Author Topic: 2026 FIRE Cohort  (Read 123194 times)

Zoot

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #100 on: August 09, 2018, 06:06:41 AM »
Hey, everybody--signing in to this thread to draw a "line in the sand" at 2026 as the outer limit for my FIRE date.

That's the year I turn 59.5 and can draw from retirement assets with no penalty.  :) 

I'm hoping to go earlier than that, but I'm committing to no longer than 2026.

Two biggest challenges for us to overcome:

HEALTH CARE:  While it would only be 6 years to cover me until Medicare would kick in, DH is 11 years younger (we got married when I was 46 and he was 35, so I'm not TECHNICALLY a cougar, right?) and would need coverage for 17 years prior to Medicare.  God only knows what might change on the health care field between now and then, though, so it's just something to take into account as we continue to make our plans.  If we decide to pull the trigger earlier, we will have to make a brass-tacks level plan.

ACCOUNT TYPES:  While we are members of the Double Comma Club, most of our net worth is tied up in retirement accounts or home equity, which would make it not-impossible-but-hard to access the funds to fund our lifestyle in the absence of a paycheck. 

Our current yearly spending is about $60K, so our current savings goal is $1.5 MM in non-home-equity assets.  At $878K, we are about 58% there.  We are maxing our pre-tax retirement and Roth accounts yearly and saving additionally from our take-home (currently all earmarked for a major home renovation, but will go to taxable accounts after that's done). 

I think we can reduce our spending as a FIREd household--the house will be paid off by then, for example, which reduces the need for cash flow--so the target will likely move downward as we continue to tweak our lifestyle.  We would also go from a two-car household to a one-car household, which lowers insurance and maintenance costs.  And so on and so on.

My Inner Bag Lady is a force to be reckoned with--it will be some time before I will truly be comfortable with us pulling the plug as a household.  But 2026 is the limit--no more after that.  :)

Mesmoiselle

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #101 on: August 09, 2018, 08:13:45 PM »
I have a tentative 2026 goal for myself. :)

Debt free except 30k left on the mortgage.
32k in the IRAs
10k liquid
$4500 in the 401k with achievable maxing of my 401k this year

My goals are:
1. to reach 80k ish by 33 in that standard Retirement accounts so it'll be around 350k when I'm 60
2. buy 350k of stocks over next 8 years as well

By the time 38 rolls around, I should be able to live on 1k/month and be FI

nurseart

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #102 on: October 09, 2018, 08:16:53 AM »
I ran some numbers and we are tentatively hoping for a 2026 FIRE date as well, will be turning 39 that year. :)

AndyCats

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #103 on: October 26, 2018, 11:15:45 AM »
Just landed here. I'm 57 and way behind. So I'm going to act as if I'm 47 and plan to fire in 2026.


Sailor Sam

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #104 on: October 26, 2018, 02:49:10 PM »
1. Opening net worth of $370k

2. 50% of my $750k lower bound, 37% of the $1M upper bound

Wrapping up Q1 for 2017.

1. $405,407.56 on 1-Apr

2. 54% of my $750k lower bound, and 40% of $1M upper bound

Update to close Q2 of 2017.

1. Net worth is $433,670 on 3-July

2. 57% of $750k lower bound, and 43% of $1M upper bound.

Q3 roundup:

1. Networth is $466,531 on 1-Oct.

2. 62% of $750k, and 46% of $1M.

End of Q4, and the end of 2017.

1. Networth is $496,452

2. 66% of 750k, and 49% of 1m.

End of Q1 for 2018

1. Networth is $528,029 on 20-Apr

2. That's 70% of $750k, and 53% of $1M.

End of Q2 for 2018

1. Net worth is $546,907

2. That's 73% of $750k, and 55% of $1M

I'm late collating, and even later posting for the end of Q3 for 2018. Late, late, for an arbitrary date. These were the numbers on 15-Oct. They've probably taken a dive, but at this point I'm simply holding course.

1. Net worth is $558,995

2. That's 74% of $750k, and 56% of $1M

The wife is considering a move from military to private pilot. We keep our finances separate, so my net worth climb rate won't be effected much, but the general fire hose of cash might be cracking even wider.

kaadalac

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #105 on: December 12, 2018, 09:58:00 AM »
Not an impressive leap from last year. Our income is still low because my wife is working part time until my son is old enough for day care. Savings rate is still decent, able to sock away about 3k a month.  Holding steady for progress on 2026 retirement.

 


LoanShark

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #106 on: December 31, 2018, 08:36:20 AM »
Hey everyone! First post here. Figured I'd do a quick intro here since my FIRE goal is 2026 as well. I'll be 40 in 2026. :)

First off - background on my username. I'm a finance professional, investing capital on behalf of the bank I work for in middle market companies.

I LOVE to hike and one my buddies who's in his 70's and FIRE (He's a Mustachian, just doesn't know the term) gave me the trail name "Loan Shark" since I'm in the banking/investing business. I thought it was funny and tongue-in-cheek, so figured I'd use it as my username here. :)

I'm 32, my wife is 30 and we love to travel and hike. As I mentioned, I'm in finance and she works for our public utility.

I've always been interested in finance and began saving early in life.  I got serious about it after starting my professional career. I keep a quarterly personal balance sheet so I can track my performance quarterly and make sure I'm saving enough. I've saved 50%+ since I started tracking this back in 2009.

Here's where my wife and I are at now:
Cash - $236,000 (Goal is to keep $200,000 liquid in case I find an investment I want to make or distressed asset to purchase)
Wife and I's 401k - $371,000 (maxed each of our accounts for the past six years or so)
Home - $444,000 cost basis (market value is $500,000)
"Other assets" (personal possessions, cars, etc) - $198,000

Debt - $95,000 in car notes at a blended cost of capital of 1.55%.
Our cash is earning 1.6% in money market accounts so the debt is essentially a wash and I like keeping the cash liquid for opportunities to invest on the side.

Total net worth is ~ $1.1MM.

This is the most cash I'll keep though and start funding post-tax retirement funds here shortly.

