Author Topic: 2028 FIRE Cohort  (Read 49129 times)

DeskJockey2028

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #50 on: July 03, 2019, 07:32:17 AM »
I founded the 2029 cohort thread as I thought that'd be when I was retiring a few years back. Managed to shave a year off though. That's a very active discussion compared to this one mostly because early on a bunch of us put a bit of work into it. We figured out various milestones based on when the cohort began its existence and have a countdown to 1/1/2029 as well as a check in once or twice a year when we hit a new percentage milestone.  https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/welcome-to-the-forum/2029-fire-cohort/msg1534915/#msg1534915 is the latter if anyone wants to check it out.

Even there though discussion is tapering a bit as we slide into the long middle of saving and saving some more.

E.T.

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #51 on: July 08, 2019, 06:28:36 PM »
I tend towards introverted, and I also have a lot of things on autopilot right now. Maybe the few of us in this cohort are just quiet? I'll probably just post a progress update at the end of the year and that will be good enough for me.

LeftA

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #52 on: July 19, 2019, 06:34:39 PM »
Well, cohort peeps we just passed the $1M mark in net worth so I thought that was worth a post in here.

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #53 on: July 20, 2019, 07:03:42 AM »
Well, cohort peeps we just passed the $1M mark in net worth so I thought that was worth a post in here.
Congrats! You must have a high target number if you plan to work 9 more years. That will probably get you past the $2M mark.

LeftA

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #54 on: July 21, 2019, 08:07:22 PM »
@efree , thanks for the congrats. And, yes the number I have in mind is just over $2M. We have a lot tied into our house (HCOH here) necessitating a high total net worth to be able to retire.

Luckily, I am currently enjoying my work and my husband is interested in working even longer than me.


blacktea

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #55 on: July 28, 2019, 10:44:41 PM »
just checked,reached 1 million mark,without including house equity. Hope to reach 2 millions in 9 years. It would be tough as also need to pay kid's extra curriculum and college tuition between now and then.

Daisyedwards800

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #56 on: January 24, 2020, 09:10:53 AM »
I am pretty sure this is going to be my cohort.  I will be about 45, and my boyfriend will be able to retire with a pension this year.  I am currently only at 7x my annual spending so I have a lot of work to do.

G-String

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #57 on: March 04, 2020, 06:18:50 AM »
This is my FI cohort, but I may decide to continue working a few additional years, to increase the stash! 

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #58 on: June 08, 2020, 08:25:05 PM »
I'd like to join this group. We have decent income and savings but a huge annual spend currently but only because we are prioritizing convenience and sanity while our kids are growing up. In 2028 our youngest will be going to college and our budget should be slashed dramatically.

mgnhrvth

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #59 on: June 20, 2020, 05:04:56 AM »
I'm glad to find that 2028 is an active cohort already! I will retire with 20 years active duty in Sept 2028, and hopefully I'll be able to convince my husband to join me within a few years.

How is your journey going? I am pretty much in the same situation and timeline as you!

LeftA

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #60 on: August 01, 2020, 01:22:26 PM »
We are a very quite bunch! Still looking at 2028, but progress is good and could be sooner - just hit 1.2M in net worth. But, my husband wants to work longer and I'm not sure I want to be retired too many years while he continues to work. Also, lots could happen in 8 years so this cohort is as good as any :)

How's everyone doing?

haypug16

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #61 on: August 12, 2020, 09:31:29 AM »
2028 is my stretch goal. I'm in the 2030 cohort as my most likely FIRE year but I'm really hoping to retire on my 50th birthday 12/20/2028! Shaving 2 years off my FIRE date is not completely out of the question what will all the time ahead of me to get to work. I did recently discover that I could reduce my FIRE number by a small amount as our house will be paid off by 2033 (at the latest) unless we move to a much more expensive house (not likely!)

hudsoncat

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #62 on: August 12, 2020, 06:23:09 PM »
Still saving, still on track, still worried I might need to save a bit more to offset the money pit of a house I seem to have purchased. It's not really a money pit... but at this rate in 2028 everything should be new within the past 10-15 years! Probably just in time to start replacing everything again. ha!

