Author Topic: What's your networth when you FIRE'd  (Read 19525 times)

boarder42

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Re: What's your networth when you FIRE'd
« Reply #50 on: July 10, 2018, 06:04:32 AM »
This thread is a sign of times ... so many FIRE numbers above $1.5m excluding a paid off house!

This is enough to basically have a FIRED income of $60,000 forever and still keep growing your stash under literally all conditions.

I am a hypocrite because I will want to do this too, but damn, can any of us really call ourselves mustachian anymore?

Pete makes a ton of money and has a huge net worth...
I don’t think a large ‘stache means anything in and of itself.

For those of us, like Pete, who are extremely well paid for work/part time work/side hustles that we enjoy and spend very little, a huge ‘stache is inevitable. Just because I’ll likely end up with a ‘stache that could support a big annual spend doesn’t mean I’ll be spending that much.

It’s my Mustachianism that’s making me rich, not the other way around.

But FIRE number is when you're financially independent, not an amount of money you just happen to accumulate. If you only need $800k but reach $1.5M because you love your work then your number is $800k. I don't think that many people here love their work, they mostly fear needing the money or are not mustachian, IMO

incorrect you're describing an FI number the RE part is when you quit.

boarder42

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Re: What's your networth when you FIRE'd
« Reply #51 on: July 10, 2018, 06:09:02 AM »
This thread is a sign of times ... so many FIRE numbers above $1.5m excluding a paid off house!

This is enough to basically have a FIRED income of $60,000 forever and still keep growing your stash under literally all conditions.

I am a hypocrite because I will want to do this too, but damn, can any of us really call ourselves mustachian anymore?

Pete makes a ton of money and has a huge net worth...
I don’t think a large ‘stache means anything in and of itself.

For those of us, like Pete, who are extremely well paid for work/part time work/side hustles that we enjoy and spend very little, a huge ‘stache is inevitable. Just because I’ll likely end up with a ‘stache that could support a big annual spend doesn’t mean I’ll be spending that much.

It’s my Mustachianism that’s making me rich, not the other way around.

But FIRE number is when you're financially independent, not an amount of money you just happen to accumulate. If you only need $800k but reach $1.5M because you love your work then your number is $800k. I don't think that many people here love their work, they mostly fear needing the money or are not mustachian, IMO
True. Pete's NW when he FIREd was around $600K plus a paid off house. That doesn't change whether he earns blog money or wins the lotto. My NW when I FIREd years ago is different than it is now but that doesn't change my original NW when I became FI and decided to RE (in true IRP non-working fashion).

But I agree with@marty998, seems like a lot of people here need a lot of money before they pull the plug

ETA: this recent  thread highlights that fear of stopping work and needing a huge stash https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/ask-a-mustachian/a-cure-for-last-mile-itis/?topicseen

pete was closer to 800k when he fired which is 1MM today.

davisgang90

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Re: What's your networth when you FIRE'd
« Reply #52 on: July 10, 2018, 07:22:20 AM »
Age: 49
Family size: 4 (20 year old with autism and 14 year old)
Wife's age: 50
Current NW: ~$500K
FIREd 15 June 18

One big caveat, I retired from the military, have a very nice pension, relatively cheap healthcare and I can pass on my GI bill for 4 years of college to the 14 year old.   These three things make retirement much easier for me at this stage.  Don't call the IRP, but I plan to work part time and we've set up a Roth ladder that I can start drawing from in 2020.
« Last Edit: July 19, 2018, 04:30:29 AM by davisgang90 »

2Birds1Stone

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Re: What's your networth when you FIRE'd
« Reply #53 on: July 10, 2018, 02:51:05 PM »
Age: 38
Family Size: Fiance and Myself
Status: Not yet retired
Current NW: $501k
FIRE Number: $900k based on current spending (some geographical arbitrage), ultimately want to get to $1.2M for peace of mind.
FIRE age: 31/35 respectively
Pensions: None

Even though we are ~4 years out from that goal, we plan on many breaks between now and then. Specifically 4 months off in 2019 and 9 months in 2020.

With spending that low, even working 2 days a week for 8 hours would cover 2/3rds of our spending, or provide for additional luxuries as we desire them.

mjr

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Re: What's your networth when you FIRE'd
« Reply #54 on: July 10, 2018, 04:32:26 PM »
The never earn again people tend to feel the need for massive cushions, which is understandable. Just because their ‘stache is 2M doesn’t mean they plan to spend 80K per year. You simply cannot jump to that conclusion. They may just not feel secure leaving paid work FOREVER without a HUGE safety net.

