Race from $2M to $4M...and Beyond!

[Much Fishing to Do]

Are any of you considering ways to move portions of your portfolios from US holdings?  If so, what options are you considering?

Not changing anything.

I've been diversified in international by holding mostly VT-type ETFs instead of VTI, and due that have significantly underperformed the US markets for the past 15 years.  Its painful to see by how much better I would have done is I went with all US with SPY or VTI.  Hoping maybe I start catching back up a little due to current events or at least a little reversion to the mean at least....but not gonna hold my breath.  It does mean I'm close to even for the YTD as opposed to being somewhat down, but its not a lot in the grand scheme of things.

[JGS1980]

Are any of you considering ways to move portions of your portfolios from US holdings?  If so, what options are you considering?

Not changing anything.

I've been diversified in international by holding mostly VT-type ETFs instead of VTI, and due that have significantly underperformed the US markets for the past 15 years.  Its painful to see by how much better I would have done is I went with all US with SPY or VTI.  Hoping maybe I start catching back up a little due to current events or at least a little reversion to the mean at least....but not gonna hold my breath.  It does mean I'm close to even for the YTD as opposed to being somewhat down, but its not a lot in the grand scheme of things.

Ditto. My AA is 90/10 Equities/Fixed Income (US treasury bonds equivalent), with 80% of Equities US, and 20% supposed to be International. Over the huge runup of US Equities over the last 15 years, I've just "let it ride". Over time, this led to my International lowering to 8% despite ongoing new contributions. Not sure if I came out ahead or behind in the long run. In either case, I plan on doing absolutely nothing right now. Waiting it out has worked great for me since I started this whole investing thing.

[Much Fishing to Do]

In either case, I plan on doing absolutely nothing right now. Waiting it out has worked great for me since I started this whole investing thing.

Heh, that reminds me of my "trading" days when I had a whole lot of great ideas...thank god I didn't have any money back then....

It's not like having any insider information would help me either.  If you would have told me 2020 would bring a global pandemic and I reacted, I would have at a minimum missed out on a 18% return year.  The only thing that seems pretty reliable is, over time, the market goes up.

[ROF Expat]

Are any of you considering ways to move portions of your portfolios from US holdings?  If so, what options are you considering?

Not changing anything.

I've been diversified in international by holding mostly VT-type ETFs instead of VTI, and due that have significantly underperformed the US markets for the past 15 years.  Its painful to see by how much better I would have done is I went with all US with SPY or VTI.  Hoping maybe I start catching back up a little due to current events or at least a little reversion to the mean at least....but not gonna hold my breath.  It does mean I'm close to even for the YTD as opposed to being somewhat down, but its not a lot in the grand scheme of things.

Ditto. My AA is 90/10 Equities/Fixed Income (US treasury bonds equivalent), with 80% of Equities US, and 20% supposed to be International. Over the huge runup of US Equities over the last 15 years, I've just "let it ride". Over time, this led to my International lowering to 8% despite ongoing new contributions. Not sure if I came out ahead or behind in the long run. In either case, I plan on doing absolutely nothing right now. Waiting it out has worked great for me since I started this whole investing thing.

I'm in much the same position, but I remind myself that my allocations in bonds and international stocks are about diversification for safety, not maximizing returns.  In that regard, they are doing their jobs.  I do try to ensure that I base my asset allocations on unemotional analysis of my own situation rather than on the news of the day or current market conditions. 

[2sk22]

Are any of you considering ways to move portions of your portfolios from US holdings?  If so, what options are you considering?

Not changing anything.

I've been diversified in international by holding mostly VT-type ETFs instead of VTI, and due that have significantly underperformed the US markets for the past 15 years.  Its painful to see by how much better I would have done is I went with all US with SPY or VTI.  Hoping maybe I start catching back up a little due to current events or at least a little reversion to the mean at least....but not gonna hold my breath.  It does mean I'm close to even for the YTD as opposed to being somewhat down, but its not a lot in the grand scheme of things.

