 (DNC)
April-23   $1,953,913 (+132,528) *Milestone -over 1.5 million liquid
July-23    $2,092,670 (+138,757) ***Sabbatical Time***

Proud to join this illustrious race/club. Been enjoying the musings here for years. I'm not really racing at this point, however, as I just quit my job yesterday and am now officially on sabbatical. Not quite FAT-FIRED, more like COAST FIRED right now, which is fine by me. Thanks everyone here for all the motivation and insight over the years. This community is a priceless resource.

JGS

[Dicey]

Woo-hoo, a spate of new members, just in time for summer fun. Who's going to join is next?

[pecunia]

Quarterly Update:
July-20    $1,128,599 (+197,143)
Oct-20     $1,233,581 (+104,981) *Milestone reached -over 1 million in liquid investments.
Jan-21     $1,468,865 (+235,284 for the quarter, +374,258 for the year))
April-21   $1,594,119 (+125,254)
July-21    $1,714,855 (+120,736)
Oct-21     $1,729,455 (+14,599)
Jan-22     $1,920,469 (+191,014 for the quarter, +451,604 for the year)
April-22   $1,864,657 (-$55,812)
July-22    $1,680,190 (-184,167)
Oct-22     *Did Not Calculate
Jan-23     $1,821,385 (DNC)
April-23   $1,953,913 (+132,528) *Milestone -over 1.5 million liquid
July-23    $2,092,670 (+138,757) ***Sabbatical Time***

Proud to join this illustrious race/club. Been enjoying the musings here for years. I'm not really racing at this point, however, as I just quit my job yesterday and am now officially on sabbatical. Not quite FAT-FIRED, more like COAST FIRED right now, which is fine by me. Thanks everyone here for all the motivation and insight over the years. This community is a priceless resource.

JGS

If I had known about sabbatical years ago, I may have continued my education.  My older brother became a professor.  Quite a number of years back he told me he was taking the next year as a sabbatical.  I asked him, "What's that?"  Then he told me and I replied, "You've got to be kidding."  Enjoy your long reprieve.  With your savings, you may not need to go back.

[JGS1980]

Quarterly Update:
July-20    $1,128,599 (+197,143)
Oct-20     $1,233,581 (+104,981) *Milestone reached -over 1 million in liquid investments.
Jan-21     $1,468,865 (+235,284 for the quarter, +374,258 for the year))
April-21   $1,594,119 (+125,254)
July-21    $1,714,855 (+120,736)
Oct-21     $1,729,455 (+14,599)
Jan-22     $1,920,469 (+191,014 for the quarter, +451,604 for the year)
April-22   $1,864,657 (-$55,812)
July-22    $1,680,190 (-184,167)
Oct-22     *Did Not Calculate
Jan-23     $1,821,385 (DNC)
April-23   $1,953,913 (+132,528) *Milestone -over 1.5 million liquid
July-23    $2,092,670 (+138,757) ***Sabbatical Time***

Proud to join this illustrious race/club. Been enjoying the musings here for years. I'm not really racing at this point, however, as I just quit my job yesterday and am now officially on sabbatical. Not quite FAT-FIRED, more like COAST FIRED right now, which is fine by me. Thanks everyone here for all the motivation and insight over the years. This community is a priceless resource.

JGS

If I had known about sabbatical years ago, I may have continued my education.  My older brother became a professor.  Quite a number of years back he told me he was taking the next year as a sabbatical.  I asked him, "What's that?"  Then he told me and I replied, "You've got to be kidding."  Enjoy your long reprieve.  With your savings, you may not need to go back.

Not a real sabbatical. More like I quit my job and don't plan to work for at least 6 months. But I prefer to call it a sabbatical as people find that to be a more reassuring concept. Either way, I plan to rest my brain and body a bit.

[secondcor521]

Not a real sabbatical. More like I quit my job and don't plan to work for at least 6 months. But I prefer to call it a sabbatical as people find that to be a more reassuring concept. Either way, I plan to rest my brain and body a bit.

I'm still on my "sabbatical" I started in February 2016.  For me it was less about reassuring other people and more about giving myself permission to "fail" at FIRE and decide to go back to work if I messed up my finances or got bored.  Haven't messed up my finances or got bored (yet).

[ixtap]

Not a real sabbatical. More like I quit my job and don't plan to work for at least 6 months. But I prefer to call it a sabbatical as people find that to be a more reassuring concept. Either way, I plan to rest my brain and body a bit.

I'm still on my "sabbatical" I started in February 2016.  For me it was less about reassuring other people and more about giving myself permission to "fail" at FIRE and decide to go back to work if I messed up my finances or got bored.  Haven't messed up my finances or got bored (yet).

Ha! When we talk about cruising we talk about going all over the world, but not around the world, for the same reason. If our goal is to do it as long as it interests us, not to complete something, we can't fail at it.

