Cool FIRE article in MSN Money

[Big_Hitter]

Just my guess. But big rental revenue doesn't appear necessary for their fairly modest lifestyle and love of budget travel.

sounds like they don't have to worry about getting stuck next to a fat guy on a plane

best wishes to them!

 

[Senator]

Hopefully they have a huge emergency fund.
Just in case a bear market comes along. Or a market crash.

I think many people over-think this. There is no real need to work in the USA. When I was a Section 8 landlord, my renters worked for cash and made decent spending money.

Plus, they had a 3BR house to live in , all utilities paid. Money to buy groceries. And some pocket money deposited every month. At Christmas, they got toys from various groups. Great medical care.

And they were effectively 'retired' at 18 years old.

This couple seems to want to be more self-sufficient, but there are plenty of ways to do the same thing at an even younger age.

 

[AnonEMouse]

Hey everyone, I just got an update from them 50 years in the future from fNet (future internet - don't ask how it works).*

Outliving our retirement funds
"At 88 and 87, I'm glad my wife and I are alive, but scared we'll live much longer. We're out of money."

Outliving our retirement funds - Baltimore Sun





*Actually, I just happened on a relevant op-ed today from a failed retirement I thought I'd share. Lesson: don't count on income streams always being there.

Unfortunately for them, at that age, working is likely out of the question especially with one of them having dementia/Alzheimer. Though I wonder why they don't try a reverse mortgage or something. Sad story, but a reminder of why some folks on here have plans A-F to fall back on.

 

[bclover]

You mean the ones that equate homelessness and sleeping in one's car with camping in an upfitted 4x4 on a multi-month overland trip while you have a million bucks in the bank?

Or were there other naysayers with more reasonable objections?

If Bill Gates decided to sleep on the beach on Richard Branson's private island because the weather was perfect (and because he could!), I imagine some here would say "not the lifestyle for me / no way would I retire to a life of deprivation like that! / shoulda saved more, Bill!".

Lol yep because no matter how much lipstick you put on a pig its still a pig. Sleeping in the trunk of a car is still the trunk of a car. You can slap all the hydraulics you want, still the back seat.

So yes, no way would I retire to that nor was I overly impressed.
That's all

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[daylatedollarshort]

Hey everyone, I just got an update from them 50 years in the future from fNet (future internet - don't ask how it works).*

Good article. I live in a neighborhood with a lot of elderly retirees who were once white collar professionals and unfortunately this does not seem to be an uncommon problem. Most people in the general population just aren't good at long term planning or have the ability to plan for worst case scenarios, which are not unusual over decades of retirement.

Our neighbors are part of the reason we still follow a LBYMs lifestyle. We don't want to end up like some of them. We're leaving a cushion for the "unknown unknowns".

 

[FUEGO]

Lol yep because no matter how much lipstick you put on a pig its still a pig. Sleeping in the trunk of a car is still the trunk of a car. You can slap all the hydraulics you want, still the back seat.

So yes, no way would I retire to that nor was I overly impressed.
That's all

Totally agree. $500k class A diesel motorhome or homelessness. That's all.

 

[FIYes]

Interesting the controversy that this article generated on an Early retirement forum. Certainly this young couple doesn't have the gold plated, belt and suspenders plan espoused by many members of this forum, but I am surprised by the vitriol of some of the responses here. Yes, they may end up going back to work after a few years, but I give them credit for at least trying to follow their dreams. This thread did inspire me to check out their blog. Their numbers and plans don't seem quite as solid as I would choose, but they are young and optimistic and hopefully flexible enough to make it work. I wish them well.


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[Big_Hitter]

I wish them well.


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me too. at least they are giving it a shot

 

[Major Tom]

According to the logic displayed in this thread by some, there is no substantial difference between a hippie with no assets other than a beat up VW van and a half cashed bong and the same hippie with a million dollars in income producing assets (plus the van and bong).

I just wanted to go on record as saying that having a million dollars, a van, and a bong sounds like great fun

This has been an interesting thread. Having taken the time to stand back and view it from a distance, so to speak, I realized that I can see all the points of view expressed here and can, at least partially, agree with them all. The thing that put my hackles up though, was the abrupt, opinionated and frankly, curmudgeonly way in which some of the dissenting opinions were expressed, and not the actual content of those opinions.

We all communicate differently, I suppose.

I think many people over-think this.

Hangonasec. Are you saying that in this forum, people are actually overthinking things?

