So the unexpected occurred last month. I was laid off.
Fortunately all through my working career I've always dilly dallied in side gigs to grow my investments and in turn create side income.
I've been thinking about early retiring in 8 years when all of my debt has been paid off. I have debt in my primary residence, a commercial building, apartment and one rental property. My original goal was to use my investment income to pay off those debts using a snowball method. We have enough capital through stocks, cash and selling properties to eliminate all of our debt, but it would decrease our income. Short term I do plan on paying off our apartment to increase our monthly revenue by $1,600 ($19,200 Annually).
My numbers are below:
Source Principal/Value Income Notes
Rental Properties $17,500
Apartment $20,000 Mortgage is $1,601, Will Pay Off in 2014
Commercial Property $50,000
Current Residence $(24,012) $1,251 Mortgage, $750 Taxes
Annual Expenses $(22,988)
Stocks $210,000 No Draw Down
Inherited IRA $400,000 $8,000 Forced Withdrawals (IRS)
401K $200,000 Can't Move out of Plan for 1 Year
Bank Accounts $200,000
Annuity Inherited $25,200 Expires in 2017
Unemployment $11,096 $569 a Week Before Taxes (25%) for 26 Weeks
Healthcare/COBRA $(18,000) Found ACA Gold Plans for $1,000 a Month
Tithes/Donations $(15,000) Varies Due to Investment Income $12k Base
Total $1,010,000 $51,796 I'm 31 years old, married to the love of my life, we have a 2 year old and expecting a baby in a few months.
I look at our numbers and I see that we can make it, but I feel that the cushion is not great enough. Being laid off was not part of the plan to early retirement, so I think that has me second guessing my numbers.
I have been enjoying retirement by getting healthier (lost 10 pounds so far), fixing things around the house and most importantly spending time with family. I'm still looking for work, but know finding a job could take a while.
I've got some questions for the forums.
- Are my numbers realistic enough to ER?
- When do you know to push the button?
- Is it worth it to keep working to acquire more wealth so you can give more?
- How do you deal with friends/family when you're retired and they're not?
Thanks for reading my rant! =)
Cheers![/list]