2026 FIRE Cohort

[FIPurpose]

I received some welcome news today - the Foreign Service promotion lists came out, and my name appeared!  Yowza!

This entails both the status of a higher rank as well as a ~7% raise, effective sometime in October.

The Foreign Service Pension System formula includes the highest three years of salary, so to maximize that I could consider working through October 2026.  However, a few months of my pre-promotion salary remaining in the three-year moving window probably wouldn't make a huge difference.  I'll run the calculators to obtain a ballpark figure to see whether it makes any sense to stay in the game that long.

In any case, our stash has grown large enough to maintain our hedonistic lifestyle, and the real benefit of Federal retirement remains the privilege of remaining in the FEHP at the employee rate.  A small needle move in my pension resulting from the higher salary merely spreads cream on top.

Big congrats. I'll be starting FS here next week. Honestly, I don't like the sound of how the promotion system works there (a little too much random factor), but I consider any promotion gravy at this point for myself too. This train is already hitting FI in 2026. I'm definitely working through at least 2028 to hit the 5 year pension mark though. That would put us close to 1.8MM.

If I work the full 20, we'd be at well over 5MM + the full pension. I'm not 100% sure what we'd do with that money, but I do feel like hitting FI and continuing to work gives me some amount of freedom to do fancy things more often.

[alcon835]

I received some welcome news today - the Foreign Service promotion lists came out, and my name appeared!  Yowza!

This entails both the status of a higher rank as well as a ~7% raise, effective sometime in October.

The Foreign Service Pension System formula includes the highest three years of salary, so to maximize that I could consider working through October 2026.  However, a few months of my pre-promotion salary remaining in the three-year moving window probably wouldn't make a huge difference.  I'll run the calculators to obtain a ballpark figure to see whether it makes any sense to stay in the game that long.

In any case, our stash has grown large enough to maintain our hedonistic lifestyle, and the real benefit of Federal retirement remains the privilege of remaining in the FEHP at the employee rate.  A small needle move in my pension resulting from the higher salary merely spreads cream on top.

Congratulations!! That's great news!!!

[elysianfields]

I received some welcome news today - the Foreign Service promotion lists came out, and my name appeared!  Yowza!

This entails both the status of a higher rank as well as a ~7% raise, effective sometime in October.

The Foreign Service Pension System formula includes the highest three years of salary, so to maximize that I could consider working through October 2026.  However, a few months of my pre-promotion salary remaining in the three-year moving window probably wouldn't make a huge difference.  I'll run the calculators to obtain a ballpark figure to see whether it makes any sense to stay in the game that long.

In any case, our stash has grown large enough to maintain our hedonistic lifestyle, and the real benefit of Federal retirement remains the privilege of remaining in the FEHP at the employee rate.  A small needle move in my pension resulting from the higher salary merely spreads cream on top.

Big congrats. I'll be starting FS here next week. Honestly, I don't like the sound of how the promotion system works there (a little too much random factor), but I consider any promotion gravy at this point for myself too. This train is already hitting FI in 2026. I'm definitely working through at least 2028 to hit the 5 year pension mark though. That would put us close to 1.8MM.

If I work the full 20, we'd be at well over 5MM + the full pension. I'm not 100% sure what we'd do with that money, but I do feel like hitting FI and continuing to work gives me some amount of freedom to do fancy things more often.

Awesome!  Congratulations right back at you @FIPurpose !  I didn't realize you had received the call finally.  Let me know if you want any insights about possible posts once you receive your bid list.

20 years seems like a long time from the front end, but as I approach the finish line, it doesn't seem like it took so long.  It's all a matter of your priorities and so forth, and whether the constant moves grate or inspire.

Let me know how things go!

Edited to send batsignal.

[elysianfields]

Congratulations!! That's great news!!!

Thanks @alcon835 , hope this finds you doing well!

[elysianfields]

The Foreign Service Pension System formula includes the highest three years of salary, so to maximize that I could consider working through October November 2026.  However, a few months of my pre-promotion salary remaining in the three-year moving window probably wouldn't make a huge difference.  I'll run the calculators to obtain a ballpark figure to see whether it makes any sense to stay in the game that long.

So I spent some time in Excel to make a reasonable guesstimate, but I could have just considered the factors in the FSPS formula.  For one's first 20 years of service, each year is multiplied by 1.7%; each year thereafter is multiplied by only 1%.  Consequently, the increase in the monthly pension amounts slows after the first 20 YOS.

After working three years from the effective date of my promotion, the salary increase associated with the promotion no longer factors; instead, I simply have the usual 3% step increases.  Consequently, the increase in the high-three and therefore the pension amount also slows after three years at the promoted rate.

Of course I'd continue to receive a paycheck while building up the pension amount, but the increase in the pension - approximately $300 annual pension increase per additional month worked - seems a rather diminished return on effort invested.  Plenty of time remains, of course, for us to consider our options before making a decision.

[Purple_Crayon]

Hi 2026 friends!

Figured I would drop in for another update:

Stache: Still on track -- a solid market after last year has us currently sitting at 15.9x the FIRE budget that we're shooting for. With an average market and our current incomes/spending, we would hit our target in summer of 2026. 

Spending: Still tracking to be under our goal of $29k for the year -- $20,713 through today.

Life: The year continues to be busy and fun -- DW spent a month of the summer in the middle east visiting family. I am visiting Nashville, doing a hiking trip with friends, and then going to hang out with the MMM peeps in Moab, UT all in the next month.

How is the journey going for the rest of y'all?

[fireready]

We are shooting for March 2026!

On target so far with a 73% savings rate!

[PlanetDee]

About 55% to target! Exciting to see progress, but feels like an eternity away.

[Huskerfan]

Hello everyone. I haven’t been here in a while.  Things have been busy. 
You know how it goes, life gets in the way, blah blah blah. 

Let’s start with some updates. 
In April, we paid off our mortgage.  That was such an amazing weight off of my shoulders.  With that, I started terminal leave from the military and officially retired in July. 

So far I’ve received a couple of pension checks, which is a crazy odd feeling.  I have finalized things on the VA disability side, and I’m happy with how it turned out.  So it’s time to turn the page on that chapter and move forward.

On top of this I was hired into a position that is mostly remote work.  I was hired at a higher pay scale due to my military experience, and it has a lot of upward mobility for the next few years.  I didn’t plan on anything beyond 5 years.  But who knows.  Perhaps only three years. 

Right now the wife and I are financially stable and enjoying things

[Purple_Crayon]

Great update @Huskerfan!

I just returned from the Moab, Utah meet-up, which resulted in a nice burst of energy stolen from friendly souls!

During one of our campfire chats, I recruited a slew of volunteers that agreed to stand in a line and give me a series of quick-fire face-punches if I'm working a regular 9 to 5 after Dec 1, 2026.

Thanks to the Mustachians out there keeping me honest!

[Turtle]

Hello everyone. I haven’t been here in a while.  Things have been busy. 
You know how it goes, life gets in the way, blah blah blah. 

Let’s start with some updates. 
In April, we paid off our mortgage.  That was such an amazing weight off of my shoulders.  With that, I started terminal leave from the military and officially retired in July. 

So far I’ve received a couple of pension checks, which is a crazy odd feeling.  I have finalized things on the VA disability side, and I’m happy with how it turned out.  So it’s time to turn the page on that chapter and move forward.