I had hoped by now to be saving a bit more (see aforementioned money pit), but the markets are making up for my lack of savings. So we'll keep chugging along and putting money in.

Polaria

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #63 on: December 02, 2020, 12:11:35 AM »
My current plan is to FIRE on the 31th of May 2028.

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #64 on: December 13, 2020, 03:26:22 AM »
Hi everyone (waves),

I’d like to join this cohort retiring on 1st Jan 2028 if I may. This is a very quiet cohort compared with 2029 and 2030 but I notice many of the posters on page 1 haven’t logged in for well over a year. Hopefully there are loads of active 2028 forum members bubbling away in the background working diligently towards their goal.

I’ll be 50 (eek) in 2028 so I just wanted to beat that milestone and be able to say that I retired in my 40’s. I’m likely to be FI way before then but I’m using my RE date as the criteria for joining a cohort.

Months and months ago in my journal, I realised in talking through all this FIRE stuff, that I had two objectives. The first was to avoid having to work in my 50’s. I do feel that is largely a necessity rather than a luxury. I want to avoid stress, sitting at a desk and screen, deadlines and a lack of freedom when I move into that age group. The second objective was to ensure I could go part time as early as possible in my 40’s. I’m currently aiming for 44-45 for this objective.

Rather than FIRE I thought of this second milestone as Financial Accomplishment Reducing Time. I.e. FI hasn’t quite been achieved but nevertheless a significant financial accomplishment has been, and this would allow me to reduce to hopefully a 2.5 or 3 day working week. Unfortunately as an acronym this is FART rather than something cool like FIRE. I always seem to get unlucky on things like this. So I’m a wannabe FARTer and I’m proud of that what anyone says. We have to embrace what we are.

I have since learned there are phrases like CoastFI, SWAMI, lean FIRE etc. This sort of thing is all good! Basically I want to avoid grinding out a full time stressful position just to hit some number. I want to live as healthy a life as possible as soon as possible.

The additional years part time will help provide State Pension credits and basically means I’m spreading the amount I need to save over a longer time period to minimise the amount of full time years I work.

Let’s do this 2028ers!

E.T.

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #65 on: December 13, 2020, 08:36:51 PM »
Welcome to the group @Polaria and @never give up ! I'm quietly chugging along towards FIRE in 2028 as well, hope everyone is doing well on their goals!

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #66 on: December 14, 2020, 04:47:23 AM »
Thanks for the welcome E.T. Glad you’re progressing well.

Otter+Badger

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #67 on: December 14, 2020, 12:57:45 PM »
Welcome!

Thank you for jump-starting a conversation again.  The pandemic and working from home definitely reignited my desire to work towards financial independence.  As I've stated before, my husband and I both have underlying health issues.  When the pandemic first started, we were both faced with what happens if our jobs force us to go into the office.  Realizing we had enough saved already to be able to walk away while it was unsafe for us was liberating, but also really made us realize how much we may be one serious health problem away from having to leave the workforce for good.  We always *knew* that, but this situation made it real for us.

I will also say on the positive side, we both really liked working from home.  We got to see each other all day and also able to do various projects around the house that we didn't really have time for when we were commuting to work everyday.  So, our limited glimpse of being home was great.

I plan to go over all our 2020 expenses with a fine tooth comb while off on the holidays.  I'd really like to see if we could tighten our belt a bit more and make sure we're on track for our July 1, 2028 date.  Hope others are happy and healthy heading into 2021.

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #68 on: December 14, 2020, 01:05:52 PM »
I’ve enjoyed working from home too Otter+Badger. I don’t really want to go back. Good luck with the 2020 expenses. Mine are at record low. It’s been such a strange year.

