Share your FIRE Milestones - 2013- 2020

[Andre1969]

It just occurred to me that my investments have for the first time surpassed what I owe on my mortgage (which I don't plan to pay off). I also have a decent sized equity in the house. I paid $400k for it, owe $300k and it's appreciated to about $500k now - not that I'm planning to sell.

Congratulations! I know that has to be a good feeling, especially on a large mortgage like that.

 

[pletal]

Yesterday our net worth hit over 5 million. Not including our home or rentals, cars, etc. I have always thought of net worth as investment items and cash. Now if I could figure out how to retire.

 

[dvalley]

Congratulations! I know that has to be a good feeling, especially on a large mortgage like that.

It feels OK...I just can't wait to skip a few years already, wake up one day and see my networth to be closer to my target of $1.5M

Yesterday our net worth hit over 5 million. Not including our home or rentals, cars, etc. I have always thought of net worth as investment items and cash. Now if I could figure out how to retire.

Need help writing a resignation letter? I only charge pocket change, like $400k or so Seriously though, congrats! what was the main contributing factor to your impressive net worth?

 

[rb35]

Yesterday our net worth hit over 5 million. Not including our home or rentals, cars, etc. I have always thought of net worth as investment items and cash. Now if I could figure out how to retire.

Congratulations. I'm curious, why don't you consider your rentals to be "investment items" and therefore part of your net worth?

 

[sanfanciscotreat]

We have now exceeded our state's exclusion for estate taxes. Went to see an attorney yesterday as we have just moved to another state. The exlusion on estate taxes is 5 million and we must plan to minimize and hopefully escape this tax. One way is to take the IRA's out of the estate.

 

[pletal]

Congratulations. I'm curious, why don't you consider your rentals to be "investment items" and therefore part of your net worth?

Good question about the rentals. I own three rental homes and have small mortgages on two of them.with the housing market here in Georgia so up and down, really hard to put a real value on them. Ended up being a landlord when the housing market fell apart a few years ago

 

[pletal]

Need help writing a resignation letter? I only charge pocket change, like $400k or so Seriously though, congrats! what was the main contributing factor to your impressive net worth?[/QUOTE]

Great question, there are a few main contributing factors to get our net worth up to a certain level. Both wife and I work, had one child. I have saved at least 20 percent of my take home pay for 30 plus years. Bought a house , paid it off and still live there. Almost all of our money is in cd's or muni bonds, never took the market hit like others have. Also almost bald so I have saved a ton on shampoo. Great parents , that's really about it.

 

[panacea]

We have now exceeded our state's exclusion for estate taxes. Went to see an attorney yesterday as we have just moved to another state. The exlusion on estate taxes is 5 million and we must plan to minimize and hopefully escape this tax. One way is to take the IRA's out of the estate.

You say "we" so maybe you are married? In that case the exemption is effectively doubled from $5,340,000 to $10,680,000. I'm sure this was discussed with your attorney but thought I'd throw it out there.

 

[sanfanciscotreat]

You say "we" so maybe you are married? In that case the exemption is effectively doubled from $5,340,000 to $10,680,000. I'm sure this was discussed with your attorney but thought I'd throw it out there.

Yes, I am aware of that, but at ages 57 and 67, exceeding the exemption at time of passing is highly probable.

 

[Huston55]

Good question about the rentals. I own three rental homes and have small mortgages on two of them.with the housing market here in Georgia so up and down, really hard to put a real value on them. Ended up being a landlord when the housing market fell apart a few years ago

Treat your rentals like a bond and calculate the NPV of the bond + income stream from them.

 

[UnrealizedPotential]

$100k in investable assets October 2011-now May 2014 finally reached 200k in investable assets.This is a great forum. I do feel poor hanging around here though. Next stop $250K

 

[Major Tom]

$100k in investable assets October 2011-now May 2014 finally reached 200k in investable assets.This is a great forum. I do feel poor hanging around here though. Next stop $250K

Congratulations - and don't let it worry you. I have 740K, and feel poor compared to the folks with $1M - 1.5M. They probably feel poor compared to those here with $5M - $10M!

Actually, I don't feel poor at all because I have a bicycle, 6 cats, and a half-finished bottle of Argentinian Malbec, but I'll save the "what do you need to be content" comment for another thread

 

[REWahoo]

The only poor people on this forum are the folks who are still working and don't want to be.

