2030 FIRE Cohort

[Guava]

Well I am a borderline high risk pregnancy (will probably be high risk by my next appointment) which means I am  probably going to have to pay to do some more things around the house. I am only supposed to lift 5-10 lbs tops and no exercise or anything fun and productive. The good news is that I get to see lots of pictures of my little peanut and insurance has to cover the ultrasounds. My work is also very supportive and upper management offered to do all of my lifting since I work with physical parts that are heavy.

Even better, assuming I end up on bed rest at some point which is increasingly likely, I will get 100% of my pay for 10 weeks then 2/3 for the remainder. This has really helped my anxiety about spending so much money because I know I will still have a good income coming in.

After a bit of doubt, feeling good about 2030. Life throws things at you sometimes and you have to figure out how to see the bright side. I have a long time to make up for building a garage and paying someone to do drywall while I can't and for the extra medical bills. And the good thing is that even if I miss 2030 and land at 2035 I am still going to retire young an early. Re-reading this thread has helped me see all of this so thanks guys.

[Lucky Recardito]

Well I am a borderline high risk pregnancy (will probably be high risk by my next appointment) which means I am  probably going to have to pay to do some more things around the house. I am only supposed to lift 5-10 lbs tops and no exercise or anything fun and productive.

This is 100% reasonable, 100% temporary, and just a blip on the radar. All the positive spins in your post are the right spins; don't feel bad about hiring in help right now, even for a second! (And here's hoping your health stays as good as it can during this time!)

[rebel_quietude]

After a bit of doubt, feeling good about 2030. Life throws things at you sometimes and you have to figure out how to see the bright side. I have a long time to make up for building a garage and paying someone to do drywall while I can't and for the extra medical bills. And the good thing is that even if I miss 2030 and land at 2035 I am still going to retire young an early. Re-reading this thread has helped me see all of this so thanks guys.

Delayed retirement because of med expenses: A few thousand.
A beloved child to give you grandbabies to spoil with affection when you're 80: Priceless.

Excited for you, Guava. Good luck and good health!

[HappierAtHome]

Congratulations @Guava on your pregnancy. This is what money is for! I had hyperemesis during pregnancy (on "couch rest" pretty much the whole pregnancy) and it was great not to have to worry about money at all during that time.

[Longwaytogo]

Looking to join in on this long journey.

I am 31, married, two young kids.

Wife works at home part time for family business, I work for state of CA. We are looking at me quitting my job in 10 years, so 2028-2030 is our target. As many of you, I’m sure the next few years will help firm up that date.

10 years would put me at 41 with a 13, 11 yo boys.

We’re in kind of a unique situation and not trying to screw it up. We were gifted several paid for rental properties when we got married. We have since purchased two more and enjoy it. We will be looking at going into rentals “full time” when I quit my job at 41. We will probably look at doing 1-2 house flips a year as well since I can do most of the work and hope to impart some good work ethics on our children.

Our goals:

Max out backdoor ROTH IRAS EACH YEAR

Pay off house by 2020 (I know many are against this, I understand why. For us 5 years to clear that debt is worth it). Probably worth mid $400k right now.

2020 start traveling as a family 4-6 weeks a year, looking to do maybe a month long stay some place each year.

Starting 2020 after house is paid off, we will put the extra large lump sums 50% into 401k or 457 (Roth or traditional not sure yet) and the other 50% into a fund for real estate purchases once I quit my job.

Look into starting our own non profit for giving and charity.

Once house is paid off that money will fill up car replacement funds, maybe raise our personal emergency fund, then be used for travel expenses.

Welcome Livethedream!!

I bolded your line about the house flips, I would LOVE to do something like that for part time work and to teach my kids about working as well. Could also help them put together some college money. I'm a professional remodeler and know how to do most of the work myself. My hang up has been trying to figure out how to get the money together, seems like cash is the best/easiest way but saving cash seems contradictory to the 30% tax savings and growth potential of saving into 403/457 accounts.

How were you thinking of funding the flips?

Love the 4-6 week travel idea as well! My wife is a teacher and I'll be self employed (working with Father now, but set to take over when he retires) so we hope to do similar with the flexible time in the Summers. Looking to take our first 4 week family trip next Summer 2019 actually to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary :)

---------

I want to come in here to share a net worth win. I try to calculate our net worth twice a year, once in October and once in April. I missed last October but I had encouraging news from 4/2017 to 4/2018... our net worth increased $57,800 (from $109,100 to $166,900). By all calculations, I think we're on track for a comfy retirement by 2030. Waiting somewhat impatiently for our two boys to get out of $$$ daycare so we can really start seeing the needle move :)

Nice job on the NW growth!! We did the full/part time SAHP route so didn't have too much daycare costs but instead had a big income reduction. My youngest finally started kindergarten this past Fall and getting back to work has really helped get things moving. You'll get there soon and then wonder how they are getting so big!

