Author Topic: 2020 FIRE Cohort  (Read 539965 times)

DecD

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #50 on: July 03, 2015, 07:08:09 AM »
This is a realistic goal for us.  I have ambitious hopes that we'll be done a couple of years earlier, but given that we want to help the kids with college and could make a couple of other spendy decisions (staying in our current large house in a high-tax, high-insurance area, for example), 2020 is a reasonable target.  Consider me on the wagon!

Caoineag

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #51 on: July 03, 2015, 07:28:55 AM »
Joining the group as we will be FI by then. I will be 39 and DH will be 37.

chevelle57

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #52 on: July 04, 2015, 06:31:51 PM »
I'll throw my hat in the 2020 ring.  We should be able to either RE or at least have me cut back from the 250-300 travel days I have right now to 100-150.  We'll see what happens we have a lot of irons in the fire and some might end up paying off big and let us relax before then.

fishnfool

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #53 on: July 04, 2015, 09:52:43 PM »
It's looking like the spring of 2020 will be my time to finally pull the plug. I was shooting for 2018 but a new 4 year contract with most of the money in the final year will keep me hanging a little longer.

BBarton

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #54 on: July 06, 2015, 03:23:16 PM »
So this is my first post on these boards and I just wanted to say hi. It looks like I will FIRE around 2020 at the age of 40. I should have about $1M with my current 65% savings rate. I have about $530K now.

I may end up working until about 45, depending on how work is going and what kind of lifestyle/ family situation I have then. If it's just me, it'll be 2020. If there is a future wife and kids, it'll be more like 2025 by my calculations.

What keeps me going is just looking at the 60-65 year old people at work and knowing that I don't want to be one of them.

Lucky Girl

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #55 on: July 07, 2015, 08:04:30 AM »
My calculations put me at my target somewhere between April 2019 and April 2020.  So I'll join this crowd!  DH will continue to work and is not yet on the RE bandwagon, so I could technically quit tomorrow, but I'd rather get us enough of a safety net that he starts to see it is possible.

In 2020 my kids will be 10 and 7, so I want to be able to start traveling extensively with them in the summers.  My 23 days of vacation are not compatible! I also want to be home to help them with homework and volunteer at their school.  I may suffer from OLY syndrome, so we'll see if I can make it to 2020.

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #56 on: July 07, 2015, 08:12:31 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.

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #57 on: July 07, 2015, 08:37:12 AM »
Welcome to the forums, BBarton!

prudence

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #58 on: July 07, 2015, 09:57:51 AM »
The optimistic plan is 2020 for me. Hoping to make it a reality by increasing savings rate over the next couple years.

Gretamom

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #59 on: July 08, 2015, 09:26:38 PM »
I played around with the numbers yesterday & my husband and I decided that we can be FI in 2020 although I don't think we will RE due to the fact that we have pretty sweet jobs, but working less & extended vacations are definitely going to happen since we are both self employed! We will be 44. Our children will be 18, 14, and 13. Exact FI date will be 8/01/2020.

We plan to have 1.2 million in rentals, only about 60K in investments, and our paid for house worth about 200K.

My question is this: I know what FI means, but when are you truly FI? My husband and I could probably cover our daily living expenses in 3.5 years, but I would feel more comfortable if we made 1500 more in residual income a month beyond what we need. I just feel more comfortable that way. I like having a cushion which is why I'm going with 2020.

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #60 on: July 08, 2015, 10:13:59 PM »
We're definitely planning to be FI by the end of 2020.   We both got started late and didn't learn MMM habits until it was too late for us to retire early.   But we'll retire "well".

I expect my wife to retire within 3 years with her teaching a few classes for fun each year.  I'm aiming for 3 to 5 years.   If the rental house business picks up we'll make it sooner.   I may take a few out of town programming gigs for a few months out of every year to keep my skills current and let my stash grow for a bit longer.

If we just had to plan a retirement for the two of us we could definitely do so in  one to 3 years.   But we have a mentally handicapped daughter so we have to plan for 4 retirements.  1 for each of us, 1 for her while we're alive, and 1 for her after we pass on. 