One of my favorite photo blogs: Van Life

I just briefly checked out his Instagram, and love the photos. The big Lewbowski quote on his Instagram profile is great too! As a bit of a square, I really appreciate the presence of creative spirits. They knock off my corners and prevent me from disappearing down the rabbit hole of eternal squaredom

 

[karen1972]

I'm going to make it my goal this year to earn $50k writing about travel and retirement. Except that sounds way too much like work. And might interfere with, you know, actual travel and retirement pursuits. I bet Travis and Amanda at FreedomwithBruno would agree with me.



You should write about it. $50k easy money, no problem, no skills required. Show those millennials what a little effort, hard work and dedication can do.

well for my honey that would be retirement.. he loves writing, blogs all the time but not for money..and is never ever going to stop podcasting and yacking whether people listen or pay him or not...thats what he wants Financial independence for.. to be free to write/talk about anything he wants rather than be restricted to what a publisher/boss wants. Each to their own... its not work when its your passion and you can stop at any moment because you don't need to get paid.. if you happen to, bonus.

 

[mh]

Your bias is showing.

Not everybody wants big money. Not everybody travels expensively (their method seems exceedingly cheap).

Who the heck wants to retire this way? This couple.

And while some (maybe not most) people on here would laugh at a 1M retirement, in the real world there are a lot of people who would kill to have that much money.

Again, just because it's not what you would want doesn't make it a bad idea, and it certainly doesn't make it a lie like you've been arguing. To claim these articles are lies when there are clearly people living this way is, in itself, a lie. Why do you care so much how this couple lives? Let it be.

Nobody is arguing that they aren't living this way. But at 30, the issue is that their margin for error appears to very thin which seems to be glossed over. The penalty for error 10 years down the road is likely to be quite a bit more onerous than 10MY alternative


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[MichaelB]

Hangonasec. Are you saying that in this forum, people are actually overthinking things?

Overthinking? Here? Can't happen. On the other hand, maybe we need a thread on that. With a poll. This is a matter we should look into. Do we overthink, if so by how much, and what should be done to address this.

 

[2017ish]

Overthinking? Here? Can't happen. On the other hand, maybe we need a thread on that. With a poll. This is a matter we should look into. Do we overthink, if so by how much, and what should be done to address this.

The Poll would need an option for "I haven't given this much thought."

 

[FUEGO]

Hey everyone, I just got an update from them 50 years in the future from fNet (future internet - don't ask how it works).*

Outliving our retirement funds
"At 88 and 87, I'm glad my wife and I are alive, but scared we'll live much longer. We're out of money."

Outliving our retirement funds - Baltimore Sun

Unfortunately for them, at that age, working is likely out of the question especially with one of them having dementia/Alzheimer. Though I wonder why they don't try a reverse mortgage or something. Sad story, but a reminder of why some folks on here have plans A-F to fall back on.

Note to self: don't invest the bulk of my savings in "safe" investments like CD's, treasuries, and money market accounts that barely keep even with inflation. 80 year old me won't be happy living broke!

Also, don't count on a six percent return to fund the next 60 years of life.

That's all self. Back to having fun.

 

[purplesky]

Nobody is arguing that they aren't living this way. But at 30, the issue is that their margin for error appears to very thin which seems to be glossed over. The penalty for error 10 years down the road is likely to be quite a bit more onerous than 10MY alternative


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And we are now down to 25k a year for life. The msn money article reported a $1 million portfolio. I wondered about the house purchase expense.

Hopefully the renters won't be cooking meth or fixing their Harley in the living room.

 

[purplesky]

Overthinking? Here? Can't happen. On the other hand, maybe we need a thread on that. With a poll. This is a matter we should look into. Do we overthink, if so by how much, and what should be done to address this.

They just changed the math.

This thread is just getting started.

 

[rodi]

And we are now down to 25k a year for life. The msn money suggested a $1 million portfolio. I wondered about the house purchase expense.

Hopefully the renters won't be cooking meth or fixing their Harley in the living room.

My aren't you a ray of sunshine.

Since they live in the same house - I would imagine they will go through pretty thorough vetting of any long term rental candidates. That's what we did when we rented out our companion unit/guest house. If they were cooking meth or fixing a harley in the living room we'd know since the casita is on our lot and they have to past our house to get to theirs.


That said - I agree that they're portfolio, post home purchase, is smaller than I'd be comfortable with.... But I have a family of 4 and like creature comforts.

It is their choice, they seem adept at living frugally, it sounds like they are using a variable withdrawal strategy (4%/year - regardless of portfolio size - so after good years, they get more $$, after bad years, they get less)... so theoretically, they will never run out of money if they follow this rule. They might need to supplement with work/rental income/blog income, in bad years, though.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

And we are now down to 25k a year for life. The msn money article reported a $1 million portfolio. I wondered about the house purchase expense.

