After a few years of lurking i thought I'd throw my hat into the ring here.
I am for the most part pleased with our LBYM lifestyle and savings habits.
I'm 36, wife is 38. We have zero debt.
We have taxable investments of 228,000 and cash waiting to be invested (or for emergencies) of about 40,000. I know this cash amount is too high. 8k will be used to fund the 2007 IRAs, and some of the rest will be invested in index fund ETFs.
Our retirement funds (rolled over 401k, a small current 401k, Roth, SEP and trad IRAs) are at 171,000.
Our income over the last couple of years was around $105,000 - we both work full-time, though my wife gets much of the summer off by working for a TV show that goes on hiatus. Of that money, we save a lot. Last year we banked $35k. The year before that when my wife didn't take off much of the summer season we banked $55k.
That's the good news. The bad news - which isn't too bad - is that we don't own a house, and living in Los Angeles, we can't afford one (and might not want to here) . Our rent might seem high for much of the country, but it's reasonable for a 2 bedroom in a four-plex in a cool neighborhood in LA with not-too-bad commutes (25 mi. day for her, 8 for me). Rent is $1175.
So we've got about 440,000 banked right now. Neither of us have prospects of a pension, so besides the index funds, there is quite a bit in large-cap stocks with strong and rising dividends - all reinvested for now - that in 15 years will hopefully throw off $25,000 year in income. Last year our dividend income was over $7000.
Because our jobs are not things we're going to stay at from now until FIRE, we have a hard time forecasting into the future. It's quite possible our incomes could drop if one of us decides to do something different or leaves a job that is becoming too great a pain. We've always taken jobs that we think we'd enjoy, rather than for the money. In my wife's case, that has luckily still led to quite lucrative employment, though it's lacking in benefits like a 401k match or profit sharing or bonuses of any kind. In my case my salary is fairly low, 40k, but it was a new set of skills at an interesting workplace with low stress. Alas, a buy-out of the company has changed the culture and I'm considering leaving the company.
We try not to buy "things." TVs, gadgets, etc. Or we put them on birthday lists sent to our generous and well-off parents, all four of whom are alive. We do not count on getting inheritances from them, but we probably will someday. So our nebulous plan is to go another 15 years or so like this. Not necessarily in the same apt. or same jobs, but both of us working, saving, investing, and trying to keep our expenses low. By then I hope that we would have enough to possibly work part time, or take lower paying jobs that "do good." And at some point, probably buy a house ... somewhere.
I am almost always impressed with the quality of discussion and thoughtfulness here. I value the feedback and opinions.
I am for the most part pleased with our LBYM lifestyle and savings habits.
I'm 36, wife is 38. We have zero debt.
We have taxable investments of 228,000 and cash waiting to be invested (or for emergencies) of about 40,000. I know this cash amount is too high. 8k will be used to fund the 2007 IRAs, and some of the rest will be invested in index fund ETFs.
Our retirement funds (rolled over 401k, a small current 401k, Roth, SEP and trad IRAs) are at 171,000.
Our income over the last couple of years was around $105,000 - we both work full-time, though my wife gets much of the summer off by working for a TV show that goes on hiatus. Of that money, we save a lot. Last year we banked $35k. The year before that when my wife didn't take off much of the summer season we banked $55k.
That's the good news. The bad news - which isn't too bad - is that we don't own a house, and living in Los Angeles, we can't afford one (and might not want to here) . Our rent might seem high for much of the country, but it's reasonable for a 2 bedroom in a four-plex in a cool neighborhood in LA with not-too-bad commutes (25 mi. day for her, 8 for me). Rent is $1175.
So we've got about 440,000 banked right now. Neither of us have prospects of a pension, so besides the index funds, there is quite a bit in large-cap stocks with strong and rising dividends - all reinvested for now - that in 15 years will hopefully throw off $25,000 year in income. Last year our dividend income was over $7000.
Because our jobs are not things we're going to stay at from now until FIRE, we have a hard time forecasting into the future. It's quite possible our incomes could drop if one of us decides to do something different or leaves a job that is becoming too great a pain. We've always taken jobs that we think we'd enjoy, rather than for the money. In my wife's case, that has luckily still led to quite lucrative employment, though it's lacking in benefits like a 401k match or profit sharing or bonuses of any kind. In my case my salary is fairly low, 40k, but it was a new set of skills at an interesting workplace with low stress. Alas, a buy-out of the company has changed the culture and I'm considering leaving the company.
We try not to buy "things." TVs, gadgets, etc. Or we put them on birthday lists sent to our generous and well-off parents, all four of whom are alive. We do not count on getting inheritances from them, but we probably will someday. So our nebulous plan is to go another 15 years or so like this. Not necessarily in the same apt. or same jobs, but both of us working, saving, investing, and trying to keep our expenses low. By then I hope that we would have enough to possibly work part time, or take lower paying jobs that "do good." And at some point, probably buy a house ... somewhere.
I am almost always impressed with the quality of discussion and thoughtfulness here. I value the feedback and opinions.