MsSindy

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #61 on: July 09, 2015, 08:34:10 AM »
April 2020...right after bonus time!

If I could convince my husband to sell our house, we could probably retire in about a year (we'd be 48/52).  But alas, that just ain't gonna happen!  He's very risk-adverse when it comes to finances/retirement.  He likes to spend money on toys (RC Jets), so we've come to an agreement that he is willing to work until he is 59 and he can spend XX amount on 'toys' each year.  Otherwise, he's pretty Mustachian, so I can't complain too much.  At 59, he'll also receive $100k in a medical pension type of an account, so that's a big carrot for him.  I've explained all sorts of scenarios that would allow both of us to retire much earlier, but he's just not willing.  So be it.  We agreed that I retire in 2020 and he keeps on until 2023 - he's happy, I'm happy (I could be happier, but I think this is as good as it's going to get).

Here's how our assets are divided (~$1.3mm)

31%  Non-retirement Accounts
25%  House Equity
44% Retirement Accounts (IRA / 401k)

Our investments are divided as follows:
29% Stocks
71% Mortgages that we hold

We'll easily slide into Retirement and will have the equity in our (too big) house to use if we ever need it by being able to substantially downsize.

FancyNest

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #62 on: August 11, 2015, 10:14:41 AM »
I admit that I visit this thread for inspiration as well as the enjoyable accountability of making my family's plans public. 

Right now, we're sticking with the 2020 plan but with layoffs looming at my place of work, my wife and I sat down to cover the fallout and be prepared in case I do get a paid farewell.
 
The results - surprisingly manageable!  I would stay home with the youngest child, my older child would still go to daycare, we would refinance out of our 15 year mortgage into a 30 year and sell our (way too fancy) 2nd vehicle used for my commute.  We decided to continue voluntary large mammal ownership as MMM puts it - we have a middle aged large dog who keeps our little ones healthier by making sure our home never stays clean for too long. 

In doing so, we cut our expenses down to around 4400 a month, luckily fully covered by my wife's salary and see if we want to change my date from 2020 til 2015.  Unfortunately, that would mean an extra 2-3 years for wife's career, but she is one of those lovely people that believes in letting me do what makes me happy and is willing to put her supportive money where her mouth is.


In writing this, I'm realizing it's not so much of a "I might be moving cohorts" message as it is a "I am so thankful for my wife" message.  Anyone else have frugal and supportive partners they want to talk about in anonymous public?  Chances are there's some deserving ones right on this thread.

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #63 on: August 11, 2015, 11:15:48 AM »
Would LOVE to be able to join you guys and gals, sadly my realistic FIRE date is ~2027.

I could be considered FI by Dec 31 2020 if I moved to a 3rd world country -_-

Does that make me an honorary member?

Boy a lot has changed since April.

Ramped up at the new job faster than expected, hitting my sales quota has resulted in some nice commission hitting my accounts this fall. Looks like 2020 for FI might be doable. Definitely not enough time to RE but will have the financial security not to stress about barebone expenses at that point!!

velocistar237

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #64 on: August 11, 2015, 11:41:24 AM »
Anyone else have frugal and supportive partners they want to talk about in anonymous public?  Chances are there's some deserving ones right on this thread.

I recently tweaked our projections spreadsheet. As I was sharing the results with my wife, she commented that she was willing to start working full-time so that I could quit now if I really wanted to. I was kind of floored. We played with the numbers and figured out that I should work at least three more years with our current expenses. Otherwise, she would have to work for ten more years before we're FI. I want her to have flexibility when she starts working. At the same time, we'll work on reducing expenses and see where that goes.

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #65 on: August 11, 2015, 02:41:39 PM »
Congrats to you both on your shortened RE timelines and excellent spouses!

