Join Early Retirement Today
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 01-29-2013, 11:02 AM   #61
Full time employment: Posting here.
truenorth418's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Bushnell
Posts: 607
My first big goal was to save $1 million in investable assets, after paying off my home of course. After achieving that goal, I began to look at what it would take to retire early, so that became my next big financial goal.
truenorth418 is offline   Reply With Quote
Join the #1 Early Retirement and Financial Independence Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

Are you planning to be financially independent as early as possible so you can live life on your own terms? Discuss successful investing strategies, asset allocation models, tax strategies and other related topics in our online forum community. Our members range from young folks just starting their journey to financial independence, military retirees and even multimillionaires. No matter where you fit in you'll find that Early-Retirement.org is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with our members, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create a retirement blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Old 01-29-2013, 01:45 PM   #62
Full time employment: Posting here.
Ready-4-ER-at-14's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: chicago
Posts: 539
Life went through phases:

Accumulation of family and family stuff with minor investing

Accumulation of stuff for capital gain.

First tracking then setting goals for capital amount.

Setting and tracking goal for cash flow which sometimes conflicted with capital gain goal.

Setting of passive income goal.

setting passive income goal at 2x of original. All but this last one has been achieved. ETA 3-4 years if things continue well.
Ready-4-ER-at-14 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-29-2013, 02:31 PM   #63
Recycles dryer sheets
EllisWyatt's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 259
Like many posters, I had a net worth goal in mind when I first started thinking about ER.And like many, it evolved.

A LONG time ago, when I was in my twenties, I set a goal based on a 10% withdrawl rate. In retrospect, a bit simplistic, but that predated the Trinity Study, the math was easy, and the goal wasn't as daunting as it would have been at a 3-4% withdrawl rate which provided good motivation.
When I reached that goal, and started getting serious about the possibility of ER, realized that goal was too little, so set a higher goal.
When I hit that higher goal, realized I would prefer a higher standard of living than it would allow, so am currently working on - andrapidly approaching - my third goal.
Somewhere between the first and second goal was my FI moment (actually thought of as a "U" instead of an "I"...

Using the bucket analog from my overseas assignment, you get issued two buckets when you start - one you try to fill with money, one they try fill with Bull. When one of the buckets gets full, you leave. What they don't tell you is that the money bucket has an elastic bottom.
EllisWyatt is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-29-2013, 03:41 PM   #64
Recycles dryer sheets
ikubak's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 482
Have had numerous financial goals, hit them and then raised the bar. Hitting 95% on the firecalc was a goal, and then I raised it to 100%. Now I'm just adding on to my NW w no particular goal. Goals aren't really monetary at this point. My goal right now is less stress until I hit the bonus round (vesting in pension)....949 days to go.
__________________
Retire date Jan. 10, 2018
ikubak is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-29-2013, 03:52 PM   #65
Recycles dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 106
Yes and yes. We were blessed in that we exceed our goal by quite a bit and are getting ready to pull the plug (will be giving my notice in a couple of weeks ) after 33 years with megacorp. It is amazing, though, what a high % of the few people who know that we are planning to retire still try to convince me that I should keep working...
boatfishandnature is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-29-2013, 04:02 PM   #66
Full time employment: Posting here.
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 576
Quote:
Originally Posted by boatfishandnature View Post
Yes and yes. We were blessed in that we exceed our goal by quite a bit and are getting ready to pull the plug (will be giving my notice in a couple of weeks ) after 33 years with megacorp. It is amazing, though, what a high % of the few people who know that we are planning to retire still try to convince me that I should keep working...
Michael Corleone: Just when I thought I was out... they pull me back in.
bondi688 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-29-2013, 08:37 PM   #67
Full time employment: Posting here.
mountaintosea's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 564
Yes and yes.
mountaintosea is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-29-2013, 09:04 PM   #68
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
bbbamI's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Collin County, TX
Posts: 9,294
We really didn't have a net worth (funds) amount in mind. Our first priority was to add additional money each month to our mortgage. We wanted that debt gone. The next step was for DH to be able to have enough years with Megacorp to collect a pension and receive medical benefits.