+1

JoJo

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Re: What's your networth when you FIRE'd
« Reply #55 on: July 10, 2018, 05:30:46 PM »
The never earn again people tend to feel the need for massive cushions, which is understandable. Just because their ‘stache is 2M doesn’t mean they plan to spend 80K per year. You simply cannot jump to that conclusion. They may just not feel secure leaving paid work FOREVER without a HUGE safety net.

+1

I'm one of those with a "massive" cushion.  I'm hoping to do some slow travel with a budget around $100/day or $36,500 per year.  I want the extra cushion because:
1) There are a few bucket list things I want to do that cost much more than $100/day   - for example, I booked an Antarctica trip @ $12K for late 2019
2) I went thru the recession and know easy come, easy go.  My stache at 1/2 is not impressive
3) I don't want to feel broke in years I need/want a splurge.  This year my car broke down and it was no sweat to buy a new Transit Connect - and I'm loving the van camping!
4) the big mystery of health care - I'm nearing the age where it gets more expensive but before Medicare.  I'm considering an international plan, but this involves underwriting & pre ex so need to stay healthy.  If the mandate comes back, this is out and big bucks back in unless I can stay out of the country for 330, not something I can commit with aging parents.

Acorns

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Re: What's your networth when you FIRE'd
« Reply #56 on: July 10, 2018, 06:53:49 PM »
We are a long way out from FIRE
Age: mid-30s
Family Size: spouse and kids
Status: Not yet retired
Current NW: $1.3M (including rental property but not primary residence, about $970k investments)
FIRE Number: $3M (after the kids graduate from college it [might be, depending on future healthcare costs] will be less, but that is the minimum we would need today to quit and still be certain we could make a significant contribution to their college, which is a priority for us).
FIRE age: mid-50s
Pensions: Possibly, depending on the solvency of the gov't when I am 60.

DreamFIRE

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Re: What's your networth when you FIRE'd
« Reply #57 on: July 10, 2018, 08:04:17 PM »
The original premise of the blog is "MMM and Mrs MMM FIRED with a spending budget of $24,000 a year, this is how we did it"

Net worth is irrelevant since net worth includes my home.

My stash is currently and will hopefully continue to be in the $1.3M to $1.4M range a year from now when I plan to FIRE.

Single, own my home, living alone.  That should be enough to cover ~$1600/mo bare bones expenses and over $2400/mo discretionary spending.

@DreamFIRE I'm going to pick on you by quoting this** because you seem typical of this thread in needing $1.4m which supports spending of $56,000 a year (not the $48,000 you mention, and is well excess of the <$20,000 bare bones FIRE stash you need).

But that's not what I said.  I said I currently have in the range of $1.3 to $1.4 and hope to continue to have that when I FIRE.  That basically means that's where I already am, and I hope I don't lose money over the next year.  That seems reasonable.  That's not the same as "need", and I gave that full range, not specifically $1.4M.  If the stock market returns zero over the next year, my contributions alone should get to the upper half of that range.  Again, that doesn't mean I "need".  And I should mention my FIRE date of next year is not related so much to a stash target since I've already hit that, but to other things, just as Bateaux mentioned as well as personal things.

On the expense side, I didn't say $48,000 would be the total income I would need.  I said my stash should cover ~$1600/mo bare bones (notice the ~, which means it could be more or less, not exactly $1600 as you implied) and OVER $2400/mo discretionary (note the word "over", not exactly $2400 as you were implying that I stated.)  And when I add over $2400/mo discretionary spending to my budget, my tax rate will increase, so I'll also have to withdraw more to pay taxes as well.  Factor in a slightly lower WR of 3.9% due to investment expenses, and $1.3M is a reasonable stash figure using the 4% rule, but I could cut back some on the discretionary spending if needed, so I don't feel I need a big cushion beyond the option of cutting back if needed, despite all the talk about today's high stock valuations, CAPE10, and calls of the pending recession that some may use to justify a larger stash.

Quote
Now are you all saying that $24,000 is impossible to do in this day and age? You need $1.4 x 4% = $56,000 a year to make this work and feel comfortable to leave the corporate cubicles? Is it no longer possible to optimise, to hack, to minimise expenses? Is it no longer desirable to do so? Do you not want to do so in order to bring FIRE forward, or provide you with additional margin of safety?