-----------

Welcome Lucky recaridto as well!

Nice to see some chatter from those of us on the slow and steady track :)

May 22, 2013 was when I finished reading the MMM archives (up to that point) and calculated my NW for the first time. May do a 5 year summary later this month.

Keep on keeping on 2030ers  !!

[MrOnyx]

I jokingly said to my dad a little while ago that 35 would be my age target and, as it happens, that would make 2030 my FIRE cohort year.

However, I made that comment a little bit before realising that a lot of MMM's optimism comes from the very large American salaries that we just don't have in the UK quite as readily. At least not in myself personally. I just graduated uni with some non-urgent British student debt. I've got a few years ahead of me where I can probably save close to 90-100% of my sub-£20k job and throw it into a Vanguard LifeStrategy fund (or something similar on the UK Vanguard service) before I'll have to look at moving out, at which point my expenses will climb quite a bit (hopefully my salary will too, by that point!) I say it a lot; I'm glad to have had that light switch flicked on so early, but I'm a bit daunted now by the lower incomes here. I think I can still do it. I'm determined.

I'm leaving this post here such that maybe I can come back some day and say, "Hey, I actually will/did make it into the 2030 cohort!"

It may be a bit of an optimistic goal, especially with this revelation in mind, but I have crossed fingers, and a head topped up with frugality as a core mindset going forward. Let's do it!

[Anatidae V]

MrOnyx, even if you don't hit 35/2030, you're still going to do so much better than average! That can be hard to remember floating around the forum.

We passed 1/4 of a million in net worth! I like how it sounds of I compare our net worth to 1 million instead of just "$250k". Of course, we've bought a house ($630k) so a lot of our with is tied up now, but it's pretty damn exciting regardless!

I've really enjoyed reading everyone's successes and life updates :)

[MrOnyx]

Congrats, @Anatidae V! And thanks for the positivity.

It's probably best to enjoy the journey and for now, not worry too much about the details of the destination. There are those that like to calculate everything in advance to a perfect science - considering every possible bump in the road and factoring that in to their master equation. While I respect that not everyone is the same as me, I think it's important not to get too hung up on that sort of thing if doing so takes you out of the here and now.

This isn't directed at anyone in particular, and it's not as though I read a specific post in this thread that caused me to write all of this. I just carried on from the positive vibe, started typing and it all kinda came out!

Enjoy the ride, guys! Dream of the future, but don't analyse it any more than you have to/are comfortable doing. :)

[Longwaytogo]

We passed 1/4 of a million in net worth! I like how it sounds of I compare our net worth to 1 million instead of just "$250k". Of course, we've bought a house ($630k) so a lot of our with is tied up now, but it's pretty damn exciting regardless!

WooHoo, congrats!!!

QTR mill does have a nice ring to it :)  It's kind of like after you hit $100K that seems like the next exciting milestone, not that you don't have to go through $150 and $200 to get there but it sort of seems like $250 is the next big one.

[haypug16]

Up to 1.28x expenses as of today. I increased my 401K to 8% this month and will increase again next month probably to 10% and see how that goes. Goal for the end of the year is to hit 2x expenses. I've got a ways to go but I think I can do it.

[MrOnyx]

Up to 1.28x expenses as of today. I increased my 401K to 8% this month and will increase again next month probably to 10% and see how that goes. Goal for the end of the year is to hit 2x expenses. I've got a ways to go but I think I can do it.

That's great! You're done then, right? You're independent! Any extra is a safety margin, which I guess is what you're going for. That or luxury, but I'll let you answer that (or not)! :D

Anecdotally, the case studies I've read (on MMM) say that your expenses drop after you retire. If that's the case, you're doubly done, right? I'm hoping someone more experienced might chime in in case I'm missing something.

[haypug16]

Up to 1.28x expenses as of today. I increased my 401K to 8% this month and will increase again next month probably to 10% and see how that goes. Goal for the end of the year is to hit 2x expenses. I've got a ways to go but I think I can do it.

That's great! You're done then, right? You're independent! Any extra is a safety margin, which I guess is what you're going for. That or luxury, but I'll let you answer that (or not)! :D

Anecdotally, the case studies I've read (on MMM) say that your expenses drop after you retire. If that's the case, you're doubly done, right? I'm hoping someone more experienced might chime in in case I'm missing something.

Nope not done I need 25x expenses to be done. I got a looooonnnng way to go.

