FIRE by age 27?

[cirno]

Hi guys,
Been lurking here for a while since I discovered this stuff through the ERE site and reading his ebook. I've been running some calculations with various online calculators (firecalc, mustachecalc) and given my income and age (100k/yr + stock award + bonuses, 23) I believe I could be fire in less than 5 years. I currently have a savings of 70k and have been living very cheap (rent is 600/mo, shoot for less than 100/mo on food, have no cell phone no car no commute expenses no SL, never eat out). My biggest concern at this point is owning a home; I feel that it's a necessary hoop that will need to be jumped through if I am to fire. And I will need to learn home repair skills before I can own one so I can fix the problems that will inevitably arise. I can take classes in my city to learn this but it would cost over 1000 for the full curriculum. I like the idea of micro-homes, which seem like they are small enough that I could manage it pretty easily. My question is has anyone here done this (this being gone from net worth of 0 to FIRE in less than 5 years)?

[grantmeaname]

You definitely don't need to own a home to FIRE. If you do choose to own a home you don't need a $1,000 class to maintain it - that's what your library and youtube are for.

I'll be entering the workforce at 23 and want to retire at 30. It's definitely doable, but it is certainly audacious, too.

[cirno]

What amount of money are you trying to have on retirement? Will it last you your entire life?

Doesn't matter to me, as long as my spending is low enough. mustachecalc gives me a figure of 333k, networthify gives me a figure of 284k. I am assuming a 3% withdrawal rate in retirement. I would pick up some side hustles in retirement to get the withdrawal rate lower, I think.

You definitely don't need to own a home to FIRE. If you do choose to own a home you don't need a $1,000 class to maintain it - that's what your library and youtube are for.

I'll be entering the workforce at 23 and want to retire at 30. It's definitely doable, but it is certainly audacious, too.

Good word, library and youtube should suffice for most things.

[foobar]

I think your biggest concern should be getting married and having kids. Either of those happening can drastically effect how much money you need/want. You might not think it is in the cards but I know of a lot of 20somethings that thought that that are married with kids 30 somethings these days.

Hi guys,
Been lurking here for a while since I discovered this stuff through the ERE site and reading his ebook. I've been running some calculations with various online calculators (firecalc, mustachecalc) and given my income and age (100k/yr + stock award + bonuses, 23) I believe I could be fire in less than 5 years. I currently have a savings of 70k and have been living very cheap (rent is 600/mo, shoot for less than 100/mo on food, have no cell phone no car no commute expenses no SL, never eat out). My biggest concern at this point is owning a home; I feel that it's a necessary hoop that will need to be jumped through if I am to fire. And I will need to learn home repair skills before I can own one so I can fix the problems that will inevitably arise. I can take classes in my city to learn this but it would cost over 1000 for the full curriculum. I like the idea of micro-homes, which seem like they are small enough that I could manage it pretty easily. My question is has anyone here done this (this being gone from net worth of 0 to FIRE in less than 5 years)?

[MrMoneyPinch]

Doesn't matter to me, as long as my spending is low enough. mustachecalc gives me a figure of 333k, networthify gives me a figure of 284k. I am assuming a 3% withdrawal rate in retirement. I would pick up some side hustles in retirement to get the withdrawal rate lower, I think.

Your figures do not fit.  333k gives you 10k a year and you are renting an apartment for 7.8k a year.  Typical home ec recommendations tell you your roof should not cost more than 1/3 of your net.  If you wait until 30, the numbers are better: you would retire on 16.3k and your lodging would account for half of that.
If the point is having enough passive income to be free to take any job, 27 is OK.  If it is to be FI, you won't be independent by any reasonable measure.

[chucklesmcgee]

I don't think owning a home is necessarily a requirement to be FI. It's certainly nice to have and maybe something you want to have, but why do you think it's a requirement?

[arebelspy]

Absolutely doable.  I didn't really hit on the idea until age 24 or so, and should FIRE around 30 or 31.

(And that's with a BIG mistake that set me back over six figures.)

Here's the same challenge (FI by 27) discussed in another thread: https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/throw-down-the-gauntlet/financial-independence-at-27/

[AlanStache]

As far as home repair the learning process normally starts small and grows as you like.  Basic plumbing is easy with a book or two and youtube videos, new roofs maybe not so much.  You just have to start a job and you will learn what you need to know.  Also know that a lot of the sales staff at HomeDepot-Lowes really dont know what they are talking about.  I grew up in rented homes and buying was very intimidating but really if you are in your current position you are way smarter than lots of people who buy every day.

But also yes your life goals may change and require more annual income, passive or active.  Also if you buy your monthly expenses will go up in some ways - utilities - insurance - taxes - etc but ultimately you dont have to pay rent every month and could even rent out one room.

[Herbert Derp]

cirno, my situation is almost identical to yours, and I believe your plan is feasible. But living a minimalist lifestyle and retiring as soon as you hit 3% of net worth spending does not sound like a good idea. It pigeonholes you into that lifestyle, which will become inflexible if you encounter changes later in life (family, illness, etc).

Personally, I plan to hit 4% of net worth spending by the end of this year, when I am 24. When I am 25, I should hit 3%, and at that point plan to remain working and stay at 3% until I am satisfied with the lifestyle I can afford. At that point, I can retire if I want to. By 30, I can have close to a million net worth and ~30K annual spending, and if I continue working it's only up from there.

As far as housing goes, I am not interested in maintaining a house and would prefer to buy a condo. I think not having to maintain a property is worth the higher fees.

[AlanStache]

re condo: look at this long and hard.  yes you get out of some work but you will likely be paying someone at commercial rates to do them for you.  Also the association will have the power to limit what you can do with your unit, I cant install a garbage disposal for example.  Also you need to talk to the association if your unit needs repair that could affect someone else, the politics can get complicated and some people just dont want to spend money even to fix things that need fixing unless water is spraying right now.  A condo and association might be the right fit for you, you just need to think about both sides.