With ACA subsidies, $24K would be fairly easy for me, as that's about $4K more than I estimate my bare bones FIRE expenses to be.  Fortunately, I've got a big enough stash that I can do some travel and explore more entertainment options during FIRE that I didn't have time to do during my career.  I've done very little traveling in my life, and maintained a very high savings rate during my career well before I ever heard of MMM, so when I FIRE, I will finally have the chance to do things I've had little opportunity to do over my working careeer.

Note - I do not work in a corporate or any other type of cubicle.  I used to work in a shared office with one or two others over the years, but last year, I finally got my own office, the type with real walls to the ceiling and a door.  It's quite peaceful.  My overtime is way down, my workload is better than it's ever been, I'm not having to train any other staff, and I work with very little supervision.  It's by far the best I've had it in 17 years on this job, so it feels like exactly the worst time to leave in that respect.  If I was stuck in a cubicle, chained to my desk, pushing papers, operating as a corporate drone, running the hamster wheel, or bored out of my mind, then I would certainly feel more of an urgency to leave.  I don't have a family at home waiting for me, so there's that, too.

Quote
If $56,000 is your number, then fine. But if MMM were reading this he'd be telling you $56,000 is an exploding volcano of wastefulness worth of spending.

I'm actually planning about $50K/yr spending during FIRE, but then taxes and investment expenses bring that up closer to $52K/yr that needs to be funded from the stash.  So, $1.3M at the low end of my stash range is just right, while $1.4M is just an added cushion, but I don't plan to draw extra from the stash beyond what I just mentioned.  It would just be a cushion.  Also, I have no pensions in my future, although I hope to get SS benefits after 15 years of FIRE.

I'm not FIRED yet, and my actual spending through the first 6 months of this year is averaging less than $1400/mo.  I have very low cost healthcare costs while working.  I haven't done any traveling in years.  I'm not sure how that compares with MMM.

Edit: Besides the uncertainty of ACA/healthcare, another big wild card for me is the potential of relocating sometime after I FIRE, which would involve selling my house in my somewhat LCOL area and relocating to another area, which may be not be as LCOL, or I might actually be able to cut my living costs by scaling down in another LCOL area.  A smaller wild card is working part time for a while will not be out of the question, although I wouldn't want to do it long term - maybe a year.
« Last Edit: July 10, 2018, 08:34:45 PM by DreamFIRE »

marty998

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Re: What's your networth when you FIRE'd
« Reply #58 on: July 11, 2018, 05:07:13 AM »
^ @marty998 is from Australia and may not realize that those in the US may need to pay $20K or more a year for health insurance and coverage if the ACA dies or, in some cases, even if it doesn't but premiums increase as well as out of pocket costs. Those of us who can FIRE on lower amounts generally have found a way to have lower cost or free medical.  So even if we don't need that extra cushion now, we may in the future.

What does MMM pay for health insurance? Anyone know?

This is true - $20k for healthcare sounds insane for me. Thank you, I forget this sometimes when I start mouthing off here. Having said that, I am curious to know if there is any consumer organisation/movement/regulator in your country looking at this. I appreciate the worship of the almighty free market reigns supreme, but if I invoke the buzzword "disruption", surely the healthcare industry is ripe for it? Monopolistic excess profits simply can't last that long in a pure* free market.

I believe MMM "self-insures" - IIRC he said in a blog post he is comfortable taking the risk given his family does not have any chronic conditions or ongoing health needs.

* probably where the problem lies.
« Last Edit: July 11, 2018, 05:12:43 AM by marty998 »

DreamFIRE

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Re: What's your networth when you FIRE'd
« Reply #59 on: July 11, 2018, 05:03:18 PM »

When I FIRE, I want to be confident that the ACA will be in operation with subsidies for years to come, so hopefully we'll see democrats take control of one of the chambers of Congress with the results of the Nov. election.  That should stop any other attempts by the republicans to gut or repeal ACA from being successful.

The $1.3M stash assumes I'll get ACA subsidies, otherwise, I'll need a bigger stash.

teetootoo

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Re: What's your networth when you FIRE'd
« Reply #60 on: July 11, 2018, 06:00:06 PM »
50ish
Family  Size: 4
NW: $3M
Not retired yet. No target number, but target age is 62/3.