When I was talking to my Fidelity rep last November, he suggested that I increase the percentage in international stocks. Upon reflecting, I decided that it was a good idea so I moved some of my IRA money to an international index fund. In my regular brokerage account, I have slowly been increasing my holdings in VXUS via dividend reinvestments (currently have about $150k in VXUS).

[Dicey]

Still not changing anything.

[Taran Wanderer]

I keep thinking I should change something, but I haven’t yet. And I probably won’t.

[Fomerly known as something]

Only thing I “changed” occurred before the recent volatility which was to diversify my HSA to a similar equity position I have with my other accounts as it had gotten closer to 6 figures.

[tooqk4u22]

If the today was the end of the month and you didn't look at anything in-between you would think this would be a rather boring month.   I probably just jinxed it though.

I don't know how low my portfolio got and still don't know what it is now as I only check at month ends.

[dividendman]

If the today was the end of the month and you didn't look at anything in-between you would think this would be a rather boring month.   I probably just jinxed it though.

I don't know how low my portfolio got and still don't know what it is now as I only check at month ends.

I track my net worth monthly as well... I've been doing this since 2007 when my net worth was $22,681 (CAD). I just do it out of habit now but I'm probably going to switch to quarterly. I track my spending monthly too...

[tooqk4u22]

If the today was the end of the month and you didn't look at anything in-between you would think this would be a rather boring month.   I probably just jinxed it though.

I don't know how low my portfolio got and still don't know what it is now as I only check at month ends.

I track my net worth monthly as well... I've been doing this since 2007 when my net worth was $22,681 (CAD). I just do it out of habit now but I'm probably going to switch to quarterly. I track my spending monthly too...

Definitely a habit and quarterly would be fine. The main problem for would be that it would probably be a big chore to categorize a quarter's worth of expenses at a time.  It would also probably mess up my various formulas and charts (i use excel) that I love so much. 

[jeroly]

Are any of you considering ways to move portions of your portfolios from US holdings?  If so, what options are you considering?

We've been putting new money into international, but we're still under our 20-30% target range thanks to US equity overperformance in the last decade.

Also, I recently browsed the local real estate listings here, around Lake Norman, and noticed many high-end properties on the market.  Perhaps it's a normal volume this time of year, but I'm wondering if people in our "beyond" group are cashing out before it's too late.  Have you noticed similar sentiment in your areas? 

It feels like prices haven't been rising in the DC area for a while and may actually be dropping a bit - not too surprising given the purges of federal workers.

Also, I wonder what potential buyers are thinking when they're considering purchasing a $5-10 million home in today's climate.  Which industries are feeling safe at the moment?

Structuring debt workouts for bankrupt firms is pretty recession-resistant ;-)

[ATtiny85]

Rough glance at the portfolio numbers this morning seems to show that we have crossed back over to the black for YTD balance compared to December 31. Naturally this includes contributions, including that I maxed out my 401k before retiring in mid March. Well, fell a few thousand short on the catch-up, but no interest in hanging out just for that. We are at 62/38 equity to fixed.

Need to grab these chances to post “success”, since by tomorrow it might be back in the red.

[EscapeVelocity2020]

Rough glance at the portfolio numbers this morning seems to show that we have crossed back over to the black for YTD balance compared to December 31. Naturally this includes contributions, including that I maxed out my 401k before retiring in mid March. Well, fell a few thousand short on the catch-up, but no interest in hanging out just for that. We are at 62/38 equity to fixed.

Need to grab these chances to post “success”, since by tomorrow it might be back in the red.

Looks like you called it, futures dropping hard based on the negative GDP 'surprise'...  Maybe the market will continue to be resilient moving forward, but today is looking like a rough one.

[tooqk4u22]

Rough glance at the portfolio numbers this morning seems to show that we have crossed back over to the black for YTD balance compared to December 31. Naturally this includes contributions, including that I maxed out my 401k before retiring in mid March. Well, fell a few thousand short on the catch-up, but no interest in hanging out just for that. We are at 62/38 equity to fixed.

Need to grab these chances to post “success”, since by tomorrow it might be back in the red.

