2029 FIRE Cohort

[caracarn]

Congrats @caracarn ! That is great news. Looks like you have the right idea of it; Once you are ready, you can leverage your 'work-from-home' ability to go live like a local in your proposed area for retirement. This way you can get the lay of the land, ensure you like it as much as you think you might, and not have to worry too much about finances.

The only idea I'll add is: have you thought about the idea of Downshifting? If you are truly at/above your FIRE number in ~2025 or so, would it help at all to down-shift to being part time at your job? In my mind, you could still complete your plan the way you want, but if you were working only 20-32 hours/week then you might have more time to enjoy exploring your new potential town(s). It seems like it's a common thing at my company (mostly for people 60+, but we do have some FIRE-minded people that jump into part-time work earlier), but I know it's not easy to do it everywhere. Either way, good luck and keep it up!

My wife really cannot just pick up and work remote as she works with students face to face, so this would be tough.  I did downshift in a way, to a individual contributor job that I can do very well with minimal effort rather than management which pays better, is not really harder if you know what you are doing, but has far too much bullshit for my liking and why I made the change two years ago.  So yeah, extra time off not really helpful so for now we keep plugging away.

[SomethingFishy]

Wow Caracarn and bbates, what fabulous news for you both!  Hopefully you’ll both be able to enjoy lower stress lifestyles with where you are today!

Our modeling isn’t quite as positive, but is showing that we’ll hit FI in 2027-2028. That assumes some market growth between now and then, and I’m not quite enough of an optimist to count on that, so 2029 remains my assumption.

[BuffaloStache]

Thanks for the clarification @caracarn , and that makes sense. Good to see you choosing life over work in the balance of things.

@bbates728 , congrats! Let us know how it turns out.

Keep on keepin' on, fellow '29ers!

[Philociraptor]

Assuming 5% growth, my spreadsheet has us hitting our FI number in 2029 still. However, my wife wants to continue to work past it for "fun money" and even after that wants to keep a part-time job for healthcare, and since I wouldn't retire alone I suppose we might put off the RE part of FIRE until 2034 or so.

[DeskJockey2028]

35% done.

Welcome to this last day of April, 2021! We are now over a third of the way to 1/1/29 since the start of this thread.  Go us!

Tomorrow, Saturday the 26th of September, we will reach our 30% milestone! 30% of the time from the start of this cohort thread to 1/1/29 has passed. Remember when we passed the 2% mark? Now we're nearly a third of the way to 2029, which is a nice milestone to hit! I hope everyone is doing well and keeping safe.

Today's at 2pm local time, we have hit 25% of the way to 1/1/29, from the start of this cohort! ONE QUARTER DONE! Three to go! If our FIRE process was a dollar, this is the first time we'd get enough change out of it to feed a parking meter. Go us!

Today, at 4am local time, marks 20% of the way to 2029! That's 1/5th of the way there! We're starting to show some serious progress here. 3,452 days to the first day of 2029! Less than 9.5 years and way less than the nearly 4,300 we started this cohort with.

Welcome to 15% of the way to 1/1/29! Hope everyone had a decent year and that 2019 brings more good things and more retirement funds!  In 215 days or so, that is, next July, we'll be 1/5th of the way there! We're currently 3,665 days away from 1/1/29. If anyone's interested, we're also 646 days from the day I started this thread!

And just like that, we're in double digits. Happy 10% day! 1/10th of the way to 2029!

Hey all! Tomorrow, Saturday the 14th, is 5% day! Look at that, we've already more than doubled our previous 2% milestone. :) Hope to see you all again on May 18th, 2018 for 10% day!

Happy 2% day!

[henramdrea]

Happy 35%!

One stone at a time, building the foundation.

Hope everyone's spring is going well!

[BuffaloStache]

35% done.
...

Happy 35%, everyone! My "%age to FI" is now officially higher than the "%age left until 2029". I'm hoping that trend continues!

[SotI]

Happy 35%!

