Right about my 39th b'day. Megacorp's waves of layoffs & re-orgs had yanked my chain and moved my cheese enough to push me into thinking, "what if..." Things have kinda settled down at w*rk, but I'm awake now and plotting each move/year towards FI and ER. Knowing I've got Another Plan in the works helps so much in dealing with w*rk jibba jabba. Now if only I can accelerate DW's onboarding to LBYM... we've got a seriously fat double-income lifestyle balloon to deflate and redirect into powerful savings power. Crawl, walk, run - its all progress!
Age FIRE became a priority
- Thread starter UnrealizedPotential
- Start date
I'm impressed with so many thinking about this in their 20's. I just stumbled into RE by picking a career (law enforcement) in a spot that had a good pension plan. I was hired the week before turning 23 years old. I didn't give the pension plan much thought until my mid 30's and found myself recently divorced and deep in debt because of a house mortgage and new pickup truck. This meant that I could, theoretically, fully retire at age 48. And believe me, with some very rare exceptions you don't want 60-year-old people in law enforcement. Or for most even mid to late 50's.
The house mortgage was a good decision in that time and place, the pickup not so much.
At the time normal retirement was 50% of the last year's pay at 25 years service. I was liking my job so I figured on staying 30 years and going out at 60% but I knew I'd better have zero debt or very close to it.
Astonishingly, the deal got better (think local Black Swan event, long story) and I went out at 72% of final pay at 29+ years, COLA'd pension, I pay 30% of medical insurance premium for myself and DW for life, it becomes secondary to Medicare at 65. When I retired my net income went up slightly, not paying into the retirement system, SS, maxed out 457, and a few other items. Oh, and I never got seriously injured so exited with my limbs and mind more or less intact.
They stopped offering this plan back in the early 1980's. So basically, I feel like I won the lottery.
The house mortgage was a good decision in that time and place, the pickup not so much.
At the time normal retirement was 50% of the last year's pay at 25 years service. I was liking my job so I figured on staying 30 years and going out at 60% but I knew I'd better have zero debt or very close to it.Astonishingly, the deal got better (think local Black Swan event, long story) and I went out at 72% of final pay at 29+ years, COLA'd pension, I pay 30% of medical insurance premium for myself and DW for life, it becomes secondary to Medicare at 65. When I retired my net income went up slightly, not paying into the retirement system, SS, maxed out 457, and a few other items. Oh, and I never got seriously injured so exited with my limbs and mind more or less intact.
They stopped offering this plan back in the early 1980's. So basically, I feel like I won the lottery.
Hermit
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Two ages, actually....at 30 first, then at 46 for real
Retirement was always something I always thought about, but was not too focused on it. Saving for FI was always a habit. 1980 was not a great year to hit the j*b market when I graduated college. I always w*rked, so I thought in terms of standard SS retirement benefits.
I didn't realize any serious salary level until I got a govt j*b at age 30, 9 years after college graduation. I had a few decent j*bs with defense contractor companies from age 21 to age 30, but nothing that looked long term or had potential to have any sort of decent pension. There was no such thing as a 401(k) at that time.
I saw people who had been in those j*bs, for 10+ years, changing companies every few years and ending up with next to nothing all in one place. Hmmmm...not for me.
So I bit the bullet and applied for a govt j*b in 1988 at age 30 during a temporary hiring freeze easement. BINGO ! I now had the federal TSP Plan in my court. I started at 5%, then ramped it up to 10%, then gradually to 15% as permitted. I bought EE bonds through payroll deduction. I got a Roth IRA going.
I intended to w*rk until my age 50 and do an early out within the FERS system when my husband retired at age 55 under CSRS.
Great plan, right ?
My husband passed suddenly 5 years before he was eligible to retire, leaving me with his modest pension and health benefits at my age 46.
Talk about having to adapt quickly to Plan B...whew!
The more I thought about it, the survivor health benefits meant I had the means to decide if I wanted to keep doing what I was doing as a GS-13 Engineer. It was becoming a real mental struggle to keep at that, facing ugly politics every damn day.
Was the money worth it ? Nope...
So I maxed my TSP out to the IRS limit for 2.5 years, achieved a target principal amount, and said adios at age 48.
No regrets.