I've toyed with the idea of switching to a career that I've always wanted to try, but that would result in a 57.5% pay cut. My husband fully supports this idea and has urged me to go for it. He's willing to work in his higher paying job for the additional years to FI. (He's the most wonderful human - for many reasons.) I'm sticking it out in my higher paying job (for now), but it helps to know that the option is open. Likewise, I would happily work at my current job if he wanted a break from working. I think I would tolerate my job better if I knew it was allowing him to have fun out in the wild.

tooqk4u22

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #66 on: August 12, 2015, 12:47:10 PM »
We keep talking about how humans are the only animals that retire and she's lucky enough to have found her occupational bliss. 

I think you are forgetting about another very important distinction....Humans are the only animals that WORK (except of course for those animals that are forced to work by humans, but even those eventually retire).


velocistar237

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #67 on: August 12, 2015, 01:17:22 PM »
We keep talking about how humans are the only animals that retire and she's lucky enough to have found her occupational bliss. 

I think you are forgetting about another very important distinction....Humans are the only animals that WORK (except of course for those animals that are forced to work by humans, but even those eventually retire).

It's interesting to compare modern work to what work looked like over most of human history.

tooqk4u22

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #68 on: August 12, 2015, 02:04:19 PM »
We keep talking about how humans are the only animals that retire and she's lucky enough to have found her occupational bliss. 

I think you are forgetting about another very important distinction....Humans are the only animals that WORK (except of course for those animals that are forced to work by humans, but even those eventually retire).

It's interesting to compare modern work to what work looked like over most of human history.

Evolution is a bitch....the good ole days when we were nothing more than glorified animals sleeping in caves, only getting up to forage and hunt.......

SwordGuy

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #69 on: August 14, 2015, 09:03:13 PM »
2018 would be a stretch goal for me.  2019 is very doable.  I may go until 2020 just to earn the extra money to spend 2 years in London at http://www.psta.org.uk/ The Prince of Wales' School of Traditional Arts (if it looks feasible I could get in).

BlueMR2

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #70 on: August 15, 2015, 06:50:20 AM »
I'll join the 2020 group as well, as a sort of general target...  That'll put us both mid-40's here. 

I've only been tracking expenses the last 2 years, and this is the first time I've bothered with the projected budget...  I was pleasantly surprised to find that my back of the envelope calculations were too pessimistic.  If we keep living our spendy pants way and lose the jobs, we're covered by the 4% WR.  Cutting out the expensive hobbies puts us at about 3% WR.  So, *technically* we're FI by the math, but when I look at my investments and how poorly they've recovered from the big crash, I have to question whether those historic returns might be a bit optimistic in the future.

So, I'll feel much more comfortable with a larger 'stache, and I still enjoy doing what I do now.  Whether or not my employer still values my contributions, though, one can never say.  :-)  2020 sounds like a reasonable timeframe to shoot for to rethink my "rest of life" plan if I can make it that far!  I'll concede that it's possible I won't make it that far, only time will tell.  :-)

My wife enjoys working so much that she plans on working to 65 though.  We've found that she does not really like idle time the way I do.  I've been off work for a few months before and loved it.  She lost her job a few years back now and was bored within a week.  She's just now starting to get some interviews again, the job market has been absolutely horrid these last few years.  She ran out her severance, extended unemployment, and then found nothing for months before finally getting a few part-time minimum wage hours here and there.  She's finally getting some nibbles now and hopes to find something full-time before the year is out.  That would make me feel a lot more comfortable, being the only one carrying the responsibility for earning money for years on end gets very tiring.

tarantoga

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #71 on: August 15, 2015, 06:28:01 PM »
I am planning for mid 2019 to early 2020.

The main driver is the vesting of pre-IPO stock options that will continue until then and get me about $300k/year above my salary if the company stock stays where it currently is. If the stock tanks, I may retire earlier as there's no longer a huge incentive to keep working. Number-wise FIRE may be possible now, but that is too good to pass. It doesn't hurt that the job is fun and I like it...

