FIRE within 10 years

[Vals]

Some background, Army Vet with disability pension (currently around 2k/mo). Luckily I'm in IT so my issues do not affect my ability to work. Roth 401k is already at the level I want it to be, even with below average gains (it's all in index funds, plan to move to VTSAX when I leave this job to combine with my Roth IRA) it will be more than enough to provide me with 3-4k/mo after 59.5.

I'm now working on taxable investments to get me where I need to be so I can retire by 45-46. Not sure if I'll actually want to stop working at that point, but I want the FI side of FIRE so I can if I choose to do so.

We haven't decided exactly where we want to be at retirement, but as my wife is a foreign national we have more (easy) options than most. If we stay in the US I don't need to worry about insurance (she does, of course), and if we choose her country neither of us need to worry due to the extremely good and affordable healthcare/national insurance program there. There are, of course, other considerations but health insurance is a big cost we'll be able to mitigate or basically avoid depending on which option we choose.

Big question I've been debating is what to do at that point. I know the standard suggestion is to move part of investments to bonds (15/25/50 lots of different suggestions out there) to mitigate market risks. But it my case (and anyone that has a guaranteed pension), do I really need to mitigate that risk? I know I will have at least 2k (untaxed) every month, regardless of what the market is doing.

I thought the people over here might have some insight to provide. So, what do you all think?

[exnavynuke]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vals Some background, Army Vet with disability pension (currently around 2k/mo). Luckily I'm in IT so my issues do not affect my ability to work. Roth 401k is already at the level I want it to be, even with below average gains (it's all in index funds, plan to move to VTSAX when I leave this job to combine with my Roth IRA) it will be more than enough to provide me with 3-4k/mo after 59.5. I'm now working on taxable investments to get me where I need to be so I can retire by 45-46. Not sure if I'll actually want to stop working at that point, but I want the FI side of FIRE so I can if I choose to do so. We haven't decided exactly where we want to be at retirement, but as my wife is a foreign national we have more (easy) options than most. If we stay in the US I don't need to worry about insurance (she does, of course), and if we choose her country neither of us need to worry due to the extremely good and affordable healthcare/national insurance program there. There are, of course, other considerations but health insurance is a big cost we'll be able to mitigate or basically avoid depending on which option we choose. Big question I've been debating is what to do at that point. I know the standard suggestion is to move part of investments to bonds (15/25/50 lots of different suggestions out there) to mitigate market risks. But it my case (and anyone that has a guaranteed pension), do I really need to mitigate that risk? I know I will have at least 2k (untaxed) every month, regardless of what the market is doing. I thought the people over here might have some insight to provide. So, what do you all think?

I'm also a disabled vet and my VA disability will cover ~95% of my mandatory expenses (property tax/insurance, utilities, cable, internet, food, household items, home/car maintenance, etc) in retirement (with the assumption that the mortgage is paid off). As such, I see that money as the primary "fixed income" portion of my investments and don't feel the need to have much (if any) additional exposure to fixed income assets. So currently I'm 100% equity index funds (which due to their investments actually is 93.7% equity with the rest in cash/cash equivalents/alternative investments) and I plan to maintain that moving forward into retirement. I'm planning for retirement in 7 years, though hoping to push that forward if I can without compromising quality of life. Having VA health care is HUGE for being able to retire early.

[evilanne]

Thank you both for your service. It is good to see young folks planning for ER!