[arcturus]

Not a real sabbatical. More like I quit my job and don't plan to work for at least 6 months. But I prefer to call it a sabbatical as people find that to be a more reassuring concept. Either way, I plan to rest my brain and body a bit.

I'm still on my "sabbatical" I started in February 2016.  For me it was less about reassuring other people and more about giving myself permission to "fail" at FIRE and decide to go back to work if I messed up my finances or got bored.  Haven't messed up my finances or got bored (yet).

Good response -- and I like that perspective, I guess I need to convince myself think about it that way!

[secondcor521]

Not a real sabbatical. More like I quit my job and don't plan to work for at least 6 months. But I prefer to call it a sabbatical as people find that to be a more reassuring concept. Either way, I plan to rest my brain and body a bit.

I'm still on my "sabbatical" I started in February 2016.  For me it was less about reassuring other people and more about giving myself permission to "fail" at FIRE and decide to go back to work if I messed up my finances or got bored.  Haven't messed up my finances or got bored (yet).

Good response -- and I like that perspective, I guess I need to convince myself think about it that way!

Maybe, but not necessarily.

I'm beginning to think that I won't have to go back to work.  I'm too lazy to change my LinkedIn profile though.  ;-)

[jeroly]

aaaaaaaand... that's the whistle for half time! H22023 here we come.

I've got this semi-annual report thing going on with my SO where we square things up from credit card and other charges every six months, plus (since I'm the one with portfolio management training) I go through her financials and give her the 'state of the union' - what our individual and combined NWs are, what our asset allocations are, and what changes I recommend that she make (e.g. transfer $X from checking to VTSAX).  So that kept me busy last night after the second quarter reached its conclusion.

Six months ago the equity portion of her portfolio had dropped to around 60% but it's back to 67%, near her 70% target. Our total NW is also back to an all-time high (it hasn't reached infinity but it's well into 'Beyond' territory), and with the firehose of a paycheck flooding her checking account biweekly it should continue its march upwards. 

It's a bit weird to calculate WR based on our combined assets and expenses, as I am the only one FIREd, but it would be around 3%.  Using my numbers alone (just my spending, just my investible assets) it's about 4%, a level I'm reasonably comfortable with on a theoretical level...however my parents inculcated me with their depression-era mentality so I am constantly questioning my financial safety and whether I'm spending too much...

So I did a back-of-the-envelope calculation: what if tomorrow all of our equities went to zero, SO's megacorp went bankrupt so she not only lost her job but her deferred compensation as well, and social security ran out of money so we get a 25% haircut on that?  I estimated that while we wouldn't be able to eat kobe beef nightly, we'd still be able to keep a roof over our heads and not have to eat cat food - plus have a good amount of $$$ left over for travel etc.  Having that knowledge has added another layer of comfort for me around our financial situation!

Anybody else here look at close-to-worst-case scenarios like that?

[rmorris50]

aaaaaaaand... that's the whistle for half time! H22023 here we come.

I've got this semi-annual report thing going on with my SO where we square things up from credit card and other charges every six months, plus (since I'm the one with portfolio management training) I go through her financials and give her the 'state of the union' - what our individual and combined NWs are, what our asset allocations are, and what changes I recommend that she make (e.g. transfer $X from checking to VTSAX).  So that kept me busy last night after the second quarter reached its conclusion.

Six months ago the equity portion of her portfolio had dropped to around 60% but it's back to 67%, near her 70% target. Our total NW is also back to an all-time high (it hasn't reached infinity but it's well into 'Beyond' territory), and with the firehose of a paycheck flooding her checking account biweekly it should continue its march upwards. 

It's a bit weird to calculate WR based on our combined assets and expenses, as I am the only one FIREd, but it would be around 3%.  Using my numbers alone (just my spending, just my investible assets) it's about 4%, a level I'm reasonably comfortable with on a theoretical level...however my parents inculcated me with their depression-era mentality so I am constantly questioning my financial safety and whether I'm spending too much...

So I did a back-of-the-envelope calculation: what if tomorrow all of our equities went to zero, SO's megacorp went bankrupt so she not only lost her job but her deferred compensation as well, and social security ran out of money so we get a 25% haircut on that?  I estimated that while we wouldn't be able to eat kobe beef nightly, we'd still be able to keep a roof over our heads and not have to eat cat food - plus have a good amount of $$$ left over for travel etc.  Having that knowledge has added another layer of comfort for me around our financial situation!

Anybody else here look at close-to-worst-case scenarios like that?

Well I am actually witnessing a “worse case”scenario with my mother. She is 72, disabled, and just hangs out in her little one bed apt all day, every day except to go to the doc. She lives off $1500 a month social security, with half going to rent. She’s been supplementing that with a very small inheritance over the past decade and with additional help from us adult children, but now that inheritance has run out. So I am in the process of getting her on SNAP and Medicaid.