On top of this I was hired into a position that is mostly remote work.  I was hired at a higher pay scale due to my military experience, and it has a lot of upward mobility for the next few years.  I didn’t plan on anything beyond 5 years.  But who knows.  Perhaps only three years. 

Right now the wife and I are financially stable and enjoying things

Congratulations and I hope you are enjoying the new remote opportunity!  With the mortgage paid off and the pension coming in, that should help greatly with stashing. 

[PlanetDee]

Sharing my excitement that we passed $500k liquid yesterday!! I am sure we will swing around, but it feels like this has taken FOREVER and I’m so proud of us sticking the course.

Hope all of you are well and are hitting your own milestones!

[alcon835]

Sharing my excitement that we passed $500k liquid yesterday!! I am sure we will swing around, but it feels like this has taken FOREVER and I’m so proud of us sticking the course.

Hope all of you are well and are hitting your own milestones!

Congratulations!! That's HUGE!!!!!

[elysianfields]

Congratulations @Huskerfan and @PlanetDee !

I don't have any earth-shattering news.  DW and I incurred a lot of the usual PCS (permanent change of station) expenses we're used to: home leave lodging, groceries, and auto rental; some shoe & clothing replacements; pre-paid consumables purchases for our new hardship post, that sort of thing.

I re-examined our retirement savings and realized that we have a substantial amount in pre-tax vehicles (traditional TSP and IRAs), so I'm redirecting my TSP contributions to Roth going forward.  We're likely to incur heavy taxes when those accounts become subject to MRDs, and higher interest rates will likely push a future Congress to raise revenues via higher taxes instead of borrowing.

The recent market rise has pushed our portfolio near historic highs.

We expect to invest in a new roof and some other repairs for our rental in the next six months, and it continues to pull its weight in terms of cash flow, appreciation, and mortgage amortization.

[FIPurpose]

I don't have any earth-shattering news.  DW and I incurred a lot of the usual PCS (permanent change of station) expenses we're used to: home leave lodging, groceries, and auto rental; some shoe & clothing replacements; pre-paid consumables purchases for our new hardship post, that sort of thing.

I re-examined our retirement savings and realized that we have a substantial amount in pre-tax vehicles (traditional TSP and IRAs), so I'm redirecting my TSP contributions to Roth going forward.  We're likely to incur heavy taxes when those accounts become subject to MRDs, and higher interest rates will likely push a future Congress to raise revenues via higher taxes instead of borrowing.

The recent market rise has pushed our portfolio near historic highs.

We expect to invest in a new roof and some other repairs for our rental in the next six months, and it continues to pull its weight in terms of cash flow, appreciation, and mortgage amortization.

I actually recently made a similar decision for a similar reason. I realized that the longer I keep working, the higher and higher those minimum withdraws become in retirement. Suddenly the words of my boss from just after I graduated college are ringing in my head now ("this is the lowest amount of money you'll make in your life going forward" to encourage me to put more in Roth) I didn't really believe him at the time, but he was right. Well now I took this lower paying job that provides a lot of tax-free benefits, so it seemed reasonable to start out pushing more Roth contributions.

So I redirected our IRA contributions to Roth, but I haven't considered TSP. I might look into that for next year.

[Purple_Crayon]

Hi friends!

Just wanted to drop in for an update and to encourage others to do the same. Since my last check-in, I've been primarily spending time with DW at home. We leave for Hawaii in a week, so I'm looking forward to getting away from work for a bit. Megacorp went through a RIF in October (about 15% of the company), but I squeaked through. I know that those that were impacted likely are dealing with the fallout, and I feel for them, but at least some small part of me would've enjoyed some small forcing of hands for a month or two away.

The above aside, November was a fantastic month for the market, and our stash ended at $902k on the last day of November, with YTD spending at $26,545.78 as of the same day.

In other news, my dad came over with some tools so I could replace my water heater, and while there, he noticed a "countdown to retirement" clock on my desk. After he did the math, he asked if it was a joke. I said it wasn't. He then inquired how I could possibly think I could retire in 2026. I told him "Compared to a typical person, I'm probably considered very boring -- my lifestyle just doesn't cost that much." He made a few comments afterward that suggested he thinks I'm delusional and have no clue how expensive the world actually is. I think he often still sees me as the know-it-all 16-year-old he threw out of his house over twenty years ago, and I'm in for some kind of rude awakening.

Based upon the current stash, an average market, and our current behaviors, we are projected to hit our number in June of '26. But I'm still planning for December (anything could happen between now and then).

How is the rest of the class of '26?

[PlanetDee]

@Purple_Crayon that is so similar to my own parent’s reaction! They know we are good with money and know that we have way more saved than people our age (32), but are always suggesting that I stay at my state job for “at least 20 years” to get the good pension. I always laugh and say that we would have more money than we could ever spend if I worked for that long. We just get a blank stare in return.

November was also an amazing month for us - finally passed $500k liquid and hoping that it sticks. Pumping money into taxable account since all the retirement accounts have been maxed out. Hoping to pull the trigger on full time work at the end of 2026! I am also a massage therapist, so I plan to work a few hours a week after that to pad the stache and pay for some trips.

Hope all are well during the holiday season!

[tj]

The Foreign Service Pension System formula includes the highest three years of salary, so to maximize that I could consider working through October November 2026.  However, a few months of my pre-promotion salary remaining in the three-year moving window probably wouldn't make a huge difference.  I'll run the calculators to obtain a ballpark figure to see whether it makes any sense to stay in the game that long.

So I spent some time in Excel to make a reasonable guesstimate, but I could have just considered the factors in the FSPS formula.  For one's first 20 years of service, each year is multiplied by 1.7%; each year thereafter is multiplied by only 1%.  Consequently, the increase in the monthly pension amounts slows after the first 20 YOS.

After working three years from the effective date of my promotion, the salary increase associated with the promotion no longer factors; instead, I simply have the usual 3% step increases.  Consequently, the increase in the high-three and therefore the pension amount also slows after three years at the promoted rate.

Of course I'd continue to receive a paycheck while building up the pension amount, but the increase in the pension - approximately $300 annual pension increase per additional month worked - seems a rather diminished return on effort invested.  Plenty of time remains, of course, for us to consider our options before making a decision.

Are you also getting something like the COLA increases every year like most federal employees do? e.g.. https://www.federalpay.org/gs/raises ?

[Turtle]

Still planning on early 2026 here, unless a RIF hits me beforehand.  (That would probably lead to immediate slightly leaner FIRE)  Could work until mid 2027, but that's unlikely unless some great offer lands in my lap.

There's enough grey in my hair that people won't find it that odd for me to be retired, though they may reevaluate their estimate of my age.  I have quite a few younger friends who will still be working, but some older ones who are close to or have already done the traditional route.

My father was RIF'd at 60 and never worked again, so he's unlikely to give me any odd looks or lectures even though I'll still be in my later 50s.

[alcon835]

I am thinking about quitting my job and taking a personal sabbatical next year. If we do that, it'll probably push my FIRE date out past 2026, as we'll be spending some of our stash and not adding anything to the stash in the interim.

Other than that, things are going okay. The Economy is in a very weird place. The stock market is almost back up to where it was before the dip, which means my stash is growing well, but also almost everyone I talk to is dealing with layoffs (my 300 person company had two rounds of layoffs this year). Also I'm in Sales and things aren't selling - not just for us but for everyone I talk too.

So, I'm not sure if 2026 will be my year or not. But I'll stick around until I know for sure. We've got 2 more years to figure it all out.