Looks like you called it, futures dropping hard based on the negative GDP 'surprise'...  Maybe the market will continue to be resilient moving forward, but today is looking like a rough one.

It was a surprise.....and honestly I am very surprised.  Sure there was all kinds of turmoil that started in February but I still would have thought that what ever plans/spending/investment that were in motion would have had take some time to taper off and I would have thought the pull forward ahead of all the tariff/policy nonsense would have offset some of it. 

If first quarter is any indication, then watch out for the second quarter because that is going to get crushed!

[Bateaux]

The psychological impact of a down market.
A week ago I was considering buying a boat for the Florida house. There was a great used boat in the type I was looking for. It was priced slightly above the value I wanted. I offered 10 percent under the listed price. My response from the owner was sold the next day. A couple of thousand dollars was the difference between me getting the boat and another buyer snagging it. In just a week my accounts have recovered over 100K of previous losses. But now that boat is gone. There are more boats out there, but none check all the boxes like that one. The entire cost of the boat is a partial percent of our net worth. For all I know the competitive buyer of the boat is financing it and couldn't give a shit about it's cost as a percentage of net worth. The fucking boat was 3/700 of our liquid NW!
Wife is unhappy.

[GuitarStv]

If first quarter is any indication, then watch out for the second quarter because that is going to get crushed!

Should be an interesting kick to the crotch when Trump re-implements is tariffs of stupidity in July.

[Dancin'Dog]

The psychological impact of a down market.
A week ago I was considering buying a boat for the Florida house. There was a great used boat in the type I was looking for. It was priced slightly above the value I wanted. I offered 10 percent under the listed price. My response from the owner was sold the next day. A couple of thousand dollars was the difference between me getting the boat and another buyer snagging it. In just a week my accounts have recovered over 100K of previous losses. But now that boat is gone. There are more boats out there, but none check all the boxes like that one. The entire cost of the boat is a partial percent of our net worth. For all I know the competitive buyer of the boat is financing it and couldn't give a shit about it's cost as a percentage of net worth. The fucking boat was 3/700 of our liquid NW!
Wife is unhappy.

It stings when you realize that you pinched pennies you shouldn't have.  But, it's always nice when you weren't the chump that overpaid for something. 


Life's a double-edged sword.  You'll find another "even more perfect" boat.  (And if your wife is like mine, she'll find something else to be unhappy about.)   

[dividendman]

The psychological impact of a down market.
A week ago I was considering buying a boat for the Florida house. There was a great used boat in the type I was looking for. It was priced slightly above the value I wanted. I offered 10 percent under the listed price. My response from the owner was sold the next day. A couple of thousand dollars was the difference between me getting the boat and another buyer snagging it. In just a week my accounts have recovered over 100K of previous losses. But now that boat is gone. There are more boats out there, but none check all the boxes like that one. The entire cost of the boat is a partial percent of our net worth. For all I know the competitive buyer of the boat is financing it and couldn't give a shit about it's cost as a percentage of net worth. The fucking boat was 3/700 of our liquid NW!
Wife is unhappy.

Well, I did something a lot dumber than you. Recruiters constantly send me emails even though I've disabled my LinkedIn. Usually I just ignore and block them but when the market was down 20% I answered one "just to see". Then they immediately wanted me! So I threw out a crazy high number... and they said yes... so... looks like I've failed FIRE for the second time. It's been over 3 years since I've worked... Let's see how long I last. Job looks interesting though. Maybe I've just forgotten how much work sucks.

The craziest part is that even if the market went down 50% I'd be fine money-wise. Oh well. I can always quit.

[tooqk4u22]

The psychological impact of a down market.
A week ago I was considering buying a boat for the Florida house. There was a great used boat in the type I was looking for. It was priced slightly above the value I wanted. I offered 10 percent under the listed price. My response from the owner was sold the next day. A couple of thousand dollars was the difference between me getting the boat and another buyer snagging it. In just a week my accounts have recovered over 100K of previous losses. But now that boat is gone. There are more boats out there, but none check all the boxes like that one. The entire cost of the boat is a partial percent of our net worth. For all I know the competitive buyer of the boat is financing it and couldn't give a shit about it's cost as a percentage of net worth. The fucking boat was 3/700 of our liquid NW!
Wife is unhappy.

