Anyone retire with less than $500k?

[haha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by youbet But, OK, call it a "re-evaluation."

How about "just another route to nirvana"? Remember, it's all good at all times.

Ha

[chasesfish]

Can you go work for Costco? That's my backup plan, preferably at a costco next to the beach the day I can no longer stand my job. I have a bit more than the OP saved up

[clifp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chasesfish Can you go work for Costco? That's my backup plan, preferably at a costco next to the beach the day I can no longer stand my job. I have a bit more than the OP saved up

Actually Costco jobs are pretty darn hard to get, in Hawaii they get many many more applicants than they have positions.

[chasesfish]

Quote:

Originally Posted by clifp Actually Costco jobs are pretty darn hard to get, in Hawaii they get many many more applicants than they have positions.

That's actually pretty good to know. Hopefully an ex Megacorp employee could get hired. It would probably be awkward to tell them in the job interview that I own $80k in Costco stock

[OAG]

Quote:

Originally Posted by youbet But, if you "supplement" savings as you describe, doesn't that mean you failed? If you FIRE with a nestegg of $X with the intention of being done "earning," and the plan doesn't work and you have to go earn some more, I think that's a "failure." If you're able to go earn some more with a minimum of pain, great. It's not a disaster or doomsday. But it's still a failure of the original plan and makes the answer to the question "did I have enough" a resounding "NO!"

Not all sporting seasons end "undefeated" yet many are successful franchises. You do what you have to do to "succeed" IMHO. If OP wants to give it a shot he should (again IMO).

I think that at 38 (when I "retired") the "plan" was adjustable in the abstract. I don't remember ever thinking in my mind that "failure" was possible but I can see how not being 100% successful can be considered, by some, as exactly that.

[comicbookgujy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chasesfish Can you go work for Costco? That's my backup plan, preferably at a costco next to the beach the day I can no longer stand my job. I have a bit more than the OP saved up

I actually thought of Costco because they offer benefits to part-timer. But retail jobs are thought to get nowaday. You have 100 people applying for 1 job opening.

I'm thinking part time Usher at ballpark. I did that in my early 20's. Can't beat getting paid and watching game for free.

I think I will create a phoney corporation and pay that $400 annual fee so I if I actually have to go back to work and they ask me what I have been doing for the past 2 years, I can say, "started my own small business."

[youbet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by OAG Not all sporting seasons end "undefeated" yet many are successful franchises. You do what you have to do to "succeed" IMHO. If OP wants to give it a shot he should (again IMO). I think that at 38 (when I "retired") the "plan" was adjustable in the abstract. I don't remember ever thinking in my mind that "failure" was possible but I can see how not being 100% successful can be considered, by some, as exactly that.

As explained earlier, my use of the word "failure" was in the statistical testing sense/context, as in a FireCalc "failure."

If your plan was intended to be "adjustable," and you've voluntarily or involuntarily gone back to work, changed your budget, moved, whatever, and that is to your liking, great. If your plan was to be truly and permanently "FIRE'd" and it didn't work out and you're back at work, that's what I call a failure. That doesn't imply a failure in life or unhappiness. Rather just a mathematical outcome outside of the "success" parameters defined at the beginning of the plan.

Example:

A 50 yr old plans to FIRE on $100k/yr income living in a pricey coastal area and enjoying a significant amount of entertainment and travel. By 60 yrs of age, he sees his portfolio dropping, in his opinion, too quickly and feels that even starting SS early won't save things. He moves to a less expensive area and cuts down on travel and entertainment. His new budget is $70k/yr. Despite the fact he discovers he loves his new geographic area, has found some exciting hobbies and interesting friends and is continuing to truly enjoy life, his original plan is technically a "failure" in the sense of the word I'm using.

EDIT: I just re-read my original post to you. Ooooops! I see I used the terminology "you failed." I meant to say "your plan failed." I think my mis-wording has caused our misunderstanding. Sorry if that's the case.

[youbet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by comicbookgujy I'm thinking part time Usher at ballpark. I did that in my early 20's. Can't beat getting paid and watching game for free.

I checked on doing that at Wrigley Field. They told me they had so many qualified applicants in queue they weren't even accepting additional applications!

They were taking applications for vendor jobs. But those are commission based and you really have to hustle. If you don't sell much, you not only make little money, you get canned.

