Know the feeling. I thought the same thing, 1M and a paid off home, no debt. Now getting close to 2M, with paid off home, and I still don't feel confident.
Share your FIRE Milestones - 2013- 2020
- Thread starter FIREd
- Start date
- Status
Know the feeling. I thought the same thing, 1M and a paid off home, no debt. Now getting close to 2M, with paid off home, and I still don't feel confident.
REWahoo
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give
Some people never do, no matter how much they have socked away. POMY Syndrome* is what the condition is called.
*Perpetual One More Year Syndrome
almost there
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
- Joined
- Sep 24, 2008
- Messages
- 1,017
Not sure if I have POMY? Or what it is?
If I could get a 4-5% safe return, I would not be worried a bit.
Its just that the Bond market and Stock market look like a crap shoot to me at these levels.........
No interest in reliving 2002 or 2009 again.
And who wants 1.5% in a 5yr CD?
Call me chicken.........
If I could get a 4-5% safe return, I would not be worried a bit.
Its just that the Bond market and Stock market look like a crap shoot to me at these levels.........
No interest in reliving 2002 or 2009 again.
And who wants 1.5% in a 5yr CD?
Call me chicken.........
Both wife and I are 38, we have 160K in retirement savings combined. Yes we are on the very low side but it is where we are nonetheless. She recently got to 110k on her 403b and I just broke the 40k mark on my 401k. We have both have Roth accounts which we opened last year and have close to 10k combined. We plan to get more intentional about our retirement and investments. Our goal is to retire at 62 and move to the Caribbean where we own some nice land on the country side. Our milestone was acquiring some land from a family member at a great price, most of which is very flat.
I just updated our May expenses on the expense worksheet and realized we hit a pretty cool milestone. Our dividends from our after tax brokerage account are now a little more than double our yearly expenses. 
Not a bad safety factor!
Not a bad safety factor!jclarksnakes
Full time employment: Posting here.
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2006
- Messages
- 927
DW retired Friday after 29 years teaching.
As of paycheck landing on Friday, I'm over $500k net worth investments!!!
Since I live on about $30k, it's sort of a big mental milestone as well, as I can make up the difference between 4% and my spending by playing around on boats a few months per year if I want/need. I plan to get to the point where I don't need to earn anything (and then probably play on boats part time) but I feel like I have a solid safety net in place now. In any crisis I have space to figure out the best solution, not just the fastest one.
Still hoping to retire at 37 (hopeful goal is 4/1/16 - fewer than 100 days out!), and I might not make it or might stop short and find something more interesting to fill in the gaps, but feel like I crossed a major border! Hopefully contributions and returns will be sufficient to keep me above this number in the future. Thanks to everyone here for the years of support and good information - it's been a large part of my personal education and reality checks (even if some people here will still think I'm nuts).
Seabourne
Since I live on about $30k, it's sort of a big mental milestone as well, as I can make up the difference between 4% and my spending by playing around on boats a few months per year if I want/need. I plan to get to the point where I don't need to earn anything (and then probably play on boats part time) but I feel like I have a solid safety net in place now. In any crisis I have space to figure out the best solution, not just the fastest one.
Still hoping to retire at 37 (hopeful goal is 4/1/16 - fewer than 100 days out!), and I might not make it or might stop short and find something more interesting to fill in the gaps, but feel like I crossed a major border! Hopefully contributions and returns will be sufficient to keep me above this number in the future. Thanks to everyone here for the years of support and good information - it's been a large part of my personal education and reality checks (even if some people here will still think I'm nuts).
Seabourne
I just updated our May expenses on the expense worksheet and realized we hit a pretty cool milestone. Our dividends from our after tax brokerage account are now a little more than double our yearly expenses.
Gomo, I really really like your milestone! Very cool!!!!!!!
wanaberetiree
Full time employment: Posting here.
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2010
- Messages
- 718
I just updated our May expenses on the expense worksheet and realized we hit a pretty cool milestone. Our dividends from our after tax brokerage account are now a little more than double our yearly expenses.
