What is your target amount?

[thriftyc]

I don't really have a target amount but I do have a target stable weekly passive income goal of at least $1,000 per week (Australia, Sydney so $1,000 here doesn't get you as far as it would in America). Generally a networth of $1,000,000 would get you that return "safely" with the majority of it in property. Currently I'm 21 with a self made networth of 164K so I feel I should make it there at around 30.

Great start for 21! 

[thriftyc]

Paid for home and $1Million in invested, no debt.

About $150k from that mark now.

Additionally, lots of "low income" benefits in Canada for people that are FIRED. 

[dropspindl]

Wow, even with saving over half my income, I'd NEVER be able to hit the sorts of numbers being listed here!

My semi-FIRE (plan on still working some enjoyable side gigs) is $500k total, and I'll hit that around age 48 (14 more years, I've already been saving over half my income for two years). I spend less than $20k living in NYC so I think that will be a comfortable amount when I FIRE to a LCOL area

[arebelspy]

Wow, even with saving over half my income, I'd NEVER be able to hit the sorts of numbers being listed here!

My semi-FIRE (plan on still working some enjoyable side gigs) is $500k total, and I'll hit that around age 48 (14 more years, I've already been saving over half my income for two years). I spend less than $20k living in NYC so I think that will be a comfortable amount when I FIRE to a LCOL area

Increase your income.  :)

[thriftyc]

Wow, even with saving over half my income, I'd NEVER be able to hit the sorts of numbers being listed here!

My semi-FIRE (plan on still working some enjoyable side gigs) is $500k total, and I'll hit that around age 48 (14 more years, I've already been saving over half my income for two years). I spend less than $20k living in NYC so I think that will be a comfortable amount when I FIRE to a LCOL area

For me, I found out young (early 20's) that I was great at sales.  Averaged a low 6 figure income for the last 13 years.  Saved about 50% of that.  Also, during the 2008-2009 crash I stayed in the market.   Currently, i am burnt out and just hanging on for that 1 million, but I may leave FT work sooner and go to a low stress PT job.   Its been long hours, frugality, some stupid purchases, staying brave during the crash that has brought me to where I am.

Make as much as you can, invest as much as you can - and live a low cost efficient life.  You will get there.

[HPstache]

We are shooting for $1M, a paid off home and $1,500 in rental income

[aspiringnomad]

We're maybe doing it wrong by having a target date instead of a target number that we likely won't deviate from: mid-2019. That's the timing that works for us, and I'm guessing that if we're careful to make the numbers work, it won't matter that we're short of our initial FIRE target. Assuming no market crashes between now and then, our NW will be about $1.4m, which is substantially less than the $2m we initially set out for, but still quite a lot to live off.

If we just waited until we were in our mid-40s instead of late-30s we could FIRE comfortably and permanently, likely with well above $2m, but neither of us wants that at the moment.

[arebelspy]

We're maybe doing it wrong by having a target date instead of a target number that we likely won't deviate from: mid-2019. That's the timing that works for us, and I'm guessing that if we're careful to make the numbers work, it won't matter that we're short of our initial FIRE target. Assuming no market crashes between now and then, our NW will be about $1.4m, which is substantially less than the $2m we initially set out for, but still quite a lot to live off.

If we just waited until we were in our mid-40s instead of late-30s we could FIRE comfortably and permanently, likely with well above $2m, but neither of us wants that at the moment.

Typically people with pensions that need a minimum age have a date rather than number.

The problem with shooting for a date over a number when you're funding ER via savings is if a market crash occurs a bit before your date. Do you still pull the plug?  Probably not. So then when do you at that point?

Shooting for a number just tends to give more certainty around post FIRE income, rather than "4% of whatever we have at this future date" unless you're planning on working longer than necessary, so you know whatever number you have at that date will be enough.

[aspiringnomad]

We're maybe doing it wrong by having a target date instead of a target number that we likely won't deviate from: mid-2019. That's the timing that works for us, and I'm guessing that if we're careful to make the numbers work, it won't matter that we're short of our initial FIRE target. Assuming no market crashes between now and then, our NW will be about $1.4m, which is substantially less than the $2m we initially set out for, but still quite a lot to live off.

