Author Topic: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!  (Read 1269731 times)

LWYRUP

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1059
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3850 on: August 27, 2020, 02:33:45 PM »

Warring militias in the streets, cat. 4 hurricane approaching, another 0.82% increase today for the S&P 500... 

I really just need to stick to real estate law and stop pretending I understand what moves the stock market.

I'm just going to say - I used to audit employee benefit plans of law firms.  They always "had" to have individual brokerage accounts for attorneys.  The attorneys would have hundreds of trades each year in their brokerage accounts. There'd be 1 or 2 attorneys at a firm that were successful at this effort and had significant returns, but the vast majority seemed to just never do well.  Day trading is not what you went to law school for.  (I am married to an attorney - he's crowing about his Tesla stock right now, but that same dude has historically bad taste in stock.  Luckily the majority is in index funds and it's only his fun money in individual stocks.)

I can imagine.  I was baptized into the cult of VTSAX by Burton Malkeil and John Bogle in college so I've been pretty good on that front.  Honestly, I don't even think I'd have the time to research things properly to my standards anyways, but I am guessing most of those traders aren't doing much research. 

Dicey

  • Senior Mustachian
  • ********
  • Posts: 22279
  • Age: 66
  • Location: NorCal
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3851 on: August 27, 2020, 10:50:20 PM »
Getting through Hurricane Laura OK thus far.  We're South of Baton Rouge and West of New Orleans.   Haven't lost power or had damages.  Western Louisiana and East Texas will be hurting for a long time however.  Send them some love.

Love to them and love to you. I hope you continue to stay safe, @Bateaux.

Bateaux

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2314
  • Location: Port Vincent
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3852 on: August 28, 2020, 11:33:20 AM »
Getting through Hurricane Laura OK thus far.  We're South of Baton Rouge and West of New Orleans.   Haven't lost power or had damages.  Western Louisiana and East Texas will be hurting for a long time however.  Send them some love.

Love to them and love to you. I hope you continue to stay safe, @Bateaux.

Everyone we know locally is fine.  I've seen the horrible videos of Lake Charles and other areas in the path.  Heart breaking.  You guys be careful with the fires.  Seems mother nature is after all of us.

CANStache

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 18
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3853 on: August 29, 2020, 09:16:15 PM »
Hi big-timers,

I passed $2M TNW early 2020, dropped back below for a few weeks, and have now grown to just below $2.2M TNW for August.  I guess this is my new thread, although this year doesn't seem like the time to be celebrating financial achievements when so many other things are going on in the world.

All the best to you all.

Dancin'Dog

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1758
  • Location: Here & There
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3854 on: August 29, 2020, 09:25:34 PM »
Hi big-timers,

I passed $2M TNW early 2020, dropped back below for a few weeks, and have now grown to just below $2.2M TNW for August.  I guess this is my new thread, although this year doesn't seem like the time to be celebrating financial achievements when so many other things are going on in the world.

All the best to you all.




Congrats.  Are you getting close to your exit number, or do you plan to keep accumulating for a while longer? 

CANStache

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 18
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3855 on: August 29, 2020, 10:01:33 PM »
Congrats.  Are you getting close to your exit number, or do you plan to keep accumulating for a while longer?

Close but no cigars just yet.  3-5 years should finish the job.  We have 3 kids, one half way through university, and live near Toronto in Canada, which means almost half our net worth is tied up in our residence.  So I think to clear future expenditures and ensure we have enough liquid NW, that's what it will take.  I'm 47 now, my wife retired last year from a stressful executive job at a large company.  Normally my job fits my lifestyle to a "t", although the last couple of months have been hectic.  If things return to normal, 3-5 should be more than doable.

EscapeVelocity2020

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4811
  • Age: 50
  • Location: Houston
    • EscapeVelocity2020
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3856 on: August 29, 2020, 11:39:12 PM »
More progress has been made! Up $1.5MM for the year. I turn 30 in a few weeks, so much for being young.

Spoiler: show
11/23/2012: $45,000.00
08/03/2013: $100,000.00
01/01/2016: $408,896.04
01/01/2017: $617,283.09
06/06/2017: $758,104.40
10/15/2017: $856,488.71
11/18/2017: $929,536.54
11/27/2017: $944,395.35
12/17/2017: $956,928.07
01/01/2018: $968,307.87
01/05/2018: $987,442.11
01/08/2018: $996,215.32
01/09/2018: $998,819.79
01/10/2018: $999,079.24
01/11/2018: $1,003,101.34
02/01/2018: $1,061,732.89
02/28/2018: $1,062,750.48
05/18/2018: $1,149,432.76
06/06/2018: $1,203,026.63
07/11/2018: $1,232,435.26
08/02/2018: $1,269,509.32
09/01/2018: $1,326,015.73
03/05/2019: $1,327,833.14
06/10/2019: $1,462,549.50
07/07/2019: $1,519,162.03
12/14/2019: $1,628,320.78
01/01/2020: $1,705,284.27
02/02/2020: $1,838,397.87
02/13/2020: $1,961,653.87
02/19/2020: $2,000,505.43
04/14/2020: $2,002,087.12
05/09/2020: $2,148,999.11
06/20/2020: $2,471,306.02
07/01/2020: $2,632,979.23
07/02/2020: $2,721,395.70
07/10/2020: $3,098,138.96
08/14/2020: $3,243,042.90


I'm surprised you didn't post your move over $4M.  You should be well over that threshold at this point, once TSLA crossed the 2000 share price...   I hope you've loosened the purse strings and at least bought a car at this point!  Also, personally, you might do well to relax the frugality muscle :)

Herbert Derp

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1094
  • Age: 33
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3857 on: August 30, 2020, 01:16:28 AM »
I didn't actually reach $4MM yet, but thanks for guessing I guess

I've been making progress on the getting a car and moving out of the city front! Should be done in a month or so.

EscapeVelocity2020

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4811
  • Age: 50
  • Location: Houston
    • EscapeVelocity2020
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3858 on: August 30, 2020, 01:44:42 AM »
I didn't actually reach $4MM yet, but thanks for guessing I guess

I've been making progress on the getting a car and moving out of the city front! Should be done in a month or so.