LeftA

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #69 on: February 06, 2021, 01:30:08 PM »
It’s been about 6 months since I last posted in here. Well, folks it’s been swell but I think I’m going to join an earlier cohort now.

Not sure yet which one, but I don’t see myself working this much until 2028. At our current pace, I’ll have enough somewhere between 2026 and 2027 to pull the plug.

Otter+Badger

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #70 on: March 01, 2021, 07:35:16 PM »
Congrats @LeftA !!!  That's exciting to be bumping down!  Can I ask--did you make any changes in your plan or your circumstances in the last year or two to shave off some time for you or was it all luck in the market?

I was curious how other people in this group was feeling about their 2028 date?  When I run our numbers, our expenses have stablized and our investments are ahead of schedule.  But, there are still a few big unknowns for us with seven years out that it still feels hard to project.  I estamate we are about half way there, but hope to have more money to put into investments after next year.  Are other people making any adjustments to their plans that they want to share?

I'm feeling both that seven years is a long way off and also that we're behind in planning for everything we can now.  Lol.  A good place to be.

Hope everyone is well!

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #71 on: March 03, 2021, 12:43:07 AM »
I’m still happy with my 2028 date Otter+Badger. I could achieve FIRE well before that date but have no desire to grind away in a full time job to achieve it. I’d rather stroll into it in a part time position. I must be about 70% of the way there I think. It’s impossible to know what markets will do of course during these next seven years.

With cash rates so low in the UK I am tweaking my asset allocation a little but not by much.

LeftA

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #72 on: March 03, 2021, 02:03:18 PM »
@Otter+Badger , thank you! I AM excited. With our more recent progress, just feeling that 2026 is feasible for me. I wouldn’t says it’s luck in the market. It’s more about the differential between what we are earning vs. Spending leading to nice growth in our net worth, over time. Also, this is for me to give up working. husband still wants to work another 9 years more after I retire!   

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #73 on: April 13, 2021, 06:52:29 PM »
I was in the 2035 cohort but moved up by 7 years and here I am now. :)

E.T.

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #74 on: April 13, 2021, 09:38:21 PM »
I was in the 2035 cohort but moved up by 7 years and here I am now. :)

Congrats on shrinking your timeline! That's really great progress. If you don't mind sharing, was it a raise or new COL or some mix of the two? Welcome to the group.

jamesbond007

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #75 on: April 13, 2021, 09:55:00 PM »

Congrats on shrinking your timeline! That's really great progress. If you don't mind sharing, was it a raise or new COL or some mix of the two? Welcome to the group.

Thank you.

It was 100% because of my pay raise as I changed jobs with FIRE in mind. I wasted too much time at my first job and did not realize that it was hurting me financially. I will ride this out until I FIRE. Also, I managed to keep my expenses the same resulting in the increase in my savings rate.

hudsoncat

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #76 on: June 14, 2021, 09:10:59 AM »
It has been a minute since my last update... Still on track. We did reassess to a higher number after all the house issues. I'd hate to go through this stretch post retirement and feel better with a bit of a cushion. But the markets have helped keep things on track for 2028 even with a slightly higher goal.

Savings rate will be going up after July 1, first raise in over 3 years! Not big, but I'll take what I can get.

DeniseNJ

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #77 on: June 17, 2021, 12:38:39 PM »
I'm retiring on August 4, 2028.  As a fed, that's when I have my 30 yrs--minimum age is only 4 months sooner so I'm staying until 57 and 4 months.  Actually, I could leave on the 2nd, but since it's a Wednesday, I figured I could give them until Friday. Plus it's the end of a pay period.

By then the stash should be $1.5m, maybe. Doesn't matter. I'm leaving no matter what. I like my job but not enough to do it a day longer than I have to--well, I'm giving them two days so that's nice of me. At 57 I'll have the stash, a pension, and SS (feds get a supplement until 62). I'd leave now but I only have about $800K and that will only bring in 32K--that's barely state college tuition for 2 kids, both currently in college.