If we just waited until we were in our mid-40s instead of late-30s we could FIRE comfortably and permanently, likely with well above $2m, but neither of us wants that at the moment.

Typically people with pensions that need a minimum age have a date rather than number.

The problem with shooting for a date over a number when you're funding ER via savings is if a market crash occurs a bit before your date. Do you still pull the plug?  Probably not. So then when do you at that point?

Shooting for a number just tends to give more certainty around post FIRE income, rather than "4% of whatever we have at this future date" unless you're planning on working longer than necessary, so you know whatever number you have at that date will be enough.

Good questions/points. If there's a market crash in the next two years, I might reevaluate the timing since I love a good stock sale. And we both enjoy our jobs, where we live, and our current life in general, so it certainly wouldn't be much of a hardship to push back our target date.

Part of our plan is to sell our primary residence and live off the equity while we slow travel. That money will be somewhere safe to access whenever we need it, so not in equities. It could be deployed for a number of purposes, including investing into a market crash or perhaps just sustaining us while we find new jobs.

Either way, we both really feel like it's the perfect timing for us to move on to the next phase of our lives. Sort of like how some people feel they biologically want to have kids at a certain age even if it's never the perfect time logistically or financially. I find it incredibly unlikely that we never make money again, so I'm not overly worried about the 4% rule holding out indefinitely. Our goal will be to not touch our investments for as long as possible. If I have to bartend somewhere along the way, so be it.

In other words, I take MMM's advice about being flexible and easy going as a safety margin seriously. So maybe it's not really FIRE by traditional standards, but close enough by my own, strangely loose standards. Or maybe I'm all bluster right now and we get cold feet when it comes time because we can just work a few more years at our awesome, well paid jobs and be securely FIRE. Who knows? But even if we are a bit foolish by quitting early, we'll still have a chunk of change to cushion that foolishness, so I'm pretty confident we'll make it work.

[arebelspy]

Oh, I totally agree with the mindset.

The question then is...why 2019?

[aspiringnomad]

Oh, I totally agree with the mindset.

The question then is...why 2019?

Short answer: it gives us enough time to wind down things here and save the stack we need for me to believe everything I wrote above :).

More details: we like our jobs, and it give us some time to get sick of them; we plan to sell our house in about a year and then sign a 12 month lease in the final year here; we want to embark on this adventure before either of us hits 40 (that's three years for my partner); we're at about $1m NW now, and the 40% projected growth in our stache will be very comforting; on tough days, mentally it helps to think "just two more years (minus whatever)" to freedom.

In any case, it's not done and dusted until we pull the plug. I guess we'll see...

[arebelspy]

Sure.

Without a pension, or a number, it seems so arbitrary.

Like.. why not quit tomorrow?

Or if you like your jobs and don't WANT to quit, how do you know you'll want to in 2019? Why not 2022? Or 2018?

/shrug

I'm just not comprehending how you're making that decision, or any rationale behind it.  But if it works for you, great.  :)

[dreams_and_discoveries]

My target amount has reduced as I've got my expenses more under control, and as I've gotten more and more interested in alternative work after FIRE.

Initial target was £1m, then as I realised I was only spending £30k a year,  reduced to £750k.

Now I'm only spending £22k a year, so have a £700k could FIRE number in mind as well. I'm keeping £750k as my official target to track to and aim for, but it's good knowing I'd be ok retiring on £700k as well.

[gerardc]

The problem with shooting for a date over a number when you're funding ER via savings is if a market crash occurs a bit before your date. Do you still pull the plug?  Probably not. So then when do you at that point?

Part of the deal with FIRE and the 4% rule is flexiblity to reduce expenses or increase earnings in bad times, so if the market crashes soon after FIRE, I think it's reasonable to expect to exercise those flexibility muscles then!

[VolcanicArts]

I actually took some time out and crunched some numbers the other day. I thought initially I was really far away from my FI target, but I found the bottom number for FI to be 629k.

