Brand new here and just wanted to say hello

[DeskJockey2028]

Early retirement is any time before 65, right? In that case, I'm on track! :) Found this site and these forums via reddit's /r/financialindependence.

A bit about me - I found out about the very basics of saving for retirement years ago but it wasn't until perhaps 3 months ago that I started really looking into it. I'm turning 44 in a month and I'm just really getting on track now.

My family went through a real rough patch just around 2008, and a few rough patches before then. But, as of now we've got a positive net worth of over $230k and we've really started shifting our goals to early retirement. If the market behaves averagely, I should be able to punch out for the last time shortly after I turn 59. If the market is down a bit, then I'm looking at 62.

I'm keeping things pretty simple - I've got a total of 17% of my salary going to my 403(b) right now and that'll change to 19% in October when I get a raise (and 21% a year from October with my next negotiated raise). I'm lucky that I've worked for one place for the last 12 years and I've got my fingers crossed that I'll retire from here as well.

We're coming into a small bit of Money this December and we're going to use that to finish building up our emergency fund and also to open a Roth IRA and hopefully shovel the full 5.5k into it.

I've been using a few spreadsheets shared on reddit and the Fidelity planning tools to get us on track. Mostly I'm here to keep myself on track and feed my need for instant gratification. It's funny - on one hand it's hard to wait for all of this to happen. On the other hand, it's amazingly easy to sit back and watch our investment grow over time without us doing much but adding more money.

So hello! Looking forward to spending the next 15 years here keeping up to date and on track.

[Choices]

Welcome! You might just be inspired to make bigger changes and cut that timeline by a decade or so :)

[DeskJockey2028]

THAT would be amazing - but cutting it by a decade or so would mean retiring in 4-6 years. :) That seems like a bit of a stretch in our current situation, not that I wouldn't go ahead and do it if we were able!

Welcome! You might just be inspired to make bigger changes and cut that timeline by a decade or so :)

[With This Herring]

Welcome!

Remember that the best way to cut your timeline to retirement is to cut your expenses.  A lot of people find that posting a case study lets your fellow MMM members point out ways to do that.  If you have been tracking expenses for at least a couple months, you may find that useful.

Here's the guide:
http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/ask-a-mustachian/how-to-write-a-'case-study'-topic/

[DeskJockey2028]

This is how new to this I am - I just opened up a Mint account... last week. So I've started tracking expenses but have a month or three to go before I get a good, solid picture.

The good news? We don't spend a ton of money on frivolous things. The bad news? We both have hobbies we enjoy and don't plan on really cutting back on them - however they cost us about $50 a month on average, combined.

So I'll have to noodle over Mint for a month or three and see what's what and what can be cut out.

Welcome!

Remember that the best way to cut your timeline to retirement is to cut your expenses.  A lot of people find that posting a case study lets your fellow MMM members point out ways to do that.  If you have been tracking expenses for at least a couple months, you may find that useful.

Here's the guide:
http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/ask-a-mustachian/how-to-write-a-'case-study'-topic/

[tonysemail]

Welcome to the forum!

If you stay a long time, the pernicious sense of optimism might infect you...

You'll be pulling in that FIRE date in no time ;)

[DeskJockey2028]

I'll be honest - 2 things going on here.

1) It's a slow work day, so I've been combing over older posts and lists and FAQ's and whatnot for a bit now and I'm able to respond almost instantly. :)

2) I am really excited and optimistic! Our lives have gone from worrying about buying groceries to learning that we can retire earlier than we'd ever thought. My father just retired at 72 - I don't want that for me and my wife. I want to be not reliant on anyone for money for the rest of my life and able to enjoy that rest of my life. And wow, it looks like that may happen!

Another bit of perspective - I had my first child when I was 32. My father had me when he was 33. He just retired and I'm about to be 44 years old. When I retire, my oldest will be 31 - and that's if the plan takes the long road and the market doesn't cooperate as much!

Welcome to the forum!

If you stay a long time, the pernicious sense of optimism might infect you...

You'll be pulling in that FIRE date in no time ;)