Wife and me will be 53 by then, and all kids will be off to college. Perfect time to retire and enjoy life!

steveo

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #72 on: August 15, 2015, 10:45:20 PM »
Count me in as well. I think that would be about the right time for me to be FI and possibly quit. If I don't quit I should be working part time.

zephyr911

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #73 on: August 16, 2015, 08:32:03 PM »
I'll chime in and follow this for general tracking purposes. My current info:

STATS
Married, combined NW 250k, combined wages 140k, mostly separate accounts. I make about 100k and save about 50%.

GOALS
Neither of us wants to quit, exactly. She started as a part-time contractor at her current job and could return to that status at will; I'd like to leave full-time federal service, but I still have 7 years till my ANG retirement and would also be doing real estate and managing rentals (2 for us, and a large/growing portfolio for an LLC that I own 1/3 of). We'd also like to move from AL to WA to be near my family while my sisters' kids grow up, but if moving isn't practical in the near term, visiting for a month+ every year would be great.

I'd like to start this process in 2018/19 but it depends on a lot of things right now. 2020 mostly resonates with me because it's the first year after my LLC finishes its 5-year plan and starts paying distributions - pessimistically, a grand a month, optimistically 2k+. Since we'll both easily clear 20k or more just doing our part-time fun jobs, that's effectively our worst-case FI date.

zephyr911

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #74 on: August 16, 2015, 08:38:05 PM »
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?

Freedomin5

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #75 on: October 31, 2015, 12:23:21 AM »
I'm a little late to the game, but would like to throw my hat in the ring as well for accountability. Will likely not RE, since DH and I both enjoy our work, but would like to be FI. I chose 2020 because it's challenging but doable, and because it's an easy number to remember.

Heather in Ottawa

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #76 on: October 31, 2015, 06:20:54 AM »
I added up our "if we quit today" pension amounts... And we've got our retirement covered. :D now we need to cover our living expenses for the next 25 years until we can collect. That means our pension income will continue to grow for the next 4-5 years as we contribute, meaning it will far exceed our needs, but I guess there are worse 'problems' to have.

meadow lark

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #77 on: October 31, 2015, 10:09:13 AM »
I am claiming this cohort for my own!  Planning on hitting FI between 2018 and 2019, actually, but my best guess for RE-ing is 2020. 
I agree with the OP - my money is seriously boring.  But in a good way.  The big pieces are optimized, which means the smaller pieces  are pretty easy.  I did a discretionary spending fast for about 3 months that helped me reset my buying thermostat.  Not that I bought a lot before, but I think it is good to ratchet Hedonic adaption down periodically.

MrMoogle

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #78 on: November 09, 2015, 09:31:06 AM »
2020 is my date.  I'll turn 35.  I'll jump from 60% to 100% vesting.  I'll have ~5 years of spending to know my actual annual expenses.  Right now it's estimated, since I've been living overseas.  Also, it gives time for ACA to settle out, so I can estimate that more accurately. 

I hit 25x my estimated expenses this year, so I would jump on an offer to switch to part time.  I want more than 25x for a 60 year retirement, and if I have a family one day, it will no longer be 25x.

FireLane

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #79 on: November 10, 2015, 07:29:45 PM »
Count me in! I'll turn 38 that year and will be hoping to go out with a 'stash of between $1.25M and $1.5M, depending on how the market does.

It's an aggressive goal - I only just figured out that it's mathematically possible for me, as I said in my journal - but maybe standing up to be counted will help me hold myself accountable and give me incentive to stick to it. :)

Faraday

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #80 on: November 10, 2015, 07:45:28 PM »
I'm In! I like how TCop phrases his:

As for FIRE, here's how I look at it.

If necessary, I could chuck my job tomorrow, move to a LCOL area, 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.

There have been layoffs at my place of employment. Here's how it would play out for me:
If I were laid off tomorrow:
Goal:Immediately refi the house.
Result: I could leisurely find that next job. It would not have to pay as much as current job.

In another 2-2.5 years:
Goal: House paid off.
Result: I could be FIRE but be on the poorer end of things. I would need a side gig and it would need to be cash flow positive.