Her life is extremely simple, she doesn’t do much of anything. But she has a roof, food and children who love her and are helping her. Her basic needs are met.

So I don’t really stress over the worse case scenario. I know we can adapt and should always have the basics, short of a societal collapse.

Yet having said all that I am still working .


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Car Jack]

I've got this semi-annual report thing going on with my SO where we square things up from credit card and other charges every six months, plus (since I'm the one with portfolio management training) I go through her financials and give her the 'state of the union' - what our individual and combined NWs are, what our asset allocations are, and what changes I recommend that she make (e.g. transfer $X from checking to VTSAX).  So that kept me busy last night after the second quarter reached its conclusion.

This sounds quite familiar although DW is likely more resistant.  Every turn of a month, I tell her what her checking account earned and what it would earn at Ally.  For this month, her checking account interest was 16 cents and if she transferred to Ally, it would bring $110.  Not enough to convince her to move anything.  Sigh

[arcturus]

aaaaaaaand... that's the whistle for half time! H22023 here we come.

I've got this semi-annual report thing going on with my SO where we square things up from credit card and other charges every six months, plus (since I'm the one with portfolio management training) I go through her financials and give her the 'state of the union' - what our individual and combined NWs are, what our asset allocations are, and what changes I recommend that she make (e.g. transfer $X from checking to VTSAX).  So that kept me busy last night after the second quarter reached its conclusion.

Six months ago the equity portion of her portfolio had dropped to around 60% but it's back to 67%, near her 70% target. Our total NW is also back to an all-time high (it hasn't reached infinity but it's well into 'Beyond' territory), and with the firehose of a paycheck flooding her checking account biweekly it should continue its march upwards. 

It's a bit weird to calculate WR based on our combined assets and expenses, as I am the only one FIREd, but it would be around 3%.  Using my numbers alone (just my spending, just my investible assets) it's about 4%, a level I'm reasonably comfortable with on a theoretical level...however my parents inculcated me with their depression-era mentality so I am constantly questioning my financial safety and whether I'm spending too much...

So I did a back-of-the-envelope calculation: what if tomorrow all of our equities went to zero, SO's megacorp went bankrupt so she not only lost her job but her deferred compensation as well, and social security ran out of money so we get a 25% haircut on that?  I estimated that while we wouldn't be able to eat kobe beef nightly, we'd still be able to keep a roof over our heads and not have to eat cat food - plus have a good amount of $$$ left over for travel etc.  Having that knowledge has added another layer of comfort for me around our financial situation!

Anybody else here look at close-to-worst-case scenarios like that?

I'm pretty conservative by nature as well, but I think I've come to terms with accepting some risk, otherwise I will never pull the trigger.  Albeit, I'm probably an elder statesperson by traditional FIRE standards, due in large part to late start and divorce which caused a reset button push about 10 years ago or so.

But I'm doing my calcs based on a 6% assumed return and my fallback is home equity and/or going back to work per @secondcor521 's approach (I'm going to try to adopt this philosophy and employ it if I start to fall materially behind on my plan).  I will also confess that I don't think the 4% SWR will work for me -- disown me if you want!   But as I start to analyze the situation, I'm realizing that things like property taxes are a really big swing for me, believe it or not....property taxes in this area are relatively high I believe (~2.2% of home value per year).   Living in the house I want and leaving funding for things like reasonable (not crazy IMO) travel means significant expense in those two line items.  So I am planning for that.

But in terms of preparing for an armageddon scenario in terms of the markets and/or sociopolitical situation, I'm putting that out of my mind.   Life is too short -- at my age.   But I can assure you, if I were in the "and beyond" territory, I'd be pulling the trigger at this stage in my life.   

[oldladystache]

Anybody else here look at close-to-worst-case scenarios like that?

Unless we have a massive disruption, societal collapse, I don't see how I could run out of money.

But I still carefully monitor my accounts, making sure that every dollar is working as hard as it can.

[on the road]

Rejoining this thread and hoping it sticks this time

Liquid net worth

      2020       2021       2022       2023
Jan              $1,428K    $1,979K    $1,867K
Feb     $984K    $1,463K    $1,967K    $2,005K
Mar     $883K    $1,501K    $1,991K    $1,961K
Apr     $721K    $1,720K    $2,111K    $2,076K
May   $1,092K    $1,793K    $1,906K    $2,075K
Jun              $1,828K    $1,918K    $2,064K
Jul              $1,841K    $1,833K    $2,108K
Aug   $1,217K    $1,860K    $1,916K
Sep   $1,260K    $1,906K    $1,892K
Oct   $1,265K    $1,866K    $1,745K
Nov   $1,253K    $1,951K    $1,822K
Dec   $1,375K    $1,911K    $1,933K

[BeanCounter]

Anybody else here look at close-to-worst-case scenarios like that?

