Author Topic: 2021 FIRE Cohort  (Read 353338 times)

ScreamingHeadGuy

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1200 on: May 26, 2021, 09:02:01 PM »
Congratulations @MoStash @amberfocus and @traveler .  Welcome to the cohort @snowball and @dusty Dog Ranch .  I hope everyone who has an upcoming FIRE date will be patient for me to update their status on the list - life is just SO BUSY now that I don't work. 

It's been over four months of post-work life for me and it has been great.  Every day I give thanks for how blessed I am.  I've done a bunch of home improvement projects, planted the garden, have continued my fitness routine (up to 3 hours of exercise a day!), taken naps, cooked new and delicious meals for my family, played many old computer games, read many books, and have done some writing (for personal enjoyment only).

What are some upcoming plans/projects?  We will be hosting an exchange student in the 21-22 school year so I'm trying to learn a new foreign language.  I'll do more home improvements (electrical work - which I was always scared of previously, some carpentry, plastering and painting).  When school ends I plan to spend lots more time with my daughter doing "fun" science experiments, trips to parks, and building blanket tents in our back yard.  I'm building a shield press and will soon start making and decorating shields (to give as gifts and to decorate my gaming room). 


anotherAlias

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1201 on: May 27, 2021, 05:46:06 AM »
Today is my one month anniversary of FIRE and it has been great.  I have spent most of my time landscaping my backyard.  I've done some regrading and planted 7 rose bushes for a start.  I'm trying to decide if I want the roses to stand alone in those beds or if I want to make the beds bigger and plant something else in front of them.  I'm also planning a dry creek bed where our sump pump discharges in winter to resolve a grass killing/erosion problem.  This fall I'm planning on tackling the front yard.  I've also been working jigsaw puzzles and reading more than I have in years.  Audiobooks are really fun while I'm working in the yard.  I love not being tied to a desk all day.  Unsurprisingly, I've lost 4lbs so far without trying too hard.  It's amazing how easy it is to not snack when I'm not stressed all the time.

snowball

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1202 on: May 27, 2021, 06:26:43 AM »
I was talking to my manager about somebody in another dept who "did a runner" back in December - that's what we call it when expat employees don't give any notice and just don't come back from an overseas vacation.  I was all, seems like it could be fun...too bad I'm not mad at my employer and can't justify it, lol.  So I'm stuck here being professional - worst of all, I'll have to deal with a ton of cumbersome exit paperwork eventually.

I told her she needs to work harder on being an unreasonable manager so I can do a runner without guilt, and she laughed and agreed.

I love the improvements people here are making to their physical/mental/emotional health, fitness, stress levels after FIREing.  That is going to be awesome when I get there.  I really want to make health and happiness my biggest priorities and devote a proper amount of time to activities that support them.

asauer

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1203 on: May 27, 2021, 06:44:38 AM »
I love these post-FIRE updates.  Seriously, keep 'em coming.  I plan to leave in August and am struggling with the whole not being "productive", loss of "status" thing.  I have many other interests and I know I won't be bored but reading about how many of you are transitioning just fine gives me hope that I won't be shuffling around the house in my tattered robe muttering to myself.

snowball

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1204 on: May 27, 2021, 06:48:57 AM »
Seconded!

Dreamer40

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1205 on: May 27, 2021, 07:31:07 AM »
I’ve been out for 85 days! Post-work life now feels normal and I don’t miss my job at all. Not even a smidge. DH still works and his job can be stressful. He’s working from home so I talk through his work stuff with him regularly and can be an actual support instead of piling on my own work stress. I do most of the cooking and dishes. But haven’t been diving into new cooking projects as much as I thought I would.

My big project has been the yard. We had no edible plants and bought the house last year. So I added: raised veggie beds, fig trees, blueberries, raspberries, honeyberries, salal, native huckleberry, kiwi, passionfruit, yuzu, strawberries, and olive trees. Creating a fertilizer schedule for all these things and researching their care has taken a lot of time. I think I’m done adding new plants for the year and shifting more into maintenance mode. It’s almost time to harvest my first batch of peas!

Next week, DH is taking a work break so I booked us a few nights at Crater Lake. It’s nice to not have to worry about taking time off my job at the same time. I can just go. And spend this week setting up my in-laws to dog sit and running to the store for bug spray. Sometimes I’m baffled how I ever had time for my job.

