Author Topic: Hot damn, hit The Number today  (Read 8658 times)

ysette9

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Hot damn, hit The Number today
« on: November 01, 2019, 08:45:59 PM »
With the market edging upwards today it was just enough to bump us up over the line to The Number. If it holds and if the math is right, we are FI. Hot damn, that is sort of unbelievable.

ScreamingHeadGuy

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #1 on: November 01, 2019, 09:14:32 PM »
Hooray!

ysette9

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #2 on: November 01, 2019, 09:23:51 PM »
Naturally, this means that the market will be dumping soon. :)

MonkeyJenga

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #3 on: November 02, 2019, 12:04:49 AM »
Congratulations! What's the next step?

ysette9

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #4 on: November 02, 2019, 05:24:15 AM »
We have a newborn in the house so the next step is always “survive another day”.

My leave extends until January and I am asking for part time after that. If I can’t find that I’ll quit. My husband is still figuring out if he wants to ask for part time also or see about another job to relocate us to a different area we are considering. 2020 is the planned RE year but we aren’t totally sure what the path is from here to there. It is nice having options.

Focus_on_the_fire

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #5 on: November 02, 2019, 04:33:04 PM »
Congrats! So happy for you!

happy

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #6 on: November 02, 2019, 04:46:30 PM »
How exciting, well done!

MoneyTree

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #7 on: November 02, 2019, 10:50:22 PM »
Congrats fellow 2020 cohort member! I'd say that you should go celebrate, but with a newborn in the house, that might not be possible.

I hope to join you on the other side of the number soon, but it looks like I'm going to need every last bit of 2020 to get there!

SwordGuy

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #8 on: November 03, 2019, 06:47:36 AM »
Congrats!

If you have a solid strategy to handle the "sequence of returns problem", you're ready to FIRE!

SpareChange

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #9 on: November 03, 2019, 08:07:40 AM »
Awesome!

ysette9

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #10 on: November 03, 2019, 10:12:49 AM »
Congrats!

If you have a solid strategy to handle the "sequence of returns problem", you're ready to FIRE!
The original plan is the bond tent/reverse equity glide path. The updated plan is the spreadsheet accompanying the book “Living Off Your Money”, except i can’t get it to work properly. To be updated...

MaggieD

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #11 on: November 03, 2019, 01:12:21 PM »
Congratulations!!!  This means any further income can be used to make your time with the newborn a bit easier, if spending money can help.

ysette9

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #12 on: November 03, 2019, 01:26:38 PM »
Congratulations!!!  This means any further income can be used to make your time with the newborn a bit easier, if spending money can help.
I did just order takeout lunch on a walk around the neighborhood today. Ah, it is nice not to cook for once.

ender

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #13 on: November 03, 2019, 09:31:11 PM »
It's kinda fun for me to see folks like you who I recognize having been around here a long while now.

Canadian FIRE

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #14 on: November 04, 2019, 08:19:24 AM »
Huge congrats!

haypug16

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #15 on: November 06, 2019, 11:26:46 AM »
Congrats on hitting the number!

Chris @ Saturday Financial

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #16 on: November 06, 2019, 11:42:53 AM »
Congratulations! That's incredible!

redhead84

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #17 on: November 06, 2019, 11:57:11 AM »
Congrats! This is awesome news.

tarheeldan

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #18 on: November 06, 2019, 12:15:31 PM »
Congratulations!!!!!

mm1970

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #19 on: November 06, 2019, 12:59:14 PM »
Yes!  We don't have "a number".

But after doing a savings check up today, I realized we are really close to crossing over the next million.  If not already there.  It's fungible with the house value.

ysette9

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #20 on: November 06, 2019, 02:04:52 PM »
Yes!  We don't have "a number".

But after doing a savings check up today, I realized we are really close to crossing over the next million.  If not already there.  It's fungible with the house value.
Congrats. That is exciting also.

I don’t usually pay attention to net worth but just invested net worth. Recently we have been brainstorming about moving elsewhere and so thinking about the house equity is a bit startling of a number.

Cali4en

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #21 on: November 06, 2019, 06:14:27 PM »
Congratulations!

I remember how it felt to cross that line.  An odd combination of freedom, disbelief, and joy.