[MrOnyx]

Up to 1.28x expenses as of today. I increased my 401K to 8% this month and will increase again next month probably to 10% and see how that goes. Goal for the end of the year is to hit 2x expenses. I've got a ways to go but I think I can do it.

That's great! You're done then, right? You're independent! Any extra is a safety margin, which I guess is what you're going for. That or luxury, but I'll let you answer that (or not)! :D

Anecdotally, the case studies I've read (on MMM) say that your expenses drop after you retire. If that's the case, you're doubly done, right? I'm hoping someone more experienced might chime in in case I'm missing something.

Nope not done I need 25x expenses to be done. I got a looooonnnng way to go.

Right! I mistook what you meant. I thought you meant you had 1.28x expenses coming in as passive income from your investments. I'm with you now!

[haypug16]

Up to 1.28x expenses as of today. I increased my 401K to 8% this month and will increase again next month probably to 10% and see how that goes. Goal for the end of the year is to hit 2x expenses. I've got a ways to go but I think I can do it.

That's great! You're done then, right? You're independent! Any extra is a safety margin, which I guess is what you're going for. That or luxury, but I'll let you answer that (or not)! :D

Anecdotally, the case studies I've read (on MMM) say that your expenses drop after you retire. If that's the case, you're doubly done, right? I'm hoping someone more experienced might chime in in case I'm missing something.

Nope not done I need 25x expenses to be done. I got a looooonnnng way to go.

Right! I mistook what you meant. I thought you meant you had 1.28x expenses coming in as passive income from your investments. I'm with you now!

I wish! If that were the case I would be jumping into the 2018 FIRE Cohort. :)

[Longwaytogo]

We passed 1/4 of a million in net worth! I like how it sounds of I compare our net worth to 1 million instead of just "$250k". Of course, we've bought a house ($630k) so a lot of our with is tied up now, but it's pretty damn exciting regardless!

WooHoo, congrats!!!

QTR mill does have a nice ring to it :)  It's kind of like after you hit $100K that seems like the next exciting milestone, not that you don't have to go through $150 and $200 to get there but it sort of seems like $250 is the next big one.

Chuckled and thought of this thread when I logged onto Mint this morning. Hit $125K almost exactly so I'm at an eighth of a million, lol :) Half way to the next big milestone.

[Anatidae V]

We passed 1/4 of a million in net worth! I like how it sounds of I compare our net worth to 1 million instead of just "$250k". Of course, we've bought a house ($630k) so a lot of our with is tied up now, but it's pretty damn exciting regardless!

WooHoo, congrats!!!

QTR mill does have a nice ring to it :)  It's kind of like after you hit $100K that seems like the next exciting milestone, not that you don't have to go through $150 and $200 to get there but it sort of seems like $250 is the next big one.

Chuckled and thought of this thread when I logged onto Mint this morning. Hit $125K almost exactly so I'm at an eighth of a million, lol :) Half way to the next big milestone.

Woohoo and high five for an eighth of a million! ;)

[Steeze]

DW and I have marked 2030 as the goal.

We are 30 and just getting started on the journey. Comfortably at a 55% savings rate. Hope to grow that as we move along, but who knows what the future will bring.

Stretch goal 2028, late goal is 2033. Puts me at 40-45yo.

Best of luck to all!

[haypug16]

Welcome Steeze, my stretch goal is also 2028.

[haypug16]

X= Yearly Expenses
2017 - Stache at 1x   $25,000 - Ending Balance $29,448.59
2018 - Stache at 2x   $50,000 - current balance $32,441.66 = 1.30x expenses
2019 - Stache at 3x   
2020 - Stache at 4.5x   
2021 - Stache at 6x   
2022 - Stache at 8x   
2023 - Stache at 10x   
2024 - Stache at 12x   
2025 - Stache at 14x   
2026 - Stache at 16x   
2027 - Stache at 18x   
2028 - Stache at 20x   
2029 - Stache at 22x   
2030 - Retire by end of year with 25x yearly expense rate

I got $17,558.34 left to save this year to reach my goal. I increased my 401K to 10% this month. I may need to make a bigger leap than just 2% a month. Maybe I'll up it to 15% in July. Then once I get to the max for 2018 I'll throw some money into my Fidelity IRA. So far this year I've contributed $2,839.68 so I have $15,660.32 left to contribute. So about $2K will go into my Fidelity IRA account.

I also need to work on lower my yearly expense amount, I'm tracking over my goal of $25K. I'll need to participate in a few Frugal Month Gauntlets.

The nice thing about being in the 2030 Cohort is I have time to make adjustments. ;)


2,874 work days left! I can practically taste the freedom!

