Hi all,
I'm brand-spanking new to the forum, and I'm a teeny bit overwhelmed by the number of posts... but I'm hoping I can find a supportive and constructive audience here. I've been reading MMM obsessively for maybe a month, starting from post #1. (I'm still somewhere in 2013, because I'm determined to read every single one.)
I badly want to be able to make changes in my life so I can retire early (I'm currently 27), but the more I dig into the reality of my situation, the more doubt and worry creeps in. Hoping some of you wiser Mustachians can shed some light on how feasible ER would actually be for me.
Right now I work for the public library, making $22.85/hr full-time (which is 77.5 hours every two weeks). However, I have always wanted to be a creative writer, and have been planning to transfer to a 70% position at the same pay rate (about 54.25 hrs every 2 weeks) in order to give myself more time to, you know, actually write. Added bonus: my current job requires me to drive, since I'm essentially a substitute librarian, whereas the 70% gig would allow me to bike. It'd be about a 40 minute ride, but it's almost entirely bike path, and I am fiercely determined to make it a reality.
But the drop in take-home pay is going to be rough. I don't foresee myself spending more than I earn (I've always been frugal, if not at MMM levels), but having done some basic math, I'm not sure if I could save 50% of what I earn... and even if I did, how long it'd take for my savings to actually allow me to retire, given I'd be saving less than 10k/year.
Neither my partner nor I currently have any debt, I have about $35k in various accounts, and a year's worth of contributions to the state pension plan. We split expenses 50/50, and I pay about $600/month for rent/utilities/internet.
Oh, and we want to buy a house soon. Prices in the area (Madison WI) vary, but we'd probably get something in the 200k-350k range.
My partner's job is salaried, and before taxes his yearly income is about $70k. If I could get him on board, I'm pretty sure we'd been on easy street to ER... but I don't think he's open to the idea right now, so I'm currently trying to figure out if I could make this work out on my own.
I hope this wasn't a huge info dump! Please let me know what you think, and if there are any crucial pieces of info I left out.
Thanks, all <3