Author Topic: 2020 FIRE Cohort  (Read 539964 times)

dude

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #100 on: December 22, 2015, 05:40:46 AM »
I was originally in this cohort by virtue of wanting to retire in the year of my 55th (Jan 3, 2020) in order to have penalty-free access to my TSP, but with the passage of the recent Defending Public Safety Employees Retirement Act, I can now go in early 2019 if I want to.  Lots of reasons to still stick around until 2020, but who knows?  I could be totally fed up in 2019 and not want to stick around until then.  Time will tell.
Roll over to IRA and do SEPP... who needs 55?

Not me, because I can now withdraw penalty-free after 50.  And I would never roll over to an IRA for the purpose of doing SEPPs anyway; first, because I could do SEPPs right from the TSP, but more importantly, because the TSP has the lowest fees of any plan in the world (0.029% ER), transactions cost zero, and it has the no-risk G Fund, which is not available in any IRA.

dude

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #101 on: December 22, 2015, 05:54:16 AM »
I'm planning to use my remaining work years to study up on investing & withdrawal strategies.

It will feel very strange switching over from "saver" to "spender."   I'm afraid I'll be clutching the purse strings so tightly, pinching every penny, that I'll make DH & myself miserable in retirement.  And no one wants that!

So question: 
--Do my 2020 cohorts already have a full game plan in place for how to access & draw upon investments?
--Do you worry about the switch from saver to spender?

As to the first question, yes.  Pension collectible immediately upon retirement for me should cover @80% of pre-retirement expenses; the other 20% can come from either nest egg or side gig (side gig, which I already have going now, being the preferred source, so nest egg can continue accumulation phase).  If nest egg, I can set a monthly withdrawal amount at the beginning of the year.  My intention is to set a modest withdrawal amount in Year One and see how it goes -- if the side gig income covers, I'll simply save the withdrawals into a taxable account, if not, then I'll spend it. As to the second question, despite all the academic assurances (and real-world examples) about safe withdrawal rates and such, and the likelihood that I wouldn't have to exceed 2%, YES, I worry!  But not so much that it will keep me from retiring.

pachnik

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #102 on: December 22, 2015, 10:46:47 AM »
I must admit, I have been so focused on paying off debt, and then putting a plan in place for saving that I have not even thought of a draw down plan. I guess we have four years to think about it.

Yes, I'm sure it will feel very weird to switch from saver to spender. My plan is to transition slowly. At first I will drop down to three or four days a week at work, making every week a long weekend. This is so that I will just be making enough to live on, and let the stash grow without drawing it down. If the BS bucket at work gets too full, I can switch to contract work from home.

I use YNAB for budgeting, and my plan is to continue to use it in retirement. That way I will know what is in my budget, and won't have to pinch every penny. Of course this is all theory. Who knows how it will all pan out? I'm sure that at least in the beginning it is nerve wracking.

Right now, I am pretty clueless about spending the $$$ saved.  I am also planning to transition slowly if my health is good.  Once I am FI, look to go part-time and then to just doing temp work.  So I am not planning a sudden stop to saving and 100% shift to spending.  More like not adding to the stash for a while but also hopefully not taking out 100% of my expenses from it. 

I will also have to have a closer look at how to do this. 

AnEDO

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #103 on: December 28, 2015, 08:44:31 AM »
2020 is our family's year!  We are planning a transition from now to then with 2016 being a full-time work year and then actively exploring opportunities to work 24-32 hrs/week in 2017.  We are going for freedom to do what we want rather than to not work so we plan on always doing some part time work we enjoy.  Our kids are still quite young and so the opportunity to spend more time with them now is very important to us.  The main focus for the next couple of years is the elimination of any kind of debt apart from mortgages on rental properties and reducing taxes as much as possible using 401k's, HSA's, FSA's and 529's. 

ysette9

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #104 on: December 30, 2015, 12:00:02 PM »
When I originally posted on this thread I thought that 2020 was a slightly overly-ambitious goal for us. I have been running and re-running the numbers recently and if returns over the next few years are somewhat higher than 0%, I think we should be able to make it pretty easily. Then again, I am REALLY struggling with what our post-retirement expenses will be, primarily because our housing situation is totally up in the air. We live in an expensive area of the country and plan on staying. We rent now and have no plans to buy in the near future though it will probably be something to consider in the long term. Our plan is to do a sabbatical year starting in 2020 as a test run and tweak our plans from there.

Then again, we also just started throwing around the idea of "what if one of us got an assignment in Europe...?". That could also be a really cool way to kick off a retirement test run!

Us: 34/35 married couple with one 1.5 year-old kid; if mother nature is kind we may add to that collection

ysette9

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #105 on: December 30, 2015, 12:11:12 PM »
Also, on the topic of draw-down strategies, I have only just started looking into that myself (scary to think of drawing down instead of saving!), but I found this article the other day and found it interesting: http://www.caniretireyet.com/new-research-the-best-retirement-withdrawal-strategies/#more-6901.

I'd be interested in your thoughts.

steveo

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #106 on: December 30, 2015, 02:06:47 PM »
@ Steveo:  My nerves are telling me to delay the start of draw-down too! 
Instead of continuously toying with OMY, I'm planning to scale my job back to extreme part-time (luckily for me, my career allows this.  Soon as I hit my magic savings # in 2020, I'm flipping the switch & going per diem!)

That way I've got flexibility & buffer for the first shaky 5-10 years.  By then my plan should feel solid & ready to fully FIRE.

I think that this is where I'm heading towards as well assuming I can work part time.

madamwitty

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #107 on: December 30, 2015, 02:09:24 PM »
Also, on the topic of draw-down strategies, I have only just started looking into that myself (scary to think of drawing down instead of saving!), but I found this article the other day and found it interesting: http://www.caniretireyet.com/new-research-the-best-retirement-withdrawal-strategies/#more-6901.

I'd be interested in your thoughts.

