Author Topic: 2019 fire cohort  (Read 793051 times)

DreamFIRE

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #650 on: April 15, 2018, 06:35:07 PM »
Exit2019, I'm looking at 13 1/2 months myself.  I would say that you don't need to have a plan.  Plenty of others have FIREd without specific plans.  My situation is a little similar as I'm not sure where I'll end up, although I already live in fairly LCOL area, so I don't necessarily need to leave my area.  I can afford to stay, but I would like to re-locate somewhere that I think I would be happier, even if it's only an hour or two away from where I live now.  I will surely do some traveling once I'm FIREd, but I don't know if I am going to do long term slow travel, get an RV, re-locate in-state, relocate to another state, or just what at this point.  Until I've had time to experience some of the FIRE life, I don't know what I'll do long term.  I might stay on my job part time 1 to 3 days per week, but I don't think I would do that for more than a year, but if so, that will postpone any lengthy travel or re-locating for a while.

Also see this thread, where some of this was discussed:
https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/post-fire/did-you-know-what-you-wanted-to-do-post-fire-when-you-started/
« Last Edit: April 15, 2018, 06:38:53 PM by DreamFIRE »

Miss Piggy

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #651 on: April 15, 2018, 06:44:57 PM »
Apologies if this has been brought up earlier in the thread.

Are any of the rest of you more than a bit nervous about the economy? I'm a little worried, but it doesn't keep me up at night (yet). I RRRREEEEAAAAALLLLLLYYYYYY want to FIRE next summer (2019), but we'll see what happens between now and then with the stock market. As a backup, I do have a good job right now, and I can stay there longer than planned.

(Part of me wants to also say: Oh, who am I kidding? I'm VERY worried about what could happen with the market.)

sui generis

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #652 on: April 15, 2018, 06:56:55 PM »
I'm for sure worried about the markets and very unhappy about the volatility 10 months out from my FIRE date.  At the same time, my stash should be big enough at that time to withstand the sequence of return risk that people in our cohorts are facing.  cFIREsim and those calculators show a 97-98% success rate with my range of expected stashes and that includes modeling a number of years where people retired right before big crashes...and modeling it like as if I would do  nothing (no change in w/d, etc) if that happened to me.  So my post-FIRE budget is also elastic enough to cut back a bit or a LOT depending on what happens in the market.  Flexibility is key and my plan has that flexibility built in, so there's almost no way (knock on wood, and I'd never say more than "ALMOST" no way, because this world is CRAZY!) that my plan will change because of money.  I at least feel confident saying that's it *more* likely that my plan to FIRE 10 months from today will change because of some factor other than money.

If anything, I still want to FIRE sooner.  I have that Sunday evening, lead-weight-in-the-pit-of-my-stomach feeling right now :(

DreamFIRE

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #653 on: April 15, 2018, 07:38:49 PM »

I'm more concerned about the ACA and marketplace over the coming years than I am about the stock market, but if a major drop occurred before I FIRED on the order of 20% or more from the high, that might make me delay retirement another year.  If a drop happened after FIREing, I should be able to deal with it.  My stash is at a level I could cut back to 2% SWR if I felt the need and could still pay my barebones expenses, but I'm also starting to shift more out of stocks to reduce volatility of shaky markets and minimize the loss in a bear market.  When I get my AA right, I'll be more comfortable to FIRE.

itchyfeet

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #654 on: April 15, 2018, 09:59:15 PM »
We were always going to be a little short of where I wanted to be come this December. And now DW and I have been looking at houses in potential post FIRE locations and we are tempted by slightly more expensive properties than I had factored into my FIRE number.

We still intend to FIRE come December, but I am a little apprehensive.

I am weighing up the options
 - OMY (meh 😕), or half OMY even.
 - Mini FIRE with a short encore workplace appearance in a year or 2 (DW is pushing for this)
 - committing to casual work post FIRE
 - trimming the Post FIRE budget...

All are possible, or a combination.

Linea_Norway

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #655 on: April 16, 2018, 01:48:08 AM »
We were always going to be a little short of where I wanted to be come this December. And now DW and I have been looking at houses in potential post FIRE locations and we are tempted by slightly more expensive properties than I had factored into my FIRE number.

We still intend to FIRE come December, but I am a little apprehensive.

I am weighing up the options
 - OMY (meh 😕), or half OMY even.
 - Mini FIRE with a short encore workplace appearance in a year or 2 (DW is pushing for this)
 - committing to casual work post FIRE
 - trimming the Post FIRE budget...

All are possible, or a combination.

Just make sure you don't commit to hire fixed costs. Higher price property may also have higher property taxes? A bigger house might have a higher electricity bill.

If DW wants to do some consultancy work for her former employer after FIRE, then just let her. I think I would personally choose the half a year extra work.

And what about looking around for properties a longer and more thoroughly and find that one bargain house for the right price?
Other option: rent out a part of your post-FIRE house.

Or rent a house and wait for the next housing crash, which is unpredictable.

itchyfeet

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #656 on: April 16, 2018, 03:54:39 AM »
Thanks for the input. We will have to see how things play out.

We won’t buy a house for a couple of years yet, so today it’s just a matter of setting a budget based on what we can see in the market. Our FIRE is more fat than lean, so it’s not like we won’t have options.

