Author Topic: Post your ages when you started saving for, and reached FIRE - Permanent Edition  (Read 21525 times)

MandyM

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I've always been a saver. It dawned on me when I was about 28 that I could RE - at that point I estimated I would be 43-45 yo. I found MMM a couple years ago and now my target is 38, which is 2.5 years from now.  But that has a decent buffer built in; I may pull the cord within the next year just because. I'm open to picking up a little work now and then to cover any gaps and I have enough in my 401K to cover me when I'm 60+ (I know I can dip into it earlier, but it helps me mentally to view it as my old lady money).

So 10 years or less from the idea to pulling the trigger.

Exflyboy

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These responses are great. Sequim I agree 100%. I have always had the attitude of saving and paying for everything with cash, reject the "Have it now" lifestyle, ever since I watched my Parents almost spend themselves into homelessness oblivion.

It has been a continual shock to me that people spent their way into living paycheck to paycheck.. I mean what are these people thinking?.. You have a job at the mercy of your employer. If your employer doesn't like the look of you one day, that paycheck you absolutely have to have to make your interest payments is GONE!

That boat towed with your Monster truck is going to look like one mighty big millstone as you struggle to find money to keep the roof of that too much house over your head.

I mean, did 2008 not teach us anything?

roadtofreedom

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My plan is pulling the trigger in 18 months or so at 43 years old.

I started my road to freedom 12 years ago and paid off my mortgage in 2010.

My DW supports me completely in this journey to freedom


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roadtofreedom

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I knew I wanted to stop working as early as possible after I was diagnosed with cancer at age 22. However, I live in a very high COLA and it took me a long time to RE.

I'm sure I could have saved harder and retired sooner, but I was told my rare cancer had "a propensity to recur". I always wanted to make sure I enjoyed the moment while saving for the hoped-for future. I've been to Europe, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and most of the Fifty (United) States. I said yes to every wedding and special occasion possible. I've enjoyed the theater and a fair number of concerts and other live events. Lots of good restaurants, a nice house and pretty clothes, too. I am grateful that I have been able to donate generously to causes I care about and help friends in times of need.

Truthfully, I was afraid to RE because I was worried about paying for future healthcare/insurance costs. I FINALLY got married at age 54 and that's what gave me the impetus to finally pull the job rip cord. Two years, three months and twenty-two days later, I am loving every minute of retirement and marriage. Even if I'm not loving what I'm doing every.single.moment, I'm so happy that there is no longer anything to dread on Sunday night. Sweet, and so worth the effort.

Love your life attitude.

For sure, a great woman.

Hope you long life and happiness


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EscapeVelocity2020

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Re: Post your ages when you started saving for, and reached FIRE
« Reply #54 on: May 01, 2015, 06:57:48 PM »
...Seriously, what is the point of asking this? You can be FI at birth. You can never be FI if you have horrible enough luck. You can make choices about relationships, kids, pursuing athletic goals, etc that can significantly delay FI. Some folks make $500k/year, others make $30k. And there's no standard at all (nor should there be) for what RE itself means. ERE Jacob does fine on $7k a year or so, others need $100k+ to be happy. 

So the only thing that is going to happen here is that people will try to one-up each other with their fast FIRE stories. Which is pointless.

Gotta agree, although I didn't expect to see it expressed so eloquently.  JLFisker totally beat me with his 7 yr sprint, but then again I'm not going to ER on 7k/yr, so there you go...   Don't get me wrong, I find ERE very inspirational, and I appreciate anyone who can continually bring unique ways of looking at the world forward, but I just need something different out of life.

Upstate NYer

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I was 23 when I started saving for retirement, just enough to get the match, I was encouraged by a co-worker.

Married at 25, bitten by the travel bug at 26 after my first trip to the UK. Spouse and I both wanted to retire early and travel. At this point, anyway.

Had a daughter when I was almost 29.

Divorced at age 38. No debt, but the retirement kitty got cut in half, obviously.

Daughter is now 18, working and living with friends. I had a friend move in (mutually beneficial financially). Was a shocker to see how much less I spend when I just support myself...and then even less when I'm only paying half the rent/utilities. Figured out I could pull the trigger, just had to set a date, which is...

...April 1, 2016. I'll be 48. It took me 25 years to get here. Not quickly by any means, but I've never earned more than $26 an hour.

planner10

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Not FIRE so my post is more of an unofficial story rather than an official tally :)

Started saving for a ROTH during my first job in high school (1996).  Wasn't much because I was making $4/hr, but I saved enough.  Kept that up and thought I could be FIRE by 35.  Going to miss that by a long shot due to extremely high cost of living (housing and daycare are crazy and I want to be more prepared for college costs). 

However, if I lived somewhere else I could quit today.  I don't, and I'm not moving (family and other reasons).

So I'm thinking maybe instead of racing to the FIRE finish line, maybe it will make more sense to change my lifestyle and incorporate mini retirements. 

I'm currently planning that in 2018 (age 37) I will be spending the summer somewhere awesome.  If I like it, I'll quit.  If not, I'll work during the year and take summers and winter break off and travel with the kids.