Ladychips

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1206 on: May 27, 2021, 07:58:07 AM »
Today is my one month anniversary of FIRE and it has been great.  I have spent most of my time landscaping my backyard.  I've done some regrading and planted 7 rose bushes for a start.  I'm trying to decide if I want the roses to stand alone in those beds or if I want to make the beds bigger and plant something else in front of them.  I'm also planning a dry creek bed where our sump pump discharges in winter to resolve a grass killing/erosion problem.  This fall I'm planning on tackling the front yard.  I've also been working jigsaw puzzles and reading more than I have in years.  Audiobooks are really fun while I'm working in the yard.  I love not being tied to a desk all day.  Unsurprisingly, I've lost 4lbs so far without trying too hard.  It's amazing how easy it is to not snack when I'm not stressed all the time.

Great update!  Thanks for sharing it.  My retirements plans sound very similar.

When you start working on your dry creek bed, I'd love it if you'd tell us about that (with pictures of course). I have a couple of bad spots and I'm thinking along the same lines but would really like to see someone else try it first!

anotherAlias

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1207 on: May 27, 2021, 08:05:03 AM »
Today is my one month anniversary of FIRE and it has been great.  I have spent most of my time landscaping my backyard.  I've done some regrading and planted 7 rose bushes for a start.  I'm trying to decide if I want the roses to stand alone in those beds or if I want to make the beds bigger and plant something else in front of them.  I'm also planning a dry creek bed where our sump pump discharges in winter to resolve a grass killing/erosion problem.  This fall I'm planning on tackling the front yard.  I've also been working jigsaw puzzles and reading more than I have in years.  Audiobooks are really fun while I'm working in the yard.  I love not being tied to a desk all day.  Unsurprisingly, I've lost 4lbs so far without trying too hard.  It's amazing how easy it is to not snack when I'm not stressed all the time.

Great update!  Thanks for sharing it.  My retirements plans sound very similar.

When you start working on your dry creek bed, I'd love it if you'd tell us about that (with pictures of course). I have a couple of bad spots and I'm thinking along the same lines but would really like to see someone else try it first!
I'll definitely update on the progress when I get to it.  I'm taking a break from yard work for a week or so to rest an aching Achilles and visit my mom.  I was considering starting a journal here but I'm not sure if I have that much to say yet. 

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Ladychips

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1208 on: May 27, 2021, 09:00:48 AM »
Today is my one month anniversary of FIRE and it has been great.  I have spent most of my time landscaping my backyard.  I've done some regrading and planted 7 rose bushes for a start.  I'm trying to decide if I want the roses to stand alone in those beds or if I want to make the beds bigger and plant something else in front of them.  I'm also planning a dry creek bed where our sump pump discharges in winter to resolve a grass killing/erosion problem.  This fall I'm planning on tackling the front yard.  I've also been working jigsaw puzzles and reading more than I have in years.  Audiobooks are really fun while I'm working in the yard.  I love not being tied to a desk all day.  Unsurprisingly, I've lost 4lbs so far without trying too hard.  It's amazing how easy it is to not snack when I'm not stressed all the time.

Great update!  Thanks for sharing it.  My retirements plans sound very similar.

When you start working on your dry creek bed, I'd love it if you'd tell us about that (with pictures of course). I have a couple of bad spots and I'm thinking along the same lines but would really like to see someone else try it first!
I'll definitely update on the progress when I get to it.  I'm taking a break from yard work for a week or so to rest an aching Achilles and visit my mom.  I was considering starting a journal here but I'm not sure if I have that much to say yet. 

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

No rules about how much you post in your journal!  Start one!  Start one!

Trifle

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1209 on: May 27, 2021, 11:29:56 AM »
Congrats on your last day tomorrow @SheWhoWalksAtLunch!  Hope you have a fabulous first weekend off.  And a great first Monday!   

dblaace

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1210 on: May 28, 2021, 07:13:45 AM »
I got a funny email yesterday from a recruiter saying they had candidates available for the position we were looking for.

The position is mine.

Chaplin

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1211 on: May 28, 2021, 09:13:22 AM »
Thanks @Trifele  I know it's bad form, but I'm literally counting down the minutes at this point.