Dh can retire from teaching in 5 yrs, which he wants to do. He'd get a pension. He'd be 60.  I guess he plans on staring into space for two yrs.

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #78 on: June 21, 2021, 10:26:34 AM »
Greetings Fellow 2028'ers,

I was reading on other threads about how many people are just leaving their jobs now after all the pandemic stress.  It made me think about how long off 2028 seems.  We had planned for July 1, 2028, so our seven year count down starts next week.  Mr. Otter was talking this weekend about how if we have 7 years left, maybe he should think about making any big career change now.  I was thinking how we should double down on the existing plan. lol.  I guess this is why we compliment each other.

I really like how much working from home has made FI seem real and exciting.  I'm worried that being pulled back into the office will likely be much more stressful again. 

Are other people thinking about making a big changes with a timeline of seven years?  Has the opening back up of your community and/or job helping or hurting your commitment to the FI plan?  Has it made you consider doing more of a LeanFIRE or a coastfire scenario vs. whatever you had envisioned before?

On a positive note, I had my latest cancer check-in and I'm now at 3.5 NED!  This news, along with the ACA surviving the Supreme Court again, makes me feel like I will be around and able to hit that July 1, 2028 date!  Hope everyone is doing well too.

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #79 on: June 21, 2021, 01:03:54 PM »
Good to see everyone’s updates. Keep on keeping on.

Hi Otter+Badger (waves). Yes I’d heard about an increase in resignations mainly due to people searching out more suitable working environments due to the pandemic. Like you I’m not looking forward to going back to the office. Working from home has helped my stress levels.

I’m looking to go part time next year and cruise through to 2028 rather than slog on full time. That’s the main plan I have lined up. I may also quit the corporate world nearer the time and do something more fun for a couple of years.

I wish you all the positive news in the world health wise.

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #80 on: June 21, 2021, 01:58:30 PM »
Thanks @never give up!  I'm been following your journal!  I feel like a fan girl. *blushes*

I really appreciated all the different plans you've been contemplating.  I feel like this is what I would like to do. When we got started with our FI plans, it was so far out, there wasn't much to really think too much about other than "Save. More. Money."  Seven years starts to feel like things are getting real.


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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #81 on: June 21, 2021, 02:22:09 PM »
Crumbs I’m honoured to have you following along Otter+Badger. Yes I do tend to plan quite a lot! You are right that just saving is all that exists to begin with but a few years in options and flexibility start to develop. It can be quite overwhelming but I’m trying to view it as the positive that it is.

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #82 on: June 23, 2021, 01:46:11 PM »
Yay on the positive health news @Otter+Badger!

I have been back in the office 3 days per week since last September. About to go back 4 days per week in July. When I started work from home, I NEVER wanted to come back to the office, but now, honestly? The change in scenery is nice. I think 3 days office/two days home is a really good fit for me, unfortunately I don't think that will be an option. But I also don't think a major career change is a likely option either. With my education and background, I'm looking at mostly lateral moves or a step back in pay somewhere else in hopes of a bigger long term payout. That may or may not come. And you know what? I'm okay with that. I realize I am taking the safe path, but the safe path has gotten me to where I am now and it's a pretty excellent place to be.

Markets willing, I am interested in switching to more of a part-time work/cruise FIRE in 4-5 year though. I might have to come find your journal @never give up to read some of those plans!

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #83 on: June 23, 2021, 02:22:41 PM »
You’d be very welcome hudsoncat. Yes it all depends on someone’s personal situation and preferences but my working environment has declined over the last few years. So why slog on full time for four or five years in that situation when the hours could be spread over six or seven years on a part time schedule instead.

The other advantages of this approach are:

1. More years of qualifying for the state pension (I’m in the UK).
2. No difficult transition from full time and saving aggressively to drawing on the stache. A middle ground of saving less or only meeting expenses with earned income would be helpful to me I think before I fully FIRE.

