Author Topic: 2018 FIRE cohort  (Read 738271 times)

DavidAnnArbor

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2300 on: March 27, 2019, 02:48:11 PM »
I succeeded in repairing some of the bathroom ceiling drywall with the help of a client/friend, and then I painted it white high gloss.

I'm still working part time but I feel like I have a good balance in my life, I mostly enjoy my work, and it is a social outlet for me.

Also, definitely working out more and really enjoying that a great deal. And I'm driving a whole lot less.

I did drive to the gym today and I was driving back I wondered about what would be a safe bike path to take in lieu of using a car to get there.

EnjoyIt

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2301 on: March 27, 2019, 04:41:43 PM »
I succeeded in repairing some of the bathroom ceiling drywall with the help of a client/friend, and then I painted it white high gloss.

I'm still working part time but I feel like I have a good balance in my life, I mostly enjoy my work, and it is a social outlet for me.

Also, definitely working out more and really enjoying that a great deal. And I'm driving a whole lot less.

I did drive to the gym today and I was driving back I wondered about what would be a safe bike path to take in lieu of using a car to get there.

Same with me, working part time about 2 days a week. I work out more with a better workout now each time since I have more time in the day. We eat better since we have more time to create new and exciting healthy dishes. I fill up my car now almost once a month instead of once a week.

I too want to ride my bike to the gym. It would take me about 30 minutes each way. I’m not too worried about the ride there, but the ride back especially after a leg workout scares me. One of these days it will happen.

Cherry Lane

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2302 on: March 27, 2019, 04:51:21 PM »
I did drive to the gym today and I was driving back I wondered about what would be a safe bike path to take in lieu of using a car to get there.

I bike to the gym (it's under 2 miles each way) and feel safer riding on a busy street than I do driving in the gym's parking garage.  I drove there some over the winter (<50%) and am happy to be back biking more again.

DavidAnnArbor

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2303 on: March 27, 2019, 08:54:02 PM »
If I bicycle there I will definitely be taking sidestreets and use sidewalks which are mostly empty on this route.

sol

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2304 on: April 04, 2019, 09:31:00 AM »
Weird Al song linked from the MMM blog frontpage on April 1st:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyV_UG60dD4

This dredged up all kinds of horrible feelings from inside of me, and then, finally, a calming sense of relief when I realized I never need to live in that world ever again.  If I ever try to efficiently synergize my core competencies again, someone please kick me in the balls.

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2305 on: April 04, 2019, 09:59:58 AM »
A week ago I reached one year as a FIREee.  My, how the time has flown.  And yet, having a "real job" seems like a lifetime ago.

I haven't done a lot of what I'd planned, and FIREd life doesn't look quite how I thought it might, but I'm happy I'm here!

What about the rest of you?

I've been FIREd for almost 8 months now and I keep thinking that I just haven't quite yet really gotten a taste of it.  I'm not really there yet.  I started with "working" more hours than I ever did at work the first few months, on the 2018 mid-term elections (but unpaid).  Then I had a wedding to plan, an unexpected move and took on a few too many volunteer obligations, so that wasn't really "true" FIREd life either, was it?  Wedding is over and volunteer obligations have settled, but I still have to make a To Do list each and every day because I have a lot of work to do on our new home, we have two more trips/events to plan and I need a whole planning regime for a thru-hike I'm doing this summer.  And all the stuff I was going to do when I was FIREd?  Spanish, meditation, dancing classes, learning new skills?  Well...I am meditating, but that's it.  I have no time for my FIRE plans, so it feels like I'm still not really FIREd!

But....it sort of finally sunk in....as you say above, @Cherry Lane "FIREd life doesn't look quite how I thought it might."  But that doesn't mean I'm not really experiencing a true FIREd life.  And I'm quite happy, too.  Certainly many times happier than if I had to work and do most of these things on top of working and not be able to do some of the other things at all.  And if all goes well, I have 4 or 5 decades to fill and I don't expect my first 8 months will be indicative of what things will be like in a few years or a few decades.  It's a true adventure to see what will come!

davisgang90

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2306 on: April 04, 2019, 10:38:40 AM »
Weird Al song linked from the MMM blog frontpage on April 1st:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyV_UG60dD4

This dredged up all kinds of horrible feelings from inside of me, and then, finally, a calming sense of relief when I realized I never need to live in that world ever again.  If I ever try to efficiently synergize my core competencies again, someone please kick me in the balls.

Sweet Babelspeak Sol, but watch the Sailor!  Proactively "From the Sea"; An agent of change leveraging the littoral best practices for a paradigm breaking six-sigma best business case to synergize a consistent design in the global commons, rightsizing the core value supporting our mission statement via the 5-vector model through cultural diversity. 

(H/T CDR Salamander.  https://cdrsalamander.blogspot.com/)

chasesfish

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2307 on: April 04, 2019, 05:47:21 PM »
I'm really enjoying browsing through the 2018 forums now.  It seems the general theme is "how does the slowing down process go?"

Its already so easy to just keep operating at the prior pace.  Learning to slow down is part of the process

Daisy

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2308 on: April 16, 2019, 11:30:34 PM »
Weird Al song linked from the MMM blog frontpage on April 1st:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyV_UG60dD4

This dredged up all kinds of horrible feelings from inside of me, and then, finally, a calming sense of relief when I realized I never need to live in that world ever again.  If I ever try to efficiently synergize my core competencies again, someone please kick me in the balls.

Sweet Babelspeak Sol, but watch the Sailor!  Proactively "From the Sea"; An agent of change leveraging the littoral best practices for a paradigm breaking six-sigma best business case to synergize a consistent design in the global commons, rightsizing the core value supporting our mission statement via the 5-vector model through cultural diversity. 

(H/T CDR Salamander.  https://cdrsalamander.blogspot.com/)

Listening to this song reminded me of the corporate lingo used in one my old department's push for a "paradigm shift".

Management encouraged people to put a pair of dimes (get it...paradigm) in the plastic slot where their badges resided to join the "paradigm shift" movement.