Our over arching goal was to become debt free and we achieved that last year when we paid off our home in September (I don't consider our car notes debt given the wash on our money market interest rate).

Second goal over the past year was to build up $200,000 in cash savings which is now done in case I want to buy an asset at distressed prices in the event of a "market correction".

Next goal is to start funding retirement accounts outside of our 401k to the tune of $100-200,000 a year. That'll start in Q4.

We're starting the process of analyzing our monthly "spend" which we'll then use to figure out where we need to be officially FIRE'd.... My rough calculation of this is $30,000-60,000 a year though currently. Most of this "spend" has been spent on travel over the past four years - that's totaled about $10-12,000/year - but we've done that consciously as we want to see the world and enjoy the time we have with each other while we're young and healthy and don't have children yet.

At any rate, that's a little bit about us. I've been reading MMM for the past few years along with other books/blogs and I've really enjoyed it! Not sure what "retirement" would mean yet but I my goal is to figure that out over the next few years. I do genuinely enjoy what I do though and paying off our home and becoming "debt-free" has been great for reducing stress as my work environment can be quite stressful.

I look forward to learning more about everyone's journey and working toward that 2026 goal!

Best,
Loan Shark

Quick update - net worth is at steady quarter over quarter at $1.15MM...took a beating in the stock market over the last few months, but continuing to invest. Won't need the money for quite awhile, so it's all good! Hope everyone has a great start to 2019.

Sailor Sam

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #107 on: December 31, 2018, 11:58:29 AM »
1. Opening net worth of $370k

2. 50% of my $750k lower bound, 37% of the $1M upper bound

Wrapping up Q1 for 2017.

1. $405,407.56 on 1-Apr

2. 54% of my $750k lower bound, and 40% of $1M upper bound

Update to close Q2 of 2017.

1. Net worth is $433,670 on 3-July

2. 57% of $750k lower bound, and 43% of $1M upper bound.

Q3 roundup:

1. Networth is $466,531 on 1-Oct.

2. 62% of $750k, and 46% of $1M.

End of Q4, and the end of 2017.

1. Networth is $496,452

2. 66% of 750k, and 49% of 1m.

End of Q1 for 2018

1. Networth is $528,029 on 20-Apr

2. That's 70% of $750k, and 53% of $1M.

End of Q2 for 2018

1. Net worth is $546,907

2. That's 73% of $750k, and 55% of $1M

End of Q3 for 2018.

1. Net worth is $558,995

2. That's 74% of $750k, and 56% of $1M

End of Q4, and end of 2018!

1. Networth is $522,427

2. That's 69% of $750k, and 52% of $1M

It goes up, it goes down, it goes 'round, and 'round, and 'round. I was around for 2008, and I am not entirely gruntled, I am not flustered, either.

FIPurpose

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #108 on: January 29, 2019, 07:18:39 AM »
I'm joining in. 2026 seems to be right around the date that we're planning on. (though hey things change right? ;))

I'll be 35.
Goal is 1.5M invested assets. (ie ~60-80k annual spending)

Boy when I say it like that... I hit 35 and then I just have enough capital to live forever in luxury? That's nuts.

We currently spend about 25k not counting health insurance, so the need for 60k is a combination of inflation, future family addition/s, a house purchase (currently in 400 sqft apartment, so not sustainable).

Zoot

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #109 on: February 16, 2019, 09:37:37 AM »
  At $878K, we are about 58% there. 

Just wanted to check in with an update.

The last quarter of 2018 was a bumpy ride for investing, but we kept plugging away at our savings plan.  Today's liquid net worth is $901K, putting us at 60% of our $1.5M goal ($60K spend at 4% SWR).

However, based on the fact that the conventional wisdom regarding the 4% rule of thumb seems to be shifting, I'm considering changing my model to a 3% SWR, which would mean upping the goal to $2M.  At $901K, we're 45% there.

A lot can change between now and then, of course, so we'll just keep monitoring and tweaking as we go.

Keep the faith, 2026!  We can do it!

FreshPrincess

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #110 on: February 18, 2019, 11:07:24 AM »
This morning I woke up with my brain stressed out for no goddamned reason, so I went and did math. If somehow my kids and dogs magically evaporated (which is not something I want, to be clear) and my income streams dried up, I could sell all my assets and scrape by. I'm not FI, but I do have a huge safety net that could keep me from homelessness and starvation in a worst case scenario situation.
Which is really cool.
Take that, stressed brain.

My husbands brain does the same thing sometimes.  So, he took a minute on Sunday to really look through things and finally exclaimed "holy shitskies - we are saving $62,000/yr on autopilot; so that doesn't include what we put in additionally when we can" to which I said "yes, dear.  welcome back to the plan and the correct side of your anxiety."

Sailor Sam

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #111 on: April 01, 2019, 10:34:04 AM »
1. Opening net worth of $370k

2. 50% of my $750k lower bound, 37% of the $1M upper bound

Wrapping up Q1 for 2017.

1. $405,407.56 on 1-Apr

2. 54% of my $750k lower bound, and 40% of $1M upper bound

Update to close Q2 of 2017.

1. Net worth is $433,670 on 3-July

2. 57% of $750k lower bound, and 43% of $1M upper bound.

Q3 roundup:

1. Networth is $466,531 on 1-Oct.

2. 62% of $750k, and 46% of $1M.

End of Q4, and the end of 2017.

1. Networth is $496,452

2. 66% of 750k, and 49% of 1m.

End of Q1 for 2018

1. Networth is $528,029 on 20-Apr

2. That's 70% of $750k, and 53% of $1M.

End of Q2 for 2018

1. Net worth is $546,907

2. That's 73% of $750k, and 55% of $1M

End of Q3 for 2018.

1. Net worth is $558,995

2. That's 74% of $750k, and 56% of $1M

End of Q4 for 2018!

1. Networth is $522,427

2. That's 69% of $750k, and 52% of $1M

End of Q1 for 2019. Time flies.