It stings when you realize that you pinched pennies you shouldn't have.  But, it's always nice when you weren't the chump that overpaid for something. 


Life's a double-edged sword.  You'll find another "even more perfect" boat.  (And if your wife is like mine, she'll find something else to be unhappy about.)

IDK, there is a point where overpaying (a bit, not a lot) is ok...especially when buying something used and very specific to your wants that may be difficult to replicate.  You can't do this on everything but you can on some things.   I bought a car not too long ago and probably could have gotten a better deal by $500-1000 of I went to other dealers and shopped around or waited on the right private party sale....but to not run around, deal with a bunch of idiots or spend 9 hours in a dealership was worth it.   

And even in the two scenarios you really don't know what the right price is but it sounds like we both went into our respective transactions with "This is what I am willing to pay to get what I want"  and I got mine and @Bateaux didn't, and in that case who is to say the other buyer bought it for $1 more or $1000s more or was buying it to flip.   

There was a time I didn't have that luxury and like this time better......until my expenses are 10% higher later this year due to tariffs or supply constraints. 

[tooqk4u22]

The psychological impact of a down market.
A week ago I was considering buying a boat for the Florida house. There was a great used boat in the type I was looking for. It was priced slightly above the value I wanted. I offered 10 percent under the listed price. My response from the owner was sold the next day. A couple of thousand dollars was the difference between me getting the boat and another buyer snagging it. In just a week my accounts have recovered over 100K of previous losses. But now that boat is gone. There are more boats out there, but none check all the boxes like that one. The entire cost of the boat is a partial percent of our net worth. For all I know the competitive buyer of the boat is financing it and couldn't give a shit about it's cost as a percentage of net worth. The fucking boat was 3/700 of our liquid NW!
Wife is unhappy.

Well, I did something a lot dumber than you. Recruiters constantly send me emails even though I've disabled my LinkedIn. Usually I just ignore and block them but when the market was down 20% I answered one "just to see". Then they immediately wanted me! So I threw out a crazy high number... and they said yes... so... looks like I've failed FIRE for the second time. It's been over 3 years since I've worked... Let's see how long I last. Job looks interesting though. Maybe I've just forgotten how much work sucks.

The craziest part is that even if the market went down 50% I'd be fine money-wise. Oh well. I can always quit.

I concur, that is dumber.....haha....speaking from someone who went back 2.5 years ago (but feels like 5) and is still trying to break free.....why does 2.5 feel like 5 but when I am off or having fun 5 feels like 2.5? 

And your comment about losing 50%, at first I said I wouldn't be ok, but then I thought about it and I think I would still be ok, and probably still better than most, but it would take pretty good lifestyle hit (and not overpaying on anything). 

Good luck, hope it is fun and interesting!

[2sk22]

The psychological impact of a down market.
A week ago I was considering buying a boat for the Florida house. There was a great used boat in the type I was looking for. It was priced slightly above the value I wanted. I offered 10 percent under the listed price. My response from the owner was sold the next day. A couple of thousand dollars was the difference between me getting the boat and another buyer snagging it. In just a week my accounts have recovered over 100K of previous losses. But now that boat is gone. There are more boats out there, but none check all the boxes like that one. The entire cost of the boat is a partial percent of our net worth. For all I know the competitive buyer of the boat is financing it and couldn't give a shit about it's cost as a percentage of net worth. The fucking boat was 3/700 of our liquid NW!
Wife is unhappy.

I know how that goes! I recently bought a car - paid cash for it and it came to a fraction of a percent of our liquid net worth. But I dithered and fretted about the purchase. I then realized that there have been days when our net worth has fluctuated way more than that.

Here is one weird thing - although I hate spending money on cars, I have absolutely no problem spending money on travel. We just got back from a $9000 vacation in Greece and had a wonderful time there. We flew business class, stayed in fancy hotels and rented a really nice car for a roadtrip. Also, I just booked a couple of business class tickets for a trip to south east Asia later this year - again no hesitation at all.

