Author Topic: Class of 2015  (Read 92858 times)

Stasher

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Re: Class of 2015
« Reply #250 on: December 19, 2015, 02:35:16 PM »
Such a fantastic thread to stumble upon and see the discussion as dates were set, time gradually passed by and then the moment of action and emotions have been gone through.

I also like seeing the events and discussion around those that couldn't make it happen in 2015.

I was pretty sure I was able to make 2015 happen for myself but then the Canadian Oil Economy crashed.
 - I lost my tenant in my rental property (oil community) and the vacant rates have skyrocketed and I've been vacant for 3 months - no revenue isn't fun but Im still paying down my own asset and I guess creating a big tax write-off due to expense ratio
 - my wife stopped taking an income since September as we own a small business in this community (sport/clothing retail) and with downturn discretionary spending has plummeted and we have lost cashflow to generate a wage for her.
 - slow down in Oilfield also affects my job as I sell pumps and make commission which I funnelled directly to savings accounts
- lastly , I am taking advantage of work health program to pay for kids braces

I will watch the 2016 thread and may join up over there.
I ran the FIREcalc and 600,000 at 25,000/year showed zero chance of failure for 60 years, never used that before and was shocked at what my safe level could be.

Free_at_50

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Re: Class of 2015
« Reply #251 on: December 19, 2015, 03:10:42 PM »
Don't post much but felt I should add to this thread as my last day was Friday!  Didn't make 50 but 51 isn't too far off!  :)  Congrats to everyone else who also pulled the trigger this year!

AlwaysBeenASaver

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Re: Class of 2015
« Reply #252 on: December 19, 2015, 03:16:18 PM »
Don't post much but felt I should add to this thread as my last day was Friday!  Didn't make 50 but 51 isn't too far off!  :)  Congrats to everyone else who also pulled the trigger this year!

Congrats!!!

arebelspy

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Re: Class of 2015
« Reply #253 on: December 19, 2015, 03:19:12 PM »
I ran the FIREcalc and 600,000 at 25,000/year showed zero chance of failure for 60 years, never used that before and was shocked at what my safe level could be.

Did you add in other variables (like social security or a pension)?  Because that should definitely have failures, and if it didn't, it's because the timeline was too long--there aren't as many 60 year periods to compare, but there are failures in that range for 30 years, so logically even though those periods aren't counted in the 60 year ones (because they're more recent, and the 60 year ones would have had time to build up more money before those roughest 30 year periods), it's still a failure, just not showing up.  It's a limitation of FIRECalc.


Don't post much but felt I should add to this thread as my last day was Friday!  Didn't make 50 but 51 isn't too far off!  :)  Congrats to everyone else who also pulled the trigger this year!

Congrats!  :)
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

Free_at_50

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Re: Class of 2015
« Reply #254 on: December 19, 2015, 03:26:57 PM »
Thanks!  Funny observation.  I've been talking about this site to people for several years and most people are like "yea, yea, whatever".  After I announced I was calling it quits all of these same people started coming up to me asking "what was the name of that site you told us about these past couple years?"  Should have seen a bunch of new converts the past couple weeks coming to the site!  :)

Stasher

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Re: Class of 2015
« Reply #255 on: December 19, 2015, 05:02:00 PM »

Did you add in other variables (like social security or a pension)?  Because that should definitely have failures, and if it didn't, it's because the timeline was too long--there aren't as many 60 year periods to compare, but there are failures in that range for 30 years, so logically even though those periods aren't counted in the 60 year ones (because they're more recent, and the 60 year ones would have had time to build up more money before those roughest 30 year periods), it's still a failure, just not showing up.  It's a limitation of FIRECalc.


That's what I thought too, didn't seem quite right and was the first time I've used it. Let me go back to check it out and thought 60 was the default setting. I will make sure that there is nothing under the pension section. 30 years will put me at 71 years old and will be able to start collecting my CPP here in Canada for a little extra security in old age.

BPA

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Re: Class of 2015
« Reply #256 on: December 23, 2015, 12:50:55 PM »
Don't post much but felt I should add to this thread as my last day was Friday!  Didn't make 50 but 51 isn't too far off!  :)  Congrats to everyone else who also pulled the trigger this year!

We FIREd on the same day!  I also have people now wanting to know how I can do it/did it.  I've got a couple of "free" lunches from friends coming up, so that I can explain the whole commuted value vs pension thing and simple, optimized living as a better way of life.

Congrats!

Free_at_50

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Re: Class of 2015
« Reply #257 on: December 23, 2015, 01:23:05 PM »
Fantastic, congrats!  Free lunches are always good!  :)

Dicey

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Re: Class of 2015
« Reply #258 on: December 29, 2015, 06:10:44 PM »
Don't post much but felt I should add to this thread as my last day was Friday!  Didn't make 50 but 51 isn't too far off!  :)  Congrats to everyone else who also pulled the trigger this year!
Congratulations! Don't feel like you're late to the party. What's important is that you got there. I didn't retire until I was 54, but I am enjoying my freedom as much as anyone. Something to give yourself credit for is that sites such as MMM didn't exist when we were starting out. We had to figure it out on our own, for the most part. Since I FIRE'd in 2012, for which there is no thread as yet, I think I'll just draft along on this thread for a while.

arebelspy

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Re: Class of 2015
« Reply #259 on: December 30, 2015, 12:22:06 AM »
Since I FIRE'd in 2012, for which there is no thread as yet, I think I'll just draft along on this thread for a while.

See the instructions at the top of this thread.  :)
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

Dicey

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Re: Class of 2015
« Reply #260 on: December 30, 2015, 12:46:10 AM »
Since I FIRE'd in 2012, for which there is no thread as yet, I think I'll just draft along on this thread for a while.