DavidAnnArbor

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2309 on: April 17, 2019, 08:37:27 PM »
I went to a lecture this evening by a financial advisor on how to manage assets between 401k, 403b, and 457

It was very basic and I can't say I learned anything new or meaningful. In fact I kept interjecting about the value of rollovers to a Roth.

happy

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2310 on: April 22, 2019, 02:05:22 AM »
Its now 6 months since I went on Long Service Leave, hoping that I would not need to return to work and events transpired to make that so. I am still on leave, and will use up more leave, resigning in July.

As quite a few people have remarked, FIRE that I’m living doesn’t look that much like the FIRE I’d imagined. Within a few weeks of going on leave, my remaining parent took ill suddenly and died. I had hoped to have more time available to help out but thats not how things turned out. This lead to a whirlwind of clearing out 60 years of possessions from the family home, selling it, and trying to wind up my parents affairs, a process which is still onging.

Simultaneously the realestate project DS and I are working on took a series of unexpected twists and turns. This meant a few changes of direction, and ultimately resulted in constraints with cashflow that has slowed down progress quite a lot. However a DA is now finally sitting with council.

Whole of house renovations, part of the above project ( we are flipping), meant that our possessions have been variously packed and unpacked, shifted from one end of the house to the other and covered in dust despite our best efforts due to chasing plumbing into the slab, once for the bathrooms and once for the kitchen at the other end of the house. Added to that has been a huge influx of my parents things…we set an aspirational timeline for selling their house and it was quicker to bring stuff we weren’t sure about disposing of back here. So wrangling too much stuff has featured prominently in the last 6 months and this is also ongoing.

In spite of this rather torrid beginning, some great things have also happened. I’ve lost about 7 kg, although I had hoped for more. I am a bit fitter, now walking several km regularly. I’m definitely less stressed, and loving the feeling of not having to have everything planned around my workdays. If I can’t  or don’t wish to fit something in, then it can be done another day. The dogs and I have been to the dog beach quite a lot. I now have 4 miniature goats. I’ve been on a great 2 week holiday with a mustachian friend and have planned another later in the  year. The veggie garden hasn’t progressed as much, nor been as productive as I would have liked, but hopefully more progress will be made as some of the  earlier commitments are reducing. All in all, I would now say: living the dream :).

markbike528CBX

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2311 on: April 22, 2019, 11:50:56 AM »
Happy:
Nice to hear you're living the dream.
I've noticed quite a few FIREees taking on HUGE projects right at FIRE.
Your situation with your parents passing was forced on you, but many others haven't time to fully decompress( chill out) before starting the project(s) of a lifetime.. 

happy

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2312 on: April 22, 2019, 05:31:49 PM »
Its probably a detail that doesn't matter too much, ..but the real estate project started about 18 months ago, and absolutely  as the project of a lifetime that would enable me to retire doing what I wanted to do...living on a few acres: "homesteading" as Americans would say. So the big FIRE project started in advance of retirement and the renos were nearly finished when I went on leave, with a huge mess in the house. The date of the long service leave, either a prelude to retirement, or worst case scenario a mini retirement,  I had planned for at least 3 years in advance when I look back through some private financial musings.

Before the RE project, my life was more or less on auto-repeat...I had my expenses down, savings rate 60% and I was trundling along making my way to retirement in my career of over 30 years. Most things were familiar and predictable. RE project came along and things got more interesting, exciting and challenging. I thought when the leave came around, I would slow down: sort out and declutter the household possessions,  do more enjoyable chores around the place and have more time for family and friends. Instead everything sort of accelerated and piled up together..topped off with some grief and bereavement to boot. In spite of all the upheaval, I do feel more alive than I've felt in years and I wouldn't change a thing, except for my parent passing.

I too have noticed that others have retired and immediately faced some health or family challenges, or started on some immense projects. Maybe with the projects its all those things that one has always wanted to do, all piled up inside whilst sitting in a cubicle, that are suddenly released in retirement.

Linea_Norway

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2313 on: April 23, 2019, 02:17:51 AM »
At least, if you have family matters to spend time on, it is better to be FIRED and to have the time and resources to do so. My DH recently had to take 2 weeks off to visit his father when his mother was dying. Normally he would have worried about the potential impact on his career, being so long off work. But as this is our last working year, he doesn't care about it anymore.

happy

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2314 on: April 23, 2019, 04:13:20 AM »
Indeed, I spent a lot of my sick leave ( I can take this as carer's leave) in the last 6 months of both my parents lives...just coincidence but they both developed crescendoing health issues and due to their stubbornness/independence I often had to try to rescue the situation. In this last episode my brother said frequently how grateful he that I was on leave since we would have faced an impossible task trying to keep our respective jobs going.
« Last Edit: April 23, 2019, 04:31:23 PM by happy »

CowboyAndIndian

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2315 on: April 23, 2019, 08:07:52 AM »
2018 started with a bang with FIRE and ended with a whimper (sickness) for me. I returned from a 9-day trip to Mexico City and got Guillaume-Barre syndrome and spent 4 weeks in the hospital. Both Christmas and New Years in hospital :-(
I am doing much better now, got home a couple of days ago. I have a rigorous schedule of physical therapy and hope to be back to normal in a couple of months or so.

An update. I am walking normally and can walk almost a mile. My vision is improving, so for about half the day, I do not have double vision. Still working thru occupational therapy for my eyes. So, slowly inching my way back to normal.

I have been told to avoid crowded places since infection could retrigger GBS. So, I have spent a lot of time at home. The silver lining of having to stay home is that I have become fascinated by the birds around the house. I am spending time trying to learn about them. There are so many different birds in my neighborhood, I have only been able to identify the most common/colorful ones (cardinal, blue jay and robin). There are a bunch of raptors and song birds which I want to learn more about. What a fascinating hobby.

Also spending time updating the basic will, living will, etc. My old will had been done 20 years ago before my second son was born. Nothing like a health scare to drive you to action ;-) . Folks, please update your wills if it was done some time ago and review them annually if it was more recent.