We also have a couple of minor league ball parks in the area I've considered applying at but so far haven't. Which ballpark did you usher at?

[comicbookgujy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by youbet I checked on doing that at Wrigley Field. They told me they had so many qualified applicants in queue they weren't even accepting additional applications! They were taking applications for vendor jobs. But those are commission based and you really have to hustle. If you don't sell much, you not only make little money, you get canned. We also have a couple of minor league ball parks in the area I've considered applying at but so far haven't. Which ballpark did you usher at?

I was an usher at Candlestick Park. Soon to be gone next year!!
I saw in the paper the concession workers in AT&T park make $12 to $20 a hour. I think I was making $11 a hour back in 1997.

There seems to be 3 times of people that work as usher:

1.) The retired looking to get out of the house. They get the "nice" sections like lower level and club seating. Newbies like me had to work upper deck dealing with drunks, gangstas, and smokers.

2.) The people in their 20's looking for a cool part time job

3.) The people that are working 4 part-time jobs so they don't go homeless

The vendor jobs seem to have job openings in most place. It's tough work and I don't I would want to do it. Can't really enjoy the game working as vendor.

[Backpacker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by comicbookgujy I actually thought of Costco because they offer benefits to part-timer. But retail jobs are thought to get nowaday. You have 100 people applying for 1 job opening. I'm thinking part time Usher at ballpark. I did that in my early 20's. Can't beat getting paid and watching game for free. I think I will create a phoney corporation and pay that $400 annual fee so I if I actually have to go back to work and they ask me what I have been doing for the past 2 years, I can say, "started my own small business."

My P/T "dream" job in retirement is driving the hotel shuttle bus from airport to hotel and making cash tips.

[ESRwannabe]

I guess I must be living in the third world part of the US. As a single guy with no children I have no problem at all living on $2k a month and half of that goes to rent.

Anyway, with $500k I could almost retire. I would assume that I could take out 3% per year indefinitely, which would be conservative. That would give me $15k. It's close but not enough.

I'm actually getting close to this amount myself. However my plan is to keep working full time until I'm 45. I want to save up more than $500k because it would just be cutting it too close. At $750k I'd definitely feel like I had enough. Then I'll consider my options.

What I'm planning to look into is "early semi-retirement" i.e. ESR. In other words my plan would be to continue working, but make it more enjoyable. So ideally I will be able to find something interesting to do that pays a little bit, like maybe $10k-$15k per year. I don't think it will be too hard to find something tolerable to do part-time.

One thing I might do is go back to graduate school. Its not hard to get a teaching assistant position. Then I'd have school paid for and bring in around $15k income. That could easily take 4 years to do, and it would be fun. There would be no pressure, because I wouldn't exactly be looking for a job once I graduated.

I was a year into a masters degree for comp sci when the dot com implosion happened. So being prudent, I looked for a job with the government doing IT work, which I dropped out to take.

Another thing I might look into would be teaching english in other countries. That's always sounded like a fun thing to do. Or maybe something with the peace corps. All I really need is an interesting way to get my room and board paid for. If I have no living expenses then the investment returns on $750k would grow very nicely in the mean time.

[martyb]

We'll be retiring later this year with less than $500k, but I have 2 COLA pensions. We also don't own a home currently, and will be buying one, that we can pay off in 3-4 years. Of course, I wish we had a bigger stash but it is what it is, and I don't want to work anymore (soon to be 56). Still, our retired net income will be greater than our working net income. I won't get much SS (maybe $200). Wife will maybe get $600 at 62 (10 yrs from now).

[Major Tom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ESRwannabe I guess I must be living in the third world part of the US. As a single guy with no children I have no problem at all living on $2k a month and half of that goes to rent. Anyway, with $500k I could almost retire. I would assume that I could take out 3% per year indefinitely, which would be conservative. That would give me $15k. It's close but not enough.

That's roughly what I did. I ESR'ed a couple of years ago with somewhere between 600 and 640K. I forget the exact amount - would have to check my records, but that's about what it was. I'm single with no debt and paying just $640/month in rent. No car - just a bicycle, and 3 feline mouths to feed Last time I checked, the stash had grown to between 685 and 690K.

I have been withdrawing $1300/month = $15600/yr for a WR (based on the original amount) of around 2.5%, and supplementing it with income from a very minor part-time job, which involves finding tenants for my landlord's properties. It's only a few hours work a month, and it adds an extra 1K - 1.2K to my annual income, maybe a bit more.