[the_hobbitish]

I pulled the trigger on the decision to get a graduate certificate in a new field and not return to my old job after my current 1 year sabbatical (expires August 2024). If I find the right remote or hybrid position I might work past 2026 though I'd probably try for part time after that.

Now that I'm less burned out I think I'm not ready to be completely done working. I may even end up somewhere back in government. It's hard for the private sector to match the 5 weeks leave plus sick time I'd get if I go back. I'm realizing that what I want is a major downshift and a new field instead of complete RE.

[tj]

I pulled the trigger on the decision to get a graduate certificate in a new field and not return to my old job after my current 1 year sabbatical (expires August 2024). If I find the right remote or hybrid position I might work past 2026 though I'd probably try for part time after that.

Now that I'm less burned out I think I'm not ready to be completely done working. I may even end up somewhere back in government. It's hard for the private sector to match the 5 weeks leave plus sick time I'd get if I go back. I'm realizing that what I want is a major downshift and a new field instead of complete RE.

This is something I can relate to - where work gets in the way for me is being able to take advantage of last minute travel deals. If I had a part time position where i could take extended leave at short notice, I wouldn't necessarily need to retire. That seems a bit hard to find though.  In your case, if you can ride it out in the gov until MRA you would presumably keep growing your pension and  get retiree health insurance.

[elysianfields]

The Foreign Service Pension System formula includes the highest three years of salary, so to maximize that I could consider working through October November 2026.  However, a few months of my pre-promotion salary remaining in the three-year moving window probably wouldn't make a huge difference.  I'll run the calculators to obtain a ballpark figure to see whether it makes any sense to stay in the game that long.

So I spent some time in Excel to make a reasonable guesstimate, but I could have just considered the factors in the FSPS formula.  For one's first 20 years of service, each year is multiplied by 1.7%; each year thereafter is multiplied by only 1%.  Consequently, the increase in the monthly pension amounts slows after the first 20 YOS.

After working three years from the effective date of my promotion, the salary increase associated with the promotion no longer factors; instead, I simply have the usual 3% step increases.  Consequently, the increase in the high-three and therefore the pension amount also slows after three years at the promoted rate.

Of course I'd continue to receive a paycheck while building up the pension amount, but the increase in the pension - approximately $300 annual pension increase per additional month worked - seems a rather diminished return on effort invested.  Plenty of time remains, of course, for us to consider our options before making a decision.

Are you also getting something like the COLA increases every year like most federal employees do? e.g.. https://www.federalpay.org/gs/raises ?

Yes, Foreign Service employees also receive scale-wide pay raises based on Presidential determination or Congressional legislation most every year (Obama froze Federal pay for three years, thanks, Obama!).

[Purple_Crayon]

End of year update!

It was a great year on all fronts in this house (knock on wood). Almost enough to forget about the pain that was last year!

Stache: Looking solid -- sitting at 17.6x the FIRE budget that we're shooting for, after starting the year at 12x. Projections have us now hitting our number mid-2025, but staying in this cohort, as anything could happen between now and then.

Spending: We were trying to keep it under $29k, but with the level of travel this year, we didn't quite hit our goal. We came it at $29,512.56. Super close, and still down 5.83% YoY, which is still pretty cool considering the inflationary environment. Cutting out a few restaurants went a long way.

Life: 2023 was a big year for travel and fun. We spent a week on the coast in Oregon in March, a week in Alaska in May, a week and a half in southern Utah in September, and a week in Hawaii earlier this month. In addition, we did smaller trips to visit friends and family in Dallas, Nashville, Arizona, and Seattle. Everything stayed relatively great on the health front. DW's dad moved back to our state after being away for 15 years, and she was able to spend the holidays with him.

I've spent some more time thinking about downshifting recently. Long story short -- our FatFire goals are not very motivating. We hit LeanFire in 2019 and have been on the ~6-year path from one toward the other ever since. However, whenever dealing with a stressful project at work, my go to psychological instinct has become to think "I don't need to put myself through this anymore." Not sure if I'll actually pull the trigger on anything just yet, but I've begun to put feelers out there. I have meetings with a group from the college DW works at for a 3-day per week, $35/hr gig that would be far less stress, but still valuable and fun (for my nerdy tendencies). So, CoastFire is becoming more of an option for me, when I was scared to consider it just a year ago. We'll see what happens.

How was 2023 for the rest of y'all's plans?

[FIPurpose]

Reviewing our EOY numbers, I'm curious how everyone has handled inflation increases? When I started tracking back in 2015, I determined that I would likely need $50k to consider myself FIRE'd. So 1.2MM using the standard 25x expenses. Since then, inflation has pushed that 1.5MM.

So even though my net worth has gone up between 2020 and now, inflation during that period has it all at a wash. Unless something in the market changes and makes up for what are essentially flat years, it seems that FIRE may not happen for 2026. I'll be close, but it seems like 2028/2029 are more likely now.

[FIPurpose]

End of year update!

It was a great year on all fronts in this house (knock on wood). Almost enough to forget about the pain that was last year!

Stache: Looking solid -- sitting at 17.6x the FIRE budget that we're shooting for, after starting the year at 12x. Projections have us now hitting our number mid-2025, but staying in this cohort, as anything could happen between now and then.

Spending: We were trying to keep it under $29k, but with the level of travel this year, we didn't quite hit our goal. We came it at $29,512.56. Super close, and still down 5.83% YoY, which is still pretty cool considering the inflationary environment. Cutting out a few restaurants went a long way.

Life: 2023 was a big year for travel and fun. We spent a week on the coast in Oregon in March, a week in Alaska in May, a week and a half in southern Utah in September, and a week in Hawaii earlier this month. In addition, we did smaller trips to visit friends and family in Dallas, Nashville, Arizona, and Seattle. Everything stayed relatively great on the health front. DW's dad moved back to our state after being away for 15 years, and she was able to spend the holidays with him.

I've spent some more time thinking about downshifting recently. Long story short -- our FatFire goals are not very motivating. We hit LeanFire in 2019 and have been on the ~6-year path from one toward the other ever since. However, whenever dealing with a stressful project at work, my go to psychological instinct has become to think "I don't need to put myself through this anymore." Not sure if I'll actually pull the trigger on anything just yet, but I've begun to put feelers out there. I have meetings with a group from the college DW works at for a 3-day per week, $35/hr gig that would be far less stress, but still valuable and fun (for my nerdy tendencies). So, CoastFire is becoming more of an option for me, when I was scared to consider it just a year ago. We'll see what happens.

How was 2023 for the rest of y'all's plans?

Is that 30k just your discretionary spending? I'd be very impressed if that included housing, taxes, and health insurance. Or is that number your half of the expenses in your relationship?

[Turtle]

Even with inflation, I'm still planning on pulling the trigger in March or April 2026.  That's going to work out most optimally for me.

I'm close to hitting my number, but I also still have a couple large house maintenance items which I'd like to do while still working in case there are any potential financing deals to take advantage of in the process.

Need to start making lists for the next couple years to make sure I'm not forgetting anything.

[alcon835]

Reviewing our EOY numbers, I'm curious how everyone has handled inflation increases? When I started tracking back in 2015, I determined that I would likely need $50k to consider myself FIRE'd. So 1.2MM using the standard 25x expenses. Since then, inflation has pushed that 1.5MM.

So even though my net worth has gone up between 2020 and now, inflation during that period has it all at a wash. Unless something in the market changes and makes up for what are essentially flat years, it seems that FIRE may not happen for 2026. I'll be close, but it seems like 2028/2029 are more likely now.