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2316 on: April 23, 2019, 08:17:23 AM »
I have become fascinated by the birds around the house. I am spending time trying to learn about them. There are so many different birds in my neighborhood, I have only been able to identify the most common/colorful ones (cardinal, blue jay and robin). There are a bunch of raptors and song birds which I want to learn more about. What a fascinating hobby.

Yes it is!  Have you checked out the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website?  www.allaboutbirds.org.  Lot's of great resources there -- photos, info, maps, audio recordings, etc. 

I highly recommend listening to audio recordings of birds to learn what the different species sound like; it will double or triple your enjoyment.  It's often easier to hear the bird rather than see it.  Knowing who it is you're hearing, and roughly what they are saying is really cool. 

SwordGuy

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2317 on: April 23, 2019, 08:30:21 AM »
In a week will be the 1 year anniversary of us retiring from our day jobs.

A lot of unexpected injuries kept us from doing things we had planned to do, but other than that, it's been great.


Net worth is down a bit since we retired but our stock/bond portfolio and our rental property portfolio is up. 

We spent too much. :(   Part of that was medical costs from injuries and my bad teeth.   Part of it was just spending too much.

Good news is we have 2 more rental properties operational.   We'll see profits from them starting in October 2019 and April 2020.  (We worked out a deal with the person helping us get them operational to let them have the profits for the first year's renting so we could minimize our cash out of pocket costs.)

So, starting in 2020 we'll need a 0% SWR for a few years.  One more operational rental by 2022 and we'll be able to keep a 0% SWR.   I like the idea of not needed to withdraw from our stock/bond portfolio except for unusual, one-off expenses instead of routine ones.

We're starting to spend more time on our hobbies and expect to be travelling more assuming my darling wife can avoid injuring herself any more this year.  (Just dropped a log on her foot, but thankfully only minor bruising - this time.)  Just small, mini-vacations this year.  I would like to take some longer trips next year after we get our spending stabilized a bit better.

CowboyAndIndian

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2318 on: April 23, 2019, 08:50:47 AM »
I have become fascinated by the birds around the house. I am spending time trying to learn about them. There are so many different birds in my neighborhood, I have only been able to identify the most common/colorful ones (cardinal, blue jay and robin). There are a bunch of raptors and song birds which I want to learn more about. What a fascinating hobby.

Yes it is!  Have you checked out the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website?  www.allaboutbirds.org.  Lot's of great resources there -- photos, info, maps, audio recordings, etc. 

I highly recommend listening to audio recordings of birds to learn what the different species sound like; it will double or triple your enjoyment.  It's often easier to hear the bird rather than see it.  Knowing who it is you're hearing, and roughly what they are saying is really cool.

Thank you, great resources. I have downloaded the eBird and Merlin app, both from Cornell Univ.

Working on learning about calls and identifying flying birds. I think it will be a little slow and hope to jump-start the process when I can go to some classes held by the Audubon society.

Also, found a meetup.com group, which I will go to after I get better. There is also an Audubon run preserve very close to home which I hope I can go to soon.
« Last Edit: April 23, 2019, 08:52:47 AM by CowboyAndIndian »

Trifle

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2319 on: April 23, 2019, 08:53:44 AM »
I have become fascinated by the birds around the house. I am spending time trying to learn about them. There are so many different birds in my neighborhood, I have only been able to identify the most common/colorful ones (cardinal, blue jay and robin). There are a bunch of raptors and song birds which I want to learn more about. What a fascinating hobby.

Yes it is!  Have you checked out the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website?  www.allaboutbirds.org.  Lot's of great resources there -- photos, info, maps, audio recordings, etc. 

I highly recommend listening to audio recordings of birds to learn what the different species sound like; it will double or triple your enjoyment.  It's often easier to hear the bird rather than see it.  Knowing who it is you're hearing, and roughly what they are saying is really cool.

Thank you, great resources. I have downloaded the eBird and Merlin app, both from Cornell Univ.

Working on learning about calls and identifying flying birds. I think it will be a little slow and hope to jump-start the process when I can go to some classes held by the Audubon society.

Also, found a meetup.com group, which I will go to after I get better. There is also an Audubon run preserve very close to home which I hope I can go to soon.

That's awesome.  Best of luck in your recovery!

CowboyAndIndian

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2320 on: April 23, 2019, 12:00:25 PM »
In a week will be the 1 year anniversary of us retiring from our day jobs.

A lot of unexpected injuries kept us from doing things we had planned to do, but other than that, it's been great.


Net worth is down a bit since we retired but our stock/bond portfolio and our rental property portfolio is up. 

We spent too much. :(   Part of that was medical costs from injuries and my bad teeth.   Part of it was just spending too much.

Good news is we have 2 more rental properties operational.   We'll see profits from them starting in October 2019 and April 2020.  (We worked out a deal with the person helping us get them operational to let them have the profits for the first year's renting so we could minimize our cash out of pocket costs.)

So, starting in 2020 we'll need a 0% SWR for a few years.  One more operational rental by 2022 and we'll be able to keep a 0% SWR.   I like the idea of not needed to withdraw from our stock/bond portfolio except for unusual, one-off expenses instead of routine ones.

We're starting to spend more time on our hobbies and expect to be travelling more assuming my darling wife can avoid injuring herself any more this year.  (Just dropped a log on her foot, but thankfully only minor bruising - this time.)  Just small, mini-vacations this year.  I would like to take some longer trips next year after we get our spending stabilized a bit better.

Nice, I wish  I could get rentals properties which meet the 1% and 2% rule in our area. I am one of those hands on people, so do not like to be a remote landlord.

Keep safe, your 2019 resolution should be "No more injuries!"

happy

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2321 on: April 23, 2019, 04:35:51 PM »
Quote
An update. I am walking normally and can walk almost a mile. My vision is improving, so for about half the day, I do not have double vision. Still working thru occupational therapy for my eyes. So, slowly inching my way back to normal.

Glad to hear you are improving... it can take a while.

Monkey Uncle

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2322 on: April 23, 2019, 06:50:26 PM »
I have become fascinated by the birds around the house. I am spending time trying to learn about them. There are so many different birds in my neighborhood, I have only been able to identify the most common/colorful ones (cardinal, blue jay and robin). There are a bunch of raptors and song birds which I want to learn more about. What a fascinating hobby.