[SnackDog]

We also use target dates since any would work for us financially. We see an assortment of off-ramps depending on circumstances.  Current job and location are great, so we are staying put unless something drastic happens (which could of course).  It won't last forever and we may or may not like next arrangement.  First off-ramp is Aug 2018 when I reach the minimum age for employer health contributions for life plus a monthly prorated stock option (as oppose to annually).  That is earliest retirement date but would more likely round up to April 2019 when annual bonus comes out plus that is the month the super-low price 2016 stock grants fully vest.  If things are still rosey then, we will keep chugging along to the next logical jump off point which is April 2021, when pension increment hits max (later years increment less). Worst case scenario, length-wise, is probably April 2026.  Don't see that happening, but good to have the bookend there for conversations with employer on how happy they would have to make the job and lifestyle to keep me around.

[arebelspy]

The problem with shooting for a date over a number when you're funding ER via savings is if a market crash occurs a bit before your date. Do you still pull the plug?  Probably not. So then when do you at that point?

Part of the deal with FIRE and the 4% rule is flexiblity to reduce expenses or increase earnings in bad times, so if the market crashes soon after FIRE, I think it's reasonable to expect to exercise those flexibility muscles then!

I didn't say anything about the market crashing after FIRE.  :)

[MM_MG]

Probably around $2.5 to $3.5 million (excluding real estate).  Weak sauce for this board I know, but realistically I do not see myself working less than a minimum of 10 more years.  Who knows though, it could all change tomorrow.   

[aspiringnomad]

Sure.

Without a pension, or a number, it seems so arbitrary.

Like.. why not quit tomorrow?

Or if you like your jobs and don't WANT to quit, how do you know you'll want to in 2019? Why not 2022? Or 2018?

/shrug

I'm just not comprehending how you're making that decision, or any rationale behind it.  But if it works for you, great.  :)

Yeah, it's personal I guess. I mentioned some logistical reasons for waiting (and there are others), but really I have always wanted to slow travel through Southern Europe and left my heart in yet another part of the world. So we're not gonna let a strict 4% rule based on our current HCOL expenses keep us from either of those things. We've got too many skills and too much flexibility to really worry about running out of money, especially when decrepitude and death are certain eventualities. #yolo :)

[talltexan]

If travel is involved, you could simply opt for a higher (think: Oslo) or lower- (think: Ecuador) place to travel next depending on your stash increasing or decreasing in value.

[Roboturner]

$1MM and a paid off house (so $1.2MM). On track to meet this sometime late next year [set semi-arbitrary deadline for my age 30 bday in Oct], unfortunately my SO is getting stoked on bigger houses, so that, coupled with some golden handcuffs probably has me doing the RE part of FI in 2019 or 2020

[Asgard01]

It has been interesting reading through this post and people’s replies. When I first starting reading the first page or two, I was also struck by feeling that the amounts are really high but as others have noted I believe people need to be aware of the potential differences between peoples situations and then of course their own personal stance on FIRE.

It would perhaps help as some have already done to mention:

- Number of people (only thyself or 3 etc)
- Includes ongoing rent payment or own home
- Includes part time work or full FIRE

Some people will of course simply want more money or have a fear of the money running low so will includes large safety margins etc. As someone also mentioned, health care costs and HCOL areas matter in these figures.

As for myself, I live in England so health care is no real concern nor is property taxes. I also factor in an inheritance and generous NHS Pension to be on the safe side. I would be looking at $400,000 - $500,000 for a good solid sense of FI but I will likely carry on working as I recently switched to a new job working for the NHS (National Health Service) and this has transformed my working life, I now feel happy at work and feel like I am really making a difference so it’s changed my attitude on wanting to leave, for now at least.

That figure would be 1 person, own my own home. Base FI with no work. I haven’t got a full FI target figure as I no longer have that razor sharp aim, I might have one when I know my outgoings with a family on board.

I now plan to save at my current rates for another 5 years or so to get to that figure above and will then lower my savings to be able to spend more on having a family. During this time, my stash should increase nicely enough to keep at my then spending level for the foreseeable whilst still having that guaranteed base FI up until that point. I would then maybe be at $750,000 in my early to mid 40s but what’s great is I’m living with the benefits right now up until then which is having a vast impact on my current happiness.

I feel so happy just to be on this journey with you all :)

[slugsworth]

As for myself, I live in England so health care is no real concern nor is property taxes.