And a happy, auspicious May, 1st ☺

[FI4good]

Hey 29’rs

Net worth is on a slow walk at the moment , never know when one of those mad growth spurts will happen .
Buying a house.. who’s to say whats right ? Feels right for me here and now, i want a larger garden and to be able to drill holes in the walls, hang pictures, have some rescue chickens. none of which i can have in this rental.
Looking forwards to planting some fruit trees and growing some of the more expensive crops in the supermarket such as 3 bulbs of garlic for £1 ginger, chillies, spinach.

[DeskJockey2028]

@FI4good that sounds amazing! Part of this journey is working towards your own happiness. Sounds like a larger garden and being able to hang stuff up would do that for you. Not to mention the chickens.

[BuffaloStache]

@FI4good I can relate! Literally just started culling my peach tree this weekend. Finger's crossed looks like we may get a decent harvest this year!

[DeskJockey2028]

Hey 29'ers, it's Summer! While it's not my favorite season of the year, I have been enjoying it! Spending time at my brother in law's pool, standing directly in front of the AC, chopping down the vegetation in my yard.

I'm going on a small vacation with just my wife at the end of July that I'm very much looking forward too! First time we'll really get to get away since March of 2020, and the kids are now old enough that they'll be fending for themselves for a few days. Technically, one of 'em isn't even a kid any more.

Other than that, it's looking to be a fairly sedate summer season for our family. We've spent a lot of money over the last year getting stuff done to the house that needed to be done, and we've got one or two more projects over the next year or two as well. Still, we're planning to head to Europe as a family next year, which will be a lot of fun!

Anyone else here got any summer plans or travel plans for the next year or so?

[henramdrea]

Travel has still been a little tough in this household, but we are planning some in-state and next-door state travels to get the kids out of the house and get a change of scenery.

Europe may be on the horizon soon, but passports will need to be updated and the youngest (she'll be 12 by then) should be able to get vaccinated.  DW is a European citizen, so no problems usually for us when traveling to Europe.  The wildcard has been the pandemic of course.  Everything  is different now.

[maisymouser]

Hi fellow '29'ers!!! We at the Mouser Household have a big summer ahead. Here's July plans:

- We are taking a fourth (you read that right) trip to Ohio to visit family. Three of these were just one parent + kiddo, the last one will be all three of us.
- After our trip we are officially housemate free indefinitely. SO and I have continually lived with housemates for 10 years, with the last 5 years of it being us renting out to people who become good friends. It's really accelerated our FIRE timeline compared to where we would be if we took the typical route (no housemates after getting married let alone having a baby). Paid off a huge chunk of our mortgage(s) this way and saved on utilities. Alas, we take up much more space these days with a full-fledged toddler- and not just physical space. It's time to move forward and become the dreaded traditional single family in a single house. No regrets about any of it but we are overdue for this transition.
- Camping trip planned with one of our best friends at the Uwharrie National Forest.
- We FINALLY get to return our nearly 3yo to full time child care. This is a massive pandemic milestone and it's going to be incredible for the whole family.

The remainder of the summer will be spent trying to rekindle friendships that went quiet during 2020-present, and connecting with our community more.

I am also hoping that SO and I take this time to align on whether and how we will have a second kid. We are in different spaces with that decision and it's been painful, honestly. I think we both respect and understand intellectually where the other one is on the topic, but it doesn't make it much easier. And I suppose that would alter my FIRE timeline, though at this rate we are doing great I think financially and I'm happy working (see below). SO has good points, it's a huge deal and would take a lot of our time/money to raise a second kid, not to mention his fears about where the world is heading (climate change, growing wealth disparities, you name it). It's hard to argue with any of that but I still feel there has got to be a way that we can make it work and alleviate his concerns. But... it's not fair to try to CONVINCE someone they should have another kid with you. So, yeah, lots of ping pong in my head and relationship.

I am *loving* the day to day at my work and feel like I'm in a great career space. I have what I think is pretty perfect work-life balance, flexibility, learning opportunities, and space to exercise my skills. If I can stay this happy at my job for another 9 years I'll probably not want to RE. I am still planning on contingencies, you never know with work- one big change can topple an organization's culture. Being in the FIRE community makes me feel much more in control should things become not-so-fun at work.