See the instructions at the top of this thread.  :)
Thanks rebs, but I'm too lazy to start a new class/thread. I just hopped on the oldest one and then saw someone I wanted to offer encouragement to, even if I'm not in the right "class".

arebelspy

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Re: Class of 2015
« Reply #261 on: December 30, 2015, 01:02:01 AM »
Since I FIRE'd in 2012, for which there is no thread as yet, I think I'll just draft along on this thread for a while.

See the instructions at the top of this thread.  :)
Thanks rebs, but I'm too lazy to start a new class/thread. I just hopped on the oldest one and then saw someone I wanted to offer encouragement to, even if I'm not in the right "class".

Two demerits!
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

Free_at_50

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Re: Class of 2015
« Reply #262 on: January 06, 2016, 07:59:00 AM »
Thanks Diane!  Been so busy in retirement haven't checked in for awhile!  :)  What strikes me the most is my wife and I have always been somewhat  but frugal but MMM really drove home the possibilities.  Once we decided to take action it literally only took about 5 years to pull it off.  My point being there are probably a lot of people out there that could be in a position of being FI pretty quickly if they just thought the MMM way.  Unfortunately in our society today that really isn't a focus.  Congrats again to everyone who made FIRE a reality in 2015!  And to those of you still in the race  stay with it as it can happen for you with the right mind set and focus!  So far being FIRE has been everything I have hoped for!

DavidAnnArbor

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Re: Class of 2015
« Reply #263 on: January 12, 2016, 04:59:18 PM »
How do I quit my own self-employment rat race?  LOL

Dicey

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Re: Class of 2015
« Reply #264 on: January 13, 2016, 08:04:59 AM »
How do I quit my own self-employment rat race?  LOL
Move to a tropical paradise?

FINate

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Re: Class of 2015
« Reply #265 on: February 01, 2016, 08:16:32 PM »
I FIRE'd mid-2015. I've lurked on MMM for a long time, finally got around to registering.

arebelspy

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Re: Class of 2015
« Reply #266 on: July 22, 2016, 07:28:22 PM »
Sooooo Class of 2015.. how goes it?

Was this our final roster?
Quote
Casserole55 - 1/1/15
Frankies Girl - 3/06/15
Gallygirl - 3/10/15
Iris lily 4/1/2015
Dr. Doom - 4/10/15
Carlos - 4/30/15
Sequim - 5/15/15
PeteD01 - 6/1/15
arebelspy - 6/4/15
AlwaysBeenASaver - 6/5/15
The Pigeon - 6/5/15
lhamo -- 6/15/15
FINate -- "mid-2015"
G-dog - 7/2/15
Spork - 7/3/15
AlexK - 7/17/15
BenJenn - 7/30/15
EarlyFI - 8/14/2015
BPA -12/18/15

Anyone who FIRE'd in 2015 want to add themselves?

So all of us have been ER'd for between approximately 8 and 20 months (with the average probably just around a year, since we're just past mid-year 2016).

Got a few questions that I thought might be fun...

1) Give some quick background detail on yourself so the questions below have a bit of context.  (Stuff like this may, or may not include things like: How old are you? What area of the country/world? How long have you been FIRE'd now?  What SWR did you pull the trigger at? Did you downsize or move to a lower COL?  Did you downshift to a semi-ER? Is a spouse still working? etc. etc.  Just a little paragraph background detail on you personally, so we know where you're coming from on the below questions.)

2) How have finances gone? Spent more than you expected, less, or right in line?  Have you earned any extra money what was beyond expected?  Any financial surprises, good or bad?

3) Done anything really cool this first year of FIRE?  Planning anything cool in the next year?

4) Any regrets?  Did you FIRE too soon?  Should you have pulled the trigger even sooner?  Overall, how are your feelings towards when (e.g. the date/age) you FIRE'd?

5) Any thoughts/advice for people about to pull the plug, or who just have ER'd (Class of 2016/2017)?

6) Any other observations on how has this first year-ish has gone, or anything else you want to throw out there?


:)

Figured this might be a good chance to reflect, for the Class of 2015 folks, and fun to read for the people not FIRE'd yet!
« Last Edit: July 22, 2016, 07:51:24 PM by arebelspy »
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

arebelspy

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Re: Class of 2015
« Reply #267 on: July 22, 2016, 07:46:47 PM »
I'll start.

(Feel free to quote this post, then delete the quote tags and my responses, so you have the questions already formatted and easy to answer.)

1) Give some quick background detail on yourself so the questions below have a bit of context.

Wife and I pulled the trigger just over a year ago, June 2015.  We were both 29 at the time, though I turned 30 right afterward.  We were public school teachers.  We did a short teaching summer school gig as our first ER side-gig, then cleaned out our house, got rid of all our stuff except what fit in a backpack each, and left (Las Vegas) to travel the world full time.  We had our first child in January, in Istanbul.  More details in the link in my sig, if you're interested, but that's our basic background.

2) How have finances gone? Spent more than you expected, less, or right in line?  Have you earned any extra money what was beyond expected?  Any financial surprises, good or bad?

Great!  We mostly FIRE'd off of rental properties (15 of them), and expenses and everything has been right in line with projections.  Spending as well.  We had a lot of uncertainty around both numbers (since rental income can fluctuate, and since we were starting full time travel, which can be expensive, and having kids, which can be expensive, no idea on how our spending might line up).  But everything's been smooth. We've earned more than we thought we would, from her having a hobby of writing romance novels that are getting published by Harlequin, and from us selling credit card trade lines, travel hacking, etc.  Money doesn't seem like it will be a problem--it's not that expensive to do cool things, and it's pretty easy to make more of it, if you need.

3) Done anything really cool this first year of FIRE?  Planning anything cool in the next year?

Just lots of travel.  We hiked the Camino, 500 miles across northern Spain. We went to Germany, London, Morocco, Istanbul, Prague, etc. etc.  We had a baby in Istanbul.

Now we're doing a house sit in Australia with 2 dogs, a cat, nine chickens, and four aplacas.