Interesting link. I haven't do too much thinking about drawdown, but was surprised to see the rebalancing strategy did so poorly in his analysis. Then I realized the portfolio was 50/50 stocks/bonds. I'd like to see a similar analysis on a more aggressive portfolio, which many of us here will have.

ysette9

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #108 on: January 01, 2016, 09:40:37 AM »
I too was surprised by the results. You make a good point about it being a 50/50 portfolio. On that topic, what asset allocation do you expect to have once you FIRE? I haven't looked recently but I think our overall allocation right now is something like 95% stocks, 5% bonds. How about yourselves?

TheContinentalOp

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #109 on: January 07, 2016, 02:53:07 PM »
I am not sure about 2020 any longer as last year's disappointing stock market returns,

My immediate post-FIRE plans involve biking across the USA, so if I don't hit my net worth goal by April, I am going to have to stick it out for another year.

On the plus side I started writing some ebooks and made a (very) little money on amazon. I hope to be doing better in 4 years.

ysette9

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #110 on: January 07, 2016, 07:48:05 PM »
Out of curiosity, does anyone care to share their target stash size, projected yearly spending, and asset allocation?

TheContinentalOp

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #111 on: January 18, 2016, 11:19:16 AM »
Out of curiosity, does anyone care to share their target stash size, projected yearly spending, and asset allocation?

Target $800k
Spent just under $24k last year
projected spending $27k

Stocks 70%
Bonds 20%
REIT 10%

pachnik

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #112 on: January 18, 2016, 11:26:21 AM »
Out of curiosity, does anyone care to share their target stash size, projected yearly spending, and asset allocation?
Stash target:  $525,000.00
Yearly spending: $26,000.00
Projected spending:  $31,000.00

Asset allocation
Bonds 50%
Stocks 50%

I think I will hit my target in about 5 years when I am 56 or so.  Of course this depends on stock market returns as well as what I am putting in.  Then the plan is to work part-time for a few years if i can and start collecting CPP at 60. 

« Last Edit: January 18, 2016, 11:32:50 AM by pachnik »

spud1987

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #113 on: January 18, 2016, 12:52:01 PM »
Out of curiosity, does anyone care to share their target stash size, projected yearly spending, and asset allocation?

$1.15M.

Yearly spending 45-50k.

Asset allocation will be 15% rental property, 65% stocks, 16% bonds, 4% cash.

My wife will continue to work for a few years while I raise the kids at home (at least that's the plan) so our actual withdrawal rate will likely be more like 3% once we start drawing on the stash.

onlykelsey

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #114 on: January 25, 2016, 02:25:42 PM »
I'm mostly joining to follow.  I think I could be anything from barebones FI Class of 2018 or full retirement with higher annual expenses Class of 2024, so I'm starting here.  NW is currently ~320K, will be adding ~100K/year the next two years, then eventually moving out of Manhattan for somewhere with a lower cost of living.

I'll be 33 in 2020.

2Birds1Stone

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #115 on: January 25, 2016, 05:46:52 PM »
By 2020 I will only be barebones homeless FI level.

By then I hope to be at $400,000, which would allow for $12,000/yr draw down @ 4%.

Not enough to be FIRE but definitely a nice FU 'stache

WerKater

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #116 on: January 26, 2016, 10:28:01 AM »
I'm signing up. 2020 is my stretch goal. Aiming for 2020-06-30, just a few days before my 37th birthday.
« Last Edit: January 26, 2016, 10:36:14 AM by WerKater »

doggyfizzle

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #117 on: January 26, 2016, 05:53:13 PM »
Out of curiosity, does anyone care to share their target stash size, projected yearly spending, and asset allocation?

My wife and I plan on being FI (but not RE) in 2020.  Our projected yearly spending will be roughly 50k (including mortgage), with a stash of a bit more than $1 million in liquid/retirement assets and about $500k in home equity with about $275k remaining on the mortgage.  We should have about $25k/year coming in from dividends and quarterly draws (which will cover our mortgage), as well as a couple thousand in income from a 10% stake in an LLC I hold.  At this point (2020), we'll have a kiddo about to start kindergarten, so my wife will probably drop down to part time so she can be home with him after school.  We're both pretty fortunate that we have jobs with EXTREME flexibility (9/80 work schedule and telework for me, lots of work from home for my wife, about 10 weeks paid leave annually) and good compensation, so neither of us feels the urge to completely unplug, but that might also change...

But, 2020 should be FI for us once our bare-bones housing expense is covered by non-labor income.  I have gone through the "Do You Regret Paying Off Your Mortgage Early Thread" many times, and I can't wait to still have a mortgage but to get to enjoy the feeling of watching my investments pay my shelter costs.

BFGirl

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #118 on: January 26, 2016, 10:49:00 PM »
12/31/2020 for me to hopefully RE as that is when I'm eligible to take my pension. I'll have just turned 53.  I'm probably FI now, but still trying to launch 2 kids ages 21 and 18, so will try to stick it out the next 4 years, 11 months and 5 days.

ToughMother

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #119 on: January 31, 2016, 12:27:03 PM »
Add me to this 2020 crew too -- I become vested in my defined benefit plan in mid-Nov 2020 at age 56.  That should do it for me....

I'm aiming to have about $750K in my stash, plus the modest pension that would begin immediately, plus a wee bit of social security down the road.  Add to that, I am (a) likely to do some PT teaching online (which I do now and love) and (b) have a younger partner who currently loves her job and expects to stay there until she is vested in her own DB plan.... Basically, my plan covers my part of our expenses.  Should she want to FIRE at the same time, that just adds ~2 years to the plan.

I feel particularly grateful to be able to think of leaving FT-work so early since I missed about 10 years of FT work due to serious illness (and had many many medical bills during that time).  My current FT gig is very stressful so thinking that there is a finite timeframe helps a lot.

