Share your FIRE Milestones - 2013- 2020

[elisap]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArkTinkerer Sons are both off to schools. House is paid for. Left work as an employee for the last time yesterday. I think I can say I'm FIREd now. Not as wealthy as some here but I think I'm a bit more self sufficient and certainly in a lower cost of living area. Hopefully the jitters will go away in a few months.

Congrats Ark. I think everyone has the jitters no matter how much they have.

I remember thinking that retirement let alone ER was a pipe dream. That's when I thought having things/stuff was important. Not so much anymore. Gotta love FI

Enjoy!!!

[daylatedollarshort]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArkTinkerer Sons are both off to schools. House is paid for. Left work as an employee for the last time yesterday. I think I can say I'm FIREd now. Not as wealthy as some here but I think I'm a bit more self sufficient and certainly in a lower cost of living area. Hopefully the jitters will go away in a few months.

My first light bulb moment that we could ER came after randomly picking up a homesteading magazine and seeing how little it really cost to live with some basic self sufficiency. It was a bit much for us to pull off living in the city, but then I read about urban homesteading and that has turned into a fun hobby.

Enjoy your retirement!

[panacea]

Just crossed the $1 million threshold.

We still have a ways to go to get our children through college and the house paid off but still there's something about the $1 million marker that feels like a dinner out is in order.

I looked back for fun and saw it took us about 16 years of saving to get our first $500,000 but only about 4 for our next $500,000. We continue to step up our savings as our income increases so if we can get some cooperation from the markets, the next $1 million will be even easier!

Thanks for letting me share. The only other person that knows is DW, and I got sort of a "that's nice dear" response. Maybe it was too early in the morning for a high five.

[wingfooted]

Quote:

Originally Posted by panacea Just crossed the $1 million threshold. .

Hitting the $1MM threshold is a wonderful psychological boost. Congrats on your achievement and yes the second and subsequent 'millions' come much easier than the first.

[simple girl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by panacea Just crossed the $1 million threshold. We still have a ways to go to get our children through college and the house paid off but still there's something about the $1 million marker that feels like a dinner out is in order. I looked back for fun and saw it took us about 16 years of saving to get our first $500,000 but only about 4 for our next $500,000. We continue to step up our savings as our income increases so if we can get some cooperation from the markets, the next $1 million will be even easier! Thanks for letting me share. The only other person that knows is DW, and I got sort of a "that's nice dear" response. Maybe it was too early in the morning for a high five.

Congratulations!!! I remember crossing that milestone - huge indeed!!!! It definitely snowballs and grows faster and faster...fun to watch!

[panacea]

Thanks! Although I guess I should have waited to share until I had a nice cushion. After yesterday, I'm below the $1 million mark. Maybe I'll just keep sharing every time I hit $1 million.

[Bir48die]

Once your kids are out of college you become instantly wealthy that is if you didn't have girls which will add another element. Once my kids were out I socked every raise and bonus away and doubled my million in no time. Congrats!

[Cantwaitanylonger]

"Thanks for letting me share. The only other person that knows is DW, and I got sort of a "that's nice dear" response. Maybe it was too early in the morning for a high five."

Get her a drink, remind her later in the evening.....maybe you will get more than a high-five. Hey, the money is supposed to provide happiness.

[ESRwannabe]

I've increased my dividend income and it now can cover 75% of my living expenses.

I'm now building up my cash to at least one year of living expenses and then I'm not sure what I will do.

Plan was to early semi-retire at 45 with 50% of income coming from dividends and 50% from part-time work.

Its starting to look like I might be able to just fully retire at 45 instead (age 39 right now).

[Dreaming of Freedom]

OK, this is not a normal milestone, but after years of no or very low raises or COLAs, it is very exciting. My boyfriend just got an 8% raise! I know it does not sound like much to many folks, but raises and COLAs have been rare since 2008 in our fields & geographic area. In fact, I actually make less money now than in 2008 because I have only had one tiny COLA since 2008, but have to pay two more percent into the pension plan my state is killing on purpose. Despite the odds being against me since 2008, I still save 50% of my take home pay. The other 50% gets partially eaten up by student loans & a mortgage. Anyway, I am so excited for him....now if I could only land a better paying job....it is hard for a chic in tech in the Midwest though.

Sent from my EVO using Early Retirement Forum mobile app

[rodi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dreaming of Freedom OK, this is not a normal milestone, but after years of no or very low raises or COLAs, it is very exciting. My boyfriend just got an 8% raise! I know it does not sound like much to many folks, but raises and COLAs have been rare since 2008 in our fields & geographic area. In fact, I actually make less money now than in 2008 because I have only had one tiny COLA since 2008, but have to pay two more percent into the pension plan my state is killing on purpose. Despite the odds being against me since 2008, I still save 50% of my take home pay. The other 50% gets partially eaten up by student loans & a mortgage. Anyway, I am so excited for him....now if I could only land a better paying job....it is hard for a chic in tech in the Midwest though. Sent from my EVO using Early Retirement Forum mobile app

Congrats to your household on the raise. My last 6 years of work had several zero percent raises... and my total increase was a whoppin' 4% over 6 years. This despite excellent performance reviews. The party line was that the market was down and they were paying the going rate - which meant no increases.

[ESRwannabe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rodi Congrats to your household on the raise. My last 6 years of work had several zero percent raises... and my total increase was a whoppin' 4% over 6 years. This despite excellent performance reviews. The party line was that the market was down and they were paying the going rate - which meant no increases.