Spicolli

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Re: What's your networth when you FIRE'd
« Reply #61 on: July 12, 2018, 01:48:07 PM »
Ages: 51/50
Family: 1 kid (10)
Status: Not retired
NW: $1.3 M
House: owe $340K on $750K house
Pensions: $140K/year
FIRE dates: 2020 (spouse)...2022 (me)

Spouse will have military pension so health care shouldn't be an issue...we also have 2 years of GI Bill that will transfer to kid. Guess we could already FIRE but spouse is finishing up on military obligations.

Loren Ver

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Re: What's your networth when you FIRE'd
« Reply #62 on: September 18, 2018, 05:44:58 PM »
I'm glad to see some other less than 1 millions posting.  It convinced me to post.

Age: 36 me, 39 DH
Family size: 2

Current NW: $668k (As of Q2 2018)
House will be paid off before FIRE.  Worth between 80k and 110k.  We don't plan to move so never used in our numbers.

Fire Goal is actually a date, the day DH turns 40, so May 2019, estimated stash: $750,000+.
That is all from investments, no property, no rentals, no assets, no pensions, no inheritance, no other special money generating circumstances.

We also have no intention of exchanging time for money any time in the future.  No side hustles, no business plans, no blogs.

Our cushion is the ability to adjust our spending and we can do this because we kept our core expenses down.  Since it is being discussed our range is 24k to 36k per year, with the goal being around 30k until we pass the sequence of returns risk peak. 

This plan is higher risk than most seem to be willing to take, but we are done sitting in offices thinking about what we would be doing if we weren't sitting in offices.  We decided ANYTHING else we could be doing would be better, even if it involves spending less money in the down years. 

LV

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Re: What's your networth when you FIRE'd
« Reply #63 on: September 19, 2018, 08:51:50 AM »
Ages: 49 me, 56 DH, 16 DD
Current NW - $1.1M (not including primary residence and $75k for college after retirement)
NW at retirement - $1.2M (not including primary residence and $75k for college after retirement)
Pensions - none, but SS calculations show $20k each at 67

DD will be entering her sophomore year summer of 2020, retirement date is April 2020.  We're planning on selling everything and seeing the US in an RV for a couple years so I deducted the paid off value of my current home which is $350k.  I'd also like to spend a couple years slow traveling the world so house purchase could be put off.  No clue where we will live.  No problem to work part time for luxuries and extra $ for health insurance, both our jobs right now are soul sucking.  We have a lot of ideas on ways we could earn extra that we would enjoy so at this point if one (or both) of us lost our jobs, we'd be done earlier.  SS is low, but we didn't work at all for a couple years when our daughter was young and spent 14 years in a resort area working only winters and summers. 
« Last Edit: September 21, 2018, 06:46:53 AM by Unique User »

EnjoyIt

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Re: What's your networth when you FIRE'd
« Reply #64 on: September 19, 2018, 10:40:13 AM »
I would like to explain how some people may choose a much higher NW to fire.  I will use us as an example.

We prefer to stay in this higher cost of living area to take care of my parents.  That a one is running us about 20k/yr.  We prefer to pay for college and maybe grad school $250k.  We love to travel and our travel budget is our largest expense $30k/yr.  We do some mild travel hacking and hope to cut this expense lower when we FIRE.  If we will be spending that much money we will likely be needing to buy health insurance since we are out of subsidy range as well as pay for the deductible $20k/yr.  As you can see we haven't even bought groceries or spent money on heating our home and already need a stash of $2 million.  We are planning on building a bit of a cushion as well to allow for some slow lifestyle creep as well as requiring to purchase assistance as we age.   Having $2.5 million seams reasonable compared to our income and our age.

Sure we can travel less and force my parents to relocate, but if we are young, don't hate our work, and can work part time, then why not go for the larger stache?  If we were sitting in soul sucking cubicles every day, we would have FIRED a long time ago.

oldtoyota

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Re: What's your networth when you FIRE'd
« Reply #65 on: September 19, 2018, 10:56:28 AM »
This thread is a sign of times ... so many FIRE numbers above $1.5m excluding a paid off house!

This is enough to basically have a FIRED income of $60,000 forever and still keep growing your stash under literally all conditions.

I am a hypocrite because I will want to do this too, but damn, can any of us really call ourselves mustachian anymore?