(of course during this time we were saving as much as we could)

Once those goals were met, we were fortunate to have a large enough portfolio that would provide a nice lifestyle with a low WR.

Early retirement...absolutely no regrets. Enjoy it while we can.
__________________
There's no need to complicate, our time is short..
bbbamI is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-29-2013, 10:38 PM   #69
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Katsmeow's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 5,307
Specific Goal - Truthfully - we didn't really have a specific net worth goal in mind.

DH and I got married relatively late (I was late 30s, he was mid-40s) and came from a different place.

He worked for a megacorp and knew he would eventually have a pension and SS and figured he would work until 65 and then retire. His company matched 6% of salary for his 401(k) and he contributed the 6% and got the match. So - we got married and he just kept on doing what he was doing. He truthfully didn't even think about how to invest the 401(k). His company contribution was all in company stock and his contributions went to company stock as well (note that we got married in the 90s well before the Enron debacle so there wasn't as much about the risks of having company stock in the 401k).

I came from a different employment culture where there was no pension, nothing except a 401k and the employer made a contribution whether I contributed at all. In the early years I didn't contribute anything and basically just ignored the fact that my employer was making contributions.

So...after DH and I married we just kind of carried on. I eventually started contributing to my 401k and sorta kinda new he would get a pension some day but didn't really focus on it much.

Eventually I asked him about the pension and he researched it and found out that it was about double what he had thought it would be or that he could get a lump sum which turned out to be quite a lot money.

At that point we looked at how much we had in our 401(k)s, looked at the pension lump sum and the fact he had retiree medical and then considered what we would need to do to make it work sooner rather than later. That is, we decided to adjust our lifestyle to what we had (or could have within a couple of years) rather than trying to hit a specific number.

Whether will keep growing or will spend nest egg - We are fairly agnostic on this. That is, we will really don't care if we leave any money to our kids. It would be nice to do so, but not to the point that we would compromise our lifestyle to do so. If there is money left when we go then they will get the benefit. If there isn't, then I will feel no guilt.

That said, it would of course be nice to always have some money in reserve so I would prefer to not deplete the entire nest egg. However, decreasing it to some extent doesn't bother me. DH retired 2 1/2 years ago and we have somewhat depleted the nest egg. We knew we would have some high expenses in the first few years after his retirement. We still had kids in high school/college and had to sell a house and property that we knew we would sell at a loss. We went into DH's retirement knowing this and we did factor it into our plans. Our expenses are now on a downward slope although they will be higher the next 2 years or so and then will go down markedly in about 3 years. I've run FireCalc over and over again so I'm OK with that. If we ever started having the nest egg deplete faster than we've anticipated then I know what expenses we could cut.
Katsmeow is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-30-2013, 05:10 AM   #70
Recycles dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: westerville
Posts: 262
Yes we had a portfolio goal excluding home and I pulled the plug the day we hit that goal. Hope the portfolio grows and Fire Calc says histically it should 97.8% of the time with out SS income. We have also set a floor on the downside and if the portfolio goes below that number before SS income kicks in we will find other income.
Trawler is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-30-2013, 05:28 AM   #71
gone traveling
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Austin
Posts: 245
I have a specific net worth goal, and it's based on a 100% drawdown over 30 years with equal portions of estimated expenses and play money. No reason for me to leave a large chunck of money laying around when I'm gone, and running firecalc shows most if not all scenarios ending with more than I started with, so the only challenge I'm left with at this point is garnering enough confidence to believe all of the projections.
LakeTravis is offline   Reply With Quote
Net worth goal
Old 02-02-2013, 02:19 PM   #72
Recycles dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: W Colorado
Posts: 476
Net worth goal

Yes, I set a net worth goal almost 30 years ago. I'm at the number now. I am working on ideas/plans for the next phase of my life. I have not given notice at the office, but if a new round of layoffs happen it won't hurt to go. The FIRE date was always planned for this year.
pjm-7 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-02-2013, 02:32 PM   #73
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
SumDay's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 1,862
Yes, we have a goal, and hope to be there in ~5 years, which coincides with DH turning 65, so I can get him on Medicare and off my employer provided health care coverage.