I think most probably we will  both resign from our current jobs at the end of the year, travel for a year or so, and then repatriate to Australia and then potentially get some work if we think it’s necessary. Maybe our costs post FIRE will be less than we have budgeted.

Trifle

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #657 on: April 16, 2018, 05:27:13 AM »
@exit2019 -- Have you read Dr. Doom's posts on FIREing at www.livingafi.com?  He's a great writer, and did an epic group of posts about his decision to FIRE, what he was FIREing to, and what the post-FIRE detox was like.   The other thing I find comforting and helpful is hanging out on the 2018 FIRE Cohort thread.  Those folks are right in the midst of it, and having all the thoughts and emotions that we are just starting to have here.   My conclusion -- our fears are totally normal.  Others have had them too and come through it fine.  So will we. 

I am less than 12 months out now (4/1/19 -- unless I get laid off sooner).  My only small fear about FIREing from a psychological perspective is that I will miss the status of my job.   I have one financial fear as well -- health insurance.   

What I tell myself to quiet those two fears is that I can consider it a work sabbatical.  I will take at least one year off, travel and do all the things I want to do.  Then if I am not happy, I can look for a job. 


TartanTallulah

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #658 on: April 16, 2018, 05:45:18 AM »
Class of 2019, what is your post-FIRE plan?

I am 10 months out.  I am nervous.  The math works assuming we get out of the insanely expensive bay area and liquidate the house; that will give us a solid base with which to build a post-ER life.

My job is very demanding - specifically has been extremely demanding for almost two decades.  Over the last 20 years the reality is my wife and I have done very little other than work.  Looking back that was quite a mistake and I have some serious regrets even though in the end it means we will free, really free, after two decades. 

But .. I don't actually know quite what to do once we pull the trigger.  We are going to try to do a thru hike (the timing works nicely and we'll have no ties to anything) and then .. what?  We won't have a home when we finish (or drop out).  We aren't even sure about where we'd like to try living other than some thoughts (somewhere we can have a larger piece of property but which is not overly exurb/rural) and constraints (not Bay Area ever again and honestly probably not CA or anywhere crowded). 

Right now I am so busy with work that about all I have time to do is start gearing up to sell the house and put what we really want to keep in storage.  Right now the plan is we are going to do the sale this summer and rent for the remaining 8-or-so months. 

Beyond that I am just spinning. A lot of people have started to say "have a plan before you get there" but honestly I don't have one or even the idea on how to get one together.  We are both burned out.  We have both been burned out for 5 to 10 years.

God sees a plan and laughs ... ;-)

I don't intend to make any definite plans beyond, "Do no work at all for at least 6 months," and, "Keep my professional registration alive for the first 12 months," and, "Don't make any big decisions for at least 12 months." I have never had a proper chunk of time out of work and need to relax and become accustomed to it first. I don't know whether I'll love it or hate it or just contentedly settle into it.

I do have a list of things I'd like to do, one of which, due to a combination of luck, organisation and selfishness, I may be able to make happen this year while I'm still working. Mostly, though, I don't want to go through life never having the feeling of not being obliged to do anything at all.

TartanTallulah

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #659 on: April 16, 2018, 05:49:09 AM »
Are any of the rest of you more than a bit nervous about the economy? I'm a little worried, but it doesn't keep me up at night (yet). I RRRREEEEAAAAALLLLLLYYYYYY want to FIRE next summer (2019), but we'll see what happens between now and then with the stock market. As a backup, I do have a good job right now, and I can stay there longer than planned.

Slightly, yes. I'm effectively annuitized through a DB pension which I can access any time and intend to access next year, but I also have a chunk of money invested directly in the stock market which is subject to fluctuations and I'm making an effort to build up some cash savings to avoid having to sell at a loss. On the other hand, my husband is a little younger than I am and still accumulating with a 5-10 year timescale, and my son has just started investing in a tracker, so a dip needn't be a bad thing for our family as a whole.

dude

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #660 on: April 16, 2018, 06:44:34 AM »
Class of 2019, what is your post-FIRE plan?

I am 10 months out.  I am nervous.  The math works assuming we get out of the insanely expensive bay area and liquidate the house; that will give us a solid base with which to build a post-ER life.

My job is very demanding - specifically has been extremely demanding for almost two decades.  Over the last 20 years the reality is my wife and I have done very little other than work.  Looking back that was quite a mistake and I have some serious regrets even though in the end it means we will free, really free, after two decades. 

But .. I don't actually know quite what to do once we pull the trigger.  We are going to try to do a thru hike (the timing works nicely and we'll have no ties to anything) and then .. what?  We won't have a home when we finish (or drop out).  We aren't even sure about where we'd like to try living other than some thoughts (somewhere we can have a larger piece of property but which is not overly exurb/rural) and constraints (not Bay Area ever again and honestly probably not CA or anywhere crowded). 

Right now I am so busy with work that about all I have time to do is start gearing up to sell the house and put what we really want to keep in storage.  Right now the plan is we are going to do the sale this summer and rent for the remaining 8-or-so months. 

Beyond that I am just spinning. A lot of people have started to say "have a plan before you get there" but honestly I don't have one or even the idea on how to get one together.  We are both burned out.  We have both been burned out for 5 to 10 years.

