Hello-I'm new here too

[jonah5]

Hello
I can't begin to tell you all how excited I am to have stumbled onto this site (via a recent article in the paper). I'm 41 and have been thinking and planning for ER for a few years now, especially after reading The Millionaire Next Door. I used the firecalc the other day, putting in 45 years of retirement and it gave me a 91% probability of success, but I just made a guesstimate on my annual expenses. I'm looking forward to reading through this forum and try to digest any and all advice towards this goal.
I've got approx $1.5 mil stashed away but still feel that I'll need a lot more since my 3 boys are pretty young (18months, 4 and 6 yrs) and also worry about health insurance costs. Plus we're still planning on having at least 1 more child! Our current plan is to go (very) part time at 45, live on a lot less income, and not have to worry about contributing any more for retirement, and call it quits a few years after that. Compared to working fulltime, I feel like I can definitely enjoy work much more on a part time basis, and take away some of the worry of "not having enough".
Anyway thanks to all for a great forum for ER-something I've been looking for and didn't even realize it!

[REWahoo]

Welcome to the forum jonah5. Yes, there really is a Santa Claus community made up of people who don't want to work until they are too old to enjoy life! Congratulations on finding us...

[d0ug]

The fear of not having enough is a trap. It sound like you have saved enough it is probably time to enjoy your life

[Lazarus]

Welcome, I have learned a lot here.

[Tom52]

Welcome! I am fairly new here as well, and still at least 4 years from FIRE, so I get a lot of inspiration from this group. With a young family you will have a lot to consider such as heath care and college educations. Regardless, you are way ahead of the game compared to most people your age. Congratulations!

[samclem]

jonah5,
Welcome. I "erly-semi-retired" a couple of years ago, and am working part-time now mainly to get some funds stashed away for DD's tuition and for the "extra's" we may want but aren't really necessities. I found ESRRob's book very useful--there's a link at this site (but this is NOT an ad!)

[TromboneAl]

Are you going for a fourth child because you want a girl?

I'd say wait until your three boys are teenagers before you decide on more kids.

[jonah5]

Actually we'll be perfectly happy with more boys. We started saving for college tuition right away with the three we have, with over $40k for each of the 2 older boys, and about $15k for the 18month old, and continue to put away $500/child per month-which I hope will grow a lot by the time they reach college age. Health insurance is my biggest concern, which is why I may try to put off complete ER and just go part time (at least initially), but definitely call it completely quits by 50. I also have a mortgage to worry about (about $3000/month). I'm gleaning a lot of good information here about how to invest my $ and how to allocate it. I'm my own financial advisor and sometimes worry that I'm not doing things right, but based on what I've read so far in the coffeehouse investor site, it seems I'm more on less on the right track. Once I've read more, I'll post my holdings and see what you all think based on all of your collective wisdom, insight, and experience. Thanks.

[eridanus]

It'll be helpful to track your expenses for a while. Keep your receipts and write down what you spend. Amortize your annual expenses (house insurance, property tax, etc.) This will you a better picture on if $1.5M (~$60k/yr) is enough.

[DRiP Guy]

Welcome aboard!
8)