Same boat here. No raises since the housing crash. Thankfully I already had significant investments before the crash. So I've been able to use investment income to keep building wealth.

I guess a make a good example of how the economy has been working... wage growth goes nowhere, while investment growth is through the roof.

Companies have been putting money into acquisitions and share buybacks which does nothing for employment. So the cheap money has helped the stock market while doing nothing for wages.

P.S. Congrats on the raise Dreaming of Freedom.

[PontGuy]

I've been lurking for a while but decided it was worth posting that our first milestone is met. Especially since it looks like it will be a lot tougher from this point on.

Quote:

I looked back for fun and saw it took us about 16 years of saving to get our first $500,000 but only about 4 for our next $500,000. We continue to step up our savings as our income increases so if we can get some cooperation from the markets, the next $1 million will be even easier!

Exactly the same here. And now we are finally right at $1 million in cash assets with $80K of it in after-tax accounts. I am 55 years old, our children are out of the house and independent, and we have no debts except $68K left on the mortgage. My wife does not work but so far this year our total savings are up over $100K and we also paid down the mortgage another $20K. Pretty good considering our market returns so far this year are a whopping 2.8%.

My plan was to continue working as a director in my Pharma Megacorp another 3 to 5 years, figuring that the mortgage would be paid off, we should have toward $2 million in cash accounts, and be close enough to SS age to call it quits for good.

But I just learned that I will be a victim of the latest corporate merger restructuring, and my job at the Megacorp will be over at the end of the year. The good news is that my package will be worth around $330K before taxes and I can spread it out over two years to reduce the tax hit. I am also fully eligible for retirement benefits including a very good subsidized medical plan. The bad news is that there are no jobs in my area of expertise anywhere near here. And selling our home and moving away from children and grandchildren was certainly never a part of our plans. So considering what to do...

It looks like accumulating the next million is going to be a lot more painful.

[panacea]

Quote:

Get her a drink, remind her later in the evening.....maybe you will get more than a high-five. Hey, the money is supposed to provide happiness.

Oh, I think it's just because she knows I've got it under control and I update her every month or so. It was sort no big deal for her because she knew it was coming in a matter of weeks. Guess I take the fun out of it with the regular updates!

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PontGuy It looks like accumulating the next million is going to be a lot more painful.

Do you really need another million to be able to retire? Have you really looked at your expenses and considered what you could cut without really impacting your standard of living? You might be pleasantly surprised...

[splitwdw]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PontGuy I've been lurking for a while but decided it was worth posting that our first milestone is met. Especially since it looks like it will be a lot tougher from this point on.......... But I just learned that I will be a victim of the latest corporate merger restructuring, and my job at the Megacorp will be over at the end of the year. The good news is that my package will be worth around $330K before taxes and I can spread it out over two years to reduce the tax hit. I am also fully eligible for retirement benefits including a very good subsidized medical plan. The bad news is that there are no jobs in my area of expertise anywhere near here. And selling our home and moving away from children and grandchildren was certainly never a part of our plans. So considering what to do... It looks like accumulating the next million is going to be a lot more painful.

If you want to keep working you have to look outside the box. There must be something you can do other than what you've been doing. Look for some fun or creative or instructing. Start you own consulting business. Does the job have to pay the same salary?

[elisap]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cantwaitanylonger "Thanks for letting me share. The only other person that knows is DW, and I got sort of a "that's nice dear" response. Maybe it was too early in the morning for a high five." Get her a drink, remind her later in the evening.....maybe you will get more than a high-five. Hey, the money is supposed to provide happiness.

LOL, yes I get your point. I've always handled the money and when we cross the mark I told DH. His response was ... are you blowing your own horn? He did smile though but a ...that's great would have been nice. hmm, maybe I should be like many other women who spend money like it grows on trees. Then again, maybe not. It gives me peace of mind.

I like setting goals and learning about money, DH, not so much.

[PontGuy]

Quote:

Do you really need another million to be able to retire?

No, I am sure we could cut back and be OK. But that wasn't the plan. We would really like to keep the big house at least for a while. I have two classic musclecars in the garage, an elaborate model railroad in the basement, and we really enjoy the big kitchen and deck/patio complex when the family visits. The house is almost paid off and taxes are not a problem, but I know that upkeep takes significant cash each year.

Quote:

If you want to keep working you have to look outside the box. There must be something you can do other than what you've been doing. Look for some fun or creative or instructing. Start you own consulting business. Does the job have to pay the same salary?

The big salary I have been earning was going to get us to our goal quickly so I could quit working and keep close to our current lifestyle. I am sure that I can come up with something to do locally, but not likely to make anywhere near that much. I also know I can do consulting work and make very good money but that would keep me on the road a bunch, also not desirable. I did a whole lot of business travel in the past and really don't want to go back to that (only upside- I still have about 1/2 million airway miles that we will enjoy.)

Oh well, I have 6 months or so to figure it out and come up with a new plan. And take some comfort in knowing we are in much better shape than most out there.

[Huston55]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PontGuy Oh well, I have 6 months or so to figure it out and come up with a new plan. And take some comfort in knowing we are in much better shape than most out there.

So, you have plenty of time to evaluate the advice given above:

1. Continue to save all you can.
2. Don't limit your analysis/planning to just the income & accumulation side; cuts on the expenses side have a multiplier effect.
3. Don't be a prisoner of your (pre-merger) plan.

[Tortoise Banker]

Got a 20% raise today! Increased auto-investments to 401k and IRAs by any added income this raise would provide!