I would say in your situation, don't think about it too much. Your mind is obviously taxed with work, work, work. Retire and just do NOTHING for 6 months to let your mind and body recover, and once it has, I'm sure all kinds of ideas about what to do in Act 2 will appear.

Eric

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #661 on: April 16, 2018, 12:15:56 PM »
Apologies if this has been brought up earlier in the thread.

Are any of the rest of you more than a bit nervous about the economy? I'm a little worried, but it doesn't keep me up at night (yet). I RRRREEEEAAAAALLLLLLYYYYYY want to FIRE next summer (2019), but we'll see what happens between now and then with the stock market. As a backup, I do have a good job right now, and I can stay there longer than planned.

(Part of me wants to also say: Oh, who am I kidding? I'm VERY worried about what could happen with the market.)

Have you considered adding extra bonds to your portfolio?  I'm not sure I'd go as high as 70% as presented here, but I could see 40-50%.  Then simply spend down those bonds during your first 5-10 years of retirement until you're back at your desired AA.

https://www.kitces.com/blog/managing-portfolio-size-effect-with-bond-tent-in-retirement-red-zone/

exit2019

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #662 on: April 16, 2018, 07:17:22 PM »
Thanks for all of the replies.  I thought I would consolidate my responses into a single message.

sui generis, the JMT might be a better choice than what we're planning but we want a significant forced separation from work.  I have been a late-days-and-weekends guy since 1999 (the series of implosions in the valley really hit me hard and my response was to become indespensible; this is not without it's costs) and my wife, a contractor, has been very similar.  We are very very uncomfortable with being nomads but we kind of want to do it for that reason; you should spend some time being uncomfortable now and then.

DreamFire, thank you for the link, I will look through it.  As you I am concerned about the future of ACA; I have two pre-existing conditions which require no treatment or prescriptions but which under the previous regime might have been gotchas for insurance, especially in the ugly issue of recission. 

On nervousness, I am genuinely concerned mostly about imminent recession and healthcare costs.  Healthcare looks like it will be around $1000 to $1300 a month before subsidy in many of the places on our maybe list; healthcare has been growing above inflation for some time and that's quite a serious cost even though it will be lower with subsidy.  The other thing is, selling a house in the bay area will amount to a non-trivial part of our net worth.  Research shows that most of the time, on average, you are better off investing the lump sum right away, but no one lives averages and it's very very hard to consider investing all at once when a recession looks iminent.

Miss Piggy notes similar concerns about the economy.  What goes up irrationally tends to come down.  Once the chinese money stops flowing into bay area real estate, for example, or australia, vancouver, ..., things are sure to crash again. 

Trifele notes the Doctor Doom posts :-) yes I have read them.  I think he's a fine writer and got something out of his posts.  I wish he'd post something more recently.  An ongoing and nagging observation for me is that many many many of the FIRE bloggers are either not RE (monetized blogging), are pending RE, or are just recently RE and often in an unsustainable manner (kids living unsustainably and ungrounded, etc. - lifestyles that will become problematic for almost everyone in the long term), etc.  It would be very comforting to see stories from people who have done it long term without a pension on the side, for example, who really rode the market.

TartanTallulah - good points.

Eric mentioned bonds.  As it is now, we plan to go with a rising equity glidepath; though it is interesting to me that BigERN is not actually doing that with his portfolio despite being the reference for SRW and models for dealing with market downturns in the first few years of retirement (but that is, as like the examples above, because he is not really RE in the sense that he is becoming a full time options trader; I'm not retirement policing but it's interesting to note).  If anyone has not read his series on safe withdrawl rates, and in particular some of his critique of Kitces, it's worth a read ( https://earlyretirementnow.com/2017/12/13/the-ultimate-guide-to-safe-withdrawal-rates-part-22-endogenous-retirement-timing/comment-page-1/ and so on ). 

I will say reading ERN SWR blog postings is one of the areas that gave me peace of mind.  For one thing, his toolkit (part 7) is much better for doing concrete analysis than cFiresim; for another he is one of the few people making the point that target-portfolio-minimum based timing is extremely dangerous because it tends to concentrate people at market tops. We could have pulled the trigger two years ago but the same thought had occurred to me so we did not.

Anyway, thanks for the thoughts.

Linea_Norway

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #663 on: April 17, 2018, 06:25:44 AM »
On nervousness, I am genuinely concerned mostly about imminent recession and healthcare costs.  Healthcare looks like it will be around $1000 to $1300 a month before subsidy in many of the places on our maybe list; healthcare has been growing above inflation for some time and that's quite a serious cost even though it will be lower with subsidy.  The other thing is, selling a house in the bay area will amount to a non-trivial part of our net worth.  Research shows that most of the time, on average, you are better off investing the lump sum right away, but no one lives averages and it's very very hard to consider investing all at once when a recession looks imminent.

If you are so nervous about the stock market, then I would advise you not to invest the lump sum in the stock market. Put a part in it, if you are comfortable with that. And put another part in bonds or in a high interest account. Consider to buy new portions of stock at later times, to spread your investment.

VoteCthulu

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #664 on: April 17, 2018, 11:06:59 AM »
I'm moderately worried about healthcare. It doesn't look like either side will have the votes to even try to fix the ACA any time soon, so the cost increases will propably get much worse.