I can identify with a lot of your post, including the death of my spouse. The difference is I started with the government and at the time I had 15 years service, I quit and went to work for defense contractors. I cashed in all my government pension just to make sure that bridge was completely burned when I left. Never harbored any regrets about leaving and had a good career as an engineer in the defense industry. Retired at 63.
Hermit
Having a financial cushion was always important to me, and I started saving and LBYM at my first job. But my main concern was being able to handle unexpected curves such as a job loss or health issue. It's only recently that I've started to think about FI and RE .
Huston55
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
This thread is an interesting read. I'm actually surprised at the number of E-R.org members who didn't start seriously planning for ER until into their 30s or later. I'd have thought, on this forum, that would be rarer. But, it's a good lesson.
I see a bit of many of you in my and DW's path. We didn't start saving seriously until into our 30s, due largely to DW being in grad school. But, we made good financial decisions along the way. Paid off student loans immediately after school, had a car loan for only a couple years (owned that car for 18 yrs) and never again bought a new car, and stretched to buy our first house just before turning 30. So, looking back on it, even though we didn't have a lot of money invested before our 30s, we had built a solid financial foundation.
We started 401k contributions in our early 30s, as soon as eligible after leaving active duty Air Force. I remained in the Air Force Reserves long enough to retire, a decision I made primarily for financial reasons: the pension & the health care, mostly the health care. For the next decade, we were pretty much on financial auto-pilot: contributing (now the max 15%) to our 401k, starting IRAs, and earning "good" years for an Air Force Reserve retirement. Then, a seminal moment occurred for me; at age 42, I read "Your Money or Your Life." I was introduced to the concepts it contained, and things haven't been the same since...in a good way. That was really the first time that FIRE was a priority for us; it was also the time when I set the goal of retiring before age 60. Not sure why I picked 60, other than a mix of hope and pragmatism, and it seemed young to me.
Since that time, we've continued to max out all our tax-deferred investments but, also pumped up our after-tax accounts to the point that they are a substantial proportion of our NW. We (mostly me since I'm the more investment and finance oriented one) have gone through an 'active', individual stock picking phase (value investing) and, evolved to our current 'low cost passive index' approach. At age 51/49, we finalized a NW goal (with intermediate yearly milestones) that we were certain would provide the lifestyle we wanted in retirement, and committed to do whatever was necessary to meet that NW goal in 6 yrs by age 57/55, including cutting expenses and pumping up savings. We were going along smoothly, slightly above our NW growth curve, then 2008 came along...OUCH! But, we stuck to our commitment, socking away every extra $$$ we could, and didn't panic (but did have lots of restless nights). With a little help (well, a lot) from Mr. Market, we achieved our NW goal on schedule, at age 57/55. Then, a combination of OMY syndrome and finding the right circumstances to exit, extended us to where we are today: FI and Semi-FIREd (I plan to do some consulting for 2-3 yrs, primarily for the mental stimulation). I now understand why retired people say, "I don't know how I ever found enough time to work." And, I have to thank Joe Dominguez for helping get me there.
Happy Holidays!
I see a bit of many of you in my and DW's path. We didn't start saving seriously until into our 30s, due largely to DW being in grad school. But, we made good financial decisions along the way. Paid off student loans immediately after school, had a car loan for only a couple years (owned that car for 18 yrs) and never again bought a new car, and stretched to buy our first house just before turning 30. So, looking back on it, even though we didn't have a lot of money invested before our 30s, we had built a solid financial foundation.
We started 401k contributions in our early 30s, as soon as eligible after leaving active duty Air Force. I remained in the Air Force Reserves long enough to retire, a decision I made primarily for financial reasons: the pension & the health care, mostly the health care. For the next decade, we were pretty much on financial auto-pilot: contributing (now the max 15%) to our 401k, starting IRAs, and earning "good" years for an Air Force Reserve retirement. Then, a seminal moment occurred for me; at age 42, I read "Your Money or Your Life." I was introduced to the concepts it contained, and things haven't been the same since...in a good way. That was really the first time that FIRE was a priority for us; it was also the time when I set the goal of retiring before age 60. Not sure why I picked 60, other than a mix of hope and pragmatism, and it seemed young to me.
