How long between FI and RE and what was your triggering event

[Cap_Scarlet]

How long did you wait between becoming FI and pulling the trigger on RE?

Or was is all pre-planned to a certain date?

What was the trigger that finally made you take the leap?

[RetirementInvestingToday]

I'm right in that phase now having become FI 4 weeks ago.  FI really snuck up on me with recent significant market moves and a good savings start to the year.  To put that into perspective my wealth has grown £185,000 year to date.  This meant that my finances sort of passed my emotional/physical preparedness by.

If I work a rent contract, my work notice period, some projects I want to finish before leaving the UK and the best time for weather (after all who wants to FIRE in the middle of winter) into the mix I'll RE in late Spring 2017.

[NorcalBlue]

Laid Off at 42.  Had been FI for years....just didn't know it :).  Took a 18 months off, but just got a consulting gig with my old employer.  Easy $ and a little redemption was to good to pass up.  A lil gravy always tastes good!  Will probably go full ER in 6 months.

[Ozstache]

How long did you wait between becoming FI and pulling the trigger on RE?

Just under a year. I had trouble believing RE was really possible, so I used this time to make sure.

What was the trigger that finally made you take the leap?

When I confirmed that we could easily live on what my stash would provide as income, even if the sequence of returns monster attacked upon FIREing.

[former player]

It was the RE which made me FI (a well-paid voluntary redundancy).  I actually had to pull the trigger on the redundancy before my brain fully caught up with the idea, but it was too good a deal to pass up.  It's worked out beautifully so far.

[mathjak107]

was able to retire at 55 .

we had bought a house in the pocono's we planned to retire to . we felt it would be a cheaper place to live and we loved the outdoors .so we were going to relocate in our 50's .

well more and more we realized everything we would need as we aged the area lacked . it ended up everything we would ever want is right here in nyc where we live .

so we sold the house and since we didn't relocate i kept working until 62 although i went to 4 days a week .

finally retired last year at 62

[jim555]

How long did you wait between becoming FI and pulling the trigger on RE?

As soon as I was.

Or was is all pre-planned to a certain date?

No.  But had to wait to be terminated.  I did not control the timing.

What was the trigger that finally made you take the leap?

Security guard walked me out.

[Aelias]

well more and more we realized everything we would need as we aged the area lacked . it ended up everything we would ever want is right here in nyc where we live .

What was it that made you realize living in NYC was better for your retirement lifestyle than out in the poconos?  I also have occasional fantasies about retiring to a small, thrifty cottage out in the woods, but when I think about things that I will actually want to have access to when I retire (walking or public transit access to everything, good doctors and hospital, community), it makes more sense to stay in my high COL urban area. 

[slackmax]

I guess I RE'd at 59. Got fired by Psycho manager at age 58, then had to decide whether to get another job. Obamacare made the decision easier. I only paid $19 a month for my health insurance using Obamacare. Not bad.     

[FrugalFan]

I REd first and then reached FI. Basicly planned to take a few years off work to pursue some other things and planned to go back to work after about 5 years off. Ended up needing less money than I thought I would so eventually realized I was FI if I just made a few changes in my life. Never did go back to work and probably won't.

I've seen you mention these changes a couple of times spartana. Do you mind sharing what kind of changes? Did you have to make big financial changes?

[FB2020]

I guess I RE'd at 59. Got fired by Psycho manager at age 58, then had to decide whether to get another job. Obamacare made the decision easier. I only paid $19 a month for my health insurance using Obamacare. Not bad.   

$19 a month? Seriously? You got max subsidies?

[Eric]

What was the trigger that finally made you take the leap?

Security guard walked me out.

LOL  Yeah, that would do it.

[slackmax]

<<  $19 a month? Seriously? You got max subsidies?  >>

Yeppers.  My income for that year was just at the right amount, about $14,800 I think.  Max subsidies.  Get it while you can, right ??   

[arebelspy]

We hit FI at our regular level of spending in 2013.  I wanted to about double that for a FIRE budget, due to wanting kids + planning to travel full time, so we kept working for a higher FIRE income.  So it's debatable, I suppose, if we really were FI--we weren't FI based on our ER budget, but we were FI if we wanted to keep the same life/lifestyle (which we were happy with, but wanted to do other things in FIRE).

Set an ER date of June 2016 or June 2017 (it fluctuated).  Pulled the trigger 1-2 years early (June 2015) just because we wanted to.  Basically didn't know if we were financially ready, but we were mentally ready, so we decided to give it a shot, and let the finances work themselves out.  So far, so good.

[Metric Mouse]

Downgrade in my employment status was my trigger. Easy to walk away at that point. Nice to not have to go back either.  I could have worked until I was 30 or so, part time and had more money.  Enough is enough for me though.

[CowboyAndIndian]

Downgrade in my employment status was my trigger. Easy to walk away at that point. Nice to not have to go back either.  I could have worked until I was 30 or so, part time and had more money.  Enough is enough for me though.

 Awesome at your age.

Metric Mouse, you should tell us how you did it.

[Metric Mouse]

Downgrade in my employment status was my trigger. Easy to walk away at that point. Nice to not have to go back either.  I could have worked until I was 30 or so, part time and had more money.  Enough is enough for me though.

 Awesome at your age.

Metric Mouse, you should tell us how you did it.

Ipods, the M&P line, the Sandy Hook Shooting, Netflix and cattle. And a fair amount of hard work and frugality when most people my age were dragging main or playing Halo in their parents basement.

[arebelspy]

Downgrade in my employment status was my trigger. Easy to walk away at that point. Nice to not have to go back either.  I could have worked until I was 30 or so, part time and had more money.  Enough is enough for me though.

 Awesome at your age.

Metric Mouse, you should tell us how you did it.

Ipods, the M&P line, the Sandy Hook Shooting, Netflix and cattle. And a fair amount of hard work and frugality when most people my age were dragging main or playing Halo in their parents basement.

Those... are words.

Do you mean speculating on these things via some sort of mechanism (options, individual stocks, etc.)?

[Metric Mouse]

Yes.

[SwordGuy]

We'll be FI in April of 2017.  I'll be pulling out by 6-Jun (D-Day) 2017 at the latest.  My wife is planning to pull out in Jun of 2018.

[AdrianC]

We had enough to FIRE at the end of 2007 at a WR of 3.8%. It helped that DW had just been laid off with one years pay as severance, we sold our overpriced starter home in Southern California for a substantial profit and bought a nice big but much cheaper house in Southern Ohio. 

Retiring wasn't really on my radar at the time. I had thought of slowing down but opportunity was knocking and it seemed to make sense to continue making hay while the sun shined.

By Feb 2009 our net worth was down 40% and the WR would have been 7% just over one year into ER. That's sequence of returns risk in action. We were 100% stocks and stayed the course.

Net worth was restored to 2007 levels by the end of 2010. I carried on working 'cos the sun was still shining, over accumulating in the process.

Right now I could FIRE at a WR of less than 3%.

I'm averaging about 20hours billable a week (did 40 last week, probably 50 this, zero the previous three weeks, that kind of pattern). I'm not marketing at all, I keep pushing jobs towards my competitors and I raised my rates.  Working only for old clients/friends. I'll be done with this glide path by end of 2016, I think, so count me a member of the class of 2016.

To answer the questions: 9 years from first FI, 6 years from the crash recovery. Trigger? I've been ready and I just turned 50. Hard to believe but apparently the math works for someone born in 1966.