Like real inflation or just your own increased spending?

my base costs haven't really changed. A few years ago, I figured out that if we paid off the house, we could live very well for about $65k/year.  Even with prices going up in some things, that's just encouraged me to create a 'stretch goal" of $80k for FIRE. And most of that was more driven to give us a little extra freedom in FIRE to travel and stuff.

Inflation hasn't really cost me a lot more. For instance, my insurances and taxes all went down this year. And even though food costs went up, it wasn't so bad, honestly. I barely noticed and it doesn't effect my FIRE goals much. What has effected my fire goals is things like my wife becoming a medical foster, adds a lot of food costs for sick cats and guinea pigs. Or travel - we have gained a lot of friends across the US, and I would like to visit them. That's expensive (even with travel hacking) and to do all that, we'd need like an extra $10-15k. So I created stretch goals for us to hit those numbers.

So, I guess my question is, what has inflation impacted for you that is making you feel like $50k is no longer worth it? Is it that stuff is actually getting a lot more expensive or is it that how you want to live has changed? Either answer is fine (and its likely a mix a both), but make sure you're calling it the right thing. 

[alcon835]

My end of year update is that I did the math and I should be able to quit my job in March or April and take a 6+ month sabbatical from working. This will very likely force me to push my FIRE date back past 2026, but I need a break. I am so burned out by life these last few years and I want a reset.

I asked my job for a two-month sabbatical and my direct supervisor shut it down, he specifically told me, "I don't like the precedent it sets for the team, so I am personally not going to let you do it and I have the ability to do that here. If that means you'll quit, then there's the door." Then he tried to list a lot of reasons I shouldn't quit, but he doesn't understand why I need the sabbatical and won't ask the question. I need a break from working in general. It has to do with work but also my wife, my family, my friends, my mental health, my physical health. The last few years were brutal. I can't hold it all together anymore.

Anyway, I can only do this because I've been working so hard towards FIRE. I did the math and I could quit today if I wanted too, but I'd like to save a little extra money, finish a few things first (mostly finish the FY ending in January and set some people up for success in February/March).  and finish training a few folks I hired in Q4.

I guess the other half of my update is I am behind on my progress because of the ongoing economic uncertainty from 2022 and 2023. Yes, the last few months have seen significant growth in my portfolio, but I'm still almost $200k behind where I wanted to be at the end of this year, which is a direct result of the rough couple of years the market has had. Growth is MUCH faster now, but progress is still slow.

I am also starting a bit of an entrepreneurial effort. A few of us came up with an idea we think can be a very successful business. We're interviewing developers to help us create the code, but overall this feels extremely doable and like something the market desperately needs. The ROI is so ridiculously clear, I think we can sell it for a lot of money and folks will happily pay it. So, that's been pretty fun and invigorating to kick things off with.

If I wasn't going to quit my job and add a lot of uncertainty into my future, I am confident I would hit my goal. If this business is successful, I can likely hit my goal before 2026. If this business is unsuccessful and/or I need more than 6 months to get a job after I quit this one, it could be way past 2026 before I can FIRE.

So if i could summarize my update its - I am adding a TON of uncertainty in 2024. But all of it is good and fun and needed and supported by my financial situation. At the end of the day, this is why we do all this - to live. And I feel like I can live because of this community, because of FIRE, and because of all the work I've done up until now.

Happy New Year.

[grantmeaname]

Wow. Tell your boss to eat shit for me on your way out!

[farmecologist]

I asked my job for a two-month sabbatical and my direct supervisor shut it down, he specifically told me, "I don't like the precedent it sets for the team, so I am personally not going to let you do it and I have the ability to do that here. If that means you'll quit, then there's the door." Then he tried to list a lot of reasons I shouldn't quit, but he doesn't understand why I need the sabbatical and won't ask the question. I need a break from working in general. It has to do with work but also my wife, my family, my friends, my mental health, my physical health. The last few years were brutal. I can't hold it all together anymore.

Wow...I credit you for holding it together after your boss said that!   If it were me, I'm afraid I would have told him to go pound sand.  It is a lot easier to do when you have some "FU money", which I do have now.   I'm currently in the 2025 cohort though ( originally was considering 2026 )...and with some massive returns that came out of nowhere at the end of the year, it may be difficult to even hold out until then.

[Turtle]

My end of year update is that I did the math and I should be able to quit my job in March or April and take a 6+ month sabbatical from working. This will very likely force me to push my FIRE date back past 2026, but I need a break. I am so burned out by life these last few years and I want a reset.

I asked my job for a two-month sabbatical and my direct supervisor shut it down, he specifically told me, "I don't like the precedent it sets for the team, so I am personally not going to let you do it and I have the ability to do that here. If that means you'll quit, then there's the door." Then he tried to list a lot of reasons I shouldn't quit, but he doesn't understand why I need the sabbatical and won't ask the question. I need a break from working in general. It has to do with work but also my wife, my family, my friends, my mental health, my physical health. The last few years were brutal. I can't hold it all together anymore.

Anyway, I can only do this because I've been working so hard towards FIRE. I did the math and I could quit today if I wanted too, but I'd like to save a little extra money, finish a few things first (mostly finish the FY ending in January and set some people up for success in February/March).  and finish training a few folks I hired in Q4.

I guess the other half of my update is I am behind on my progress because of the ongoing economic uncertainty from 2022 and 2023. Yes, the last few months have seen significant growth in my portfolio, but I'm still almost $200k behind where I wanted to be at the end of this year, which is a direct result of the rough couple of years the market has had. Growth is MUCH faster now, but progress is still slow.

I am also starting a bit of an entrepreneurial effort. A few of us came up with an idea we think can be a very successful business. We're interviewing developers to help us create the code, but overall this feels extremely doable and like something the market desperately needs. The ROI is so ridiculously clear, I think we can sell it for a lot of money and folks will happily pay it. So, that's been pretty fun and invigorating to kick things off with.

If I wasn't going to quit my job and add a lot of uncertainty into my future, I am confident I would hit my goal. If this business is successful, I can likely hit my goal before 2026. If this business is unsuccessful and/or I need more than 6 months to get a job after I quit this one, it could be way past 2026 before I can FIRE.

So if i could summarize my update its - I am adding a TON of uncertainty in 2024. But all of it is good and fun and needed and supported by my financial situation. At the end of the day, this is why we do all this - to live. And I feel like I can live because of this community, because of FIRE, and because of all the work I've done up until now.

Happy New Year.

Mental Health FMLA is an alternative to quitting, if you want to keep the option open to go back there. 

[Purple_Crayon]

End of year update!

It was a great year on all fronts in this house (knock on wood). Almost enough to forget about the pain that was last year!

Stache: Looking solid -- sitting at 17.6x the FIRE budget that we're shooting for, after starting the year at 12x. Projections have us now hitting our number mid-2025, but staying in this cohort, as anything could happen between now and then.

Spending: We were trying to keep it under $29k, but with the level of travel this year, we didn't quite hit our goal. We came it at $29,512.56. Super close, and still down 5.83% YoY, which is still pretty cool considering the inflationary environment. Cutting out a few restaurants went a long way.

Life: 2023 was a big year for travel and fun. We spent a week on the coast in Oregon in March, a week in Alaska in May, a week and a half in southern Utah in September, and a week in Hawaii earlier this month. In addition, we did smaller trips to visit friends and family in Dallas, Nashville, Arizona, and Seattle. Everything stayed relatively great on the health front. DW's dad moved back to our state after being away for 15 years, and she was able to spend the holidays with him.