It's my last day too and I'm with you on the counting down the minutes. No shame in it. Thanks to time zones you'll be done a few hours before me. Congratulations!

newstart103

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1212 on: May 28, 2021, 10:43:35 AM »
Well I gave notice and will be out in 2 weeks.  When I learned about compounding interest as a child, I thought it would be amazing to have enough money to live off the interest.  What a concept that money can make money!! So this was definitely a long term goal of mine.  I've always been very focused on working and saving money.  I had worried that I wouldn't be able to walk away from the money, but as the nest egg grew my interest in grinding it out really tapered off. 

I am a 40 year old optometrist.  As an optometrist you get to hear patients tell you on a daily basis how getting older sucks.  (worsening eyesight with age is a thing).  It's a good reminder to enjoy your health while you have it.  My job always stressed me out, but I always said it was worth it for the money.  I recently found out I have a congenital heart defect, so I am glad I can walk away.  My blood pressure has already dropped 15 points in the last couple months as I haven't been letting the stress get to me as much, since I know I am out soon anyway.  I actually sleep through the night now instead of waking up at 3am for a snack break.  Weird huh?!   

My partner is a teacher, so we bought a camper and will be traveling for about 6 weeks this summer. 

Cheers! 

Mrs. Sloth

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1213 on: May 28, 2021, 11:29:48 AM »
Please put me down confirmed for May.

Zero anxiety after giving notice (lots of anxiety leading up to the decision though). I took some time off before my last day and during the first Sunday before my time off, I felt anxious out of nowhere...I then reminded myself there was no work tomorrow and the anxiety went away. My Sunday dread friend never came back 🙂.

Trifle

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1214 on: May 28, 2021, 01:54:43 PM »
Thanks @Trifele  I know it's bad form, but I'm literally counting down the minutes at this point.

It's my last day too and I'm with you on the counting down the minutes. No shame in it. Thanks to time zones you'll be done a few hours before me. Congratulations!

and contratulations to you too! 

       Wonder twins activate! Form of FIRE

                                                         

Chaplin

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1215 on: May 28, 2021, 06:36:58 PM »
Thanks @Trifele  I know it's bad form, but I'm literally counting down the minutes at this point.

It's my last day too and I'm with you on the counting down the minutes. No shame in it. Thanks to time zones you'll be done a few hours before me. Congratulations!

and contratulations to you too! 

       Wonder twins activate! Form of FIRE

Awesome! Early ‘80s kids TV was the best.

Chaplin

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1216 on: May 28, 2021, 06:42:11 PM »
And I’m done. I’m home now from my last day in the coal mine. @ScreamingHeadGuy, you can list me as done on May 28 at age 47.

Amazingly, to me, I set 2021 as my target over five years ago and it actually happened. In some ways it happened quicker - 2021 was the target for both my wife and me, but she was able to FIRE three years ago while I stuck to 2021. Our finances are fully integrated so it was one plan not two separate ones. I’m working on a little summary of how we got here with the intention of posting it within a day or two.

swaneesr

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1217 on: May 28, 2021, 07:05:48 PM »
Congratulations!


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Ladychips

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1218 on: May 28, 2021, 08:10:46 PM »
And I’m done. I’m home now from my last day in the coal mine.

I’m working on a little summary of how we got here with the intention of posting it within a day or two.

Congratulations! I look forward to hearing your story.

Chaplin

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1219 on: May 28, 2021, 10:16:11 PM »
Congratulations!

And I’m done. I’m home now from my last day in the coal mine.

I’m working on a little summary of how we got here with the intention of posting it within a day or two.

Congratulations! I look forward to hearing your story.

Thank you both! I'll post the story in a separate post shortly.

Chaplin

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1220 on: May 28, 2021, 10:31:39 PM »
Here's the very brief version of how today became my FIRE date:

In 1996 when I was finishing up my engineering studies, I jokingly made a spreadsheet to calculate when I could retire. Based on the money I had and my expenses I figured I could retire right away if I offed myself in about three months. I actually calculated this semi-seriously (the offing myself part wasn’t serious) for a little while with some projections about income, savings, and expenses. I was so close to figuring out “the shockingly simple math of early retirement” myself. Unfortunately, I didn’t, and those spreadsheets languished for many years; in fact I didn’t even remember them until well after I had re-embarked on the FIRE journey that led me here.