I’m also on a safe path. I hope your plans go well and you can obtain a good work from home balance.

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #84 on: June 24, 2021, 03:03:02 PM »
Thanks @hudsoncat!

You know, I never thought about what I have been pursuing as the safe path, but I guess it is.  I value knowing I can take care of myself and my loved ones without compromising my values.  I have thought about moving to different positions or taking more risks with my career, but at the end of the day, I like being left alone after hours.  loll

I'm sure from a purely financial perspective, it is riskier to not have a more diverse set of skills and connections.  I don't know.  Maybe the closer I get, the less pressure I will feel to be safe and try for something that I always thought would be interesting but outside my current level of confidence.  They say the more FU money you have, the more confident you become. 

We just got a survey asking how we would like to return to work.  Apparently the overwhelming consensus is that everyone wants  a hybrid.  So, we'll see how they respond. 

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #85 on: November 16, 2021, 01:34:49 PM »
Jumping in with a random update. I'm at 20.88% of my FIRE number! 2028 was my stretch goal but now I am firmly in this Cohort. No way am I working to 2030. I'm using the 5% rule instead of the 4% knowing that we have a very small mortgage (which will be paid off in 15 years) and Mr. Pug will still be working for years to come, no plans for him to retire at all.

how is everyone else doing?

1496 working days left (or less ;P )

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #86 on: November 19, 2021, 01:50:46 AM »
I love the fact you know your progress to not one but two decimal places haypug16! That’s great. Hurrah for stretch goals and small mortgages!

I’m still stunned at how the markets are helping me. It’s like having a clone of me going out to work and giving me their salary each year. It’s a bit weird to get used to and I keep waiting for it all to go wrong.

I’m still pursuing and contemplating my plans to go part time. I haven’t been this indecisive over something since I was faced with rows and rows of underwear in my local store. Who knew there are so many fits!

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #87 on: November 19, 2021, 08:55:59 AM »
It’s like having a clone of me going out to work and giving me their salary each year.

Isn't it awesome! This year my dollars went to work for me and brought in $20k. Last year was $13k and the year before was $9k. It's so nice to see the market return increasing each year though I know this is not always going to be the case it's very motivating.

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #88 on: November 22, 2021, 01:50:53 AM »
I still can’t get my head around it haypug16. That’s really great progress you’re making there. I keep waiting for the inevitable fall but will definitely remain motivated either way.

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #89 on: January 04, 2022, 01:27:49 PM »
I'm joining this group now. In 2028 our son will be done grade 12, and I'd like to do a lot more traveling.

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #90 on: January 06, 2022, 10:13:12 AM »
Happy New year!!!

Just about 7 years left to go for me FIRE date planned for 12/20 which is my 50th birthday.

My retirement savings is at 21.28% of my goal as of YE 2021
Goal for this year is to end around 30%

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #91 on: January 10, 2022, 12:00:18 PM »
Happy 2022!

We just did our annual goal setting and budget this weekend.  We ended the year 46% to our goal due to the stock market going gang busters.  If we keep all our percentage contributions the same, I hope we will be 53% of our goal by the end of 2022 (assuming only 5% growth).  DH had the opportunity to move into another department at his job that is his dream, but it necessitated a $10K drop in income.  It was a no-brainer since this is the program he wanted to get back into for the last two years. He will be a case manager for people struggling with mental health crises who lack health insurance.  With all the continued economic stress and uncertainty, his work is important than ever for those who lack health insurance and social support.  It is a beneficial part of the F-You Money mentality that we can make happen to increase our quality of life now.

Our other main goal for this year is to get serious about our physical health.  It is no use trying to get to 2028, if we come in all worn out and broken.  So, we splurged a little bit on weights to complete our home gym and fitbits to track our movements.  The daily accountability is very helpful--just like it was when we started tracking our finances.