Since that time, we've continued to max out all our tax-deferred investments but, also pumped up our after-tax accounts to the point that they are a substantial proportion of our NW. We (mostly me since I'm the more investment and finance oriented one) have gone through an 'active', individual stock picking phase (value investing) and, evolved to our current 'low cost passive index' approach. At age 51/49, we finalized a NW goal (with intermediate yearly milestones) that we were certain would provide the lifestyle we wanted in retirement, and committed to do whatever was necessary to meet that NW goal in 6 yrs by age 57/55, including cutting expenses and pumping up savings. We were going along smoothly, slightly above our NW growth curve, then 2008 came along...OUCH! But, we stuck to our commitment, socking away every extra $$$ we could, and didn't panic (but did have lots of restless nights). With a little help (well, a lot) from Mr. Market, we achieved our NW goal on schedule, at age 57/55. Then, a combination of OMY syndrome and finding the right circumstances to exit, extended us to where we are today: FI and Semi-FIREd (I plan to do some consulting for 2-3 yrs, primarily for the mental stimulation). I now understand why retired people say, "I don't know how I ever found enough time to work." And, I have to thank Joe Dominguez for helping get me there.
Happy Holidays!
TimSF
Recycles dryer sheets
For me, about 40. By then, I had worked about 10 years in my law career and knew that I wanted to work at most only 10 years more.
swakyaby
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
At age 18, my mother would say, "You need to learn how to cook! How are you going to get married if you can't cook?!" That was when I decided FI was my goal.
After getting married (despite my questionably domestic skills), it took until age 39 to pay off my educational debt (>$200K). By age 43, my income was enough to max out tax-deferred and substantial amounts to after tax savings. At that rate, I realized I could ER in my early 50s. The cost of health care is the only question mark that keeps me working another year or two.
After getting married (despite my questionably domestic skills), it took until age 39 to pay off my educational debt (>$200K). By age 43, my income was enough to max out tax-deferred and substantial amounts to after tax savings. At that rate, I realized I could ER in my early 50s. The cost of health care is the only question mark that keeps me working another year or two.
eyeonFI
Recycles dryer sheets
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- 105
I've been focused on FI since before I understood the concept. Mom took me to open a bank account when I was about 7, I started finding ways to earn $, saving, and never looked back.
I guess my first inkling of RE may have been when I opened my first IRA at 15. I'd say I got more seriously focused on FIRE at 29, when I put together my first spreadsheet forecasting my spending, saving, and net worth. I saw I could probably retire in my 40s, and set that as my goal. (I'm setting the pieces in place to call it quits next year, at 44.)
I guess my first inkling of RE may have been when I opened my first IRA at 15. I'd say I got more seriously focused on FIRE at 29, when I put together my first spreadsheet forecasting my spending, saving, and net worth. I saw I could probably retire in my 40s, and set that as my goal. (I'm setting the pieces in place to call it quits next year, at 44.)
FIREontheMountain
Dryer sheet wannabe
- Joined
- Dec 3, 2013
- Messages
- 19
I was 27 and going through a particularly challenging time at work. I started maxing out all my retirement accounts and haven't looked back in the 4 years since. DW and I are saving about 40% of our income while she is in graduate school and plan to increase that dramatically when she finds employment in a few years.
Not having options is what did it for me.
Not having options is what did it for me.
Like others on this thread, the urge for FI and RE came to me at different times.
The pursuit of FI was early. I think it was around the time that I got my first paycheck. The idea of relying on others for my livelihood never rang true to me. LBYM, lost cost indexing, marrying well, etc. all followed.
The urge to RE was about age 40 or so. I had been fortunate that my passion was my profession, so RE was not about running away from a boring job. However, as I grew older I started to feel the opportunity cost from this single-minded pursuit of a career.
So here I am. FI and on the edge of RE.
- Zorba
The pursuit of FI was early. I think it was around the time that I got my first paycheck. The idea of relying on others for my livelihood never rang true to me. LBYM, lost cost indexing, marrying well, etc. all followed.
The urge to RE was about age 40 or so. I had been fortunate that my passion was my profession, so RE was not about running away from a boring job. However, as I grew older I started to feel the opportunity cost from this single-minded pursuit of a career.
So here I am. FI and on the edge of RE.
- Zorba
CoolChange
Full time employment: Posting here.
- Joined
- Apr 11, 2006
- Messages
- 969
From my early teens, maybe even earlier, I have dreamed of being both FI and RE'd. My family could not conceive of either.