[Haku]

Hey all,

I've been lurking around here for a bit and finally decided to throw my name in and try to track my progress and keep myself accountable to being FIRE by 2030.  Although I am truly hoping to be FIRE by 2028 the wife is not as on board as I am and thinks that may be too early, but we will see how things change when we are closer.  Wife and I have always been fairly frugal, she more than I, but we never really thought about long term plans and planning for the future.  She is still fairly skeptical of being FIRE within 10-15 years, but she tends to be fairly pessimistic.  Our (read my) biggest challenge currently is getting my wife to fully buy in to the idea and strategy to become FIRE, she is reluctant to increase her 401k contributions, and with the extra money we have leftover every month she just wants to put in a money market account earning .75% interest.  She has a hard time accepting risk when it comes to money and is very reluctant to invest in the stock market (this is partially my fault for losing a good chunk of money by making some dumb decisions).  I just recently got her to agree to putting money in CDs instead of the MM so we can at least earn a little more interest. Going forward I am hoping to at least split our savings outside of 401ks between our brokerage account and CDs.

Current financial position:
Monthly Income - $10,000 ($6,200 take home pay)
Monthly Expenses - $3,500 ($1,500 in monthly bills - Mortgage, electric/gas, water, insurance, internet)

401k - $90,000 - Currently contributing about $2,100 per month combined
Roth IRA - $21,000 - Currently contributing $150 a month
Brokerage - $9,000

Home Value - $250,000
Mortgage - $150,000

Car Value - $35,000 - Both are paid off, we used the money in our MM/CD accounts to pay these off
     

I know a lot of people around here will look at our vehicles and think we spent too much on them.  Both my wife and I both had to replace our vehicles in the past year from ones we had been driving for 10+ years and feel like we got great value out of purchasing those vehicles (both were ~1-2 years used with around 30-40k miles on them at the time of purchase) so we decided to do the same this time around instead of buying older/cheaper cars.  We also wanted a dependable bigger vehicle with AWD as we hike/camp/climb in places that require a AWD vehicle to get to.
We could also work towards lowering our monthly expenses.  I have been tracking our income/expenses for the past year and a half while trying to work out a budget that we can stick to.  We currently pay about $1,500 in bills monthly between mortgage, electric/gas, water, insurance and internet (this likely won't change anytime soon)  and our budget for other expenses is currently $2,000 which we have been sticking to fairly well so far and have been within $100 every month this year.

[haypug16]

Welcome Haku, there seems to be a few of us that have a stretch goal of 2028, myself included.

As a little update I now have 1.32x my yearly expenses saved. My goal for the end of the year is 2X yearly expenses.

In order to keep my eye on the prize I've started thinking about my plans for when I do FIRE. One thing I've been wanting to do is travel around the world for a year. I'm thinking I'll start a separate journal to tracking the planning process and eventually to document the whole trip.

Any body else have big plans for after FIRE?

2,867 work days left

[letsdoit]

is anyone thinking of taking a sabbatical before FIRE is reached and returning to work after the 2 year (or however long ) trip ?

[haypug16]

I thought about doing this before I released I could potentially retire years before I turned 65. Currently my plan is to keep working until I get to 2030 then retire for good. Though the idea of a sabbatical year sounds nice. 

[letsdoit]

doing it the way you mentioned would be so much more efficient.  but families have certain windows at certain ages. 

[Steeze]

For us, once we have FI our big plan is to live in China for several months a year near DW's parents. If we have children, probably will be limited to summer vacations while they are school age.

Otherwise we will like to work for ourselves part time. Plan right now is to slowly purchase a few multifamily properties over the next 10-12 years and manage them ourselves to stay busy after we are done working W2 jobs. See how that goes and will simply look for a balance between business and happiness. Mostly looking to slow things down and maximize our flexibility and ability to spend time with our families.

Not sure I ever want to stop working, but would like to get to where I am working around 10-15 hrs a week and can do my job remotely if needed.

[haypug16]

My plan is to also purchase a couple vacation homes to rent out. I don't think I want to get into renting to full time tenants but more of an AirBNB/Homeaway kind of thing. Our first one I think will be near the white mountains in NH. Something we can use and rent out all year long, near a ski resort, hiking, lakes/beaches, etc.

[rebel_quietude]

Good morning, everyone!

It struck me as I'm drinking coffee on a day off that we've got seven pages of this thread thus far, and no roll-up of who's in our cohort. I've been lurking on the 2018 & 2017 page for inspiration, and it's fun to see them tracking people's dates / who goes for one more year (OMY) or one less year (OLY) . Anyone want to lay odds on the percentage of people who remain consistent from now to 2030?

