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.