Up next, I have a 10-day silent meditation retreat, then we'll bum around SE Asia for the next eight months or so, then who knows?

4) Any regrets?  Did you FIRE too soon?  Should you have pulled the trigger even sooner?  Overall, how are your feelings towards when (e.g. the date/age) you FIRE'd?

We could have done it much, much earlier.  But no regrets about it.  We enjoyed working quite a bit, but felt we FIRE'd at exactly the right time, we were done with that phase of our lives, turning 30, and having a kid, and ready to move on to new adventures.

5) Any thoughts/advice for people about to pull the plug, or who just have ER'd (Class of 2016/2017)?

Just do it.  OMY is so silly, in retrospect.  You'll be fine.  :)

6) Any other observations on how has this first year-ish has gone, or anything else you want to throw out there?

FIRE is bliss.  There's so much cool things out in the world to see, and do.  Step out of the comfortable box you've been in,and into adventure!  Having the complete freedom of doing whatever you want, every day.. there's nothing to compare it to.

Looking forward to reading everyone else's responses, good or bad!  :)
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

G-dog

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Re: Class of 2015
« Reply #268 on: July 22, 2016, 08:07:10 PM »
REBS learning debrief class of 2015 (GO <insert mascot/team name here>!)

1) quick background
now 56 yo, FIREd 12 months ago at 55 yo
Still living in the Midwest of the USA - in an average or low cost of living area, no plans to move
I bugged out at about a 3.5-4 SWR
No downsizing or sale of home - we bought a pretty modest home, paid off 2 years ago
i am fully & gloriously retired, but my spouse is still working (their choice)
Is a spouse still working? etc. etc.
I found MMM sometime in 2014, it opened my eyes! I started tracking expenses, running numbers, etc. and learned that I could pull the plug. Based on my employer's policies - I waited for my 55th birthday AND worked 6 months in 2015 to be able to actually retire (and capture some retirement benefits) and to maximize or optimize some other stats or benefits

2) How have finances gone?
Pretty good so far. My FIRE was based on 2014 expense data - it seems to have partially underestimated my spend. But 2015 had a few unexpected expenses.but the calculators indicated I had already over saved in most scenarios I ran. And, I can adjust I/O if I need to. Not worried (yet anyway).

3) Done anything really cool this first year of FIRE?  Planning anything cool in the next year?
Hmm, nothing comes to mind as really cool.
I have been able to waste less food - that was a constant annoyance, unexpected expense, and ethical issue I struggled with. But, I am not traveling the world with a newborn like some folks  ;)

4) Any regrets?  Did you FIRE too soon?  Should you have pulled the trigger even sooner?  Overall, how are your feelings towards when (e.g. the date/age) you FIRE'd?
No regrets! I wish I had been more aware that I could retire early - but once I knew it was an option, I HAULED ASS! I am actually pretty impressed that with my ignorance, I was able to pull the trigger as quickly as I did once I found all you experts!

5) Any thoughts/advice for people about to pull the plug, or who just have ER'd (Class of 2016/2017)?
Congratulations! You've probably done a lot of planning and what-if scenarios - take time to enjoy this and live in the moment instead of doing constant analyses and 5 or 10 year projections. Relax, you got this! Try to avoid turning FIRE into another job.

6) Any other observations on how has this first year-ish has gone, or anything else you want to throw out there?
I needed some decompression / recovery time after leaving work. You may not, but I needed some time to do nothing and adjust. It has been better than I could have hoped for. As someone who has been a worrier and planner all my working life, I am shocked at how easily I have left much of that go. I hardly ever curse anymore - I had a really bad potty mouth while working (stress much).

7) what do you do all day?
Hah! Someone has to say this, so - "WHATEVER THE HELL I WANT!". Now that that is out of the way, I can answer.  My former co-workers ask me this all the time. They still confuse busyness and productivity. I spend most days interacting with my dogs (playing, walks), some garden tasks, household tasks, reading, food prep and clean-up, food preservation (pickles, jams, drying) or special treats, catch up on news, some nature time. I run errands about every 10 days or so. I have lunch with various friends about 2-3 times per month. So, most days, I don't leave home except for walking the dogs.   This sounds like doing nothing to most people, but I am happy with it. I could do more, and may add things but I don't feel obliged to do so.
« Last Edit: July 23, 2016, 09:25:12 AM by G-dog »

AlwaysBeenASaver

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Re: Class of 2015
« Reply #269 on: July 22, 2016, 08:30:06 PM »
1) Give some quick background detail on yourself so the questions below have a bit of context.

I was age 47 at fire, but I'm age 48 now; funny how that happens. I live in the Santa Cruz area of California, part of the larger SF/Monterey Bay area. I didn't move or downsize after FIRE. I didn't FIRE based on SWR as much as based on my own spreadsheets and the online calculators, but my budget came out to around 3.3% of my stash at the time of FIRE, the way I calculated it. I have a long-time partner but we have separate finances; I still pay 50% of our shared expenses (mortgage, food, etc.) and would still be FI if he wasn't in the picture. I've seen some discussions here in which people say I'm not really FIREd if he's still working, but I'm FI even w/o him/his $, and I'm retired, so in my eyes that makes me FIREd.

2) How have finances gone? Spent more than you expected, less, or right in line?  Have you earned any extra money what was beyond expected?  Any financial surprises, good or bad?

My spending is as expected; I studied my spending for several years and based my budget on that. I haven't earned any money, except a $2 winning lottery ticket I found in the parking lot. The only financial surprise has been excessive vet bills for our elderly cat. It's covered long-term in the budget, but still a little shocking to see the bills come in for the past couple of months. Not a problem in the big picture, but since you asked...

3) Done anything really cool this first year of FIRE?  Planning anything cool in the next year?

