How did you decide/plan to ER?

[longranger]

I am still in the process of deciding when I will retire. Until 5 years or so ago I loved my job. The thought of retiring never crossed my mind. Then the environment at work deteriorated greatly. Presently I am involved in a project that will either revive my work environment or crash and burn. If it crashes my decision is easy and if the project succeeds it will likely allow me to enjoy w*rking a couple more years if I still want to. Either way based on all the usual calculations I should be good to FIRE. Why wait? Padding the cushion I suppose. More than that it is the challange of the current project and feelings of responsibility to my co-workers who are not in a position to FIRE. It is the right thing to do and should only take a few more months to play out.

 

[retireby5560]

We decided to retire by ages 55 and 60. 55 for my dear husband because with rule of 85 he can retire from his company. 60 for me just because I wanted to. Health issues are our reasons ( so far we are healthy it is the longevity of our family is not that great). We paid off our primary residence 2 years ago. With His will, one of two rentals in Las Vegas would be paid off in 5 years while we cashflow our son's college.
We have a 7-year old daughter but we started her 529 plan early. 500k on our retirement accounts and 85k on liquid cash. It may sound small compared to other people in this forum but we believe we could retire. Current ages 41 and 42.