Just ribbing you a bit.  I bought a car in one day this year, it's not really a challenge for folks in the FI space.  Maybe you don't realize that you're FI, since it came on quickly, but there's not much to be gained from frugality anymore.  TSLA might pull back, but you have that more than covered at this point...  Just because you're 'only 30' doesn't mean that life won't pass you by.  I won't even tell you what my 30's were like - maybe I'd do it again as long as I knew I'd still end up where I'm currently at.  In other words, I made a lot of mistakes even after having everything I thought I ever wanted.

Life isn't just about money once you get to FI.  And it isn't necessarily 'easy street'.  Just a different version of 'the game'.  Kinda sucks that you're single though, I didn't have that problem and I don't envy you on that front.

Dancin'Dog

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1758
  • Location: Here & There
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3859 on: August 30, 2020, 08:41:35 AM »
I didn't actually reach $4MM yet, but thanks for guessing I guess

I've been making progress on the getting a car and moving out of the city front! Should be done in a month or so.

Just ribbing you a bit.  I bought a car in one day this year, it's not really a challenge for folks in the FI space.  Maybe you don't realize that you're FI, since it came on quickly, but there's not much to be gained from frugality anymore.  TSLA might pull back, but you have that more than covered at this point...  Just because you're 'only 30' doesn't mean that life won't pass you by.  I won't even tell you what my 30's were like - maybe I'd do it again as long as I knew I'd still end up where I'm currently at.  In other words, I made a lot of mistakes even after having everything I thought I ever wanted.

Life isn't just about money once you get to FI.  And it isn't necessarily 'easy street'.  Just a different version of 'the game'.  Kinda sucks that you're single though, I didn't have that problem and I don't envy you on that front.




Being married kinda sucks sometimes too.  Owning a bunch of crap kinda sucks sometimes too.  We're all on different paths, and doing our best to find the best balance in life in the attempt to be happy.  Mr Derp has been fortunate in the choices he's made financially.  His path hasn't led him to a mate yet, but it hasn't led to divorces, alimony & child support yet either. 


Choosing to live a frugal life has taught him to be content with less, which is an admirable thing which will serve him well through life.  He understands the "value of a dollar", which means he probably won't get caught up in trying to buy happiness, and it also means he understands the "power of money" and how much he can help others with it.


I'm really looking forward to hearing about HD's adventures going forward.  He has a lot to look forward to.

EscapeVelocity2020

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4811
  • Age: 50
  • Location: Houston
    • EscapeVelocity2020
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3860 on: August 30, 2020, 09:38:35 AM »
I didn't actually reach $4MM yet, but thanks for guessing I guess

I've been making progress on the getting a car and moving out of the city front! Should be done in a month or so.

Just ribbing you a bit.  I bought a car in one day this year, it's not really a challenge for folks in the FI space.  Maybe you don't realize that you're FI, since it came on quickly, but there's not much to be gained from frugality anymore.  TSLA might pull back, but you have that more than covered at this point...  Just because you're 'only 30' doesn't mean that life won't pass you by.  I won't even tell you what my 30's were like - maybe I'd do it again as long as I knew I'd still end up where I'm currently at.  In other words, I made a lot of mistakes even after having everything I thought I ever wanted.

Life isn't just about money once you get to FI.  And it isn't necessarily 'easy street'.  Just a different version of 'the game'.  Kinda sucks that you're single though, I didn't have that problem and I don't envy you on that front.
Being married kinda sucks sometimes too.  Owning a bunch of crap kinda sucks sometimes too.  We're all on different paths, and doing our best to find the best balance in life in the attempt to be happy.  Mr Derp has been fortunate in the choices he's made financially.  His path hasn't led him to a mate yet, but it hasn't led to divorces, alimony & child support yet either. 

Choosing to live a frugal life has taught him to be content with less, which is an admirable thing which will serve him well through life.  He understands the "value of a dollar", which means he probably won't get caught up in trying to buy happiness, and it also means he understands the "power of money" and how much he can help others with it.

I'm really looking forward to hearing about HD's adventures going forward.  He has a lot to look forward to.

Being a sample size of one, being married has not sucked, and what I own has been carefully chosen and has not sucked.  And when I needed to, I have sold it off for at least some partial 'discount'.

But what I was really alluding to in the things @GreenEggs underlined is that I was married before all the financial gains, so I knew it truly was 'for better or for worse;  for rich or for poor' - and there is something irreversible about that, which is harder for him to obtain.

But I agree with the rest - I hope HD shares his adventures (and hopefully, eventually has some)...

Bateaux

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2314
  • Location: Port Vincent
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3861 on: August 30, 2020, 12:28:55 PM »
Married at 22 and broke.  It's what you did back in the day.  In 2020 marriage and kids aren't required.  I'd get out and do a lot of living before settling down.  Derp has decades before he has to marry and settle down.

soccerluvof4

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 7157
  • Location: Artic Midwest
  • Retired at 50
    • My Journal
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3862 on: August 31, 2020, 03:50:37 AM »
Married at 22 and broke.  It's what you did back in the day.  In 2020 marriage and kids aren't required.  I'd get out and do a lot of living before settling down.  Derp has decades before he has to marry and settle down.
Married at 22 and broke.  It's what you did back in the day.  In 2020 marriage and kids aren't required.  I'd get out and do a lot of living before settling down.  Derp has decades before he has to marry and settle down.
I didn't actually reach $4MM yet, but thanks for guessing I guess

I've been making progress on the getting a car and moving out of the city front! Should be done in a month or so.

Just ribbing you a bit.  I bought a car in one day this year, it's not really a challenge for folks in the FI space.  Maybe you don't realize that you're FI, since it came on quickly, but there's not much to be gained from frugality anymore.  TSLA might pull back, but you have that more than covered at this point...  Just because you're 'only 30' doesn't mean that life won't pass you by.  I won't even tell you what my 30's were like - maybe I'd do it again as long as I knew I'd still end up where I'm currently at.  In other words, I made a lot of mistakes even after having everything I thought I ever wanted.

Life isn't just about money once you get to FI.  And it isn't necessarily 'easy street'.  Just a different version of 'the game'.  Kinda sucks that you're single though, I didn't have that problem and I don't envy you on that front.
Being married kinda sucks sometimes too.  Owning a bunch of crap kinda sucks sometimes too.  We're all on different paths, and doing our best to find the best balance in life in the attempt to be happy.  Mr Derp has been fortunate in the choices he's made financially.  His path hasn't led him to a mate yet, but it hasn't led to divorces, alimony & child support yet either. 