Unless we have a massive disruption, societal collapse, I don't see how I could run out of money.

But I still carefully monitor my accounts, making sure that every dollar is working as hard as it can.

This.
I think old habits die hard though and the money anxiety will crop up, especially when there is a large market downturn and/or we are spending a lot. Some of it is still a bit of disbelief that we are truly FI at 45. Is that really possible? And then the what ifs and worst case scenario ruminating starts.
I just try and remind myself that we are in the 95th percentile of net worth so lots of things would have to go horribly wrong before we are destitute. And you dont go frim bei gcan extreme saver to an extreme spender overnight.

[Exflyboy]

Interesting, I was talking to a friend today who is uber wealthy and has been for a long time. Takes a private jet to business appointments, yearly family ski trips to Aspen.. in the private jet of course.

Obviously spends money like water. Said friend has no idea why I do things cheap.. take multi day backpacking/camping trips and (so far) has always flown economy.

I mean said friend has a point.. Why do I do this? I can't afford the "Aspen" lifestyle but we could easily afford a 6X the cost for business class when flying internationally.

But then, I know how long/hard I had to work to get to get from poverty to Fat FIRE. I know how much nursing homes cost, blah blah.

Of course its a fear response but not totally irrational either.

[pecunia]

Interesting, I was talking to a friend today who is uber wealthy and has been for a long time. Takes a private jet to business appointments, yearly family ski trips to Aspen.. in the private jet of course.

Obviously spends money like water. Said friend has no idea why I do things cheap.. take multi day backpacking/camping trips and (so far) has always flown economy.

I mean said friend has a point.. Why do I do this? I can't afford the "Aspen" lifestyle but we could easily afford a 6X the cost for business class when flying internationally.

But then, I know how long/hard I had to work to get to get from poverty to Fat FIRE. I know how much nursing homes cost, blah blah.

Of course its a fear response but not totally irrational either.

In 1926, F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote that the rich “are different from you and me.”  I still think that way.

I also think more rich folks than not are very careful with their money.  If you've ever lived in a small town, there's always a rich tightwad to be had in the area.  How did he get rich?  Often being a tightwad had something to do with it.  They've had to work for those pennies they hoard.

Then you hear true to life tales of people who win the lottery.  They p*ss it all away.  Their ship has come in and they've run it into the rocks.

I'm just sayin' there's some sense behind your philosophy.

[Exflyboy]

@pecunia yes you could see if we had kids and they inherited say $5M each. They then invest that and by the time they retire they hand off say $50M to their heirs.

I bet said grandkids would have a very different approach to spending money than I do... "Oh honey lets fire up the private jet and fly to Aspen for Thanksgiving".... Hedonistic adaption.. Its a thing..:)

[Fomerly known as something]

Interesting, I was talking to a friend today who is uber wealthy and has been for a long time. Takes a private jet to business appointments, yearly family ski trips to Aspen.. in the private jet of course.

Obviously spends money like water. Said friend has no idea why I do things cheap.. take multi day backpacking/camping trips and (so far) has always flown economy.

I mean said friend has a point.. Why do I do this? I can't afford the "Aspen" lifestyle but we could easily afford a 6X the cost for business class when flying internationally.

But then, I know how long/hard I had to work to get to get from poverty to Fat FIRE. I know how much nursing homes cost, blah blah.

Of course its a fear response but not totally irrational either.

In 1926, F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote that the rich “are different from you and me.”  I still think that way.

I also think more rich folks than not are very careful with their money.  If you've ever lived in a small town, there's always a rich tightwad to be had in the area.  How did he get rich?  Often being a tightwad had something to do with it.  They've had to work for those pennies they hoard.

Then you hear true to life tales of people who win the lottery.  They p*ss it all away.  Their ship has come in and they've run it into the rocks.

I'm just sayin' there's some sense behind your philosophy.

I’ve been listening to Remit’s show.  He mentioned at higher levels of spending there will be more that will go to waste.  I think he’s right and that is one of the reasons us tightwads have a hard time “enjoying our money”. We got it by not being wasteful, but now we can be “a little”.

[LeftA]

Thanks for the welcome @couponvan !

@Exflyboy , yes I’m still working. I’m pretty young and recently made a career change that has me thinking “wow, I can’t believe I get paid to do this.” after working in a fast paced, high intensity environment pretty much my whole career…

@CANStache , thanks for the warm welcome and inspiring words!

@EscapeVelocity2020 , yeah sorry about soiling your hands. LOL.

@Dicey , thanks! I’ve on occasion read this thread in the past thinking “perhaps, one day I’ll be there…” Can’t believe the time has come!

@Bateaux , while $1 to $2M was quick, I’m not sure I’m convinced that 2 to 3M will be that easy. I’ve definitely become a bit looser with my money. For example, I used to try to sell almost everything I don’t use that’s in good shape. Now, I find myself giving away so much - I just don’t want to spend the time or headache, especially when someone else can use it and get pleasure out of the item.