Does England not have property taxes? Are you including a paid off house? I think many Americans associate all of the UK as being very expensive due to London, but it sounds like it doesn't have to be.

Congratulations on your progress and having a job you enjoy! I like your plan.

[Asgard01]

Does England not have property taxes? Are you including a paid off house? I think many Americans associate all of the UK as being very expensive due to London, but it sounds like it doesn't have to be.

Congratulations on your progress and having a job you enjoy! I like your plan.

We have the council tax system which is like an equivalent but this for my property means I pay $2200 a year which is much lower than I seem to see for many places in the states unless that’s skewed by the examples I see. I live in the north of England too so cheaper than London.

I do own my house yes, and am currently at $190,000 in investments - so steadily on my way to that base FI. My FI plan has certainly changed over the years, it has relaxed and I have focused more on present happiness and life whereas before I was in some ways consumed with getting to FI :). That said, reaching FI is still a major goal of mine but where I am currently has already given me so many psychological benefits.

[theadvicist]

Does England not have property taxes? Are you including a paid off house? I think many Americans associate all of the UK as being very expensive due to London, but it sounds like it doesn't have to be.

Congratulations on your progress and having a job you enjoy! I like your plan.

We have the council tax system which is like an equivalent but this for my property means I pay $2200 a year which is much lower than I seem to see for many places in the states unless that’s skewed by the examples I see. I live in the north of England too so cheaper than London.

Also, you become exempt from Council Tax if you are on a low enough income, so you won't lose your house over taxes like you would in America. If you just won't pay you can go to jail, but if you really can't pay then you will qualify for certain benefits which will exempt you from the tax.

So once you have paid off your mortgage here, you really do own your house, and it can't be taken from you (aside, I guess, from when it's been used as collateral for other loans or in case of bankruptcy).

[talltexan]

Especially with the Pound being much weaker now, I'm wondering if UK won't be a really great place to consider for geographic arbitrage.

[Lan Mandragoran]

Im 27.... long ways to go, but this is a pretty straightforward goal that doesnt seem undoable in the next 10~ years. Only started remotely trying 2 years ago, we've bought 2 properties since then :o.

20k Rental income (paid off ideally). So where I am roughly .... 3-400k paid off in rentals
500k index funds :).
Other random buffers (wife will still work 1-2 days a week), probably solar panels, paid off house.

40k SWR

[runewell]

Can't remember if I posted here already. 
My house is due to be paid off in 11.5 years when I am 57. 
At that point I expect to have at least $1.5M if I continue on the current plan and earn 6% on my investments.
That would be a nice time to retire if the portfolio holds up and healthcare costs are manageable.

In the back of my mind previosuly I have thought age 60 when I should be closer to $2M would be ideal.
Whether or not conditions are ripe for a 4.5%+ withdrawal rate is another consideration. 
It won't be a single dollar amount but a number of considerations before I pull the trigger.

ETA: I will also have a tiny pension of $150-$300/mo depending on when I take that.

[Steelers1982]

Right now I've calculated our number at $1.2M.  That can obviously change due to inflation and many other things. 

Planning on a 5% withdraw rate due to some safety nets we have in place.

[Dicey]

I'm sure I've posted somewhere upthread. I did the math last night for the first time in ages. We're at 2.9M including Real Estate, so I guess it's safe to say whatever number I once had has been blown to smithereens.

My point is that this shit works. Forget about the number and savings rate percentages and comparing yourself to anybody else. Just get started and keep the faith, because baby, it will happen.

Or maybe that's what I said before. If so, it bears repeating and repeating and repeating.

[Bateaux]

Dammit I love you Dicey.  Yep this shit works.

[Dicey]

Dammit I love you Dicey.  Yep this shit works.

Aw, shucks, Bateau, you're too kind!

[tomsang]

It has been interesting reading through this post and people’s replies. When I first starting reading the first page or two, I was also struck by feeling that the amounts are really high but as others have noted I believe people need to be aware of the potential differences between peoples situations and then of course their own personal stance on FIRE.

