Funny, I was just thinking about this yesterday!
I am very late to the ER game; I remember when DH and I got married, he broached 55 as an appropriate ER date, and I rolled my eyes and told him not with the lifestyle he was expecting. And me, well, I just didn't think you could ever save "enough."
I started really paying attention and focusing on the idea of ER only about a year or two ago. At the time, our target date was 62, because that is when our youngest graduates college -- and I thought even that was overly optimistic given how much we had saved and the kind of budget DH thinks is necessary.* But over the past year, I've realized we can get that down to 58, because we should have college covered by then.**
The real miracle, though, was discovering we could FIRE now. We've chosen not to; work is enjoyable and pays us far more than we're worth, DH likes fancy things, and our FIRE plan is extensive travel, which we don't want to do with kids in HS. So, you know, if they're going to throw money at us, and we don't have anything better to do, might as well take it. But boy is it nice to know that both of us can quit any time we want, go part-time, or do whatever the heck we feel like and not have to worry about it.
So I guess technically you could say we've trimmed more than a decade off of our projected FI date, and about 4 years off of the RE date. Largely by paying attention to what we have and what we need. But I also owe a debt of gratitude to whoever posted about the "bucket" way of figuring out retirement needs (I think it's Goldilocks but not sure) -- that approach says we need much less than the 4% rule would suggest, because our spendy years are front-loaded with all the travel. That allowed spreadsheet-master DH to plug in the numbers and all the different scenarios and see both how much we really needed for our target budget and how much slack there really is in that target.
And, yes, we must give mucho thanks to the awesome bull market. And don't forget the other aspect of that: historically low interest rates/inflation. It's amazing how much faster your mortgage goes down and your net worth goes up at 2.875% than 8.875% -- not to mention how much of that net worth you keep in "real" dollars when inflation is so low for so long. Check back in after the next crash, with a stagflation topper, to see how this all plays out in the real world. ;-)
*I really don't get this. He is a math guy and a spreadsheet king. But it's like his brain automatically assumes 10%-12% compounded returns over time -- I swear, he just thinks the money is going to grow on trees and appear when he decides he needs it.
**This is partially due to saving on our part and partially due to my stepdad dying and leaving his money in trust for the grandkids' college educations. I do not actually plan to draw any of that money, since my nieces/nephews need it more than we do, but knowing it is there as a backstop makes it much easier to take the plunge before the last bill is paid.