Nothing as cool as you've done, but really loving being able to visit family for longer than my former vacation time allowed, as well as loving spending so much time outdoors in our beautiful summer weather. For the past several years I had said to myself that I really didn't want to spend another summer indoors working and now I've finally achieved that and it's pretty amazing!

4) Any regrets?  Did you FIRE too soon?  Should you have pulled the trigger even sooner?  Overall, how are your feelings towards when (e.g. the date/age) you FIRE'd?

Absolutely no regrets! Not to say I don't still question the $$ aspect occasionally, but so far it still looks fine.

5) Any thoughts/advice for people about to pull the plug, or who just have ER'd (Class of 2016/2017)?

Be sure about your budget, account for out-of-the-ordinary expenses, and once that's covered, just do it. There is no reason for OMY if you're sure about your budget and your stash.

6) Any other observations on how has this first year-ish has gone, or anything else you want to throw out there?

My biggest observation/surprise is how I'm still busy a lot! I'm busy with (mostly) activities I've chosen to take on, which is awesome, but I'm not spending much (any) time sitting around doing nothing.

EscapeVelocity2020

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Re: Class of 2015
« Reply #270 on: July 22, 2016, 10:12:05 PM »
not a 2015 FIRE but appreciate the sentiments.  Was FI before 2015 (probably 2011, long story) but really interested to follow and maybe contribute. 

misshathaway

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Re: Class of 2015
« Reply #271 on: July 23, 2016, 03:04:51 AM »
1) Give some quick background detail on yourself so the questions below have a bit of context.

I'm 58. FIREd 9 months ago. I had been aware for about a year before my FIRE that I could retire if I wanted to. One day I just did. No notice. It was not an FU situation. I just could not handle the job any more. I had a beeper and it was at the end of a week of an IT crisis that required 24/7 hyper-availability. I was tied to a never-ending conference call that I had to remember to mute before I brought the phone into the bathroom. Yes, really.

I don't regret it, but it was very abrupt. I had not done much advance planning, and I felt very guilty about not giving notice. My first three or four months I think I was expecting some kind of divine punishment.

2) How have finances gone?

Spending is fine, but mostly because I pared everything down to the bone. The stock market went south as I was retiring and it scared me. Now I am seeing that even during that period I was OK.

3) Done anything really cool this first year of FIRE?

This summer has been a revelation. I have not enjoyed summer like this since I was a kid. That is cool to me.

4) Any regrets?

I took a side-hustle job almost immediately that I ended up hating and quitting.

5) Any thoughts/advice for people about to pull the plug, or who just have ER'd (Class of 2016/2017)?

The money will probably be fine, however it can be a big psychological adjustment. Maybe wait a few months before throwing yourself in to new commitments that you can't easily get out of.

Frankies Girl

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Re: Class of 2015
« Reply #272 on: July 23, 2016, 05:25:01 AM »
Wondered how this thread got bumped... :)


1) Give some quick background detail on yourself so the questions below have a bit of context. 

FIREd at age 42. Married, no kids. Both of us were doing great on our own - no debt but a very small mortgage, investing in the work plans (no real idea what to choose so used a friend's allocation) and spending much less than we earned. Was on track to early retire in our mid 50s on our own, but not really sure about how... I assumed it would be something to figure out once we were in our 50s.

Learned about investing (starting with zero knowledge) after my dad died and left me an inheritance that made us instantly FI. The amount of money was too much to just blindly toddle along without knowing what I was doing. Figured out the FIRE part and grew our investments up to the level of being self sustaining for the rest of our lives, and pulled the trigger a few years after.

I gave a standard 2 weeks notice. Had severe anxiety, depression and major stress due to horrible boss, work conditions that had turned absolutely terrible over the last 3-5 years. Took me about 6-8 months to stop feeling depressed and having anxiety attacks regularly.



2) How have finances gone? Spent more than you expected, less, or right in line?  Have you earned any extra money what was beyond expected?  Any financial surprises, good or bad?

Husband's salary paid for all of our living expenses, so no tapping the investments for monthly expenses. He was due to FIRE this year around this time (summer 2016).

Investments themselves are trouncing the market average. Hooray!

No extra money earned. I have done nothing whatsoever resembling work and have zero plans to ever again if I can help it.

The only surprise so far is how we can pull out a large chunk from our savings for something that was planned (like a roof replacement) and the next month we have regained all we spent and a bit more besides. It's like a well - the water level just comes back no matter how many buckets we draw. While I know this isn't always going to be the case, it is nice for the first year (psychologically speaking) to see it in action.



3) Done anything really cool this first year of FIRE?  Planning anything cool in the next year?

Not really? I think lots of the things I've done have been really cool, but it's not noteworthy to anyone else probably. Lots of relaxing, puttering, organizing and cleaning. And sleeping, cooking, reading, and playing.

I have lost a huge amount of weight (as has the husband) and we're in the best shape ever, so that might count. I was never small, but got huge during the last decade of work due to stress and exhaustion and other related health issues. Still have a little farther to go, and we're currently working on muscle building and trying to eliminate a bit more fat.

I've been to visit family in the spring and have another trip planned in the fall/early winter (usually only managed to make it there (several states away) once every other year or two. As I don't have to hoard my vacation time any more for family trips, I can go twice a year now. As nice as trips home are, they are NOT vacations where one can relax, so I needed to use all my vacation days before some years just to detox from work situations.



4) Any regrets?  Did you FIRE too soon?  Should you have pulled the trigger even sooner?  Overall, how are your feelings towards when (e.g. the date/age) you FIRE'd?

No regrets other than wish I'd done it years ago. I wish I'd known about the concept in my 20s tho.


5) Any thoughts/advice for people about to pull the plug, or who just have ER'd (Class of 2016/2017)?

Not really anything that hasn't already been said earlier.


6) Any other observations on how has this first year-ish has gone, or anything else you want to throw out there?

If you're in a bad job situation, it is amazing how free you feel once you're out. But it may take you not just months, but a year or longer to feel better. I still have nightmares. I may always have them. Don't stay in a shitty place dealing with shitty people purely for money/benefits; it costs you more than you think.