I am an AWESOME saver and a HORRIBLE spender, so I appreciate the conversation about transitioning from saver to spender.  I think that will be the hardest part of this whole plan for me, so thanks for any thoughts and pointers!

WYOGO

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #120 on: February 29, 2016, 04:30:08 PM »
As for FIRE, here's how I look at it.
If necessary, I could chuck my job tomorrow, move to a LCOL area, give up air travel and big money chess, but still bike and hike around North America. I would be stoic and learn to be happy with what I had. In another 2-2.5 years, I could retire, play big money chess and fly domestically along with the biking and hiking. In five years (4.1.20) I could do all of the above plus international bike tours. That's the goal.

Waking this sleeping beast up again, I would say this is a fairly accurate assessment of my feelings on the moment. I am currently FI with a sub 3% withdrawal rate at 35 but I am in a unique housing situation which works well for right now. I anticipate an increase in COL by at least 30% when I RE.

My current position is the very best work/life balance I have ever had and I make a professional wage for almost part time hours. Since I am not dissatisfied at the moment but desire to live in a higher COL location, I too am on the 2020 bandwagon. At my current savings rate cresting 90% I expect financial concerns to be largely irrelevant when I finally call it quits between now and my 40th birthday in the year 2020. As we all know the future with respect to these things is fundamentally unknowable and there are numerous things that may speed this up considerably for me, virtually none that will delay it at this point. :)

powersuitrecall

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #121 on: March 02, 2016, 11:27:55 AM »
Hi all - Count me in.  I'll be hanging up the cubicle pants some time in 2020.

We are a family of 2 earners and 2 young kids in Canada.  Our target retirement stash will be $1.25MM with a paid-for home.  Our target COL will be $50K, which is more than we currently spend, but the extra budget will allow a certain piece of mind plus some travel indulgences.

So! 2020 will be the year we become FI.  I will RE and DW will continue to work for a year or so.  My time for that year will be to renovate our home.

Batastrophe

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #122 on: March 20, 2016, 01:16:43 PM »
Count me in the 2020 Club. Not specific date, but likely in late-Spring. Me and wife are FI now and continue to contribute to the stash as were targeting a sub-2% withdrawal rate.

Obviously life and the markets can always throw a curve ball, but 2020 is the year for us as of the moment!

Life in Balance

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #123 on: March 25, 2016, 01:04:29 PM »
Planning FI in 2020, and will decide about RE timeline then, but likely in 2022.  Assuming the stock market is average and the creeks don't rise.  :)

RedefinedHappiness

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #124 on: March 26, 2016, 08:15:02 AM »
Now that we have critical mass in this post, I thought it would be interesting to hear how everyone was dealing with 2016, given we are four years from FIRE.

I will start. I feel helpless. This is good news because I don't think I can screw up my timeline. But bad news because in the past I have been able to take action to accelerate the timeline. Now I think I am as efficient as I'm willing to go.

So now I sit and I wait. Perhaps since I can't impact my financial situation, I should be working on the emotional change that I will soon experience. Four years seems so far away.

onlykelsey

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #125 on: March 26, 2016, 11:30:14 AM »
Now that we have critical mass in this post, I thought it would be interesting to hear how everyone was dealing with 2016, given we are four years from FIRE.

I will start. I feel helpless. This is good news because I don't think I can screw up my timeline. But bad news because in the past I have been able to take action to accelerate the timeline. Now I think I am as efficient as I'm willing to go.

So now I sit and I wait. Perhaps since I can't impact my financial situation, I should be working on the emotional change that I will soon experience. Four years seems so far away.

I'm not sure I follow your question.  Do you mean the turbulence in the markets in 2016?  The S&P 500 is about where it was when the year started, no?  That doesn't seem so bad.

As for your other questions, 2020 is a very soft timeline for me at this point, so I don't think I'm really thinking about the emotional changes.  I'm hoping to have two kids by then, which will probably drastically alter my life and perhaps my timeline.  That's okay.  I'm 29 and don't need to rush too much.

For me, my big question is how long I stick it out in my brutal, on call 24 hours a day, come back from your family funeral early job.  If I'm on more of a 2022 or 2024 schedule, it probably makes sense to look for a more  humane job for the interim.  if I really want to accelerate my plans and deal with the pain, maybe I should stick it out at this one for so long as they'll have me.

ToughMother

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #126 on: March 26, 2016, 01:25:23 PM »
Add me to this 2020 crew too -- I become vested in my defined benefit plan in mid-Nov 2020 at age 56.  That should do it for me....

I'm aiming to have about $750K in my stash, plus the modest pension that would begin immediately, plus a wee bit of social security down the road.  Add to that, I am (a) likely to do some PT teaching online (which I do now and love) and (b) have a younger partner who currently loves her job and expects to stay there until she is vested in her own DB plan.... Basically, my plan covers my part of our expenses.  Should she want to FIRE at the same time, that just adds ~2 years to the plan.

I feel particularly grateful to be able to think of leaving FT-work so early since I missed about 10 years of FT work due to serious illness (and had many many medical bills during that time).  My current FT gig is very stressful so thinking that there is a finite timeframe helps a lot.

I am an AWESOME saver and a HORRIBLE spender, so I appreciate the conversation about transitioning from saver to spender.  I think that will be the hardest part of this whole plan for me, so thanks for any thoughts and pointers!

Well, scratch THIS plan. I just accepted a new HAPPIER ME job that pays WAY less (-$40K) than I'm currently making.  I'm staying in the same system, so I'll still vest at the same time and my top 3 years of earnings determine my pension, so it will count my current job's earnings.  That's all good.

The downside is it is going to take significantly longer to build up that $750K.  I'll continue to supplement my FT salary with side hustles and the notion is that happier means that longer work is ok versus the insane stress I've been dealing with for the last year and a half.  The hardest part is the gig doesn't start until Sept -- have to keep it on the DL for quite some time even though I'm pretty psyched about it (except the smaller savings part...).

steveo

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #127 on: March 26, 2016, 02:55:03 PM »
Now that we have critical mass in this post, I thought it would be interesting to hear how everyone was dealing with 2016, given we are four years from FIRE.