The market I'm actually not worried about. This break from last year's monster growth spurt seems like a good pause. Earnings should see a bump from the tax cuts, and without a major war breaking out (trade or bullet) the market looks ok for now.

What might happen 5 or 10 years down the road is anyone's guess, but that's why we need contingency plans. Mine include going back to work, getting a roommate, and then ultimately putting everything I have left on red.

sui generis

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #665 on: April 18, 2018, 11:58:05 AM »
Although I'm new here, probably about 90% of my posts have included something about how much I hate my job, so to the extent you've seen my username before, you probably already know that.  Well, by 9:30am this morning, I had two amazing experiences the combination of which, so close in time, is more validation than I've had in many, many years.  First, we closed a big deal this morning and one of my co-workers literally emailed me these words:

Quote from: coworker
I’m so glad you were on this deal.  It would not have closed without you.  :)

I mean, it feels like people so rarely go out of their way to say such nice things, I didn't believe this email.  I started to respond and then I had to keep checking the original email.  Was she sending this to someone else and just copied me?  Am I positive I'm interpreting this right?  How embarrassing if I responded for myself if I had just been the person copied!

And then shortly thereafter, I received an email from a client we do pro bono work for that I was selected as one of its Volunteers of the Month (and I have to write an article about myself for their newsletter by tomorrow COB.  Ha!)

It does feel nice, but I've been contemplating it all off an on for the last hour or so and it's not enough to change my attitude about this job or work more broadly.  So I guess that's good - it would be pretty bad if a tiny bit of positive feedback had me second guessing my FIRE plans, yeah?  I guess if anything it reinforced my FIRE plans because it has me thinking how confusing it is that my work on that deal was special to someone (what are people doing on other deals if my pretty-standard work on this one was so important?) and what a sort of poor experience my working with this volunteer org has been (there's no guidance/training and I haven't had much success assisting their clients). 

This sort of external validation used to really, really, really matter to me.  If it's a little less important to me, I hope that means I get my value more from within myself, which I think will be important in FIRE.  I hope that's at least part of it, and not just that I never cared in the first place if someone gave me positive feedback on the equivalent of being great at washing dishes (my most hated chore).


edgema

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #666 on: April 19, 2018, 02:50:12 AM »
Answering an earlier question on post FIRE plans. I am at the tail end of 20+ years in a career which has been financially rewarding, but quite mentally tough, so I really want to reward myself for knuckling down, particularly over the hardest bit of the past 5 years. Family of 4 with a 7 and 6 year old and we are weighing up two options;

1) Buy a c.45 foot sailboat, take the kids out of school for a year, and sail the Med / Caribbean. If it works just carry on  to the Pacific (my secret plan but not signed off on yet). 
2) Pack in a decade's worth of bucket list trips into the first couple of years. Sailing, RVing, camping, adventure motorbiking, etc. Not sit around a pool stuff, but getting out into the world. 

I worry about the expense of 1) but like the idea of the personal challenge of doing it (we know the sailing life so not going in blind). There would be no 'what do I do today', if soon after RE we start the process of finding, buying, fitting out, planning and executing such a trip. A little (OK a lot!) scared of 24/7 with the kids and homeschooling, but life is also about challenges! Spending more time in 6 months with our kids than many parents will for their entire childhoods feel like an incredible privilege, even though there will clearly be many moments I contemplate the tragic 'accident' of tossing them over the side..... 

Regarding 2), I worry that a string of holidays, however adventurous, might leave me a bit empty as we have all probably read that overcoming challenges is a big part of life satisfaction. That said, think of the incredible trips! For example, I have always wanted to motorbike around South Africa / Namibia.   

There is also an environmental aspect of 1) being light consumption slow travel where we will see some great things but also some difficult sights (ocean plastic) which I dearly want my children to experience. Hack back at the hedonic adaptation and lead a simpler (albeit very fortunate) life. On 2) the nub of it is that they are just some spoilt urchins who go on more holidays than their friends!

Well as of Thursday 19th April it seems I have re-convinced myself of option 1)! Cue the inner accountant (for some reason mentally dressed as a butler) to enquire whether FIRE might just all be an illusion and 'Sir' might simply be having a mid-life crisis, giving up a very well paid job to simultaneously buy 'a hole in the water to throw money into'....

Anyhow, excited about either option but, as might be obvious, also 'struggling' to commit to either. 11 months to work it out. Anyone else have cruising in their post FIRE plans?

Trifle

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #667 on: April 19, 2018, 05:06:01 AM »
Anyhow, excited about either option but, as might be obvious, also 'struggling' to commit to either. 11 months to work it out. Anyone else have cruising in their post FIRE plans?

I love the plan Edgema! Go for it.  We don't have cruising in our plans, but lots of slow travel and camping -- yes.  I wanted to do 6 months on the road immediately post-FIRE, but DH and our two kids are balking a bit.  Buncha travel wimp homebodies.  :)   We are currently negotiating on how long we will be gone.   I think we might start with a one month trip (Europe), and then see what they are willing to do after that.

We've been homeschooling for years, FWIW, so no transition to navigate there. 