So life is good, overall! Here's to a great 2021 summer.

[BuffaloStache]

Howdy fellow '29ers! We're still a little tentative on big travel because of our young kids, but we're trying to make the most of it and also have some good plans this summer:

• Lots of backyard BBQs throughout the whole summer; We bit the bullet and paid for some professional weed/concrete removal, full landscaping, and new sod in our backyard (it's a long story, but it really needed it). Definitely plan on taking advantage of that and reconnecting with (vaccinated) folks we haven't seen in a long time.
• Camping trips- we have at least 2 camping trips planned for the summer, I'm looking forward to those.
• Potential vacation in ~September: Our original plan was to go on an international family vacation in Fall 2020, but obviously that got derailed. We're now contemplating a big 2-3 week trip on the other side of the country to go camping, visit family, and to the beach in late-September. Still TBD.
• Random Vacation days? I have a deplorably high vacation balance at my job, and am actually getting close to the cap. I think I may take a random day off here and there to try to exercise, get stuff done around the house, and/or just relax.

@maisymouser , good luck with the family alignment. It's definitely a tough decision, but I think the fact that you guys are able to actively talk about it makes you better than most. Take credit for that if nothing else.

[pasadenafr]

Hi everyone! I've been a long-time lurker on this forum, but this is only my second post ;)

My spreadsheet is telling me I should reach my number by the end of 2029... the year I'll turn 55 - provided I keep my current job (or better) and the market behaves and retire in my home country some time in 2030. I expect to be about 45% FI by the end of this year. I started this journey back in 2015 with a goal of retiring at 60, so it's been good so far!

I'm happy to join this cohort that I've been following for a while now.

[SotI]

Welcome, @pasadenafr!

Fingers crossed that all our nifty plans bear fruit and that we can enjoy our FI and retirement times.
My focus atm is on staying happy and healthy - and I hope that the stache will keep working its cumulative miracle over the next few years.

[pasadenafr]

Welcome, @pasadenafr!

Fingers crossed that all our nifty plans bear fruit and that we can enjoy our FI and retirement times.
My focus atm is on staying happy and healthy - and I hope that the stache will keep working its cumulative miracle over the next few years.

Thank you!

[BuffaloStache]

My focus atm is on staying happy and healthy - and I hope that the stache will keep working its cumulative miracle over the next few years.

Always a great goal! Especially when the S&P 500 is up ~17% since January.

[SotI]

Hm, there may be a change in retirement plan that would move my retirement date to the end of 2025 - but that requires careful calculation.

Problem is: less money from next year on (which will impact my savings rate) but funding for another 4-5 years until official pensions are available (essentially a part-time scheme).

This is a limited offer by my company and I will have to research some of the fine print, but on paper this looks doable. It would be a much leaner retirement stache than planned, but it would let me leave work much sooner.

I have until August to do impact assessment and decide if I want to negotiate for it ...

 

[henramdrea]

Hm, there may be a change in retirement plan that would move my retirement date to the end of 2025 - but that requires careful calculation.

Problem is: less money from next year on (which will impact my savings rate) but funding for another 4-5 years until official pensions are available (essentially a part-time scheme).

This is a limited offer by my company and I will have to research some of the fine print, but on paper this looks doable. It would be a much leaner retirement stache than planned, but it would let me leave work much sooner.

I have until August to do impact assessment and decide if I want to negotiate for it ...

I think (personally) that when it comes to retirement, sooner is always better than later.  Your best years are now.
By 2027, my plan is to cut my workllife in half and coast through till my FRA or maybe even before then if possible.  Regardless, by 2029, I'd like to be fully "work optional".

[SotI]

I think (personally) that when it comes to retirement, sooner is always better than later.  Your best years are now.

DH is saying the same thing ☺

By 2027, my plan is to cut my workllife in half and coast through till my FRA or maybe even before then if possible.  Regardless, by 2029, I'd like to be fully "work optional".

Good luck with your plan, definitely sounds good to have more options.