Wow, great!
You have such low yearly expenses
scrabbler1
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2009
- Messages
- 6,703
I just updated our May expenses on the expense worksheet and realized we hit a pretty cool milestone. Our dividends from our after tax brokerage account are now a little more than double our yearly expenses.
That's great. I am nearly there.....if I count the more erratic cap gains distributions I squeaked by that milestone last year. Otherwise, I am at about 150%, not double.
Thanks for all the great replies. It took a lot of hard work to get to this point. Year over year our dividends increased 13.6%, that includes both select reinvestment and div raises, so things are going well.
It has been a little over a year since my position was eliminated and it sure was nice knowing that we had an additional money stream coming in. LBYM, proper money management and investing in quality companies made it easier to walk away form W*#K at 37.
I seen one of my old bosses about a month ago and he asked how things were going, I replied "Everyday is a Saturday". He stumbled for a response.
It has been a little over a year since my position was eliminated and it sure was nice knowing that we had an additional money stream coming in. LBYM, proper money management and investing in quality companies made it easier to walk away form W*#K at 37.
I seen one of my old bosses about a month ago and he asked how things were going, I replied "Everyday is a Saturday"
. He stumbled for a response.When I started planning for retirement, I came up with net worth targets to be reached at specific ages (30, 35, 40, 45, 50, etc...). Today I reached the net worth target that I had set for age 50, 11 years ahead of schedule!
Last edited:
militaryman
Recycles dryer sheets
I guess I kinda figure that based on our spending habits that $60k gross is what would be a more than comfortable retirement for us at our target age of 57 as long as we were still free of debt. (including mortgage)
Currently DW and I are both 45yo and the milestone I just hit with the Federal government (FERS) is 25 years
(27 if you count the active duty time I bought back but am afraid to count that until it is in the bank in case something ever got screwed up!)
I have always felt that the 25 years was a milestone because barring a criminal act they have to give me an immediate annuity with health care benefits if for some reason my job is eliminated.
So at a minimum (no job promotion) the 25 years is worth $20,000 per year towards the $60,000 goal and this should grow over the next 11 years (1% per year times salary) to $30,000 per year (at 56 & 1/2 yo when I am eligible to retire) after the Surv. Benefit Plan premium is deducted.
My Guard retirement at 60yo will be another $8,000 (todays dollars but it is cola'd so at 60 it'll be worth what $8k is worth today)
And if I figure only half of what SS is claiming we will get @ 62 then I can count another $14,000 + towards my $60,000 goal
So all total of FERS Pension, Mil Pension, and 1/2xSS should be $52,000 of the $60,000 goal
I am planning to fully fund my 401k ($17,500) until I retire and also build a $100,000 bucket to cover the amounts that the Mil Pension and SS won't be paying until they kick in at 60 and 62 respectively .
This will leave about $8,000 a year shortfall that will be funded by 401k monies which currently are up to $420,000 -- Even if that amount only keeps up with inflation it should be enough to fund the $8,000 shortfall with a 2% draw each year. And of course we are planning to grow it as close to a million before pulling the plug so hopefully we are golden.
Now if they ever offered an early retirment I would have to pare the budget down quite a bit but would seriously consider throwing off these handcuffs!
Currently DW and I are both 45yo and the milestone I just hit with the Federal government (FERS) is 25 years
(27 if you count the active duty time I bought back but am afraid to count that until it is in the bank in case something ever got screwed up!)
I have always felt that the 25 years was a milestone because barring a criminal act they have to give me an immediate annuity with health care benefits if for some reason my job is eliminated.
So at a minimum (no job promotion) the 25 years is worth $20,000 per year towards the $60,000 goal and this should grow over the next 11 years (1% per year times salary) to $30,000 per year (at 56 & 1/2 yo when I am eligible to retire) after the Surv. Benefit Plan premium is deducted.