1. Networth is $616,505

2. That's 82% of $750k, and 62% of $1m. Whoop!

My projections have me hitting $750k in mid-2020 and $1m in mid-2022, but golden handcuffs are going to keep me firmly in the 2026 FIRE Cohort. There are certainly worse things in the world than being 'stuck' for an extra 3.5 years.

LoanShark

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #112 on: April 01, 2019, 08:44:20 PM »
Hey everyone! First post here. Figured I'd do a quick intro here since my FIRE goal is 2026 as well. I'll be 40 in 2026. :)

First off - background on my username. I'm a finance professional, investing capital on behalf of the bank I work for in middle market companies.

I LOVE to hike and one my buddies who's in his 70's and FIRE (He's a Mustachian, just doesn't know the term) gave me the trail name "Loan Shark" since I'm in the banking/investing business. I thought it was funny and tongue-in-cheek, so figured I'd use it as my username here. :)

I'm 32, my wife is 30 and we love to travel and hike. As I mentioned, I'm in finance and she works for our public utility.

I've always been interested in finance and began saving early in life.  I got serious about it after starting my professional career. I keep a quarterly personal balance sheet so I can track my performance quarterly and make sure I'm saving enough. I've saved 50%+ since I started tracking this back in 2009.

Here's where my wife and I are at now:
Cash - $236,000 (Goal is to keep $200,000 liquid in case I find an investment I want to make or distressed asset to purchase)
Wife and I's 401k - $371,000 (maxed each of our accounts for the past six years or so)
Home - $444,000 cost basis (market value is $500,000)
"Other assets" (personal possessions, cars, etc) - $198,000

Debt - $95,000 in car notes at a blended cost of capital of 1.55%.
Our cash is earning 1.6% in money market accounts so the debt is essentially a wash and I like keeping the cash liquid for opportunities to invest on the side.

Total net worth is ~ $1.1MM.

This is the most cash I'll keep though and start funding post-tax retirement funds here shortly.

Our over arching goal was to become debt free and we achieved that last year when we paid off our home in September (I don't consider our car notes debt given the wash on our money market interest rate).

Second goal over the past year was to build up $200,000 in cash savings which is now done in case I want to buy an asset at distressed prices in the event of a "market correction".

Next goal is to start funding retirement accounts outside of our 401k to the tune of $100-200,000 a year. That'll start in Q4.

We're starting the process of analyzing our monthly "spend" which we'll then use to figure out where we need to be officially FIRE'd.... My rough calculation of this is $30,000-60,000 a year though currently. Most of this "spend" has been spent on travel over the past four years - that's totaled about $10-12,000/year - but we've done that consciously as we want to see the world and enjoy the time we have with each other while we're young and healthy and don't have children yet.

At any rate, that's a little bit about us. I've been reading MMM for the past few years along with other books/blogs and I've really enjoyed it! Not sure what "retirement" would mean yet but I my goal is to figure that out over the next few years. I do genuinely enjoy what I do though and paying off our home and becoming "debt-free" has been great for reducing stress as my work environment can be quite stressful.

I look forward to learning more about everyone's journey and working toward that 2026 goal!

Best,
Loan Shark

Quick update - net worth is at steady quarter over quarter at $1.15MM...took a beating in the stock market over the last few months, but continuing to invest. Won't need the money for quite awhile, so it's all good! Hope everyone has a great start to 2019.

Q1 2019 update - net worth is at $1.3MM, an increase of $164M from the previous quarter. About half of that was driven by market gains. So far, so good.

elysianfields

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #113 on: May 08, 2019, 06:03:35 AM »
I haven't checked in for a while, but didn't want to write a boring update.

I recently hit the 13th anniversary of my federal employment, I mean, "Leave Service Computation Date", which means

I HAVE FEWER THAN SEVEN YEARS TO GO!!!!!!

Our NW has continued its upward climb despite one child currently attending college and another starting this fall.  My state reduces income tax for 529 contributions, so I'm using several 529 accounts to funnel tuition payments to the respective universities at a nice discount.  We continue to max TSP (using Roth because we've probably saved too much in our traditional and will face rising taxes after 70-1/2 due to RMDs), HSA, his/her Roth IRAs, you know, the usual suspects.

Since my children had earned income in 2017 and 2018, I made contributions to their Roth IRAs as well (they kept their earnings, *I* made the contributions).  I won't benefit directly, but they will perhaps be able to afford high-class long-term care for me when they reach 59-1/2.

Powering onward and upward,

Elysian

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #114 on: May 08, 2019, 07:16:49 AM »
Posting to join the fun. We are mid-30s DINKs with $540k in equities and another $60k in home equity that we plan to cash out after FIRE. I still have no clear idea of what FIRE looks like, but we've been kicking around a move from the US to Canada, possibly starting a family, and definitely some slow travel. I'd like to be able to support USD $80k of expenses, though Ottawa and Montreal (the two cities on my radar) may actually have a lower cost-of-living than our current small city. I also go back and forth on whether to work full-time until FI or to exit for a part-time gig and coast across the finish line. These questions call for deeper introspection than I'm used to.

A lot can happen in a year. I am soon to be single with a net worth of approximately $420k. Splitting up with my SO was difficult but overdue and, on the bright side, has pushed up my FIRE date. I'm now targeting 2022. I'm thinking about splitting my time between Montreal and SE Asia, but who knows what will happen over the next several years. Good luck everyone.

elysianfields

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #115 on: May 08, 2019, 08:43:28 AM »
Posting to join the fun. We are mid-30s DINKs with $540k in equities and another $60k in home equity that we plan to cash out after FIRE. I still have no clear idea of what FIRE looks like, but we've been kicking around a move from the US to Canada, possibly starting a family, and definitely some slow travel. I'd like to be able to support USD $80k of expenses, though Ottawa and Montreal (the two cities on my radar) may actually have a lower cost-of-living than our current small city. I also go back and forth on whether to work full-time until FI or to exit for a part-time gig and coast across the finish line. These questions call for deeper introspection than I'm used to.