 

[1979dreamer]

Just reached 25x last year's expenses!

Hi all,

Just wanted to share this with someone, and you fine folks seem like you'd appreciate the news more than others.

In doing my weekly checks I realized that this week is the first time I have crossed over the 4%/25x mark. Last year's expenses including mortgage were around $34k, and I'll close out the week with around $857,000 in stocks, mutual funds, bonds, and cash.

I'm 34 y.o. and not quite sure I'm ready to retire any time soon, but it's nice knowing that I've reached this point and have a real buffer. On top of this, I have a few other things that should add to the pile in the coming months/years:

- House is worth between 210k-240k based on zillow and recent nearby sales. Mortgage is at 138k. I figure that after closing costs, etc, I'll be able to pull around 60k when I sell the house in the next year or two. Probably will go back to renting for a while at that point to allow more flexibility.
- I own 6400 shares in my current employer which is rumored to IPO soon. The board has set the current price per share around $7.50, so it's worth at least 48k... hopefully more after the IPO.
- There's another 38,000 shares in an employer from several years back. I bought them for $0.19/share and have no idea what they're worth these days. IPO is rumored but far less likely than current employer.
- Employer switched to an "unlimited" vacation policy and my accrued PTO is banked. Whenever I leave I'll be paid out about 8 weeks of pay -- somewhere in the neighborhood of $14,000 after taxes.
- Girlfriend moved in in March and my expenses have reduced tremendously. Not only does she contribute a few hundred bucks a month, but we're eating in more and I'm driving a lot less due to the lack of back and forth to her place.

When I add all of this in it seems like I'm getting really close to that 1M mark... while expenses are trending down closer to 30k or less. Thanks for listening!

 

[NW-Bound]

Congratulations - and don't let it worry you. I have 740K, and feel poor compared to the folks with $1M - 1.5M. They probably feel poor compared to those here with $5M - $10M!

Actually, I don't feel poor at all because I have a bicycle, 6 cats, and a half-finished bottle of Argentinian Malbec, but I'll save the "what do you need to be content" comment for another thread

With a net worth of $740K you are so much richer than many RV full-timers, and I am sure you know that too as you follow their blogs and have a feel for what money they have.

I'll say you are so ready to take off in a LazyDaze class C.

 

[Major Tom]

With a net worth of $740K you are so much richer than many RV full-timers, and I am sure you know that too as you follow their blogs and have a feel for what money they have.

I'll say you are so ready to take off in a LazyDaze class C.

I must admit I wonder about the budgets of some of the really low income RV'ers - the guys who are apparently living off $500/month or not much more. I wonder how much they spend on maintenance, or if they're conveniently not including it in their budget. Perhaps they're living on a wing and a prayer!

 

[REWahoo]

Perhaps they're living on a wing and a prayer!

I'm not sure they can afford wings...

 

[NW-Bound]

These people park most of the time in the national forests, and do not travel much as they cannot afford fuel. But then, they are way better than people who sleep in a car, or a makeshift tent.

Anyway, I just surfed rvtrader and saw a Lazy Daze with only 9,500 mi. It has two rear twinbeds, similarly to Andy Baird's, but is a bit shorter I think.

 

[Major Tom]

These people park most of the time in the national forests, and do not travel much as they cannot afford fuel.

The thing that makes me nervous when doing any kind of financial planning is the variable expenses that are hard to predict. In the case of RV'ing, this would be maintenance and eventual vehicle replacement. I usually put in a figure of $300/month as a guesstimated average for maintenance for a 15-20 year-old Lazy Daze with maybe around 80K miles on it (which is roughly what I'm aiming for). But who knows whether that is a reasonable estimate? I won't even know unless I've been doing it for a number of years and can report back on whether that was a good average guess.

I'm planning on driving around 500 miles/month - if it ever happens. I've been thinking about this for 5 years now and I could just get to the point where I decide that it's easier to stay in a sticks n' bricks abode.

 

[REWahoo]

I'm planning on driving around 500 miles/month - if it ever happens. I've been thinking about this for 5 years now and I could just get to the point where I decide that it's easier to stay in a sticks n' bricks abode.