Choosing to live a frugal life has taught him to be content with less, which is an admirable thing which will serve him well through life.  He understands the "value of a dollar", which means he probably won't get caught up in trying to buy happiness, and it also means he understands the "power of money" and how much he can help others with it.

I'm really looking forward to hearing about HD's adventures going forward.  He has a lot to look forward to.

Being a sample size of one, being married has not sucked, and what I own has been carefully chosen and has not sucked.  And when I needed to, I have sold it off for at least some partial 'discount'.

But what I was really alluding to in the things @GreenEggs underlined is that I was married before all the financial gains, so I knew it truly was 'for better or for worse;  for rich or for poor' - and there is something irreversible about that, which is harder for him to obtain.

But I agree with the rest - I hope HD shares his adventures (and hopefully, eventually has some)...


Married at 20 "I cant get pregnant" Divorced and broke at 22. Debt big time. Child support for 18 year +/- never thought I would get married again. What it did do was make me grow up and get my ass moving. Ex Military went in at 17 so worked a bunch of shit jobs but always 2 or 3 so pretty much lost all my 20's. Was 27 ish when Things got going and started my first business then married at 32 , 24 years and 4 kids later here I am. Definately all take different journeys for various reasons. The key is to eventually get on the right path whatever it takes to grow up and stay there but to also take time and enjoy life along the way. I too looking back would change the 20s part and go to college which I missed, travel some and not get married till later but other than that I would do most of it all over again. Take your time meeting the right person because marriage is good when its good and really bad when its bad. Plus it can be a money buster.

2Birds1Stone

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 7890
  • Age: 1
  • Location: Earth
  • K Thnx Bye
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3863 on: August 31, 2020, 04:12:25 AM »
In 2020 marriage and kids aren't required.  I'd get out and do a lot of living before settling down.

I see sugar babies in the future. Real relationships require multidimensional thinking and experience. There are certain things that no amount of money can purchase.

pecunia

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 2832
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3864 on: August 31, 2020, 07:47:04 AM »
In 2020 marriage and kids aren't required.  I'd get out and do a lot of living before settling down.

I see sugar babies in the future. Real relationships require multidimensional thinking and experience. There are certain things that no amount of money can purchase.

The sugar babies could be a lot of fun.

Bateaux

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2314
  • Location: Port Vincent
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3865 on: August 31, 2020, 11:12:52 AM »
I'm just saying he's got time before settling down.   Sailboat race around the world.  Climb Kilimanjaro.  Bikepacking across the world.  Scuba dive Fiji.  Or whatever he likes.  If that's a wife and babies, cool.

FireLane

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1318
  • Age: 41
  • Location: NYC
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3866 on: August 31, 2020, 05:25:33 PM »
Greetings, all! I edged over the $2M mark last month, but I wanted to wait and see if it was a fluke before joining this thread. Looks like it's not:

August 2020: $1.84 LNW / $2.10 TNW

I never expected to be here - my original FIRE number was $1.5M, which I've obviously surpassed. COVID threw a wrench into my plans, and I figured that as long as I can't travel, I might as well work from home for a few more months and add to my stash. I feel like I'm just running up the score at this point, but hey, no one ever complained about having too much money to spend in retirement.

Herbert Derp

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1094
  • Age: 33
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3867 on: August 31, 2020, 05:33:12 PM »
Well, looks like I have completed the race from $2MM to $4MM in 195 days. That must be some kind of record around here! In any case, this is the last financial update from me, so you won't be hearing from me when the bubble inevitably bursts and sends me back below $4MM. Yes, I have foreseen this event. At this point, it doesn't make a difference anymore. The race is over.

I am about to turn 30, it's time for a new chapter in my life. As I mentioned earlier, I am in the process of buying a car and moving to a nicer apartment outside of my city. I will have more living space and lots of fresh air. I plan to do a lot of hiking! Also, book clubs would be nice.

As this chapter of my life closes, it's worth it to reflect on my journey so far. Over the course of my career, it has always been clear to me that more money does not in and of itself make me any happier. In fact, that was why I started my FIRE journey in the first place. After I graduated from college, I got a high-paying job and moved from the hood to the big city.

Six months later, I had some nice clothes (that actually fit) and a modern apartment downtown with stainless steel appliances and granite countertops, and had even managed to save up several tens of thousands of dollars. However, I wasn't any happier compared to back when I was living in the hood, with no job and only a few thousand dollars to my name. At that point, I decided that there must be some greater purpose to what I was doing and searched around on the internet, which is when I learned about FIRE.

I then dedicated the rest of my 20s to working tooth and nail in order to achieve this goal. With the FIRE goal in mind, I took steps to reduce my spending to the bare minimum. I moved out of my new apartment and rented a room in the hood for a year. I guess I missed the hood? I moved back downtown and bought a tiny efficiency condo in cash, so that I could reduce my total expenses to below $6,000 / year and lived that way for several years. I made friends and lost friends. I got taught some sharp lessons about the dangers of drugs and alcohol, and have been completely sober for a long time now. I got promoted several times, more than tripled my salary, and went on business trips around the world. Throughout it all, I worked--a lot. When it was at its worst, I worked nights and weekends on a constant basis for over a year.

Now that the goal has been reached and exceeded, I am less certain about what to do next. During the accumulation phase I spent so much time working that I did not take the time to discover what I'd rather be doing instead. Now, my primary goal in life is to discover what that thing I'd rather be doing is. During this time of exploration, I intend to keep my job as it seems to be the prudent thing to do. But as my net worth grows, I find that my work is getting less and less interesting and I feel an irresistible urge to get out, meet people, and try new things--hence the hiking and book clubs. I am also planning to take up horticulture as a hobby, who knows if I'll actually enjoy it or not, but there's only one way to find out!