I guess I am feeling a bit weirded out to have to decide this quickly - and am worried that I might get locked into a bad SORR scenario if the stock markets tank within the next 10 years. So I have to assess my mitigation options.

[BuffaloStache]

Good luck with the plan, Sotl!

...
This is a limited offer by my company and I will have to research some of the fine print, but on paper this looks doable. It would be a much leaner retirement stache than planned, but it would let me leave work much sooner.

I have until August to do impact assessment and decide if I want to negotiate for it ...

Be sure to fully read the fine print, and even email/call HR personnel to confirm your interpretation of the policy to make sure you understand it the way your company does. This might sound a little crazy, but if you work for a medium/large company I would also do my best to reach out to two different HR people to make sure you get the same answer from both of them (and keep meticulous notes about each conversation).

I almost got burned this way when I took paternity leave at my old company; One HR person interpreted their policy different than others and I almost lost some of my paid time for paternity leave. I only won out in the end because I had notes from speaking with 3 other HR people that agreed with my interpretation of the policy. The Corporate BS really never ceases to amaze sometimes...

If it does work out the way you hope it does, then what are your thoughts on trying to pick up part-time work from 2025 on to make the lean times less lean? It might give you more of a transition into full retirement, so it could be useful anyways...

[trc4897]

Hey Everyone! Recently ran some FI calculations and looks like I should be FI in the 2028-2029 timeframe. I conservatively decided to join the 2029 FIRE cohort! Looks like by the end of the year we will be ~40% of the way there.

This year I finally started a side hustle I had been thinking about for years, and it has done better than expected. If it keeps growing, maybe we can hit FI before 2029! Or more likely - I could shift to that full time!

[DeskJockey2028]

Welcome! Glad you could join us.

Remember - retiring earlier is not a bad thing. :)

[BuffaloStache]

Welcome, @trc4897 ! Congrats on the side hustle and I hope it continues to work out well.

There are a lot of us here that may actually be FI before 2029, but it was our original goals and/or we may decide to tack on a couple of extra years and so 2029 may be a more realistic date. Looking forward to having you in our group!

[SotI]

Good luck with the plan, SotI!
...
...if you work for a medium/large company I would also do my best to reach out to two different HR people to make sure you get the same answer from both of them (and keep meticulous notes about each conversation).

If it does work out the way you hope it does, then what are your thoughts on trying to pick up part-time work from 2025 on to make the lean times less lean?

Thanks, @BuffaloStache. That's good advise to try and nail down the HR guys/gals on the fine-print interpretation. Will keep this in mind.

As for part-time work: I will have to check this. It may have some substantial negative tax impact. Mostly, however, it will interfere with my retirement travel plans, I guess. But there may be some leeway, so I will discuss it with my tax accountant.

[trc4897]

Welcome, @trc4897 ! Congrats on the side hustle and I hope it continues to work out well.

There are a lot of us here that may actually be FI before 2029, but it was our original goals and/or we may decide to tack on a couple of extra years and so 2029 may be a more realistic date. Looking forward to having you in our group!

Good to know, thanks!

[FI4good]

hi all ,

2693 till 1/1/2029 .

Might be later for me with this house i’ve bought but im going to carry on hanging out as i am investing in different things & making occasional overpayments on the mortgage.

Experimenting with solar and a 1kw heating element in the hot water tank in the next few weeks, i hope to have free hot water for 6 months of the year .

Seem to have got into the habit of putting a large fan on when i sleep , need to wean myself off that.

keep on, keeping on .

[PDXTabs]

2693 till 1/1/2029 .

3057 days until 12/31/2029. I think that's my goal, to declare FIRE while half of the planet is in 2029 and the other is in 2030 so that I can hang out in two threads.

[BuffaloStache]

3057 days until 12/31/2029. I think that's my goal, to declare FIRE while half of the planet is in 2029 and the other is in 2030 so that I can hang out in two threads.

I like the way you think! Although I think I speak for many in this thread when I say that we aren't complete sticklers here. If you FIRE on 12/31/2028 (hopefully) or 01/01/2030, you won't find a lot of grief from the '29 crew :-D.

