Newbie here...42 and getting close?

[Travelwanted]

Hello all - some really informative posts on here. Thanks to all those who share and help give insight to the FIRE topic.

Me; I have been blessed to have a very high paying but stressful career. As I have learned that money is more about security than the fancy things one can buy with it, I have decided to RE. The question is when. And yes, I have used FIREcalc and other calculators. I really like MSN retirement calculator.

Current vitals:
42, married, 2 kids
no mortgage
7.5 million in investable assets, mostly after tax dollars
saving 1 million/yr
retirement package will be 1.3-1.8 million payable over 5 years
100k in 529

I want to retire in 2.5 years. I know the numbers are large but I once I retire there is no going back.

We plan to travel the world over the 5-8 years after retirement renting as we go and home schooling our kids.

Advice? Suggestions?

 

[nash031]

Hello all - some really informative posts on here. Thanks to all those who share and help give insight to the FIRE topic.

Me; I have been blessed to have a very high paying but stressful career. As I have learned that money is more about security than the fancy things one can buy with it, I have decided to RE. The question is when. And yes, I have used FIREcalc and other calculators. I really like MSN retirement calculator.

Current vitals:
42, married, 2 kids
no mortgage
7.5 million in investable assets, mostly after tax dollars
saving 1 million/yr
retirement package will be 1.3-1.8 million payable over 5 years
100k in 529

I want to retire in 2.5 years. I know the numbers are large but I once I retire there is no going back.

We plan to travel the world over the 5-8 years after retirement renting as we go and home schooling our kids.

Advice? Suggestions?

First off, congratulations!!

Second, my immediate answer to "when" is "whenever you want". With those kinds of assets, you can live a pretty damn good lifestyle and never look back if you retired today.

In order to modify that to be a useful answer, need to know what your annual expenses are/expected to be.

 

[pb4uski]

...In order to modify that to be a useful answer, need to know what your annual expenses are/expected to be.

+1 if you need $1 million a year to support your lifestyle then you don't have enough. If you can live comfortably on a couple hundred thousand a year then you have plenty.

 

[Travelwanted]

HI Nash-

Thanks. Honestly I don't believe I can now. Our current burn rate is about 13,000k/mo.
I plan to spend 15-20k/mo in retirement. I may not need that much but I want to put my estimate on the high end of the spectrum. As I noted we will be traveling a lot so some expenses will go way up (rent, transportation, food, entertainment), but I will be selling the house and dropping most insurance except umbrella and LI.

 

[pb4uski]

Your $7.5m should easily be able to provide $225k a year (in current $) @ 3% WR or even $250 would only be a 3.3%WR. There's your $20k per month and that doesn't reflect any of your retirement package. What you waiting for?

 

[Fermion]

I would work a few more years until you have about 20 million, just to be extra safe.

 

[comicbookgujy]

I would work a few more years until you have about 20 million, just to be extra safe.

LOL

 

[Fermion]

LOL

I don't find it funny. Have you seen how much a ticket to the ISS is going nowadays? And with the Ukraine mess, it is likely to be even more expensive!

 

[Turboslacker]

I don't find it funny. Have you seen how much a ticket to the ISS is going nowadays? And with the Ukraine mess, it is likely to be even more expensive!

It's absolutely not funny...it's hilarious.

 

[Turboslacker]

Travel,
You have won the Financial Independence game, my Friend. Get the hell out while you have your sanity and leave that unhealthy, stressful lifestyle behind. Time to enjoy life to the fullest.

 

[Travelwanted]

Thanks everyone! I know the numbers look good. I just feel like there is a cliff I am about to jump off with no turning back. The jump looks safe but...

Your comments are good (and funny!). This has helped my solidify what I already knew.

 

[jclarksnakes]

"7.5 million in investable assets.........advice suggestions"

I would call the office and say I am retired and will not be in tomorrow or ever. Instead of going to work tomorrow you could spend the day on the internet scheduling your first travel adventure.

 

[Ready]

I don't think you need much advice from us here, but if you struggle with what to spend all of your money on, I'm sure we can help you come up with a few suggestions.

Congratulations! Now go enjoy your life and stop worrying about work.

 

[retire2020]

Bump up that 529 and secure your kids education before you call it quits. 100K is too less - I would save 200K/per kid in 529 and you should have no problem with kind of asset you already have.
Congrats on accumulating 7.5 M at such an young enjoy. As others have said…you're good to RE any day

 

[38Chevy454]

You have fairly high expenses ($13k/mo current), but as others pointed out, your current investments will allow you to get that and more with a conservative withdrawl rate. Plus you get the pension on top of that for next 5 years which will essentially cover your expenses without having to do any withdrawls.

How secure is your pension? I also think adding a bit to the kid's 529 is a good idea, in next 2.5 years until you retire. I assume you will be adding to the investments so your nestegg will be even larger in 2.5 years than it is currently.

So work/survive the next 2.5 years and then make the jump! Although I agree you can make the jump today and have very low risk or required change of lifestyle.

 

[Travelwanted]

So it may sound crazy (actually probably not) but I was considering adding a year..OMY syndrome. However, I had a rude reminder of why I want to FIRE last night. Got a call about an angry client due to lack of communication from my business. I had no idea...UGH! OMY Syndrome cured!!!

And, to top it off, I recalculated my expenses and realized I had double counted many items as they are paid via CC. I had listed utilities, insurance, donations separately from my average CC bill. It dropped me from >13k/mo to <11k/mo instantly! Now my numbers look even safer!

2 years, 3 months...not soon enough.

 

[38Chevy454]

2 weeks, 3 days...not soon enough.

fixed it for ya'