[tooqk4u22]

The psychological impact of a down market.
A week ago I was considering buying a boat for the Florida house. There was a great used boat in the type I was looking for. It was priced slightly above the value I wanted. I offered 10 percent under the listed price. My response from the owner was sold the next day. A couple of thousand dollars was the difference between me getting the boat and another buyer snagging it. In just a week my accounts have recovered over 100K of previous losses. But now that boat is gone. There are more boats out there, but none check all the boxes like that one. The entire cost of the boat is a partial percent of our net worth. For all I know the competitive buyer of the boat is financing it and couldn't give a shit about it's cost as a percentage of net worth. The fucking boat was 3/700 of our liquid NW!
Wife is unhappy.

I know how that goes! I recently bought a car - paid cash for it and it came to a fraction of a percent of our liquid net worth. But I dithered and fretted about the purchase. I then realized that there have been days when our net worth has fluctuated way more than that.

Here is one weird thing - although I hate spending money on cars, I have absolutely no problem spending money on travel. We just got back from a $9000 vacation in Greece and had a wonderful time there. We flew business class, stayed in fancy hotels and rented a really nice car for a roadtrip. Also, I just booked a couple of business class tickets for a trip to south east Asia later this year - again no hesitation at all.

I assume you used miles because I didn't think you could get a couple of business class tix for $9k. 

[2sk22]

I assume you used miles because I didn't think you could get a couple of business class tix for $9k.

The business class tickets to Athens roundtrip were actually just $3k each! I managed to stumble on a sale by British Airways so I got lucky. The hotels were about $1500 and the other expenses including the rental car came to about $1500.

On the other hand, the business class tickets that I bought recently from NY to Bangkok cost $6k each. Thats about the most expensive tickets that we have bought so far. I will be using my Chase points for hotels in Thailand (I have accumulated a ridiculous amount).

My wife has a number of chronic conditions which are not life threatening but make travel uncomfortable for her. So being able to sleep on the flight really helps. This year, I expect we will spend about $45k on travel (down from $60k last year).

[tooqk4u22]

I assume you used miles because I didn't think you could get a couple of business class tix for $9k.

The business class tickets to Athens roundtrip were actually just $3k each! I managed to stumble on a sale by British Airways so I got lucky. The hotels were about $1500 and the other expenses including the rental car came to about $1500.

On the other hand, the business class tickets that I bought recently from NY to Bangkok cost $6k each. Thats about the most expensive tickets that we have bought so far. I will be using my Chase points for hotels in Thailand (I have accumulated a ridiculous amount).

My wife has a number of chronic conditions which are not life threatening but make travel uncomfortable for her. So being able to sleep on the flight really helps. This year, I expect we will spend about $45k on travel (down from $60k last year).

That's great and makes total senses. $3k is nothing to sneeze at but for a long flight that is a pretty good deal - I would do it.

[Bateaux]

Ok I found another boat. It's the exact same boat I have in Louisiana, a year younger. It's a 23 foot and 4 feet longer than the first boat I missed out on. The first boat would fit in my garage, although it would be a pain in the butt storing it in there. The larger boat will require renting a storage space. It's more capable and I'd feel comfortable with short offshore trips into the Gulf of Mexico with it. It's in the shop for it's annual maintenance currently. I'm going to try and get this one. Higher operational costs due to size and storage. But not enough to be an issue.

[Bateaux]

A neighbor in Louisiana has asked to "Hire" me to build them a screen porch. I'm going to do it. My son who is a pretty good carpenter as well will be helping. I'm only doing it so the son can make some extra dollars as a side hustle. I really like the neighbors and don't want this to become a trend. I'd never run out of these type jobs if word got out.

[TempusFugit]

A neighbor in Louisiana has asked to "Hire" me to build them a screen porch. I'm going to do it. My son who is a pretty good carpenter as well will be helping. I'm only doing it so the son can make some extra dollars as a side hustle. I really like the neighbors and don't want this to become a trend. I'd never run out of these type jobs if word got out.