Spoiler: show
11/23/2012: $45,000.00
08/03/2013: $100,000.00
01/01/2016: $408,896.04
01/01/2017: $617,283.09
06/06/2017: $758,104.40
10/15/2017: $856,488.71
11/18/2017: $929,536.54
11/27/2017: $944,395.35
12/17/2017: $956,928.07
01/01/2018: $968,307.87
01/05/2018: $987,442.11
01/08/2018: $996,215.32
01/09/2018: $998,819.79
01/10/2018: $999,079.24
01/11/2018: $1,003,101.34
02/01/2018: $1,061,732.89
02/28/2018: $1,062,750.48
05/18/2018: $1,149,432.76
06/06/2018: $1,203,026.63
07/11/2018: $1,232,435.26
08/02/2018: $1,269,509.32
09/01/2018: $1,326,015.73
03/05/2019: $1,327,833.14
06/10/2019: $1,462,549.50
07/07/2019: $1,519,162.03
12/14/2019: $1,628,320.78
01/01/2020: $1,705,284.27
02/02/2020: $1,838,397.87
02/13/2020: $1,961,653.87
02/19/2020: $2,000,505.43
04/14/2020: $2,002,087.12
05/09/2020: $2,148,999.11
06/20/2020: $2,471,306.02
07/01/2020: $2,632,979.23
07/02/2020: $2,721,395.70
07/10/2020: $3,098,138.96
08/14/2020: $3,243,042.90
08/31/2020: $4,134,844.24
« Last Edit: August 31, 2020, 06:08:22 PM by Herbert Derp »

LightTripper

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2392
  • Location: London, UK
  • Rural Londoner. Lazy workaholic. Confused.
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3868 on: August 31, 2020, 05:38:05 PM »
Congratulations@Herbert Derp . What a lot of different experiences you've had in just 30 years. I'm sure the next 30 will bring lots of interesting and fun things.  Best of luck in the next chapter of your adventures!

arebelspy

  • Administrator
  • Senior Mustachian
  • *****
  • Posts: 28444
  • Age: -997
  • Location: Seattle, WA
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3869 on: August 31, 2020, 10:55:29 PM »
First two million: 7.5 years. Next two million: 6 months.

Nuts.

Well done. Thanks for sharing your journey along the way. Glad to hear you understand you've won that game, time to move to other ones.

I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

pecunia

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 2832
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3870 on: September 01, 2020, 08:29:31 AM »
Four million dollars and a lifetime of time ahead while looking for a worthwhile goal for that life.  Just want to note that a lot of people herein have posted how much reward they have had from helping other people.  Anyhow, it's just a thought.

SwordGuy

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 8944
  • Location: Fayetteville, NC
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3871 on: September 01, 2020, 09:11:08 AM »
Just want to note that a lot of people herein have posted how much reward they have had from helping other people.  Anyhow, it's just a thought.

And a good thought, too!

Roboturner

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 535
  • Age: 35
  • Location: MCOL
  • No Snacks, Just Math
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3872 on: September 01, 2020, 11:08:45 AM »
Spoiler: show

Q2 2016:
LNW: 528k
TNW: 720k

Q3 2016:
LNW: 652k
TNW: 845k

YE 2016:
LNW: 685k
TNW: 893k

Q1 2017:
LNW: 800k
TNW: 1001k

Q2 2017:
LNW: 845k
TNW: 1060k

Q3 2017:
LNW: 921k
TNW: 1142k

YE 2017:
LNW: 1,012k
TNW: 1,230k

Q1 2018:
LNW: 1.09 MM
TNW: 1.33 MM

Q2 2018:
LNW: 1.16 MM
TNW: 1.45 MM

Q3 2018:
LNW: 1.28 MM
TNW: 1.57 MM

YE 2018:
LNW: 1.14 MM
TNW: 1.43 MM

Q1 2019:
LNW: 1.41 MM
TNW: 1.71 MM

Q2 2019:
LNW: 1.60 MM
TNW: 1.78 MM

Q3 2019:
LNW: 1.64 MM
TNW: 1.82 MM

YE 2019:
LNW: 1.84 MM
TNW: 2.02 MM

Q1 2020:
LNW: 1.60 MM
TNW: 1.79 MM

Q2 2020:
LNW: 1.94 MM
TNW: 2.15 MM


Q3 2020:
LNW: 2.12 MM
TNW: 2.46 MM

I know this is less important here, but I'm going to continue for posterity's sake.

Finished refi-ing/paying-down our home into a conventional with pretty good rates this Q, hence the jump in TNW

onward-forward
« Last Edit: September 01, 2020, 11:11:25 AM by Roboturner »

LWYRUP

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1059
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3873 on: September 01, 2020, 11:09:57 AM »
Greetings, all! I edged over the $2M mark last month, but I wanted to wait and see if it was a fluke before joining this thread. Looks like it's not:

August 2020: $1.84 LNW / $2.10 TNW

I never expected to be here - my original FIRE number was $1.5M, which I've obviously surpassed. COVID threw a wrench into my plans, and I figured that as long as I can't travel, I might as well work from home for a few more months and add to my stash. I feel like I'm just running up the score at this point, but hey, no one ever complained about having too much money to spend in retirement.

Hey, congrats!! 

EscapeVelocity2020

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4811
  • Age: 50
  • Location: Houston
    • EscapeVelocity2020
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3874 on: September 01, 2020, 11:22:53 AM »
Thanks for the meaty post Herbert.  I figured you'd hit the $4M pretty soon, and it becomes inevitable once you're FI.  No matter how much I seem to spend, my financial ball has so much mass and is rolling downhill, I can't stop it!  I have a more conservative allocation than you, in hopes that any bubble bursts don't take me out of FI even if I'm unemployed for the rest of my life, but that's about the only 'frivolous' thing I have bought lately.  That and paying off a small remaining mortgage on the house.  Underperformance is awfully expensive, but it also frees up my mind to think about other things - like how to keep things rolling this year and stay grateful, although this was not the high school experience I envisioned my kids having...

Good luck and happy travels to you.  And you're always welcome here for discussions about stuff other than money, money beyond FI in and of itself isn't very interesting - but finding purpose and contemplating what life looks like on the other side of ER is.  Or maybe you'll start spending more than $160k/yr and need to shoot for a higher NW :)

Exflyboy

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 8374
  • Age: 62
  • Location: Corvallis, Oregon
  • Expat Brit living in the New World..:)
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3875 on: September 01, 2020, 11:55:09 AM »
I too am very happy for HD (he says speaking about him in the third person).

But.. How the heck does one actually spend $160k per year?

Our max spend for two people without even thinking about it has been $52k. If we flew business class on our long trips I could maybe see another $20k.