Oddly enough, I’m the same age as MMM, Canadian, grew up not far from where he did, AND I moved to Colorado within a year of him doing so. That’s where we diverged though. I felt like I was just starting my career and he was half-way out the door. After five years in Colorado I married and returned to Canada, and my new wife and I took a year off work. That year off proved to us that not working while relatively young and active had many pluses, and set the stage for our future FIRE although we didn’t know it at the time.

Fast forward to 2008, but before the world economy imploded, I felt that I was trapped in a very narrow career niche that was risky due to its narrowness, and how difficult it would be to leverage it into a different position. My fears might have been overblown, but they felt real at the time. I was accepted into an Executive MBA program and my employer at the time offered to pay for half. I hadn’t asked for or expected that, but it was a pattern that repeated several times. Employers seemed to think I had more potential than I thought I did.

Around 2012 when our cash flow started to improve again after taking hits from parental leave and my MBA, I started to wonder how to decide between accelerated mortgage repayment or investing. That eventually led to the Get Rich Slowly blog. That eventually led me to MMM. I binged the blog posts in a few days and found them transformative. They fit so well with many of the thoughts and ideas that I had, but hadn’t pulled together into a cohesive framework. I don’t recall what led me to it, but the Canadian Couch Potato blog solved my problem of how to actually invest my surplus income. MMM and CCP got me from there to here.

I stayed with that employer for another seven years (12 total) and left because I found myself struggling with the commute, some psychopathic behaviour in some of the senior managers, and the unhappiness of having two management-level parents trying to be good parents to an eight-year-old boy. There was also an undercurrent of frustration that even with two very good incomes buying a house in Vancouver was out of reach. It wasn’t really, but doing so would have destroyed any FIRE dreams and locked us into careers we couldn’t escape. The new employer solved the commute problem, but the problems of management (in this case the business owner) and ability to be a good parent got worse, not better. I worked myself to the point of burnout.

Once again I felt trapped. We were much closer to FI, but not close enough and I didn’t want to quit and delay it further. My wife also wanted to leave her job so it felt unfair that I do so and leave us dependent on her income. I was very close to fully burned-out though and couldn’t see a way to bridge from where we were to were we wanted to be while retaining our health and humanity. My projections made it look like March of 2021 would be when we could both FIRE. I just didn’t think I could last until then, and my wife was feeling the same way.

Fortunately, my LinkedIn profile led to job offer in Victoria. We jumped at the opportunity and at the beginning of 2018 I started in this new position. It was a strange time as my wife and son stayed behind to finish out my son’s school year and for my wife to exit her job. For six months I lived in Airbnbs and went back to my family on weekends. We were able to sell our townhouse in Vancouver for $1.23M which was considerably more than we expected, and bought a great house and property in Victoria for about $940k. We invested most of the difference putting us well over $1M in invested assets. The math also said that my wife no longer needed to work and I could still target March of 2021.

This new job had some unique characteristics that allowed me to start healing from the burnout rather than compounding it. That shifted after about a year and a half due to market forces, but I had recovered a fair bit. Initially, dealing with the pandemic also helped delay the return of burnout. The three years since starting the new job had seen me making the most money I had ever made while our investments had also done very, very well. Not working allowed my wife to focus more on our son which was very beneficial as he had to start at a new school. It also allowed her to do more of the household work that we had shared when we were both working. Yes, it created a more “traditional” dynamic, but it improved the quality of life for both of us. Despite that, the burnout was starting to return at the end of 2020 and I decided that it was time to act. FIRE at the end of May 2021 seemed ideal for a variety of reasons, so now, more than five years after projecting March 2021 as a FIRE date for both of us, I’m FIRE’d as of the end of May of 2021 while my wife had pulled the plug three years early. Not a bad estimate given the uncertainties along the way.

I can’t help but wonder if some of my “inability” to continue working relates to having set those targets and getting so close to FI as to have solid FU money at the very least. As in, if I had no choice, or hadn’t put this milestone on the timeline, would I have simply powered through because I had no choice? I don’t think so - I was headed for burnout no matter what because I kept making poor career choices.