7) What do you do all day?

I don't feel like I'm busier than when I was working. I have no set schedule any more. I often forget what day of the week it is, and I am fine with that. :)

I mostly putter. I declutter areas in the house. I repair things I can figure out how to fix on my own. I garden and do yard work. I clean and sort things. I have taken uncountable loads of junk to thrift stores. I run lots of errands during the day (10am seems to be the best time to hit stores). I take naps.  I volunteer a few times a week. I read an average of 3-5 books per week. The husband and I have been working through our vinyl, CD and movie collections and eliminating any that we don't love (the process has been lots of fun). I definitely play on my computer every day. 

I get daily exercise, minimum of 1 hour, but more like 2-3 hours if it's going swimming or we are at a park (see below). I swim, bike, do yoga, walk and do bodyweight routines every week.



Right now, one of my big projects is sorting books (we have hundreds - our second largest bedroom is floor to ceiling bookshelves on 2 walls) so I can eliminate a large portion.



« Last Edit: October 15, 2017, 01:56:45 AM by Frankies Girl »

arebelspy

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Re: Class of 2015
« Reply #273 on: July 23, 2016, 06:05:44 AM »
Oh, one more question I should have thought of earlier (anyone who already answered everything above, feel free to chime in with a new comment for this one, or edit your post above), but FG's and ABAS's comments on being busy made me think of it.

7) What do you do all day?

Thanks to everyone posting so far, fun to read!
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

Free_at_50

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Re: Class of 2015
« Reply #274 on: July 23, 2016, 07:02:04 AM »
Don't see my name on your list!  I FIRE'd at the end of 2015

1)  Quick background.  FIRE'd at 51 living in Arkansas which is a pretty low cost of living area. Had already downsized and simplified several years earlier in preparation for FIRE.  Don't owe anyone anything (which is very freeing).  Spouse had already retired 8 years before me as part of our deal to support me because my job was very intense and took us around the country every couple of years.

2) Finances have been on track if not below what I anticipated even though we have done everything we have wanted to do so far including a 2 week vacation (is it considered a vacation if you are retired??)  :)  No financial surprises so far but some health insurance decisions coming up shortly.

3)  Biggest things so far are getting really healthy resulting in the loss of 70 lbs so feel great!  Also been able to devote some great quality time to my grandson before he gets to his school age years which I clearly wouldn't have been able to while working.  Also getting quite proficient at various sports.  :)

4)  No regrets.  It'd be easy to say I should have FIRE'd earlier but I think the decision is just as much a pschological one as a financial one and it took me until 51 to feel it was the right time per my planning.  Overall given how I was able to retire (with a package from my company) I got out at just the right time.

5) My advice after counseling several friends who also "retired" from my company at the same time but weren't mentally prepared to do so, focus on your expense side as much or more as your income side.  One directly affects the anxiety felt about the other.  By that I mean once I was done counseling one of my friends about his ability to dramatically reduce his expenses he felt a world better about his income side.  I know it sounds obvious but apparently really understanding how little you need to get by on is not always the focus (less so for the experienced people in this forum of course).  It's kind of a Stoic approach I guess.  The last thing I would recommend is once you have done your analysis, set a date and when that time comes if you have met your goals then take the plunge.  Second guessing at that point will just keep you working longer for no reason. 

6) And to give you some incentive, a colleague of mine who was my age and kept saying he was going to retire but couldn't bring himself to pull the plug, found out shortly after I left that he had cancer.  He died 3 months later.  In the big scheme of things life is very short.  If you have planned and executed accordingly, take the leap and enjoy whatever time God has given you on this earth to truly enjoy those things and people that you love!  That is what I am doing and I wouldn't trade it for anything at this point!

7)  I stay active in various sports, spend time with my wife, grandson, kids, and parents.  As I have heard said I am not really sure what I do every day.  All I know is I am very busy!  :)

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Re: Class of 2015
« Reply #275 on: July 23, 2016, 10:31:06 AM »
1) Give some quick background detail on yourself so the questions below have a bit of context.

Married/Male/52.  I FIRE'd on Independence day 2015.  We're living in the woods in east Texas.  We both grew up here ... moved away... and moved back about 10 years ago to be close to family.  We are both sort of nerdy.  I have the warm, fuzzy personality of Dr. Sheldon Cooper.

I've been thinking about/planning for FIRE for 20+ years.  I have a beloved uncle that FIRE'd at 48 many years ago that put my mind in that direction.

I've always been an over-planner.  I've always been a saver.  I've always been super conservative in my finances. 

2) How have finances gone? Spent more than you expected, less, or right in line?  Have you earned any extra money what was beyond expected?  Any financial surprises, good or bad?

My spending one year in is well below what I thought it would be.  Taxes are huge.  We had a couple of very unexpected high $$$ expenses... and we are STILL under our target spending.  One of them was an unexpected payment for half of a niece's tuition for a semester.  One was an unexpected stay in an out of town hotel for 6 weeks due to family illness.

And... due to the way the family illness turned into death... I will be inheriting a significant amount soon.  Without including this, I can pretty much tell I over-saved.  Including it, I seriously over saved.

3) Done anything really cool this first year of FIRE?  Planning anything cool in the next year?

Nothing cool out of the ordinary.  I will say that FIRE gave me the freedom to spend every day with my dad during a 3 month hospital stay.  I am not sure this is a good memory... but it is something I was glad I was able to do.

4) Any regrets?  Did you FIRE too soon?  Should you have pulled the trigger even sooner?  Overall, how are your feelings towards when (e.g. the date/age) you FIRE'd?

I certainly could have pulled the trigger sooner.  But being over cautious... not sure how I would have handled it emotionally.  Financially, I could have jumped WAY sooner.

