Poll:What influence has E-R.org had on your ability to retire early?

[Idnar7]

I joined this forum two years before my job was eliminated. Rather than freak out, I was confidant I could ER based on what I had learned here. And severance was just gravy. Going into my third year everything has gone swimmingly.

 

[clifp]

So I'll start.

E-R.org is why we'll be able to retire SIX years earlier than we had planned (and I was already planning to retire at 59)...as long as an asteroid doesn't hit, and heaven forbid the creek don't rise.

The reason we'll be able to go out and play six years earlier than planned is because before finding E-R I didn't know that financial advisors didn't have our best interests at heart (dumb I know), I didn't know what an Index fund was, I didn't know about Firecalc, I didn't know what an AA was, and I sure didn't know what influence all of the above had our our ability to get to retirement while still in my early 50s.

So it sounds kinda sappy, but to whomever started this forum and for those of you who have kept it alive, vibrant and helpful to us newbies, a sincere THANK YOU!

I had already been retired. Like W2R as forum junkie I was on my second or third early retirement forum when I found this place. I wish it existed back in 1999.

Still even as "veteran ER", quite familiar with things like SWR, AA etc. I've learned much, FIRECalc, Penfed,some great stock and bond picks, info about real estate.

A place to hang with like minded individual, lot of good advice on various matters, and some much needed tough love about evicting a drug using roommate. I've made a couple of real life friends, met several others, and made many virtual ones. All of which is very much appreciated.

But I wanted to single out Lisa and let her know that this isn't advice business isn't a one way street.

I remember her first posts, her frustration with Amerprise, her openness to learning new things. At the same time I was struggling with getting my friend to drop Amerprise, (frustrating when a friend ask you for advice on subject you know and the refuses to take it).

I and know many other member spent quite a bit of time responding to individual financial questions. Sometimes after spend 30 minute or more composing a reply, and never getting a response that post was even read much less paid attention to. I ask myself why do I bother.

But when you get the perfect student like Lisa, it is very good feeling when they announce they have fired their financial adviser. Because you know that you along with many others at least helped one person achieve there financial goals.

 

[MichaelB]

I came across E-R Forum a few years after leaving the working world, invited here from another forum by an old time member. Funny as it sounds, if I had been a member when I was still working I might not have quit. My portfolio withdrawal rate was too high. A couple more years would definitely have been the preferred option. Managed to work things out, life is great, retirement is a blast, and the forum is a great place to hang out.


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[travelover]

.........
But when you get the perfect student like Lisa, it is very good feeling when they announce they have fired their financial adviser. Because you know that you along with many others at least helped one person achieve there financial goals.

I agree. Many ask but few listen, fewer still follow through.

 

[DeborahB]

I think I found this a couple of years before I retired at 62. I had already been LBYM and had read "Your Money or Your Life" - back when the advice there was to ladder 7 - 8 % CDs !

Okay, that didn't pan out by the time I was closer to retirement - oh PLEASE send me a 7% CD!!! Anyhow I was busily making spreadsheets to figure out different scenarios before I was 60. I still like my spreadsheet approach. I also was using Quicken just to track my investments and total assets. Push a button and it updates the stock prices. Wheee.

I kind of do this differently than a lot of people here - I just keep an eye on the total $$$ and note that it is still increasing despite almost 3 years of retirement. Should last until I'm 100 and I could always cut back. I checked out FireCalc and all that but I have a lot of financial background and I like investing and watching my dividend stocks. I'm comfortable with my approach.

I loved finding this community. It's so diverse and so many people help me whenever I have a question - most recently the big irritation and joy of Medicare coming soon.

The whole place is just reassuring and friendly and smart. Good job, and thanks!

 

[Walt34]

I was already retired for about a year when I found this forum. Likehttp://www.early-retirement.org/forums/members/smurray5991-26903.html smurray5991 I just found the community interesting as well as the just plain common sense that is seemingly so rare anymore.

Not only financial issues but dealing with irresponsible family, elderly parents, and learning how others have dealt with some of the same issues we're tussling with now. It's good to read from others who have "been there, done that" and there is a light at the end of the tunnel that is probably not an oncoming train.