My secondary goal for this year, will be to have a successful garden that we will be able to harvest and put up for next winter.  Part of my 2028 FIRE plan is that we become self-sufficient where we can. I have mapped out all the skills and projects I would like to have mastered to feel extra-confident that we can handle anything that comes our way after we leave paid work.  Last year was the first year we had a garden, so I learned a lot.  But, I have to learn a lot more if I expect to be able to cover a sizeable portion of what we have to buy from the store now. 

Hope you all are motivated and off to great start in the new year!

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #92 on: January 11, 2022, 06:17:38 AM »
Happy 2022 Otter+Badger and the other 2028ers.

Well done on the health and gardening goals. They are good ones and really good examples of goals to work towards well before FIRE. It’s all to easy to leave them until after FIRE has been achieved. A list of skills and projects to master sounds fantastic. Have you got any others you’d be willing to share?

haypug16

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #93 on: January 11, 2022, 12:02:51 PM »
@Otter+Badger - I have a similar gardening goal. I recently picked up the book "The Self-Sufficient Backyard" it's by a couple that's been living off the grid since the 70s. It's a bit more hard core than I'm looking to go but I'm hoping it will give me some skills to be able to grow most of our own food.

Otter+Badger

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #94 on: January 12, 2022, 09:24:16 AM »
Thanks for the recommendation @haypug16 ! I will check that out.  Winter is a perfect time to read up and plan for spring.

In thinking through my "2028 Freedom Plan", I tried to map out all the main areas where it would be good to increase our self-sufficiency.  From there, I made a list of things under that concept that I'd like to learn.  My goal was to pick a few to learn each year.  Developing a working plan that we were implementing throughout the year really helped with the 'boring middle part' where we just set our financial contributions and then had nothing to do but wait. I always like MMM’s mantra that FI is a muscle and a mindset that is more than just money.

Here's the rough plan:

Housing
•   Get an energy audit. Learn to weatherize the house for winter.
•   Develop a house maintenance list and make sure we are doing our quarterly tasks.
•   We bought an older house that needs a lot of cosmetic work--so learn how to do as much of it as possible.
•   Repair small issues where we can—mostly, trying to figure it out before we just automatically call a professional. 
•   Slowly replacing disposable products with permanent ones.  I’d like to be plastic-free by 2025.

Food
•   Grow a garden with enough variety and amount to cover a good portion of our needs.
•   Learn to can, dry, or preserve the various foods that we grow.
•   Learn to save seeds so that we don’t have to continually buy new seeds or plants each year.
•   Gradually learn to cook/bake as much of our food as possible so we’re not relying on convenience or prepackaged food.

Health
•   Learn basic first aid and CPR.
•   Discover more natural health remedies.
•   Learn to meditate.
•   Get a bike and learn basic maintenance.
•   Go down to one car in retirement, so using the bus for other chores/social activities would be a good practice to establish now.  Currently, I only take it to work.
•   Invest regular time to spend getting to know our neighbors and time with our family and friends.
•   Find at least two non-profits that we’d like to volunteer with that we already know we’d enjoy.

Captain Pierogi

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #95 on: March 09, 2022, 05:45:51 AM »
Captain Pierogi reporting for 2028 Cohort duty.  I'll be 55, spouse 59 - so not super early, but better than most.  We're hoping for some CoastFIRE starting in 2026, but a lot can happen between now and then.  As of the end of January 2022, we were at 67% of our RE goal.  I don't even want to bother updating with the way the market's been going lately.  Our hope is to hit goal by 2026, when our son heads off to college, and then we divert savings to his educational endeavors.

Not much more to add at this point because as someone said earlier, the point right now is to save, save, save.  But the shift to more active planning will be coming soon, and it's good to be here with you all.

Otter+Badger

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #96 on: March 09, 2022, 07:36:25 AM »
Welcome Captain Pierogi!

It is exciting to have a plan--especially when things are so uncertain in the immediate.