Yeah, be careful about providing paid services to friends and neighbors.  My dad fell into that trap when he agreed to build some cabinets for a neighbor years ago during his retirement.  Dad took up woodworking as a hobby and truly enjoyed it, putting together a full shop with all the gizmos and doodads. I’ve got several pieces of furniture he built over the years.  But doing something he normally enjoyed in exchange for (minimal) money sort of ruined the experience, and almost the friendship as well.  Once any amount of money enters the equation, things change.   

[Bateaux]

I really want these ladies to have this and these days it seems you pay a contractor a fortune or accept crappy work. Hopefully it will be a fun time with my son.

[Dancin'Dog]

Ok I found another boat. It's the exact same boat I have in Louisiana, a year younger. It's a 23 foot and 4 feet longer than the first boat I missed out on. The first boat would fit in my garage, although it would be a pain in the butt storing it in there. The larger boat will require renting a storage space. It's more capable and I'd feel comfortable with short offshore trips into the Gulf of Mexico with it. It's in the shop for it's annual maintenance currently. I'm going to try and get this one. Higher operational costs due to size and storage. But not enough to be an issue.

There's a huge difference in the capability of a 19' and a 23' boat.  The 23' will allow you to enjoy much rougher waters than a smaller boat.  It will provide more good boating days on your calendar and stretch your boundaries on the map.  You will feel safer and more comfortable, and it will also allow you to carry a few more passengers. 


Your wife will be happy with the upgrade.  ;)

[Dicey]

I really want these ladies to have this and these days it seems you pay a contractor a fortune or accept crappy work. Hopefully it will be a fun time with my son.

❤️

[Josiecat22222]

I really want these ladies to have this and these days it seems you pay a contractor a fortune or accept crappy work. Hopefully it will be a fun time with my son.

❤️

@Bateaux - you continue to be an inspiration on living your best life in retirement and paying it forwards. 

[Bateaux]

I really want these ladies to have this and these days it seems you pay a contractor a fortune or accept crappy work. Hopefully it will be a fun time with my son.

❤️

@Bateaux - you continue to be an inspiration on living your best life in retirement and paying it forwards.

I'm trying. So the project is going nicely. The ladies are happy and I'm enjoying it. It's ready to roof now and I'll probably order the roofing materials today. Once I install the roof, I'll be taking a break from it for a while. We're boating in Louisiana this coming weekend. I still haven't bought a boat for Florida. I was going to go small and store it in the garage. Now that the stock market has recovered a bit, I may pull some money and buy an offshore capable boat. I'll just pay for storage. I'll be headed to Florida for a group bicycle ride on May 24. We just booked a cruise out of Tampa in September and a Pompano Beach condo for a week in October.
I may try to slip a Colorado backpacking trip in during the summer.  Life is good!

[Taran Wanderer]

Our clothes washer died a couple of months ago.  Supposedly I could have repaired it with a $5 bearing and a day of swearing, but at 21 years old, we felt it was time to move on.  The clothes dryer of the pair still worked, but we felt it best to go ahead and replace it as well.  I posted the dryer on Facebook Marketplace - 21-year-old dryer, newish heating element, $100.  Only one person expressed interest (big surprise!), and then silence from her.  I waited for some other inquiries, but there was nothing.

I was about to just recycle it, but I checked back with her.  She had had some sort of other expense, and she no longer had money for the dryer.  It sounded legit.  One nice thing about being in this club is that selling the old dryer isn’t really about the money.  So on Mother’s Day, her son picked up and then delivered it to her, and she was delighted to get a free dryer.  And I was delighted to get it out of our garage!

[Fomerly known as something]

Our clothes washer died a couple of months ago.  Supposedly I could have repaired it with a $5 bearing and a day of swearing, but at 21 years old, we felt it was time to move on.  The clothes dryer of the pair still worked, but we felt it best to go ahead and replace it as well.  I posted the dryer on Facebook Marketplace - 21-year-old dryer, newish heating element, $100.  Only one person expressed interest (big surprise!), and then silence from her.  I waited for some other inquiries, but there was nothing.