I've spent some more time thinking about downshifting recently. Long story short -- our FatFire goals are not very motivating. We hit LeanFire in 2019 and have been on the ~6-year path from one toward the other ever since. However, whenever dealing with a stressful project at work, my go to psychological instinct has become to think "I don't need to put myself through this anymore." Not sure if I'll actually pull the trigger on anything just yet, but I've begun to put feelers out there. I have meetings with a group from the college DW works at for a 3-day per week, $35/hr gig that would be far less stress, but still valuable and fun (for my nerdy tendencies). So, CoastFire is becoming more of an option for me, when I was scared to consider it just a year ago. We'll see what happens.

How was 2023 for the rest of y'all's plans?

Is that 30k just your discretionary spending? I'd be very impressed if that included housing, taxes, and health insurance. Or is that number your half of the expenses in your relationship?

That 30k is everything our household spent. It's very average for us. Our small house is paid off (purchased in 2014), so we spend about $8k consistently on housing between insurance, taxes, and utilities. Health insurance is covered by Megacorp. No kids. Haven't had a car payment since 2012. The trips to Alaska and Oregon were put on the credit card in 2022.

[FIPurpose]

Reviewing our EOY numbers, I'm curious how everyone has handled inflation increases? When I started tracking back in 2015, I determined that I would likely need $50k to consider myself FIRE'd. So 1.2MM using the standard 25x expenses. Since then, inflation has pushed that 1.5MM.

So even though my net worth has gone up between 2020 and now, inflation during that period has it all at a wash. Unless something in the market changes and makes up for what are essentially flat years, it seems that FIRE may not happen for 2026. I'll be close, but it seems like 2028/2029 are more likely now.

Like real inflation or just your own increased spending?

my base costs haven't really changed. A few years ago, I figured out that if we paid off the house, we could live very well for about $65k/year.  Even with prices going up in some things, that's just encouraged me to create a 'stretch goal" of $80k for FIRE. And most of that was more driven to give us a little extra freedom in FIRE to travel and stuff.

Inflation hasn't really cost me a lot more. For instance, my insurances and taxes all went down this year. And even though food costs went up, it wasn't so bad, honestly. I barely noticed and it doesn't effect my FIRE goals much. What has effected my fire goals is things like my wife becoming a medical foster, adds a lot of food costs for sick cats and guinea pigs. Or travel - we have gained a lot of friends across the US, and I would like to visit them. That's expensive (even with travel hacking) and to do all that, we'd need like an extra $10-15k. So I created stretch goals for us to hit those numbers.

So, I guess my question is, what has inflation impacted for you that is making you feel like $50k is no longer worth it? Is it that stuff is actually getting a lot more expensive or is it that how you want to live has changed? Either answer is fine (and its likely a mix a both), but make sure you're calling it the right thing.

There is some amount of work that can be done to mitigate inflation, but inflation affects future years too, not just a single year's budget. If we're projecting our spending 30 years into the future that includes not just items that you buy every year, but also an eventual car, healthcare, child's education, etc.

It's not just this thread, I see several people on this forum that seem to think they're invincible to inflation either through reducing consumption, ignoring deferred expenses, ignoring the value of company benefits (not including company paid health insurance in their costs eg), devaluing the cost of their time, or separating out "one time expenses" from their budgets as though they don't count.

So even if I don't spend 4% more than last year, that inflation cost may not be reflected in my 2023 expenses, but may be reflected in future years.

It seems wiser to me to adjust expected expenses along with inflation since it would be quite difficult to accurately perceive inflation from year to year on a personal basis.

[grantmeaname]

But there's a massive gulf between 4% higher expenses and a 25% higher stache...

[FIPurpose]

But there's a massive gulf between 4% higher expenses and a 25% higher stache...

Are you speaking to what I said my increased stache needs would be? That was 1.2MM in 2015 dollars is now 1.5MM in 2023 dollars. There's been close to 30% inflation since then.

The biggest part of that would be housing cost increases. Would love to still have the condo I bought back in 2014, but alas, I cashed out instead. Health insurance costs continue to go up ~7% this year, so if I quit my job, I'd be responsible for that much more of the cost vs it being hidden in my benefit package.

An additional 10k a year in expenses now vs 8 years ago seems pretty reasonable to me.

[grantmeaname]

Reading comprehension fail. Tired brain, sorry.

[alcon835]

Thank you @grantmeaname @farmecologist and @Turtle for the feedback, (especially the righteously angry feedback).

My boss isn't a bad guy, but his work/life balance and views on work/life balance are pretty terrible. I've known that for as long as I've known him, but was still surprised. I'm one of the top people in the entire organization and I figured they would just give me what I asked for. Having him be the one who shut it down because of his terrible work ethic is disappointing, to say the least.

Anyway, that conversation happened in early December and I have had a lot of time to process and consider it. I knew in that exact moment that it was time to leave my current job. There really isn't anything they can do to keep me at this point. I've been in this situation before, where a boss let me know I'd hit the highest I was ever going to go paywise and opportunity wise. In that instance, I had a new job within a few weeks. This time, I'm taking it a bit slower. My job situation isn't bad per say, and the next few months should be relatively light for me.

It's funny, I talked to my boss yesterday and he is pretty aggressively fishing to see if I am planning on quitting. I pretty much just avoid those questions, I see what he is doing but he doesn't need to know where I stand. In all honesty, he doesn't deserve that answer even if he asked directly I would just dodge the question.

Building up to a pretty solid FU story when this is all done, haha. I am fully expecting multiple executives to call me once I finally turn in my notice. I'll keep y'all updated.

--------------------------------------

One side note, on the Medical FMLA thing, I don't have any sort of mental health diagnosis. I don't have clinical depression or need in patient care or have severe anxiety. I am definitely depressed, but not "sever" depression (I don't think?) and I don't really feel like I need to go to a professional at this point and get diagnosed. That may be a next step if the sabbatical doesn't clear things up for me. Anyway, Medical FMLA for mental health is out because of that.

[grantmeaname]

I wouldn't count yourself out of FMLA yet - the DOL's definition is less severe than you have built it up to be in your head, I think.
"Mental and physical health conditions are considered serious health conditions under the FMLA if they require 1) inpatient care or 2) continuing treatment by a health care provider." where the second definition includes "Chronic conditions (e.g., anxiety, depression, or dissociative disorders) that cause occasional periods when an individual is incapacitated and require treatment by a health care provider at least twice a year. "

Pretty much any depression meets that standard in my layperson opinion...

[farmecologist]

Thank you @grantmeaname @farmecologist and @Turtle for the feedback, (especially the righteously angry feedback).

My boss isn't a bad guy, but his work/life balance and views on work/life balance are pretty terrible. I've known that for as long as I've known him, but was still surprised. I'm one of the top people in the entire organization and I figured they would just give me what I asked for. Having him be the one who shut it down because of his terrible work ethic is disappointing, to say the least.

Anyway, that conversation happened in early December and I have had a lot of time to process and consider it. I knew in that exact moment that it was time to leave my current job. There really isn't anything they can do to keep me at this point. I've been in this situation before, where a boss let me know I'd hit the highest I was ever going to go paywise and opportunity wise. In that instance, I had a new job within a few weeks. This time, I'm taking it a bit slower. My job situation isn't bad per say, and the next few months should be relatively light for me.