@arcturus , wow $3M! Congratulations!

@JGS1980 , congratulations on both passing the $2M mark and the “sabbatical!” What are your plans for this time? You mentioned rest and relax, but anything specific?

Interesting discussion about spending more now that we have hit a certain threshold…I think I will always weigh the benefit vs. the price before spending money. For example, flying business or first class, I still have a hard time thinking I’d pay multiple times the cost of economy for a few hours of discomfort! (My husband thinks I’ll change my tune when we are older and have even more $). I also think of the early days of working for minimum wage - granted I was a teen. But, the tedious and mind numbing work I did, makes me think twice about being wasteful now.

[Dancin'Dog]

I think many of us have money but we don’t necessarily want to change the lifestyle that we are used to living.   We place value on our practical and frugal beliefs.  Money frees our time to pursue whatever makes us happy.  Wasting money has never made me happy.  I’m happy knowing that I can, but wouldn’t be happy doing it.   
Different strokes for different folks. 

[Exflyboy]

I think many of us have money but we don’t necessarily want to change the lifestyle that we are used to living.   We place value on our practical and frugal beliefs.  Money frees our time to pursue whatever makes us happy.  Wasting money has never made me happy.  I’m happy knowing that I can, but wouldn’t be happy doing it.   
Different strokes for different folks.

You need to be hired to write inspirational quotes for frugal people.. I think you encapsulated what I think me belief structure is perfectly

But I'm still going to die with too much money!..:)

[ixtap]

I think many of us have money but we don’t necessarily want to change the lifestyle that we are used to living.   We place value on our practical and frugal beliefs.  Money frees our time to pursue whatever makes us happy.  Wasting money has never made me happy.  I’m happy knowing that I can, but wouldn’t be happy doing it.   
Different strokes for different folks.

Some of our family has been surprised to learn that we are definitely not looking for a bigger boat, but rather a same sized boat with some mod cons.

Or, as I said to DH this morning, we just want a champagne boat to continue to live our tap water life style.

[Exflyboy]

I think many of us have money but we don’t necessarily want to change the lifestyle that we are used to living.   We place value on our practical and frugal beliefs.  Money frees our time to pursue whatever makes us happy.  Wasting money has never made me happy.  I’m happy knowing that I can, but wouldn’t be happy doing it.   
Different strokes for different folks.

Some of our family has been surprised to learn that we are definitely not looking for a bigger boat, but rather a same sized boat with some mod cons.

Or, as I said to DH this morning, we just want a champagne boat to continue to live our tap water life style.

Exactly!

On our international trip back to the UK (For the Coronation of course.. NOT!), we were loading onto the airplane and doing the cattle herding through business class towards the spiked wooden benches at the very back of the airplane.

The couple in front of me said to each other  "oh this is where the millionaires sit"...

Of course I wanted to say something but I didn't..:)

[pecunia]

I think many of us have money but we don’t necessarily want to change the lifestyle that we are used to living.   We place value on our practical and frugal beliefs.  Money frees our time to pursue whatever makes us happy.  Wasting money has never made me happy.  I’m happy knowing that I can, but wouldn’t be happy doing it.   
Different strokes for different folks.

You need to be hired to write inspirational quotes for frugal people.. I think you encapsulated what I think me belief structure is perfectly

But I'm still going to die with too much money!..:)

I had this sort of weird thought while reading through this.  When does food taste the best?  It's when you haven't eaten in a while.  Denying yourself certain foods makes them taste ever so good when you finally receive them.  After a bleak Winter as the sun finally pokes through the grey, it is greatly welcomed.  After a week of sunshine, the same feeling is not there.  It's got me thinking about the entire frugality thing.  You don't have to experience a complete denial but just a careful moderation.  Time of restraint can make many experiences once received much more enjoyable.

Then there's the do-it -yourself thing.  When you build something yourself it can give a special feeling of satisfaction.  When you restore a thing, it can be a piece of treasure to you.  There's the whole saving the Earth thing kind of mixed in there too.

Sorry, that's as far as I got with the thought.  Time for a bike ride on a sunny day.

[Dicey]

I think many of us have money but we don’t necessarily want to change the lifestyle that we are used to living.   We place value on our practical and frugal beliefs.  Money frees our time to pursue whatever makes us happy.  Wasting money has never made me happy.  I’m happy knowing that I can, but wouldn’t be happy doing it.   
Different strokes for different folks.

Some of our family has been surprised to learn that we are definitely not looking for a bigger boat, but rather a same sized boat with some mod cons.

Or, as I said to DH this morning, we just want a champagne boat to continue to live our tap water life style.

Exactly!

On our international trip back to the UK (For the Coronation of course.. NOT!), we were loading onto the airplane and doing the cattle herding through business class towards the spiked wooden benches at the very back of the airplane.