I will start. I feel helpless. This is good news because I don't think I can screw up my timeline. But bad news because in the past I have been able to take action to accelerate the timeline. Now I think I am as efficient as I'm willing to go.

So now I sit and I wait. Perhaps since I can't impact my financial situation, I should be working on the emotional change that I will soon experience. Four years seems so far away.

I bolded the part that I feel is significant. I also think some things can go wrong up until 2020 so 2020 isn't a sure fire FIRE date for me at this point.

What can I do to get there quicker - basically nothing. I have to be patient and I don't like working in general so it is tough.

RedefinedHappiness

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #128 on: March 26, 2016, 03:40:57 PM »
Now that we have critical mass in this post, I thought it would be interesting to hear how everyone was dealing with 2016, given we are four years from FIRE.

I will start. I feel helpless. This is good news because I don't think I can screw up my timeline. But bad news because in the past I have been able to take action to accelerate the timeline. Now I think I am as efficient as I'm willing to go.

So now I sit and I wait. Perhaps since I can't impact my financial situation, I should be working on the emotional change that I will soon experience. Four years seems so far away.

I'm not sure I follow your question.  Do you mean the turbulence in the markets in 2016?  The S&P 500 is about where it was when the year started, no?  That doesn't seem so bad.

As for your other questions, 2020 is a very soft timeline for me at this point, so I don't think I'm really thinking about the emotional changes.  I'm hoping to have two kids by then, which will probably drastically alter my life and perhaps my timeline.  That's okay.  I'm 29 and don't need to rush too much.

For me, my big question is how long I stick it out in my brutal, on call 24 hours a day, come back from your family funeral early job.  If I'm on more of a 2022 or 2024 schedule, it probably makes sense to look for a more  humane job for the interim.  if I really want to accelerate my plans and deal with the pain, maybe I should stick it out at this one for so long as they'll have me.

To risk sounding like a therapist, my question was...how does this make you feel?

We all have something in common with our expected FIRE date, so I expect we will be having similar issues, thoughts, fears, excitement, etc.

jan62

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #129 on: March 26, 2016, 04:34:58 PM »
I'm excited to be joining this thread having recently finally set a retirement date of 31st December 2020. I'll be 58, hubby will keep working for a few years after that.

Fortunately I won't have to go to work for the whole five years as I have a year off next year of full pay and I'll use this to get our family home ready for sale. I will also have about 3 months leave by mid 2020, so I could use that up, reducing working days even further.

Our plan is to move into our small 4 room rental which we bought to retire into, we just didn't think we'd do it this soon, but I feel a big sense of relief now we've made the decision.

We have finished paying off our debts ($101,000) recently and now we are saving money into the offset account. Once we sell the house then we'll salary sacrifice the max ($70,000) a year into retirement funds and save the rest of my wage, living off hubbys wage until he retires. Then we'll draw down plus possibly a pension. I estimate our retirement living costs at $35,000 a year.

It will be great to have this thread to help me stick at my job, I can't earn the money I earn elsewhere, I'm basically exhausted and though I love the actual work I do with clients - the environment, staff cuts and resource cuts is making it very stressful. Making the decision to sell up and downsize and setting a date has really helped - I have a calendar above my desk at work and at the end of the day I cross it off.



BlueMR2

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #130 on: March 27, 2016, 05:26:28 PM »
Now that we have critical mass in this post, I thought it would be interesting to hear how everyone was dealing with 2016, given we are four years from FIRE.

I will start. I feel helpless. This is good news because I don't think I can screw up my timeline. But bad news because in the past I have been able to take action to accelerate the timeline. Now I think I am as efficient as I'm willing to go.

So now I sit and I wait. Perhaps since I can't impact my financial situation, I should be working on the emotional change that I will soon experience. Four years seems so far away.

Feeling pretty good about it now.  I was feeling kind of down last Summer, with a surprise early A/C & Furnace replacement and some job issues.  However, having been able to buy in the market cheap for several months makes me feel good.  Also found a "missing" IRA that I didn't realize my wife had from way back in the day.  Now, even though I'm facing budget busting car repairs, our position actually looks really strong.  The math, even done very conservatively, works to FIRE now.  Still committed to 2020 for my extra insurance though.

Lucky Girl

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #131 on: March 28, 2016, 10:07:57 AM »
Now that we have critical mass in this post, I thought it would be interesting to hear how everyone was dealing with 2016, given we are four years from FIRE.

I will start. I feel helpless. This is good news because I don't think I can screw up my timeline. But bad news because in the past I have been able to take action to accelerate the timeline. Now I think I am as efficient as I'm willing to go.

So now I sit and I wait. Perhaps since I can't impact my financial situation, I should be working on the emotional change that I will soon experience. Four years seems so far away.

I understand your question because I think I'm feeling the same.  It felt like 2020 was very possible a year ago when I picked the date.  My projection included average growth of about 6%.  Now that we have had such a rocky year I am concerned that we will not get anywhere near 6% growth in the next four years.  I can still "RE" because my plan was always for DH to continue to work until he is comfortable with our numbers (he will likely need much higher numbers to feel comfortable) but I'd rather have more in the stache to feel good about being done.  If the market continues to be anemic I may do part-time past 2020 until I hit my number.

ysette9

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #132 on: March 28, 2016, 01:31:27 PM »
I sometimes feel like I am at the end of a run where I am not quite sprinting, but I have picked up my pace and I am doing everything I can to just stay in that groove with the finish line in sight but still far away. We are on this great trajectory right now but the uncertainties in the math are still enough that 2020 is a fuzzy goal. That said, I try to focus on the upside of stocks being lower now than before (buying more cheaply) and I'll worry about the details of how the numbers look in 2020 much closer to then.