It's funny, I talked to my boss yesterday and he is pretty aggressively fishing to see if I am planning on quitting. I pretty much just avoid those questions, I see what he is doing but he doesn't need to know where I stand. In all honesty, he doesn't deserve that answer even if he asked directly I would just dodge the question.

Building up to a pretty solid FU story when this is all done, haha. I am fully expecting multiple executives to call me once I finally turn in my notice. I'll keep y'all updated.

--------------------------------------

One side note, on the Medical FMLA thing, I don't have any sort of mental health diagnosis. I don't have clinical depression or need in patient care or have severe anxiety. I am definitely depressed, but not "sever" depression (I don't think?) and I don't really feel like I need to go to a professional at this point and get diagnosed. That may be a next step if the sabbatical doesn't clear things up for me. Anyway, Medical FMLA for mental health is out because of that.

Great way to handle it, I'd do the same.  Give them NO indication of your plans whatsoever.  If it were me, I'd even keep a cheery disposition saying I'm going to stay for a long time...haha.  And that is exactly what I am doing with my job.

With my job, it isn't my immediate boss, whom I like, but the corporate "culture".   You see, they are trying to push a "high performance culture".  However, there is no "culture" whatsoever at my megacorp.   And I'm in "quite quitting" mode right now anyway...so that obviously doesn't mesh with what upper management is trying ( and failing) to do.  My immediate team is currently woefully short on resources because of other idiotic HR moves over the last 15 years or so ( they didn't hire anyone at all for over a decade while laying folks off at the same time ).  The aftermath of that is...boomer aged folks retiring, a few GenX'ers not far behind, and very few younger folks to pick up the slack...and many of the newer folks end up leaving after a couple years after they see what a S&*T show this place is.  The point though is, due to the lack of resources, I may be able to continue on for quite a while without working my ass off.  We will see how it goes.

[Turtle]

Thank you @grantmeaname @farmecologist and @Turtle for the feedback, (especially the righteously angry feedback).

My boss isn't a bad guy, but his work/life balance and views on work/life balance are pretty terrible. I've known that for as long as I've known him, but was still surprised. I'm one of the top people in the entire organization and I figured they would just give me what I asked for. Having him be the one who shut it down because of his terrible work ethic is disappointing, to say the least.

Anyway, that conversation happened in early December and I have had a lot of time to process and consider it. I knew in that exact moment that it was time to leave my current job. There really isn't anything they can do to keep me at this point. I've been in this situation before, where a boss let me know I'd hit the highest I was ever going to go paywise and opportunity wise. In that instance, I had a new job within a few weeks. This time, I'm taking it a bit slower. My job situation isn't bad per say, and the next few months should be relatively light for me.

It's funny, I talked to my boss yesterday and he is pretty aggressively fishing to see if I am planning on quitting. I pretty much just avoid those questions, I see what he is doing but he doesn't need to know where I stand. In all honesty, he doesn't deserve that answer even if he asked directly I would just dodge the question.

Building up to a pretty solid FU story when this is all done, haha. I am fully expecting multiple executives to call me once I finally turn in my notice. I'll keep y'all updated.

--------------------------------------

One side note, on the Medical FMLA thing, I don't have any sort of mental health diagnosis. I don't have clinical depression or need in patient care or have severe anxiety. I am definitely depressed, but not "sever" depression (I don't think?) and I don't really feel like I need to go to a professional at this point and get diagnosed. That may be a next step if the sabbatical doesn't clear things up for me. Anyway, Medical FMLA for mental health is out because of that.

Great way to handle it, I'd do the same.  Give them NO indication of your plans whatsoever.  If it were me, I'd even keep a cheery disposition saying I'm going to stay for a long time...haha.  And that is exactly what I am doing with my job.

With my job, it isn't my immediate boss, whom I like, but the corporate "culture".   You see, they are trying to push a "high performance culture".  However, there is no "culture" whatsoever at my megacorp.   And I'm in "quite quitting" mode right now anyway...so that obviously doesn't mesh with what upper management is trying ( and failing) to do.  My immediate team is currently woefully short on resources because of other idiotic HR moves over the last 15 years or so ( they didn't hire anyone at all for over a decade while laying folks off at the same time ).  The aftermath of that is...boomer aged folks retiring, a few GenX'ers not far behind, and very few younger folks to pick up the slack...and many of the newer folks end up leaving after a couple years after they see what a S&*T show this place is.  The point though is, due to the lack of resources, I may be able to continue on for quite a while without working my ass off.  We will see how it goes.

About a year ago, I gave my management chain the extended heads up that I'd likely retire by the end of 2027.  They seem to have forgotten.  Coasting here as well. 

In checking the dates for various vesting and other HR benefits, it seems my most optimal time to give notice will be the middle of May 2026.  Last day of work being June 5th gives me medical coverage that month and 18 months of COBRA will take me through to the end of 2027.

[alcon835]

I wouldn't count yourself out of FMLA yet - the DOL's definition is less severe than you have built it up to be in your head, I think.
"Mental and physical health conditions are considered serious health conditions under the FMLA if they require 1) inpatient care or 2) continuing treatment by a health care provider." where the second definition includes "Chronic conditions (e.g., anxiety, depression, or dissociative disorders) that cause occasional periods when an individual is incapacitated and require treatment by a health care provider at least twice a year. "

Pretty much any depression meets that standard in my layperson opinion...

It's the last bit "that cause occasional periods when an individual is incapacitated and require treatment by a health care provider at least twice a year" that i think disqualifies me. I know people whose depression means they can't get out of bed sometimes, or who have such severe anxiety that it incapacitated them for a day or two. I of course, am also a layman and would need to talk to a healthcare professional to get a real answer, and I do take your comment seriously here.

But the other side, of course, is I'm done with this company now. This is a bit of a last straw from the pats 2-3 years and the fact that my boss' boss knows this is going on (he was briefly brought in to ask me questions about the sabbatical) and isn't talking to me or doing anything about it is all I need. So, even if Medical FMLA was available to me, I don't think I want to go that route anymore.

[alcon835]

Thank you @grantmeaname @farmecologist and @Turtle for the feedback, (especially the righteously angry feedback).

My boss isn't a bad guy, but his work/life balance and views on work/life balance are pretty terrible. I've known that for as long as I've known him, but was still surprised. I'm one of the top people in the entire organization and I figured they would just give me what I asked for. Having him be the one who shut it down because of his terrible work ethic is disappointing, to say the least.

Anyway, that conversation happened in early December and I have had a lot of time to process and consider it. I knew in that exact moment that it was time to leave my current job. There really isn't anything they can do to keep me at this point. I've been in this situation before, where a boss let me know I'd hit the highest I was ever going to go paywise and opportunity wise. In that instance, I had a new job within a few weeks. This time, I'm taking it a bit slower. My job situation isn't bad per say, and the next few months should be relatively light for me.

It's funny, I talked to my boss yesterday and he is pretty aggressively fishing to see if I am planning on quitting. I pretty much just avoid those questions, I see what he is doing but he doesn't need to know where I stand. In all honesty, he doesn't deserve that answer even if he asked directly I would just dodge the question.

Building up to a pretty solid FU story when this is all done, haha. I am fully expecting multiple executives to call me once I finally turn in my notice. I'll keep y'all updated.

--------------------------------------

One side note, on the Medical FMLA thing, I don't have any sort of mental health diagnosis. I don't have clinical depression or need in patient care or have severe anxiety. I am definitely depressed, but not "sever" depression (I don't think?) and I don't really feel like I need to go to a professional at this point and get diagnosed. That may be a next step if the sabbatical doesn't clear things up for me. Anyway, Medical FMLA for mental health is out because of that.