Not exactly positive I can find a job that will pay me the same for stints like that, but I bet I can come close.

I'd be up for spending more time overseas but I'm worried about how changing schools internationally would be on the kids.  They are 3 and 5 now.

If anyone has thoughts or feedback feel free to PM me!  Love brainstorming this stuff.  You never know what you might come up with!

mohawkbrah

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started at 18- starting assets and cash = £0
19 now and have £2000 in investments. started slowly because i had a few things to pay off and im only working a part time job at the moment while i go back to school

MsSnowBlack

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I've always had the idea of saving money since I was a kid. However, I wasn't introduced to the idea of "investing" until around 16/17 years old when I first read "The wealthy barber". Unfortunately, I didn't have any money at that time so investing got postponed to when I got my first full time job at 24 years old.

I've been saving aggressively since then. In one year more than 80% of my net income went to savings. I'm sitting at $175k right now. I maxed out all my tax-deferred accounts and currently having some money sitting in my bank account. Haven't decided what to do with it yet even though investing in a taxable account is probably the best.

I got the idea of FIRE probably only about a month ago when I happened to read "Go curry cracker"'s story online. It really amazed me. I didn't know it's really possible even though one of my friend did retire at 29 and he has been constantly feeding me this idea. I didn't believe him but now I was convinced.

I know I still have a long way to go but I should be able to retire by 45. 40 would be my ideal goal but 45 should be fine.

Punxsyboy

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39/53.  14 years.
 After the horror & resulting market drop of 9/11/01,  I had $5000 to invest & thought this would be a good time.  I was clueless on what to buy....so I looked in the newspaper & bought $1k each of the 5 stocks that had dropped the most after 9/11.  lol.....I was also clueless on investing.  But this did start me on the road to educating myself on investing in stocks & as a result the wife & were FI 10/14 & kind of FIREd (both went PT)  in Jan 2015 with about 1mm.....I sold the last of the original 5 stocks last year.  I found MMM about 2 years ago.

I'm working 1 day a week....sometimes  :),  & the wife is working 2.5 days per week.  Just being cautious in case the market drops during our first year or 2 of semi-retirement.  We r still bringing in about 40k/year so we are not touching our stache yet & just did my semi-annual liquid asset assessment & our stache  is making more than we did together,  oh happy day! 

Squirrel away

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Interesting stories.:)

I am 39 now and am aiming for FIRE at 50 at the latest. I've been thinking and reading about it for about a year now.

Gone Fishing

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I watched my dad get serious about his retirement planning when I was in middle school and started plotting my own escape shortly thereafter at around 16 or so.  Initial plans included things like skipping college, working unskilled long enough to save up $30k, invest it, spending the next 30 years knocking around fishing and hunting on a shoe string then coming back to a million dollar portfolio.  I was halfway there when I graduated highschool with $15k in the stache. When it came down to it, my dad bribed me to go to college (in a mountain town) by buying us a 870 Remington 12 guage (shared, as many of our firearms are). 

During my college years I decided I wasn't happy adventuring alone and needed a partner to share my travels with.  As it turns out, most potential prospects were not interested in living off of wild game, which led me to explore other means of support until FI.  Enter corporate servitude.  I knew from day one that working for someone else was not for me, but passive income alone could maintain an adequate lifestyle for the Mrs. while giving me my freedom.  We hit "technical" barebones FI last summer, 11 years in, and will hopefully FIRE next April with right at 12.5 years of dress shirts, ties, and corporate mumbo jumbo.           

Financial.Velociraptor

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We hit "technical" barebones FI last summer, 11 years in, and will hopefully FIRE next April with right at 12.5 years of dress shirts, ties, and corporate mumbo jumbo.         

Gogogogogogo!  I did the "corporate whore" thing myself for about a decade before pulling the trigger.  I miss 'performance software' the least.  You really need to automate the process by which you tell me I'm only worth 3% more this year?!?

Evgenia

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Eighteen and 38. The behavior that led to FIRE took hold before the concept, initially out of necessity. I became aware of FIRE as a concept in 2008 or so.

Short version: I grew up in a very economically tenuous household and was raised by Eastern European family who have survived a lot of horror by their wits. We never had much in the best of times, though we always had enough, so I grew up with good MMM values: have lots of skills; fix your own stuff; buy in bulk; know how to garden, can, hunt and fish; never waste anything; bike instead of drive; walk instead of use a stamp on a letter; etc.

My grandmother, who asurvived the Great Depression, says I remind her of her: I have always hoarded money, acted like the worst was always just around the corner (with early 80s layoffs, it often was!), and that is part of what got DH and I to FIRE so early. Letting go of my fear and my "there is no such thing as enough" has not been easy and will probably always be a work in progress.

AM43

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Started saving when I got married at 27.
Used 10K of wedding gifts for down payment on multi family property where we lived for about 3 years.
After that purchased our primary home and couple more investment properties.
Current net worth 1.5 mil and we are both 43.