Hi all,
I was sent to a thread here, after asking about Medicare, from MMM where I have been a member for just over 4 years.
My wife and I lived under our income, for 37 years with an inflation adjusted average income of about $71,000 a year. Do note that $71k is inflation adjusted and many of those 37 years where below $25k a year.
I married an immigrant that thought a little different about money, Our first year we grossed $18k and saved $6k, I'm fudging a little because with wedding gift money we started with $560! Before then, I never had $6k.
I was a Bob Brinker listener early on where I learned about mutual funds and low costs. I started putting money in Bob's recommended portfolio until I just got tired of having paperwork from 6 or 7 different mutual funds and went to all Vanguard funds. I never had thought about early retire until I started reading MMM 4 years ago. I took me a little while to find FIRECALC and run it enough to realize, we could spend more in our retirement than we did in our working years.
We had accumulated $1M by the end of 2011, by 2016 I realized we could retire anytime, We edged over $2M by the end of 2017, but I could not convince my wife (we were self employed at the time) to stop working, but I pretty much did quit work at the beginning of 2018. I worked about 1 day a week just to give her a break. Hurricane Michael came on Oct 10, 2018 and blew away our business. There just wasn't enough of me to work on the house and rebuild the business and she let go, knowing we will be fine. We have spent the last year getting our home back into good condition after Michael and I did finish all of that now as far as the insurance company is concerned. There are a couple of things I want to get done, but no hurry on any of it. So, we retired a little earlier than most Americans, we retired with more assets most and we are doing fine.
I don't know that we could have done it much faster, with our pretty much median income or just above, ya we probably didn't need to save as much as we did, but that would be considered a real first world problem.
Just about time to sign up for Medicare for me the young bride still has several years.
I was sent to a thread here, after asking about Medicare, from MMM where I have been a member for just over 4 years.
My wife and I lived under our income, for 37 years with an inflation adjusted average income of about $71,000 a year. Do note that $71k is inflation adjusted and many of those 37 years where below $25k a year.
I married an immigrant that thought a little different about money, Our first year we grossed $18k and saved $6k, I'm fudging a little because with wedding gift money we started with $560! Before then, I never had $6k.
I was a Bob Brinker listener early on where I learned about mutual funds and low costs. I started putting money in Bob's recommended portfolio until I just got tired of having paperwork from 6 or 7 different mutual funds and went to all Vanguard funds. I never had thought about early retire until I started reading MMM 4 years ago. I took me a little while to find FIRECALC and run it enough to realize, we could spend more in our retirement than we did in our working years.
We had accumulated $1M by the end of 2011, by 2016 I realized we could retire anytime, We edged over $2M by the end of 2017, but I could not convince my wife (we were self employed at the time) to stop working, but I pretty much did quit work at the beginning of 2018. I worked about 1 day a week just to give her a break. Hurricane Michael came on Oct 10, 2018 and blew away our business. There just wasn't enough of me to work on the house and rebuild the business and she let go, knowing we will be fine. We have spent the last year getting our home back into good condition after Michael and I did finish all of that now as far as the insurance company is concerned. There are a couple of things I want to get done, but no hurry on any of it. So, we retired a little earlier than most Americans, we retired with more assets most and we are doing fine.
I don't know that we could have done it much faster, with our pretty much median income or just above, ya we probably didn't need to save as much as we did, but that would be considered a real first world problem.
Just about time to sign up for Medicare for me the young bride still has several years.