TheContinentalOp

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #133 on: April 01, 2016, 03:56:16 PM »
Four years out to the day. I re-ran the numbers. I need a 6% real rate of return and I can still hit my target. Alternatively if I have a 4% real rate of return can net U$5000 from writing in 2019 I'll still pull the trigger.

Faraday

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #134 on: April 18, 2016, 09:22:53 PM »
Now that we have critical mass in this post, I thought it would be interesting to hear how everyone was dealing with 2016, given we are four years from FIRE.

I will start. I feel helpless. This is good news because I don't think I can screw up my timeline. But bad news because in the past I have been able to take action to accelerate the timeline. Now I think I am as efficient as I'm willing to go.

So now I sit and I wait. Perhaps since I can't impact my financial situation, I should be working on the emotional change that I will soon experience. Four years seems so far away.

I'm feeling better and better about it every day. Market returns of course have been low, but I've been treating my home mortgage like a bond and it's been very stabilizing for my net worth numbers.

I continue to chip away at the cost of necessities of life. A recast of the mortgage will make our home "cheaper than a double wide". I'll make a few investments to further drop our utilities cost. I've just finished major maintenance on my 15 year old Honda and I'm hopeful it'll go another 3 years easily, getting me over 60MPG with every tiny 10.8 gallon tank of gas. I'll also continue to use my bike and ebike for short, local trips.

As the cost of living gets lower and lower for me, my confidence about 2020 improves. You may not see top performance in the market, but frugal measures always pay back. I'm expecting that by 2020, we'll easily be able to make it on $1000/month with the mortgage paid off.

BFGirl

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #135 on: April 19, 2016, 01:16:41 PM »
Now that we have critical mass in this post, I thought it would be interesting to hear how everyone was dealing with 2016, given we are four years from FIRE.

I will start. I feel helpless. This is good news because I don't think I can screw up my timeline. But bad news because in the past I have been able to take action to accelerate the timeline. Now I think I am as efficient as I'm willing to go.

So now I sit and I wait. Perhaps since I can't impact my financial situation, I should be working on the emotional change that I will soon experience. Four years seems so far away.

I am still working to become more efficient about my expenditures and launching the offspring.  The one thing that could delay me is if I decide to pursue a new job.  I've been toying with the idea of something more challenging, but am trying to decide if I should wait until after 2020 to pursue that.

Livewell

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #136 on: April 22, 2016, 05:00:02 PM »
Now that we have critical mass in this post, I thought it would be interesting to hear how everyone was dealing with 2016, given we are four years from FIRE.

I will start. I feel helpless. This is good news because I don't think I can screw up my timeline. But bad news because in the past I have been able to take action to accelerate the timeline. Now I think I am as efficient as I'm willing to go.

So now I sit and I wait. Perhaps since I can't impact my financial situation, I should be working on the emotional change that I will soon experience. Four years seems so far away.

It's challenging to be so close yet still have some years remaining.  I'm also targeting 2020 as my FIRE date.   I have a plan and I'm executing it, meantime I'm trying not to sweat the details.   I've thought about crossing thresholds, for example sometime in the next 12 months we will cross the "FIRE and move to LCOL" line, which to me means if we wanted to leave our current home we could FIRE (we don't), but we could.   It's cool to reach these thresholds and know you are getting closer every day. 

I've found this post by MMM to be most helpful in my current situation http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2014/05/29/give-yourself-the-gift-of-not-worrying-about-money/

Good luck to all on your path!

RedefinedHappiness

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #137 on: April 23, 2016, 07:02:44 AM »
LiveWell - great post. Definitely something I need to keep working on. I also like the milestone idea. I know as I slowly and impatiently wait out the next four years, it would be helpful to have a handful of targets to celebrate along the way. Perhaps on those days, I can read the MMM article you referenced.  Anyone want to help me create a few more milestone entries?

-I would be FIRE if I moved to a LCOL area.
-one year, two years, three years away from FIRE
-
-
-


-

beelea

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #138 on: April 25, 2016, 09:14:52 AM »
Hi, I'll throw in with this cohort. 2020 is definitely possible if things go well, but as the timeline gets shorter,  depending on a certain return seems riskier. Who knows, it could be 2025. Or later if things went real south. The awesome thing is, it's a fairly stress-free risk in my opinion. So what if I don't make it at 2020 and have to work another few years or even several years? I like my job, and I planned to stay on in my same/similar role, full time or part time, as a volunteer.

My "problem" right now is more of what's talked about here: http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/08/16/what-it-feels-like-to-become-rich/

I look at my balances every pay period, manually allocate all my money, feel satisfied for a few moments, and then get this feeling of "what else can I be doing"...because at this rate, I spend about $13K a year, save close to 70% of my income and love my job. I have zero adversity or drama in my life (knock on wood!). So I'm focusing more on my life experiences now.

I couldn't believe how well that post articulated my feelings. I actually won the lottery earlier this year- literally one in a million odds for the ticket, and that pushed my timeline forward a bit. I do not play the lottery regularly, obviously, it's a terrible bet. It was a $5 "for fun pool" with other people, but because I had the winning ticket, I got to keep most of the money. I mean, there was so much ridiculousness about that luck, and so little effort involved in making that money.

I feel a mixture of guilt for being so lucky/being alone in my circle of friends in my financial situation, and BOREDOM, and then a little more guilt sprinkled on for airing such trivial grievances. So that article really helped- I've been focusing on hobbies to keep busy after work that don't require a lot of physical energy - doodling with colored pencils, bought a kayak to be able to paddle with friends more often, started up a weekly themed potluck lunch at work to have a motivator to cook/come up with a new recipe. It has helped immensely. Just got to keep treading water, stashing that $ away, having as much fun as possible while keeping boredom at bay, and keeping fingers crossed the markets do OK. That's pretty much it for me!