A lot can happen in a year. I am soon to be single with a net worth of approximately $420k. Splitting up with my SO was difficult but overdue and, on the bright side, has pushed up my FIRE date. I'm now targeting 2022. I'm thinking about splitting my time between Montreal and SE Asia, but who knows what will happen over the next several years. Good luck everyone.

Sorry to hear about your split, hope it is for the best.  Keep a stiff upper lip and your eyes on the prize!

Montréal is of course the bomb, but what a change of temperature between there and SE Asia!  Maybe you can convince someone to invent Thai Poutine?

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #116 on: May 08, 2019, 10:47:40 AM »
Posting to join the fun. We are mid-30s DINKs with $540k in equities and another $60k in home equity that we plan to cash out after FIRE. I still have no clear idea of what FIRE looks like, but we've been kicking around a move from the US to Canada, possibly starting a family, and definitely some slow travel. I'd like to be able to support USD $80k of expenses, though Ottawa and Montreal (the two cities on my radar) may actually have a lower cost-of-living than our current small city. I also go back and forth on whether to work full-time until FI or to exit for a part-time gig and coast across the finish line. These questions call for deeper introspection than I'm used to.

A lot can happen in a year. I am soon to be single with a net worth of approximately $420k. Splitting up with my SO was difficult but overdue and, on the bright side, has pushed up my FIRE date. I'm now targeting 2022. I'm thinking about splitting my time between Montreal and SE Asia, but who knows what will happen over the next several years. Good luck everyone.

Sorry to hear about your split, hope it is for the best.  Keep a stiff upper lip and your eyes on the prize!

Montréal is of course the bomb, but what a change of temperature between there and SE Asia!  Maybe you can convince someone to invent Thai Poutine?

Haha I'm not sure about Thai poutine. Although I could see using the sauce from kho bo stew in place of the gravy. Yeah, that could work...

tomorrowsomewherenew

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #117 on: June 20, 2019, 07:31:32 AM »
We have around $600,000 in investments right now, plus my spouse gets VA compensation of around $1,970 per month. Realistically, to pay for health insurance for me and our 1 child, (spouse has free care through the VA), and pay our regular monthly expenses, we are looking at around $5,000 per month. Our mortgage is nowhere near paid off and is only about $1,100 a month anyway.

My spouse has a suuuuper easy job right now, but we are literally chained to our location. He has a good amount of vacation time, but it's not enough to do what we really want. And we are both bored. So, last week we hatched a plan to try and get other money coming in---jobs, businesses, etc where we can work from anywhere. For now, he is staying at his day job. But, if we can get other income coming in then maybe we'll feel comfortable enough to take a leap. And maybe not. We're both very nervous. Just 6 years ago (pre-kid) we were totally different people and we would have been fine with the idea of leaving a steady job. Now, we are chickens.

tomorrowsomewherenew

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #118 on: August 31, 2019, 10:19:17 AM »
It's been a few months now and our side jobs are well underway. During August we received an extra $813 in income. I just started my side job at the end of July so it will be much higher this month. I'll report back in with the new total at the end of September. Our investments are currently at $613,000.

Sailor Sam

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #119 on: September 03, 2019, 02:00:38 PM »
1. Opening net worth of $370k

2. 50% of my $750k lower bound, 37% of the $1M upper bound

Wrapping up Q1 for 2017.

1. $405,407.56 on 1-Apr

2. 54% of my $750k lower bound, and 40% of $1M upper bound

Update to close Q2 of 2017.

1. Net worth is $433,670 on 3-July

2. 57% of $750k lower bound, and 43% of $1M upper bound.

Q3 roundup:

1. Networth is $466,531 on 1-Oct.

2. 62% of $750k, and 46% of $1M.

End of Q4, and the end of 2017.

1. Networth is $496,452

2. 66% of 750k, and 49% of 1m.

End of Q1 for 2018

1. Networth is $528,029 on 20-Apr

2. That's 70% of $750k, and 53% of $1M.

End of Q2 for 2018

1. Net worth is $546,907

2. That's 73% of $750k, and 55% of $1M

End of Q3 for 2018.

1. Net worth is $558,995

2. That's 74% of $750k, and 56% of $1M

End of Q4 for 2018!

1. Networth is $522,427

2. That's 69% of $750k, and 52% of $1M


End of Q1 for 2019. Time flies.

1. Networth is $616,505

2. That's 82% of $750k, and 62% of $1m. Whoop!

I missed the end of Q2 for 2019. I got sucked into...something I can't even remember.

1. Networth on 30-June was $656,706

2. That's 88% of $750k, and 66% of $1m.

I'm trucking, and I'm keeping on.

Enough

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #120 on: September 10, 2019, 09:34:50 AM »
I wish I could go earlier, but factoring in a couple OMY's and a lifestyle inflation buffer, I think 2026 is the earliest realistic date.  Currently 30, will be 37.

Currently 524K.  Lean FIRE at 750K (70%), FIRE at 1M (52%), Semi 'fat' FIRE at 1.25M (42%), projected June 2026.

Networth tracking in Race from 500k to 1M thread, latest post here: https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/throw-down-the-gauntlet/race-from-500k-to-1m!/msg2457062/#msg2457062

Sailor Sam

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #121 on: October 02, 2019, 07:29:10 AM »
1. Opening net worth of $370k

2. 50% of my $750k lower bound, 37% of the $1M upper bound

Wrapping up Q1 for 2017.

1. $405,407.56 on 1-Apr

2. 54% of my $750k lower bound, and 40% of $1M upper bound

Update to close Q2 of 2017.

1. Net worth is $433,670 on 3-July

2. 57% of $750k lower bound, and 43% of $1M upper bound.

Q3 roundup:

1. Networth is $466,531 on 1-Oct.

2. 62% of $750k, and 46% of $1M.

End of Q4, and the end of 2017.

1. Networth is $496,452

2. 66% of 750k, and 49% of 1m.

End of Q1 for 2018

1. Networth is $528,029 on 20-Apr

2. That's 70% of $750k, and 53% of $1M.

End of Q2 for 2018

1. Net worth is $546,907

2. That's 73% of $750k, and 55% of $1M

End of Q3 for 2018.