Yes it is!  Have you checked out the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website?  www.allaboutbirds.org.  Lot's of great resources there -- photos, info, maps, audio recordings, etc. 

I highly recommend listening to audio recordings of birds to learn what the different species sound like; it will double or triple your enjoyment.  It's often easier to hear the bird rather than see it.  Knowing who it is you're hearing, and roughly what they are saying is really cool.

Thank you, great resources. I have downloaded the eBird and Merlin app, both from Cornell Univ.

Working on learning about calls and identifying flying birds. I think it will be a little slow and hope to jump-start the process when I can go to some classes held by the Audubon society.

Also, found a meetup.com group, which I will go to after I get better. There is also an Audubon run preserve very close to home which I hope I can go to soon.

Repetition is key - listen to the recording over and over again.  Then go outside, listen to the bird, and find it in your binos to help reinforce the connection.  In your neck of the woods, the next month or so is the absolute best time of year to be outside listening to and looking at birds.  The neotropical migrants will be coming through in abundance.

Glad to hear you are on the mend.  This thread hasn't been the same without our fearless leader keeping us straight.

Cherry Lane

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2323 on: May 07, 2019, 04:52:52 PM »
Being FIREd is busy, y'all.  My summer is rapidly filling up.  I will likely spend only 4 Saturday nights at home from this weekend until September:

Home, friend's cottage, Camp Mustache, camping, camping, visit friend, visit sister, visit other friend, visit cousin, parent's anniversary party, home, family cottage, family cottage, home, kayak gathering, family cottage, home.

It's a good thing I have weekdays to recover.

elaine amj

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2324 on: May 07, 2019, 09:21:37 PM »


Being FIREd is busy, y'all.  My summer is rapidly filling up.  I will likely spend only 4 Saturday nights at home from this weekend until September:

LOL...we joke all the time about how busy weekends can get!

My FIRED life is pretty quiet. My mother grumbles that I am not productive but for now, I have no real desire to be productive. I did set myself the goal of 1-2 hours of physical activity a day and have been keeping up with that 90% of the time since January. Most days I do 1.5-2 hours. Sometimes 3hrs. It feels good :)

However, that doesn't leave a whole lotta time for much else. Especially since I have started afternoon naps.

Another challenge is that DH and I haven't been able to figure out much Mustachian ways to spend time together. We are both home, but we tend to be immersed in our own activities. We need to work harder at this...without spending too much money either. Really don't want to have to resort to going out to eat all the time.

We cut back a little on vacationing because I discovered it gets dangerously expensive when you have all the time in the world to add on days. So I am more careful now.

I am still very glad that we made the FIRE decision last year. So nice not to be tied to a desk.

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2325 on: May 07, 2019, 09:33:02 PM »

Another challenge is that DH and I haven't been able to figure out much Mustachian ways to spend time together. We are both home, but we tend to be immersed in our own activities. We need to work harder at this...without spending too much money either. Really don't want to have to resort to going out to eat all the time.


We hold hands and go for walks around the neighborhood.    We'll be trying a walking trail soon.  (My honey messed up her ankle and knee last year so we've been taking short walks close to home for now.)

I found a nice picnic basket and on nice days we'll have a picnic in the park.

Our car gets good gas mileage and we don't drive much anymore, so we'll put some snacks and drinks in a cooler, buy some french fries for our daughter, and drive around.  We'll pick a random direction and just go sight see.   Or we'll drive around an area and look at homes to invest in.

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2326 on: May 08, 2019, 07:30:12 AM »
Our car gets good gas mileage and we don't drive much anymore, so we'll put some snacks and drinks in a cooler, buy some french fries for our daughter, and drive around.  We'll pick a random direction and just go sight see.   Or we'll drive around an area and look at homes to invest in.
My friend's mom dubbed this type of activity, "random rambles". Excellent post-FIRE pasttime.

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2327 on: May 08, 2019, 08:08:51 AM »
I haven't had time to do this myself, but free tickets from the library to local museums, gardens, other attractions is high on my list for when my schedule opens up (sometime in the 2040s perhaps?).  I love the opportunity to just go for an hour or two rather than feel pressured to stay for 5 hours or more to get my money's worth.

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2328 on: June 17, 2019, 02:44:39 PM »
Checking in at almost 1 year post-FIRE. 

Immediately after FIRE, I converted my minivan into a camper and went on a 4 week trip with my daughter across parts of the US and Canada I had never visited before.  It was wonderful and a great opportunity for us to bond.  On return home, she went back to school and I began puttering about the house, and selling on eBay.

After the holidays, I wanted to do some more traveling, so I bought a cheap flight to London and travelled from London to Paris to Zurich to Munich and Berlin over about 3 weeks.  I stayed in hostels, cheap hotels and AirBnb and enjoyed the trip very much (though it was lonely at times).  I learned a lot about travel that will inform future plans (e.g. how to pack under 10kg for winter travel and what I need for a hostel and etc.). 

This spring, my wife and I visited the Big Island and enjoyed our time there, then we took the kids to the South of Spain.  Both trips were wonderful but involved too much time on airplanes compared to time in country for my tastes.  Mrs aperture is still working and the kids have their own lives, so we were not at liberty to take off for the entire summer to kick around Europe. 

My mood was elated for the first 6 months post FIRE and now slowly, my morbid Eeyore-like character has caught up to me and I have to work at keeping my mood upbeat (avoid the news and depressing media), exercise everyday, don't beat myself or family up for not living up to my stupid expectations, don't take myself too seriously etc.).  Today, I am not working in a job in a box and I need only pause for a moment to be happy about that.  I can do whatever I want, but mostly, that is laundry, cooking, groceries, eBay (think treasure hunt with real treasure that people pay you for) walking, fixing broken stuff (lots of deferred maintenance in the house that I continued to defer on FIRE until about 2 month s ago). 