The couple in front of me said to each other  "oh this is where the millionaires sit"...

Of course I wanted to say something but I didn't..:)

Ha! My first thought was, "Hmmm, not all of them..."

I used to fly for business and frequently got upgraded. I was definitely not a millionaire then.

[Dicey]

I think many of us have money but we don’t necessarily want to change the lifestyle that we are used to living.   We place value on our practical and frugal beliefs.  Money frees our time to pursue whatever makes us happy.  Wasting money has never made me happy.  I’m happy knowing that I can, but wouldn’t be happy doing it.   
Different strokes for different folks.

OTOH, we just spent about $1200 to fix a pesky problem in our ten-year-old luxury vehicle and it wasn't even a blip in our operating funds, let alone our NW. By contrast,  I took my 98-year old friend to a Safeway (full service grocery store) yesterday. I grabbed a few things as long as I was there to save another trip before we leave on vacation. I damn near died at their prices! One bag of ingredients (no meat, no snack foods) cost $50. However, helping my friend made me very happy.

[Exflyboy]

I think many of us have money but we don’t necessarily want to change the lifestyle that we are used to living.   We place value on our practical and frugal beliefs.  Money frees our time to pursue whatever makes us happy.  Wasting money has never made me happy.  I’m happy knowing that I can, but wouldn’t be happy doing it.   
Different strokes for different folks.

OTOH, we just spent about $1200 to fix a pesky problem in our ten-year-old luxury vehicle and it wasn't even a blip in our operating funds, let alone our NW. By contrast,  I took my 98-year old friend to a Safeway (full service grocery store) yesterday. I grabbed a few things as long as I was there to save another trip before we leave on vacation. I damn near died at their prices! One bag of ingredients (no meat, no snack foods) cost $50. However, helping my friend made me very happy.

Hahaha.. I know right, Isn't that just so ridiculous?

The the "buy a $35,000 SUV to sleep in to avoid $30 camping fees!"

Or... $4 for a birthday card.. gimme a break.. two for a dollar at the Dollar store!.. I'm going to drive over there!

The fact the Dollar Store is right next to Harbor Freight might also have a bit to do with that..:)

[Bateaux]

So I worked two shifts after returning from the Appalachian Trail.  I missed my peeps at work.  I miss my peeps from the Appalachian Trail.  There are cheap trips to Vegas and even cheaper per day cruises to Europe.
I have the rest of my shifts to work this July and early August. Also I'm scheduled for about 84 hours of overtime in those four weeks.  I'm planning to take a trip to our Florida house the second week of August.  Haven't been since April. In May and June I walked 436 miles of the AT.  There were more miles in total since I was without a car all those days and I walked everywhere, even in towns.  I lost 25 pounds a long the way.  I felt better than I have in years.
This morning after working two nights shifts, I had an 8:30 am dental appointment scheduled.  I'd forgotten, I'd even had it.  They called Monday with a reminder.  I had not planned to be employed at this date when I booked the appointment.  Other than the dental appointment, I did nothing but sleep and eat crappy food today.  I've felt worse today after working night shifts than after backpacking a 22 mile day in the mountains.
I just got a call from work, they need me in tomorrow morning.  I'd planned on having a great day bicycling tomorrow and ending the day with some fabulous Louisiana seafood.
I'm mentally and physically done with work!
My wife is pushing me to finish the year because it's worth a significant amount of money.  I'm ready to quit next month.  I'm pension and medical insurance eligible now. I know it's just six more months, but taking six weeks off has killed my desire to go back.

[deborah]

Will you ever use the extra money you get in that extra six months?

[scottish]

I think many of us have money but we don’t necessarily want to change the lifestyle that we are used to living.   We place value on our practical and frugal beliefs.  Money frees our time to pursue whatever makes us happy.  Wasting money has never made me happy.  I’m happy knowing that I can, but wouldn’t be happy doing it.   
Different strokes for different folks.

Some of our family has been surprised to learn that we are definitely not looking for a bigger boat, but rather a same sized boat with some mod cons.

Or, as I said to DH this morning, we just want a champagne boat to continue to live our tap water life style.

Exactly!

On our international trip back to the UK (For the Coronation of course.. NOT!), we were loading onto the airplane and doing the cattle herding through business class towards the spiked wooden benches at the very back of the airplane.

The couple in front of me said to each other  "oh this is where the millionaires sit"...

Of course I wanted to say something but I didn't..:)

Real millionaires splurge by paying $40 for the exit row seats!  :-)

[Bateaux]

Will you ever use the extra money you get in that extra six months?

Probably never miss it.

[2Birds1Stone]

Will you ever use the extra money you get in that extra six months?

Probably never miss it.

Sounds like a pretty terrible use of your time then....