1. Net worth is $558,995

2. That's 74% of $750k, and 56% of $1M

End of Q4 for 2018!

1. Networth is $522,427

2. That's 69% of $750k, and 52% of $1M

End of Q1 for 2019. Time flies.

1. Networth is $616,505

2. That's 82% of $750k, and 62% of $1m. Whoop!

End of Q2 for 2019.

1. Networth is $656,706

2. That's 88% of $750k, and 66% of $1m.

End of Q3 for 2019

1. Networth on 30-Sep was $675,812

2. That's 90% of $750k, and 67% of $1m

Ninety percent is pretty mind boggling. I guess this is maybe actually going to happen?

never give up

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #122 on: October 13, 2019, 10:13:09 AM »
I've enjoyed being here but I'm sorry I am off to join the 2025 Cohort. I'll see you again I'm sure with my tail between my legs when the next recession strikes before moving on again to the 2030 Cohort or something depending on how bad it gets!

I wish everyone well on their own journey's.

TomTX

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #123 on: October 13, 2019, 12:51:34 PM »
Catching up on this thread and I'm puzzled why Loan Shark needs >$100k worth of cars. And have you found a use for that enormous pile of cash moldering away in a sub-par money market?

LoanShark

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #124 on: October 14, 2019, 02:27:16 PM »
Catching up on this thread and I'm puzzled why Loan Shark needs >$100k worth of cars. And have you found a use for that enormous pile of cash moldering away in a sub-par money market?

Hey Tom - certainly don't "need" them. I've always been into sports cars and it's a fun hobby. I drive, race and attend car shows in them...makes zero financial sense though.

Cash is down to $150K or so now... There's no "right" amount but my thought process is to keep enough liquid in the event there's broad asset correction and I can buy a mountain cabin / rental property / condo at the right price (i.e. in the event there's a 30% drop in valuations).  I've also been looking at making personal investments into some privately held companies but haven't pulled the trigger yet.

TomTX

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #125 on: October 14, 2019, 06:56:48 PM »
Thanks for the explanation.

Is the cash at least in a >2% money market? Citi is the easy, big name answer (for now anyway. Rates are dropping)

You can also use the cash to roll up a bunch of bank account opening bonuses - Citi again, Chase, Wells Fargo, etc.

LoanShark

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #126 on: October 15, 2019, 09:54:57 AM »
Thanks for the explanation.

Is the cash at least in a >2% money market? Citi is the easy, big name answer (for now anyway. Rates are dropping)

You can also use the cash to roll up a bunch of bank account opening bonuses - Citi again, Chase, Wells Fargo, etc.


Yep. In a money market account at 2%.

Milkshake

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #127 on: December 10, 2019, 01:32:22 PM »
Well I'll join this thread too! Goal is my birthday, 2026. I'll be 33, DW 32, and that will be about 10.5 years after I started my first job out of college. 65% savings rate for the past 4 years, but that will continue to increase with raises!

I got extremely lucky that my first job at 22 was pretty terrible. I remember I was standing at the only window in the factory trying to get some fresh air one day, when an older guy walked up behind me and said "See that out there? That's life, passing you by". My next google search was "how much money does it take to retire".

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #128 on: December 11, 2019, 05:56:38 PM »
Time for a year-end-ish check-in!  :)

The last quarter of 2018 was a bumpy ride for investing, but we kept plugging away at our savings plan.  Today's liquid net worth is $901K, putting us at 60% of our $1.5M goal ($60K spend at 4% SWR).

Rather unbelievably, today's liquid net worth is $1.072M, which is $171K more than it was only 10 months ago.

What makes this astounding is that $171K is more than our entire pre-tax household income.  We've added roughly $50K in those 10 months through our 401/403/Roth/HSA/employer-match savings, but the rest has been pure growth. 

I still have a hard time wrapping my head around it.  Eighth wonder of the world, and all that--but still, just... wow.

This puts us at about 71% of a $1.5M goal, 54% of a $2M goal.  We may decide to move into an earlier cohort eventually, but sticking with 2026 for now.

Onward!

frugal_c

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #129 on: December 16, 2019, 10:12:59 PM »
Count me in.  At that point I will be 48 and I think I will have had enough of work.  I am starting a list of projects in anticipation.  Hope to see you all signing off work in 7. 

Sailor Sam

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #130 on: January 01, 2020, 08:22:13 AM »
1. Opening net worth of $370k

2. 50% of my $750k lower bound, 37% of the $1M upper bound

Wrapping up Q1 for 2017.

1. $405,407.56 on 1-Apr

2. 54% of my $750k lower bound, and 40% of $1M upper bound

Update to close Q2 of 2017.

1. Net worth is $433,670 on 3-July

2. 57% of $750k lower bound, and 43% of $1M upper bound.

Q3 roundup:

1. Networth is $466,531 on 1-Oct.

2. 62% of $750k, and 46% of $1M.

End of Q4, and the end of 2017.

1. Networth is $496,452

2. 66% of 750k, and 49% of 1m.

End of Q1 for 2018

1. Networth is $528,029 on 20-Apr

2. That's 70% of $750k, and 53% of $1M.

End of Q2 for 2018

1. Net worth is $546,907

2. That's 73% of $750k, and 55% of $1M

End of Q3 for 2018.

1. Net worth is $558,995

2. That's 74% of $750k, and 56% of $1M

End of Q4 for 2018!

1. Networth is $522,427

2. That's 69% of $750k, and 52% of $1M

End of Q1 for 2019. Time flies.

1. Networth is $616,505

2. That's 82% of $750k, and 62% of $1m. Whoop!

End of Q2 for 2019.

1. Networth is $656,706

2. That's 88% of $750k, and 66% of $1m.

End of Q3 for 2019

1. Networth on 30-Sep was $675,812

2. That's 90% of $750k, and 67% of $1m

End of Q4, and the end of a decade.

1. Networth is $706,933

2. That’s 94% of $750k, and 70% of $1m

Zoinks!