My Guard retirement at 60yo will be another $8,000 (todays dollars but it is cola'd so at 60 it'll be worth what $8k is worth today)
And if I figure only half of what SS is claiming we will get @ 62 then I can count another $14,000 + towards my $60,000 goal
So all total of FERS Pension, Mil Pension, and 1/2xSS should be $52,000 of the $60,000 goal
I am planning to fully fund my 401k ($17,500) until I retire and also build a $100,000 bucket to cover the amounts that the Mil Pension and SS won't be paying until they kick in at 60 and 62 respectively .
This will leave about $8,000 a year shortfall that will be funded by 401k monies which currently are up to $420,000 -- Even if that amount only keeps up with inflation it should be enough to fund the $8,000 shortfall with a 2% draw each year. And of course we are planning to grow it as close to a million before pulling the plug so hopefully we are golden.
Now if they ever offered an early retirment I would have to pare the budget down quite a bit but would seriously consider throwing off these handcuffs!
Last edited:
nash031
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
I did the same. By the time I'm 36 1/2 at the end of this year, I will have hit my target for 40 in monetary net worth. I think by 37 I will have hit my target for 45 in terms of augmented (incl equity on the house) net worth. Hopefully all of that means I can retire at 42.
Funny you said so. Very exact same thing happened to me recently. I kept delaying my ER again & again, based on crazy pessimistic assumptions. So the key milestone is... I finally settled on a firm date at which I will retire (barring a major stock market crash by then), and a precise transition plan to get to it. And this is in sight...
Oh, and like some of you guys, it was indeed a symbolic time for us when we reached $1M of working capital, which basically happened at the same time as we finished paying for our mortgage. Double whammy milestone!
jollystomper
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2012
- Messages
- 6,188
As of market close Thursday I hit a nice round $1.2 million in stock/bond investments. Naturally I will likely lose that target today. But so far it still bodes well for my goal to ER in less than a year.
But so far it still bodes well for my goal to ER in less than a year.Received my final Megacorp paycheck yesterday and completed our cross-country move. 3156 driving miles and only a cracked windshield on the last day. I dreaded getting a flat tire out in the middle of nowhere USA, but fortunately that didn't happen.
Now we just have to find a home in our new town. Hope those interest rates continue their recent downward trend. At least for a couple more weeks.
Not that it's a milestone, but it's sure been great not thinking about work since ER on July 1.
I dreaded getting a flat tire out in the middle of nowhere USA, but fortunately that didn't happen. Now we just have to find a home in our new town. Hope those interest rates continue their recent downward trend. At least for a couple more weeks.
Not that it's a milestone, but it's sure been great not thinking about work since ER on July 1.
scrabbler1
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2009
- Messages
- 6,703
As of market close Thursday I hit a nice round $1.2 million in stock/bond investments. Naturally I will likely lose that target today.
Congrats, my fellow $1.2 millionaire.....I have been just over that amount for a while, safely away from the $1.1M and $1.0M marks a few years ago and bouncing over and under them with a turbulent market in 2010 and 2011. Nice to have a buffer......as the slog to $1.3M continues.
Do you track time it takes for portfolio to double?
Looked back tonight at our total stock portfolio (taxable & retirement) and it has doubled in 32 months, from $1.2m to more than $2.4m. Soooo hard not to think about "if it would double again" over next 32 months...can you say "FIRE!?"
Looked back and it took 5 years for it to double from $600k to the $1.2m level, thanks to "2008", otherwise looking back to 1997 and our start, we've doubled our end of the year portfolio value in that 2-3 year range largely due to our high savings rate, combined with market returns.
Anyone else keep track of their "doubling?"
I've kept track of our year end portfolio values and the % increase each year. Kind of fun to see the numbers, averages and see how it plays out over time.
Our 13 year average is for a portfolio value increase at year's end of 28.64% over the previous year. The 7, 10 and 13 year averages all include 2008, our only year with a decline (29.9%).