Please feel free to edit if I missed someone, and give me a shout if for some reason you don't want to be on here.

Ladies and gentlemen, in order of RE date and thread appearance, class of 2030!

Pre 2030-ish

Fastfwd - ~2025 to 2030
DebtFreeinPhilly - ~2025-2030
Finances_With_Purpose - ~2025 to 2030
Cornel_Westside - 2027
TheMoneyWizard - ~2027 to 2030
Livethedream - ~2028 to 2030
mizzourah2006 - ~2028 to 2030
DeskJockey2028 - ~2028 to 2032
seathink - 2028
kittenstache - ~2028-2030
khangaroo - 2029
MoonLiteNight - 2029


 2030-ish

FrenchStache
rufflina
VTD0918
Lanthiriel
erae
HappierAtHome
Frs1661
Distshore
k_to_the_v
Nate R
Guava
scipsy
[a]bort
Samsam
Alf91
fuzzy math
Aelias
The Viking
swick
Anatidae V
LazyBones
LWTG
JimboJones31
BrokenBiscuits
MrsGoldenPiggy
FiguringItOut
RidentheAsama
Btag84
FireHiker
thedigitalalone
runewell
startingsmall
Mezzie
skip207
headwinds
Bumbles8
VCaddy
Mustashio Bashio
teamzissou00
daymare
SustainableStache
dreadmoose
haypug16
Bobberth
Shooter_D
Pinkman
Road2Freedom
sea
Snow
twistedfirestarter
Engineer93
wbarnett
change_seeker
Steeze
Haku
MrOynx
NorthernDreamer
latterdayrasta

Post 2030-ish
CheapScholar - ~2030 to 2031
moonpalace - ~2030 to 2032
jfisher3 - ~2030 to 2033
meerkat - ~2030 to 2033
Erma - ~ 2030 to 2033
BeautifulDay - ~2030-2033
KisKis - 2031
aceyou - 2031
Semiretired31 - 2031
rebel_quietude - 2031
10dollarsatatime - 2031
jtray - 2032
VanteBoll - 2032
Lucky Ricardito - 2032
Sascatchewstachian - ~2031-2033
TightFistedScot - ~2030 to 2035

*edited as folks post corrections / additions!

[haypug16]

Thanks @rebel_quietude for making the list. I was just thinking yesterday that our Cohort needs a Roll-call. I also stalk the earlier Cohorts (mostly 2018) to see all the people reaching FIRE.

[MrOnyx]

Not to be 'that guy', @rebel_quietude, but I don't appear to be on the list. I know I haven't provided any projections or predictions, but I am aiming for 2030 to be my FI year.

It's not important, of course, but I thought I'd mention it!

[mizzourah2006]

I'm less about the FIRE and more about the FI, but I think 2028-2030 is when we could pull the plug.

Right now we are at a stache of a little over 7x yearly expenses, but 1/3rd of those yearly expenses are daycare for the two little ones :)

[rebel_quietude]

Didn't mean to leave you out, Mr. Oynx and missourah2006!

List edited. Let me know if there's anyone else I missed! I figure it'll probably be worth a yearly scrub as more folks join this thread and refine their timelines.

[NorthernDreamer]

Thanks for making this @rebel_quietude! Might as well move to me to official 2030 group, though hopes are to pull the plug before then ;)

[Haku]

Welcome Haku, there seems to be a few of us that have a stretch goal of 2028, myself included.

As a little update I now have 1.32x my yearly expenses saved. My goal for the end of the year is 2X yearly expenses.

In order to keep my eye on the prize I've started thinking about my plans for when I do FIRE. One thing I've been wanting to do is travel around the world for a year. I'm thinking I'll start a separate journal to tracking the planning process and eventually to document the whole trip.

Any body else have big plans for after FIRE?

I've got so many big plans for post FIRE, only question is if I can get the wife on board with them.  Our only definite plans right now are that we are planning on moving out into the country where we can get a decent sized chunk of land where we can build a small little farm.  We would also like to do some traveling as well, but so far we haven't decided much on when or where all we want to go, some of that will depend on what traveling we do pre-FIRE.

is anyone thinking of taking a sabbatical before FIRE is reached and returning to work after the 2 year (or however long ) trip ?

My wife and I have discussed taking a sabbatical at some point.  I am kind of doubtful that it will actually happen for us, there is just too much uncertainty and risk involved, and as I have mentioned before my wife is not one for risk.  I have always wanted to do a year long (or longer) road trip around the US though.

[latterdayrasta]

I'll throw my hat into the ring for FIRE by my 50th birthday in June of 2030. I discovered mustachianism about two months ago, and I've made a few changes already to save more.