Poor career choices? Well, financially they’ve worked out very well, and maybe in the grand scheme of things they were the right ones, but what if I had inflated my lifestyle accordingly and and had had to continue for ten or twenty more years? Although I was successful as a manager, I think it was because I actually cared. My sense is that you can’t do that for long, or at least I couldn’t without it consuming me. To be a manager, or worse, a president or CEO, you need some level of indifference or single-minded focus to do it long-term. If I had had to be in my career longer, I would have been better off staying in a more technical role and avoiding management. Of course, the better pay has got me to a point where I didn’t have to extend the career. Something of a catch-22, although even the technical roles paid well enough that with greater frugality we could perhaps have achieved the same result.

At any rate, today was my last day and I don’t ever plan to return to a position with the sort of responsibility that leads to good pay. I could certainly see myself pulling in a few dollars here and there with a wee bit of consulting, maybe some data analysis work, working at polling stations during elections, or perhaps as a bike mechanic. I think that our stash should make all of those unnecessary, but they might support some fun optional activities.

What now? Being able to spend time with my son while he still enjoys doing things with me is my top priority. It will also be wonderful to be able to relax with my wife without the cloud of work occupying a back corner in my mind at all times. Being responsible for the safety of others is gratifying and rewarding, but I found that you can’t take a vacation from it. My mother and in-laws are in their 80’s; they are in excellent health given their age so this is the time to maximize our time with them. Our house needs some DIY love and doing the work myself is fun for me and if I can avoid paying others thousands of dollars to the work, that’s a lot like having an income. And of course I have a lot of biking and hiking that just needs to be done. I’ve also recently found that plogging (walking/jogging while picking up litter) has been highly therapeutic and rewarding. It ticks some of the boxes that work used to tick. I get to do the activity, feel good about it, and keep score by recording each outing. It might also be the gateway drug that gets me into some environmental activism.

So now it remains to be seen how reality compares to expectations. I’m trying to be open to whatever comes up and not be too tied to those expectations though. I’m guessing that that’s a better long-term strategy as it has some resilience built in. If I pinned too much of my FIRE happiness on mountain biking, for example, all it would take would be an injury to “ruin” my plans.

To be continued…..

Aethonan

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1221 on: May 29, 2021, 04:19:40 PM »
@dblaace
Quote
"I got a funny email yesterday from a recruiter saying they had candidates available for the position we were looking for.

The position is mine.

HILARIOUS.

@Chaplin, thank you so much for the detailed background!  You've been a great contributor to this thread, and it was lovely to hear your backstory. 

I just popped in to say: I just now realized (2 weeks in to leaving) that I have not thought about work for DAYS.  Pending cases, partner anxieties, client demands... dear god, it's glorious.  I thought I'd be worrying about them for months! 

Also, I'd heard from others that going immediately from leaving work into a relocation is a bad idea, which is partly why I left my job with a solid 4-6 months before we plan to relocate.  That said, the whole process of planning what we want to build (we're moving into a camper on our property and will be involved in the build itself) is SO MUCH FUN.  I just realized that the process of identifying an ecologically-minded, energy efficient, and affordable house actually combines most of my prior education and training in totally unexpected ways.  I have been dreaming about it (in a fun way) and keep waking up early because I'm excited to go research the next thing.  I did NOT think I would be motivated to do any of this (and am slightly conflicted because I have a backlog of video games to get to...), but it's just ridiculous how much fun it is to learn things for the sake of it, and to feel inspired by whole new areas of learning and specialization.

All this is to say: wow.  Did not expect to be having quite this much fun.

4tify

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1222 on: May 29, 2021, 05:22:31 PM »
This thread is amazing. So many millionaires taking control of their lives!

I’d be curious to see a poll on how much this cohort has amassed, and what range of NW we are FIRING on.

Congrats to all who’ve made the jump and thanks for the updates!

12321

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1223 on: June 01, 2021, 12:39:44 PM »
I’d be curious to see a poll on how much this cohort has amassed, and what range of NW we are FIRING on.

As would I. I still consult and worry about money, but I feel like we're above the average and have several safety nets. Namely, long term I haven't counted any social security, medium term I haven't counted any inheritance (though both of our parents are likely to leave something behind), and short term I never count my home equity or crypto holdings in my networth.

