Join Early Retirement Today
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 02-27-2009, 05:28 PM   #21
Moderator Emeritus
CuppaJoe's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: At The Cafe
Posts: 6,873
Quote:
Originally Posted by M Paquette View Post
I retired March 2008...
Congrats on one year anniversary coming up!
CuppaJoe 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 02-27-2009, 06:33 PM   #22
Dryer sheet wannabe
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 12
Quote:
Originally Posted by Florida View Post
Is your net worth today higher or lower than the day you ER'd?
Higher.

jr
jrobb45 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-27-2009, 06:42 PM   #23
Recycles dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 127
7yrs + roughly 30%
__________________
If you think nobody cares whether you're alive or dead, try missing a couple of mortgage payments.
kowski is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-27-2009, 07:33 PM   #24
Moderator Emeritus
M Paquette's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Portland
Posts: 4,946
Quote:
Originally Posted by CuppaJoe View Post
Congrats on one year anniversary coming up!
M Paquette is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-27-2009, 07:56 PM   #25
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 2,068
Net worth down, income increasing.
__________________
"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.
(Ancient Indian Proverb)"
Zathras is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-27-2009, 08:08 PM   #26
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 1,595
You can measure your current net worth by your personal financial balance sheet, but this is kind of boring. There are many other possible measures, such as the value of your past and current contributions to a particular community.

Bailing out of the American War Machine has meant a huge drop in my personal income (although cash flow is still positive and net assets are still rising, albeit more slowly) but a huge increase in my potential to make worthwhile contributions to certain communities which I admire. The trade-off is worth it (to me).
socca is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-27-2009, 08:21 PM   #27
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
audreyh1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Rio Grande Valley
Posts: 38,008
It's lower! I retired in August of 1999. My current net worth is 18.6% lower than it was when I retired!

Of course, my net worth was at an all time high in October 2007, and very close to that all time high in May of 2008.

Well, at least I have had almost 10 years of great retirement living to show for it!

Hey - by this measure, we should still have 43.8 years to go!

Actually, going back through the details (and this is WHY I like to keep all this data around in Quicken!) I see that there was a massive tax bill for 1999 due to realized gains on the stock we sold to set up our retirement fund. If I take out the estimated taxes we set aside in 1999, knowing we would have to pay it in April of 2000, the net worth comparison is now down 11.2%. Not nearly so bad, really. But still pretty shocking! no?

Audrey
audreyh1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-27-2009, 10:53 PM   #28
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Koolau's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Leeward Oahu
Posts: 17,809
Quote:
Originally Posted by youbet View Post
I wonder where you're going with this question......

Folks who are worth more today than when they ER'd will no doubt have some special circumstance such as pensions that cover all expenses, investments that are completely avoiding the current downturn, inheritance, insurance or legal award, etc.
Retired in '05. Don't have the exact figures as some are difficult to value right now. I'm saying "equal or better" than when I retired.

While youbet calls it "special circumstances" I like to call it "diversification" even if that diversification is a bit bizarre. My relatively low equity portion of the PF took about the same hit as everyone else's here.

Yes, I do have a pension but it only covers about 1/3 of my outflow - this year, anyway. Nor is it COLA'd. So I look at my pension as being worth LESS than it used to be even though the dollar amount is the same.

But my house value has been relatively stable since '05 (up since then and then back down a bit - roughly a wash - but who knows if I don't actually sell it which I don't plan to do.) So while most have lost money on housing, I'm saying it's roughly the same.

Cash portion of PF is mostly in Stable Value funds and SPDAs - in total they have gone up at a rate of nearly 5% per year. This is the largest portion of my PF. Figure I'm significantly ahead though a case could be made for discounting to inflation since '05.

Bizarre (diversified?) portion:

Gold and silver coins pitched into the bottom of the safe deposit box - up quite a bit in the past several years. Probably covers most of my losses in equities.

SS (both DW's and mine) value has gone up with inflation though DW just started last month and I'm waiting. But the "value" has gone up at least in dollar amount - maybe only equal based on inflation.

"Rothing" my IRAs - yeah it cost me some taxes, but I consider that I now have MORE in IRAs than I used to and everything I've converted is now "tax free". I get to worry less and less about the inevitable RMDs at age 70 (talk about priceless!) So I consider the value to be higher.

My share of (very) small family bidness - profits up so guess that means value is up. How to value? Who knows?

Collectables - Just have to trust me on this. Value is UP. Not a huge portion of PF, but a few % at least.


So I guess I'm saying I agree with youbet that my PF is not "typical" but I'm guessing most of our PFs aren't typical. We have a wide range of situations and circumstances which may make it difficult to value our PFs or be certain if we've gained or lost value. Still, I believe I could make a good case that my PF has NOT gone down and maybe has increased since '05. Of course, those with more "traditional" PFs experienced much better results during the "good" years than I did. But YMMV, and FWIW of course.
__________________
Ko'olau's Law -

Anything which can be used can be misused. Anything which can be misused will be.
Koolau is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-28-2009, 07:35 AM   #29
Administrator
MichaelB's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Chicagoland
Posts: 40,586
Quote:
Originally Posted by audreyh1 View Post
IActually, going back through the details (and this is WHY I like to keep all this data around in Quicken!) I see that there was a massive tax bill for 1999 due to realized gains on the stock we sold to set up our retirement fund. If I take out the estimated taxes we set aside in 1999, knowing we would have to pay it in April of 2000, the net worth comparison is now down 11.2%. Not nearly so bad, really. But still pretty shocking! no?

Audrey
That's the spirit!