If we travel a bit and then they are done, I could always continue on solo walkabout.


edgema

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #668 on: April 19, 2018, 06:23:58 AM »
Thanks Trifele. I am a bit of a travel wimp homebody which is part of the appeal of sailing as you take your 'home' with you. By day you are 'discovering the world' but by night you can be a homebody, cooking up a feast and watching a movie with the kids. Pretty certain we would struggle with extended travelling without a home base, although that can of course be achieved in other ways than a boat. Sat in my office right now looking at the sunshine so all I know is that I want to be outside a lot!

Good luck with your travel plans.

Cornbread OMalley

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #669 on: April 21, 2018, 11:56:10 PM »
Been awhile since I updated in this thread.

I've been biding my time and trying to figure out the proper moment to announce to the boss my intent to retire.  A few months ago I thought March 2018 was the window but changed my mind for some reason (can't remember what caused me to delay).  But now I think I have another window: last week of May 2018.  The boss received another assignment and will be leaving in June.  Plus I think I've worked hard enough for the boss, and he sees me in a good light.

I plan to do an office call with him sometime during the last week of May to tell him I'm requesting retirement.  I will need his signature on a few preliminary documents to start the retirement process.  Then in August 2018 I can start the year-long retirement process when I submit all the paperwork for my formal request to retire from the military.

dude

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #670 on: April 22, 2018, 06:32:21 AM »
Outstanding, Cornbread!  Enjoy that pension (and health care) -- anyone who can stick it out 20+ in the military deserves every penny of it! I wish you all the best in your transition to civilian life/retirement!

Cornbread OMalley

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #671 on: April 22, 2018, 09:06:30 AM »
Class of 2019, what is your post-FIRE plan?

I am 10 months out.  I am nervous.  The math works assuming we get out of the insanely expensive bay area and liquidate the house; that will give us a solid base with which to build a post-ER life.

My job is very demanding - specifically has been extremely demanding for almost two decades.  Over the last 20 years the reality is my wife and I have done very little other than work.  Looking back that was quite a mistake and I have some serious regrets even though in the end it means we will free, really free, after two decades. 

But .. I don't actually know quite what to do once we pull the trigger.  We are going to try to do a thru hike (the timing works nicely and we'll have no ties to anything) and then .. what?  We won't have a home when we finish (or drop out).  We aren't even sure about where we'd like to try living other than some thoughts (somewhere we can have a larger piece of property but which is not overly exurb/rural) and constraints (not Bay Area ever again and honestly probably not CA or anywhere crowded). 

Right now I am so busy with work that about all I have time to do is start gearing up to sell the house and put what we really want to keep in storage.  Right now the plan is we are going to do the sale this summer and rent for the remaining 8-or-so months. 

Beyond that I am just spinning. A lot of people have started to say "have a plan before you get there" but honestly I don't have one or even the idea on how to get one together.  We are both burned out.  We have both been burned out for 5 to 10 years.

I would say in your situation, don't think about it too much. Your mind is obviously taxed with work, work, work. Retire and just do NOTHING for 6 months to let your mind and body recover, and once it has, I'm sure all kinds of ideas about what to do in Act 2 will appear.
I've read this advice also in the various RE blogs and articles I find on RockStarFinance.  The mind is much different when it is relaxed and the body fully recharged.

Cornbread OMalley

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #672 on: April 22, 2018, 09:18:35 AM »
Outstanding, Cornbread!  Enjoy that pension (and health care) -- anyone who can stick it out 20+ in the military deserves every penny of it! I wish you all the best in your transition to civilian life/retirement!
Thanks, dude!  I'm part of the last generation of the legacy pension program.  The Blended Retirement System (BRS) is in effect as of 2018.  I've read a little on the BRS but haven't committed the facts to memory.  I'm grandfathered in the old High-36 program.

I talked to my mom a week or so ago and brought up the idea of a cross-country trip.  It's the cross-country trip she never got because she spent her life working to set me up for success in life.  So I suggested a leisurely trip driving to the east coast and then north towards Maine.  All expenses paid by me.  Mom really loves the idea, and the tentative time frame for the trip is spring 2020.

Lews Therin

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #673 on: April 24, 2018, 12:48:38 PM »
I'm joining you all from the 2020 Cohort!

I started with the 2025, then realized I could cut it down to 2020, and now due to a new program offered to military members in Canada that are leaving, I get to cut another year off!

My Fire date would be 1st of August, or a random date in the fall if I decide to push it forwards by taking a period of leave without pay. (Same amount of time working, I might just want to take the summer off, and then work in the fall instead)

I've made it faster by A)Increasing SR due to banking all increases since 2014, B)getting a roommate  C)learning that I have access to a program that will pay for 1/2 my FIRE expenses for 4 years if I leave after 12 years in the military (Aug 2019 :D )

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #674 on: April 24, 2018, 01:13:35 PM »
Welcome to the 2019 club!

Do you have any big post FIRE plans? If I was retiring from the military I'd probably take some interesting college classes under the GI Bill.

Lews Therin

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #675 on: April 24, 2018, 02:07:42 PM »
I'm going to take a carpentry course, possibly electrician too. And then some type of accountancy university class if I am still motivated. (On-line would be perfect)

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #676 on: April 24, 2018, 02:12:02 PM »
I'm going to take a carpentry course, possibly electrician too. And then some type of accountancy university class if I am still motivated. (On-line would be perfect)

I want to do something similar!  I'm thinking I really want to develop some plumbing, electrician and/or car maintenance skills.  It would be nice to finally have some practical skills :)  And who knows, like MMM, it may lead to a small business!