Here's hoping the market continues to grow for the next few years (or more!) and that you get to enjoy spending tons more time with your family.  :)

expatartist

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #22 on: November 06, 2019, 07:25:28 PM »
Hurrah @ysette9 - congrats on FI and your little one!

ysette9

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #23 on: November 06, 2019, 08:04:23 PM »
Congratulations!

I remember how it felt to cross that line.  An odd combination of freedom, disbelief, and joy.

Here's hoping the market continues to grow for the next few years (or more!) and that you get to enjoy spending tons more time with your family.  :)
I’ve strived for this since discovering this site and somehow actually seeing the number on the screen was anti-climactic. Despite all of the education and math I have done, I don’t quite believe it is enough. Additionally with the market growth this past year being more than I had ever anticipated, this moment arrived before I was emotionally ready.

On the other hand my husband has gone this about face in the course of a few months from not having confidence in the number to now not even wanting to work the additional year I had planned for. He got a lower rating at work than he was hoping for last performance review and it has really soured him on the work thing and made him very interested in this FIRE thing. The coolest part was we added up and saw we crossed the line the evening before his 39th birthday. Happy birthday, my love!

Cali4en

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #24 on: November 06, 2019, 09:20:59 PM »
Quote
I’ve strived for this since discovering this site and somehow actually seeing the number on the screen was anti-climactic. Despite all of the education and math I have done, I don’t quite believe it is enough. Additionally with the market growth this past year being more than I had ever anticipated, this moment arrived before I was emotionally ready.

On the other hand my husband has gone this about face in the course of a few months from not having confidence in the number to now not even wanting to work the additional year I had planned for. He got a lower rating at work than he was hoping for last performance review and it has really soured him on the work thing and made him very interested in this FIRE thing. The coolest part was we added up and saw we crossed the line the evening before his 39th birthday. Happy birthday, my love!

Our situation was eerily similar to yours, even down to the ages and having multiple young kids.

We were happy to keep chugging along until our company got bought by an overseas firm and things went south in a hurry.  We discovered that we had not only reached our line but overshot it when we checked it one evening after a particularly frustrating employee meeting.  Totally unprepared to see we could just walkaway.  Didn't really believe it at first.  Took about a week for us to accept it and tender our resignations.

There's another big emotional acceptance coming your way if you do FIRE.  It takes time to get emotionally comfortable going from constantly and deliberately building your assets to spending them.  It feels intensely weird for awhile to be living entirely off of your savings and investments.  Took a year or two for that to start feeling normal.

It's awesome that you guys have the option now to do whatever you choose.  Most people never really do.

ysette9

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #25 on: November 07, 2019, 07:02:06 AM »
You went from discovering you were FI to turning in your resignations in a week? That seems extraordinary to process so quickly. The job must have really turned sour for you. How much over what you needed was your stash when you found this out? Being just barely over the line doesn’t yet feel safe for me, especially as our lives still feel unsettled. Somehow I thought we would have this adult stuff figured out better by now!

DadJokes

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #26 on: November 07, 2019, 07:22:43 AM »
Congratulations!

I remember how it felt to cross that line.  An odd combination of freedom, disbelief, and joy.

Here's hoping the market continues to grow for the next few years (or more!) and that you get to enjoy spending tons more time with your family.  :)
I’ve strived for this since discovering this site and somehow actually seeing the number on the screen was anti-climactic. Despite all of the education and math I have done, I don’t quite believe it is enough. Additionally with the market growth this past year being more than I had ever anticipated, this moment arrived before I was emotionally ready.

On the other hand my husband has gone this about face in the course of a few months from not having confidence in the number to now not even wanting to work the additional year I had planned for. He got a lower rating at work than he was hoping for last performance review and it has really soured him on the work thing and made him very interested in this FIRE thing. The coolest part was we added up and saw we crossed the line the evening before his 39th birthday. Happy birthday, my love!

I get not wanting to work another year (or even another day) once you hit your number. It's probably akin to senioritis in high school where you are just mentally checked out from what is in front of you and are only interested in what's next.

EscapedApe

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #27 on: November 07, 2019, 10:58:53 AM »
I get not wanting to work another year (or even another day) once you hit your number. It's probably akin to senioritis in high school where you are just mentally checked out from what is in front of you and are only interested in what's next.

I get that same impression. Champing at the bit for the next phase.

To stop myself from going insane with anticipation, I try to make my current life flow the way I expect my retired life will flow.

