Our First Steps Toward FIRE..........

[FinanceDude]

The other day I was cleaning out some old papers, and came across our hand-written "plan" from 1994.........

In 1994. My fiancee at the time (now DW) and I were planning our future. We took stock of our finances:

Her: $10000 in student loan debt
Me: $8500 in student loan debt

Wedding Cost: $15000.

Plus, she said she wanted to quit renting and get a house ASAP after we were married.

Bottom line, we paid off both student loans, paid for the wedding (her dad was in a nursing home on Medicaid), and put $10,000 down on a house, all within 16 months.

The sacrifices we made were very aggressive.......but we did it, and that experience has done more to help than anything else......... I'm sure our experiences are much like others on here.........the light comes on, and you change how you do things with a larger goal in mind..........

[yakers]

Choosing the right spouse....


priceless

[FinanceDude]

Originally Posted by yakers

Choosing the right spouse....


priceless

Those frugal Midwest farm girls know how to rub two pennies and make a quarter...........

[audreyh1]

OK - my head is still spinning from $15,000 spent on a wedding in 1994. But I'm glad you got all that paid off so fast.

Audrey

[dmpi]

Originally Posted by yakers

Choosing the right spouse....


priceless

Yes. If you choose the wrong spouse. Frankly...you've had it.

[FinanceDude]

Originally Posted by audreyh1

OK - my head is still spinning from $15,000 spent on a wedding in 1994. But I'm glad you got all that paid off so fast.
Audrey

Well...........it was at a country club, and we paid for some folks to come from all over America............but we figured it was a one-time occurence............

Better still, we had to arrange the times for the wedding and reception so DW's relatives could make the night milking of their dairy herds..........

[Lusitan]

Getting engaged and paying for our wedding was also my first foray into LBYM. YMOYL followed shortly after that, and now I am on the FIRE bandwagon.

(Did I miss any acronyms?)



Sometimes I run across old financial plans like that as well. It's nice to see how far we've come financially and in terms of our relationship. I really think being on the same page with marital finances is a huge factor in maintaining a successful marriage, and working toward these goals together does bring us closer together.

[slepyhed]

I read Dicken's "Great Expectations" about one year after I got with the program and started saving and planning for retirement. The main character in that story is expecting to become rich through some kind of windfall. So as a young man, he rents a nice place and spends all kinds of money loafing around - all on credit. Every now and again he adds up how much he owes, and for example it comes to 6,700. Well, might as well top it off to an even 7,000! So off he goes on a spending spree.

I used to do the same thing - except I had no expectations of sudden wealth. I just had few expectations of living long enough to have to pay it back!

[brewer12345]

I have a spreadsheet I update once or twice a year that is very, very simplistic. It shows roughly when I cross over the 25X expenses mark based on current assets, and simple inputs for inflation and return. It is always interesting to go back and look at old versions to see how far I have come.

[retire@40]

Originally Posted by brewer12345

I have a spreadsheet I update once or twice a year that is very, very simplistic. It shows roughly when I cross over the 25X expenses mark based on current assets, and simple inputs for inflation and return. It is always interesting to go back and look at old versions to see how far I have come.

I've got a similar chart that I update once a month. I use it as a guideline for how much I need to have and when with future monthly projections based on past growth. I agree that it's very interesting to look back a few years to see where I was and where I am. The magic number is getting closer and closer!

[justin]

Two years ago I started doing a simple one page or so "net worth statement" every quarter. This was just after DW and I finished college and law school, so we were barely in the positive in terms of net worth due to huge college loans. I figure I'll be doing well if in the next two years I can have as much net worth growth and portfolio growth (due to market returns and new contributions) as I have had in the past two years. Doesn't take too many of those two year periods to get me to where I want to be. It's nice right now when the net worth doubles or more every year.

[kcowan]

Originally Posted by retire@40

I've got a similar chart that I update once a month. I use it as a guideline for how much I need to have and when with future monthly projections based on past growth. I agree that it's very interesting to look back a few years to see where I was and where I am. The magic number is getting closer and closer!

I do a monthly update when the portfolio results and banking results are in. Originally the plan was for 5% investment growth and 2% inflation. I am keeping the inflation number. The 5% looks overly conservative. Since FIRE four years ago, our portfolio has grown by 16% after expenses.

[retire@40]

Originally Posted by kcowan

I do a monthly update when the portfolio results and banking results are in. Originally the plan was for 5% investment growth and 2% inflation. I am keeping the inflation number. The 5% looks overly conservative. Since FIRE four years ago, our portfolio has grown by 16% after expenses.

Unbelievable as it might sound, I've also used 7% for my benchmark as well (4/3 instead of 5/2) and my past 11 year average yearly net worth growth has also been 16% (but that includes investment growth and savings). I started this tracking 11 years ago when my net worth (not including home) was in the 6-figures, so at least to me, the net worth growth is meaningful.