Making the Decision...

[Gsquared]

I only recently registered for this forum, but had been "lurking" for some time before that. I appreciate people taking the time to provide their thoughts and perspectives. Hopefully I can provide contributions going forward.

I have "interviewed" several financial planners in the past, including fee-only planners. My conclusion? I haven't been particularly impressed, or convinced that the value they can provide is worth the costs. As a result, I continue to read and learn everything I can about managing finances - which is how I originally came across the forum.

I'm currently 53. For some time I have tracked a window where I felt I could FIRE. I'm now entering that window. Looking toward it was easy. Now that I am there, it is a totally different situation. It brings a whole new level of dealing with uncertainty, both for me and for DW. And once done, the feedback loop on whether it was a good decision is not real quick.

So, I'm interested in how people dealt with making such a huge decision. Thanks!

 

[freebird5825]

welcome to the board...i know i'm learning a lot from the discussions.
lacking other resources, and not knowing any better , i did my FIRE planning on a budget spreadsheet customized from a generic one found at a major software company's template library.
basically, i used the Point A (baseline) to Point B (new datum) method. it was winter and i had time on my hands.
Point A was my current income while enslaved, oops employed and ALL expenses going out. I use automatic bill payment thru my bank account and ATM for all cash so it was easy to get the data. i went thru my checkbook and a year's worth of credit card stmts (requested from cc company) to get an idea of non-periodic expenditures, toys, mad money, memberships, subscriptions, car repair & tires, eyeglasses, once a year stuff, etc
Point B was a duplicate of that info, with the income data changed to the FIRE situation. the next step of ID and trimming frivolous expenses naturally followed.
sounds obvious, but this baselining your budget exercise is crucial to the FIRE decision. i think the experts would call it a cash flow anslysis. i had a major insurance co rep offer to do this exercise for me for $300-$500. HA!
i know there are better ones out there, and the folks here will point you to that.
any financial wizards here on the board ? i'm certainly not.

 

[lonnie]

me too!

I am 54 and in the same place. Every calculater I check says I am OK financially (over 95%), but it is still hard to go from producing income to mainly consuming it. I too am interested in how to consumate this decision. I have been a steady worker since I graduated from college at age 20.

 

[REWahoo]

Gsquared and lonnie, welcome to the board. If you haven't already seen it, here is a thread that might interest you: http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f29/handling-just-one-more-year-syndrome-20091.html

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

I've found FireCalc (see link at bottom of the window) to be the most useful tool and you can work all the assumptions over and over to test your readiness.

The reality is that there will always be uncertainty. Unless you have such large savings or spartan lifestyle that it virtually doesn't matter, you just have to accept that reality. Market behavior, inflation, health insurance, social security, geopolitical crises, etc. etc. - there is alway a wildcard out there.

IMHO, the antidote is flexibility in your future life plans and expenses. Viewed another way, it's having enough cushion in your planning that the worst plausible scenario would result only in cutting back your pleasures and not so much you basics. Figuring out that number is your homework assignment .

 

[Jarhead*]

I've found FireCalc (see link at bottom of the window) to be the most useful tool and you can work all the assumptions over and over to test your readiness.

The reality is that there will always be uncertainty. Unless you have such large savings or spartan lifestyle that it virtually doesn't matter, you just have to accept that reality. Market behavior, inflation, health insurance, social security, geopolitical crises, etc. etc. - there is alway a wildcard out there.

IMHO, the antidote is flexibility in your future life plans and expenses. Viewed another way, it's having enough cushion in your planning that the worst plausible scenario would result only in cutting back your pleasures and not so much you basics. Figuring out that number is your homework assignment .

ReWahoo: Drop that weighted dougnut off your bat, you're warmed up enough.

You're up!

 

[REWahoo]

[...stepping up to the plate]

Rich old buddy, for some reason the phrase "physician, heal thyself" comes to mind.

 

[Jarhead*]

[...stepping up to the plate]

Rich old buddy, for some reason the phrase "physician, heal thyself" comes to mind.

If tag-teaming our friend Rich gets him off the "dime", our work on this board is almost done.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Who, me? Only thing I'm waitin' on is for gas to drop to $1.25 a gallon.

I'm picking up a new set of clubs tomorrow, a hot date with Big Bertha. Is that a good sign?

Heck, just one more year. Or thereabouts.

 

[REWahoo]

Heck, just one more year. Or thereabouts.

 

[DblDoc]

Hey give Rich a break. He did dip his toe into the water. He's still trying to figure out if the water is fine...

DD

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Hey give Rich a break. He did dip his toe into the water. He's still trying to figure out if the water is fine...

A break? From these guys? Right... But thanks for the pat on the back.

So what's your plan, DD? You're still a puppy, but mighty suspicious that you're sniffing around an early retirement board.

 

[DblDoc]

Puppy? I wish. We do still have ~ 10yrs to go based on our conservative plan which will have me ~ 56yo. Late start etc and it wasn't until DW discovered this and the Diehards site that we got our act together and started planning.

DD