Hey everybody. I figured it's time for a refresher course in LBYM and prep for FIRE.
When last we left this hero, I was happily ensconced in middle management as was my wife, and we were enjoying our upper-middle class home in a happy suburb with three awesome kids.
But we had fallen off the FIRE wagon a bit. Despite getting our household income up to ~270k, we were only saving about $40k. We were sure enjoying life, though! Hawaiian vacations, lots of techie toys, Disneyland primo season passes, weekends away, etc. etc. We thought in the back of our minds that with my pension at 55, extra payments on the house having it paid off by then and the money we were saving that we had retire at 55 in the bag. But I realized that at age 38 I was simply not doing enough. So with renewed vigor we jump back into the community to listen, learn, and modify our attitudes about money again.
Age 38/37, $270k annual income
NW: $400k
New savings rate (including retirement funds): 75k
3 kids, age 8, 5, and 2
Mortgage P&I is $1805 a month @ 3.5%
Owe small amount on cars at zero/near zero interest and no other debts.
Again, came back to re-indoctrinate myself, as a token first move, we got rid of our cable t.v. and land line, and reduced our internet speed, reducing that expense by $140/month. Yay baby steps! (and yay Netflix instant streaming)
When last we left this hero, I was happily ensconced in middle management as was my wife, and we were enjoying our upper-middle class home in a happy suburb with three awesome kids.
But we had fallen off the FIRE wagon a bit. Despite getting our household income up to ~270k, we were only saving about $40k. We were sure enjoying life, though! Hawaiian vacations, lots of techie toys, Disneyland primo season passes, weekends away, etc. etc. We thought in the back of our minds that with my pension at 55, extra payments on the house having it paid off by then and the money we were saving that we had retire at 55 in the bag. But I realized that at age 38 I was simply not doing enough. So with renewed vigor we jump back into the community to listen, learn, and modify our attitudes about money again.
Age 38/37, $270k annual income
NW: $400k
New savings rate (including retirement funds): 75k
3 kids, age 8, 5, and 2
Mortgage P&I is $1805 a month @ 3.5%
Owe small amount on cars at zero/near zero interest and no other debts.
Again, came back to re-indoctrinate myself, as a token first move, we got rid of our cable t.v. and land line, and reduced our internet speed, reducing that expense by $140/month. Yay baby steps! (and yay Netflix instant streaming)