Current net worth is about $1.1 million, mostly in invested assets. I have two kids, 10 and 8, and I'd love to do some traveling with them while they're young, which will add some time.

DW is tolerating my mustachian enthusiasm, but she's a bit dubious, so I have set a high goal of $2.5 million to allow a lavish lifestyle, even though I don't know how we would spend $100k per year in retirement. Based on my calculations this should be doable by 2030.

Another consideration for me is that my 10 year old son has autism, and I want to leave a large 'stashe for him so that he will always be provided for.

Good luck to everyone! Glad to be here!

[Haku]

I'll throw my hat into the ring for FIRE by my 50th birthday in June of 2030. I discovered mustachianism about two months ago, and I've made a few changes already to save more.

Current net worth is about $1.1 million, mostly in invested assets. I have two kids, 10 and 8, and I'd love to do some traveling with them while they're young, which will add some time.

DW is tolerating my mustachian enthusiasm, but she's a bit dubious, so I have set a high goal of $2.5 million to allow a lavish lifestyle, even though I don't know how we would spend $100k per year in retirement. Based on my calculations this should be doable by 2030.

Another consideration for me is that my 10 year old son has autism, and I want to leave a large 'stashe for him so that he will always be provided for.

Good luck to everyone! Glad to be here!

Welcome!  Sounds like you are well on your way to achieving your goal, although from personal experience it can seem like the hardest goal to achieve is getting the DW fully on board as well.

I think your plan of traveling with your children is a great idea, some of my best childhood memories were traveling with my dad when I was around the age of your children.  It was awesome going to new places and seeing amazing things, but thinking back on it now I am thankful for the time I got to spend with my dad.

Do you have plans for when you reach FIRE?  It will put you RE right as your children will be reaching adulthood and it will probably be a huge shock to go from being a working parent to a retired empty nester.

[latterdayrasta]

I'll throw my hat into the ring for FIRE by my 50th birthday in June of 2030. I discovered mustachianism about two months ago, and I've made a few changes already to save more.

Current net worth is about $1.1 million, mostly in invested assets. I have two kids, 10 and 8, and I'd love to do some traveling with them while they're young, which will add some time.

DW is tolerating my mustachian enthusiasm, but she's a bit dubious, so I have set a high goal of $2.5 million to allow a lavish lifestyle, even though I don't know how we would spend $100k per year in retirement. Based on my calculations this should be doable by 2030.

Another consideration for me is that my 10 year old son has autism, and I want to leave a large 'stashe for him so that he will always be provided for.

Good luck to everyone! Glad to be here!

Welcome!  Sounds like you are well on your way to achieving your goal, although from personal experience it can seem like the hardest goal to achieve is getting the DW fully on board as well.

I think your plan of traveling with your children is a great idea, some of my best childhood memories were traveling with my dad when I was around the age of your children.  It was awesome going to new places and seeing amazing things, but thinking back on it now I am thankful for the time I got to spend with my dad.

Do you have plans for when you reach FIRE?  It will put you RE right as your children will be reaching adulthood and it will probably be a huge shock to go from being a working parent to a retired empty nester.

Thanks for the welcome! I'm excited to be a part of this community.

To answer your question, I haven't given post FIRE life too much thought. It will definitely involve a good amount of travel. I have always had a dream of living on a Caribbean island, so I want to give that a try. I've always been a curious person, so I plan to study several subjects on my own using the internet and the library (physics, history, etc.). I don't think I have ever used the words "I'm bored" in my life, so I can't wait to dig into anything that piques my curiosity! My kids will also be on their own, so I might follow them around like a lost puppy and annoy them while they are finding their way in the world. The possibilities are endless!

[Livethedream]

Made a big step towards our 2030 FIRE goal this month, paid off our house. This will free up $1300 a month, plus about another $50k a year we have been putting towards the house! Some will be used for vacations and vehicle replacement fund, but most will start going towards retirement.

[haypug16]

Congrats on paying off the house @Livethedream!!! Excellent step towards FIRE.

[2bfree]

Peeking my head in here. I will be in 48 in 2030 and hope to be retired by (hopefully before then).

[Eventuality]

I'm peeking in as well. Currently 29, tentatively day-dreaming of a "FIRE" - transitioning to part-time work as an RN (2 12-hour shifts/week) in 2030 at age 41. The boyfriend is currently horrified by this concept and thinks I'll go broke if I try that. Hoping he'll come around with time. Also thinking marriage and 1 child in the next few years, which might change things. Family is all local and likes kids=less daycare $$.