It would perhaps help as some have already done to mention:

- Number of people (only thyself or 3 etc)
- Includes ongoing rent payment or own home
- Includes part time work or full FIRE

Owning your own home should not matter as it is included in your target amount.  What would provide clarity would be if people included all of their net worth.  If you are going to get a pension, then figure out how much you are getting per month and multiply it by 300 or the appropriate amount to determine the value of the pension.  If you own a house include that in your target.  I think it is funny when people say that they only need $300k, because I will have a pension that pays $60k a year, medical that is covered for life, and a paid off house that is worth $600k. That $60k pension is worth in the neighborhood of $1.5 million based on COLA and other features. So the person who is claiming that they are super Mustachian and can retire on a $300k Stache actually have a target of $2.4 million++ if you include all of the assets.

Not that it matters, but I think it is entertaining. Don't get me started on those that also have a spouse that is working or they are working part-time.  That is like apples and oranges.  Again it does not matter, but to say that your family is retired when your spouse is working is funny to me.  More accurately would be to monetize you are them working in the future and add that to your target. 

The only thing that matters is your own situation, but to put out some of the information where a spouse is working is not showing what you can retire on as you still have earned income coming in.  With the logic that it does not matter if your spouse is still working, then I guess in the 1920's about 40% of the population over the age of 25 was retired as most women stayed at home to take care of their family.   

[Re3iRtH]

Is it just me, or are a lot of these FI numbers really high? Please keep in mind, MMM RE'd on only half a mil.

MMM RE'd on a lower number, but with a paid off house and a rental property and only one kid, in a lower cost of living area, with a plan to continue working and earning additional income.  That's totally a workable plan, but it's not everyone's plan. 

Some of the folks here have large families that have higher expenses.
Some folks have unpleasant ongoing medical expenses.
Some people are trapped in high COL areas for family reasons.
Some people work in careers that cannot be resurrected after they walk.
Some people plan to spend more in retirement than MMM does, for example by travelling full time instead of homebodying.
Some people live in places without the kind of social safety net that MMM's family enjoys.

Thank you. Perfectly said. I'm fairly new here and I've already heard this sentiment several times "MMM did it on X and so can I". No, not everyone's life circumstances are the same.

[Re3iRtH]

I feel lame with my 700k poverty stash compared to the average in this thread. I'm probably younger though. Why do you all need so much?

Our number is somewhere in the 1mil +- 100k range, maybe a BIT higher(1.25-1.5m) depending on what the "me/us" in '3 to 4' years wants to do. I am 26, and I should be around that 1m zone by 30 (likely a bit under).

I am not sure exactly what motivates people on THIS board specifically to quote numbers like 6 MILLION. Is your yearly budget really $240,000? (or a bit less for 2-3% WR) More power to you, but this board would have had set many people free long before those numbers.

I am not sure how, even making 200k, I would have any motivation at work beyond 1-1.5 mil. I could see striving at the end to shore up a few wants, buy a nice sports car, replace a bunch of appliances, or whatever before hitting the "off switch" but by the time I started crossing 5 MIL? HA no way!

I'd like to add a 2nd(3rd?) point, that applies to a lot of us here.

At a certain point, work becomes non-effective for NW changes. When your stash becomes so large that the average market returns match, or even dwarf your job income, what's the point of working? Beyond some intangible reason (you like your job for XYZ reasons)

If you take person X who saves 100k after tax a year and has 200k saved up, next year he will jump 50% just from job savings. Beyond that it will start to quickly drop, going from 300k to 400k is only 33%, 4->5 is only 25% and so on.

When you hit 1.5m, a whole YEAR of work, 12 months, 4 weeks a month, 5 days a week. Jumps his NW up a pitiful 6%. The market did more work than he did at that point.

In this case, if he kept working for 5m, it's unlikely he reached that number MUCH faster by working than just leaving the money alone.

***excluding that you'd be drawing on the account instead of adding to it, it does give SOME extra power to the "keep working" side of things <--and it isn't lost on me that this is a huge exclusion

Some of us have work which we derive satisfaction and meaning from, being able to save lives, etc. Thinking just about yourself gets boring pretty quickly (I've tried it, trust me).

[tomsang]

This is why I think it's better to just use your expected FIRE monthly or annual expenses, and personal situation, rather than stash size or other income amounts. It gives a clearer picture of the person's/family's expenses regardless of the source of income.  Person one: single, no kids, no debt, paid off house, low expenses, and free medical needs only $1000/month. Person 2: married, 5 young kids, mortgage or rent, expensive medical insurance, etc... needs $5,000/month.