[pasadenafr]

2693 till 1/1/2029 .

3057 days until 12/31/2029. I think that's my goal, to declare FIRE while half of the planet is in 2029 and the other is in 2030 so that I can hang out in two threads.

I like the way you think too! 12/31/2029 is also my tentative date... Maybe I'll do something like 01/03/2030 just to use my 2 "floating holidays" days and qualify for both cohorts!

[DeskJockey2028]

No grief! Once you're a part of this thread, you're always welcome to come back and chat. Even if you FIRE considerably earlier or later.

[talltexan]

I just texted a teacher friend of mine who announced her retirement during the summer. She's packing up her materials and wrestling with her emotions.

[PDXTabs]

She's packing up her materials and wrestling with her emotions.

I suppose that's better than wrestling with her materials and packing up her emotions.

[henramdrea]

I'll turn 62 in January of 2029 and plan for that being the "end of the line" for the current type of work I do.  I could see myself doing a little "work" to keep the brain and body moving and engaged, but if this past year is any indicator of what lies ahead in my field (hospital-based healthcare) 2029 can't get here soon enough.  PTSD in the work place is real.

[BuffaloStache]

... PTSD in the work place is real.

I've lived through numerous rounds of forced layoffs, reductions in force, and similar corporate cutting events, but I can't even imagine what you and your co-workers are going through. Sorry you are going through that, and best wishes that things can actually get sustainably better sometime soon. Good luck!

[caracarn]

I'll turn 62 in January of 2029 and plan for that being the "end of the line" for the current type of work I do.  I could see myself doing a little "work" to keep the brain and body moving and engaged, but if this past year is any indicator of what lies ahead in my field (hospital-based healthcare) 2029 can't get here soon enough.  PTSD in the work place is real.

I'm with Buffalo.  My BIL is a nurse and the stories he tells just infuriate me and I am not the one working in it.  Many people's jobs are hard/challenging, but having people accuse you of lying/exaggerating/etc. while your life is at risk to try to save theirs I cannot even imagine.

[caracarn]

So on the topic of this thread, my FIRE "year" on my retirement calculator moved from 54 to 53 in the last few months (had not checked it since May), so figuring that means it just pulled in a month or so and got before my birthday in 2024 instead of really moving to 2023, but continues the trend where it was 59 when I joined here and in a couple years I've now cut off six years while doing nothing really different than I had been.   Seems too good to be true (and it may) but I prefer this trajectory than the opposite for certain as I'd rather choose to work longer than be required to.

[DeskJockey2028]

In the first year when I started this journey, between June of 2016 and June of 2017 I made a few predictions as to how much in investments I would accumulate along the way.

Boy was I wrong.

I don't see myself getting out too much earlier because of the healthcare packaged in with my retirement from my current job. But I do see myself leaving the job with a bit more money than I had predicted.

So on the topic of this thread, my FIRE "year" on my retirement calculator moved from 54 to 53 in the last few months (had not checked it since May), so figuring that means it just pulled in a month or so and got before my birthday in 2024 instead of really moving to 2023, but continues the trend where it was 59 when I joined here and in a couple years I've now cut off six years while doing nothing really different than I had been.   Seems too good to be true (and it may) but I prefer this trajectory than the opposite for certain as I'd rather choose to work longer than be required to.

[caracarn]

In the first year when I started this journey, between June of 2016 and June of 2017 I made a few predictions as to how much in investments I would accumulate along the way.

Boy was I wrong.

I don't see myself getting out too much earlier because of the healthcare packaged in with my retirement from my current job. But I do see myself leaving the job with a bit more money than I had predicted.

So on the topic of this thread, my FIRE "year" on my retirement calculator moved from 54 to 53 in the last few months (had not checked it since May), so figuring that means it just pulled in a month or so and got before my birthday in 2024 instead of really moving to 2023, but continues the trend where it was 59 when I joined here and in a couple years I've now cut off six years while doing nothing really different than I had been.   Seems too good to be true (and it may) but I prefer this trajectory than the opposite for certain as I'd rather choose to work longer than be required to.