Improvements: I've increased my Roth 403b contribution since May from 10% to 17% (+a 3% company match, which really brings it to 20%). I bought a house this year so am a little low on the cash currently. Annual expenses run about $25k (including mortgage and a horse). A part time RN salary would be enough to cover these expenses (assuming salary increases comparably to inflation).

Total net worth right now is $73k, counting equity in the house. I'd like about 10X that in my stash (including the house) before I'd be comfortable with dropping to part-time work.

[Finances_With_Purpose]

Nice job on the list @rebel_quietude ! 

This far out, who knows where we will all end up.  A lot can change over that timeframe. 

I could see our own plan and timeline improving dramatically, or slowing down some.  At this point, it's hard to know which direction things will move, let alone how much. 

I'm guessing the group will do better than expected, but then again, the biggest factor is market returns, and I'm not terribly optimstic about that over the next decade...I guess we'll see.   

[mizzourah2006]

Nice job on the list @rebel_quietude ! 

This far out, who knows where we will all end up.  A lot can change over that timeframe. 

I could see our own plan and timeline improving dramatically, or slowing down some.  At this point, it's hard to know which direction things will move, let alone how much. 

I'm guessing the group will do better than expected, but then again, the biggest factor is market returns, and I'm not terribly optimstic about that over the next decade...I guess we'll see.   

yup, I estimate an after-inflation CAGR of 4% for all my projections and even that may be a bit optimistic.

[MoneyMouse]

I think I should be able to fit this. Technically, my plan aims for 2031, but I also assume a lot of things go wrong on the way there. This also assumes I stay single, which I'm open to, but getting a Mustachian partner would likely accelerate this plan.

However, a big if in this is getting myself into a higher paying job.

I'm currently, I believe, under-employed as an Administrator. I take home about $33,900 after tax annually.
I'm currently applying for as many higher-classified positions within my organization as I can, and I may be able to earn $48,700 after tax by the time I'm 40 (possibly higher if I keep looking for promotions, but I'm being super-conservative).

This also doesn't take into account finding or establishing side gigs or house hacking that I anticipate doing in the future.

What's kind of amazing is that, the more I think about it, I don't think I'd actually retire. I'm more about getting to FI by 40 or sooner, but at that point I would probably look to work part-time doing something fun like work the front desk at a gym or work at a board game cafe. Focus more on creating income streams through house hacking, my own businesses and small side gigs. I would want to continue working until the mortgage of my principal residence is paid off, just as my own preference.

On one hand, I feel like I'm starting "too late" at 27 years old, but I also realize that I only have 13 years left if I play my cards right and buckle down. Would it have been better if I had started earlier? Yeah, sure, but I also graduated University with no debt and bought my first car with cash. Compared to many of my peers, I'm doing quite well.

[haypug16]

X= Yearly Expenses
2017 - Stache at 1x   $25,000 - Ending Balance $29,448.59
2018 - Stache at 2x   $50,000 - current balance $34,340.04 = 1.37x expenses
2019 - Stache at 3x   
2020 - Stache at 4.5x   
2021 - Stache at 6x   
2022 - Stache at 8x   
2023 - Stache at 10x   
2024 - Stache at 12x   
2025 - Stache at 14x   
2026 - Stache at 16x   
2027 - Stache at 18x   
2028 - Stache at 20x   
2029 - Stache at 22x   
2030 - Retire by end of year with 25x yearly expense rate

Had a nice little jump since my last update, but still behind on my goal. Starting in August my 401K contribution goes up to 15%. With my new raise I will max out at 23% ($18,500) I will increase up to 23% contribution by the end of this year. At that point I will probably switch to a dollar amount contribution so I don't go over.


2,847 working days left!

[Longwaytogo]

I set up some goals for the next 13 years to hit FIRE by 2030; (I saw someone else on one of the posts do this so I can't take credit but it looked helpful) Not quite sure how reasonable these goals are at the moment I may need to reevaluate them and make some adjustments, lowering the early year goals and increasing the later years as my money grows on it's own. Also can work on lowering my yearly expenses which will have a double impact on my FIRE numbers.

X= Yearly Expenses
2017 - Stache at 1x   $25,000 - I'm at $26,551.28 as of today
2018 - Stache at 2x   $50,000 - I need to save $23,448.72 in the next 14 1/2 months roughly $1,617 a month this should be interesting.
2019 - Stache at 3x
2020 - Stache at 4.5x
2021 - Stache at 6x
2022 - Stache at 8x
2023 - Stache at 10x
2024 - Stache at 12x
2025 - Stache at 14x
2026 - Stache at 16x
2027 - Stache at 18x
2028 - Stache at 20x
2029 - Stache at 22x
2030 - Stache at 25x

Hi haypug16, nice job upping the 401% !! Setting it to max out for next year will be awesome.