If the ACA goes away.. OK, another $20k.

Ok so thats $100k.. Add an a new C8 Corvette every other year and maybe I could get to $140k..

EscapeVelocity2020

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4811
  • Age: 50
  • Location: Houston
    • EscapeVelocity2020
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3876 on: September 01, 2020, 01:26:13 PM »
Married at 22 and broke.  It's what you did back in the day.  In 2020 marriage and kids aren't required.  I'd get out and do a lot of living before settling down.  Derp has decades before he has to marry and settle down.

Married at 20 "I cant get pregnant" Divorced and broke at 22. Debt big time. Child support for 18 year +/- never thought I would get married again. What it did do was make me grow up and get my ass moving. Ex Military went in at 17 so worked a bunch of shit jobs but always 2 or 3 so pretty much lost all my 20's. Was 27 ish when Things got going and started my first business then married at 32 , 24 years and 4 kids later here I am. Definately all take different journeys for various reasons. The key is to eventually get on the right path whatever it takes to grow up and stay there but to also take time and enjoy life along the way. I too looking back would change the 20s part and go to college which I missed, travel some and not get married till later but other than that I would do most of it all over again. Take your time meeting the right person because marriage is good when its good and really bad when its bad. Plus it can be a money buster.

I'm pretty dull compared to y'all.  Dated my college GF until we married at 27.  First child 3 years later, then another 2 years after that, then moved to Norway 2 years after that.  Probably the most exciting time of my life, selling the house and cars and moving overseas with a 2 and 4 year old!  Moved back to Houston in 2009, bought a house, my Dad's Mini-Cooper S, and a mini-van.  Then moved to Dubai for 3 years in 2011.  Put in a pool when we got back and eventually sold the Cooper and mini-van to buy a Fit and Highlander.  Acquired a cat and a dog, a few fun things and trips, but life isn't all that expensive.  Had a 15 year mortgage and just went ahead and paid it off earlier this year.  Only one big expense left, but we have over $100k in a 529 to help out...

Other than going mostly broke in 2000 during the tech-bubble burst, NW has headed in the right direction.  I mostly side-stepped the 'great recession' in 2008 by being out of the market and not having a house while I was overseas.  Crossed $1M NW in 2009 and the market been good ever since... 

pecunia

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 2832
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3877 on: September 01, 2020, 02:53:25 PM »
I too am very happy for HD (he says speaking about him in the third person).

But.. How the heck does one actually spend $160k per year?

- SNIP -

This is America!  Drugs, sex and Rock 'n' Roll!

LWYRUP

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1059
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3878 on: September 01, 2020, 03:19:16 PM »
I too am very happy for HD (he says speaking about him in the third person).

But.. How the heck does one actually spend $160k per year?

- SNIP -

This is America!  Drugs, sex and Rock 'n' Roll!

I spend half of my money on gambling, alcohol, and wild women.  The other half I waste.

JoJoP

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 261
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3879 on: September 02, 2020, 10:53:48 PM »
I too am very happy for HD (he says speaking about him in the third person).

But.. How the heck does one actually spend $160k per year?

- SNIP -

This is America!  Drugs, sex and Rock 'n' Roll!

I spend half of my money on gambling, alcohol, and wild women.  The other half I waste.

Ha ha!  So that's the secret!  You all been holding out on me.

EscapeVelocity2020

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4811
  • Age: 50
  • Location: Houston
    • EscapeVelocity2020
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3880 on: September 02, 2020, 11:05:37 PM »
I too am very happy for HD (he says speaking about him in the third person).

But.. How the heck does one actually spend $160k per year?

- SNIP -

This is America!  Drugs, sex and Rock 'n' Roll!

I spend half of my money on gambling, alcohol, and wild women.  The other half I waste.

And you probably made it all back and then some selling the right's to your life story!  'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas' or 'Leaving Las Vegas' maybe?  The 'rich' always have something valuable to sell...

I'm always confused when I hear that a 'rich person' went broke.  It's hard enough to buy something expensive and lose 50% of it's value quickly (like a house or a car), how do you lose 90 - 100% of the value?

Car Jack

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2141
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3881 on: September 03, 2020, 06:54:44 AM »
And just like that.....I crossed the 3 mil mark.  Doing my spread sheet this morning, hit $3,001,988.86 in investments.  I think I'll celebrate by buying snow tires for the wife's car.  (and yah.....that's my big plan for the weekend).  The old snows were purchased used on craigslist on wheels for $200.  Got 3 seasons out of them, then threw the wheels on our 11 year old Fusion my younger son's driving.  3 tires broke belts, so are done.  I have a shed full of wheels/tires, so when this stuff happens, it's simply a choice of what do I want to put on the car for the time being.

Yah, I am a cheap bastard.

wannabe-stache

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 154
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3882 on: September 03, 2020, 06:59:04 AM »
And just like that.....I crossed the 3 mil mark.  Doing my spread sheet this morning, hit $3,001,988.86 in investments.  I think I'll celebrate by buying snow tires for the wife's car.  (and yah.....that's my big plan for the weekend).  The old snows were purchased used on craigslist on wheels for $200.  Got 3 seasons out of them, then threw the wheels on our 11 year old Fusion my younger son's driving.  3 tires broke belts, so are done.  I have a shed full of wheels/tires, so when this stuff happens, it's simply a choice of what do I want to put on the car for the time being.

Yah, I am a cheap bastard.

Congrats Car Jack and good to hear from you.

LWYRUP

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1059
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3883 on: September 03, 2020, 07:03:17 AM »
I too am very happy for HD (he says speaking about him in the third person).

But.. How the heck does one actually spend $160k per year?

- SNIP -

This is America!  Drugs, sex and Rock 'n' Roll!

I spend half of my money on gambling, alcohol, and wild women.  The other half I waste.

And you probably made it all back and then some selling the right's to your life story!  'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas' or 'Leaving Las Vegas' maybe?  The 'rich' always have something valuable to sell...

I'm always confused when I hear that a 'rich person' went broke.  It's hard enough to buy something expensive and lose 50% of it's value quickly (like a house or a car), how do you lose 90 - 100% of the value?

They make spectacularly bad decisions (divorce, drugs, getting ripped off in business deals) and sometimes they are overly generous and attract a coterie of leachers. 