Still we're north of $3M invested, with a spend under 100k/year.

rightstuff

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1224 on: June 02, 2021, 07:48:52 AM »
Happy to report I've started my first day of FIRE.   Still harboring alot of disbelief, but watching the neighbors rush off to work while I sipped my coffee was an indulgent pleasure.

Everyone's stories, both pre and post Fire are highly interesting and informative,  I look forward to seeing more and sharing my own.

4tify

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1225 on: June 02, 2021, 09:27:18 AM »
I’d be curious to see a poll on how much this cohort has amassed, and what range of NW we are FIRING on.

As would I. I still consult and worry about money, but I feel like we're above the average and have several safety nets. Namely, long term I haven't counted any social security, medium term I haven't counted any inheritance (though both of our parents are likely to leave something behind), and short term I never count my home equity or crypto holdings in my networth.

Still we're north of $3M invested, with a spend under 100k/year.

You sound like you’re solid. Home equity and under 4% SWR....how old are you?

12321

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1226 on: June 02, 2021, 11:20:49 AM »
I’d be curious to see a poll on how much this cohort has amassed, and what range of NW we are FIRING on.

As would I. I still consult and worry about money, but I feel like we're above the average and have several safety nets. Namely, long term I haven't counted any social security, medium term I haven't counted any inheritance (though both of our parents are likely to leave something behind), and short term I never count my home equity or crypto holdings in my networth.

Still we're north of $3M invested, with a spend under 100k/year.

You sound like you’re solid. Home equity and under 4% SWR....how old are you?

35. Making enough to cover the mortgage and health insurance working a handful of hours a week. We'll see if I get the itch to drum up more clients when the kids are in school.

Was just re-reading the MMM post where if everything goes wrong, I've still got like 30 years of runway to figure out what I want to do next!

phildonnia

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1227 on: June 02, 2021, 11:37:45 AM »
Today's my last day of work, and strangely, I'm finding myself giving a damn.  I'm getting lots of "Sorry to bother you on your last day". To which I just have to say: "I'm not dead yet..."   And I'm a little bothered that some of the tasks assigned to me are just not going to get done before I leave.

But tomorrow, I'm going to go out and do something fun with my son.  In the middle of the day, on a Thursday, if you can imagine!

Chaplin

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1228 on: June 02, 2021, 01:47:52 PM »
Today's my last day of work, and strangely, I'm finding myself giving a damn.  I'm getting lots of "Sorry to bother you on your last day". To which I just have to say: "I'm not dead yet..."   And I'm a little bothered that some of the tasks assigned to me are just not going to get done before I leave.

But tomorrow, I'm going to go out and do something fun with my son.  In the middle of the day, on a Thursday, if you can imagine!

I think it's a good sign that you give (gave) a damn. I understand the feeling. It's even better that you're going to get to do something fun with your son at a time you otherwise wouldn't have been able to.

Malee55

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1229 on: June 02, 2021, 04:03:26 PM »
I have a medical appointment in mid July and emailed my boss that I will need a day off for it. Then had to immediately email him back to say I'm on leave then so he doesn't need to worry about it.

On Monday I am back at work after 4 weeks annual leave. Then 6 weeks later I will  be off on leave until end of October. Which is when I will retire. It still does not feel real.

bownyboy

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1230 on: June 03, 2021, 12:43:26 AM »
With the recent opening up of pubs, bars, cafes etc here in the UK along with some fantastic weather, I'm finding my motivation severely lacking!

My wife who is already FIRE is out most days meeting up with friends, having lunches and walks etc while I retreat to the dining room for 7 hours of Zoom meetings (ugh!).

Just under 3 months to go for me; keep reminding myself of the income I will bank for our stash, but boy is it hard!!


Arbitrage

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1231 on: June 03, 2021, 07:59:17 AM »
I had to be in the office (physically) for a couple of days this week, for the first time since March 2020.  Only had this week and next before saying goodbye permanently, so I spent a good chunk of time just cleaning and disposing of things.  6 more days of full-time work. 

asauer

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1232 on: June 03, 2021, 11:40:58 AM »
Had to start back to the office full-time.  No days at home.  It's going to make the next 8 weeks HARD but at least it's only 8 weeks!