I wonder if it's a sign most responders live in HCOL areas?

oldtoyota

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Re: What's your networth when you FIRE'd
« Reply #66 on: September 19, 2018, 10:59:33 AM »
...Now, like Pete, I'm ultimately more profitable since quitting my job and just focusing on living my best life.

Pete's arbitrary FI number is actually virtually irrelevant in the big picture of his finances. It was just a security blanket that allowed him to finally take the jump and live his best life.

This is similar to me. I left a job to do my own thing. I have a good financial foundation and can focus more on passions.

ninja

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Re: What's your networth when you FIRE'd
« Reply #67 on: September 19, 2018, 01:17:24 PM »
I'm in a bad/good place.
My NW is negative 20K but it's increasing by around 3500/month right now.
I receive a military retirement/pension of about 4500/month - paying now, not at retirement age

I'm hoping to quit my day job around October 2019 when some of our financed items are paid off and letting me side-gig selling coffee take over and maybe grow that into a full-blown coffee shop.

oldtoyota

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Re: What's your networth when you FIRE'd
« Reply #68 on: September 19, 2018, 02:18:55 PM »
I'm glad to see some other less than 1 millions posting.  It convinced me to post.

Age: 36 me, 39 DH
Family size: 2

Current NW: $668k (As of Q2 2018)
House will be paid off before FIRE.  Worth between 80k and 110k.  We don't plan to move so never used in our numbers.

Fire Goal is actually a date, the day DH turns 40, so May 2019, estimated stash: $750,000+.
That is all from investments, no property, no rentals, no assets, no pensions, no inheritance, no other special money generating circumstances.

We also have no intention of exchanging time for money any time in the future.  No side hustles, no business plans, no blogs.

Our cushion is the ability to adjust our spending and we can do this because we kept our core expenses down.  Since it is being discussed our range is 24k to 36k per year, with the goal being around 30k until we pass the sequence of returns risk peak. 

This plan is higher risk than most seem to be willing to take, but we are done sitting in offices thinking about what we would be doing if we weren't sitting in offices.  We decided ANYTHING else we could be doing would be better, even if it involves spending less money in the down years. 

LV

I'm glad you posted. Thank you!

It's good to see a range, and there's no hard and fast rule about what is right. It's cool to see what you guys are planning to do. =-)

Loren Ver

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Re: What's your networth when you FIRE'd
« Reply #69 on: September 20, 2018, 04:46:33 AM »
I'm glad to see some other less than 1 millions posting.  It convinced me to post.

Age: 36 me, 39 DH
Family size: 2

Current NW: $668k (As of Q2 2018)
House will be paid off before FIRE.  Worth between 80k and 110k.  We don't plan to move so never used in our numbers.

Fire Goal is actually a date, the day DH turns 40, so May 2019, estimated stash: $750,000+.
That is all from investments, no property, no rentals, no assets, no pensions, no inheritance, no other special money generating circumstances.

We also have no intention of exchanging time for money any time in the future.  No side hustles, no business plans, no blogs.

Our cushion is the ability to adjust our spending and we can do this because we kept our core expenses down.  Since it is being discussed our range is 24k to 36k per year, with the goal being around 30k until we pass the sequence of returns risk peak. 

This plan is higher risk than most seem to be willing to take, but we are done sitting in offices thinking about what we would be doing if we weren't sitting in offices.  We decided ANYTHING else we could be doing would be better, even if it involves spending less money in the down years. 

LV

I'm glad you posted. Thank you!

It's good to see a range, and there's no hard and fast rule about what is right. It's cool to see what you guys are planning to do. =-)

:)

Trifle

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Re: What's your networth when you FIRE'd
« Reply #70 on: September 20, 2018, 07:31:34 AM »
Another 'skinnier' stash report:

Us:  51 and 51 y.o., FIREing early 2019.
Family size:  4 (kids are 15 and 12)
Stash:  $760k invested plus $150k in college 529 plans = $910k.
House is paid off and not included in these figures.  We are in a high real-estate value area.

So our retirement stash is $760k, which will hopefully throw off $30k per year for us, which meets our needs.  I have a side gig for a little cushion post FIRE, but (a) it's not guaranteed, and (b) we could live without it.