At some point their liquid net worth dwindles but they have these massive houses and fancy cars and they presume they are still rich because of these assets.  But they have debt, and incur more of it to keep up appearances and maintain their lifestyle and one day the debt starts to exceed the value of the assets and... kaput. 

pecunia

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 2832
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3884 on: September 03, 2020, 09:05:16 AM »
I too am very happy for HD (he says speaking about him in the third person).

But.. How the heck does one actually spend $160k per year?

- SNIP -

This is America!  Drugs, sex and Rock 'n' Roll!

I spend half of my money on gambling, alcohol, and wild women.  The other half I waste.

And you probably made it all back and then some selling the right's to your life story!  'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas' or 'Leaving Las Vegas' maybe?  The 'rich' always have something valuable to sell...

I'm always confused when I hear that a 'rich person' went broke.  It's hard enough to buy something expensive and lose 50% of it's value quickly (like a house or a car), how do you lose 90 - 100% of the value?

They make spectacularly bad decisions (divorce, drugs, getting ripped off in business deals) and sometimes they are overly generous and attract a coterie of leachers. 

At some point their liquid net worth dwindles but they have these massive houses and fancy cars and they presume they are still rich because of these assets.  But they have debt, and incur more of it to keep up appearances and maintain their lifestyle and one day the debt starts to exceed the value of the assets and... kaput.

Sometimes, they even get to be President of the United States.  This is America!

honeyfill

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 321
  • Age: 66
  • Location: Tucson
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3885 on: September 03, 2020, 09:43:36 AM »
And just like that.....I crossed the 3 mil mark.  Doing my spread sheet this morning, hit $3,001,988.86 in investments.  I think I'll celebrate by buying snow tires for the wife's car.  (and yah.....that's my big plan for the weekend).  The old snows were purchased used on craigslist on wheels for $200.  Got 3 seasons out of them, then threw the wheels on our 11 year old Fusion my younger son's driving.  3 tires broke belts, so are done.  I have a shed full of wheels/tires, so when this stuff happens, it's simply a choice of what do I want to put on the car for the time being.

Yah, I am a cheap bastard.

You jinxed us!  I woke up this morning and checked my spread sheet. I was at $3,005,000.  Then I foolishly decided to look at the market.  I got to enjoy being over 3 million for about 5 seconds.  Oh well, I guess I am going to back to work this morning.

JoJoP

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 261
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3886 on: September 03, 2020, 09:46:44 AM »
And just like that.....I crossed the 3 mil mark.  Doing my spread sheet this morning, hit $3,001,988.86 in investments.  I think I'll celebrate by buying snow tires for the wife's car.  (and yah.....that's my big plan for the weekend).  The old snows were purchased used on craigslist on wheels for $200.  Got 3 seasons out of them, then threw the wheels on our 11 year old Fusion my younger son's driving.  3 tires broke belts, so are done.  I have a shed full of wheels/tires, so when this stuff happens, it's simply a choice of what do I want to put on the car for the time being.

Yah, I am a cheap bastard.

You jinxed us!  I woke up this morning and checked my spread sheet. I was at $3,005,000.  Then I foolishly decided to look at the market.  I got to enjoy being over 3 million for about 5 seconds.  Oh well, I guess I am going to back to work this morning.

Here today, gone tomorrow... just kidding!  Lay off the drugs, booze and women and you'll be back over the 3mil mark in no time.

EscapeVelocity2020

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4811
  • Age: 50
  • Location: Houston
    • EscapeVelocity2020
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3887 on: September 03, 2020, 10:23:49 AM »
And just like that.....I crossed the 3 mil mark.  Doing my spread sheet this morning, hit $3,001,988.86 in investments.  I think I'll celebrate by buying snow tires for the wife's car.  (and yah.....that's my big plan for the weekend).  The old snows were purchased used on craigslist on wheels for $200.  Got 3 seasons out of them, then threw the wheels on our 11 year old Fusion my younger son's driving.  3 tires broke belts, so are done.  I have a shed full of wheels/tires, so when this stuff happens, it's simply a choice of what do I want to put on the car for the time being.

Yah, I am a cheap bastard.

You jinxed us!  I woke up this morning and checked my spread sheet. I was at $3,005,000.  Then I foolishly decided to look at the market.  I got to enjoy being over 3 million for about 5 seconds.  Oh well, I guess I am going to back to work this morning.

Here today, gone tomorrow... just kidding!  Lay off the drugs, booze and women and you'll be back over the 3mil mark in no time.

Or hit the cheap drugs and booze extra hard and you'll be over 3mil again 'before you know it'!  Just stay away from women - lots of very expensive things can happen with that in the mix...

(note:  this is sarcasm - mainly distinguished by the inflection with which it is spoken and is largely context-dependent - hard to do well on the internet)

Car Jack

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2141
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3888 on: September 03, 2020, 01:09:26 PM »
And just like that.....I crossed the 3 mil mark.  Doing my spread sheet this morning, hit $3,001,988.86 in investments.  I think I'll celebrate by buying snow tires for the wife's car.  (and yah.....that's my big plan for the weekend).  The old snows were purchased used on craigslist on wheels for $200.  Got 3 seasons out of them, then threw the wheels on our 11 year old Fusion my younger son's driving.  3 tires broke belts, so are done.  I have a shed full of wheels/tires, so when this stuff happens, it's simply a choice of what do I want to put on the car for the time being.

Yah, I am a cheap bastard.

You jinxed us!  I woke up this morning and checked my spread sheet. I was at $3,005,000.  Then I foolishly decided to look at the market.  I got to enjoy being over 3 million for about 5 seconds.  Oh well, I guess I am going to back to work this morning.

Could be!    Seems every new step I hit....as soon as I say something, the market makes a significant drop.

We celebrated anyways.  DW and I both work from home.  I went out and got us deli sandwiches for lunch.

Bateaux

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2314
  • Location: Port Vincent
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3889 on: September 04, 2020, 04:27:08 AM »
And just like that.....I crossed the 3 mil mark.  Doing my spread sheet this morning, hit $3,001,988.86 in investments.  I think I'll celebrate by buying snow tires for the wife's car.  (and yah.....that's my big plan for the weekend).  The old snows were purchased used on craigslist on wheels for $200.  Got 3 seasons out of them, then threw the wheels on our 11 year old Fusion my younger son's driving.  3 tires broke belts, so are done.  I have a shed full of wheels/tires, so when this stuff happens, it's simply a choice of what do I want to put on the car for the time being.