Livewell

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #139 on: April 25, 2016, 10:00:16 AM »
LiveWell - great post. Definitely something I need to keep working on. I also like the milestone idea. I know as I slowly and impatiently wait out the next four years, it would be helpful to have a handful of targets to celebrate along the way. Perhaps on those days, I can read the MMM article you referenced.  Anyone want to help me create a few more milestone entries?

-I would be FIRE if I moved to a LCOL area.
-one year, two years, three years away from FIRE
-
-
-


-

Thanks for the feedback!  DW and I have always been relatively frugal, it's been a different focus since I discovered MMM and FIRE three years ago.   My list since then has looked something like this:

passed:
- Holy Sh*t this is possible!
- DW, check this out!  check this out!  check this out!
- OK, DW, let me slow down and make this easier for you since I am the finance geek in the family (I actually created a couple PPT presentations for her, graphic heavy)
- Wow, we have lot's of FU money!   
- DW agrees that buying a bigger house really doesn't make any sense.
- DW, I am perfectly ok with you quitting your stressful career and be a stay at home mom
- Damn, we have a 5.5% SWR today.   I love FU money!   Know that it may take 2-7 years to get to 4% or so, so settle in to enjoy the remainder of the career and avoid as much bullsh*t as possible.  Yay!

next:
- Cross threshold where we can FIRE by moving to LCOL area (if we choose to)
- No more preschool payments!  (we value preschool, but it's expensive.  Public school later.  Today is our single largest expense)
- Officially OMY
- FI!   

RE I am still thinking about.   I don't want to do full time, and I want to slow travel, but I'm on the fence about part time.   I've been thinking I might see if I could carve out a part time role at my current job because I like my employer and coworkers and the work is mostly rewarding with excellent pay and perks.  If that isn't available, I would be fine with it too!   I need to think this one through over the next couple of years.

Getting your signifigant other on board is very important.  My DW is mostly on board.   The freedom she has now has been a bit abrupt, but she's adjusting and choosing to be a SAHM has been very good for her.   It's very interesting to watch and learn from because she is essentially having to process in a short time what I'm looking to do over a couple years.   I think there is a lot of validity to thinking through the non-financial side of FIRE, and I think for most of us on this thread probably the best place to spend your time while you're finishing this portion of the journey.

fishnfool

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #140 on: April 25, 2016, 10:31:48 AM »
Hi, I'll throw in with this cohort. 2020 is definitely possible if things go well, but as the timeline gets shorter,  depending on a certain return seems riskier. Who knows, it could be 2025. Or later if things went real south. The awesome thing is, it's a fairly stress-free risk in my opinion. So what if I don't make it at 2020 and have to work another few years or even several years? I like my job, and I planned to stay on in my same/similar role, full time or part time, as a volunteer.

My "problem" right now is more of what's talked about here: http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/08/16/what-it-feels-like-to-become-rich/

I look at my balances every pay period, manually allocate all my money, feel satisfied for a few moments, and then get this feeling of "what else can I be doing"...because at this rate, I spend about $13K a year, save close to 70% of my income and love my job. I have zero adversity or drama in my life (knock on wood!). So I'm focusing more on my life experiences now.

I couldn't believe how well that post articulated my feelings. I actually won the lottery earlier this year- literally one in a million odds for the ticket, and that pushed my timeline forward a bit. I do not play the lottery regularly, obviously, it's a terrible bet. It was a $5 "for fun pool" with other people, but because I had the winning ticket, I got to keep most of the money. I mean, there was so much ridiculousness about that luck, and so little effort involved in making that money.

I feel a mixture of guilt for being so lucky/being alone in my circle of friends in my financial situation, and BOREDOM, and then a little more guilt sprinkled on for airing such trivial grievances. So that article really helped- I've been focusing on hobbies to keep busy after work that don't require a lot of physical energy - doodling with colored pencils, bought a kayak to be able to paddle with friends more often, started up a weekly themed potluck lunch at work to have a motivator to cook/come up with a new recipe. It has helped immensely. Just got to keep treading water, stashing that $ away, having as much fun as possible while keeping boredom at bay, and keeping fingers crossed the markets do OK. That's pretty much it for me!
  If I won a lottery right now my timeline would disappear....But like you, I don't play often, maybe a few times a year. WTG!

  But I still feel fortunate to have the option to retire in 4 years and it is still our plan. I have pondered adding a year or two onto it, but the older I get the shorter life seems and I sometimes wish I could pull the plug tomorrow.

  I still have a few concerns...

#1. Healthcare costs

#2. Having paid off mortgages

  But adequate emergency funds and good health put my mind at ease right now. I also I could possibly work PT if I need to or if I get a little bored making the transition into retirement.

  So for us our health is #1 to reaching our goal of having a active retirement and being able to do all the things we enjoy. The financials will be what they are in 4 more years and we will just continue to live within our means for now.

Aloha

Trudie

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #141 on: April 25, 2016, 11:00:40 AM »
Ya'll are my peeps.  Aiming for 2020.  I'll be 50, husband will be 59 (certainly not the youngest on the page.)  If we get fed up or have a life-changing watershed moment before that we might go sooner and would need to figure out a SEPP/Roth/unqualified investments strategy.  (Most of our investments are in qualified accounts.)  We're both getting a bit career weary at this point and my husband (who works in higher ed) is likely to see continued freezes and cut-backs in his benefits.  We just keep trying to sink the plow blade deeper and move forward.

Current net worth = $1.3 million (including home equity of $235K)  We're currently saving about $75K annually.  Currently we're weighing the timing of moving closer to family.  We'd probably spend about the same or even more on housing and are currently weighing whether we want to pay cash or carry a small mortgage (to help with cash flow until SS and Medicare).  We'd like to have 1.75M in investments and on the five year plan should be able to get there.