I was about to just recycle it, but I checked back with her.  She had had some sort of other expense, and she no longer had money for the dryer.  It sounded legit.  One nice thing about being in this club is that selling the old dryer isn’t really about the money.  So on Mother’s Day, her son picked up and then delivered it to her, and she was delighted to get a free dryer.  And I was delighted to get it out of our garage!

I had a somewhat similar situation.  Moving from GA to Michigan, my dryer went from electric to gas.  So I pretty much gave a way a 4 year old dryer because I couldn’t use it going forward. 

[Dicey]

Our clothes washer died a couple of months ago.  Supposedly I could have repaired it with a $5 bearing and a day of swearing, but at 21 years old, we felt it was time to move on.  The clothes dryer of the pair still worked, but we felt it best to go ahead and replace it as well.  I posted the dryer on Facebook Marketplace - 21-year-old dryer, newish heating element, $100.  Only one person expressed interest (big surprise!), and then silence from her.  I waited for some other inquiries, but there was nothing.

I was about to just recycle it, but I checked back with her.  She had had some sort of other expense, and she no longer had money for the dryer.  It sounded legit.  One nice thing about being in this club is that selling the old dryer isn’t really about the money.  So on Mother’s Day, her son picked up and then delivered it to her, and she was delighted to get a free dryer.  And I was delighted to get it out of our garage!

Love this!

[2sk22]

As is my habit, I just updated my spreadsheet. Wow have the swings been wild this year. I have seen several week-to-week swings of over $150k in both directions. In my thirty plus years of investing, I've never seen such crazy volatility.

[jeroly]

As is my habit, I just updated my spreadsheet. Wow have the swings been wild this year. I have seen several week-to-week swings of over $150k in both directions. In my thirty plus years of investing, I've never seen such crazy volatility.

Mo' money = mo' wild $$$ swings... but rarely mo' problems

[GuitarStv]

As is my habit, I just updated my spreadsheet. Wow have the swings been wild this year. I have seen several week-to-week swings of over $150k in both directions. In my thirty plus years of investing, I've never seen such crazy volatility.

Mo' money = mo' wild $$$ swings... but rarely mo' problems

Moe problems.

[ATtiny85]

As is my habit, I just updated my spreadsheet. Wow have the swings been wild this year. I have seen several week-to-week swings of over $150k in both directions. In my thirty plus years of investing, I've never seen such crazy volatility.

Mo' money = mo' wild $$$ swings... but rarely mo' problems

Moe problems.

Wonder if he washed his hands after

[Fomerly known as something]

I had a bad day at work today, so I dropped about 1/3 of the Annual Leave (that I get paid out for) I have between now and my freedom day of July 18.  I’d consider taking everyday off but DC would need to approve that and I don’t want to deal with that either.

[couponvan]

I had a bad day at work today, so I dropped about 1/3 of the Annual Leave (that I get paid out for) I have between now and my freedom day of July 18.  I’d consider taking everyday off but DC would need to approve that and I don’t want to deal with that either.

So close!  Let freedom ring....

[Fomerly known as something]

Also I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it to the middle of this race before I Retired, but current NW

6/7/25 $3,010,729. 

It does include my Equity in my primary residence but I do count it because it is my ‘\”everything went wrong back up plan if I’m 97 and need more money for long term care.”

For context.
6/17/2017  $1,232,900
1/13/2020 $1,652,684
1/12/2021 $1,979,977
2/8/2022  $2,319,170
1/31/2023 $2,144,170
7/11/2024 $2,767,469

[Geppetto]

Also I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it to the middle of this race before I Retired, but current NW

6/7/25 $3,010,729. 

It does include my Equity in my primary residence but I do count it because it is my ‘\”everything went wrong back up plan if I’m 97 and need more money for long term care.”