Good to see a few others that are planning to take the leap without a million plus invested.
« Last Edit: September 20, 2018, 07:35:39 AM by Trifele »

clarkfan1979

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Re: What's your networth when you FIRE'd
« Reply #71 on: January 25, 2020, 07:47:57 PM »
Age: 40 & 36
Family Size: 3 (1 kid)
Status: Net Worth of 730K
FIRE Number: 1.5 million*
FIRE age: 48 & 44 (8 more years)
Pensions: None

* We could probably FIRE on less than 1.5 million, but my current job is super easy, fun and rewarding. I teach community college. I work 30 hours/week, about 8 months/year. I've recently lost some motivation to hurry up and FIRE. I am going to take my time and enjoy the ride.
« Last Edit: January 26, 2020, 03:30:01 PM by clarkfan1979 »

grobinski

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Re: What's your networth when you FIRE'd
« Reply #72 on: January 25, 2020, 08:36:02 PM »
Age: 52/53
Family Size: 2 (spouse)
Status: FIRED 02/03/2020
NW: $1.7m
RE value: $325k
FIRE Number: $1.6m
FIRE age: 52/53
Pensions: $45k/yr @ 67yo
SSA: $40k/yr @ 67yo

dignam

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Re: What's your networth when you FIRE'd
« Reply #73 on: January 26, 2020, 01:57:20 PM »
Age: early 30s
Family: 1 (excluding girlfriend and dog)
Status: Not retired
NW: $240k
House: owe $180K on $230K house
FIRE number: $1.5m ...ish
FIRE age: Late 40s or early 50s; so much can and will change by then that it's pointless to pinpoint it exactly

Cassie

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Re: What's your networth when you FIRE'd
« Reply #74 on: January 26, 2020, 04:29:26 PM »
Ages 58 and 53.  My husband lost his job at 53 shortly after I retired. Couldn’t find another one. Home paid for worth 350k.  2 pensions that together equal 39k. 8 years later with raises they are 44k.  We each will get 2 small SS’s which will give us another 12k/year.  We only had 100k savings largely due to 2 expensive divorces between us. Both of us continue to make money between consulting and teaching.

Bloop Bloop

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Re: What's your networth when you FIRE'd
« Reply #75 on: January 26, 2020, 05:42:56 PM »
Even if you accept that most families can live comfortably on, say, USD $60k a year (which would translate to a stash of US $1.5m), it's easy to understand why some would want a much bigger stash. It could come down to any of the following:

- Higher cost of living in other countries

- Higher taxes, or higher taxes on certain things. For example, here in Australia if my yearly passive income was AU $90k a year (=USD $60k a year) I would be forced to pay $1.5k in private health insurance and nearly $2k in mandatory healthcare levy, plus council rates of ~$1,000 a year on my fairly modest (median-priced) home, plus land tax of ~$1,000 a year on my land owned, plus income tax of about $20k a year, meaning my passive expenses alone are over $25k a year. That's not including things like utilities.

- A conservative bent. The 4% rule isn't foolproof and for those of us retiring in our 30s or 40s with a life expectancy in our 80s, it doesn't necessarily translate well over a 40-50 year time span.

- Enjoying our work. I don't greatly enjoy my work, but I'm starting to enjoy it a little more now that I'm no longer an entry level plodder. From what I can see, those at the top of their fields usually have a lot of perks, status and benefits that plodders don't have. Don't get me wrong, I don't care about the status, per se. But it sure as hell brings in more lucrative work and better opportunities, at least in my field, which I suspect would lead to an easier and more rewarding working life.

MrThatsDifferent

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Re: What's your networth when you FIRE'd
« Reply #76 on: January 26, 2020, 06:15:21 PM »
Even if you accept that most families can live comfortably on, say, USD $60k a year (which would translate to a stash of US $1.5m), it's easy to understand why some would want a much bigger stash. It could come down to any of the following:

- Higher cost of living in other countries

- Higher taxes, or higher taxes on certain things. For example, here in Australia if my yearly passive income was AU $90k a year (=USD $60k a year) I would be forced to pay $1.5k in private health insurance and nearly $2k in mandatory healthcare levy, plus council rates of ~$1,000 a year on my fairly modest (median-priced) home, plus land tax of ~$1,000 a year on my land owned, plus income tax of about $20k a year, meaning my passive expenses alone are over $25k a year. That's not including things like utilities.

- A conservative bent. The 4% rule isn't foolproof and for those of us retiring in our 30s or 40s with a life expectancy in our 80s, it doesn't necessarily translate well over a 40-50 year time span.