I have not looked at a spreadsheet or calculated our net worth since I left work.  The markets went down, the markets went up and I do not give a flying fuck (it helps that we continue to live off and save money from my wife's job and my eBay business). Learning to frugal travel has been one of my favorite accomplishments this past year.  I also read a book - something I hadn't done in 10 years.  I am proud of that, but I switched back to audiobooks because I really enjoy books more that way. 

I am looking forward to a second minivan-camper trip with my daughter later this summer.  We plan to visit the Pacific Northwest.  I sent my passport in for a renewal and asked for the larger 52 page book for visa stamps.  God willing, I hope to fill it up in the next ten years.  Best wishes to you all, aperture.

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2329 on: June 17, 2019, 11:57:38 PM »
Ooh, I loves me a good update! Thanks, @aperture!

Linea_Norway

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2330 on: June 18, 2019, 04:22:51 AM »
Thanks for the update, aperture. It is a bit special to be the only one in the family who has retired. And that almost automatically means you will do a greater share of the household tasks, to relieve the still working spouse. I have a friend who is retired with a much younger working wife and he also does most household chores, if he is home, that is.

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2331 on: June 18, 2019, 05:05:08 AM »
Checking in at almost 1 year post-FIRE. 

Immediately after FIRE, I converted my minivan into a camper and went on a 4 week trip with my daughter across parts of the US and Canada I had never visited before.  It was wonderful and a great opportunity for us to bond.  On return home, she went back to school and I began puttering about the house, and selling on eBay.

What did you do to convert the minivan to a camper?  I often thought about doing the same thing.

aperture

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2332 on: June 18, 2019, 08:15:47 AM »
I removed all the rear seats, built a set of shelves in the well where the rear seats used to fold into that went up to the bottom of the rear window.  I built a platform on the rest of the back that stood about 6" proud of the floor.  My bed rests on the rear platform and underneath I can slide storage bins for clothes and supplies.  My rear shelves are the kitchen with space for a cooler, my stove, a small folding table (almost never used) two larger bins that come out of the well when you remove the shelves above them (pantry and tools) and a couple shelves for frequently used items (think of all you need to make coffee in the AM).  I can take pictures later if you are interested, but I think it is a pretty standard build if you google DIY minivan camper.

I had kicked the idea around for a while.  When we finally went travelling with it, I was amazed at how great it was.  No more sleeping in a tent on a crappy air mattress or pad.  No set up when you get to a camping site.  Everything where you want it and accessible.  I am looking forward to another season of camping in it this summer.  What I did not do was stealth camp.  To effectively stealth camp, I would probably need a vent and fan on the roof (I rolled windows down and held bug screens over the windows with magnets). 

This worked out great for me.  If you are considering it and don't have to invest a lot to do it, I would say pull the trigger.  Best wishes, apertrure.

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2333 on: October 30, 2019, 10:55:28 PM »
How's everyone in the 2018 cohort doing?

Other than medical insurance and too many visits to the doctor/dentist/surgeon in the last year and a half, we're doing very well.
I think we're almost caught up. :)    Wish us luck on that!

Had a panic when I had an unplanned ready-cash shortage because that meant I was going to have to use the HELOC or sell some assets to tide us thru.    Then I realized that the amount I was needing was only going to take us up to a 4% withdrawal rate for the year and I relaxed again.

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2334 on: October 30, 2019, 11:13:26 PM »
Things are going well for me.  Currently on a 6 week "vacation" visiting family in the Midwest for a couple of weeks, then two weeks in the Caribbean with my mom, then two more weeks before heading home.

I haven't had to spend any of my retirement money yet, and this is even after paying cash for a brand new car (my financial guy said I could spend way more than I was planning on and still not run out if I lived to be 100, plus my car was old and I plan on driving around the country for fun). 

In the process of converting Traditional IRA money over to Roth.  We are making sure it is as much as possible without affecting ACA subsidies.

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2335 on: October 31, 2019, 04:19:27 AM »
We've taken two big trips out west so far (one last fall and one this past spring), and we're planning another for next spring.  With the trip this spring and the not entirely expected need to replace a vehicle this fall, we are pushing right up to the limit of our maximum annual spending buffer.  That has caused me more stress than I expected it would, given that we are still keeping spending in line with what historical simulations say should produce a 100% success rate.  Next year we hope to stay well below the absolute max spending buffer, even with the spring trip and our son's wedding coming up in the fall.  Through all of this, we've been living off of stockpiled cash and some cash generated by getting out of my last ill-advised individual stock positions around the time I FIREd in 2018.  Next year we will probably have to sell some mutual fund assets for the first time.  That should be fun.

In non-spending matters, I'm doing some volunteer work on the board of a regional environmental non-profit, and my wife and I are both volunteering for the local animal shelter.  Beyond those two activities, I've been amazed at how much the normal odds and ends of life have expanded to fill my time.  "How did I ever have time to work" may sound like a cliche, but it is true.

sui generis

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2336 on: October 31, 2019, 01:08:36 PM »
I am soooo happy!  I got to hike the John Muir Trail this summer (one of my dream goals for ASAP after retirement). 21 days and 220+ miles in the High Sierra wilderness. It was just truly one of the best things I've done in my life.   

And I'm just really, really doing well with not having a job.  I think it's the combination of not having the obligation AND not having something I have to give *so much* time to.  I have about 4 volunteer jobs, one of which is temporarily taking way more than 40 hours per week (because it's about the elections next week), but is generally more modest, as are all the others.  And that more limited amount of time plus the knowledge that I could bail at any time, seems to work really well for me.  I wouldn't actually bail at any time, because I would feel guilty, but there's a difference between the obligation you feel because you they are paying you vs because you volunteered.  It's just not as oppressive-feeling.

I still think I might have to pull back on the level of volunteering to be able to pursue many of my other post-retirement goals which I have not touched in the last 14+ months.  But I hope to have plenty of time (knock on wood) and am not rushing anything.