5) Any thoughts/advice for people about to pull the plug, or who just have ER'd (Class of 2016/2017)?

Even with a couple of financial emergencies, my expenses are way lower than I had estimated.  Remember that!

I am learning a lot about inherited IRAs.  If you know you're going to inherit an IRA of any significant amount, you may find that some of the MMM rules of logic may not entirely apply.  You may find that you want to weigh more of your earlier investments in Roth or taxable accounts.  Inherited IRAs are strange, with likely mandatory minimum withdrawal amounts that really balloon over time.  These RMDs are regular taxable income.  We've all seem to had it drummed into our heads that taxes will be lower as we age.  But if your income starts to balloon... this may not be the case.

6) Any other observations on how has this first year-ish has gone, or anything else you want to throw out there?

I can't think of much.  It has been awesome.  I must say I have not gotten nearly as much done this year as I had hoped.... but I am at least starting to make some headway.  My plans were to get a workable wood shop up and running and teach myself some wood working.  I have at least made a dent in that... but it is only a small dent.

7) What do you do all day?

I like to tinker.  Work on a car one day... work on the house one day...  I take on little computer projects for myself (that only I really care about).  My productivity hasn't been huge... and I hope to get that up a little.

Wife and I have also started working with a local cat rescue group.  This includes fostering cats in the house and includes some minimal duties one day a week at the "cat barn" where many of the misfits live.

AlwaysBeenASaver

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Re: Class of 2015
« Reply #276 on: July 23, 2016, 11:46:14 AM »
7) What do you do all day?

This is difficult to answer because each day is different and I mostly do what I feel like doing that day.

I have the life-necessities type things I do, which I kind of split up like this (although this too is totally flexible:)

Monday: tidy up the house, do a load of laundry, possibly deep clean an area if I feel like it.
Tuesday: put in an hour or so at my volunteer job, run a few errands while I'm in town.
Wednesday: grocery shopping if I need anything, bills/finances if anything needs attention.

Then there's all the other stuff I enjoy doing, which I pick and choose from depending on my mood:
cooking, crafts, gardening, indoor projects, outdoor projects, reading, learning, and the list goes on...

I just thought about what I did yesterday. Every few hours I went through a feeding routine with my elderly cat who's having some issues. I chased down and caught a lizard my young cat brought into the house. I love that I have time to spend with my cats and they're not stuck in the house all day! I finished replacing the doorknobs in our bathrooms and started repairing the trim on one bathroom - all due to an issue last week with the young cat getting locked into the bathroom and the quick-release not working. I visited a local friend and helped him with something he needed help with. Did some gardening. Made some soup. Started a project to seal up leaks in the roof of our woodshed. Binge read the online newsletters for a garden club I attended recently.  Chatted with my mom for over an hour. 

Although the activities vary, and some days I do have boring errands to do, this is a somewhat typical day for me - just doing things I want/like to do. And there's an endless supply of such activities, so I'm pretty much always busy with something!

Cannot Wait!

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Re: Class of 2015
« Reply #277 on: July 25, 2016, 02:35:03 PM »
I'm from the Class of 2016; thanks for all the advice!

FINate

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Re: Class of 2015
« Reply #278 on: July 28, 2016, 11:02:11 AM »
Good thread, I'll bite. Just got back from backpacking in the high sierras and then vacationing with the family, so getting to this a bit late :)

1) Give some quick background detail on yourself so the questions below have a bit of context.  (Stuff like this may, or may not include things like: How old are you? What area of the country/world? How long have you been FIRE'd now?  What SWR did you pull the trigger at? Did you downsize or move to a lower COL?  Did you downshift to a semi-ER? Is a spouse still working? etc. etc.  Just a little paragraph background detail on you personally, so we know where you're coming from on the below questions.)


I'm 39, FIREd for about a year now. Live in a HCOL area with DW and 2 young daughters. We thought about relocating to LCOL which would allow us to spend and travel more, but the grandparents and most of the extended family are here and that's more important to us right now. I was a software engineer, DW was an elementary school teacher though she quit her job about 5 years ago because kids. DW still substitute teaches on occasion, though this is mainly because she knows a lot of the teachers and she likes to get out of the house and do something different.

2) How have finances gone? Spent more than you expected, less, or right in line?  Have you earned any extra money what was beyond expected?  Any financial surprises, good or bad?

Finances are going as expected. I was somewhat surprised that we spend a lot less now - I guess that's because we have a lot more time to cook at home, and I now fix more things around the house myself. Even though things are going as expected, it still amazes me that passive income just shows up each month, and when I log into Mint to check things every few weeks our financial situation is stable and going as planned, even though neither of us is really working. We've had a couple of unexpected expenses, but was no big deal to cover these out budget surplus and/or savings.

3) Done anything really cool this first year of FIRE?  Planning anything cool in the next year?

The coolest thing has been being able to spend so much time with my family, and to live virtually stress free. We don't have any grand plans to travel the world with our 3-5 year old kids (we traveled a lot before kids), but since we live in a beautiful part of California we've really enjoyed seeing and experiencing everything this area has to offer. Beaches, state parks, national parks, camping, wineries, cool towns, family bike rides, etc. The best thing has been being able to do things mid-week, which means we get better deals and we mostly avoid the crowds. We joke that we look forward to the weekdays now, since weekends are often filled with kid birthday parties and other business, whereas we got to go have fun during the week.

4) Any regrets?  Did you FIRE too soon?  Should you have pulled the trigger even sooner?  Overall, how are your feelings towards when (e.g. the date/age) you FIRE'd?

No regrets. Since my early 20s I had planned to be FI by around 40, so this is something I've been preparing for, financially and mentally, for a long time. I held on as long as I could at my last job primarily because it paid so well and therefore brought me to FI much faster. That was tough, only working at a place because of the compensation while putting up with a lot of BS, but it was worth it. But I was definitely ready to leave when I pulled the trigger.