Right now our biggest dilemma is housing availability in the area we want to move.  All the other issues require careful thought, but are doable.  In general, we are risk averse and I can see us being prone to OMY syndrome.  I like this forum because it helps to get a push!

beelea

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #142 on: April 25, 2016, 05:35:39 PM »
Hi, I'll throw in with this cohort. 2020 is definitely possible if things go well, but as the timeline gets shorter,  depending on a certain return seems riskier. Who knows, it could be 2025. Or later if things went real south. The awesome thing is, it's a fairly stress-free risk in my opinion. So what if I don't make it at 2020 and have to work another few years or even several years? I like my job, and I planned to stay on in my same/similar role, full time or part time, as a volunteer.

My "problem" right now is more of what's talked about here: http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/08/16/what-it-feels-like-to-become-rich/

I look at my balances every pay period, manually allocate all my money, feel satisfied for a few moments, and then get this feeling of "what else can I be doing"...because at this rate, I spend about $13K a year, save close to 70% of my income and love my job. I have zero adversity or drama in my life (knock on wood!). So I'm focusing more on my life experiences now.

I couldn't believe how well that post articulated my feelings. I actually won the lottery earlier this year- literally one in a million odds for the ticket, and that pushed my timeline forward a bit. I do not play the lottery regularly, obviously, it's a terrible bet. It was a $5 "for fun pool" with other people, but because I had the winning ticket, I got to keep most of the money. I mean, there was so much ridiculousness about that luck, and so little effort involved in making that money.

I feel a mixture of guilt for being so lucky/being alone in my circle of friends in my financial situation, and BOREDOM, and then a little more guilt sprinkled on for airing such trivial grievances. So that article really helped- I've been focusing on hobbies to keep busy after work that don't require a lot of physical energy - doodling with colored pencils, bought a kayak to be able to paddle with friends more often, started up a weekly themed potluck lunch at work to have a motivator to cook/come up with a new recipe. It has helped immensely. Just got to keep treading water, stashing that $ away, having as much fun as possible while keeping boredom at bay, and keeping fingers crossed the markets do OK. That's pretty much it for me!
  If I won a lottery right now my timeline would disappear....But like you, I don't play often, maybe a few times a year. WTG!

  But I still feel fortunate to have the option to retire in 4 years and it is still our plan. I have pondered adding a year or two onto it, but the older I get the shorter life seems and I sometimes wish I could pull the plug tomorrow.

  I still have a few concerns...

#1. Healthcare costs

#2. Having paid off mortgages

  But adequate emergency funds and good health put my mind at ease right now. I also I could possibly work PT if I need to or if I get a little bored making the transition into retirement.

  So for us our health is #1 to reaching our goal of having a active retirement and being able to do all the things we enjoy. The financials will be what they are in 4 more years and we will just continue to live within our means for now.

Aloha

Ha! Yeah, I was one number off from winning 1.5 billion, but ended up winning $50K, minus the taxes, and then after paying folks out for the pool it was  about $17K, but I was more than thrilled just the same :) Basically the state of KY just handed me an extra year or two of retirement!

Healthcare will be a factor for me as well. Hopefully the ACA will have settled out. It'll be a miracle if we could end up with universal healthcare, but I don't think I could bet on that. Housing is something I don't have to worry about now or for the forseeable future, but I do want to end up with a place of my own. I think at the most, I could work another couple of years, and then maybe do half time for a couple more before I transitioned to volunteer mode at work. Like you said, nothing we can do but wait and see how the markets do and what life does :)

powersuitrecall

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #143 on: April 28, 2016, 08:32:50 AM »
Now that we have critical mass in this post, I thought it would be interesting to hear how everyone was dealing with 2016, given we are four years from FIRE.

I will start. I feel helpless. This is good news because I don't think I can screw up my timeline. But bad news because in the past I have been able to take action to accelerate the timeline. Now I think I am as efficient as I'm willing to go.

So now I sit and I wait. Perhaps since I can't impact my financial situation, I should be working on the emotional change that I will soon experience. Four years seems so far away.

I've been feeling the same way recently and while I don't have any quick fixes, I've been noticing the following about myself:

I'm generally happier when I don't track our NW on a daily basis
This is a tough habit to crack, but I've weaned myself down to about once a week (when we have a mortgage payment and invest excess cash).  It's nice to see the numbers move, but it's become somewhat like watching paint dry.  What's the point?  The paint is going to dry whether or not I'm watching it.

I also make smaller milestones to celebrate.  For example, when our NW hits a roundish number, or when the amount owing on our mortgage becomes smaller than one of our investment accounts.  Signposts on the road to FIRE.

I'm generally happier doing/thinking about hobbies
Nothing to explain here.  Occupying ones mind with enjoyable things tend to make one happier.  I've recently been making more space for this in our daily routine.

I'm pretty miserable at work
Things are getting boring/stagnant in my job.  They may pick up by fall, but right now there is a lot of waiting involved (I work in IT for a the Canadian Gov't).  If I weren't on track for FI so soon I might take a risk and switch jobs, but this job has so many fringe benefits it would be tough to walk away from. 

To remedy this, I've been taking overtime as vacation rather than pay.  For instance, without a lot of planning, I took a day off work yesterday.  I pulled the kids out of daycare/school and just hung out.  We visited the park and played at home and had the time to make a kickass meal for the family - chicken nachos with home made corn tortilla chips. Yum. It's a little taste of how what our lives will be like post-FIRE.

Exercising helps
The work gym at lunch, Yoga at home in the evening, commuting by bike.  The more I do these things the better I feel.  It's incredible how direct the relationship is between exercise and happiness.

Not sure if this helps, but it felt good to write it!

RedefinedHappiness

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #144 on: April 28, 2016, 01:53:55 PM »
It does help. Thanks for sharing. I have tried to get back into more hobbies. Focusing on me has helped my attitude at work and with family. After being a workaholic it is a tough adjustment, but I think it is necessary to prepare for a FIRE transition.