As for money, I have not checked as religiously, though I should do a net worth analysis soon.  Annual spending is just below my spending plan, so I feel comfortable.  And that's with an amazing amount of travel so far this year (in addition to the trail, I did a few weeks in Africa and Europe and a honeymoon to Puerto Rico, plus small trips to CO and SC and various trips to SoCal to visit family). I'm not sure I'll sustain this much travel in the future, although the budget accommodates it, because I am just really really totally burned on flying. I won't go into it here, but I just want to avoid airports and airplanes as much as possible.  Honestly will be looking into opportunities to travel overseas by other methods.

Tl;dr = it's been the best thing ever!


Linea_Norway

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2337 on: November 01, 2019, 06:19:21 AM »
I am soooo happy!  I got to hike the John Muir Trail this summer (one of my dream goals for ASAP after retirement). 21 days and 220+ miles in the High Sierra wilderness. It was just truly one of the best things I've done in my life.   

And I'm just really, really doing well with not having a job.  I think it's the combination of not having the obligation AND not having something I have to give *so much* time to.  I have about 4 volunteer jobs, one of which is temporarily taking way more than 40 hours per week (because it's about the elections next week), but is generally more modest, as are all the others.  And that more limited amount of time plus the knowledge that I could bail at any time, seems to work really well for me.  I wouldn't actually bail at any time, because I would feel guilty, but there's a difference between the obligation you feel because you they are paying you vs because you volunteered.  It's just not as oppressive-feeling.

I still think I might have to pull back on the level of volunteering to be able to pursue many of my other post-retirement goals which I have not touched in the last 14+ months.  But I hope to have plenty of time (knock on wood) and am not rushing anything.

As for money, I have not checked as religiously, though I should do a net worth analysis soon.  Annual spending is just below my spending plan, so I feel comfortable.  And that's with an amazing amount of travel so far this year (in addition to the trail, I did a few weeks in Africa and Europe and a honeymoon to Puerto Rico, plus small trips to CO and SC and various trips to SoCal to visit family). I'm not sure I'll sustain this much travel in the future, although the budget accommodates it, because I am just really really totally burned on flying. I won't go into it here, but I just want to avoid airports and airplanes as much as possible.  Honestly will be looking into opportunities to travel overseas by other methods.

Tl;dr = it's been the best thing ever!

I am happy for you that it worked put so well.

Not wanting to fly is also good for the environment. Maybe being a crew member on a sailboat could be a thing?

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2338 on: November 01, 2019, 04:02:09 PM »
Its just about a year since I left work, so time for the annual update. I left on 6 months long service leave, hoping to be able not to return due to being very close to my number, but not knowing whether that was going to be possible. As events turned out, I retired.

Quick recap:
- on my last day of work I got a phone call from my 91 year old mother to say she was sick. Within a month she had died :(. One of my hopes for my LSL was to spend more time helping her out, but it was not to be.
- this left my brother and I with the long term family home  to sort out: full of 60 years worth of stuff. We removed  > half a ton ( 500kg) of paper alone. We decided to clean it up and sell it: by March the deed was done. Since we both live at a distance it was a bit of a saga.
- renovations on the flip house were largely completed on the inside, but the DA to subdivide it off foundered, largely due to being on fire prone land, and the red tape this involves.
- not having the DA through meant in theory I had to go back to work since I would need the cashflow to pay for ongoing reports/works etc, but unfortunately due to mother's death, my share of the proceeds of family home meant I was able to retire. Bitter sweet, retirement by inheritance.
-still working on sorting/donating removing stuff from mother's house, relocated to mine in a hurry.
- went on 2 fabulous trips : one for 2 weeks to Tasmania, and one for 2 months to Northern Canada with my travelling buddy @deborah. The Canada trip is chronicled in my journal more or less. A visit to Nunavut, Tuk and the Dempster highway have been on my bucket list for 15 years.
- lost weight (13kg or 2 stone or 28lbs) and got fitter...joined a gym, started swimming again, and was gifted a kayak. Saw a physio, followed advice and the achilles tendonitis that has got worse and worse over the last decade, is nearly gone. It got to the point I was shuffling like and old person and I thought I would never be able to hike again. Completed a 7km "run" at a walking pace. I will go again next year and see how much I have improved.
- acquired 4 miniature goats to help keep the weeds at bay on the property. Still learning about goat-keeping.
- some progress in my garden, but not as much as I would have liked. Still finding and clearing about rubbish around the place.
- bought a ute  as a work horse around the place, and joined a 4WD club as a side interest. Drove the most amazing tracks on the induction weekend.
- found it harder that I thought to finally terminate my medical registration...a bit of a surprise to me.
- had a fabulous time at CM*TO, meeting internet friends and a few others too.

So a roller-coaster of a year....but on balance:  Life is good.

pecunia

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2339 on: November 02, 2019, 12:20:12 PM »
Well,......I didn't go in 2018.  Looks like I won't go in 2019.

I read all of the wonderful comments .  I can just sense the lack of stress.  I can feel the relaxation through the words on the computer screen.  I say YES!  I certainly do have something to look forward to.  I have resisted to ensure that I will have health care.  My employer gives good health care. 

I will be 63-1/2 at the end of the year.  I have been saving money to COBRA to Medicare.  I could go the ACA route, but it still may go away.

I have been sent out of town on a job for 2 months or so.  A few days ago, I received an e-mail from one of the bosses.  He was demanding something before COB today.  My co-worker and I were able to laugh when we saw it.  We both smiled and said, "Oh my, he will send us home."  He did not get his demand before COB that day.  Unfortunately, he didn't send us home.  Even, just being close to the end takes the stress off from these guys.  Oddly enough, it makes it easier to get along with them.

Your stories are like a beautiful ray of sunshine seen at the end of a tunnel.

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2340 on: November 03, 2019, 08:44:49 AM »
My first year of FIRE flew by.  We spent 20% away on various holidays including 5 and a bit weeks round France and Spain.  Lost weight and got a bit fitter fitter.  I learned how to use trekking poles properly and managed to climb Snowdon (highest mountain in Wales at 3000 odd feet) for the first time in years despite my knackered knees.  Got a few DIY jobs done, but still have a long list.  My books to be read pile has grown rather than shrunk :o(
Financially, spending came in at the low end of budget and a bit of overtime on my one-day-a-week part time job meant my net spending for the year came out at £3k which is a bit embarrassing.  Still sitting with about 3 years' worth of spending in cash and I have yet to sell any investments.  Ever.  Eek!  Oh and I started a journal to make my 1 year anniversary!