I think we retired around the same time and have had similar portfolio returns. I feel like I'm in good company...
MichaelB is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-28-2009, 07:43 AM   #30
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
RonBoyd's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Denver, Colorado
Posts: 6,256
And I gained $10.9 billion on Berkshire Hathaway:

Berkshire net sinks; Buffett says economy in shambles | Reuters

Quote:
Berkshire's net worth fell to $109.27 billion at year end from $120.16 billion at the end of September, and $120.73 billion at the end of 2007.
__________________
"It's tough to make predictions, especially when it involves the future." ~Attributed to many
"In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But, in practice, there is." ~(perhaps by) Yogi Berra
"Those who have knowledge, don't predict. Those who predict, don't have knowledge."~ Lau tzu
RonBoyd is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-28-2009, 04:50 PM   #31
Full time employment: Posting here.
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Punta Gorda, FL
Posts: 828
I reran Firecalc today using today's numbers. I could still retire, but there is not much cushion. Since I am retired, at least that makes me feel alittle better. Like most I am cutting back on the extras untill, hopefully things turn around.
dm is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-28-2009, 05:52 PM   #32
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
audreyh1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Rio Grande Valley
Posts: 38,008
Quote:
Originally Posted by audreyh1 View Post
It's lower! I retired in August of 1999. My current net worth is 18.6% lower than it was when I retired!

Of course, my net worth was at an all time high in October 2007, and very close to that all time high in May of 2008.

Well, at least I have had almost 10 years of great retirement living to show for it!

Hey - by this measure, we should still have 43.8 years to go!

Actually, going back through the details (and this is WHY I like to keep all this data around in Quicken!) I see that there was a massive tax bill for 1999 due to realized gains on the stock we sold to set up our retirement fund. If I take out the estimated taxes we set aside in 1999, knowing we would have to pay it in April of 2000, the net worth comparison is now down 11.2%. Not nearly so bad, really. But still pretty shocking! no?

Audrey
Well - my current net worth report was missing a couple of key accounts!!! Oops!, so the news is better. Now I am only down 6.5% from where I started in August of 1999 - LOL!

FWIW, my net worth reached its peak in Oct 2007 at 55% above where I started in 1999. After that my net worth made a U-turn and plummeted 40%. Ouch! 8.1 years of gains, 17 months to wipe it all out!

Whatever

Audrey
audreyh1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-28-2009, 06:08 PM   #33
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Dawg52's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Central MS/Orange Beach, AL
Posts: 9,067
Quote:
Originally Posted by dm View Post
I reran Firecalc today using today's numbers. I could still retire, but there is not much cushion. Since I am retired, at least that makes me feel alittle better. Like most I am cutting back on the extras untill, hopefully things turn around.
Ditto. Sure is depression though knowing how much I'm down.
__________________
Retired 3/31/2007@52
Investing style: Full time wuss.
Dawg52 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-03-2009, 03:44 AM   #34
Dryer sheet aficionado
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin
Posts: 31
My net weight is down 86 pounds since last June, 2008. Oh wait, you said net worth! Never mind!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ha...
sander06 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-03-2009, 07:16 AM   #35
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
tryan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 2,594
We're down 40-50% depending on how you value the rental property (harder to pin a number on). Mega corp 401k easily cut in half.

Good thing for those rents! Little bit interesting, with the drop in home value and rents remaining strong, my annual ROI has nearly doubled (from 3-4% at the peak to 6-8% today).
__________________
FIRE'd since 2005
tryan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-03-2009, 05:46 PM   #36
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
grumpy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 1,321
Interesting coincidence - this week when I updated my portfolio spreadsheet I decided to look back to see when it was last this low. Turns out it was almost exactly when I retired from NASA in 2002. Home equity is pretty much a wash - current house was more expensive but value has fallen to almost what I got for the previous house. So overall my net worth hasn't changed at all since I retired.
grumpy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-03-2009, 05:54 PM   #37
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
REWahoo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Texas: No Country for Old Men
Posts: 50,004
I'm with grumpy (always wanted to say that). I'm back to 2002 levels, 3 years before retiring.

The bad news is I knew back then I didn't have enough to retire. The good news is I'm 7 years nearer death so now that number doesn't look quite so depressing.
__________________
Numbers is hard
REWahoo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-03-2009, 06:32 PM   #38
Gone but not forgotten
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Sarasota,fl.
Posts: 11,447
I checked 2002 levels and I'm $50,000 below it that is the bad news . The good news is my house (even with the drop ) is worth 50% more .
Moemg is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-03-2009, 06:49 PM   #39
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
Quote:
Originally Posted by REWahoo View Post
The bad news is I knew back then I didn't have enough to retire. The good news is I'm 7 years nearer death so now that number doesn't look quite so depressing.
Well, ahem..that's comforting...
__________________
There's no need to complicate, our time is short..
bbbamI is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-03-2009, 10:31 PM   #40
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: North of Montana
Posts: 2,769
ER'd in June 07. Net worth doubled between Jun07 & June08 mostly because I had >50% in former mega-corp stock which tripled in that time frame. Sold some in June 08 and it has since tumbled but still about the same as Sept. 07.

Net worth is off 35% from it's high but still more than on my ER date.
__________________
There are two kinds of people in the world: those who can extrapolate conclusions from insufficient data and ..
kumquat 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


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Retired need to do this? Orchidflower FIRE and Money 22 01-30-2008 04:38 PM
How do you know you are retired? calmloki Other topics 21 01-19-2008 05:46 AM
Retired? HFWR Other topics 40 12-28-2007 09:21 AM
Hello - Retired in TX Wags Hi, I am... 17 08-22-2007 03:07 AM
Are you retired? JustCurious FIRE and Money 31 01-06-2007 03:09 PM

» Quick Links

 
All times are GMT -6. The time now is 03:31 AM.
 
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.