Cali4en

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #28 on: November 07, 2019, 03:40:56 PM »
Quote
You went from discovering you were FI to turning in your resignations in a week? That seems extraordinary to process so quickly. The job must have really turned sour for you. How much over what you needed was your stash when you found this out? Being just barely over the line doesn’t yet feel safe for me, especially as our lives still feel unsettled. Somehow I thought we would have this adult stuff figured out better by now!

Yes, one week.  We used to not really pay attention to our investments other than to make sure we were maxing out our various tax deferred contributions and whatnot.  Even when doing our annual rebalancing, we never really paid too much attention as we figured we'd be working for quite a bit longer anyway.  FIRE was an idea we really liked, but it was a "yeah, we'll do that eventually" kind of thing.

Then a company from Dubai bought out the firm we worked for and the company culture fell through the floor super quick.  They started pressuring us to lie to customers, lie to vendors, started asking employees intrusive questions about personal matters, threatening not to pay employees for work already completed unless they took on new commitments...it was shockingly awful.  After one particularly bad meeting with management where I had to threaten to report them to the IRS and DOL, I sort of jokingly said to my wife that we should just retire and wash our hands of the whole situation.  My wife laughed, I laughed, and then we half-seriously figured out what our budget would be if we stopped working.  We then looked at our investments and realized that we actually could quit if we wanted.  A week later we did just that.  Took everyone else between 6 and 12 months to find an exit, but every original employee left the firm about as fast as they could.

We never had a budget before FIRE as we are both naturally frugal and not wired for unnecessary consumption, so we never needed to really keep track.  So while the amount in our retirement accounts was known to us, we didn't really know how far it would go budget-wise since we'd never really sat down to figure out exactly how much money we needed from month to month.  When we finally came up with a solid budget, we realized that we had overshot our FIRE number by about 30%.  So our first year of FIRE we were at a WR of just under 3% and it's gone down each year since as the market has done so well.

I know what you mean about feeling unsafe about being just over the line.  We were well over the line and it still felt unsteady to retire with a house full of young kids and lots of future unknowns.  I'd recommend taking a hard look at your fixed expenses and see where you might be able to drive them down.  Every dollar you can comfortably take out of your monthly minimum is added safety margin in case things go south.

I don't buy in to the idea of ever really figuring out the adult stuff.  I think everyone is just pretending whether they admit it to themselves or not.  :)


ysette9

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #29 on: November 07, 2019, 04:53:06 PM »
What a bad ass story. I love that you had the money to walk away from a bad situation. Have you shared this in the Epic FU Money stories thread by chance?

I have a pretty solid handle on what we spend from several years’ tracking, but as for what w would spend if not working? That is a lot of hand waving. Based on our actuals, but we agree we like the idea of a year long sabbatical to try on the idea of RE to see what our spending really would be.

Cali4en

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #30 on: November 07, 2019, 05:57:59 PM »
I haven't shared it in that thread, though I do love the other stories.  Our company and field were so specialized that I'd have to redact a lot of details or keep things super-generalized.  I might do that, but I haven't yet.

I think the trial year is a good idea.  We had the same problem with guesstimating our budget post-FIRE.  Having a completely open schedule can help you really improve your standard of living while also dramatically reducing your spending on categories like childcare, gas, food, and home services.  Hard to know how it will shake out in advance though.

It's also nice to have that first fully complete 1040 that proves you can do this crazy early retirement thing without breaking any rules or paying any penalties and/or taxes at all.  Same goes for having hard validation that it's entirely possible to do things like get health insurance at a incredibly steep discount via the ACA.

It's one thing to read things on people's blogs, but another to see them actually happening in your own life.

ysette9

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #31 on: November 07, 2019, 06:49:38 PM »
It does feel a bit like I have studied the theory of cliff diving in detail and know all of the studies and techniques and risks by heart. But standing on the edge of the cliff and looking down all of the theory suddenly seems more shaky and the prospect scarier than it felt when it was a dream from behind a computer screen.

FireLane

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #32 on: November 07, 2019, 06:51:48 PM »
Congrats, ysette! We just hit our number too, and IIRC, we're the same age. The market has been a rising tide lifting all our boats.

I know exactly what you mean about how getting to the number feels anticlimactic. Like you, I don't know for sure what the future shape of my life is going to be, but it's really nice to know I have options and freedom.

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #33 on: November 07, 2019, 08:24:03 PM »
Woohoo! Congrats!! What an exciting time for you & your husband.