My wife and I will still frequently look at each other and say 'Guess what, we're retired!' then grin manically.

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2341 on: November 03, 2019, 09:58:44 AM »
Also 1 year FIRE anniversary here. It has been fantastic!
We have been doing so much that the last 12 months feel more like 12 years. My husband and I are sooo insanely happy. Every day feels like a holiday and I am forever grateful of having discovered FIRE and this community at MMM.
The first 2 months we spent in Florida, then 3 months in Spain, then Florida again, then 3 months Switzerland, 1 month Berlin and currently we’re in Florida again until Christmas.
We have more in our stash than when we FIREd a year ago, despite all the traveling. We’re planning to continue this mode of life for the next few years.
I also have time to learn Spanish, read a non-fiction book a week, work on my (non-finance) blog and to do sports everyday.
Life is so so good!

CowboyAndIndian

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2342 on: December 31, 2019, 03:59:32 PM »
2nd FIRE anniversary!

Wow, it has been two years since I FIRE’ed! It has been an interesting 2 years. Other than one low, life in FIRE has been great!

First the low, I  fell sick with GBS 11 months into FIRE and spent the next 6 months waiting for my nerve sheath to regenerate, learning how to walk again and struggling with double vision. As of now, I am 90% of normal, so I am extremely grateful.

Now, every one of my friends who have not retired asks me how I spend my free time.

Sleeping is definitely something I was deprived of, working on Wall St. with a 3 hour round trip commute. It does not matter if you wake up at 4 AM and cannot fall asleep for another hour or so, you just wake up an hour later. So wonderful to wake up only when my body decides it has enough sleep.

I was always a voracious reader but had not been able to read much in the 20 years before FIRE. I have read more books in the past two years than I did in the 20 years before, even including the 6 months in FIRE when I could not read.

I picked up a few new hobbies, dropped the planned hobby of traveling to exotic locations and grew totally disinterested in the hobby of writing software for myself instead of as a profession.

I had expected to travel the world and had my bucket list prepared. So, I did a couple of trips in the first 11 months of FIRE. I fell sick just after my second trip of the year, to Mexico. My neurologist does not want me to travel, especially to locations where I might fall sick as my GBS could be retriggered. Bye, bye Central and South America, Southeast Asia, and Africa. But I can still travel in the US, Canada, India, and Western Europe, so it is not a total loss. In 2019, I have traveled to Scottsdale, Tampa, Cape Cod, Montauk, and DC.

During my recuperation,  I got interested in the birds outside my window since there was nothing else to do since I could not read or watch TV. I ended up setting up a bird feeder with a birdbath right outside the window next to my sofa. I ended up with endless entertainment and a desire to learn more about birds. I found a great community of birders on this forum who gave great advice and guidance.

I wanted to create a bird-friendly environment in my back yard (so I could watch more birds!). When the local Audobon had a native plant sale, I ended up buying a couple of milkweed plants and I suddenly had Monarch butterflies visiting and a whole crop of Monarch caterpillars. I decided that I am now going to make sure that one part of my garden is going to be a butterfly, insect and hummingbird garden. I have spent the last couple of months planning out my butterfly/insect/hummingbird garden. I cannot wait till spring when I can start implementing it.

I pulled out my old DSLR and tried taking pictures of the birds and butterflies. I used to be a photographer who took the easy way out, using automatic mode and not taking the trouble to learn the basics of composition or the technical aspects of photography. So, the University of YouTube has been a great educator. I abandoned the kit-lens and splurged for a couple more lenses, a telephoto, and a prime (cheap) lenses, and a tripod. I have started shooting in RAW instead of jpeg and am using the free RawTherapee to process my photos (still a work in progress). I have seen a huge improvement in my photos, but still quite a ways to go.

Moneywise, I have not yet withdrawn from any of my retirement accounts, just using what I had in cash. My burn rate has been much lower than what I thought it would be. Beginning in 2020, I will have to start the withdrawal process. After 30+ years of saving and putting money away in retirement accounts, it is very hard to start withdrawing money :-(

So, how has your FIRE been?


SwordGuy

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2343 on: January 02, 2020, 06:26:52 PM »
Just finished our 20th month of FIRE.   We love it!


Will

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2344 on: January 02, 2020, 08:20:04 PM »
2019 was a pretty good year.  Of course, as we all know, being retired is something amazing, and I highly recommend to everyone I talk to.

According to Goodreads, last year I read 8,323 pages over 22 books.  Probably the best one was The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton.

I am a very big fan of hobby board games and card games.  Last year I logged 1,339 plays of over 300 games.  It is my one indulgence (don't ask how much I spent or how many games I own).  I think it is a pretty mustachian hobby because each game can be played multiple times for many hours, and it is very social as I am playing games with multiple friends at least 5 out of 7 days every week.  I even attended a board game convention in Las Vegas (and will be doing so again this year). 

My health is good.  Last year I started eating whole food/plant-based no oil.  I lost 35 pounds, dropping from (at least) 205 down to 170 (I am 6'-1").  I am hoping my good health continues.  I am going to try to be even more active this year, hiking in National Parks and Forests, riding my bicycle more, walking, pushups.

Last year, besides my Vegas trip for board games, I spent a couple of weeks visiting family in the Midwest, took Mom to the Caribbean for 15 days, and then spent a couple more weeks with family.  As mentioned above, Vegas is in the plans again, and hitting at least some of the scenic Southwest while down there. 

My major expenditure last year was purchasing a brand new car, a 2018 Mazda 3.  My previous car was 12 year old MINI Cooper S.  They aren't known for being incredibly reliable, so I consider myself lucky I got as much out of it as I did before I sold it for a pretty good amount.  Now I have a car that I know I will be able to drive anywhere for many many miles (as I go to those National Parks and so on, and drive down to Vegas) without worry.  I got a really good deal on it and have been very happy with it these last 11 months.