Great way to handle it, I'd do the same.  Give them NO indication of your plans whatsoever.  If it were me, I'd even keep a cheery disposition saying I'm going to stay for a long time...haha.  And that is exactly what I am doing with my job.

With my job, it isn't my immediate boss, whom I like, but the corporate "culture".   You see, they are trying to push a "high performance culture".  However, there is no "culture" whatsoever at my megacorp.   And I'm in "quite quitting" mode right now anyway...so that obviously doesn't mesh with what upper management is trying ( and failing) to do.  My immediate team is currently woefully short on resources because of other idiotic HR moves over the last 15 years or so ( they didn't hire anyone at all for over a decade while laying folks off at the same time ).  The aftermath of that is...boomer aged folks retiring, a few GenX'ers not far behind, and very few younger folks to pick up the slack...and many of the newer folks end up leaving after a couple years after they see what a S&*T show this place is.  The point though is, due to the lack of resources, I may be able to continue on for quite a while without working my ass off.  We will see how it goes.

About a year ago, I gave my management chain the extended heads up that I'd likely retire by the end of 2027.  They seem to have forgotten.  Coasting here as well. 

In checking the dates for various vesting and other HR benefits, it seems my most optimal time to give notice will be the middle of May 2026.  Last day of work being June 5th gives me medical coverage that month and 18 months of COBRA will take me through to the end of 2027.

Congrats on both of your "quiet quitting". haha, sounds like a pretty good situation to soft land into retirement.

[LoanShark]

Welp. We officially hit our FI # as of 12/31/23.

Going the SWAMI route for now. We’ll see what comes in 2026.

[farmecologist]

Welp. We officially hit our FI # as of 12/31/23.

Going the SWAMI route for now. We’ll see what comes in 2026.

The EOY 2023 rally was tremendous.  Padded our stache nicely!   

Will it hold up in 2024 though?  That is a topic for another discussion.

[LoanShark]

Welp. We officially hit our FI # as of 12/31/23.

Going the SWAMI route for now. We’ll see what comes in 2026.

The EOY 2023 rally was tremendous.  Padded our stache nicely!   

Will it hold up in 2024 though?  That is a topic for another discussion.

Agreed! Good thing we have two more years to ride it out. :)

[Shuchong]

Adding myself to this cohort! 

My plan is "downshift so significantly that it feels like retirement" rather than straight up no more working.  I hope to negotiate a deal with my employer where I essentially pinch-hit when they need extra help, but have off otherwise, and am only paid when working on specific projects. 

I'll be 42, which seems like a good number.  No dependents except for a dog.  I have promised her that we won't ever run out of dog food. 

I'm FI now, with about 30x my projected expenses (including ACA premiums) -- so the dog food promise is one I can make in good conscience, and I can also be reasonably sure I won't be eating dog food either.  Hoping to have 40x by 2026 for more padding.

The big question mark is spending on health.  I have a chronic condition that has already caused me to go part-time at work.  Right now, it's not that expensive because the treatments are old, generic drugs.  But if a new drug comes along, it would likely be a fancy, uber-expensive biologic.  So having extra saved and keeping a hand in the labor market seems like a good idea in case I need to get back on employer-sponsored health insurance. 

[elysianfields]

End of year update!

It was a great year on all fronts in this house (knock on wood). Almost enough to forget about the pain that was last year!

Stache: Looking solid -- sitting at 17.6x the FIRE budget that we're shooting for, after starting the year at 12x. Projections have us now hitting our number mid-2025, but staying in this cohort, as anything could happen between now and then.

Spending: We were trying to keep it under $29k, but with the level of travel this year, we didn't quite hit our goal. We came it at $29,512.56. Super close, and still down 5.83% YoY, which is still pretty cool considering the inflationary environment. Cutting out a few restaurants went a long way.

Life: 2023 was a big year for travel and fun. We spent a week on the coast in Oregon in March, a week in Alaska in May, a week and a half in southern Utah in September, and a week in Hawaii earlier this month. In addition, we did smaller trips to visit friends and family in Dallas, Nashville, Arizona, and Seattle. Everything stayed relatively great on the health front. DW's dad moved back to our state after being away for 15 years, and she was able to spend the holidays with him.

I've spent some more time thinking about downshifting recently. Long story short -- our FatFire goals are not very motivating. We hit LeanFire in 2019 and have been on the ~6-year path from one toward the other ever since. However, whenever dealing with a stressful project at work, my go to psychological instinct has become to think "I don't need to put myself through this anymore." Not sure if I'll actually pull the trigger on anything just yet, but I've begun to put feelers out there. I have meetings with a group from the college DW works at for a 3-day per week, $35/hr gig that would be far less stress, but still valuable and fun (for my nerdy tendencies). So, CoastFire is becoming more of an option for me, when I was scared to consider it just a year ago. We'll see what happens.

How was 2023 for the rest of y'all's plans?

Is that 30k just your discretionary spending? I'd be very impressed if that included housing, taxes, and health insurance. Or is that number your half of the expenses in your relationship?

That 30k is everything our household spent. It's very average for us. Our small house is paid off (purchased in 2014), so we spend about $8k consistently on housing between insurance, taxes, and utilities. Health insurance is covered by Megacorp. No kids. Haven't had a car payment since 2012. The trips to Alaska and Oregon were put on the credit card in 2022.

Impressive, @Purple_Crayon, way to keep it real and your spending restrained!

Thank you @grantmeaname @farmecologist and @Turtle for the feedback, (especially the righteously angry feedback).

My boss isn't a bad guy, but his work/life balance and views on work/life balance are pretty terrible. I've known that for as long as I've known him, but was still surprised. I'm one of the top people in the entire organization and I figured they would just give me what I asked for. Having him be the one who shut it down because of his terrible work ethic is disappointing, to say the least.

Anyway, that conversation happened in early December and I have had a lot of time to process and consider it. I knew in that exact moment that it was time to leave my current job. There really isn't anything they can do to keep me at this point. I've been in this situation before, where a boss let me know I'd hit the highest I was ever going to go paywise and opportunity wise. In that instance, I had a new job within a few weeks. This time, I'm taking it a bit slower. My job situation isn't bad per say, and the next few months should be relatively light for me.

It's funny, I talked to my boss yesterday and he is pretty aggressively fishing to see if I am planning on quitting. I pretty much just avoid those questions, I see what he is doing but he doesn't need to know where I stand. In all honesty, he doesn't deserve that answer even if he asked directly I would just dodge the question.

Building up to a pretty solid FU story when this is all done, haha. I am fully expecting multiple executives to call me once I finally turn in my notice. I'll keep y'all updated.

--------------------------------------

One side note, on the Medical FMLA thing, I don't have any sort of mental health diagnosis. I don't have clinical depression or need in patient care or have severe anxiety. I am definitely depressed, but not "sever" depression (I don't think?) and I don't really feel like I need to go to a professional at this point and get diagnosed. That may be a next step if the sabbatical doesn't clear things up for me. Anyway, Medical FMLA for mental health is out because of that.

@alcon835 I'm sorry that your current job isn't working out for you, and I look forward to reading about your epic FU money story after you've collected your incentives. Given your burnout I hope you take a significant sabbatical, even if other execs start calling once they realize you're available.