 

[H2ODude]

I came here as I transitioned from long time career to consulting to nada. I knew I had the FI covered, but psychologically have struggled with spending at anything near the SWR. I have used the opinions and assurances of the discussions here to sort of relax about the spending and loosen up on the life-long living way below our means.

One thing I know for sure...if it all went to Hell I could not work a regular job again. My volunteering even avoids any "be here at specific o'clock" ... Until last few years I enjoyed my career; the work changed but so did I. Can relate to a lot of opinions I see here regarding when it's time to bail.

 

[rockyj]

I voted "Not retired - E-R has helped but it's not the main reason why I'll be able to retire early". What keeps me from voting "...E-R info is why I'll be able to retire early" are my defined benefit pension and employer health plans when I do pull the plug. ;-) That date is looking ever closer all the time, in a large part due to practices that have been informed or reinforced by the many very helpful discussions here (and, to be fair, over at Bogleheads as well).


It's hard to reconstruct how I found this place. I joined the forum in fall of 2006, but I'm sure I lurked for some time before and have mostly, though continuously, lurked since. It may have been Bob clyatt's "Work Less, Live More" tha pointed me here, or perhaps vice versa, who knows, but there was a close connection in any case.

I am very thankful to have found this group. It certainly has provided much actionable information, helpful perspective and encouragement over the last few years, and on many dimensions of living, in addition to the financial part.

Except for the situational particulars, smurray5991's summation in post 43 above pretty much says it for me. Other comments, too, but too many to point out here.

I also agree with Thinker25 that "The whole place is just reassuring and friendly and smart." Thanks to all, and the mods in particular, for keeping the place going and for helping to keep it that way.

 

[Koolau]

I actually remember finding ER.org for the first time. I was at a particularly low point at w*rk and put a word like "retirement" or some such into my search engine at w*rk. I eventually found this forum. This was actually quite early in the forum's history (2002? or 2003?) Dory36 and intercst were active at the time. I didn't have a home computer, so I only lurked from w*rk.

I think the big thing that the forum did for me was convince me (through FIREcalc and anecdotal examples of board members) that I really WAS FI. From then until ER in 2007, I used the site for "sanity". Reading how others had "done it", were enjoying it, recommended it, etc., were the only things that kept me going some days.

Knowing there was a place to go for unbiased answers was also a huge help.

Hats off to ER.org. YMMV

 

[Skyward1]

Before I joined ER and also BH I thought I was doing fairly well saving for retirement because I was comparing myself with my peers/family etc. After a rude awakening here I quickly realized I was mistaken and have since made some significant steps towards my goal of ER.

The first of this year I paid off my house and also doubled my 401k contribution to hit the max. I have generally been fairly frugal throughout my life but recently I have moved further away from a consumer mentality and now I give a lot of thought to purchases and how they will impact my future retirement. I really get a lot of motivation here and it helps me stay the course when most of the people I know are heading on a different path.

 

[ShortInSeattle]

We've always been good savers, but this forum has helped me become more educated as an investor (book recommendations & so forth), inspired me to reduce my expenses while increasing savings even more, and given me a more realistic view of the challenges of ER and FI. I'd also say this forum has made me a bit more cautious about pulling the plug on work, but all things considered this is good.

I enjoy the optimists here and also the "realists" who remind me that 4% withdrawal rates are not a guarantee and that life has a way of making our best laid plans obsolete.

SIS

 

[Amethyst]

This is my 5th year on the ER Forum. As a rule I do not enjoy financial websites. However, I was feeling frustrated at work, went home, plugged "retirement" into a search engine, found a guy's blog about early retirement (Phil something or other) and a link to this forum.

First, I played around with Firecalc, and then started reading the posts. Voila, here were "my people" - practical, careful, thoughtful, irreverent, and often downright silly. Many were sharing detailed stories of their personal situations. I gained a great deal from reading those.

Unlike most folks in my everyday life, the forum members do not think it is weird to look for ways to save, or to track every penny spent - they have long discussions of the best way to do it! I started keeping a detailed expense spreadsheet, which I refine each year.

