CLASS OF 2027 to 2037

[iam21177]

36 years old and aiming for 2028 (age 51)!

[Gasdoc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2035 I think to keep each other motivated, we should post milestones at the end of the year...and more often as achieved. For example, I got a late start, so I reached $100K (401, Roth) last January at 38, now I'm at $145.5K (401 - 120.25K, Roth - 25.25K). In addition to maxing out my 401(k) and Roth, I also buy $50 in I Bonds every two weeks. This represents 32% of my pay (company kicks in an additional 4.5%)...not an easy feat for a single gal in SF, but I have my eyes on the prize!!!!

Good call....love trying to keep each other motivated. Good job last year...and in a high cost area taboot!

BTW, I'm 35 and looking to Semi-retire at age 50 (2028) and fully retire once the little ladies are finished educating themselves (ages 2 and 3 now). Let's go work on it, youngsters!!

[studbucket]

I'm 27 and in my "worst case", I'm retired by age 45 (2031).

We're refinancing now, which took away one of my investment cycles, as I used the money for the new loan, but doing my calculations, it will save us $180,000 over the next 18 years (until we sell the house and retire), even with this large up-front cost, so it's totally worth it.

Right now I'm about 2 months ahead of my projected curve to retirement, but about 2 months behind where I actually want to be.

[ShortInSeattle]

Hey everyone!

I'm 33 and plan to retire with DH by 50. That puts us at about.... 2030. We have a shot at making it sooner than that, but with so many variables we just take the "let's keep doing the best we can and when we get there, we get there" mindset.

We're currently investing about 1/3 of our gross income, living on 1/3, and taxes take another 1/3. Our FI target is roughly 2.5 Million, plus a paid off home. We live in a relatively high cost area, and plan to stay here if we can.

It's nice to meet you all.

SIS

[texastech97]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GatherYeAcorns 40 years old hoping to be semi-retired in 2027 and be in my PJs all day- 7 days a week by 2037. Raise your hands if these are your PR years!

I’m hoping I can retire in 2027. This would be the earliest after 25 years of service with my current company.

[RISP]

I'll soon turn 31, and I'm sincerely hoping that I will at least be FI by 2037. Once that is achieved, I'll reevaluate whether I want to ER, ESR (working part time), or continue to work FT. It's all about having options.

There's yet another re-org currently going on at my megacorp, and I really wouldn't want to be in the shoes of some of my older colleagues who are far from being FI and would have a hard time finding work again... If something like that happens again when I'm in my fifties, I plan to be sitting on a significant pile of savings and praying that they axe me. The compensation packages are really generous if you've been with megacorp for some years.

[catccc]

Currently 33, hoping to be FI or RE at 48, so that would be aiming for the class of 2028!

[arebelspy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Niko Out of curiosity, how do people measure their saving percentage? I've seen very different calculations done. Personally I don't have a target savings %; nor do I even calculate that figure. I just try and keep my spending as low as I can and put everything else towards savings.

This discussion, for example, has some thoughts on the topic:
MMM Discussion Thread on Savings Rate

[mod edit]
I personally do this:

Quote:

I personally do Savings Rate = (Net Income + Gross Tax Deferred Contributions - Expenses) / (Net Income + Gross Tax Deferred Contributions) I don't count debt principal repayment. Though I AM saving that money, so I do count those other times (for example, when calculating expenses, especially when trying to calculate/estimate post-FIRE expenses). Similarly, I don't take off a portion of my tax deferred amount saved to account for future taxes. (So even though 1k in a Roth is worth more than 1k in a 401k, for saving purposes for simplicity's sake I treat them the same). But I do take out the taxes on that for other calculations.

I only asked in this thread because I've hung out a lot on the ERE forums and MMM forums, and the population tends to be quite a bit younger (20s and 30s) and I'm more familiar with their savings rates (often quite extreme, up to 80 or 90%). The people here on these forums tend not to be as "extreme," so I was curious if you all were targeting an early retirement via high savings rate or were doing a more traditional 10-20% but just starting to plan/dream very early.

Relevant to the above, someone else started a poll over there on savings rates a few days after I asked the question here, and as of right now it looks like about half the respondents save 51% or more of their income.

For like-minded individuals those other forums are pretty good, but these forums (e-r.org) tend to have a lot more wisdom. I'm glad to see some more young people dreamers on this one!

[2035]

Quote:

Originally Posted by arebelspy Here are some thoughts on the topic: MMM Discussion Thread 1 on Savings Rate MMM Discussion Thread 2 on Savings Rate MMM Discussion Thread 3 on Savings Rate MMM Discussion Thread 4 on Savings Rate MMM Discussion Thread 5 on Savings Rate

We're just a group of younger folks looking to inspire each other and celebrate our successes. Also, from what I've read, most of us are seriously saving and planning.

True we could comb through old threads and find relevant topics here and there, but this is a targeted discussion for people a little dither behind the finish line.