Wall $treet Week with Louis Rukeyser was regular weekend viewing for me long before I could drive. (I only wish I had taken some of the lessons about time in the market to heart back then.)
Luckily, I did not follow some of the things which sounded like good ideas a bit later; I specifically remember thinking that Wealth Without Risk by Charles Givens had a lot of good ideas back when I was an undergrad. This was probably the first book I read which proposed RE long before late 50's early 60's as being a real possibility. And, I do appreciate that bit of insight.
Wall $treet Week with Louis Rukeyser was regular weekend viewing for me long before I could drive. (I only wish I had taken some of the lessons about time in the market to heart back then.)
Luckily, I did not follow some of the things which sounded like good ideas a bit later; I specifically remember thinking that Wealth Without Risk by Charles Givens had a lot of good ideas back when I was an undergrad. This was probably the first book I read which proposed RE long before late 50's early 60's as being a real possibility. And, I do appreciate that bit of insight.
Car-Guy
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
I seriously began considering ER when I was 50 but I realized I needed to continue to work until 55 in order to get full retirement benefits at mega corp. So once I made it to 55, the DW and I talked and agreed I would stay until I was 57.5 even though we were already FI. There was just to much money on the table to ignore (e.g. golden handcuffs) Before I knew it, I was talking myself into another year and then another (just pure greed). Finally, retired at 60. Not sure I'd call that early but that's what can happen with the OMY syndrome and greed (YMMV)
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RockyMtn
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
I was about 33. Got my first taste of stock options and realized that if I kept this up and continued advancing my career I could be done at 50. Could have gone at 49, and almost did, but got talked into one more two year contract. Finally pulled the plug just after my 51st bday. Best thing I ever did was get serious about saving!
Rick_Head
Recycles dryer sheets
About 57. That was when: it was clear I was FI, my j*b was no longer fun (it was for many,many years), mega-corp handed me a mini-p!iss-off that I didn't have to put up with any more.
ChicagoGal
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Late 40s for me. My father and grandparents all worked into their 70s, mostly because they owned their own companies and loved what they were doing. So retiring at 65 seemed "early", relatively speaking. And was always so far away, that I never thought much about other options.
But by my late 40s, a few things started to happen. I was starting to get tired of my megacorp j*b. And the few friends I knew who were retiring early started doing so at younger and younger ages. When someone retired who was my age at the time (48), I figured I should look into it. Turned out with a few tweaks, like increasing my 401k contributions from 5% to 12%, I could be FI earlier than I thought. Which just made me want it even more
Wish I had been more focused earlier, but such is life.
But by my late 40s, a few things started to happen. I was starting to get tired of my megacorp j*b. And the few friends I knew who were retiring early started doing so at younger and younger ages. When someone retired who was my age at the time (48), I figured I should look into it. Turned out with a few tweaks, like increasing my 401k contributions from 5% to 12%, I could be FI earlier than I thought. Which just made me want it even more
Wish I had been more focused earlier, but such is life.
25 for me, 24 for DW. We started maxing available retirement contributions (as noted above, $2000 IRA, whoopee!), with view toward retiring at 50--never really thought about FI independently, as we saw them as flipside of the same coin. Continued maxing all available accounts over the years (save for nondeductible IRAs after a few years)
FIL retired at 59 not too long after that, which reaffirmed it. (recent holiday visiting with In-Laws as they continue to enjoy retirement in their mid-80s was nice!)
Kids, with 15 years of one real income, pushed the goal line back, but we are closing in for a mid/late 50s retirement, in just a few more years.
FIL retired at 59 not too long after that, which reaffirmed it. (recent holiday visiting with In-Laws as they continue to enjoy retirement in their mid-80s was nice!)
Kids, with 15 years of one real income, pushed the goal line back, but we are closing in for a mid/late 50s retirement, in just a few more years.
robnplunder
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
I can't remember when. That's proof enough that I need to retire. My brain cells are decreasing and I can't hold much/new information without letting the old ones go.