If I understand your plan, you would hope to hit your goal by 2026, and but continue working for two extra years with your earnings going towards your son's education?  That is an interesting way to plan.  It made me start thinking about how much each extra year of work 'covers' an existing expense--not just a portion of the total. Currently, we're 50% to our  FIRE goal, so we have our housing expenses and utilities covered.  This year, I could imagine saving the annual food budget in FIRE. 

I make the running joke to my husband if we are having a really rough time at work, "Well, we could retire now if you don't mind living on cat food." It helps me to think about how much we have covered already, but I like this concept of saving for some specific need each year.  It is the creative ways to thin about how to measure things that keep me engaged.

I appreciate your perspective and glad you are here!

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #97 on: March 09, 2022, 08:46:15 AM »
Welcome Captain Pierogi and thanks for the reminder to post. I had meant to reply to Otter+Badger’s excellent “2028 Freedom Plan” from the post on the 12th January.

I like this a lot! It’s really great what you are doing here Otter+Badger, in being so proactive in looking at these things now and not waiting until the magical FIRE date. Your existing categories are great. Would tax be another or are these all non-financial items?

In a similar thought process I had thought of producing some sort of “wheel of joy” to help me. Picture if you can some sort of diagram with overlapping circles that cover aspects of our lives allowing us to live healthy and well-rounded lives. I was thinking of categories such as physical, mental, community, home, diet among others and then listing ways of spending my time that cover each one. For example physical would cover exercise such as walking, cycling, weights and yoga. Once the categories are padded out I then need to identify missing skills etc.

I may be waffling here or be describing something that already exists, but I do think it is important to be prepared for a drastically different phase of life that FIRE will bring. Your freedom plan is certainly doing this.

hudsoncat

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #98 on: March 10, 2022, 01:29:54 PM »
Nice to see some updates!

We're planning for a couple years of "saving for a specfic need." Our RE plan is to have the house paid off in 2026 (I know the math, but it is a piece of mind decision for us... we're not paying extra actually, that is just when our OG 15 yr mortgage ends) and the plan is to use the additional two years of mortgage payments to fix/replace all the things in our house that maybe we've been coaxing along (Jokes on us, we've replaced almost all of those things in the last 5 years, ha!) and put whatever is left in a set aside saving account (as high yield as I can find at the time) for the eventual things that go wrong. I've joked on the forum (and I think in this thread) that our current house is a money pit... it's really not. But in the past five years we have replaced: HVAC, half the plumbing, hot water heater, main sewage line, lift station pump... the list goes on. Those are just some of the highest costing ones.  I'm just a little gun shy about exactly how much homeownership costs. So... overkilling the house savings in 'safe' spot even if it costs us gains in the long run. Investments should be the same during that 2 year period though.

All this is predicated that we stay on the current path however. My work has become... less secure. And frankly a lot less enjoyable. We do not live in a great location for my particular career and Mr Hudsoncat makes significantly more than I do, so moving is not the most attractive option... A different job where we live to me would be a fairly big career switch that would likely result in a more entry level position to start and a pay cut. So.. we'll see!

Captain Pierogi

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Re: 2028 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #99 on: March 11, 2022, 05:17:34 AM »
Thanks for the welcome.  I know our savings plan seems a little unorthodox, but it's good to see someone else here thinking similarly.  On paper, we have $0 saved for our son's education, but in reality, we have access to ROTH IRA principal, a small-ish 457, Stock options that will vest in a few years, and one of us turns 59.5 while he's in college.  So there are options.  It's just good to think of setting ourselves up first, especially because we're both in career situations where it's hard to regroup if something happens.

Good luck hudsoncat with the job situation.  I have done the fairly big career switch multiple times (engineering, nonprofit management, public sector, and now higher ed.  I'm eyeing a side gig that could turn me independent consultant.)  It's definitely not easy, but it's usually worth it.  And it's nice to have a significant other were more stability to work through the transitions.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!