Ladychips

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1233 on: June 03, 2021, 01:40:43 PM »
Getting close!  My institution makes us change our password every ~90 days.  I was hoping my last change would see me to the end.  Nope.  I emailed the technology guy (small institution) and asked if they checked for profanity in passwords.  He extended my deadline to see me to the end.  Wasn't that sweet?!?!

My mom has been having some health issues so I needed to take some days off work.  Fortunately her procedure went great and so far, I haven't had to take any unexpected time off.  It looks like (fingers crossed) that I am going to end the month with my sick leave exactly where I need it to contribute to my pension and my vacation time maxed out (they pay me for it).  If I end up needing to take off addition time with my mom, it's ok.  I have plenty.

16 days and counting for me!

Go Class of 2021!  We are rocking it!!!

Need2Save

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1234 on: June 03, 2021, 04:56:56 PM »
Only 19 work days left for me (I have two Fridays off in June).

I'm helping interview outside candidates for my replacement. I realized this week that my boss doesn't want to hire the most qualified person for the job because she thinks she may be a job hopper and leave in 2-3 years. After reflection, I think it's because she knows the person is technically skilled, and has ambition thus won't be happy there are no advancement opportunities for her after 2-3 years.  This is also one of the things I'm not happy about - I haven't said this directly to my boss, but I think she's getting the hint that there are no new opportunities for me at age 48 and I don't want to keep doing the same thing for ten more years (or longer). She also called it my 'fake retirement' because she thinks I'm too young and I'm not really done working. This was the first time anyone expressed direct doubt to me that I am really retiring.  Believe me, it's real! Work is optional now and I'm opting out!

So they are going to probably offer my job to the lesser qualified candidate who will be easier to keep quiet about lack of promotion opportunities (and probably save them some money to pay them less than they were paying me). This is very sad for my team as they will not have the best leader....but not my problem!

RedefinedHappiness

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1235 on: June 04, 2021, 05:20:36 AM »
Man, good thing you are leaving.  Your boss and presumably company culture sounds awful.

4tify

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1236 on: June 04, 2021, 09:47:10 AM »
I’d be curious to see a poll on how much this cohort has amassed, and what range of NW we are FIRING on.

As would I. I still consult and worry about money, but I feel like we're above the average and have several safety nets. Namely, long term I haven't counted any social security, medium term I haven't counted any inheritance (though both of our parents are likely to leave something behind), and short term I never count my home equity or crypto holdings in my networth.

Still we're north of $3M invested, with a spend under 100k/year.

You sound like you’re solid. Home equity and under 4% SWR....how old are you?

35. Making enough to cover the mortgage and health insurance working a handful of hours a week. We'll see if I get the itch to drum up more clients when the kids are in school.

Was just re-reading the MMM post where if everything goes wrong, I've still got like 30 years of runway to figure out what I want to do next!

Yeah he did a Fool interview recently and touched on that again. Definitely gave me a nudge too!

JoJo

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1237 on: June 04, 2021, 04:14:27 PM »
It's official!  Just turned in my computer, IDs, etc!   Retirement on 6-4-2021 at age 48!

Ladychips

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1238 on: June 04, 2021, 04:22:16 PM »
It's official!  Just turned in my computer, IDs, etc!   Retirement on 6-4-2021 at age 48!

Congratulations!!!!

CoffeeR

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1239 on: June 04, 2021, 06:00:41 PM »
So, I'm on the list for May 31 @ age 55, but I'm not sure what my current "status" is. As planned, I left the only full time job I've ever had on May 31 and started the process of formally retiring (gets me some benefits including medical). But, I've decided to ease into RE by taking a new job with a small org that does meaningful work. The position is remote, part time, less pay with lots of freedom and flexibility. The reason is not money, but it gives me something to do that I enjoy doing. If the freedom, flexibility and enjoyment turn out to be short lived and/or illusory, I will not hesitate to walk away. So, what am I? SWAMI? Not sure.

In some other news, my wife and I are planning some travel for the fall!! I've never had time during my regular working years. I'm excited!

crazy jane

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1240 on: June 04, 2021, 07:03:59 PM »
I had my last full day today. Monday is a half day and a party celebrating the end of the school year and my retirement. Teachers pitch in money at the beginning of the year to fund milestone occasions for each other. There's enough in the kitty to get a food truck for my departure. To eat from, not to drive away. Then I plan to stay up past 9:00 for the first time in ages.