That would be sad in my opinion. Taking our RV on the road for a couple of extended trips each year - and several other short ones - is something I really look forward to. The fact that age is placing a time limit on my opportunity to enjoy this hobby makes me even more anxious to get out on the road while I still can.

Go for it...

 

[Major Tom]

That would be sad in my opinion. Taking our RV on the road for a couple of extended trips each year - and several other short ones - is something I really look forward to. The fact that age is placing a time limit on my opportunity to enjoy this hobby makes me even more anxious to get out on the road while I still can.

Go for it...

At the very least, I want to try it to see if I like it. I'm still conserving cash (and the portfolio) for a few more years and luckily, have a bit of time on my side before I need to bite the bullet and give it a shot.

 

[NW-Bound]

... In the case of RV'ing, this would be maintenance and eventual vehicle replacement. I usually put in a figure of $300/month as a guesstimated average for maintenance for a 15-20 year-old Lazy Daze with maybe around 80K miles on it (which is roughly what I'm aiming for)...

I'm planning on driving around 500 miles/month - if it ever happens. I've been thinking about this for 5 years now and I could just get to the point where I decide that it's easier to stay in a sticks n' bricks abode...

OK, just one more post on RV and I will not sidetrack this thread further.

Do you really want something that old? I have seen plenty of RVs with less age and mileage and with asking prices of less than what people would pay for a new average car. I bought mine with 25K miles, and have not needed to do anything with the engine, other than to change oil. It's up to 45K miles now. The house portion needed some maintenance, but nothing serious.

So, you pay perhaps $20K for a vehicle that you live in for a few years, and if you send it to the junk yard afterwards, it is still not that expensive in exchange for the travel and life experience that it provides. And regarding fuel costs, full-timers usually linger for longer at each stop, so 500 mi/month sounds reasonable.

I use mine for traveling, so cover a few thousand miles in a month easily. It is fun. I am thinking about taking a 2 or perhaps even 3-month-long trip, covering 9K+ miles in late summer/fall this year.

 

[Major Tom]

OK, just one more post on RV and I will not sidetrack this thread further.

Do you really want something that old? I have seen plenty of RVs with less age and mileage and with asking prices of less than what people would pay for a new average car. I bought mine with 25K miles, and have not needed to do anything with the engine, other than to change oil. It's up to 45K miles now. The house portion needed some maintenance, but nothing serious.

So, you pay perhaps $20K for a vehicle that you live in for a few years, and if you send it to the junk yard afterwards, it is still not that expensive in exchange for the travel and life experience that it provides. And regarding fuel costs, full-timers usually linger for longer at each stop, so 500 mi/month sounds reasonable.

I use mine for traveling, so cover a few thousand miles in a month easily. It is fun. I am thinking about taking a 2 or perhaps even 3-month-long trip, covering 9K+ miles in late summer/fall this year.

Yes, we seem to be good at sidetracking threads by talking about RV's. I blame you, NW-Bound

I was only giving a rough estimate - and remember that I want an LD, which are typically a bit more expensive than many other brands - even when quite old. Currently, I'm figuring on spending no more than 20K for a 23 - 26 footer with at least 200W of solar. Perhaps I'll be able to get a 15 year-old LD instead of a 20 year-old one for that - or perhaps I'll stretch my budget to 25K, we'll see.

You're right though - that kind of money for a place one lives in for a few years, even if it is then sold for next to nothing, or junked, is worth it (unless the maintenance trouble and costs are excessive.)

Now, what was this thread about? Oh yes - FIRE milestones! I just checked my brokerage account, and it's at a smidgin over $744K, so a bit short of my next milestone of $3/4M. But hang on - I have a teeny bit over 6K in my checking, so I'm at $750K! Peanuts for some, but for little old me who has been drawing just $15,600/yr from my portfolio for the last 3 years and with a very minor p/t job, has been living off ~$17K/yr, things are looking reasonably good. I am cautiously optimistic.

 

[1979dreamer]

Yes, we seem to be good at sidetracking threads by talking about RV's. I blame you, NW-Bound

I was beginning to think I had posted in the wrong thread!

 

[cooch96]

$300k in funds and only $150k left on mortgage. I am now officially above water on the house, only took six and a half years. No other debts!