41 Considering ER

[qmartd]

Hi all, I am 41 and married with an 8yr old and a 20 month old. I have about 7 million invested excluding 401K and IRA funds. I am seriously considering ER to spend time with the family, do church work, and travel. My wife is from Europe so we may even consider spending 3-4 years abroad while the kids are in school.

I have the college funds set-up already for the kids. I am concerned about health insurance for the family and also wondering how me not working would change the dynamics of my family. I find myself thinking more and more about ER, but I know it would be a big step and haven’t been able to pull the trigger yet.

Thoughts or recommendations would be appreciated.

[gindie]

That's quite a stash at that age. The customary response to this type of question on this board is "What are your expenses?". A rough rule of thumb is whether you have at least 25X your expenses saved. Another thing is to plug your numbers into FIRECalc.

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I think we can skip the "what are your expenses" question unless the OP regularly spends time thinking about what kind of jet to buy or whether to keep three or four full time staff at the #6 house in barbados.

Run the numbers, but you ought to be able to do just fine on 7 mil.

You'll have both positive and negative family ramifications. The bad part is everyone learning to spend a lot more time together before finally figuring out how to spend time together apart. The good part is everyone getting to spend a lot more time together.

You might have to read that 2-3 times before it sets in.

[Cut-Throat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by qmartd Hi all, I am 41 and married with an 8yr old and a 20 month old. I have about 7 million invested excluding 401K and IRA funds. I am seriously considering ER to spend time with the family, do church work, and travel. My wife is from Europe so we may even consider spending 3-4 years abroad while the kids are in school. I have the college funds set-up already for the kids. I am concerned about health insurance for the family and also wondering how me not working would change the dynamics of my family. I find myself thinking more and more about ER, but I know it would be a big step and haven’t been able to pull the trigger yet. Thoughts or recommendations would be appreciated.

Well, I am going to error on the conservative side and say: - For instance let's assume that your expenses are $700,000 per year. I just ran FireCalc and plugged your numbers in and age 41 you might be in retirement for over 50 years. This would put a severe dent on your portfoilo and force you into eating cat food by age 63.

However if you were to cut back expenses you could eke out a meager retirement. - I think your budget is the important thing and the big ? in your question

[Nords]

Um, welcome to the board, qmartd. I think.

Quote:

Originally Posted by qmartd Hi all, I am 41 and married with an 8yr old and a 20 month old. I have about 7 million invested excluding 401K and IRA funds. I am seriously considering ER to spend time with the family, do church work, and travel. My wife is from Europe so we may even consider spending 3-4 years abroad while the kids are in school.

You're probably detecting a less-than-sympathetic response from the general membership, because I don't think that anyone else to date has professed doubts about being able to ER on a portfolio that's bigger than $7M. But, as has been mentioned already, the key is keeping your average annual expenses to about 4% of your ER portfolio.

Take a look at the "4% SWR" post in the "Best of the Boards" section.

Quote:

Originally Posted by qmartd I have the college funds set-up already for the kids. I am concerned about health insurance for the family...

A high-deductible policy works for most of the posters here. You should be able to find it for the U.S. and, if you don't want to go out of pocket, even for overseas.

Quote:

Originally Posted by qmartd ... and also wondering how me not working would change the dynamics of my family. I find myself thinking more and more about ER, but I know it would be a big step and haven’t been able to pull the trigger yet.

I think that you'll be spending quality time with the family, which usually works out to be a good thing after everyone adjusts to the new routine. Kids don't generally care if you're working or not, just whether you can spend the time with them.

As for pulling the trigger, take a look at the "just one more year" syndrome post in "Best of the Boards".

[Martha]

Is there a particular reason you worry about health insurance? You have more money than a good portion of retirees here, some with preexisting conditions that make insurance expensive for them.

You might try www.ehealthinsurance.com for quotes and www.healthinsuranceinfo.net for information on your rights regarding health insurance in your particular state of residence.

[DangerMouse]

My first thought was this must be some kind of joke, how could someone not think that having $7m would give them more than enough to retire.

However, that said, if it was me, I would be adjusting my expenses to make sure that the amount would last and I would get to spending all the quality time with my family that I could.

Good luck with your decision.

[ScooterGuy]

Seven million invested at current rates lets you have $210,000 before USA taxes. Get thee gone!

[jdw_fire]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScooterGuy Seven million invested at current rates lets you have $210,000 before USA taxes.  Get thee gone!

Closer to $350K before taxes at current MM rates.

[Caroline]

Quote:

I know it would be a big step and haven’t been able to pull the trigger yet.

If $7 million isn't enough to retire on, then I'm going to pull the trigger and end it all, 'cause I'll NEVER be anywhere near that number.

Or maybe I'll shoot YOU, instead!!!!

I mean, Geez Louise, guy, those two little angels of yours will grow up in a flash -- what could be more important than figuring out how to reduce expenses to the point where you could make it on... gulp... 7 million, and spend more time with them?

You say you have family concerns? What does your better half think about this plan?