- Enjoying our work. I don't greatly enjoy my work, but I'm starting to enjoy it a little more now that I'm no longer an entry level plodder. From what I can see, those at the top of their fields usually have a lot of perks, status and benefits that plodders don't have. Don't get me wrong, I don't care about the status, per se. But it sure as hell brings in more lucrative work and better opportunities, at least in my field, which I suspect would lead to an easier and more rewarding working life.

I don’t understand this. You, as an Australian, wouldn’t need $90k AUD unless you were planning on taking your AU funds to live in the US. A comfortable retirement for 2 in Australia is about $62k (and that’s before optimizing your lifestyle). Also $3.5k for healthcare is dream. And, if you structure your accounts well then you can minimize those income taxes (you don’t pay taxes on your super disbursements), and you’d only pay taxes on the growth, which, if under the minimum tax amount would result in no taxes paid ($18k). And Australia has franking credits. So, if you’re smart and things are well structured, you can make this work for you even better in retirement.

Bloop Bloop

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Re: What's your networth when you FIRE'd
« Reply #77 on: January 26, 2020, 06:26:55 PM »
$62k might be comfortable for two, but not for a family of four. It's doable, but not comfortable. It would put you, according to this site, in the bottom 10 percent of household incomes (when accounting for family size).

http://mattcowgill.com/2018/03/23/how-does-your-income-compare/

In fact, even a $90,000 income ($70k after tax) puts you in the bottom third of household incomes.

So perhaps you aren't factoring in the costs of living in Australia, which are higher than those in the U.S., even accounting for exchange rates.

Also, you don't pay taxes on superannuation withdrawals only after age 60 - it has no relevance if you're looking to retire in your 30s or 40s. You can't even access your superannuation at that age.

The $3.5k figure is not for the actual costs of healthcare. There are out of pocket costs and gap fees for most healthcare, just like in the U.S. The figure is just the basic taxes paid to ensure the running of the healthcare system.

Also, the min tax threshold doesn't apply anyway since the passive income is counted as income already way over that.

moof

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Re: What's your networth when you FIRE'd
« Reply #78 on: January 26, 2020, 09:00:51 PM »
Ages: 42/42
Family: 1 kid (7)
Status: Not retired
NW: $1.04 M invested, another 200k in equity
Goal is $1.7M
House: owe $225k, worth 425k’ish
FIRE dates: 2024-2026, depends on what happens with my wife’s job situation

MrThatsDifferent

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Re: What's your networth when you FIRE'd
« Reply #79 on: January 27, 2020, 01:00:46 AM »
$62k might be comfortable for two, but not for a family of four. It's doable, but not comfortable. It would put you, according to this site, in the bottom 10 percent of household incomes (when accounting for family size).

http://mattcowgill.com/2018/03/23/how-does-your-income-compare/

In fact, even a $90,000 income ($70k after tax) puts you in the bottom third of household incomes.

So perhaps you aren't factoring in the costs of living in Australia, which are higher than those in the U.S., even accounting for exchange rates.

Also, you don't pay taxes on superannuation withdrawals only after age 60 - it has no relevance if you're looking to retire in your 30s or 40s. You can't even access your superannuation at that age.

The $3.5k figure is not for the actual costs of healthcare. There are out of pocket costs and gap fees for most healthcare, just like in the U.S. The figure is just the basic taxes paid to ensure the running of the healthcare system.

Also, the min tax threshold doesn't apply anyway since the passive income is counted as income already way over that.

Ok, so let’s back up. The idea here is that you’re now retired, so what you need is enough money to cover your expenses. It wouldn’t necessarily be traditional income, because it would depend on the source, for example if you were accessing saved cash. So you can’t presume what the tax rate would be.

Now, let’s accept your argument and say that the an Aussie family of four needs $100k for a comfortable lifestyle if they retire early. To achieve that type of SRW, you’d need $2.5 million. How long would that take a regular Aussie to achieve by 30? By 40 may be possible, but I’d think, if someone was focused from the start, 45 may be the earliest for most of the few on this journey. But let’s say 40.

So now, you need essentially two buckets: 40-59, and 60+.