I haven't looked for online courses for any of this yet, but presumably there are some.

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #677 on: April 24, 2018, 03:15:39 PM »
On-line would be for information purposes (accounting / university degree)

I'd personally perfer to learn carpentry and solid skills like that hands-on.

sui generis

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #678 on: April 24, 2018, 03:24:04 PM »
On-line would be for information purposes (accounting / university degree)

I'd personally perfer to learn carpentry and solid skills like that hands-on.

I had a lot of success with a (surprise!) plumbing project a few weekends ago using YouTube, but that was for a specific problem rather than a comprehensive start from scratch education.  Maybe will check out my local community college.

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #679 on: April 25, 2018, 09:40:19 PM »
Apologies if this has been brought up earlier in the thread.

Are any of the rest of you more than a bit nervous about the economy? I'm a little worried, but it doesn't keep me up at night (yet). I RRRREEEEAAAAALLLLLLYYYYYY want to FIRE next summer (2019), but we'll see what happens between now and then with the stock market. As a backup, I do have a good job right now, and I can stay there longer than planned.

(Part of me wants to also say: Oh, who am I kidding? I'm VERY worried about what could happen with the market.)

Yes and no.  My logical side says that I have so much flexibility and so many back-up plans that I should be fine unless things are significantly worse than they've been throughout history.  Essentially, I expect to hit 25x spending around September 2018 assuming the markets return around 0%.  I'm planning to work at least half a year beyond that and in that time I should be able to save more than 1 year's worth of spending while taking out nothing from my stache.  As far as the stache is concerned, that's like retiring with 25x and then adding 1.5x on top.  In addition, our spending level has quite a bit of slack so we should be able to cut significantly if needed.  I'm also working out the details of coming back to work part-time as a consultant, and I expect that I probably will do a bit of consulting so my first year or two so I might not require any stache withdrawals.  In addition we both have small pensions and the 25x ignores future Social Security and possible inheritances.  If things still look bad I think we both have great reputations at work and should be able to get another job in a few years if we really needed to.  With this plan, it shouldn't matter at all if the market collapses tomorrow; I'll still be ready to retire next year regardless of what happens in the markets. 

The illogical side reads that and realizes that if the markets do drop 20%, 30%, or more there's no way I'll feel like the paragraph above in any way justifies turning off the firehose of money that my employer keeps spraying in my direction.  I don't make as much as many people on this board, but it still feels like I'm vastly overpaid for what I do, and if I quit and need to come back I won't command anywhere near the salary that I make now.  I feel like I shouldn't shut off the firehose until I am well above the numbers that I'd need to hit to see 100% on cFireSim. 

And then the logical side kicks in and around I go...
« Last Edit: April 25, 2018, 09:47:10 PM by FIRE 20/20 »

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #680 on: April 26, 2018, 06:10:29 AM »
Apologies if this has been brought up earlier in the thread.

Are any of the rest of you more than a bit nervous about the economy? I'm a little worried, but it doesn't keep me up at night (yet). I RRRREEEEAAAAALLLLLLYYYYYY want to FIRE next summer (2019), but we'll see what happens between now and then with the stock market. As a backup, I do have a good job right now, and I can stay there longer than planned.

(Part of me wants to also say: Oh, who am I kidding? I'm VERY worried about what could happen with the market.)

I'm in the same boat, though I will NOT be at 25X expenses when pulling the trigger.

If the market does continue to decline through out the rest of 2018 and into 2019 then we will accumulate quite a bit of shares at lower prices than current.

At that point you have to make the choice with the information and situation you personally face. I have a feeling that if the economy tanks but I'm still employed and making a relatively high income, it might be tempting to take advantage on suppressed prices on things like real estate investments, and sailboats ;)

Lews Therin

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #681 on: April 26, 2018, 07:19:58 AM »
My thinking is that since I'm so close to FIRE, and even if I'm below 25x in 2019, it will take so little extra to cover the full year's expenses that I'd rather aim for rare/short part time work at something relaxed and easy-going, than continue to remain at my full time work.

Even if the market crashes 50%, then I only have to make even to cover the shortfall, which is surprisingly small when all the dividend payers are taken into account.

sui generis

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #682 on: April 26, 2018, 11:21:18 AM »
Work has been soooo slow lately.  The tax bill really did a number on my practice area.  Well, that and the uncertain economy overall.  So I've billed a total of just over 6 hours this week so far.

I've had boring jobs before, but not where I needed to track/bill my time so closely, particularly for bonus eligibility.  So I know how to use my time at a boring job (I'm here aren't I?!) but I have much more anxiety hanging over my head than usual about it.  But other than that, I'm actually enjoying it because I'm using the time to work on some projects I like better, including preparing (mentally) for my RE (inasmuch as that can be called a "project").  In fact, I feel busier than ever with all these things and am dreading the time that will inevitably come when I get more assignments.  I mean, the last 3-4 weeks, as I've wrapped up deal after deal and not gotten replacement assignments, actually feels like I'm getting ready to leave, and of course I am in fact mentally getting ready to leave, so I think this is contributing to this fantastic mood I've been in, especially in the last few days, where I feel like RE is so close and I can feel what it's like to start working on and enjoying things I am interested in, etc.  So it's gonna be a harsh, harsh reality when I get new assignments and especially if business really picks up again and I have to work like crazy.  And can't do any of the things I'm working on and planning to do right now.