[2sk22]

My wife is pushing me to finish the year because it's worth a significant amount of money.  I'm ready to quit next month.  I'm pension and medical insurance eligible now. I know it's just six more months, but taking six weeks off has killed my desire to go back.

It gets easier the longer you're retired. I just turned down a pretty significant amount of money. My old manager called yesterday asking if I would be willing to come back as a consultant. After two and half years of retirement, it was easy to say no (politely of course) :-)

[lhamo]

A thought exercise that might be helpful:

How many more years of life would you need to anticipate to make whatever you might earn by continuing to work to the end of the year worthwhile? And when would you rather have the freedom to live your life exactly as you choose/do all the stuff in your bucket list.

Let's say your current stash is likely to carry you to age 85 at a 3% SWD.  Working an extra 6 months would push that out to age 90.  But you forego 6 months of active living now -- doing all the hiking and biking and traveling you have put off for years -- for five years when you are most likely going to be more limited in what your body and brain can handle.  Think of how much invigorating living you can have in the next six months, versus five years of a more mundane existence when you probably will have more aches and pains, etc.

It might also be helpful to ask your wife why having this money now is important to her.  Does she really understand how good/safe your financial picture is?  Or are there bucket list items for her that she would like to spend the extra on?

I hope you will quit sooner rather than later, but understand it is complicated, especially with a spouse pushing you to keep the firehose of cash flowing...

[EscapeVelocity2020]

I kinda play it more in the present - the extra money I make now, post FI, needs to be spent more now.  If I don't want to spend it, I need to stop making it.  But I've managed to add in a lot of nice extras (we upgraded the final windows on the house, took more trips, tip and donate more, etc.) to help justify continuing to bring in money beyond FI.  I'm living each and every year I get to the fullest.  Until I drop to $2M (still my FI number), I'm not going to worry too much.

You folks thinking about your future 90 year old selves all the time depress me :)  Like those broke or dead folks that look at how much more likely they'll be dead than broke and find comfort in that.  Sheesh, no wonder FIRE is losing it's mojo, I don't want to make decisions based on that stuff, I want to be more like Bill Perkins and Die With Zero - headed toward broke well before being dead.

[Bateaux]

I never thought that I would say this,but I may talk with a financial planner to ease my wife's fears.  Back of the napkin math says we can draw over 13K a month right now.   Part of that will be my pension for the longest life of either of us.   It's about 4310 a month till we both croak.  The rest is based on 4% burn rate.  We don't spend that right now!
You guys know this is solid.  Leaning towards middle of August and done.  She can work till the year end. I'm OK with that if it makes her feel more secure. 

[BeanCounter]

I never thought that I would say this,but I may talk with a financial planner to ease my wife's fears.  Back of the napkin math says we can draw over 13K a month right now.   Part of that will be my pension for the longest life of either of us.   It's about 4310 a month till we both croak.  The rest is based on 4% burn rate.  We don't spend that right now!
You guys know this is solid.  Leaning towards middle of August and done.  She can work till the year end. I'm OK with that if it makes her feel more secure.

Don’t forget to consider the tax impact of the extra income. Both now and in the future. Every dollar earned is worth less when you are at this level of net worth. And ever year as we age our time is worth more…

[Dancin'Dog]

I never thought that I would say this,but I may talk with a financial planner to ease my wife's fears.  Back of the napkin math says we can draw over 13K a month right now.   Part of that will be my pension for the longest life of either of us.   It's about 4310 a month till we both croak.  The rest is based on 4% burn rate.  We don't spend that right now!
You guys know this is solid.  Leaning towards middle of August and done.  She can work till the year end. I'm OK with that if it makes her feel more secure.

If your wife wants to continue worrying let her go to work every day until she stops worrying.  ;)

[Exflyboy]

I never thought that I would say this,but I may talk with a financial planner to ease my wife's fears.  Back of the napkin math says we can draw over 13K a month right now.   Part of that will be my pension for the longest life of either of us.   It's about 4310 a month till we both croak.  The rest is based on 4% burn rate.  We don't spend that right now!
You guys know this is solid.  Leaning towards middle of August and done.  She can work till the year end. I'm OK with that if it makes her feel more secure.

This sounds weird to me but I just did the same calc and figured you currently have $1000 more per YEAR to live on than we do... I.e we are in the same position.. hmm.

Now of course I don't know your spending habits or how much you have in post tax vs pre tax.. Were are at about 50:50.

What I can say is we have a SIGNIFICANT tax issue between Medicare age and RMD age.. Or.. A freaking huge tax issue at RMD age if we don't do any ROTH conversions.. Take your choice.

Bottom line is there is no conceivable reason for us to earn any extra money.. I still chose to go back to work last year because the job was fun and I used the $$ to buy a couple of outrageously expensive toys, but I certainly didn't need to.

I think a couple of hundy spent with a financial planner would be a great idea to help your Wife with her fears.