Yah, I am a cheap bastard.

You jinxed us!  I woke up this morning and checked my spread sheet. I was at $3,005,000.  Then I foolishly decided to look at the market.  I got to enjoy being over 3 million for about 5 seconds.  Oh well, I guess I am going to back to work this morning.

Could be!    Seems every new step I hit....as soon as I say something, the market makes a significant drop.

We celebrated anyways.  DW and I both work from home.  I went out and got us deli sandwiches for lunch.

Managed to remain above 2.5 liquid net worth.  We'll see what today brings.  I'm mentally prepared and our assets are arranged for a 20 percent drop.   Time will tell.

Tigerpine

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 491
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3890 on: September 04, 2020, 04:56:51 AM »
I too am very happy for HD (he says speaking about him in the third person).

But.. How the heck does one actually spend $160k per year?

- SNIP -

This is America!  Drugs, sex and Rock 'n' Roll!

I spend half of my money on gambling, alcohol, and wild women.  The other half I waste.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72mOCLzG9T4

soccerluvof4

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 7157
  • Location: Artic Midwest
  • Retired at 50
    • My Journal
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3891 on: September 04, 2020, 05:25:31 AM »
And just like that.....I crossed the 3 mil mark.  Doing my spread sheet this morning, hit $3,001,988.86 in investments.  I think I'll celebrate by buying snow tires for the wife's car.  (and yah.....that's my big plan for the weekend).  The old snows were purchased used on craigslist on wheels for $200.  Got 3 seasons out of them, then threw the wheels on our 11 year old Fusion my younger son's driving.  3 tires broke belts, so are done.  I have a shed full of wheels/tires, so when this stuff happens, it's simply a choice of what do I want to put on the car for the time being.

Yah, I am a cheap bastard.

You jinxed us!  I woke up this morning and checked my spread sheet. I was at $3,005,000.  Then I foolishly decided to look at the market.  I got to enjoy being over 3 million for about 5 seconds.  Oh well, I guess I am going to back to work this morning.

Could be!    Seems every new step I hit....as soon as I say something, the market makes a significant drop.

We celebrated anyways.  DW and I both work from home.  I went out and got us deli sandwiches for lunch.

Managed to remain above 2.5 liquid net worth.  We'll see what today brings.  I'm mentally prepared and our assets are arranged for a 20 percent drop.   Time will tell.


Think its fair to say most here were expecting a correction or bubble to bust or leak and for a lot of reasons the market was do for a sell off. Call me optimistic but I still believe by the end of the year we end up higher than we were but might get another buying opportunity along the way after some pain first. 

Bateaux

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2314
  • Location: Port Vincent
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3892 on: September 04, 2020, 07:16:37 AM »
And just like that.....I crossed the 3 mil mark.  Doing my spread sheet this morning, hit $3,001,988.86 in investments.  I think I'll celebrate by buying snow tires for the wife's car.  (and yah.....that's my big plan for the weekend).  The old snows were purchased used on craigslist on wheels for $200.  Got 3 seasons out of them, then threw the wheels on our 11 year old Fusion my younger son's driving.  3 tires broke belts, so are done.  I have a shed full of wheels/tires, so when this stuff happens, it's simply a choice of what do I want to put on the car for the time being.

Yah, I am a cheap bastard.

You jinxed us!  I woke up this morning and checked my spread sheet. I was at $3,005,000.  Then I foolishly decided to look at the market.  I got to enjoy being over 3 million for about 5 seconds.  Oh well, I guess I am going to back to work this morning.

Could be!    Seems every new step I hit....as soon as I say something, the market makes a significant drop.

We celebrated anyways.  DW and I both work from home.  I went out and got us deli sandwiches for lunch.

Managed to remain above 2.5 liquid net worth.  We'll see what today brings.  I'm mentally prepared and our assets are arranged for a 20 percent drop.   Time will tell.


Think its fair to say most here were expecting a correction or bubble to bust or leak and for a lot of reasons the market was do for a sell off. Call me optimistic but I still believe by the end of the year we end up higher than we were but might get another buying opportunity along the way after some pain first.

Sticking to current positions and will buy if opportunities present themselves.  The overall trend has always been up.

rmorris50

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 454
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3893 on: September 04, 2020, 07:30:35 AM »
It’s interesting, and natural that we all focus on the accumulation of wealth and how the markets are doing, but I’m finding that was actually the “easier” part. Work hard, invest as much as possible, going long on the market in low fee funds, and stay out of debt except for a mortgage.

I’m finding planning out the decumulation phase much more complicated. Planning out when to start taking money from which accounts, when to start the pension, when to take social security, all while minimizing tax impacts, guessing how long I’ll live, and oh how to get health care when I and hubby retire early!

For investments I plan to do a “barbell strategy”. One to two years living expenses in cash, the rest in the markets, and figure out the best strategy to replenish the cash as time goes by. So I try to just ignore these market swings. I feel I’ll always be long on the market.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Exflyboy

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 8374
  • Age: 62
  • Location: Corvallis, Oregon
  • Expat Brit living in the New World..:)
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3894 on: September 04, 2020, 08:42:11 AM »
It’s interesting, and natural that we all focus on the accumulation of wealth and how the markets are doing, but I’m finding that was actually the “easier” part. Work hard, invest as much as possible, going long on the market in low fee funds, and stay out of debt except for a mortgage.

I’m finding planning out the decumulation phase much more complicated. Planning out when to start taking money from which accounts, when to start the pension, when to take social security, all while minimizing tax impacts, guessing how long I’ll live, and oh how to get health care when I and hubby retire early!

For investments I plan to do a “barbell strategy”. One to two years living expenses in cash, the rest in the markets, and figure out the best strategy to replenish the cash as time goes by. So I try to just ignore these market swings. I feel I’ll always be long on the market.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ahh yes.. You have spent decades getting good at doing ONE thing.. i.e live frugal and invest. The other side of that see-saw (teeter totter) is far more complicated.

I honestly didn't hone that particular skill until after retirement. The good thing is you have WAY more time to figure it out!