Hopefully the renters won't be cooking meth or fixing their Harley in the living room.

Don't be so negative. It could be something fun :

Man Who Rented His Home On Airbnb Returns To Find An Orgy

“I had to call 911 and have these ‘XXX Freak Fest’ people removed from my apartment, my super is having me evicted by my landlord, and I do not feel safe here anymore since hundreds of people got a text saying there’s an XXX sex fest in my apartment and continue showing up, according to the doormen who I’ll never be able to look in the face again,” he wrote."

Newlyweds return home to find cocaine fueled orgy among Airbnb "guests"

 

[FUEGO]

Don't be so negative. It could be something fun :

Man Who Rented His Home On Airbnb Returns To Find An Orgy

That plus a van, a bong, and a million dollars and even the most ardent detractors in this thread will be signing up for this whole "retire in your 30's" lifestyle.

 

[Hamlet]

Nobody is arguing that they aren't living this way. But at 30, the issue is that their margin for error appears to very thin which seems to be glossed over. The penalty for error 10 years down the road is likely to be quite a bit more onerous than 10MY alternative


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Is the penalty really that high though? They'll just have to find a way to earn a little money. They'll still be very young, and their income needs are modest. Is it really terrible if one of them has to get a job in 10 years?

There aren't retirement police that shoot people who run low on money in retirement.

 

[aim-high]

+1

That kind of portfolio, budget and young age has no space for any kind of error.

Unless they start making ton of money of off their blog.

And the added point that some are making is that it may be a bit disingenuous to start a blog about how you're early retired when the numbers clearly wouldn't support it by most objective measures. With a hope of the income from said blog making up the difference.

There's no difference between that and working part-time in some other field -- except that I think one is a bit more honest. Nothing wrong with semi-retiring. Or retiring and having rental income that takes some time to manage.

Just to be doubly clear. There is absolutely nothing wrong with starting a blog with the idea of making a decent income from it. Even a financial blog. Take a look at Mike's Oblivious Investor. The questionable part for some of us is then pushing that blog through MSN as you're being a successful early retiree for click bait.

I realize everyone is doing it. I guess I'm an old school truth in advertising kind of guy. I don't like FA's that charge 1.5% for no value add either.

Okay... I'm done.

 

[Elbata]

A couple, friends, have defined benefits of ~$300K/year. Wife is back to work full time because they're just getting by.

Many who've been in the ER game since the 80s have found that their net worth has increased, not decreased. I would bet the Bruno couple will see their NW increase too.

To me, it all boils down to Jack Bogle's "Enough". What's enough for me may be different for you. For me, I respect these young people.

 

[aida2003]

These stories are everywhere now and they are just trying to get eyeballs on blogs and ears on podcasts.

Its just another fake millennial fantasy to retire early these days just like in the high flying 90s when you saw article after article about people retiring at age 50. Didn't happen.

Yes maybe some VERY high income couples can pull this off closer to age 40 without kids. Thats an additional 10 years of saving cash.

But this couple has a math problem. Its fake. But that MSN article will sure drive traffic to their blog.

Purplesky, what's your story? You definitely sound very NEGATIVE. I hope you didn't get the link to this ER forum from some ER blog

 

[papadad111]

Purplesky, what's your story? You definitely sound very NEGATIVE. I hope you didn't get the link to this ER forum from some ER blog

He isn't really being negative. Just playing the devils advocate to this story...

I would consider it a realist position - pointing out the difference between reality and fantasy land - the flaws in the logic ...

And with a big dose of criticism to MSN for telling this story to the general public without disclosing all the facts - to the public who are too countrified on topics of money to know the difference...and then believe everything they read in a paper or the Internet..

 

[papadad111]

And the added point that some are making is that it may be a bit disingenuous to start a blog about how you're early retired when the numbers clearly wouldn't support it by most objective measures. With a hope of the income from said blog making up the difference.

There's no difference between that and working part-time in some other field -- except that I think one is a bit more honest. Nothing wrong with semi-retiring. Or retiring and having rental income that takes some time to manage.

Just to be doubly clear. There is absolutely nothing wrong with starting a blog with the idea of making a decent income from it. Even a financial blog. Take a look at Mike's Oblivious Investor. The questionable part for some of us is then pushing that blog through MSN as you're being a successful early retiree for click bait.

I realize everyone is doing it. I guess I'm an old school truth in advertising kind of guy. I don't like FA's that charge 1.5% for no value add either.

Okay... I'm done.

+1000