From 40-59, you’ll need $1.9m from non-super sources. To reduce taxes or nullify them, it would seem you’re best to either have all cash that you can access, or take the distributions up to $18k, and use cash for the difference. You could probably have more distributions, if you workout the franking credits benefits, any other deductions and possible contributions to your super. Structured the right way you’ve got a good chance of accessing the $100k you need with minimal taxes paid. And if you calculate things well enough, you’ll essentially look like a low income person, which may reduce what you have to pay for healthcare.

For 60 and above, you’ll need about $625k in your super by age 40. If you leave that alone, you should have your $2.5m at age 60, which should cover you for life without any tax implications. This is also presuming you still need a $100k lifestyle.

The other options are to either reduce expenses, or work longer. But power to you if you can get to $2.5m by 30. Definitely write that book, it will outsell Barefoot Investor.


J.R. Ewing

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Re: What's your networth when you FIRE'd
« Reply #80 on: January 27, 2020, 10:24:12 AM »
Age: 41/37
Family Size: 4 (wife and 2 kids)
Status: Not yet retired
FIRE Number: 2.5 mill
FIRE age: 43/40 (target)
Pensions: $26,000/yr starting at 65

Paid off home. 

Fishindude

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Re: What's your networth when you FIRE'd
« Reply #81 on: January 27, 2020, 10:52:26 AM »

Age 60/57 kids on their own, retired two years ago
NW $5.9 mil, hasn’t changed much since retiring
RE value $2.1 mil but our private residence represents only $200k of that, the remainder is a lake home and agricultural land for both recreation and income.
We burn thru approx $150k annual spending.
AG ground spits out $27k annually
A very part time gig generates $25k
Pulling $50k out of $1.3 mil 401k
Balance coming from savings
Probably won’t take SS till 65ish

Remaining balance of NW is cash, CDs, stocks and misc investments.
I’m pretty confident we can maintain our burn rate and hang on to what we have without seeing NW shrink by too much. 

Goldielocks

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Re: What's your networth when you FIRE'd
« Reply #82 on: January 27, 2020, 11:32:46 AM »
Age at FIRE: 44/45
Family Size: 4 (2 teenagers 15 & 17)
FIRE Number: $800k including education fund for the kids, excluding home.
Pensions: None other than basic government pensions after age 65. (Hint, much less than USA but includes basic healthcare)
Paid off home.   NOT!

Status: "FIRED"  in my mind, anyway! DH is still working at a job he enjoys-- I am working part time just to avoid drawing down the "stache" for a few more years.  DH's income is about 1/2 what his peak income was, and mine is down to 15% of my former income, work from home, etc.  We also use this income to invest in things that reduce long term costs, like an electric vehicle and solar panels.

In reflection, it made sense pre-FIRE to exclude home equity in these sorts of things.  As I approached and became FIRE, I realize that in a HCOL area, it is impossible to exclude home equity in the thinking.

Like many, we choose to keep the mortage as high as our incomes will allow, to keep funds invested.  But now with low incomes, that means that we have a LOT of home equity.  Enough that if we were still working, we would have higher mortgages and more $$'s in the market.

Enough home equity that we could fully sell our home and move to a large townhouse or 4 hours away and be fully paid off with extra left over. Enough that we could create a basement suite to rent out for income ($1200/mo), or rent rooms to students, etc.   In a HCOL area, half of the primary home is actually like a business income producing asset.   Equity over the first $500k is actually like more invested funds, if you are willing to move.






labrador

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Re: What's your networth when you FIRE'd
« Reply #83 on: January 28, 2020, 10:53:43 AM »
Age: 53/63 (will retire in May)
Family Size: 5 (3 kids in college)
Status: Not yet retired (husband retires in May)
FIRE Number: ???
FIRE age: 63 (husband); I am working until the kids are done with college and for health care after that
Current value of assets (not incl. house): $760,000
Pensions: 156,000/yr once we both retire

DH is pulling the plug, since his pension is maxed, he is not loving the work, and we calculated that he is going in for about $2.85/hour. He has already applied for a side-hustle in retirement as a grand juror, where the big bucks are made. I am continuing to work for several reasons, chief among those 3 kids in college at the moment. I also provide the health care for the family through my job. Once the kids are out of school, I will probably continue to work until I reach 60.5 years (my earliest official retirement age counting one year of banked leave) solely due to  my work then picking up health care for us. I would RE in 3-4 years if it weren't for the health care aspect. If we decide we can afford to pay it on our own, I will probably jump ship and simply not collect my pension until I hit 61.5.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!