This forum taught me about "tax-loss harvesting," which I'd heard about, but was afraid to try. We have since dumped a number of bad stock purchases, saving $$ on our taxes. The forum also encouraged us to think more analytically about asset allocation.

Amethyst

 

[ERhoosier]

Appears that I am in the most popular category! Not yet ER, but close. Learned a lot here about both financial & (perhaps more importantly) non-financial stuff.

BTW Lisa- Your 1st poll has been rather popular. Thanks for posting it.

 

[Dakotah]

I found the ER sit just last fall and it has been very helpful if confirming my decision to retire early next year.
The FIRE calculator is helpful and the discussion boards are a hoot to read.
I think I read about the site over at the Bogleheads site which is also very informative.

 

[Badger]

I was well on my way when I found the forum 5 years ago but didn't realize it. I thought we would be OK once we were both retired but that would probably be in our late 60s. With information here and on suggested links a few changes were made so when my wife came home one day and said she was retiring from her teaching job I wasn't concerned. A couple of years later at 63 I decided it was time too. I enjoyed my career as a college professor and wouldn't have minded staying a few more years but the money had been saved, some medical issues gave me a scare that made me wonder if all our plans for retirement would go up in smoke, and we wanted to enjoy life while we still had the time.

Cheers!

 

[Nodak]

Had been retired for two years before I found this forum.

 

[Gumby]

I lurked on this forum (or an earlier proto-version with some of the same people) for many years before I actually joined. Originally, if I recall correctly, it was on the Motley Fool message board. Then they wanted to charge to read it, so I stopped. Some time after that, I found that most of the same crowd had migrated to Greaney's board, and I lurked there for a while. Then I discovered that Dory36 had started this forum, so I came and lurked here until I had something to say.

As far as helping with FIRE, I would say that I had the desire and vision, and had formulated my essential spending, savings and investment plan by the mid 1980s, well before there was such a thing as an internet forum. I'm still more or less on the same path I set way back then. That said, I have learned many new things here and I truly enjoy interacting with all of you.

 

[mbooth]

As others have already said, I have always unwittingly been preparing myself to be FI with aggressive saving, LBYM approach to spending, and basic familiarity with investment approaches, etc. – but (a bit surprisingly) had not ever made a decision about when specifically to stop working, much less thought about RE.

However, when my job was eliminated late last year, and my BS bucket was full enough that the thought of another full time job wasn’t too appealing, I started searching the internet for ‘early retirement’ to see what came up. Finding this forum was an enormous gift from the first day I started exploring it, and has provided multiple values as I have rapidly passed through ‘stages of ER’:

- First, just through reading back posts I learned that FIRE was an actual real choice/possibility, and many had been there before (I had never considered it before!);
- Second because of the confidence immediately provided about my financial ability to RE based on FireCALC and member reassurance on my specific circumstances posted in an introductory post;
- Third because of the tons and tons of excellent, practical, concrete advice about financially managing the numerous dimensions of living in RE (many of which I have already acted on, and many more that I plan to);
- Fourth because of the terrific balance of the ‘practical’ and the ‘emotional’/’lifestyle’ aspects of FIRE – it is wonderful hearing about people’s personal journeys from all sorts of starting points. I can already see that this is a place where you can always find something relevant to whatever ‘stage’ of FIRE you are at.
- Fifth because of the very high caliber of members – smart, engaged, experienced, funny, -- and the very positive, constructive tone of the site overall (thank you moderators!).

And I’m sure there are sixth, seventh, and umpteenth more examples of what this site has given to me already, and will no doubt continue to give. I have come to the forum virtually every day since I began considering ‘retirement’ four months ago and have always taken something valuable away with me from every visit. My final day at full-time work was last Friday , and I very much look forward to continuing to grow with all of you as I further define my form of ER going forward. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!

Bang on, and you've saved me an awful lot of typing

Back in early 07 after 41 years in the workforce I recognised that my BS Bucket [perfect metaphor] had reached 'terminal velocity' and that if I continued much longer there could be blood-on-walls involved.....so did my wife and, because of the family stress engendered my j*b the blood concerned might be mine!