BFGirl

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #145 on: April 29, 2016, 09:05:19 AM »
Now that we have critical mass in this post, I thought it would be interesting to hear how everyone was dealing with 2016, given we are four years from FIRE.

I will start. I feel helpless. This is good news because I don't think I can screw up my timeline. But bad news because in the past I have been able to take action to accelerate the timeline. Now I think I am as efficient as I'm willing to go.

So now I sit and I wait. Perhaps since I can't impact my financial situation, I should be working on the emotional change that I will soon experience. Four years seems so far away.

I've been feeling the same way recently and while I don't have any quick fixes, I've been noticing the following about myself:

I'm generally happier when I don't track our NW on a daily basis
This is a tough habit to crack, but I've weaned myself down to about once a week (when we have a mortgage payment and invest excess cash).  It's nice to see the numbers move, but it's become somewhat like watching paint dry.  What's the point?  The paint is going to dry whether or not I'm watching it.

I also make smaller milestones to celebrate.  For example, when our NW hits a roundish number, or when the amount owing on our mortgage becomes smaller than one of our investment accounts.  Signposts on the road to FIRE.

I'm generally happier doing/thinking about hobbies
Nothing to explain here.  Occupying ones mind with enjoyable things tend to make one happier.  I've recently been making more space for this in our daily routine.

I'm pretty miserable at work
Things are getting boring/stagnant in my job.  They may pick up by fall, but right now there is a lot of waiting involved (I work in IT for a the Canadian Gov't).  If I weren't on track for FI so soon I might take a risk and switch jobs, but this job has so many fringe benefits it would be tough to walk away from. 

To remedy this, I've been taking overtime as vacation rather than pay.  For instance, without a lot of planning, I took a day off work yesterday.  I pulled the kids out of daycare/school and just hung out.  We visited the park and played at home and had the time to make a kickass meal for the family - chicken nachos with home made corn tortilla chips. Yum. It's a little taste of how what our lives will be like post-FIRE.

Exercising helps
The work gym at lunch, Yoga at home in the evening, commuting by bike.  The more I do these things the better I feel.  It's incredible how direct the relationship is between exercise and happiness.

Not sure if this helps, but it felt good to write it!

This pretty much sums up where I am at.

Livewell

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #146 on: April 29, 2016, 09:46:02 AM »

I'm generally happier when I don't track our NW on a daily basis
This is a tough habit to crack, but I've weaned myself down to about once a week (when we have a mortgage payment and invest excess cash).  It's nice to see the numbers move, but it's become somewhat like watching paint dry.  What's the point?  The paint is going to dry whether or not I'm watching it.


I'm pretty miserable at work
Things are getting boring/stagnant in my job.  They may pick up by fall, but right now there is a lot of waiting involved (I work in IT for a the Canadian Gov't).  If I weren't on track for FI so soon I might take a risk and switch jobs, but this job has so many fringe benefits it would be tough to walk away from. 

Exercising helps
The work gym at lunch, Yoga at home in the evening, commuting by bike.  The more I do these things the better I feel.  It's incredible how direct the relationship is between exercise and happiness.


Could not agree more about exercising, about to go on a run before work!

I need to get better at not watching my NW like a hawk.   Very tough habit to break.   I will think about it like paint drying, love the metaphor, that is a great way to frame it.   

Work is tough.  I have a great job that I've enjoyed.   It's just been 20 years of similar work now, I feel like a hamster on the wheel.  I have nothing to complain about, other than I am very much ready to do something else but have to keep going that last bit.   It helps to remind myself why I decided to target the number I'm targeting, but it's still tough sometimes.

meadow lark

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #147 on: May 01, 2016, 08:03:02 AM »
I'm holding on...  Very tired of working.  I have already started optimizing the job - I work 3 days a wk (8hr days.).   Wonderful co-workers.  Meaningful work that helps others. Lovely boss with a great office culture.  I hate it.  I know!  What the hell is wrong with me?  DW works full-time.

My plan is to hit a million in net worth at the end of 2018.  Then both my wife and I to go PRN and cut our hours way down.  We can stay employed as long as we work 12 days a year.  The goal for the first 1-2 years will be to make enough money to live on without dipping into the savings.  So around $40k.  Give our money some time to grow (hopefully!).  Then retire sometime in 2020.

The plan is influenced by us having 3 big/medium dogs we love.  We are hoping to move into an RV when we retire, and don't want 3 dogs moving with us.  We may still do it with 1 or 2.  But as long as we stay in our house, it is reasonable for us to work a little.

powersuitrecall

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #148 on: May 01, 2016, 08:29:46 AM »
I'm holding on...  Very tired of working.  I have already started optimizing the job - I work 3 days a wk (8hr days.).   Wonderful co-workers.  Meaningful work that helps others. Lovely boss with a great office culture.  I hate it.  I know!  What the hell is wrong with me?  DW works full-time.

My plan is to hit a million in net worth at the end of 2018.  Then both my wife and I to go PRN and cut our hours way down.  We can stay employed as long as we work 12 days a year.  The goal for the first 1-2 years will be to make enough money to live on without dipping into the savings.  So around $40k.  Give our money some time to grow (hopefully!).  Then retire sometime in 2020.

The plan is influenced by us having 3 big/medium dogs we love.  We are hoping to move into an RV when we retire, and don't want 3 dogs moving with us.  We may still do it with 1 or 2.  But as long as we stay in our house, it is reasonable for us to work a little.
Meadow that sounds like a great way to ease into it.  Knowing that you can easily jump back into the workforce is really nice.

mlbfan07

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #149 on: May 02, 2016, 07:15:16 PM »
Great post! And what better way to join MMM then my first post to be on my FIRE plans!

FI 2020
RE 2023

To be more specific - FI on 1/8/20.  RE about 3 years later on 9/9/23. The day before I turn 50. (or to sound better - in my late 40's).

Looking forward to hanging with all of you for the next handful of years!

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!