Yep!  Everyone's number is very individualistic.  It is more like tabloid fodder reading these types of threads, but I am like a moth drawn to fire.

[pdxmonkey]

I haven't really figured out what my target is yet. At present I am thinking about things in milestones. Somewhere around milestone 2-3 is where I'd likely consider cutting back to part time.

Milestone 0: Paid off house - all other milestones assume a paid off house.

Milestone 1: $100k in a taxable account. This will pay my property taxes. At this milestone I've got a place to live, but I can't heat it or feed myself without a massive garden and if it burns down
I'm SOL as this does not include money to pay for insurance.

Milestone 2: $325k taxable or split?. I feel like this money needs to be in a taxable account so I could use the returns now. This is not strictly true as I could just draw down the taxable account, then start drawing on the retirement account when the taxable hits 0.  I just figured out this # last night. This number includes house insurance/car insurance, utilities, a generous $250 monthly grocery allowance, $100 a month for eating out, paying someone for a haircut once a month (more often than I do now), paying someone to change the oil in my car and $99 a year for Amazon Prime, primarily so I can stream video. It also includes a couple hundred bucks of miscellaneous stuff. This doesn't really cover anything that breaks down, long term home maintenance or other fancy stuff. If my computer broke, I would have to do a side hustle or pull it out of the grocery budget to replace it... This level is probably doable long term if I did all my own maintenance and when I had to buy say a replacement furnace I was willing to survive on Ramen for a couple months to pay for it and then still install the damn thing myself. This is still a pretty crappy place to be IMO as I really don't get to travel anywhere and the gas budget for the car is for travel I do now within in the city while I work...which is to say almost zilch. I work from home.

Milestone 3: ??? split between taxable/retirement: I need to figure this one out. It's milestone 2 plus paying someone else to do the long term maintenance tasks. Ballpark it at $400k if you figure $3k in maintenance per year. I have no idea if 3k is a good #, but I could figure it out given that I've replaced the roof, furnace, water heater and A/C in this home since living here as they were beat to hell and it was a foreclosure. I have the historical price #'s for this specific house to estimate pretty well based on average life spans so I should be able to figure this out if I go through my files to find the #'s. Since I have replaced things recently some of the money for long term items could be in retirement accounts as I could most likely access those around the time stuff is expected to be replaced again. This milestone pretty much accounts for all the things I do now minus the mortgage that disappears in milestone 0, but right now I am living cheaper than I plan to live post-retirement as I find it emotionally painful to spend big $ on travel when I haven't yet bought my freedom. I do travel some, but only every couple of years right now and I would like it to be a couple times a year.

Milestone 4: $600k between taxable/retirement accounts: This would give me $2k a month. Given that I estimate milestone 3 to require about $1300-$1350 a month. Depending on if that's a good estimate or if I've lowballed milestone 3 costs this should give give me $5k to $8k per year for travel and whatever the hell else I want. Computer breaks..build/buy a new one. See an interesting book/video game, buy it. I feel like Milestone 4 is the earliest milestone at which I will consider full FIRE.

Milestone 5: You get everything in Milestone 4 plus ???. I have tried not to imagine this far out yet. I don't want to inflate my lifestyle before I even get there.

As I do better tracking and notice more annual or less than annual items and get them added
 to the list milestone 2 is looking more like 400k which now a budget for computer break downs/replacement of $200/yr or $1000 every 5 yrs. It also now includes paying out of pocket for things like dental, but still doesn't account for whatever the health insurance costs might be in the future as that situation is still pretty hazy. Major home items still not included.

