Hi, I'm not so young dreamer from Texas

[MuirWannabe]

New to the board. Age 47. Wife, 3 kids, 2 of them are already in college. Would like to retire by age 55 (okay, would like to retire NOW but...)

Have $250,000 in money market funds for both emergency fund and due to lack of stock market confidence over the last 18 months. Add about $50,000 to this each year as long as I'm working (executive retention bonus). Also, have 401K currently worth about $700,000 invested roughly 60% stock and 40% bonds.

Need to do a much better job at LBYM. Really have no clues about my post retirement spending. DW does not have the passion for my ER discussions maybe because she is a stay at home mom.

Expect to inherit money from inlaws and parents at some point but have no idea the amount and prefer to not count on it in my math. How do you ask about that anyway??

Anyway, dream about retirement but only if we can travel and have some money to enjoy it with.

Have enjoyed reading this board as a guest. Some witty and intelligent folks on here. Any thoughts or advice is most welcome.

Oh, I've figured out many of the acronyms used on the board. Still trying to guess at some of them. What is SWR?

 

[ziggy29]

Oh, I've figured out many of the acronyms used on the board. Still trying to guess at some of them. What is SWR?

Welcome to a fellow Texan...

As for the acronyms and other alphabet soup...

http://www.early-retirement.org/for...slang-frequently-used-on-the-forum-34884.html

 

[W2R]

Welcome to the ER Forum!

47 seems young enough to me, at 61. I think you are doing wonderfully for someone 47 years old.

I inherited last year, and like you I just never counted on it in my math. I would urge you to continue doing the same, as you have been doing. You never know what will happen, and end of life expenses can eat a lot of it up. As your parent or in-law becomes more infirm, perhaps he/she will need financial help from you and then you will have more of an idea. But even then, you just don't know if or how much you might inherit until the estate is settled and the money is deposited in your bank account.

I always used to joke that my mother might leave all of her money to the hare krishna's (she was a devout Presbyterian). It was only half a joke because she could have left it to any one of a number of charitable organizations and she was a very sweet person who might have done that. If her wish was to leave the estate to charity, I couldn't feel resentful as she could and should have done whatever she felt best with her money.

 

[ziggy29]

Expect to inherit money from inlaws and parents at some point but have no idea the amount and prefer to not count on it in my math. How do you ask about that anyway??

If you don't count it in the retirement math, you'd just treat it as an unknown future bonus. When you receive it at some point in the future, then you can redo the math.

The only reason I have a pretty good idea of what my inheritance will be is because I've handled my mom's investments and taxes since my dad passed, and I'll be the executor of her will. Hopefully that won't be for a long time; she's 74 and still healthy.

 

[Milton]

Really have no clues about my post retirement spending.

It is almost impossible to predict with precision, but if you crunch the numbers and make some reasonable assumptions you should be able to come up with a fairly reliable estimate.

This website might be of some help.

Expect to inherit money from inlaws and parents at some point but have no idea the amount and prefer to not count on it in my math. How do you ask about that anyway??

IMO you don't ask: it would be tacky. Anyway you are not including any inheritances in your calculations, so there is no need to ask.

Fixed it for you :

just treat it as an [-]unknown[/-] possible future bonus. [-]When[/-] If you receive it at some point in the future, then you can redo the math.

 

[walkinwood]

Would like to retire by age 55 (okay, would like to retire NOW but...)

Congratulations on your decision to retire early.

Since how much you need at retirement is so tightly tied to your expenses, tracking your expenses has to be your first step. And you'll have to get your family on board or else you will not have complete data.

We started using credit cards for everything we could & paid them off at the end of each month. We used Quicken to download the transactions and categorize them. As a result, we have good data going back about 6 years now.

It is hard to begin tracking expenses and almost impossible to do perfectly. But start doing it and you'll find encouragement to persist as you see the data accumulate.

All the best.

 

[MuirWannabe]

thanks for thoughts so far....

I agree not to be counting on inheritance for retirement planning. Probably should not have brought it up but doing the Fire Calc got me wondering. It's certainly fine with me if the parents spend every last dime of THEIR hard earned and well deserved retirement.

I do track my living expenses in Quicken and have years of data. Just hard for me to tell how much that will change when kids are gone and work ends. Seems like a different world. For now, we spend a great deal but I'm in my prime years for that I guess. But as far as retirement spending that is hard for me to know although I will work on refining my numbers. It's clear this amount is a critical decider on the results of the Fire Calc.

Thanks to everyone for thoughts so far. I value the feed back.

Just have to say.....new to the board but already in love with Want2Retire's avatar. Probably get moderated for that comment All that and she has some great advise to boot!

 

[W2R]

Just have to say.....new to the board but already in love with Want2Retire's avatar. Probably get moderated for that comment All that and she has some great advise to boot!

Thank you! It is a photo of model/actress Eva Habermann, and it was one of a collection of default avatars provided on the forum a few years ago before the software/server updates. I like it too, and would give my right arm if I could actually look like that! In reality, I am 61 with grey/white hair and overweight but on the internet we can "be" anybody.

My companion Frank told me that I look a little bit like my avatar. He knows how to get on my good side! I told him about your post over lunch, and he said that what you don't expect, you won't miss if it doesn't materialize. Actually he recited a quotation saying pretty much the same thing, but I can't remember it.

 

[MuirWannabe]

Ok W2R. Guess I'll stay married for now

Enjoy reading your posts anyway. This may be the best forum I've yet found on the web. Good insight without degenerating into nonsense like so many other places.

 

[bbbamI]

on the internet we can "be" anybody.

Dang it...now you tell me! I could have come across as Raquel Welch! It's too late now....

Welcome to the forum MW...since you live in TX, I guess I don't have to warn you about the fire ants...

 

[ziggy29]

In reality, I am 61 with grey/white hair and overweight but on the internet we can "be" anybody.

As I often say, on the Internet I'm 6'3" and have a full head of hair.

 

[MuirWannabe]

truth be told

funny how we will make believe about our personal appearance but be brutally honest about our personal finances to people we have never met outside of the virtual world.

 

[bbbamI]

funny how we will make believe about our personal appearance but be brutally honest about our personal finances to people we have never met outside of the virtual world.

Well, the people in my "real" life will simply not talk about finances. If the subject comes up, they start to get that glazed look in their eyes and slowly fade away....

 

[mickeyd]

This may be the best forum I've yet found on the web. Good insight without degenerating into nonsense like so many other places.

Hey MW. Welcome here.

I agree with your insight/comments. With an infusion of new posters like you, it can only get better.

 

[leftbucket]

Welcome

Wanted to add a welcome and say "great username!"

The Ken Burns documentary that just came out,
which you must have seen, was absolutely amazing.

-LB

 

[MuirWannabe]

Wanted to add a welcome and say "great username!"

The Ken Burns documentary that just came out,
which you must have seen, was absolutely amazing.

-LB

I've always been a big fan of the National Parks. They can renew you spirit. Yes, I have seen most of the Ken Burns documentary and it was very good as all his stuff usually is.
Thanks for the welcome.

 

[NW-Bound]

I just read another more current thread by the OP about wanting his wife to go back to work. So, I read this thread to learn a bit more about his circumstances. Then, I ran across the following post, and had to make a comment.

... It is a photo of model/actress Eva Habermann... I like it too, and would give my right arm if I could actually look like that!

But, but, but...

If you give your right arm, then how can you have that pose

...

...

Wouldn't your right hand be attached to your missing right arm

...

...

You would have to take the picture with your left hand.