I've been tempted to post a poll here and asking people to post what their goal is (or maybe their current assets?), and post it in the form a poll, with ranges, so it's anonymous.

Like
<500,000
500,000 - 1,000,000
1,000,001 to 1,250,000
etc.

Has that been done on this board? Is that acceptable? Would y'all participate? Didn't want to violate any rules....
SumDay is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-02-2013, 03:01 PM   #74
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
obgyn65's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: midwestern city
Posts: 4,061
I would be ok to participate as long as it is anonymous. I think there was a good NW survey done on Bogleheads a few months ago with quite a few data points. I have an idea of what my NW is but not exactly sure if I have been calculating it the right way anyway.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SumDay
Yes, we have a goal, and hope to be there in ~5 years, which coincides with DH turning 65, so I can get him on Medicare and off my employer provided health care coverage.

I've been tempted to post a poll here and asking people to post what their goal is (or maybe their current assets?), and post it in the form a poll, with ranges, so it's anonymous.

Like
<500,000
500,000 - 1,000,000
1,000,001 to 1,250,000
etc.

Has that been done on this board? Is that acceptable? Would y'all participate? Didn't want to violate any rules....
__________________
Very conservative with investments. Not ER'd yet, 48 years old. Please do not take anything I write or imply as legal, financial or medical advice directed to you. Contact your own financial advisor, healthcare provider, or attorney for financial, medical and legal advice.
obgyn65 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-02-2013, 03:11 PM   #75
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
photoguy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 2,301
Well 1M is probably a goal that many have. When we were at 800k, I thought wouldn't it be great if the portfolio could hit 1.2M. When we hit 1.2, we thought wouldn't it be great if it could hit 1.5.

I would guess the nature of human psychology is such that most folks would feel comfortable if they just had 1.5 - 2x more than what they've got now.
photoguy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-02-2013, 03:58 PM   #76
Administrator
Gumby's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 22,973
Quote:
Originally Posted by photoguy View Post
Well 1M is probably a goal that many have. When we were at 800k, I thought wouldn't it be great if the portfolio could hit 1.2M. When we hit 1.2, we thought wouldn't it be great if it could hit 1.5.

I would guess the nature of human psychology is such that most folks would feel comfortable if they just had 1.5 - 2x more than what they've got now.
One of my favorite movie lines

__________________
Living an analog life in the Digital Age.
Gumby is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-02-2013, 06:36 PM   #77
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Spanky's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Minneapolis
Posts: 4,455
our portfolio goal is based on 2% SWR (or 50x projected expenses). For example, if projected expenses is $50K, the goal will be $2M.
__________________
May we live in peace and harmony and be free from all human sufferings.
Spanky is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-02-2013, 06:57 PM   #78
Full time employment: Posting here.
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 576
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spanky View Post
our portfolio goal is based on 2% SWR (or 50x projected expenses). For example, if projected expenses is $50K, the goal will be $2M.
To get 50K with a 2% withdrawal rate (or 50 x projected expenses), your nest egg needs to be $2.5 millions.
bondi688 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-02-2013, 07:07 PM   #79
Full time employment: Posting here.
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 587
All this "depleting the nest egg" is scary talk!

I had a minimum retirement financial goal of $600,000 based on 4% SWR because I will also receive a pension. I'm glad I'll have more than that though.
tinlizzy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-02-2013, 08:15 PM   #80
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
MooreBonds's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: St. Louis
Posts: 2,179
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spanky View Post
our portfolio goal is based on 2% SWR (or 50x projected expenses). For example, if projected expenses is $50K, the goal will be $2M.
My goals are subject to change assuming I get married in the future...but for now, I want to call it quits when I'm at about 2.5%-2.75% withdrawal rate.
__________________
Dryer sheets Schmyer sheets
MooreBonds is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Quick Links

 
All times are GMT -6. The time now is 08:16 PM.
 
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.