Dicey

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #34 on: November 08, 2019, 07:26:27 AM »
It does feel a bit like I have studied the theory of cliff diving in detail and know all of the studies and techniques and risks by heart. But standing on the edge of the cliff and looking down all of the theory suddenly seems more shaky and the prospect scarier than it felt when it was a dream from behind a computer screen.
You can't do this right now, but you might want to plan this outing in the near-ish future. There's a place called "I-fly". It's indoor sky diving.  You suit up and "jump", with a guide. It's just a giant turbine that keeps you aloft. The prep takes much longer than the "dive" itself. But man, the "dive" seems to last forever. There are a couple of locations in the Bay Area and Costco sells discounted tickets.

When DH were on our bargain* honeymoon in FL, we weren't interested in the Mouse House, so we stopped into a Costco  to see what deals they had on other experiences, and this is what piqued our limited sense of adventure (i,e. We have no desire to do actual skydiving). It was a total thrill. The feeling of being buoyed by such a strong force was amazing. Only later did I realize that's what FIRE feels like, financially. Your big number will lift you up and hold you aloft for the rest of your life. Want to spin left or right? Want to do a front flip or a back flip? Want to do anything you want to do? The force of your assets will let you do so with ease, once you get comfortable with this strange new sensation.

In the unlikely event that life hands you a shit sandwich, being FIRE will give you coping skills you'd never imagine. As you know, my MIL has ALZ and has lived with us for over six years. ALZ is a total pain in the ass, yet I still believe I have a damn great life with plenty of options. The fact that I never have to worry about money makes me feel like I'm "flying" no matter what the mundane reality of my life is. It is so unbelievable that it never gets old. December 5th is my seven year FIREversary and so far, it's been better every single year.

*We scored a "deal" on a luxury timeshare week at a charity auction without realizing it was for an exact week. Duh. But the timing was okay and we made it work. My cousin works for a [fast, primary color] airline and gave us a couple of buddy passes, woo-hoo! The whole thing worked perfectly and was easy on the wallet. It's also the first time we'd ever seen an Aldi in real life. Since we had a kitchen, we shopped there twice during the week and a third time to stock up on stuff to take home. Win!

Tl;Dr: Congratulations!

talltexan

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #35 on: November 08, 2019, 07:38:30 AM »
I can't help but think how cool Rapid Red airlines sounds.

Flight crew could dress up like The Flash, or Red Riding Hood, or Iron Man, whoever they want that's red.

Dicey

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #36 on: November 08, 2019, 07:42:59 AM »
I can't help but think how cool Rapid Red airlines sounds.

Flight crew could dress up like The Flash, or Red Riding Hood, or Iron Man, whoever they want that's red.
All I'm allowed to say is that she loves her job. She says it's mostly for the travel perks, which they take wild advantage of, but maybe that's just a smoke screen.

Dicey

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #37 on: November 12, 2019, 01:19:41 AM »
Wanted to add a bit more. Today, our tenant called to say the seemingly healthy Big Tree in the front yard had completely fallen over and part of it had landed on her car. She asked who our insurance company was, but I didn't answer her question directly. It's unlikely that the damage is enough to bother making a claim, as we keep our deductibles fairly high. As we were figuring it out, I kept remembering the sound of that turbine. It was awesome to know that spending a tiny fraction of our 'stache will solve the problem.

Later, she called to say that an arborist who was working in the area had seen the fallen tree and stopped by to offer help. He trimmed the branches enough to free her car, which only had minor scratches, yay! He also bid $900 to remove the tree including the roots and he can do it tomorrow. Yeah, Betty, get it done!

And with that, we floated gently back to earth.

jojoguy

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #38 on: November 17, 2019, 06:05:31 PM »
It is nice having options.

This is what I look forward to when we FIRE.
« Last Edit: November 19, 2019, 05:04:04 AM by jojoguy »

oldtoyota

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #39 on: November 17, 2019, 06:08:52 PM »
With the market edging upwards today it was just enough to bump us up over the line to The Number. If it holds and if the math is right, we are FI. Hot damn, that is sort of unbelievable.

Congrats! Have you popped into the 2019 cohort to say hi?

=-D

Cassie

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #40 on: November 17, 2019, 06:37:23 PM »
Congrats!  With a newborn and 2 other kids you definitely deserve to retire:))

ysette9

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #41 on: November 17, 2019, 08:55:48 PM »
With the market edging upwards today it was just enough to bump us up over the line to The Number. If it holds and if the math is right, we are FI. Hot damn, that is sort of unbelievable.