I will turn 50 this year. If the portfolio does OK over the next few years, I may increase my WR a bit and when SS hits, I will feel as if I'm living in the lap of luxury (relatively speaking).

It's interesting to me that the higher income I hope to achieve when I start claiming SS will still be well below the level at which many would want to live. Different strokes for different folks, it takes all sorts to make the world go round etc. etc. (insert your favorite saying here.)

[FIREd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Major Tom That's roughly what I did. I ESR'ed a couple of years ago with somewhere between 600 and 640K. I forget the exact amount - would have to check my records, but that's about what it was. I'm single with no debt and paying just $640/month in rent. No car - just a bicycle, and 3 feline mouths to feed Last time I checked, the stash had grown to between 685 and 690K. I have been withdrawing $1300/month = $15600/yr for a WR (based on the original amount) of around 2.5%, and supplementing it with income from a very minor part-time job, which involves finding tenants for my landlord's properties. It's only a few hours work a month, and it adds an extra 1K - 1.2K to my annual income, maybe a bit more. I will turn 50 this year. If the portfolio does OK over the next few years, I may increase my WR a bit and when SS hits, I will feel as if I'm living in the lap of luxury (relatively speaking). It's interesting to me that the higher income I hope to achieve when I start claiming SS will still be well below the level at which many would want to live. Different strokes for different folks, it takes all sorts to make the world go round etc. etc. (insert your favorite saying here.)

Very impressive given where you live. With only $650 left per month for food, pets, health care, utilities, insurance, etc... I don't know how you do it.

[imoldernu]

Quote:

Anyone retire with less than $500k?

yes

[clifp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ESRwannabe I guess I must be living in the third world part of the US. As a single guy with no children I have no problem at all living on $2k a month and half of that goes to rent. Anyway, with $500k I could almost retire. I would assume that I could take out 3% per year indefinitely, which would be conservative. That would give me $15k. It's close but not enough.

Well where you live matters a ton, I knew ComicBookguy lives in the Bay Area which is one of the most expensive areas in the country. I don't know where Major Tom lives in CA but I am guessing if he spends $460/month it isn't in the Bay Area.

One of my best friends, a well paid IP lawyer, actually retired a bit earlier than me at 38. He couldn't convince his firm to let him work part time so quit and hasn't gone back to work. He has continued to live in the Bay Area for the last 15 years. I'm think he had between 500K to 1 million. The rest of us have always commented about his monk like existence he has led, studio apartment, basic cellphone, old computer. Now I don't know how much of this is by necessity and how much by choice. But it would be too spartan for my comfort level.

[haha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by clifp Well where you live matters a ton, I knew ComicBookguy lives in the Bay Area which is one of the most expensive areas in the country. I don't know where Major Tom lives in CA but I am guessing if he spends $460/month it isn't in the Bay Area.

Actually he lives in a very nice part of the East Bay- right in the middle of things. He is clearly a very skilled lbm-er.

Ha

[scrabbler1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ESRwannabe I guess I must be living in the third world part of the US. As a single guy with no children I have no problem at all living on $2k a month and half of that goes to rent. Anyway, with $500k I could almost retire. I would assume that I could take out 3% per year indefinitely, which would be conservative. That would give me $15k. It's close but not enough. I'm actually getting close to this amount myself. However my plan is to keep working full time until I'm 45. I want to save up more than $500k because it would just be cutting it too close. At $750k I'd definitely feel like I had enough. Then I'll consider my options.

As I asked the OP earlier in this thread (first page), I ERed back in 2008 at age 45. Like you, I am single with no children. I split my ER plan into two parts - the more important one to get me to age ~60 by using only my taxable accounts. When I first ERed, I cashed out my company stock using NUA and put its proceeds into my taxable account, giving me about $600k in total. My Rollover IRA dropped to about $235k but both accounts have grown nicely since then. My total expenses, even in high-cost Long Island, are about $1,800-$1,900 per month and that includes health insurance.

Allowing for a cushion is a good idea. My taxable portfolio generates about $2,500 in dividends so I can handle unforeseen expenses without difficulty. That gives me peace of mind and enables me to live at the same level I had before I ERed.

[youbet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by imoldernu yes

Yes, but when you retired $500k would have been enough to purchase North America! Or at least everything west of the Mississippi..........

[martyb]