I did have a major loss last year.  While I was traveling, my roommate emailed me that little Scruffy, a rescued doxipoo of mine, was not breathing funny.  It was late at night so we agreed that he would take him to the vet in the morning.  Sadly, my sweet boy passed away overnight.  I miss him so much!  I am thinking there is a good chance I will get another dog once our spring rains here in the Pacific Northwest draw to a close.

Financially, my net worth went up substantially due to the great performance of the stock market.  It didn't go up quite as much as the market since my Vanguard guy has half of my money in bonds.  I'm fine with that; the market won't always go up, and the money I have will last me until at least age 100 in 99.9%+ of the 10,000 scenarios they run.

I think that is most of the news for me from my first full year of retirement!

Happy 2020 everyone!

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2345 on: January 03, 2020, 01:08:21 AM »
Hello! Loving reading about everyone's successes.

I haven't done so well. Due to other people's health crises and my own ingrained desire to be helpful, my little 12-18 hours per week retirement gig expanded to become 30-36 hours spread over 5-6 days and that's where I'm currently at. I quickly learned to refuse 12-hour working days because being at a desk that long brought back the IBS and migraine I used to experience and left me tired for days. I expect to drop my workload back again this year as colleagues return from sick leave.

Since I developed a knee cartilage problem in May and had to cut back on all my sports to manage it, working extra wasn't a disaster. And I like what I do, though I like not going to work even better. I'm on a waiting list for arthroscopic surgery but not all that keen on the idea except for on the two or three days every few weeks when I'm dragging my leg around and waking in pain in the night.

Then my newfound Home Alone time, which I appreciated, was kiboshed when my FiL moved in because he could no longer safely live alone. This also required a large and sudden rearrangement of our house. He doesn't need a lot of looking after and he's well motivated to make the arrangement work, but he's always here and we can't leave him overnight so we can't shoot off for weeks away here and there. And SO MANY medical appointments! And then my son came back too.

At this rate, my lean FIRE will be quite fat by the time I send my professional registration back.


SwissMiss

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2346 on: January 09, 2020, 09:38:17 AM »
In our 15th month of FIRE and it has been fantastic.
Lots of travel (Spain, Florida, Berlin, now South Africa).

I couldn't imagine living any differently. I could never work in a stuffy office ever again.

The only thing that went wrong was an annoying Achilles tendonitis that stopped me from running. But that is over and I'm back to running.

So thankful to MMM and this community here. Without you all, I wouldn't have thought FIRE was possible.

CowboyAndIndian

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2347 on: January 09, 2020, 12:59:44 PM »
Just finished our 20th month of FIRE.   We love it!

I follow your journal @SwordGuy . I think you are busier in FIRE than before ;-)

Mr Mark

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2348 on: February 13, 2020, 10:31:25 AM »
Just dropped by to say Hi! and confirm FIRE is freaking awesome. Lots of travel. Family super happy, SO has been able to go back to school and is about to graduate top of her class with some certificates. She'll then be able to pick up the work she wants to do but with lots of flexibility for vacations and other adventures.

As noted, the market has been more than kind, plus my tenants are paying on time every month and looking after the place. Last year I made at least 3 times more money after tax not working than I would have made working full time in my old mega-corp job. And I'm pretty sure it's only thanks to MMM and JR Collins that I had the balls to hold my nose, ignore the pundits, and put my huge redundancy payout into the market at a 70/30 split last January as soon as the cheque cleared.

And I must say the retired life is damn good. I love the feeling of having a nice relaxed lunch at our local art museum's restaurant, say at about 1:30pm on a Thursday, sipping a glass of sav blanc over my delicious spinach salad, and knowing all is well. Or being able to splurge on upgrades to business class on our next trip because it was a great deal and not having to blink when paying off the credit card.

It's strange I now spend hardly any time back on the forum. Too much other shit to do! Plus, the huge amount of investing research I used to do & enjoy is totally moot - I'm gradually moving to a 'pure' 70/30 ratio using total market and total bond admirals (although included in the bonds % is about 2 years expenses in ultra-short term bonds) as per JL Collins. He was right all along I reckon... now the game is more about tax optimization and finessing the health care system.

Hope everyone else is enjoying being part of the 2018 cohort! Woohoo!!



pecunia

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Re: 2018 FIRE cohort
« Reply #2349 on: February 13, 2020, 05:15:49 PM »
Just dropped by to say Hi! and confirm FIRE is freaking awesome. Lots of travel. Family super happy, SO has been able to go back to school and is about to graduate top of her class with some certificates. She'll then be able to pick up the work she wants to do but with lots of flexibility for vacations and other adventures.

As noted, the market has been more than kind, plus my tenants are paying on time every month and looking after the place. Last year I made at least 3 times more money after tax not working than I would have made working full time in my old mega-corp job. And I'm pretty sure it's only thanks to MMM and JR Collins that I had the balls to hold my nose, ignore the pundits, and put my huge redundancy payout into the market at a 70/30 split last January as soon as the cheque cleared.

And I must say the retired life is damn good. I love the feeling of having a nice relaxed lunch at our local art museum's restaurant, say at about 1:30pm on a Thursday, sipping a glass of sav blanc over my delicious spinach salad, and knowing all is well. Or being able to splurge on upgrades to business class on our next trip because it was a great deal and not having to blink when paying off the credit card.

It's strange I now spend hardly any time back on the forum. Too much other shit to do! Plus, the huge amount of investing research I used to do & enjoy is totally moot - I'm gradually moving to a 'pure' 70/30 ratio using total market and total bond admirals (although included in the bonds % is about 2 years expenses in ultra-short term bonds) as per JL Collins. He was right all along I reckon... now the game is more about tax optimization and finessing the health care system.

Hope everyone else is enjoying being part of the 2018 cohort! Woohoo!!

Wow!  I was going to go in 2018 and here I am still working.  I am writing this working out of town from a less expensive hotel room.  I could be at home living the good life that I read about continuously on this forum.  The current project ends in April.  No more OMY and no more TMYs.