5) Any thoughts/advice for people about to pull the plug, or who just have ER'd (Class of 2016/2017)?

The first few months of ER may be slightly unsettling/disorienting, at least it was for me. Even though I've always been very intentional about not letting my career/work become my identity, and have always maintained pretty good work/life balance, it was still tougher than expected to give up the daily grind at first. It's really quite sad that our culture places so much emphasis and identity on "what you do" rather than who you are. I've realized that it's not just what you do each day, it's also the mindset that a high income encourages profligate spending, which can easily become part of our identity - so even if you don't get your identity in your work per se you may be placing your identity in how much you earn and the spending that that makes possible. All I can recommend is to stick with it, sit with the uncomfortableness and really think through and process those feelings. Think about the tradeoffs you're making - is it really worth 50-60 hours/week + a long commute to satisfy your sense of purpose or meaning? For me this process became a great opportunity for spiritual renewal, a time to really ponder meaning and purpose. So although I struggled somewhat early on to answer the "what do you do" question, now I just answer "I'm retired" and then enjoy watching people's expressions. If they're genuinely curious I'm happy to fill in all the details for them, but for the most part I just leave it at that.

6) Any other observations on how has this first year-ish has gone, or anything else you want to throw out there?

Without a doubt I'm in the best shape of my life. I made a point of consistently hitting the gym 5-6 days/week weight lifting and "bootcamp" style workouts, plus regular bike rides and lots of outdoor activities. This is much easier to maintain when you have more time. I feel like it has taken the better part of a year to undo the damage of sitting in an office for 20 years. I sleep better than ever, and consume much less alcohol and caffeine. My all around health is much better with healthy blood pressure (previously prehypertensive), healthy body weight, great cardio, and all around more active and agile. I love that I can go backpacking, hunting, or biking in the mountains and go quickly over steep terrain without getting exhausted. The only problem is that none of my friends or family can keep up :) As I like to tell my wife, I know I could have kept working like crazy and made a ton of money, but what's the point if I'm only going to end up spending a fortune living with heart disease or a metabolic condition.

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Re: Class of 2015
« Reply #279 on: July 28, 2016, 11:07:56 AM »
following

misshathaway

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Re: Class of 2015
« Reply #280 on: July 29, 2016, 07:14:35 AM »
It is so interesting to read the diverse experiences here, and in more detail than you usually see. I'm attributing the quality to the excellent questions that structure the responses and let the reader compare.

vine

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Re: Class of 2015
« Reply #281 on: October 15, 2017, 01:25:31 AM »
I'm a class of 2015 and just noticed this and I am therefore really late to the party. I'm normally more of a mmm forum lurker than an active participant, but it's probably about time I start posting. Here goes:


1) Give some quick background detail on yourself so the questions below have a bit of context.  (Stuff like this may, or may not include things like: How old are you? What area of the country/world? How long have you been FIRE'd now?  What SWR did you pull the trigger at? Did you downsize or move to a lower COL?  Did you downshift to a semi-ER? Is a spouse still working? etc. etc.  Just a little paragraph background detail on you personally, so we know where you're coming from on the below questions.)


I retired in 2015 at the age of 29. I'm from the Boulder area just a few minutes down the road from our revered leader (is that cheating?) Currently traveling full time, about half of the time in cheap countries, but in the other half in very expensive places such as New Zealand and Singapore. The stash was roughly around 400k when I stopped working, so that gives a theoretical safe withdrawal rate of $16k a year using 4%, although most of my net worth is stuck in a stupid unproductive condo and in IRA's that I can't touch, so my real SWR is probably closer to $8k a year. I need to do something about that condo.

2) How have finances gone? Spent more than you expected, less, or right in line?  Have you earned any extra money what was beyond expected?  Any financial surprises, good or bad?

It turns out that long term traveling is way less expensive than I anticipated, so I've actually done ok with the budget. In the first year I've basically spent around what my passive income has thrown at me. (I've detailed this here if anyone is interested: http://www.noodlesandfish.com/travel/)

The big unplanned financial surprize happened when I was traveling in Nepal - I decided to sponsor a kids education, which costs around $1500 a year for a quality boarding school. I am committed to paying for this kids education for as long as he wants to go to school, and at the moment he is 4 years old so that might be a while if he makes it all the way through college. Then like the sucker I am I signed up to pay for another kid, and then a third, and then a fourth and fifth for good measure. Hey, if it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing. All in I'm on the hook for around $7,500+ a year of totally unplanned expenses for the next 20 years or so (and I should note that tuition gets more expensive as the kids get older).

I have no idea how I'm going to pay for that in the long run, but honestly, it's $7,500 a year, I could pull that off making minimum wage if I really had to so I'm not losing sleep over it. If anything I'm sleeping better knowing that I'm hopefully making a huge difference in these kids lives.

3) Done anything really cool this first year of FIRE?  Planning anything cool in the next year?

Um. Travel is pretty cool if that's your thing. Sponsoring education in poor and corrupt countries is cool if that's what you're into. I'm not really an intrinsically cool person.

4) Any regrets?  Did you FIRE too soon?  Should you have pulled the trigger even sooner?  Overall, how are your feelings towards when (e.g. the date/age) you FIRE'd?

This is going to sound weird to many of you, but I actually wish I retired earlier. Had I not screwed around so much when I was younger and dumped money on junk and bars I probably could have retired at around the age of 25. I'm not complaining about reaching FI at 29... well, ok, I am complaining.

5) Any thoughts/advice for people about to pull the plug, or who just have ER'd (Class of 2016/2017)?

Go for it. Anyone who thinks they are close should just go for it, don't drag it out any longer than necessary. Chances are you'll accidentally make an income later in life anyway.

6) Any other observations on how has this first year-ish has gone, or anything else you want to throw out there?

You all are awesome for sharing your stories, I'm not sure I would have been brave enough to do this without everyones encouragement.

7) What do you do all day?