13 yr ave 28.64%
10 yr ave 28.13
7 yr ave 20.33
5 yr ave 17.26
4 yr ave 29.0
3 yr ave 22.9
2 yr ave 21.35
Motivation to keep plugging away...
Looked back tonight at our total stock portfolio (taxable & retirement) and it has doubled in 32 months, from $1.2m to more than $2.4m.
Soooo hard not to think about "if it would double again" over next 32 months...can you say "FIRE!?" Looked back and it took 5 years for it to double from $600k to the $1.2m level, thanks to "2008", otherwise looking back to 1997 and our start, we've doubled our end of the year portfolio value in that 2-3 year range largely due to our high savings rate, combined with market returns.
Anyone else keep track of their "doubling?"
I've kept track of our year end portfolio values and the % increase each year. Kind of fun to see the numbers, averages and see how it plays out over time.
Our 13 year average is for a portfolio value increase at year's end of 28.64% over the previous year. The 7, 10 and 13 year averages all include 2008, our only year with a decline (29.9%).
13 yr ave 28.64%
10 yr ave 28.13
7 yr ave 20.33
5 yr ave 17.26
4 yr ave 29.0
3 yr ave 22.9
2 yr ave 21.35
Motivation to keep plugging away...
Looked back tonight at our total stock portfolio (taxable & retirement) and it has doubled in 32 months, from $1.2m to more than $2.4m.
Looked back and it took 5 years for it to double from $600k to the $1.2m level, thanks to "2008", otherwise looking back to 1997 and our start, we've doubled our end of the year portfolio value in that 2-3 year range largely due to our high savings rate, combined with market returns.
Anyone else keep track of their "doubling?"
I've kept track of our year end portfolio values and the % increase each year. Kind of fun to see the numbers, averages and see how it plays out over time.
Our 13 year average is for a portfolio value increase at year's end of 28.64% over the previous year. The 7, 10 and 13 year averages all include 2008, our only year with a decline (29.9%).
13 yr ave 28.64%
10 yr ave 28.13
7 yr ave 20.33
5 yr ave 17.26
4 yr ave 29.0
3 yr ave 22.9
2 yr ave 21.35
Motivation to keep plugging away...
You got me curious now so I went and checked..... since age 28, I have doubled at ages 29, 30.5, 31.5, 34, 37.5. The next double should be around 42/43 ish (i'm 38 now). Unfortunately, doubling time is stretching out longer and longer as the injected savings shrink relative to the increasingly large pot size.
Sort of a Hat Trick of milestones to share, after 23 years of deliberate retirement investing (I was a late starter at 41).
- DW left miserable job today. Hopefully she is retired.
- IRA ticked over 500K - started with a 45K rollover.
- 401k passed the 1M mark - started at zero, added 19 years of max contributions.
This probably sounds simple minded but finding this site this week was a huge step in the right direction for me. Just to understand what I need to FIRE is a milestone for me. 
Hitting $280K mark in 401k investments
Breaking the 10 year mark to paying of the mortgage (down to 9 years and change)!
Hitting $280K mark in 401k investments
Breaking the 10 year mark to paying of the mortgage (down to 9 years and change)!
6/1/2013 - Became Debt free
7/1/2013 - Cleared 100k in assets at age of 31. Turned 32 3 days later.
8/16/2013 - Discovered this website and am so grateful.
I am looking to you guys to set my next milestone since I just joined and you all are the expert. Frankly I don't know how the hell I managed to acquire 100k in assets by 32 as I was a complete drunk but I am feeling terrible about myself after reading your posts. I have some catching up to do.
7/1/2013 - Cleared 100k in assets at age of 31. Turned 32 3 days later.
8/16/2013 - Discovered this website and am so grateful.
I am looking to you guys to set my next milestone since I just joined and you all are the expert. Frankly I don't know how the hell I managed to acquire 100k in assets by 32 as I was a complete drunk but I am feeling terrible about myself after reading your posts. I have some catching up to do.
- Status