[Bateaux]

It's looking like a complete life overhaul may be needed to get by with my target number.  Some huge expenses just aren't going away without so.  Home owners and flood insurance on a modest house is 5k annually here, another $1,500 in taxes. It's well over 10k annually with maintence, through in utilities it's 15k.  So we have to move.  Cars, I hate them and I'm funding four drivers in my household.  We own them all, but insurance and maintenance is nearly 10k a year.   So I'm at 25k a year just living in a house and driving.  Health care, that monster, it's not bad since my employer picks up some of the tab is about 10k.  I still have no idea what to do about health care in FIRE and most of you don't either.  You don't.   I'm figuring 20k annually.  So that's 35k now and 45k into Fire so far.  We haven't eaten yet.  I don't budget for food, we eat what we want when we want it.  Eat out a few times a month.  So without a change lets say 15k a year on food, cleaning supplies, toilet paper, Walmart crap.  OK that's 60k.  I haven't taken a vacation yet, we go several weeks a year.  Soo, five vacays with condo and airfare, call it 20k.  Ok, that's 80k.  I can make it on 80k.  So 2M not including real estate is the low Fire Number.  Cool we're at 1.75M.   We'll see how it looks again at 2M.  Back to work for me.

[merlin7676]

My personal, individual amount is $750k or $30K a year.   My spouse will undoubtedly add more to the pot when's he ready to retire although he's behind quite a bit (owned his own business during the recession, took a huge hit, still recovering although he's back in the positive now).

Ideally mine will be higher than 750 at retirement but we'll see. Have another 14 years to go to retire at 55.  I probably will work part time afterwards...pick up a few hours here and there 2 or 3 days a week doing something 'relaxing'. More for the get out and be social and less for the actual dollar amount.

[caracarn]

My personal, individual amount is $750k or $30K a year.   My spouse will undoubtedly add more to the pot when's he ready to retire although he's behind quite a bit (owned his own business during the recession, took a huge hit, still recovering although he's back in the positive now).

Ideally mine will be higher than 750 at retirement but we'll see. Have another 14 years to go to retire at 55.  I probably will work part time afterwards...pick up a few hours here and there 2 or 3 days a week doing something 'relaxing'. More for the get out and be social and less for the actual dollar amount.

This is interesting.  So your spouse and you are each individually setting your own FIRE number and retiring based on your own number, i.e. you make it and he doesn't, "Sorry honey, wish you could go to the beach with me but you still haven't hit your FIRE number so go to work".

[Goldielocks]

My personal, individual amount is $750k or $30K a year.   My spouse will undoubtedly add more to the pot when's he ready to retire although he's behind quite a bit (owned his own business during the recession, took a huge hit, still recovering although he's back in the positive now).

Ideally mine will be higher than 750 at retirement but we'll see. Have another 14 years to go to retire at 55.  I probably will work part time afterwards...pick up a few hours here and there 2 or 3 days a week doing something 'relaxing'. More for the get out and be social and less for the actual dollar amount.

This is interesting.  So your spouse and you are each individually setting your own FIRE number and retiring based on your own number, i.e. you make it and he doesn't, "Sorry honey, wish you could go to the beach with me but you still haven't hit your FIRE number so go to work".

It's a bit of a reverse twist on the "My SAH spouse agreed to look for a job, any job, once the youngest was 8 years old.   They have refused to even try for the past 4 years now..."

No opinion of good or bad, etc.  Just an observation.

[GenXbiker]

About 1.2 M in cash + investments to get me completely through a decade before adding SS to the mix.

I'm already beyond FI, and 1.2 M is nearly 70X for bare bones if I do not relocate, so that will give me a nice cushion to play with.

ETA  21 months to 4 years

That's for me alone in a single person household.  If the market were to drop significantly before my FIRE date, I would expect to still FIRE no later than the tail end of my ETA range.  The length of the delay would just depend on the conditions on the ground.

[teamzissou00]

My current number is $1.2M with a paid off house. 

I think I could be comfortable with 900-1M and re-evaluate my job situation to see if I want to try something fun for a few years. 

That all being said, side question - is the 4% rule assuming I keep 100% of my retirement in equities?  What are the rules of how the money is invested in order for all the assumptions to play out correctly?

[mathlete]

My current number is $1.2M with a paid off house.

Holy cow, that's my exact target too! With the $1.2M being 2017 dollars, not (FIRE year) dollars though.

Lots of conservatism built in though. It assumes that I'll quit working completely, I'll have zero rental income, never collect social security, and my pension will go bust.

