Introduce yourself here!

[sgeeeee]

Your numbers seem to be in the right ballpark. Based on your post, I assume you are saving/investing about $100K per year. If you continue to do something like that through 2009 and you earn a reasonable return on your investments, you should be safe to withdraw something close to $200K per year.

Good luck and congratulations on your emminent retirement.

[gunner58]

Thanks for your encouragement and positive feedback. My wife and I have worked toward this goal for the past 18 years and I guess we are overly cautious now that the light at the end the tunnel may be in sight.

I have gone back and reworked the annual expense numbers and estimate we can lower our annual draw starting in 2009 to 165k (current value). This adjusted expense estimate does include 40k annually for a home mortgage that could be paid off by 2009.
In addition, the estimate annual draw reflects after tax dollars and does include 35k in guestimated educational expenses for our niece/nephews estimated to run 5 years starting in 2009.

Thanks again for all the feedback!

[Saver]

Gunner58

You may spark some useful feedback if you tell everyone how your savings are broken out betwen taxable and nontaxable assets, and how your savings are broken out between stocks, bonds, cash, etc.

IMHO, that 165K after-tax number could be high given your current asset base plus $100k/year extra for 6-7 years. You will have to withdraw well over $200k/ year to have that left after tax.

Saver

[gunner58]

Hello Saver

Thanks for your constructive feedback. My assets break down as follows:
Taxable
$1.3M (stocks,mutual funds)
$162K (employee stk subscription)
$315K (exercised company stock options)
$644K (cash /short term bond fund)

Home Equity
610K (approx.)

Non -Taxable

950K (401ks/IRAs/Def. Annuties/Var.Annuties)

[Zipper]

I'm a 60 year old Canadian and just started drawing CPP, similar to your Social Security. I retired 6 years ago after teaching 33 years in Ontario. I took a commuted payout and began withdrawing about 5%/year from a 60/40 portfolio at age 55. My wife (55) is still working at a hospital and plans to retire in a year or two. *At 65 Canadians get what is called OAS or Old Age Security which is about $450/mo today in addition to CPP (Canada Pension Plan). Our house has long been paid for and our 2 sons, one in London ON and the other in Vancouver BC are independent and thriving. Our health is good and we are happy with our Canadian Medical care. We never buy new vehicles, but just bought a year old Impala. I've always gone GM.

[Bob_Smith]

Hey Jarhead! Good to have you back.

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Funny but I thought about you a couple of times the last month or so and almost posted a "where the heck is jarhead?" last night.

Very good to have you back, and I hope you waved heartily as you drove by.

Our heat wave seems to have subsided. Its a frosty 68 here today and looks like we might get a little rain.

No fool like an old fool...my dads favorite saying. He used it recently when I showed him a news story about a bunch of 80 and 90 year olds that mixed it up over one guys overhandling of the lettuce at the retirement homes salad bar.

Hello Cut-throat.............yep, Wyoming and Montana;
great country. Hell, even if you never catch a fish,
it's worth the trip. Most of my time out there has been
on the bike. No fishing Sure is beautiful though.
But, couldn't live there due to the winters.

John Galt

Hi everyone,
Enjoying this forum for some time now.
I am 51 year old oregon engineer (what else) who is looking forward to ER some day. My wife is 56 and
is not employed since 1978. Our kids are moved out and we are finished paying for their college.
Our current net worth is about 550k.
We are both fairly frugal and our living expenses are running about 24k /year
with 72k of income. We are saving 14k per year into my 401k and 14k per year into roth and std ira.
Also saving 7k/year into company stock for a total yearly savings of 35k / year.
We have had no debt and have our house paid off , it has a value of about 280k. We have 250k of investments.
70% in equities and 30% in bonds and securities. 45k of this is in company stock (tech) and options everything
else is in the 401k or ira's.
I have a small fixed pension that kicks in at 55 for $350/month and projected combined SS benefits of about 22k
when I reach 62.(if they don't change it)
I am hoping I can ER in 5-7 years (the good Lord willing) .
I plan on dumping my company stock and options in a year or 2.

Cheers
Homestead

I thought the maximum combined IRA/RIRA is $3,500 (for those over 50 years of age). That means you and your wife can only contribute to $7000 per year.

You should try out some of retirement calculator to determine when you can retire. Good luck.

[wzd]

I agree with you, the max contribution per person is $3500 per year for std and Roth IRA's combined. Be careful you are not over contributing, as there are penalties.

There is one way you could have increased the amount, and if you did not contribute last year, you could have contributed for last year thru yesterday.

Reference: http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc451.html and http://www.irs.gov/publications/p590/index.html

Wayne

That wasnt clear from all the info I've read.
Thanks for the tip, I'll check it out.
Maybe I can roll it over to 2004.

Homestead

[bow-tie]

Hi all,

Been lurking at the site for a while after reading about all the good stuff in Newsweek.

Seems to be a tremendous amount of knowledge here, and its very diverse.

The SO and I are only 28, but I'm already chomping at the bit for a little financial independence...

Justin

[BigMoneyJim]

Quote:

The SO and I are only 28, but I'm already chomping at the bit for a little financial independence...

Welcome to the board! Well, 28 is a great age to be chompnig at the bit. I started thinking about it at 28 or 29 with a nest egg and a bunch of debt, and now 5 years later I am almost out of debt with the nest egg preserved. It's a great feeling. What I've read here and on the Retire Early Home Page has been more helpful than the personal finance books I've read, but the books are a good start.

[bow-tie]

Hey Big$$,

Great for you, and best of luck.

So far, we've fared well. Only debt is our home, with approx. 40k in equity, and a small school loan. I'm gunning to pay of the house within 5-7 years and then really kick the savings in the pants.

Currently, we're at about 30% of gross for LT savings, not counting short-term savings goals. I'm trying to get that higher without driving the wife batty...

[Twister]

Hello, All!

I am 53 and hubby is 57, both still working. Have paid off mortgage on homestead this month after careful deliberation, and have no other consumer debt. Have 2 rental properties and have plan in place to have them mortgage free in 3.5 years. Great long-term tenants and great marketable rental locations. Current net worth +/- $700K depending on what Greenspan says tomorrow. :>) Have bumped up annual savings from $28K to almost $40K these last couple of years.

Husband is hoping to be able to RE at 61 ( not really very early, I know!) if everything falls into place. I get to keep working indefinitely for health insurance coverage until we can find viable alternatives. Cursory checking into private health insurance rates indicate costs of $10,000/yr w/$2500 ded. Right now, that's our biggest hurdle on the horizon.

Neither of us wants to sit around the house, and will probably do some "work-lite" activity in some arena that interests us to create some nominal income.

You guys are a hoot, and are really at the top of your game with your analyses of financial components of FIRE. What a find! Best thing is that your feedback is contemporary, and virtually instantaneous.

Would be curious to find out if our John Galt has done voice-over work?

Thanks to everyone, and I am glad to be on board, legitimately, and finally!

T :>)

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I vote we get together and duct tape greenspans mouth, and his hands at his sides.

I've done some voice-overs. I sound exactly like james earl jones.

Hello TH. Good idea. Sign me up, and I actually
do sound like James Earl Jones.

John Galt

[BigMoneyJim]

Quote:

Hello TH. Good idea. Sign me up, and I actually do sound like James Earl Jones.

I vote you change your name to either Mufasa or Darth Vader.

[AltaRed]

Hey Zipper (from Apr 12th post). You one and the same from TWB?