I'd been tracking daily expenses for a couple of years.....combined with the invaluable financial and psychological advice this site contributed, there was enough 'oomph' for us to pull the grenade-pin and jump off the FIRE cliff. It has worked out OK

The financial journey has been.....errmmmm....volatile...over the last few years, but in overall terms we have endured and found retirement life far preferable to the two alternatives.....w*rking or dieing, so we count our blessings constantly

Whilst er.org is definitely Ameri-centric, there is enough general principles advice and opinion to keep this Aussie member coming back each day, but boy, your constant discussion of health-care costs and IRA's keep us furriners in a state of perpetual bewilderment.....just sort it out dudes, there's more to life than health.....errmmmm, wait a minute!

Anyways, this site for me is a daily must, despite our different senses-of-humour [the correct spelling], I'm sure we can get along OK

Nice poll Lisa......don't do it again!

 

[obgyn65]

After participating to this website over the last couple of years, I have become aware that I am an outlier from an investment perspective. Too conservative. This is my own perception about my actual feelings about money and security. It is not related to the actual calculated WR. The truth is that I may feel insecure about money - not sure why. "Over cautious" comes to mind.

Why do you need to work on it? In your later posts, I think you shared that your WR will be low enough that it doesn't matter what your AA is.

-ERD50

 

[Meadbh]

After participating to this website over the last couple of years, I have become aware that I am an outlier from an investment perspective. Too conservative. This is my own perception about my actual feelings about money and security. It is not related to the actual calculated WR. The truth is that I may feel insecure money - not sure why. "Over cautious" comes to mind.

Obgyn, you may be conservative compared to most North Americans, but you would not be an outlier in Europe, where many if not most people invest as you do. I am also from Europe and my father, a career civil servant, never invested in equities. But when I was a child, my mother inherited a portfolio of equities from a close family member in the US. She educated herself about equities and managed the portfolio well over the years, eventually leaving it in trust for me. The DJIA was a regular topic of conversation in our house.

 

[LitGal]

Discovered ER.org the Last Week I Worked

It was final exam week, June '12, and I had informed all who cared that I would be retiring after turning in my grades. One morning when I had a late exam to give (so had some extra time to kill), I started wondering about what others might have to say about retirement.

DH and I had already done all the requisite research and planning; he had ER'd for health reasons the previous Jan. So all of our "nuts and bolts" were in place. Now, though, I was SO CLOSE TO BEING FINISHED that I could finally allow myself to fantasize about future fun, beyond the world of grading essays.

So I googled "early retirement," and guess what popped up? I joined, started reading, and have been entertained, educated, and grateful ever since. I'm not part of any other on-line forums, don't do Facebook, etc. But, as I've told DH, this site is like walking into a local VFW or Moose lodge, except everyone in this "club" simply has ER interests in common (and is ready to talk/share from their own experiences and research). What fun!

And, whenever I have an ER question and want to know the "local collective knowledge" on that question, I simply log on, look for a thread, or just ask the question myself.

For example, thanks to ER.org, I now know how to rent a car to tour the Loire Valley this September..........and the advice came from folks in Colorado, Texas, the UK, etc.

Thanks to all!!

(This June, I will have been ER'd for a year. This site has only re-affirmed the wisdom of that decision.)

 

[MooreBonds]

After participating to this website over the last couple of years, I have become aware that I am an outlier from an investment perspective. Too conservative. This is my own perception about my actual feelings about money and security. It is not related to the actual calculated WR. The truth is that I may feel insecure about money - not sure why. "Over cautious" comes to mind.

Don't worry about being 'too conservative'. When I first started investing in the early 90s (pooled funds w/ brother and sisters), it was only in 5-year T-notes. About 6 months later, I waded into individual equities, where I spent the next 6 years seesawing between losses of 30% and break-even. Had I merely stayed the course in gov't bonds (or an index/low cost mutual fund), I would have had a decent overall return!

Then in the early 2000s, went into Munis and REITs. Gradually spent the next 8 years adding more to equities, as I realized that - despite the fluctuations - they do offer more inflation-protected growth over the long run.

Your first step with Vanguard was a great first step! Don't worry, you'll hopefully take a few more baby steps as you add a dash of equities here and there.