In another 5 years:
Goal: House long since paid off. Solar PV and Solar hot water installed and working. Own and drive an EV.
Result: I could be FIRE and be very comfortable. Side gig would not have to make money.

roadtrippers

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #81 on: November 11, 2015, 01:51:09 PM »
2020 for me, maybe 2019 for DH. We are old compared to many on these forums:  50 and 51. Small teacher pensions kick in at 55, and we have been saving aggressively to make up the difference/have travel money, etc. Planning to do some kind of work, but not the intensity of urban high school teaching. Looking forward to charting our progress on the forums!

flan

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #82 on: November 16, 2015, 09:52:22 AM »
Current predictions by the networthify calculator puts us at FIRE in 2022, but I titled a whole journey on the fact that we're stretching for 2020!

Situation: DINK
NW: ~200K NW
2020 FIRE goal: ~900K

Love having camaraderie!

meadow lark

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #83 on: November 16, 2015, 07:33:28 PM »
Faraday, if you were laid off, could you refi the house?

Faraday

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #84 on: November 16, 2015, 09:40:23 PM »
Faraday, if you were laid off, could you refi the house?

Yes, if I got the same package that's been getting handed out. Layoff-ees get some-number-of-weeks of notification and remain on the books whether they are in the chair or not. So quite literally, if I were laid off but acted quickly enough, i would still have the job and the company vouches for that when someone calls to verify employment.

One of my friends who took the layoff actually purchased a house during his notification period.

HappyMargo

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #85 on: November 18, 2015, 04:26:15 AM »
This is very motivating reading others' plans here! It's interesting to see how everyone tweaks the details to fit their own individual goals. This time-frame fits our plans closely, so I'll throw my hat in too.

Already have a Count Down calculator set for my birthday in 2020 to reach FI.
(253 weeks left.  That's 1,012 working days.  I love seeing that number go down!)

We will have our house paid in full in 2018.  We actually could FIRE then by selling the house & moving to LCOL area. But we still like our jobs & LOVE our location.  So we'll use 2 years to add to the 'stash & practice living on/below our retirement budget.  (DH was an incredible spendy-pants.  But he's made terrific strides & is getting the hang of mustachianism.)

Currently I've already cut down to 4 days of work/week, which is so nice!  DH works just 3.5 short days/ week (I tease that he's already semi-retired!) 

Once FI is reached in 2020, I plan to shift to per-diem (as needed shifts) because I'd like to keep all my licenses active & continue working very part-time thru out the year.  I truly enjoy my work & co-workers, wouldn't mind be SWAMI for quite a while.  DH will close his business, then only work seasonally 3 months/year.  That little extra $ will cover all the traveling we have planned!   
« Last Edit: November 18, 2015, 04:28:22 AM by HappyMargo »

NorCal

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #86 on: November 18, 2015, 07:43:26 AM »
2020 is an ambitious, but possibly doable target for us.  In order for 2020 to be possible, the following would have to happen:

-No recessions between now and then (note to others on this thread:  this should be on your radar)
-We decide to not have a second kid.  We're currently leaning heavily towards yes
-I can build a house in the Bay Area for below-market price (This is a current project I'm negotiating)
-Once I take time off to build said house, I can easily re-enter the work force at comparable wages to my last job
-My wife continues to get kick-ass bonuses at work

Given all of the above, we might be closer to 2025, but I'd say we're in the range.

ac

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #87 on: November 18, 2015, 01:59:36 PM »
I'm $360k away! 

I also have a 3rd kid on the way, and I'm trying to keep that life change from dramatically altering the FIRE date.  I think if something's going to alter the FIRE date, a new baby is a pretty good reason.

canadian bacon

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #88 on: November 19, 2015, 02:26:58 PM »
Currently have 2 girls in preschool/daycare and do not feel comfortable retiring while I have this large expense.  The youngest will be in kindergarten in the fall of 2019.  Planning to retire right after I get back from 2019 Christmas vacation to get my year end bonus and 2019 profit sharing. 

Putting in my retirement note before 45 years old will be pretty cool.