Great way to handle it, I'd do the same.  Give them NO indication of your plans whatsoever.  If it were me, I'd even keep a cheery disposition saying I'm going to stay for a long time...haha.  And that is exactly what I am doing with my job.

With my job, it isn't my immediate boss, whom I like, but the corporate "culture".   You see, they are trying to push a "high performance culture".  However, there is no "culture" whatsoever at my megacorp.   And I'm in "quite quitting" mode right now anyway...so that obviously doesn't mesh with what upper management is trying ( and failing) to do.  My immediate team is currently woefully short on resources because of other idiotic HR moves over the last 15 years or so ( they didn't hire anyone at all for over a decade while laying folks off at the same time ).  The aftermath of that is...boomer aged folks retiring, a few GenX'ers not far behind, and very few younger folks to pick up the slack...and many of the newer folks end up leaving after a couple years after they see what a S&*T show this place is.  The point though is, due to the lack of resources, I may be able to continue on for quite a while without working my ass off.  We will see how it goes.

Welcome and well-played, @farmecologist !

Welp. We officially hit our FI # as of 12/31/23.

Going the SWAMI route for now. We’ll see what comes in 2026.

Congratulations, @LoanShark !  Do you have other reasons for staying, or are you padding the stash?

About a year ago, I gave my management chain the extended heads up that I'd likely retire by the end of 2027.  They seem to have forgotten.  Coasting here as well. 

In checking the dates for various vesting and other HR benefits, it seems my most optimal time to give notice will be the middle of May 2026.  Last day of work being June 5th gives me medical coverage that month and 18 months of COBRA will take me through to the end of 2027.

Have you hit your number already @Turtle ?  It sounds like you have your perks lined up.

Adding myself to this cohort! 

My plan is "downshift so significantly that it feels like retirement" rather than straight up no more working.  I hope to negotiate a deal with my employer where I essentially pinch-hit when they need extra help, but have off otherwise, and am only paid when working on specific projects. 

I'll be 42, which seems like a good number.  No dependents except for a dog.  I have promised her that we won't ever run out of dog food. 

I'm FI now, with about 30x my projected expenses (including ACA premiums) -- so the dog food promise is one I can make in good conscience, and I can also be reasonably sure I won't be eating dog food either.  Hoping to have 40x by 2026 for more padding.

The big question mark is spending on health.  I have a chronic condition that has already caused me to go part-time at work.  Right now, it's not that expensive because the treatments are old, generic drugs.  But if a new drug comes along, it would likely be a fancy, uber-expensive biologic.  So having extra saved and keeping a hand in the labor market seems like a good idea in case I need to get back on employer-sponsored health insurance. 

Welcome @Shuchong , you seem to have your SWAMI plan lined up as well and your health care risks well-managed.

We've also welcomed the recent spurt in the markets and have watched our NW surpass even the stretch goals we had set.  We're following up on the many maintenance issues at our rental to ensure it continues to provide the ROI to which we've become accustomed.  I mentioned the new roof a while back, it hasn't been completed yet, but a few other internal systems needed some work.  We also have many handyman tasks ready to go, but the PM's handyman ghosted them.  We'll keep the pressure on the PM.

Speaking of pressure, since I was just promoted I'm under little pressure to perform in the office for the next two years, and by then I'll have almost reached the finish line.  I'm not apt to slack, just describing my fairly SWAMI circumstances.

While the clock ticks, the putative monthly pension amounts keep growing and we'll have valuable FEHB medical insurance.

I've identified a few risks which I'm working on:

• Our traditional retirement vehicles have become very well-funded, implying that we risk paying some very high taxes when we reach RMD at 75.  To lower that risk, we did a large Roth conversion this year, but intervening market gains brought our traditional portfolios back up to the pre-conversion level (I know, boo fucking hoo).  We'll look to convert more funds to Roth in the next few years before the TJCA expires on 01/01/2026 and then re-evaluate;
• We have some concentration in a few slices of our portfolios in a few securities we selected which have increased tremendously in value.  We'll see what room we have to take some capital gains and move funds toward broader indices to diversify away from this concentration risk;
• We don't carry a umbrella liability policy because it has become damn difficult to get anyone to write one whilst we live overseas.  I'll need to check around the Foreign Service community to find out how others have found coverage;
• Related to the previous point, we own two vehicles in our names which we're letting our young adult children drive; insurance costs less while we remain the primary insured (our children reimburse us for the insurance cost).  We've maxed our liability on both policies here but most umbrella writers want to write your auto as well, and they don't like our unusual agreement with our children;
• Because our pensions are somewhat inflation-proof, we've eschewed bonds in our portfolios and continue plowing more cash into equities.  This implies some sequence of return risk upon retirement.  I could reduce the risk by buying bonds, which makes no sense while we continue to carry a mortgage and HELOC.  I could also consider taking part-time work with the Department of State after my retirement.  I'd prefer not to work once the golden handcuffs come off, but it remains a possible solution should we face a large drop in our portfolio value.
• Finally, and I've mentioned this before, I want to cut back on our leverage, some of which has increased in cost with the Fed's recent efforts to tame inflation.  To use a common sports analogy, we're in the fourth quarter and are leading by several scores, so it makes more sense to play it conservatively than risk a sudden reversal.

Have others here examined their own risks along these lines?

Finally, we still haven't agreed where we'd like to retire, and while we've taken a few small forward steps, I'd like to get this resolved before the two-minute warning.  We want to downsize upon retirement and set ourselves up in a home base which we enjoy, but then travel while we still have the youth, vigor, and good health to do so.  Plenty to do before the clock runs out completely.

[cannotWAIT]

I added myself to this cohort last March but now I'm wrestling with the idea of packing it in sooner. The thing is that I would need to do it really soon, like within a couple of months, for it to make financial sense in terms of the ACA plans available to me at various income points. If I get to October or something and want to quit, I'm going to be stuck with a high premium and starting over with a new deductible. I need to work out the exact numbers but roughly the end of March would be the most optimal time, in terms of health insurance, to quit.

My actual average expenditures have been about $18K for the last five years, and I feel like I live a pretty nice life. My house is paid off and shouldn't need any huge maintenance items for many years. Same with my car. I'm 57 and don't really believe that SS will be cut for people in my age group. I feel like $30K a year would be wildly luxurious and allow me to do some international travel and indulge my hobbies or address any unexpected home repairs. And cFIREsim says that, factoring in taking SS at 70, I can actually spend $37K starting now.

I'm not ever going to find a job as cushy as the one I have now, and in fact will probably find it hard to get back into the job market (older, female, with a very niche skill set). I don't really feel like I have as much flexibility as we commonly talk about in FIRE. Also, my house is only worth about $330K and I think it would be hard to buy into an equally good situation elsewhere if I want to move.

But I'm so tired, and so ready to move on to the next phase of my life.

[Shuchong]

I added myself to this cohort last March but now I'm wrestling with the idea of packing it in sooner. The thing is that I would need to do it really soon, like within a couple of months, for it to make financial sense in terms of the ACA plans available to me at various income points. If I get to October or something and want to quit, I'm going to be stuck with a high premium and starting over with a new deductible. I need to work out the exact numbers but roughly the end of March would be the most optimal time, in terms of health insurance, to quit.

Do you have COBRA available to you, and have you priced out what it would cost? If you quit in October and did COBRA until end of December, it might not be too terrible.  (I think it's normally your cost plus employer cost... at least for me, I can find those on my paystubs and W2s.)

Also, those are crazy low expenses!