Congrats! Have you popped into the 2019 cohort to say hi?

=-D
I hadn’t thought of it since we don’t plan on pulling the plug until next year. What is it that counts: the FI part or the RE part?

FireAnt

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #42 on: November 18, 2019, 11:14:18 AM »
Woohoo!!!!

FireHiker

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #43 on: November 18, 2019, 12:27:27 PM »
That's wonderful @ysette9 , congratulations!!!

seattlecyclone

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #44 on: November 19, 2019, 08:20:12 PM »
Huge congrats to you!

I'm curious how you determined your "number" with a new baby. When we had our first kid we considered ourselves FI as just a couple but there were too many unknowns about our actual cost of raising kids for us to feel comfortable quitting at that time. Would we stay in the two-bedroom house we had then? Would we spend a lot more on food? Instead we went part-time for three years, had a second kid during that time, let our spending shake itself out a bit, and finally pulled the plug earlier this year with what looks to be an exceedingly conservative withdrawal rate.

ysette9

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #45 on: November 19, 2019, 08:47:51 PM »
Huge congrats to you!

I'm curious how you determined your "number" with a new baby. When we had our first kid we considered ourselves FI as just a couple but there were too many unknowns about our actual cost of raising kids for us to feel comfortable quitting at that time. Would we stay in the two-bedroom house we had then? Would we spend a lot more on food? Instead we went part-time for three years, had a second kid during that time, let our spending shake itself out a bit, and finally pulled the plug earlier this year with what looks to be an exceedingly conservative withdrawal rate.
Good question. The perhaps foolish answer is “we didn’t”. Our kids cost us for child care but otherwise we don’t spend lavishly on them. I have heard from a lot of people that they end up costing more as they get older. I have a placeholder $500/month kids line item in the FIRE budget. I think we won’t really know until we get there.

For the time being we are still working.
We funded each 529 with a lump sum pulled somewhat randomly out of thin air. It won’t pay for everything but we couldn’t agree on paying full ride at a 4-year institution. I went to a JC and think that is sn option. My husband thinks some loans are okay. I think the landscape is going to change so dramatically in the next 15 years that I can’t really predict now how much to save for college. There are plenty of overseas options that are far more affordable; our job will be to help them navigate wisely with what money will be available.

The house thing is an issue. Previously we were fine in our current house with two girls sharing a room. Now that we have a third and a boy, at some point we will out grow. The real issue though is that family live just far enough away to need to spend the night when they visit, meaning our 3/2 house is really a 2/1 since we need to reserve a guest room. Raising a family of five in 900ft^2 with two bedrooms is pushing it.

So..... one idea is to explore Seattle. We can get so much more for our money there and I think I would really enjoy the area. We are throwing around the idea of trying that for a year to see what we think. Any way we look at it we will have more income coming in through 2020, our planned RE year. We don’t have all the answers yet but since we aren’t quite pulling the plug on employment I think we can work it out.

seattlecyclone

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #46 on: November 20, 2019, 01:13:01 AM »
Ah, my mistake. I assumed for some reason that the new baby you mentioned was your first, but as it's your third you probably have some idea of what to expect money-wise.

I grew up in a house without a guest room. Relatives visiting meant me or my sisters would need to use sleeping bags for a few days, and that's just how it was. We didn't know anything different, and it was fine. Totally understand not wanting to raise three kids in 900 square feet though. That's the same size as our first house. It was great when it was just the two of us, felt a bit cramped with one small child, and we did decide to buy a bigger one before having a second kid.

Feel free to hit me up for advice on Seattle. I've been here ten years and do like it quite a bit.

ysette9

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #47 on: November 20, 2019, 11:58:46 AM »
Thanks. I will take you up on that. I’ll send you a PM.

talltexan

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #48 on: November 21, 2019, 09:42:33 AM »
I had a co-worker tell me he needs about three years of 7.2% returns to get to his number. He's a grandparent age, so not MMM, but at least he has a nice, cautious, CAGR.

ysette9

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Re: Hot damn, hit The Number today
« Reply #49 on: November 21, 2019, 10:25:50 AM »
Wow. When I was planning out the last few years to the finish line I was estimating either  brute force (no market gains) or something like 3%. 7% seems so optimistic on a short time frame like 3 years.