I read back through the thread to see when you first posted this tracking method. Was there a formula or math behind it or did you just make some guesses?

Curious if it can really  go up by 2 years expenses each year like that, seems like it could with compounding? Also may try and make my own roughly based on 20X (5% WR) and just curious how you determined it.

[haypug16]

I read back through the thread to see when you first posted this tracking method. Was there a formula or math behind it or did you just make some guesses?

Curious if it can really  go up by 2 years expenses each year like that, seems like it could with compounding? Also may try and make my own roughly based on 20X (5% WR) and just curious how you determined it.

So I actually copied this from another person on the forums (I can't remember who) and then adjusted it to match my personal predictions. It's my first year using it so we'll see how it goes. In the earlier years I am just going up 1-1.5X then 2x then lastly 3X. This is assuming I a. make more to be able to save more and b. my little employees that I invest are working really hard to make my dollars multiply faster.

[x02947]

Oh sure, I’ll toss my hat in the forum- why not?  I like the idea of being part of a team to help each other out for the long haul :)

I found MMM about 6 months ago and found that the FIRE concept aligned nicely with my already frugal-ish nature but more importantly, it let me realize that it’s okay to find and do things you like.  You don’t get a grade at the end of your life based on how “important” of a job you managed to get.  Instead, you can begin arranging your life to do the things you want (doing un-wanted things as necessary to support the wanted things), and retirement will be just another transition into being able do more things that you want, more often. 

By my rough excel calculations, I’ll be able to FIRE by around 2031, but that all depends on how a couple of big things play out- do I drop to a 30 hour work week once kids hit school age to spend more time with them?  How soon can I convince DW that it’s okay to not let a financial advisor steal our money with 1.5% fees?

@MoneyMouse-  Don’t worry about feeling “late to the game”.  I have the same feeling- I’m 30, married with two kids and could have been in a much better (although it's not by any means bad now!) situation if I had actually known what I was doing earlier on.  I think we all suffer from “man, if only I had done that!”.  But regardless you and I are shaving about 50% off of a standard working career.  It’s kinda like winning the super bowl by three touchdowns instead of four :).

[Longwaytogo]

I read back through the thread to see when you first posted this tracking method. Was there a formula or math behind it or did you just make some guesses?

Curious if it can really  go up by 2 years expenses each year like that, seems like it could with compounding? Also may try and make my own roughly based on 20X (5% WR) and just curious how you determined it.

So I actually copied this from another person on the forums (I can't remember who) and then adjusted it to match my personal predictions. It's my first year using it so we'll see how it goes. In the earlier years I am just going up 1-1.5X then 2x then lastly 3X. This is assuming I a. make more to be able to save more and b. my little employees that I invest are working really hard to make my dollars multiply faster.

Gotcha. I'll have to fiddle around with my own and look at some projections I made. Seems like a daunting task to get it up even 1-1.5 here in the early stages. But I know it will pick up eventually when it grows enough to compound more on it's own.

[BobMueller]

"millenial" here who chose a well-compensated technical path (albeit after a failed attempt at law school). i plan on living at home during my funded PhD at a top 20 university. my goals are ambitious, but reasonable.

my car is a manual mid 2000s corolla, i don't have any debt really besides a small student loan I intend to pay off soon, and i have family supporting me, possibly substantially for a downpayment, etc. i'm extremely lucky to go to grad school when federal funding for research is up significantly, and in a top department. either academic or industry; it's a hot field and will continue to be for decades (AI, programming).

my goal is to save over 100k by 30 and 500k by 35, 1 million by 40 (this will be 2030).

an aside, life isn't all about money, how do I date whilst living at home doing a PhD?

[haypug16]

I read back through the thread to see when you first posted this tracking method. Was there a formula or math behind it or did you just make some guesses?

Curious if it can really  go up by 2 years expenses each year like that, seems like it could with compounding? Also may try and make my own roughly based on 20X (5% WR) and just curious how you determined it.

So I actually copied this from another person on the forums (I can't remember who) and then adjusted it to match my personal predictions. It's my first year using it so we'll see how it goes. In the earlier years I am just going up 1-1.5X then 2x then lastly 3X. This is assuming I a. make more to be able to save more and b. my little employees that I invest are working really hard to make my dollars multiply faster.

Gotcha. I'll have to fiddle around with my own and look at some projections I made. Seems like a daunting task to get it up even 1-1.5 here in the early stages. But I know it will pick up eventually when it grows enough to compound more on it's own.

Right! 1x a year may be a little too ambitions but I hope to get as close to 2x by the end of 2018 as possible. Every month the number goes up so that makes me happy.