That varies day to day, but the weird thing about not working is that your days still manage to be full. For a week or so after I retired it felt like I suddenly had all the time in the world. There were so many unallocated hours each week free of any scheduled activity, huge blank spots to fill with whatever I wanted. Soon enough that free time just started to feel normal, now I have no idea how people could possibly have time to work and do everything else in life.

I guess my point is that you won't be bored.


arebelspy

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Re: Class of 2015
« Reply #282 on: October 15, 2017, 02:39:57 AM »
Neat story, vine.

Your spending/stache cuts a little low for me (with family, wanting the freedom to travel or live in more expensive places), but as a single person in cheap countries, sounds like it works well for you.

Glad you found some meaning in the charity work.

Thanks for sharing!
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

vine

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Re: Class of 2015
« Reply #283 on: October 15, 2017, 02:10:23 PM »
Neat story, vine.

Your spending/stache cuts a little low for me (with family, wanting the freedom to travel or live in more expensive places), but as a single person in cheap countries, sounds like it works well for you.

Glad you found some meaning in the charity work.

Thanks for sharing!

It is low, but it doesn't feel at all limiting since most countries in the world are insanely cheap. There are literally hundreds of cheap countries, and many of these are places I would spend time in anyway because they are fun, not because they are cheap.

At some point I'll probably want to stop traveling and settle back in the US and that is probably going to be expensive. In the future I hope to increase safe spending levels significantly to account for that and family etc.

Something I probably should have mentioned is that my stache is currently growing. I retired at around 400k, now two years later the value is closer 530K, all from market returns. Part of my strategy is to try to front-load time in these cheaper countries towards the beginning of my retirement so that the portfolio has a better opportunity to grow. Once it reaches a high enough amount I'll come join you and Ali for a beer in one of those expensive countries :)


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Re: Class of 2015
« Reply #284 on: November 14, 2017, 02:02:25 PM »
Hi Vine - thanks for your post.

How did you decide to sponsor education for those kids on Nepal? Were you there at the time?  I would like to hear more of this story!

vine

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Re: Class of 2015
« Reply #285 on: November 15, 2017, 02:47:02 AM »
Hi Vine - thanks for your post.

How did you decide to sponsor education for those kids on Nepal? Were you there at the time?  I would like to hear more of this story!

Well, I was traveling in Nepal for about three months and it just sorta happened. The education that the Nepalese government schools provide generally suck.

I tend to travel really slowly, and don't usually see many of the sights or do the touristy things. Instead I tend to spend lots of time hanging out with locals. So all of these kids are from families I've spent a fair amount of time with, and sending the kids to private school seemed like and easy thing for me to do.

SachaFiscal

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Re: Class of 2015
« Reply #286 on: November 15, 2017, 07:29:49 AM »
@vine, it’s interesting to hear your story as it is not a common one on this forum. I think it’s amazing you retired on that amount and your stash is growing. You saw an opportunity and decided to take it. I’m glad it is working out so well for you. Sounds really efficient how you are traveling in cheap countries and letting your stash grow.

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Re: Class of 2015
« Reply #287 on: November 15, 2017, 07:39:16 AM »
Nowhere near FIRE but I just stumbled across the post...

@vine, you mentioned that "most of my net worth is stuck in a stupid, unproductive condo." 

So that means your holding onto real estate in the US? Are you renting it out? (i'd guess not based on your word choice of "unproductive") Trying to sell it? I was just curious as to why you didn't liquidate the equity (which seems significant based on your "most of my net worth" statement) since you aren't living there anymore.

G-dog

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Re: Class of 2015
« Reply #288 on: November 15, 2017, 08:51:04 AM »
Hi Vine - thanks for your post.

How did you decide to sponsor education for those kids on Nepal? Were you there at the time?  I would like to hear more of this story!

Well, I was traveling in Nepal for about three months and it just sorta happened. The education that the Nepalese government schools provide generally suck.

I tend to travel really slowly, and don't usually see many of the sights or do the touristy things. Instead I tend to spend lots of time hanging out with locals. So all of these kids are from families I've spent a fair amount of time with, and sending the kids to private school seemed like and easy thing for me to do.

Providing (better) education for people is a great thing to do in any country IMHO.

vine

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Re: Class of 2015
« Reply #289 on: November 15, 2017, 12:53:31 PM »
Nowhere near FIRE but I just stumbled across the post...

@vine, you mentioned that "most of my net worth is stuck in a stupid, unproductive condo." 

So that means your holding onto real estate in the US? Are you renting it out? (i'd guess not based on your word choice of "unproductive") Trying to sell it? I was just curious as to why you didn't liquidate the equity (which seems significant based on your "most of my net worth" statement) since you aren't living there anymore.

It is US based condo in a high COL area that I bought long before I had a clue as to what is and what is not a good investment. At the time I fell into the classic "buy the biggest and nicest thing you can qualify for" trap.

I do rent it out, but management fees, hoa dues and maintenance eat up most of the profit. From a cash flow standpoint it's not very productive. If I had used the same cash I've thrown into the condo over the years and invested in say a broad market mutual fund I'd have a much bigger stash now, and I'd now have liquid assets. Obviously that would be preferable.

So I call it unproductive, although in truth it's mildly productive. But it's way less productive than mutual funds or a better rental would be.

So why haven't I liquidated? I suppose because over time returns will get much better since it's a fixed mortgage. When I calculate long term returns (say 5+ years from now) the cash flow starts to look good enough for me. In the really long term the cash flow should be excellent.

The bigger reason is that it's easier in the short term to hold onto it than it would be to deal with selling. Real estate transactions are either expensive or a lot of work depending on how you go about it. I'm overseas at the moment and I'd rather not have to deal with it.

Finally, the condo is located in a city that I might be interested in living in again at some point in the future. The area is getting more and more expensive, the condo might be the only way I'll be able to afford to live there without having to go back to work.