LoanShark

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #131 on: January 02, 2020, 09:39:01 AM »
End of 2019 update...net worth up to $1.5MM.

kaadalac

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #132 on: January 06, 2020, 07:14:21 AM »
Not an impressive leap from last year. Our income is still low because my wife is working part time until my son is old enough for day care. Savings rate is still decent, able to sock away about 3k a month.  Holding steady for progress on 2026 retirement.

 
Up about $80k year over year and breaking the half million mark! Making stead progress now. 2026 is starting to seem more realistic.

ASSETS . $649,507.14
DEBTS . -$141,151.87

NET WORTH . $508,355.27

FIPurpose

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #133 on: January 06, 2020, 11:47:57 AM »
We ended the year right around 555k. I decided that I want to go for a Phd which hurts the earning potential for a few years, but I'll do Master's part-time over 3 years and then do a Phd full-time afterwards. That way I'm still projecting us hitting 1.3MM in 2026 when I finish my Phd program. Not quite where I want to be to say I'm full FIRE.

1. I've been reading a lot on how to best give away money. I realized that after I reach 1.5MM I really don't need anymore money. I'd like to work a few years and instead of saving 50-70% of my income, give away 50-70% of it. Then when I'm done with my job, move on. With not touching any of my retirement money, I'll still have way too much money at 50 to reasonably spend it all on myself. I'll have plenty to give some to my family, but also plenty to help fix a little bit of the world we live in.

I still need to do some research to figure out which charities I'll want to focus on, but I have plenty of time to do that.

2. This year was a big simplification year for me. As I realized I wanted to spend more time on other hobbies than stocks, I decided to reduce the number of accounts I have and sold most of my stock for index funds. And I've been able to reduce the number of tax filing documents I need in half.

I was able to sell off the rest of my Lending Club notes this past year. I'll get the trailing recoveries this year and then close it at the end of the year.

I reduced my brokerage accounts down to a single Vanguard account.

Good year overall. We're well on our way to financial freedom, and the simplification I went through this year should save me many hours going forward.

Apple_Tango

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #134 on: January 07, 2020, 12:52:13 PM »
I've picked my graduation year!! I'll be 35 years old in 2026 and it seems like a good age to retire :) I graduated in 2015, paid off my student loans in less than 6 months after graduation. But in 2016 (before I found MMM) I went from being 100% debt free to having major debt due to taking a family member up on an offer for a personal loan. I wish I had not done that now, but it is what it is. I was just introduced to MMM this summer, and it has lit a fire under my ass to get rid of the debt.

 $45k on a truck loan at 1.7% interest
 $137.5k on a personal loan to a family member at 0% interest
That's a grand total of...$182,500 accumulated debt. ouch.

My family member does not need me to pay back the cash right away so she keeps encouraging me to punt it down the road and just focus on my personal saving and investing now. But the debt is GNAWING at my bones. Knowing that she can ask for me to make extra payments at any time, or that she kind of still controls me through these loans is just such a bummer. Especially because she cannot comprehend FIRE and doesn't really support it, and I can't ethically FIRE until I have paid her back in full. Plus I would rather her have the money so I know she'll be taken care of if she falls ill as she ages. My plan is just to hand her extra checks whether she likes it or not. I figure that once I'm debt free I can really just POUND the money into my accounts and still meet all my goals. 

From June 2015 (my first real career job) through June 2017 I didn't really have a plan or a budget, but I thought I was "good" at money because I always had money left over at the end of the month. Whatever extra I had was just dumped  into Vanguard investments, which I've been doing since i was 18, or toward paying off my truck loan. But now I have a budget and some MAJOR goals to use my income to get back on track.

I currently have a negative net worth but I have paid off $31,644 towards my debt since September 2016 and am hoping to have a positive net worth again by March 2018. While paying off debt I have also been maxing out my IRAs and working toward maxing out my 401k, however this year was the first time I have ever been eligible for one so I'm not quite there yet.

I'm single with no kids (I believe the term here is SINK?) so the plan is to do it all with one income! And if a second income comes to join me along the way in the next 9 years or so, it will just be gravy :) 

My monetary goals by 2026:
1) Own a home outright (I'm thinking around $250,000 would be reasonable).
2) Have $750,000 in my liquid accounts
3) Be 100% debt free and never take out a car loan or a personal loan ever again. The only loan I want to consider is a mortgage for investment properties, however I would much prefer to pay cash.
4) Have a side business to provide extra income and a hobby in preparation for FIRE. It is actually a dream of mine for my business to take off in the next 3-4 years and surpass my corporate income so I could quit my current job even before I FIRE.

After that point, I believe I will still work but maybe only part time and maybe in a totally different field than the one i'm in now. Who knows :) I want to travel in my RV, and travel internationally, and develop a good home base community with lots of friends around. I have grown up with both my of parents as loners and they hardly have any friends..and I don't want to emulate that behavior. I want a life rich as defined by experiences :) It's less about the money itself, and more about the freedom that FIRE will give me.

Wow time flies!  I can’t believe it’s been over two years since I posted that and my life has changed dramatically. I paid off my truck and then I sold it, and I sold the RV too. Now I just have a paid for in cash used Prius. I also have a new job that I absolutely love. It’s the best job I’ve ever had in my life I love my boss and I love my coworkers. I’m now living within 5 miles of work and plan to get a bike so I can bike to work in the spring.  Plus one of my best friends in the world might be moving to my town, which is exciting because friendship rocks! I’m perfectly fine settling down here for at least the next 6 years and just really working on my income.  I could not have predicted that back in 2017!

My new job came with a salary upgrade- I now make about $90,000 gross per year. I work 40  hours per week, plus 5 hours a week of overtime that I choose to do. I’ve been stashing my cash plus paying off debt so I now have a positive net worth of $60,000 :) I still owe my family member about $120,000 but I’m chipping away at that. That’s my only debt! My expenses (rent is my highest expense- DC area) total $3000 per month. So my FIRE number is now $900,000.