Honestly a not insignificant part of me is saying, "Maybe we should just quit now, yeah?  Why even go through that?" and another part of me is like, "You are totally right, you smarty pants you!"  And then another part of me is like, "You guys, we promised!  We made a commitment!  No crazy moves.  We can do this!"  And then, everybody else in there is like conflicted and thinking about calling a referendum and, I don't know, there might be riots.  And that's totally normal that there are crowds in my brain threatening riots, right?  LOL. 

But seriously, I haven't been around long and pretty much only read this and the 2018 thread (as far as cohort threads go), but it feels a lot more like people end up adding on a little time or getting sucked back in through some interesting or lucrative opportunity, rather than cutting the cord several months early suddenly.  Maybe I've missed some, though.  It seems imprudent, but it's a live question for me.

exit2019

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #683 on: April 27, 2018, 07:22:34 PM »
Severe, severe senioritis.  it's hard to even pretend to care.

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #684 on: April 29, 2018, 01:22:35 PM »
+1 on the Senioritis.

I'm struggling with a combo of low shits to give on the job and and a ramping up of spending as I try to fund a few more things while working in terms of both purchases and travel upgrades that is making me doubt my departure date.

It's challenging for me to find the middle ground between realities of funding certain purchases while working and lifestyle creep.  I feel like it's making it mentally harder to consider walking away as outside of tax advantage savings I'm mostly focused on building up or spending cash and not so much on savings to hit a number anymore. 

It was always in my plan to increase spending on a few strategic things/trips and build stronger cash buffer as I came into my last year or so work, so in that sense I feel on track for 2019.  However,  this saving to spending transition is making OMY seem like a totally acceptable step.  As work has got less stressful/I've stopped caring and I've started enjoying spending money again it definitely feels like a danger zone.

Anybody else feeling this conflict?  I already felt like I did my OMY and put to rest my 'what if I don't have enough/health care' fears and just wasn't expecting another round of doubts based more on indulgences.


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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #685 on: April 29, 2018, 07:09:34 PM »
No conflicts here.  I've already hit my number and have nice cushion.  While I'm planning a 4% SWR, my current stash level at a 2% SWR would allow me to pay barebones expenses with a few hundred dollars extra per month.  So at 4% SWR, that provides more than double my actual needs so that I can engage in more entertainment and travel options.  Then there's the re-location possibility.

Barring any negative changes in the ACA or a plummeting stock market, I expect to FIRE in May/June 2019.  Those things are out of my control, although I'm moving to a more conservative AA as I near FIRE to reduce volatility of my investments and help protect against SORR.  OMY isn't completely off the table.  I don't know if I'll feel like working part time at all by that point, but it's a possibility.

In the meantime, I'm still saving as much as ever, possibly 80% this year.

oldtoyota

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #686 on: April 29, 2018, 08:13:33 PM »
Keep the hype alive!

I just landed what will hopefully be my last office job ever. It seems like a nice place, and the salary is quite good, but really it just needs to tide me over for one year until the big move.

That is so exciting! To know it's the last one must feel quite good. =-D

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #687 on: April 29, 2018, 08:17:53 PM »
Class of 2019, what is your post-FIRE plan?

I am 10 months out.  I am nervous.  The math works assuming we get out of the insanely expensive bay area and liquidate the house; that will give us a solid base with which to build a post-ER life.

Beyond that I am just spinning. A lot of people have started to say "have a plan before you get there" but honestly I don't have one or even the idea on how to get one together.  We are both burned out.  We have both been burned out for 5 to 10 years.

If you are busy at work now, what if you just don't make a plan? It sounds like you have *some* of a plan, which is to hike. Do that.

When you are free, you and your wife and can simply...relax. Sounds like your mind and body might need time to recover and recuperate. If it were me, I would take simple walks, focus on healthy eating, and see friends I'd not seen in a while.

Then, I would start trying things. Imagine you are conducting short tests as you see what you do and don't like.

--Volunteer at the airport, hospital, library
--Start a group of some kind (Meetup or something else)
--Test out different hobbies--cooking, painting, writing, gardening, biking, hiking. Keep testing until you find something you like a lot and then create a social life around it.

That's what I would do!

I think people think they need a big plan, but you don't. You can conduct tests, have conversations, focus on ensuring you have some social aspect, and figure it out as you go along.

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #688 on: May 01, 2018, 06:34:43 AM »
Another month down.  11 to go. 

I am struggling.  Weird combination of severe senioritis, and stress from the current environment at work (we are being acquired by Megacorp).  My current work stress is less than the people who don't have a stash and for whom a layoff would be catastrophic, but it's still stressful.  I've already had to pick up a bunch of work from someone who quit last week, and who won't be replaced.  [sigh]  It's probably only the beginning; people are starting to quit rather than stick around and wait for a layoff. 

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #689 on: May 01, 2018, 07:01:44 AM »
Another month down.  11 to go. 

I am struggling.  Weird combination of severe senioritis, and stress from the current environment at work (we are being acquired by Megacorp).  My current work stress is less than the people who don't have a stash and for whom a layoff would be catastrophic, but it's still stressful.  I've already had to pick up a bunch of work from someone who quit last week, and who won't be replaced.  [sigh]  It's probably only the beginning; people are starting to quit rather than stick around and wait for a layoff.