[emiloots]

My number is ~2 million.  I have to work until the day after I turn 55 to receive retiree health benefits and I have a pension based on years of service/last three years of salary, so no race to RE for me.  My DH has a pretty high stress job so I'd love for him to be able to wind down before I do.  We also have 3 kids to get through college or vocational school in 8,10 and 12 years from now.  We will maintain our savings rate while helping them through school as much as possible.

Our plan at 55 (projected values):
Paid off house (current value ~480k)
Combined 401ks: ~1.3-1.4m
Mega Backdoor ROTH: ~360k
Pension cashout/rollover to IRA at 62y: ~500k
DHs Internal Shares buyback:  I have no idea what this will net, 20% annual growth at the moment and we're required to buy shares every year at bonus time

[GenXbiker]

My current number is $1.2M with a paid off house. 

I think I could be comfortable with 900-1M and re-evaluate my job situation to see if I want to try something fun for a few years. 

That all being said, side question - is the 4% rule assuming I keep 100% of my retirement in equities?  What are the rules of how the money is invested in order for all the assumptions to play out correctly?

No, the 4% rule is based on studies of a mix of stocks and bonds and rebalancing to maintain that ratio.  Having said that, 100% stocks has shown the highest average return over the long run, and there are plenty of people that are 100% stocks.  There's even a thread about it in the investment section from a few weeks back.

Here's a site which shows some allocation back-testing for some different portfolio allocations:
https://portfoliocharts.com/

[Northstar]

My target is around 1M liquid, but I'll make 50k or so a year from passive income. Drawing 20k down on the 1M and adding to my spending per year that would be 70k I could spend which I would have a hard time doing, once the house is paid for my spending could comfortably live on 25k per year. Which means I could technically retire right now at 27, BUT with hopefully a lot of years ahead of me I'd like to be over prepared financially because once I quit, I'm never going back to work because I HAVE to.

[teamzissou00]

My number is ~2 million.  I have to work until the day after I turn 55 to receive retiree health benefits and I have a pension based on years of service/last three years of salary, so no race to RE for me.  My DH has a pretty high stress job so I'd love for him to be able to wind down before I do.  We also have 3 kids to get through college or vocational school in 8,10 and 12 years from now.  We will maintain our savings rate while helping them through school as much as possible.

Our plan at 55 (projected values):
Paid off house (current value ~480k)
Combined 401ks: ~1.3-1.4m
Mega Backdoor ROTH: ~360k
Pension cashout/rollover to IRA at 62y: ~500k
DHs Internal Shares buyback:  I have no idea what this will net, 20% annual growth at the moment and we're required to buy shares every year at bonus time

Seems pretty logical.

What industry is your spouse in?  I have an employment situation where the 'internal share buyback' sounds similar to my situation. 

[emiloots]

My number is ~2 million.  I have to work until the day after I turn 55 to receive retiree health benefits and I have a pension based on years of service/last three years of salary, so no race to RE for me.  My DH has a pretty high stress job so I'd love for him to be able to wind down before I do.  We also have 3 kids to get through college or vocational school in 8,10 and 12 years from now.  We will maintain our savings rate while helping them through school as much as possible.

Our plan at 55 (projected values):
Paid off house (current value ~480k)
Combined 401ks: ~1.3-1.4m
Mega Backdoor ROTH: ~360k
Pension cashout/rollover to IRA at 62y: ~500k
DHs Internal Shares buyback:  I have no idea what this will net, 20% annual growth at the moment and we're required to buy shares every year at bonus time

Seems pretty logical.

What industry is your spouse in?  I have an employment situation where the 'internal share buyback' sounds similar to my situation.

He's an engineer, when you become an associate you're required to purchase internal stock every year.  When you leave or retire they pay out your shares based on purchase price and current valuation.  So it's a bit like selling stock options but not with a publicly traded company.   

[caseyzee]

I think my numbers and dates are highly dependent on the health care situation.

I'm currently leaning towards 2025, the year my house will be paid off.  At that point, my savings should amount to 1.4 to 1.5 million.  This is probably more than I need but I have a pre-existing condition so health care is the deciding factor.  I'll be 59 that year, so not early.  My kids will be starting college that year.  I'd like to go sooner, but I don't see a way to do that without my house being paid off and without a clear path to continuous health insurance.