If it really trends this way the healthcare issue will need more research.  I was talking with my dad (who is in his 70s and on Medicare) about the plans and new FIRE date and he asked what we would do for health insurance.  Other than using the ACA and being subsidized because of the much lower income have no thought about any options as figured if it was 2029 and I was not many years away from Medicare might not require a lot of thought but must see what others have done who had many more years.  I'm not comfortable with what seemed to be MMMs method of "I'm young and healthy so can skip insurance".  So that's a lot to say that insurance may torn into a ball and chain keeping me attached to work, though I'd rather it not.  I have no retirement healthcare in my job so your boat seems different than mine.

[BuffaloStache]

...  I'm not comfortable with what seemed to be MMMs method of "I'm young and healthy so can skip insurance".  So that's a lot to say that insurance may torn into a ball and chain keeping me attached to work, though I'd rather it not.  I have no retirement healthcare in my job so your boat seems different than mine.

I totally agree with this sentiment, but wanted to provide a reminder that many different kinds of jobs offer health insurance, including many that may be less stressful than your current job. Just from quick Googling there are plenty of Reddit threads on the topic (here, here, and here). I know the retirement police might come to get me, but I always figured that was one of the perks of being FI: if you didn't need an actual income for anything, but you still really cared/wanted to have health insurance, then you could find a lower effort, lower hours/week gig that offered insurance as well. It might not be easy to seek out a good fit for you, but you'll have more time on your hands if you don't need to work.

[caracarn]

...  I'm not comfortable with what seemed to be MMMs method of "I'm young and healthy so can skip insurance".  So that's a lot to say that insurance may torn into a ball and chain keeping me attached to work, though I'd rather it not.  I have no retirement healthcare in my job so your boat seems different than mine.

I totally agree with this sentiment, but wanted to provide a reminder that many different kinds of jobs offer health insurance, including many that may be less stressful than your current job. Just from quick Googling there are plenty of Reddit threads on the topic (here, here, and here). I know the retirement police might come to get me, but I always figured that was one of the perks of being FI: if you didn't need an actual income for anything, but you still really cared/wanted to have health insurance, then you could find a lower effort, lower hours/week gig that offered insurance as well. It might not be easy to seek out a good fit for you, but you'll have more time on your hands if you don't need to work.

The links are interesting, but different people may view things differently.

Looking at these working at Chipotle, Lowe's, and UPS for 20 or more hours a week is not really less stressful than almost any job.   Also getting a job in higher education (another option mentioned) requires schooling and things people who are not already in those careers do not possess so you are looking at college time and expense to allow for that.   None of these jobs surprised me as offering health insurance because they are highly publicized as such.   I as a FIRE candidate would not look at them as a better alternative and having family members who have worked in all those jobs none of them a low effort by a long shot.

[BuffaloStache]

Definitely difference of opinion and personalities, I suppose...

The links are interesting, but different people may view things differently.

Looking at these working at Chipotle, Lowe's, and UPS for 20 or more hours a week is not really less stressful than almost any job.   Also getting a job in higher education (another option mentioned) requires schooling and things people who are not already in those careers do not possess so you are looking at college time and expense to allow for that.   None of these jobs surprised me as offering health insurance because they are highly publicized as such.   I as a FIRE candidate would not look at them as a better alternative and having family members who have worked in all those jobs none of them a low effort by a long shot.

I've worked food service jobs before (waiter & cashier in HS), and I definitely think that working ~25 hrs/wk in a job like that would be less stressful than my current job (40hrs/wk on a good week, usually more). This would be doubly true if I was FI and had a more relaxed mindset about it. I will admit, however, that I tend to be more extrovert leaning and so I don't find it very stressful to be around people for long periods of time. I could easily see how this scenario would be more stressful for others. 

I do think there are more options for the higher education route than what meets the eye. I know plenty of people from my undergraduate university that worked in non-traditional university roles, part-time, with limited/no training, that still offered health insurance (and even tuition discount benefits!): convenience store managers, IT helpdesk associates, Campus bookstore managers, facilities/maintenance, overall finance, department admins, etc.   