Ladychips

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1241 on: June 04, 2021, 07:12:23 PM »
Then I plan to stay up past 9:00 for the first time in ages.

Be careful and think about taking it in stages.. That's my plan anyway. LOL

Congratulations!

crazy jane

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1242 on: June 05, 2021, 05:13:17 AM »
Then I plan to stay up past 9:00 for the first time in ages.

Be careful and think about taking it in stages.. That's my plan anyway. LOL

Congratulations!

Thank you. My husband and I joke about staying up until double digits. It was still light out when we went to bed last night. I will report later on what it feels like to try and sleep when I am not exhausted from working all day.

12321

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1243 on: June 07, 2021, 07:46:34 AM »
I’d be curious to see a poll on how much this cohort has amassed, and what range of NW we are FIRING on.

As would I. I still consult and worry about money, but I feel like we're above the average and have several safety nets. Namely, long term I haven't counted any social security, medium term I haven't counted any inheritance (though both of our parents are likely to leave something behind), and short term I never count my home equity or crypto holdings in my networth.

Still we're north of $3M invested, with a spend under 100k/year.

You sound like you’re solid. Home equity and under 4% SWR....how old are you?

35. Making enough to cover the mortgage and health insurance working a handful of hours a week. We'll see if I get the itch to drum up more clients when the kids are in school.

Was just re-reading the MMM post where if everything goes wrong, I've still got like 30 years of runway to figure out what I want to do next!

Yeah he did a Fool interview recently and touched on that again. Definitely gave me a nudge too!

Thanks for the response! Yeah I'm deep down some existential rabbit holes of what I'm bringing to the world by continuing to work in digital marketing so... maybe we stop! We've got plenty of money and time to figure out what's next, plus kids to focus on.

Big thanks to this forum, not sure anywhere else I can discuss this!

Malee55

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1244 on: June 07, 2021, 04:09:28 PM »
I went back to work yesterday after 4 weeks off on leave. It really emphasized to me that I am ready to retire. I figured I was either going to be rested and full of energy and ready to face it all again. Or I wasn't. And it turned out to be the latter. It was great seeing my work colleagues again so that was a bonus.

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1245 on: June 07, 2021, 04:10:41 PM »
Wife resigned today. Effective first week of July. My FMLA starts in 3 days. Going to be a fun summer

nazar

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1246 on: June 07, 2021, 06:18:13 PM »
I let my boss know today that I've decided to retire this year. The date I have listed here is going to change, but I don't know what the new date will be yet. I work in an industry that was hit hard in the pandemic and won't leave until I know that things have stabilized. I don't want to burn bridges in case I want to pick up any contact work in the future. I'll post an update once I have a new date.

Sent from my SM-G892U using Tapatalk


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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1247 on: June 08, 2021, 02:02:35 PM »
Confirmed -- I'm job-free as of May 10th and it's been almost a month. I see this as my super lean-FIRE / sabbatical, so eventually I'll probably get back into work part time or maybe even full-time, but it's nice knowing I don't really NEED it!

Dreamer40

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1248 on: June 08, 2021, 09:13:48 PM »
Guys, I’m 97 days into retirement and felt like I wanted a job today. ?!?! I looked at Craigslist and random local job boards to see if anything jumped out at me. I feel a little crazy. I dont regret quitting my shitty job and I don’t need to work. But I apparently am starting to feel ready for the next challenge or phase. As I write this, I have a Nintendo Switch in my lap so I’m probably not serious. I’m going to go play Hades now for a while. I’m finding this emotional FIRE journey fascinating.

4tify

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Re: 2021 FIRE Cohort
« Reply #1249 on: June 09, 2021, 10:04:18 AM »
Guys, I’m 97 days into retirement and felt like I wanted a job today. ?!?! I looked at Craigslist and random local job boards to see if anything jumped out at me. I feel a little crazy. I dont regret quitting my shitty job and I don’t need to work. But I apparently am starting to feel ready for the next challenge or phase. As I write this, I have a Nintendo Switch in my lap so I’m probably not serious. I’m going to go play Hades now for a while. I’m finding this emotional FIRE journey fascinating.

You could always get another job. What’s behind the impulse? Need a problem to solve? Social interaction? Anxiety about your plan?