For context.
6/17/2017  $1,232,900
1/13/2020 $1,652,684
1/12/2021 $1,979,977
2/8/2022  $2,319,170
1/31/2023 $2,144,170
7/11/2024 $2,767,469

You and I have trodden a remarkably similar path. Except I'm not close to retirement.
12/31/2018   $1,118,377
12/31/2019   $1,334,955
12/31/2020   $1,643,766
12/31/2021   $2,011,540
12/31/2022   $2,293,629
12/31/2023   $2,631,697
12/31/2024   $2,891,600
6/1/2025       $2,988,786

Over $3MM today for sure. That third million has felt like a slog (though it's still fun knowing its the third million being slogged). I have designs on achieving "& beyond" much faster.

Best of luck to ye in retirement.

[TempusFugit]

Other than having a $4M+ portfolio, what is your goal?  If you’re not close to retirement is that because you like your work, or just because you want more $ for a lavish retirement, a big estate for your heirs, or something else? 

[Geppetto]

No, it's not for the love of the work. I have lots of dependents. I would articulate the goal as getting them launched effectively, and then being reasonably assured of a reasonable degree of prosperity throughout the remainder of the proceedings.  I'm not there yet.

I'm building a ship in a dockyard. She needs a few more layers of armor before she can launch, and not be sunk by the torpedoes and dive-bombers that are sure to be encountered, from what direction nobody knows.

[Dicey]

Also I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it to the middle of this race before I Retired, but current NW

6/7/25 $3,010,729. 

It does include my Equity in my primary residence but I do count it because it is my ‘\”everything went wrong back up plan if I’m 97 and need more money for long term care.”

For context.
6/17/2017  $1,232,900
1/13/2020 $1,652,684
1/12/2021 $1,979,977
2/8/2022  $2,319,170
1/31/2023 $2,144,170
7/11/2024 $2,767,469

Do these numbers include the value of your pension?

[Fomerly known as something]

Also I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it to the middle of this race before I Retired, but current NW

6/7/25 $3,010,729. 

It does include my Equity in my primary residence but I do count it because it is my ‘\”everything went wrong back up plan if I’m 97 and need more money for long term care.”

For context.
6/17/2017  $1,232,900
1/13/2020 $1,652,684
1/12/2021 $1,979,977
2/8/2022  $2,319,170
1/31/2023 $2,144,170
7/11/2024 $2,767,469

Do these numbers include the value of your pension?

Nope this is outside of my pension. 

ETA: so I am in the “beyond” for purposes of what I can spend annually.

[Dicey]

Also I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it to the middle of this race before I Retired, but current NW

6/7/25 $3,010,729. 

It does include my Equity in my primary residence but I do count it because it is my ‘\”everything went wrong back up plan if I’m 97 and need more money for long term care.”

For context.
6/17/2017  $1,232,900
1/13/2020 $1,652,684
1/12/2021 $1,979,977
2/8/2022  $2,319,170
1/31/2023 $2,144,170
7/11/2024 $2,767,469

Do these numbers include the value of your pension?

Nope this is outside of my pension. 

ETA: so I am in the “beyond” for purposes of what I can spend annually.

That's what I thought. You're a financial rock[star]. Those numbers, plus a DBP and healthcare are quite a trifecta.

[Turtle]

Also I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it to the middle of this race before I Retired, but current NW

6/7/25 $3,010,729. 

It does include my Equity in my primary residence but I do count it because it is my ‘\”everything went wrong back up plan if I’m 97 and need more money for long term care.”

For context.
6/17/2017  $1,232,900
1/13/2020 $1,652,684
1/12/2021 $1,979,977
2/8/2022  $2,319,170
1/31/2023 $2,144,170
7/11/2024 $2,767,469

Do these numbers include the value of your pension?

Nope this is outside of my pension. 

ETA: so I am in the “beyond” for purposes of what I can spend annually.

That's what I thought. You're a financial rock[star]. Those numbers, plus a DBP and healthcare are quite a trifecta.

This is most definitely the rock star thread.  Congratulations to everyone, whether you’ve decided to keep working or not.

I hadn’t looked at my numbers recently.  If I add the nearly 400K value of my partial pensions, 100-200K home equity and my increased investments, I’m way closer to the middle of this race than I ever thought I would be.  Hoping to hit 2.5 LNW before I retire next year; above 2.3 already.