I calculate that we will have 54X living expenses saved.  (4% rule? naaah, 1.91%)

radtek2112

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #89 on: November 20, 2015, 02:14:08 PM »
Wife and I are on track for that year. We'll both be 42.

Faraday

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #90 on: November 21, 2015, 10:25:40 PM »
I calculate that we will have 54X living expenses saved.  (4% rule? naaah, 1.91%)

Damn! *envy*......

pachnik

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #91 on: November 22, 2015, 07:57:37 AM »
2020 is an ambitious, but possibly doable target for us.  In order for 2020 to be possible, the following would have to happen:

-No recessions between now and then (note to others on this thread:  this should be on your radar)


Me too.  The line about recessions caught my eye.  This is something i've been thinking about too.  I've got about another $150,000.00 in accumulation to go.

If my health is good after FI, I would continue to work in some form or other.   

Melissa

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #92 on: December 03, 2015, 07:33:23 PM »
We are s group as well. By 2020 our youngest will have graduated from high school. The mortgage will be paid off by then too (22 years early). And we will have a net worth of 1M, not including the house.vBy all the number on the spreadsheet we will be FI...I will be 45 and my husband will be 50.

My husband is concerned about ER because he doesn't want to start a Roth pipeline too early so his plan is to work part time with the same company he already works with. I'm home concerned part time won't be so "part time". He is usually the one that gets thrown into a project that's in trouble so he can try to rescue it. I am currently working on getting a job (full time now since the kids don't need me here) so hopefully I can convince him that we can retire completely in 2020

Looking forward to everyone's progress

steveo

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #93 on: December 19, 2015, 02:18:07 PM »
I think that this is the year that I will retire. I may do part time work post this point but we will wait and see. I'll be 47 at that point. The wife will be 43.

HappyMargo

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #94 on: December 19, 2015, 03:01:15 PM »
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?

steveo

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #95 on: December 19, 2015, 08:13:55 PM »
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?

I'm comfortable with everything except for drawing down. So I'm comfortable with not going to work (I can't wait) and I'm comfortable with my asset allocation and I'm cool with my FI target.

When it comes to drawing down though I'm nervous. I would like to not draw down for 5-10 years as that is I believe the period of time bad returns can set you up for long term failure.

My initial thoughts are to draw down from bonds first and then rebalance once per year including taking some amount out. I'm nervous though about how much to take out.
« Last Edit: December 19, 2015, 10:46:14 PM by steveo »

Heather in Ottawa

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #96 on: December 19, 2015, 09:45:21 PM »
Saving is a lot of fun, and i think i will miss watching my balances grow. But also, at a certain point, more money that i wont spend will become relatively meaningless. I'm hoping that i will hit that point roughly once i reach my FIRE number, otherwise I definitely see OMY setting in. Still, eventually my time is going to mean more to me than more money, so I have no doubt I'll be saying goodbye to the paycheque sooner than later.

Prairie Gal

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #97 on: December 20, 2015, 07:49:06 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?

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.

RedefinedHappiness

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #98 on: December 20, 2015, 11:39:43 AM »
2020 is a reasonable target for me as well. At least for FI. Hoping this thread adds some perspective to help determine whether FIRE is in my future.

HappyMargo

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Re: 2020 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #99 on: December 22, 2015, 04:45:13 AM »
Thanks for all the replies! 

@ Heather: Saving is fun!  I've also really enjoyed getting on-board the saving train, cutting back on all spending & watching the #s grow. The switch over will take some practice too, I guess. Looks like we have a good forum with MMM to help us battle thru the "draw-down nerves" together :-)

@ 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.

@ Prairie Gal:  I like your transition plan!  Similar to mine.  I've already scaled down to 4 days/ work, still able to save 62-68%.  Work from home is not an option, but by 2020 I ought to be able to work just one or 2 days per week.

Seems my plan involves baby steps & ripping that bandaid off slowly!!
  :-)
« Last Edit: December 22, 2015, 04:46:44 AM by HappyMargo »