[Much Fishing to Do]

I think many of us have money but we don’t necessarily want to change the lifestyle that we are used to living.   We place value on our practical and frugal beliefs.  Money frees our time to pursue whatever makes us happy.  Wasting money has never made me happy.  I’m happy knowing that I can, but wouldn’t be happy doing it.   
Different strokes for different folks.

Some of our family has been surprised to learn that we are definitely not looking for a bigger boat, but rather a same sized boat with some mod cons.

Or, as I said to DH this morning, we just want a champagne boat to continue to live our tap water life style.

Exactly!

On our international trip back to the UK (For the Coronation of course.. NOT!), we were loading onto the airplane and doing the cattle herding through business class towards the spiked wooden benches at the very back of the airplane.

The couple in front of me said to each other  "oh this is where the millionaires sit"...

Of course I wanted to say something but I didn't..:)

Heh, we recently decided to make an extended trip abroad an every summer thing (there's only so many summers left we're gonna want to travel), and always invite the 3 kids (there's even fewer summers left they'll want or be able to come with as they enter adulthood now).  The plane tickets are generally around $1k a piece, so $5k when all kids come, and I usually find myself spending another $5k total on everything else (apartment vrbo type thing for maybe $3k for a couple/few weeks and maybe $2k on other stuff).  So thats a total of $10k per summer trip.  That's sounds completely reasonable and affordable to me at this point.  We have an even grander one (mulitple countries) planned for this summer which will probably drive it to like $14k.

So I used to assume BUsiness class was twice coach, but the few times I clicked to see the difference lately its been more like 5x as much.  There is just no freakin way...

[secondcor521]

So I used to assume BUsiness class was twice coach, but the few times I clicked to see the difference lately its been more like 5x as much.  There is just no freakin way...

The one time I flew business class, my Dad first bought us economy class tickets and then we looked at and called about the prices to upgrade to business class several times.  Each time we declined because it wasn't worth it.  A few weeks before the flight the airline sent us a very understated email saying we could upgrade for a price that was quite a bit lower, so we did.

I don't know if that strategy works every time, but it saved us quite a bit.  The route was SEA<->DXB on Emirates, and the sticker price was $10K per seat to begin with, then the upgrade eventually dropped until I think we (well, my Dad) paid $800 per seat per person (per leg?  I can't recall) in the end.

[Much Fishing to Do]

So I used to assume BUsiness class was twice coach, but the few times I clicked to see the difference lately its been more like 5x as much.  There is just no freakin way...

The one time I flew business class, my Dad first bought us economy class tickets and then we looked at and called about the prices to upgrade to business class several times.  Each time we declined because it wasn't worth it.  A few weeks before the flight the airline sent us a very understated email saying we could upgrade for a price that was quite a bit lower, so we did.

I don't know if that strategy works every time, but it saved us quite a bit.  The route was SEA<->DXB on Emirates, and the sticker price was $10K per seat to begin with, then the upgrade eventually dropped until I think we (well, my Dad) paid $800 per seat per person (per leg?  I can't recall) in the end.

Wow, thats quite a difference.  I did once fly business class personally and it was the same situation (an upgrade offer) I just received in an email one day (I never really considered anythign other than coach), but it was for just me and the spouse and was for like $80 a piece on a short flight, I figured what the heck, probably the only time I ever fly up there....and it has been to date!

[BeanCounter]

I think I’d rather my kids inherit too much money than spend up for business class or first class. But I’m only 5’2 and 130lbs. So maybe that’s why it doesn’t seem worth it to me.

[Exflyboy]

I think I’d rather my kids inherit too much money than spend up for business class or first class. But I’m only 5’2 and 130lbs. So maybe that’s why it doesn’t seem worth it to me.

Yes us smaller folk (5' 8" 150lbs) have an easier time in cattle. Sometimes if you get the cheapest seats in the back I often find there are rows of seats unoccupied, So if you're quick you can get a pretty decent bed out of the deal.

[secondcor521]

I think I’d rather my kids inherit too much money than spend up for business class or first class. But I’m only 5’2 and 130lbs. So maybe that’s why it doesn’t seem worth it to me.

Size is one thing that comes into play, for sure.

There is also quite a bit of difference between the airlines and domestic versus international.  First class United domestic gets you early boarding, a really wide seat, and of course you only rub elbows with the other millionaires (@Exflyboy) - I wouldn't pay for it.  Emirates international business class gets you a much quieter area, really really nice food, and a lie flat seat inside a miniature cubby / cubicle.  I would pay for Emirates business class, but not $10K.

[Exflyboy]

Hah.. I'm walking past all the other millionaires on my way to the wooden slat seats with the spikes!

The "slightly" irritating thing is I used to fly all over the World earning air miles. So of course I've had a lot of upgrades. But I'm still not paying 6X for business class..:)