any members here became FIRE with less than 300K?

[97guns]

im always hearing that you need X.X mil or X times your yearly income or some other astronomical number to retire. i retired 2 years ago with less than 300K in total assets and have almost doubled up my net worth in that same time. just wondering if anyone else has retired with as small a bankroll as i have.

 

[Packman]

Do you have a pension? I assume that with less than 300k in assets, you do not own a home. Please tell us how you doubled net worth in 2 years?

 

[Chuckanut]

Doubling one's net worth in two years is an admirable accomplishment. Care to tell us how you did it?

 

[LiquidSapphire]

Third-ing how you doubled your NW in the last 2 years.

I haven't but have calculated I could do so with as little as $275,000 with a 4% withdrawal rate, though that would be a bare minimum; it leaves nothing for Black Swans or emergencies or many luxuries. It supports roughly $750/mo in living costs.

$75,000 1/2 of Home Equity in $150,000 House
Present Net Worth of a $9100 Pension starting in 2045
Assumed SS of about $600 starting in 2058
$200,000 Stocks/Bonds

$750 covers the following monthly budget:
$175 - 1/2 of Utilities, Home Maintenance, Taxes, Insurance on a $150,000 home
$200 Food
$25 Pets
$13 Cell Phone
$50 Misc
$105 Health Insurance
$40 Transportation
$75 Recreation/Restaurants
$20 Gifts
$25 Medical CoPayments

 

[97guns]

i had 250K liquid that i bought 4 houses with 200K of it and am living off the income. i took the remaining 50K along with another 30K from closing down my 401K's and put it into silver at $17, i have been adding every month for the past 2 years with rent money after bills are paid. i havn't quite doubled up but am very close.

 

[Chuckanut]

Thanks. It looks like you were able to take advantage of some good opportunities.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

i had 250K liquid that i bought 4 houses with 200K of it and am living off the income. i took the remaining 50K along with another 30K from closing down my 401K's and put it into silver at $17, i have been adding every month for the past 2 years with rent money after bills are paid. i havn't quite doubled up but am very close.

Are you not counting your liabilities against your assets (mortgage for example)?

 

[HFWR]

Third-ing how you doubled your NW in the last 2 years.

I haven't but have calculated I could do so with as little as $275,000 with a 4% withdrawal rate, though that would be a bare minimum; it leaves nothing for Black Swans or emergencies or many luxuries. It supports roughly $750/mo in living costs.

$75,000 1/2 of Home Equity in $150,000 House
Present Net Worth of a $9100 Pension starting in 2045
Assumed SS of about $600 starting in 2058
$200,000 Stocks/Bonds

$750 covers the following monthly budget:
$175 - 1/2 of Utilities, Home Maintenance, Taxes, Insurance on a $150,000 home
$200 Food
$25 Pets
$13 Cell Phone
$50 Misc
$105 Health Insurance
$40 Transportation
$75 Recreation/Restaurants
$20 Gifts
$25 Medical CoPayments

Those bills will likely inflate some over the years as well...

 

[97guns]

Are you not counting your liabilities against your assets (mortgage for example)?

yep, im also counting the 10-15K that ive picked up in equity on each house. so far it looks like i bought all 4 houses at the bottom in 2009, 75K was the cheapest one i picked up and there is one on the market with the same floorplan for 90. not huge gains but works out to around 7% increase on my equity + all the rents ive recieved.

Those bills will likely inflate some over the years as well...

thats why physical metal is so great, it is a hedge against EVERYTHING. $5 gas and bread - silver will outpace it

 

[Texas Proud]

i had 250K liquid that i bought 4 houses with 200K of it and am living off the income. i took the remaining 50K along with another 30K from closing down my 401K's and put it into silver at $17, i have been adding every month for the past 2 years with rent money after bills are paid. i havn't quite doubled up but am very close.

Are you not counting your liabilities against your assets (mortgage for example)?

I think what Rich was asking.... do you have any mortages on the properties you bought

OR, did you buy them outright with cash


I would ask.... how much time are you putting into the rentals As others have mentioned, it is a job to take care of rental properties unless you hire it out...


Edit to add.... are you putting aside money to fix them up when it is time... like a new roof or new paint or new HVAC system etc. etc....

 

[youbet]

i had 250K liquid that i bought 4 houses with 200K of it and am living off the income. i took the remaining 50K along with another 30K from closing down my 401K's and put it into silver at $17, i have been adding every month for the past 2 years with rent money after bills are paid. i havn't quite doubled up but am very close.

Are you actually fully retired or working part time managing and maintaining your rentals? If you have tenants in the 4 houses you purchased, where are you living?

 

[97guns]

im fully retired, i have a property manager that takes care of them for $60 each a month. im carrying mortgages on 2 of the properties, one is for $325 and the other $416. rents are pulling in between $950 and $1050, i have a EF that will cover me for 2 years. insurance runs $40 a month each and property tax runs around $80 - $100 each per month

 

[scrabbler1]

You could say that my FIRE 3 years ago began with an investment of $285k in the bond fund which provides me with most of my monthly dividend income, enough to barely cover all my expenses since that time.

I have considerable other mutual funds which include an IRA and other taxable account investments which provide me additional monthly dividends income as well as some stock funds which grow in value and spin off some dividends I reinvest.

That big bond fund now has about 20% more shares although the monthly dividends per share has dropped by about 10%, keeping me ahead of the game.