Started serious saving/planning in my mid to late 20's, went to see a financial advisor and told him that my aim was to get out at 50. He told me to spend all my money and 'live' my life, I told him that when I'm retired I will be able to 'live' my life. His attitude was work until you drop, screw that! My plans have come together rather well, should be out at 52.5
Legally_dead
Recycles dryer sheets
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I am 30 now. I've focused on FI since I was about 25. RE is something that has interested me since about 29. My hope is to reach FI by 40 and possibly RE at that time too. It's a cliche, but the best things in life are free. All I really need is an accessible library and family and friends nearby. Throw in an occasional vacation and I will be very happy. For me, once my minimal expenses are covered (40k/year not including health care), there is no reason to keep working. Life is too short to spend it working for material stuff. We are off to a good start. Paid for house and no debt. Net worth is $750,000 and we are saving $75k/yr.
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Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum
LitGal
Full time employment: Posting here.
As With Others, There Were Several Times....
Mid-Thirties: Juggling the grading of reams of essays, rearing young son with special needs, husband diagnosed with incurable (hereditary) lung condition, financial pressures of living in the SF Bay Area
Early Fifties: Even though DH and I max out 401K's and Roths, I purchase ten years of STRS service credit, we LBYM and save aggressively, it looks like retirement can't happen until mid-60's, at best. I plan to teach full-time to put DS through college. Meanwhile DH's health continues to deteriorate.
Mid-Fifties: DS decides college is not for him; he'd rather pursue a job that doesn't require a degree. With sad hearts, we support his efforts to move in that direction. Fortunately, with his good work ethic, people skills (plus a solid K-12 education, much of it in private schools), AND his optician wife (with an excellent head on her shoulders, plus a business degree), DS seems to be progressing just fine.
So, the good news for me was that, while teaching another 4 years (and waiting for him to change his mind and return to college), he insisted it would not happen. So the college $ went straight to our retirement funds.
DH's health continued to decline. So he went on SSD at 62 and I retired at 59 (3 yrs. earlier than expected).
Have never regretted it.
(Plus, DS revels in his earnings at a local Buick dealership where he is a service writer. He enjoys my reminders that -- at 26-- he is earning more per year than I ever did as an English teacher.) And, fortunately, he listens to his wife. They are funding 401K's/Roths in their twenties.
Now, if he would just curb his trips to casinos......but that's for another thread.
Mid-Thirties: Juggling the grading of reams of essays, rearing young son with special needs, husband diagnosed with incurable (hereditary) lung condition, financial pressures of living in the SF Bay Area
Early Fifties: Even though DH and I max out 401K's and Roths, I purchase ten years of STRS service credit, we LBYM and save aggressively, it looks like retirement can't happen until mid-60's, at best. I plan to teach full-time to put DS through college. Meanwhile DH's health continues to deteriorate.
Mid-Fifties: DS decides college is not for him; he'd rather pursue a job that doesn't require a degree. With sad hearts, we support his efforts to move in that direction. Fortunately, with his good work ethic, people skills (plus a solid K-12 education, much of it in private schools), AND his optician wife (with an excellent head on her shoulders, plus a business degree), DS seems to be progressing just fine.
So, the good news for me was that, while teaching another 4 years (and waiting for him to change his mind and return to college), he insisted it would not happen. So the college $ went straight to our retirement funds.
DH's health continued to decline. So he went on SSD at 62 and I retired at 59 (3 yrs. earlier than expected).
Have never regretted it.
(Plus, DS revels in his earnings at a local Buick dealership where he is a service writer. He enjoys my reminders that -- at 26-- he is earning more per year than I ever did as an English teacher.) And, fortunately, he listens to his wife. They are funding 401K's/Roths in their twenties.
Now, if he would just curb his trips to casinos......but that's for another thread.
Niuatoputapu
Recycles dryer sheets
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- Nov 30, 2014
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- 198
I guess I have always thought about FI, but only recently thought about ER.
At age 42, in 1999, I thought FI could happen within ten years. The market correction of 2000 changed those calculations.
At age 50, in 2007, I started my FI worksheet and thought FI was within five years. Well, the stock market of 2008 changed those calculations.
Now at age 57, in 2014, after five years of market gains and ten years of extreme saving, FI is within sight and ER planned for June. The next market correction will not change the plan.
At age 42, in 1999, I thought FI could happen within ten years. The market correction of 2000 changed those calculations.
At age 50, in 2007, I started my FI worksheet and thought FI was within five years. Well, the stock market of 2008 changed those calculations.
Now at age 57, in 2014, after five years of market gains and ten years of extreme saving, FI is within sight and ER planned for June. The next market correction will not change the plan.