My new 2020 goals (wow 2026 is only 6 years away!! Might have to jump to a later class because i was a bit...optimistic lol!):

1) pay off $20,000 in debt
2) reach networth of $125,000
4) get $15,000 promotion
5) get a roommate to lower cost of housing


« Last Edit: January 07, 2020, 01:03:42 PM by Apple_Tango »

formerlydivorcedmom

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #135 on: February 03, 2020, 01:36:54 PM »
I'm tentatively joining you guys for 2026.  By then we'll both be 48, with 2 kids in college and one still in HS.   Our total net worth hit $1M this month, which is an exciting yet useless milestone.

Our goals are a paid off house (we still owe $99k), $150k in college funds (currently at $114k), and ~$1.5M retirement stash (currently at $721k).  Overall, we are about 52% to our goals.

My husband and I had our annual "state of the finances" discussion last night.  He was genuinely shocked when I told him we were on track to retire by 2026.  I've been telling everyone for YEARS that I planned to retire between ages 47-50, and no one believes me.  It amuses me greatly that H didn't believe it either.  Seriously, people - I HAVE SPREADSHEETS.

Husband is fairly sure he won't want to quit working by then.  I foresee a lot of discussion in our future as to what he would want to retire to, how long he's going to want to work, and how much extra stash he might want for some of his (expensive) hobbies.   He thinks the retirement hobby budget is too low.

He's also thinking about a career change that would increase his salary by about $15k/year ... and put his net salary at about 75% of our estimated retirement living expenses.

I'm excited to see a light at the end of the tunnel.  Just a few more years...

elysianfields

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #136 on: February 13, 2020, 07:05:43 AM »
I haven't checked in for a while, but didn't want to write a boring update.

I recently hit the 13th anniversary of my federal employment, I mean, "Leave Service Computation Date", which means

I HAVE FEWER THAN SEVEN YEARS TO GO!!!!!!

Our NW has continued its upward climb despite one child currently attending college and another starting this fall.  My state reduces income tax for 529 contributions, so I'm using several 529 accounts to funnel tuition payments to the respective universities at a nice discount.  We continue to max TSP (using Roth because we've probably saved too much in our traditional and will face rising taxes after 70-1/2 due to RMDs), HSA, his/her Roth IRAs, you know, the usual suspects.

Since my children had earned income in 2017 and 2018, I made contributions to their Roth IRAs as well (they kept their earnings, *I* made the contributions).  I won't benefit directly, but they will perhaps be able to afford high-class long-term care for me when they reach 59-1/2.

Powering onward and upward,

Elysian

Closing in on the end of year fourteen working for the American Taxpayer, six to go.  Mr. Market (sorry, that's really sexist) has also helped increase our portfolio value.

We're departing Europe this summer for a 25% hardship-differential African post.  With two children in college and the nest empty, now is a good time to boost the 'stache.

Since we're paying high €ducationa£ €xp€n$€$ right now, by maxing our TSPs, Roth IRAs, FSA and HSA, we're effectively borrowing from our HELOC and paying (very low-rate) interest for the privilege.  That should stop between our higher income & impending graduations.  Also, trying to keep our income below the phase-out for the AOTC will be difficult in the new assignment.

Onward and Upward!

Sailor Sam

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #137 on: February 14, 2020, 05:51:32 PM »
@elysianfields, my date of service is 9-Mar, and you bet I tick a little box every year that date passes.

TomTX

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #138 on: February 14, 2020, 06:29:02 PM »
We ended the year right around 555k. I decided that I want to go for a Phd which hurts the earning potential for a few years, but I'll do Master's part-time over 3 years and then do a Phd full-time afterwards. That way I'm still projecting us hitting 1.3MM in 2026 when I finish my Phd program. Not quite where I want to be to say I'm full FIRE.

Why the heck do you want a PhD?

regenaeb

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #139 on: March 24, 2020, 11:07:12 AM »
Jumping on this thread. 2026 is our mostly FIRE goal. My DH is active duty military and 2026 is his retirement date goal from service. He will have 37 years active duty service so that puts us at about 92% of his base pay at his last 3 years of service (which will be O-5), at that point his retirement check will pay all our monthly expenses. That is also the year our twins graduate high school. So after his retirement and their graduation shakes out and we will know where/if they are attending college locally or a couple of hours away we will be able to see how much extra is needed every month. It should not be a lot since their college is paid for in full except for room and board. If at least one of them stays home and goes to college that would work out great (I think at least 1 will, she is a mama's girl and doesn't like to be apart from me for more than 2 nights, she is 12 now, so may change, but she has always been this way since birth).

I think at that point DH and I can just do side hustle gigs to make what we need. He has 2 master degrees and is already teaching adjunct on the side, so will continue to do that. My company will probably be selling and closing up shop sometime between 2025 and 2030. The owners (brothers) are about 55 now and I figure they will probably want to be retired by 65, they won't go earlier unless they have health problems. Their last business they owned (which I worked for) they sold off when they were about 40 for millions. Took 2 years in retirement for them to decide they were bored, so they bought into a new business and I started working for them again, that was 16 years ago. I figure when they sell, I won't continue on, I will call it quits. I plan to get my notary license and become a travel notary in my local area. I will live in FL near a large older population that is more house bound and always in need of a notary that will come to them and the local retirement homes/rehabilitation facilities are always looking for travel notaries. I will also do wedding ceremonies on the weekends. DH is also kicking around becoming a home inspector. Neither of us wants to be locked into full time employment once he retires from the military. More, take the jobs when we want to, since we want to travel more when the girls are in college.

In 2026 I will be 50 and my DH will be 55. Making progress little by little.

elysianfields

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #140 on: March 27, 2020, 10:41:32 AM »
@elysianfields, my date of service is 9-Mar, and you bet I tick a little box every year that date passes.
Indeed @Sailor Sam, I recently ticked my 14th box, six to go.  It's a good feeling.

In the shadow of COVID-19, I'm reminded that the best part about a federal retirement isn't necessarily the pension, but the continuation of FEHB (Federal Employee Health Benefit), assuming you qualify.

