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09-24-2016, 01:36 PM
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#1
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Dryer sheet aficionado
Join Date: Sep 2016
Posts: 28
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Hi I'm Jill
Hello there - I've been lurking on and off here over the last few years and you all seem like a smart, nice group of people. I'm 50 and and my DH is 49. No kids. Our only debt is our mortgage - balance of 196K - will be paid off in about 12 years (unless we choose to prepay on principal). We have retirement (401K) of 880K, liquid savings of $88K and home equity of 300K.
DH is self-employed as a software consultant and grosses roughly 120-150K per year. I work at a non-profit - salary of 58K. In my prior career in big law I made oodles more money but lifestyle was horrible. Much happier in new(ish) (7 years in) career.
Dh and I are still happy working but have our eye on our 60th birthdays as our ER date. To be honest if I thought it was possible we'd do it in about 6 or 7 years.
I am so looking forward being part of this community and getting and giving good advice. Happy Saturday everyone!
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09-24-2016, 01:40 PM
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#2
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Moderator
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Eastern WV Panhandle
Posts: 25,339
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Welcome to the forum, and it sounds like you've planned well for FIRE.
__________________
When I was a kid I wanted to be older. This is not what I expected.
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09-24-2016, 02:53 PM
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#3
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 930
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Welcome. Sounds like you made a choice for lifestyle with your new job, and that approach is something that guides a lot of us interested in FIRE.
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09-24-2016, 03:56 PM
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#4
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Dryer sheet wannabe
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: MN
Posts: 23
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Welcome Jill. Congratulations on being so close to your goal. Even without officially being retired, being so close as to feeling FI is not so bad in itself.
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09-24-2016, 06:07 PM
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#5
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Sac suburb
Posts: 437
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Hi Jill! Welcome from a former MA inhabitant. 
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09-24-2016, 06:22 PM
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#6
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: New Hampshire
Posts: 381
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Welcome, Jill!
__________________
Steve
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09-24-2016, 10:04 PM
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#7
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Cavalier
Posts: 2,317
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Welcome
__________________
"Don't take life so serious, son. It ain't nohow permanent." Pogo Possum (Walt Kelly)
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09-25-2016, 05:04 AM
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#8
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: South Florida
Posts: 551
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Welcome Jill !
From Massachusetts to Florida here.
Rich
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09-25-2016, 06:21 AM
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#9
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Sarasota, FL & Vermont
Posts: 36,337
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Welcome Jill. Looks like you have an excellent start.
Have you run your situation through Firecalc or Quicken Lifetime Planner?
__________________
If something cannot endure laughter.... it cannot endure.
Patience is the art of concealing your impatience.
Slow and steady wins the race.
Retired Jan 2012 at age 56
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09-25-2016, 06:37 AM
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#10
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 723
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Hi Jill- welcome!
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09-25-2016, 07:52 AM
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#11
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Dryer sheet aficionado
Join Date: Sep 2016
Posts: 28
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 Quote:
Originally Posted by pb4uski
Welcome Jill. Looks like you have an excellent start.
Have you run your situation through Firecalc or Quicken Lifetime Planner?
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I haven't - thanks for suggesting it. I will look into both of them.
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09-25-2016, 07:56 AM
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#12
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 3,602
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Hi Jill,
Welcome to the forum!
One of the biggest thing that I did that enabled FIRE was track all my expenses, with categories, in Quicken for years.
With categorized data such as this you are in a very good position to see what your Post-FIRE expenses will actually be.
-gauss
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09-25-2016, 08:21 AM
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#13
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Dryer sheet aficionado
Join Date: Sep 2016
Posts: 28
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gauss
Hi Jill,
Welcome to the forum!
One of the biggest thing that I did that enabled FIRE was track all my expenses, with categories, in Quicken for years.
With categorized data such as this you are in a very good position to see what your Post-FIRE expenses will actually be.
-gauss
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That is excellent advice. I have an excellent handle on our fixed expenses but discretionary - nope.. The irony is that part of my job is counseling clients on budgeting.
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09-25-2016, 09:32 AM
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#14
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Moderator
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: San Diego
Posts: 14,211
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Welcome Jill! One of my favorite people in the world is also named Jill - but her nickname is JillSpill... an extra letter compared to your user name.
__________________
Retired June 2014. No longer an enginerd - now I'm just a nerd.
micro pensions 6%, rental income 20%
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09-25-2016, 03:30 PM
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#15
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 873
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Welcome to the forum Jill.
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09-25-2016, 04:20 PM
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#16
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Cincinnati, OH
Posts: 4,369
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Welcome to the forum. With your current situation, I think you may be a lot closer than the 10 years out age 60 goal you have. All depends on your spending and the savings you can do, along with how much the savings can grow on its own. Seems you are on a good path projection, and having the good understanding of your budget is how you will know if you are at the point you can retire.
__________________
The problem isn't artificial intelligence, it's natural stupidity.
You can't spend yourself to prosperity.
Semi-Retired 7/1/16: working part-time (60%) for now [4/24/17 changed to 80%]
Retired Aug 2, 2017; age 53
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09-25-2016, 05:21 PM
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#17
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Ventura County
Posts: 1,433
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Hi Jill,
You're doing well with your savings and planning so far, but one thing jumps out at me: You have a household income of ~$200K, a sizable 401K balance, but liquid savings of only $88K. That tells me that either you started saving relatively recently or else you spend most of what you make (after your mortgage and 401K contributions).
The first of these is likely not too big of a deal. If you are living comfortably on significantly less than your full income then the next decade of savings could easily get you to sufficient savings to make for a comfortable retirement.
If the latter, though, then some careful modeling (and aggressive saving) may be required to make it in the next 10 years.
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09-25-2016, 07:10 PM
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#18
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Dryer sheet aficionado
Join Date: Sep 2016
Posts: 28
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stepford
Hi Jill,
You're doing well with your savings and planning so far, but one thing jumps out at me: You have a household income of ~$200K, a sizable 401K balance, but liquid savings of only $88K. That tells me that either you started saving relatively recently or else you spend most of what you make (after your mortgage and 401K contributions).
The first of these is likely not too big of a deal. If you are living comfortably on significantly less than your full income then the next decade of savings could easily get you to sufficient savings to make for a comfortable retirement.
If the latter, though, then some careful modeling (and aggressive saving) may be required to make it in the next 10 years.
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Thank you for the welcome and insight. We do spend quite a bit. My DH loves concert going and a lot of money goes to that as well as a couple of trips per year (usually a cruise and another shorter trip but we have also traveled to Europe 5 or 6 times in the last 12 years or so). We like to eat out as well. On the other hand we drive our cars till they die don't try to keep up with the Jones' with cars, clothes, household stuff etc. As a prior poster noted above - it will be important for us to really get a good handle on how much this lifestyle adds up to and if there is anything we want to do to change it. It may mean that we work longer than 10 years.
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09-25-2016, 08:03 PM
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#19
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: philly
Posts: 1,219
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Hey Jill,
Welcome
__________________
My darling girl, when are you going to realize that being "normal" is not necessarily a virtue? it sometimes rather denotes a lack of courage~Aunt Francis
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