I hear ya Trifele. It's a tough place to be in knowing that you are financially just fine while others around you are in real financial panic. Plus the additional work that gets handed off to the "lucky" survivors - not fun.

I too have senioritis; I can't imagine how much more it would be compounded if my workplace was going through an acquisition at the same time.

The next 11 months will give you an opportunity to learn to set limits around workload and project management. I had to practice this in a former workplace. Basically my script was:  "Hey boss, here are my current 10 projects with the amount of time I estimate it will take to complete them - which ones are the priority and in what order would you like me to work on them?"

You need to practice extreme self care. Take time off when you can, eat healthy, get some fresh air and exercise, practice some deep breathing or mediation. Make a gratitude list every day.

Maybe you'll get a layoff with a fat severance package???   : 0 )

 

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #690 on: May 01, 2018, 12:06:11 PM »
Thanks LivingtheDream -- good advice.  I got to start setting limits today.  A coworker in another division called me this morning and told me I was being named to head up a big new project group.  I just said "No, I can't do that.  I'm glad to help, but I do not have the bandwidth to lead it."  Man that felt good.

You hit the nail on the head with the need for self care too.  I've been having TMJ pain and migraines, and I am going to dial back on the work until I get that under control.  They will just have to be happy with what I am able to give . . .

sui generis

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #691 on: May 01, 2018, 12:18:06 PM »
Thanks LivingtheDream -- good advice.  I got to start setting limits today.  A coworker in another division called me this morning and told me I was being named to head up a big new project group.  I just said "No, I can't do that.  I'm glad to help, but I do not have the bandwidth to lead it."  Man that felt good.

Good on you!  It's so easy to say that's what I *would* say if needed and so hard to actually do it.  You did it!

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #692 on: May 02, 2018, 12:48:17 AM »
April was a good month for me financially. The stash is still building nicely and we have now passed 22.5x our post FIRE budget.

Also, in April I snuck over to Sri Lanka for a few days with friends which was great for fueling the imagination of what post FIRE travel could be.

Sri Lanka is one of those places where you could really kick back and take it easy for a while on a modest budget. The food is so good, and the people so friendly. It was a crime that work commitments meant I could only stay a few short days. Thankfully I won’t be wage slave for much longer!!

....... that’s if I don’t get cold feet..... hahaha

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #693 on: May 02, 2018, 06:04:34 AM »
On Monday (May 7), I'll go under one year to retirement. Only reservation I have is I sure wish the market would have tanked by now. If it stays at current levels, even if flat for the year, the odds of a negative sequence of returns are pretty high. Will have to adjust withdrawal plan accordingly.

dude

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #694 on: May 07, 2018, 08:41:39 AM »
And May 7 is here. Today starts the one-year countdown to my retirement eligibility/FIRE date. Damn, one year!  Can't hardly believe it!

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #695 on: May 07, 2018, 09:38:41 AM »
And May 7 is here. Today starts the one-year countdown to my retirement eligibility/FIRE date. Damn, one year!  Can't hardly believe it!

I predict that it will be here before you know it while simultaneously taking forever.  The human mind is weird like that.

And I think my goal will be to quit on May 1, just so I can get the jump on you.  :)

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #696 on: May 07, 2018, 10:13:14 AM »
And May 7 is here. Today starts the one-year countdown to my retirement eligibility/FIRE date. Damn, one year!  Can't hardly believe it!

I predict that it will be here before you know it while simultaneously taking forever.  The human mind is weird like that.

And I think my goal will be to quit on May 1, just so I can get the jump on you.  :)

Ha! I just need to keep busy so the time flies by!  Already have several vacations planned this year, so that helps!

sui generis

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #697 on: May 07, 2018, 10:25:00 AM »
I have a love-hate relationship with the time flying and simultaneously taking forever.  Because of course it takes forever in the work realm.  I swear I've been stuck between 9 and 10 months left for at least 3 months so far.  But it flies in my personal life. I have NO TIME to research all the things I want to have researched before the day comes.  I mean, hopefully I have 4 or more decades of FIRE, so I should have plenty of time *after* but I want to try to get organized for a smoother transition and I feel like I have no time to pay attention to doing that.

In the meantime, my "Sunday blues" is getting worse and worse.  I wake up most mornings - even Saturday and Sunday mornings!, with a hot lead ball in the pit of my stomach.  And way too early, too!  I thought I'd be free of this dread now that I now I'll be physically free of work in less than a year, but it's worse than ever as I feel like I am wasting each day right now.  I'm just too impatient. 

Lews Therin

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #698 on: May 07, 2018, 10:38:54 AM »
430 days for me...

Not counting at all.

exit2019

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Re: 2019 fire cohort
« Reply #699 on: May 07, 2018, 09:25:34 PM »
278 for me.  tick tock.

I have started alleviating my senioritis by adding different kinds of milestones.  Each month has a milestone.  I have a milestone per 50 days down to the last 100 days.  I have 100 day milestones (two left) and a t-2week milestone.  These are all in Countdown+ on my phone.  I count absolute days, not work days.

Weekends are nice because I don't check it on weekends.  So monday is a jump.


 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!