Author Topic: With my situation, should I FIRE now?  (Read 2709 times)

FB2020

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With my situation, should I FIRE now?
« on: June 30, 2018, 03:34:20 PM »
Need thoughts on my case please:

Married, 44/46.
kid #1: age 20 - mild disabled. stays at home, does part time community college with help. gets SSI ~700 a month
kid #2: age 14: moderately disabled, goes to special school in district. should go there until he is 21 per the law. he would probably get SSI too starting when he is 18.

Live in NJ, HCOL area. but good schools

Work:
hectic, but flexible to do from home.
salary ~120K
max contribution to 401K - 18.5K.

Assets:
~1.1 M in taxable accounts
~275K in various IRAs
~40K in 401K
~250K home equity on 400K home

monthly expenses:
mortgage: 1600
prop tax: 800
utilities: 300
grocery etc.: 500
auto: 100
condo fee: 200
college: 300
misc: 300

Total: 4000+


My main concern is health insurance. I know kid would get medicaid with SSI too, but we both also have pre existing conditions. so need some insurance.
I am willing to work part time for insurance if needed.

Reason to FIRE is to stop doing hectic schedules, take it lighter/ travel more, move out of cold winters / high costs of east coast.

Any thoughts welcome!

myrrh

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Re: With my situation, should I FIRE now?
« Reply #1 on: July 02, 2018, 11:15:57 AM »
Given the expenses you listed, it seems that you may be alright. However, I did not see any categories for internet, cell phones (unless those are part of utilities?), medical/medicine, car insurance and maintenance (unless that is included in the $100 car), clothing, personal care (haircuts), school and child activities, gifts, or charitable contributions.

You say you want to move out of New Jersey but given you have two dependents with mild to moderate disabilities, I would approach moving with caution. Figuring out a new set of state rules/services regarding schools and other services will probably be a huge learning curve and a big change for you and your kids. I'm not saying it's the wrong thing to do, just research heavily beforehand.

Would it be possible to slow down at work and just do part-time?

gpyros85

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Re: With my situation, should I FIRE now?
« Reply #2 on: July 05, 2018, 01:35:14 AM »
I would definitely recommend paying off the house and perhaps getting to the point you aren't paying the $300/month college.

Either that or relocate to lower cost of living with paid off house from equity. 250k will buy you a lot of house in a lot of location and with MUCH less taxes, $800/month could go to $100-$200/month.  Also, condo fees??

This would give you a HUGE buffer to not stress in FIRE.

CrispKale

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Re: With my situation, should I FIRE now?
« Reply #3 on: July 08, 2018, 10:34:29 AM »
I agree with above why not pay off the mortgage with some of the taxable savings. Its a small enough portion and the cost savings in stress relief as you take a break from working will more than make up for it.

nara

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Re: With my situation, should I FIRE now?
« Reply #4 on: July 08, 2018, 10:43:12 AM »
Something to keep in mind.. if you relocate out of state your kids' SSI would likely be cut drastically.

freya

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Re: With my situation, should I FIRE now?
« Reply #5 on: July 08, 2018, 11:35:53 AM »
My sympathies for your difficult family situation.  Reading between the lines of what you've said, I would venture to guess that FIRE as soon as possible is critical for your sanity and personal health.  Good for you for doing such an outstanding job at saving.

According to the numbers you gave, you would be in perfect shape to FIRE now without going anywhere.  But, it sounds like you're not sure about your expenses, or what might lie ahead given your medical situation.  Why not immediately shift to working part time, just enough to qualify for insurance coverage?  It would give you time to get a better idea of your actual spending and to research areas where you'd like to move.  Beware LCOL areas that provide limited benefits, as they could end up actually costing more given your situation.

If your mortgage rate is under 4%, I'd recommend leaving it alone.  You'll want to hang on to your easily accessible investments in case you want to buy a home in a new location after FIRE and before selling this one, or if you decide to turn your current home into a rental (if the HOA allows).



soccerluvof4

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Re: With my situation, should I FIRE now?
« Reply #6 on: July 08, 2018, 03:41:40 PM »
I'm going to say if you could go part time and or get to 1.5M then go for it.  Your at 4k a month without some data and I would prefer to see you cover 5k a month wether you need it now or not. If your employer would let you work part-time so you can kinda see how things go with having 2 with special needs I think it would be a no-brainer to go for it now.

FB2020

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Re: With my situation, should I FIRE now?
« Reply #7 on: July 09, 2018, 08:59:16 AM »
Thanks for all replies, its very helpful to read various ideas and options.

I am not sure what part time options are available for me, or maybe I am just scared of leaving a FT job and the security it provides. I am in IT, so I'm sure PT options are available, but they won't give me the remote work options most likely.

So the thought is ride it out another year or so, and keep researching more on LCOL areas.

I want to move out eventually, mainly due to high costs / taxes and weather.