Apple_Tango

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #141 on: March 28, 2020, 06:11:42 PM »
Prediction: The timing of the coronavirus economic downturn, while incredibly poor for the 2019/2020 classes, is probably pretty good for the 2026 class. If the economy gets going again by 2021, we will be able to ride about a 6 year upswing before FIRE.  And there shouldn’t be another stock market crash after this one until the early 2030s (if history repeats itself), so that’s another 4ish year buffer of potential good stocks after we FIRE.

elysianfields

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #142 on: June 25, 2020, 08:09:48 AM »
My retirement countdown clock dropped below 300 weeks:  http://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?iso=20260320T00&p0=263&msg=Retirement+Timer&ud=1&font=sanserif

That may seem like a long time, but I'm currently focused on another countdown: I depart my current assignment and the worst boss I have ever reported to in the Foreign Service in < 3 weeks.

Dexterous

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #143 on: June 29, 2020, 08:55:04 AM »
Prediction: The timing of the coronavirus economic downturn, while incredibly poor for the 2019/2020 classes, is probably pretty good for the 2026 class. If the economy gets going again by 2021, we will be able to ride about a 6 year upswing before FIRE.  And there shouldn’t be another stock market crash after this one until the early 2030s (if history repeats itself), so that’s another 4ish year buffer of potential good stocks after we FIRE.
Yeah it's not a problem for us, and we actually got a bit lucky with it.  I increased my cash holdings last year due to a move, and ended up not needing any of that money so it all got invested during this downturn.  We're still ahead of our goals for 2026.

I depart my current assignment and the worst boss I have ever reported to in the Foreign Service in < 3 weeks.
Best of luck with the new assignment!  I feel your pain, because my last one also SUCKED due to the boss.  We just moved to Hawaii this year.  4 years to go in Hawaii, and then we'll either get lucky with an extension until retirement or I'll have one more move.

Zoot

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #144 on: July 04, 2020, 02:07:54 PM »
Hey, 2026 cohort!  Time for a mid-year check-in.

When last we left our heroine:
Rather unbelievably, today's liquid net worth is $1.072M, which is $171K more than it was only 10 months ago.

...

This puts us at about 71% of a $1.5M goal, 54% of a $2M goal.  We may decide to move into an earlier cohort eventually, but sticking with 2026 for now.

Not as much progress in this six-month period as in the last one, but we're still plugging away.  Today's LNW is $1.123M, which is roughly $51K more than the number I reported in December 2019.  Roughly $36K of that delta came from our own savings in retirement funds and from and employer match, which makes the gain only about $15K over those 6 months. 

With the wacky ride we've all been on in 2020 so far, though, I'll take it--and we're still adding at the same rate.  That puts us at 74.8% of a $1.5M goal.

My spreadsheets indicate that we're on track for a late 2023 or early 2024 FIRE date (depending on whether we do or do not include paying off the mortgage on our home as part of that plan), but I'm staying in the 2026 cohort for now.

Onward!

tomorrowsomewherenew

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #145 on: July 12, 2020, 01:11:48 PM »
A lot has happened since my last update. In August we were working on getting some side income coming in. As of now, we are seeing around $3,000 per month come into the household between both of our side jobs. My husband also still is receive around $2,000 a month from the VA. We sold our house, and he'll be starting a new job soon (or so we think--COVID has a way of making life change). We have around $840,000 in liquid assets. About $530,000 of that is in retirement accounts, $175,000 in taxable, and the remainder is cash (from the sale of our house). If and when we get to our new location we may pay cash for a house. Getting a mortgage was such a HUGE hassle last time.

My husband is still working, making around $90-$95k. I can't remember exactly. I don't know how much we've been saving each month but it has been a LOT. I suspect we'll have way more money than we'll ever need by the time 2026 rolls around, so we may end up jumping ship sooner.

TomTX

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #146 on: July 12, 2020, 05:06:08 PM »
My husband is still working, making around $90-$95k. I can't remember exactly. I don't know how much we've been saving each month but it has been a LOT. I suspect we'll have way more money than we'll ever need by the time 2026 rolls around, so we may end up jumping ship sooner.

Um, yeah - if the $2k from the VA and the $2-3k from the side gigs is reasonably steady - you're already FI (ish) - no need for a regular job.

Heck, $2k from the VA and $2k from a 4% SWR of $600k and a paid-off $240k house you should be FI. Even without the side gigs.

If you like rockets (I do) - $240k will buy a pretty nice house in Titusville or Cocoa. Yes, I noticed you declared Florida for location.

Evaluate where you are and whether you really want to keep working. You may have already won! ;)


tomorrowsomewherenew

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  • Location: Florida
Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #147 on: July 12, 2020, 06:28:24 PM »
Yes, we want to leave Florida. It has been fun for a while, but it's getting old now. We're looking at the central/eastern US--KY, TN, VA, NC, etc. And there are plenty of affordable towns around there.

regenaeb

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #148 on: August 12, 2020, 03:25:56 PM »
I would say stay away from VA, the taxes suck. Just lived there 4 years (but not a resident since we are military) and all my neighbors were constantly complaining about the taxes. You have to pay taxes every year on your personal property, meaning cars/RV's. Not just registration like FL. And that tax amount is different depending on how expensive your vehicle is. Also they have state income taxes as well. Everyone I know that is currently a resident, but a federal employee, says as soon as they hit their retirement date they are moving the next day to get away from the taxes.

I have no idea about those other states, but I would look into the tax situation in each state. We are still FL residents living in MA and we will ALWAYS keep our FL residency because of the low taxes.

TomTX

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Re: 2026 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #149 on: September 19, 2020, 08:46:10 PM »
I'm out, folks. Presuming things stay reasonably on track (no worse than zero market growth) - I'm solidly in the Class of '23 for FI.

Kinda scary. I started the 2027 thread - but boosted income and a more granular look at investments/pension/SS has accelerated things, lopping off 4 years so far.

(Apologies for the crosspost if you read multiple FIRE Cohort threads)

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!