[maisymouser]

How is everyone doing? No major updates on my end but I'm trying to cope with feelings of (very) slow net worth growth over the past few months. Spending has increased due to preschool payments and a couple of other minor living expense increases, which has improved my day-to-day enjoyment significantly. It's still kind of annoying to look back on what I was able to save in 2020 and early 2021 though.

[DeskJockey2028]

On my side of things, everything is going pretty much to plan. Which is to say, nothing's changed, nothing really new on the FIRE front. Just plugging away! The money we've allocated to be invested is automatically moved to the proper places by forces I don't really interact with. That's probably for the best.

Life-wise, well I've got one adult child now, and my youngest starts driving this December on a permit. So the kids are growing up. My wife and I have actually gotten to spend a little more quality time together than we're used to - and with one (legal) adult at home and our other child older, we've escaped for a weekend getaway here and there, which is really nice. Work has been extraordinarily busy these past few months but looks to be slowly evening out.

Still wish I was retired right now. Still glad I found this whole thing and will be retiring a lot earlier than I could have imagined 6 years ago.

[HeadedWest2029]

Truly the boring middle for many on this thread I'd imagine.  It's the point where you've absorbed all the FIRE concepts, have the calculations down cold, and have investments and savings fully automated.  I'm actually trying to loosen the reins and allow myself to let go of frugality a little.  After years of optimizing it's kinda hard to relax my frugality muscles.  Hoping to find a nice  equilibrium by the time I actually pull the ripcord. 

[friedmmj]

In the first year when I started this journey, between June of 2016 and June of 2017 I made a few predictions as to how much in investments I would accumulate along the way.

Boy was I wrong.

I don't see myself getting out too much earlier because of the healthcare packaged in with my retirement from my current job. But I do see myself leaving the job with a bit more money than I had predicted.

So on the topic of this thread, my FIRE "year" on my retirement calculator moved from 54 to 53 in the last few months (had not checked it since May), so figuring that means it just pulled in a month or so and got before my birthday in 2024 instead of really moving to 2023, but continues the trend where it was 59 when I joined here and in a couple years I've now cut off six years while doing nothing really different than I had been.   Seems too good to be true (and it may) but I prefer this trajectory than the opposite for certain as I'd rather choose to work longer than be required to.

If it really trends this way the healthcare issue will need more research.  I was talking with my dad (who is in his 70s and on Medicare) about the plans and new FIRE date and he asked what we would do for health insurance.  Other than using the ACA and being subsidized because of the much lower income have no thought about any options as figured if it was 2029 and I was not many years away from Medicare might not require a lot of thought but must see what others have done who had many more years.  I'm not comfortable with what seemed to be MMMs method of "I'm young and healthy so can skip insurance".  So that's a lot to say that insurance may torn into a ball and chain keeping me attached to work, though I'd rather it not.  I have no retirement healthcare in my job so your boat seems different than mine.

I’m not following why you’re concerned.  ACA should cover you at a very reasonable cost.

[pasadenafr]

Truly the boring middle for many on this thread I'd imagine.  It's the point where you've absorbed all the FIRE concepts, have the calculations down cold, and have investments and savings fully automated. 

Indeed. The plan is in place, it's executing slowly but surely, and the most exciting thing happening on the FIRE front is when I update my spreadsheet 😂

[DeskJockey2028]

I looked into the ACA - the plans we would qualify for have a much higher deductible (mine's $0 for most things) and a higher copay, with comparable monthly costs.

For someone with a child that has several conditions which may require hospitalizations and surgeries in their future (and if we're covering them until they're 26 like I expect we will), we're looking at higher costs through the ACA.

For every operation they've had, we've paid a total of $100 plus generally less than $10 for prescriptions afterwards. That includes many, multiple night stays in hospital.

By the time she ages out of being under our care, we'll be just a year or three away from Medicare.

I’m not following why you’re concerned.  ACA should cover you at a very reasonable cost.