Here is the problem, assuming you live in the USA.

Some function of.. Fed income taxes, State income taxes (hardest to optimise), ACA subsidies,when to take pensions (one of them foreign in my case), when to take SS = Providing more than enough cash to live on without thinking too hard.

The above equation is simplified in the early years by having a good chunk of your money in after tax accounts. My general strategy is to not take pre tax money until both of us are on Medicare.. That may result in us having way more money than we could ever spend.. Poor rich people problems.

Buffaloski Boris

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2121
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3895 on: September 04, 2020, 11:09:42 AM »
It’s interesting, and natural that we all focus on the accumulation of wealth and how the markets are doing, but I’m finding that was actually the “easier” part. Work hard, invest as much as possible, going long on the market in low fee funds, and stay out of debt except for a mortgage.

I’m finding planning out the decumulation phase much more complicated. Planning out when to start taking money from which accounts, when to start the pension, when to take social security, all while minimizing tax impacts, guessing how long I’ll live, and oh how to get health care when I and hubby retire early!

For investments I plan to do a “barbell strategy”. One to two years living expenses in cash, the rest in the markets, and figure out the best strategy to replenish the cash as time goes by. So I try to just ignore these market swings. I feel I’ll always be long on the market.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If you haven’t read it already, Early Retirement Now goes into painful detail regarding withdrawal strategies. Worth the read.

rmorris50

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 454
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3896 on: September 04, 2020, 12:27:13 PM »
It’s interesting, and natural that we all focus on the accumulation of wealth and how the markets are doing, but I’m finding that was actually the “easier” part. Work hard, invest as much as possible, going long on the market in low fee funds, and stay out of debt except for a mortgage.

I’m finding planning out the decumulation phase much more complicated. Planning out when to start taking money from which accounts, when to start the pension, when to take social security, all while minimizing tax impacts, guessing how long I’ll live, and oh how to get health care when I and hubby retire early!

For investments I plan to do a “barbell strategy”. One to two years living expenses in cash, the rest in the markets, and figure out the best strategy to replenish the cash as time goes by. So I try to just ignore these market swings. I feel I’ll always be long on the market.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If you haven’t read it already, Early Retirement Now goes into painful detail regarding withdrawal strategies. Worth the read.
Thanks, I’ll check it out. My issue is too much tax deferred accounts, between IRAs, pension, deferred comp and Social security. Chances are that is way more than enough already for retirement, so I need to figure out the optimal way to fund the early years of RE.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

rmorris50

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 454
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3897 on: September 04, 2020, 12:38:50 PM »
It’s interesting, and natural that we all focus on the accumulation of wealth and how the markets are doing, but I’m finding that was actually the “easier” part. Work hard, invest as much as possible, going long on the market in low fee funds, and stay out of debt except for a mortgage.

I’m finding planning out the decumulation phase much more complicated. Planning out when to start taking money from which accounts, when to start the pension, when to take social security, all while minimizing tax impacts, guessing how long I’ll live, and oh how to get health care when I and hubby retire early!

For investments I plan to do a “barbell strategy”. One to two years living expenses in cash, the rest in the markets, and figure out the best strategy to replenish the cash as time goes by. So I try to just ignore these market swings. I feel I’ll always be long on the market.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If you haven’t read it already, Early Retirement Now goes into painful detail regarding withdrawal strategies. Worth the read.
Who’s the author? An online search results in a lot of books on the topic but none with that exact name.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Buffaloski Boris

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2121
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3898 on: September 04, 2020, 12:53:36 PM »
It’s interesting, and natural that we all focus on the accumulation of wealth and how the markets are doing, but I’m finding that was actually the “easier” part. Work hard, invest as much as possible, going long on the market in low fee funds, and stay out of debt except for a mortgage.

I’m finding planning out the decumulation phase much more complicated. Planning out when to start taking money from which accounts, when to start the pension, when to take social security, all while minimizing tax impacts, guessing how long I’ll live, and oh how to get health care when I and hubby retire early!

For investments I plan to do a “barbell strategy”. One to two years living expenses in cash, the rest in the markets, and figure out the best strategy to replenish the cash as time goes by. So I try to just ignore these market swings. I feel I’ll always be long on the market.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If you haven’t read it already, Early Retirement Now goes into painful detail regarding withdrawal strategies. Worth the read.
Who’s the author? An online search results in a lot of books on the topic but none with that exact name.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

https://earlyretirementnow.com/

Safe Withdrawal Rate series. Or just dig around.

soccerluvof4

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 7157
  • Location: Artic Midwest
  • Retired at 50
    • My Journal
Re: Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!
« Reply #3899 on: September 04, 2020, 02:03:22 PM »
And just like that.....I crossed the 3 mil mark.  Doing my spread sheet this morning, hit $3,001,988.86 in investments.  I think I'll celebrate by buying snow tires for the wife's car.  (and yah.....that's my big plan for the weekend).  The old snows were purchased used on craigslist on wheels for $200.  Got 3 seasons out of them, then threw the wheels on our 11 year old Fusion my younger son's driving.  3 tires broke belts, so are done.  I have a shed full of wheels/tires, so when this stuff happens, it's simply a choice of what do I want to put on the car for the time being.

Yah, I am a cheap bastard.

You jinxed us!  I woke up this morning and checked my spread sheet. I was at $3,005,000.  Then I foolishly decided to look at the market.  I got to enjoy being over 3 million for about 5 seconds.  Oh well, I guess I am going to back to work this morning.

Could be!    Seems every new step I hit....as soon as I say something, the market makes a significant drop.

We celebrated anyways.  DW and I both work from home.  I went out and got us deli sandwiches for lunch.

Managed to remain above 2.5 liquid net worth.  We'll see what today brings.  I'm mentally prepared and our assets are arranged for a 20 percent drop.   Time will tell.


Think its fair to say most here were expecting a correction or bubble to bust or leak and for a lot of reasons the market was do for a sell off. Call me optimistic but I still believe by the end of the year we end up higher than we were but might get another buying opportunity along the way after some pain first.

Sticking to current positions and will buy if opportunities present themselves.  The overall trend has always been up.


Whipsaw today , Dow even went Green for a bit early afternoon but cut its losses in half so not as bad as I was expecting going into a 3 day weekend. Seems like just profit taking but we will see.