[CDN_47]

Almost 47 yrs old. Didn't get serious about savings until a few years ago. Hope to be FI by 55, however if I'm enjoying the job I'll keep working for a few more years. Our current savings rate is 45% of gross. We use automatic payments for all our investments on a monthly basis. Best way for us to force-save. Plus I have a non-cola'd DB with 22 years of contributions to date.

I'm always impressed with 30-somethings being able to save at high rates. Well done people!

[2035]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2035 but this is a targeted discussion for people a little dither behind the finish line.

I mean "further" behind...sorry typing to fast.

[caninelover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Niko How do you calculate that 30%? Your annual savings divided by line 7 on the 1040 ("wages, salaries, tips . . .")? Divided by your total wages (without subtracting SS, medicare, taxes, etc)? Divided by your wages minus required witholdings like SS, and medicare?

I keep it simple, annual savings (incl. match) / salary + bonus (that would be the bulk of my line 7). My salary is fixed, my bonus is not, hence the plus or minus in any given year.

[caninelover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tyrobi Awesome job! I notice the trend for caninelover that it tooks 4 years for the investment accounts to increase from $100k to $200k, then only 2 years later to increase another $100k to $300k. The last $100k increase to $400k is less than 2 years. That's very inspirational to me as a saver. So I went back to my excel to see my own trend. My retirement funds reached $100k in Jan 2012. It crossed $150k last month, Jan 2013. I look forward to $200k before the end of 2014. It took me 7 years to get the first $100k. Hopefully, it'll take less than 7 years to get another $100k. And the good trend continues on the road to FIRE.

Thanks. That first $100K I think its the hardest though. I keep an excel file with my annual start/end balances - its motivating to see an uptrend. I tried not to look at it in '08 though

[Bretttd]

I'm 27 and shooting for 2037 or 38(51 or 52). Working on paying off loans and mortgage first, then aggressive saving.

[2035]

New Milestone:

$150,000!!!

401(k): $123,190
Roth: $26,739
I Bonds: $200

And Friday, I'll be doing my usual bi-weekly 401(k) contribution (1/26 of $17,500 + emp match), plus $458 for Roth, plus $300 I Bonds (catch up for missing two), plus adding $1,000 to my anemic savings account.. from bonus.

Not bragging, but posting here to you guys keeps me accountable...thanks!

Funny story, I went to a Schwab retirement seminar on Friday. Of course I was the youngest person by far..and the only person who answered all the quiz questions right. By the end, the others on the cusp of retirement were asking me for advice. I can't believe people can be in their 50s and 60s and still not know basics like what a Roth is or asset allocation. I sometimes forget, we're anomalies here.

[KM]

WAIT!! You guys can't retire....who will fund my Social Security?

In all seriousness, keep up the good work. DH and I started seriously saving when we were in our early 30s and did a lot of the kinds of things I read here.

He retired on 12/31 and as of Friday - I am done. When you hit your number - it will feel really good!

[JoeWras]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bretttd I'm 27 and shooting for 2037 or 38(51 or 52). Working on paying off loans and mortgage first, then aggressive saving.

The first 100k was slow. Then we paid off all debt, including mortgage.

Savings took off like a rocket after that. I think it was part math, and part psychology.

I'm a mortgage pay off advocate. However, in today's environment, it may be a bit different, so there is room for different methods. It just turned out that OUR way was to start with all debt.

Good luck kids. We're depending on you paying our SS.

[RockMonkey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2035 New Milestone: $150,000!!! 401(k): $123,190 Roth: $26,739 I Bonds: $200 And Friday, I'll be doing my usual bi-weekly 401(k) contribution (1/26 of $17,500 + emp match), plus $458 for Roth, plus $300 I Bonds (catch up for missing two), plus adding $1,000 to my anemic savings account.. from bonus. Not bragging, but posting here to you guys keeps me accountable...thanks! Funny story, I went to a Schwab retirement seminar on Friday. Of course I was the youngest person by far..and the only person who answered all the quiz questions right. By the end, the others on the cusp of retirement were asking me for advice. I can't believe people can be in their 50s and 60s and still not know basics like what a Roth is or asset allocation. I sometimes forget, we're anomalies here.

Congrats! I actually hit 150k in retirement funds for the first time on Friday as well. Putting more in this week too. Love to see the numbers go up!

[2035]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RockMonkey Congrats! I actually hit 150k in retirement funds for the first time on Friday as well. Putting more in this week too. Love to see the numbers go up!

Congrats to you too!!! I'm still flirting with the idea of buying a condo since prices are really good...for the Bay Area.

What's your RE date?

[RockMonkey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2035 Congrats to you too!!! I'm still flirting with the idea of buying a condo since prices are really good...for the Bay Area. What's your RE date?

January 2033. Finished 2012 taxes tonight, and dw contributed $5000 to her traditional IRA to save a thousand from the check we'll be sending to the IRS. I was not planning on that contribution. Woot!