Hi! ...I am stressed to pull the trigger

[Dtail]

Anyone who has had the means to save 5 million lives in a HCOL area also probably has a lifestyle they enjoy and would like to continue to enjoy. It’s what’s important to them.

Our budget will be in the 120k range and there is NO way the housekeepers going at $240/ month for us. As we age that becomes especially important. His budget is fat because he can afford it. Good for you. Retire enjoy life. They say as we age the travel budget and fluff decrease I say you can and should retire ASAP.

Could be the concept of Fat Fire extends from >100k/110k. The majority on this site are not Fat Fire. Additionally, many appear to have achieved FIRE by practicing a heavy dose of LBYM vs. high salaries with some LBYM. Lastly, we don't hear of too many Fat Fire examples, as I suppose they stay more under cover.

Thus when we read of this example, there can be some alternative thoughts.
I still say to go for it.

 

[MichaelB]

There could be many reasons why the detail numbers are legit. Perhaps OP isn’t a detailed record keeper and is guesstimating. Could be the happy couple has been focused on work for the last couple of decades and not focused on day to day living expenses.

So, why not ignore the detail, focus on the total spending, and address the concern the OP expressed. An extended retirement of 45 years, no long term insurance, future equity market / sequence of returns risk. There’s no doubt some spending and portfolio modeling would help. It could be the OP doesn’t know what questions to ask.

 

[pb4uski]

.... So, why not ignore the detail, focus on the total spending, and address the concern the OP expressed. ...

Done.... many posts ago...

.... In any event, with $5.7m and $160k/yr in spending they are in great shape to retire anytime they want to.

 

[Dalmore]

$400 per month for fitness membership! WOW! I thought I was extravagant at $80 per month. I guess $400 would be a health club with pool, tennis, etc.

Not really. It depends on if you use a personal trainer or not. I do Pilates with DW, and it runs us $60 per session. Looking to do more once I retire.

 

[HI Bill]

Are we silly to be stressed at this point?

With a job that's killing you, yes, you are silly to be stressed at this point. Go ahead and FIRE at will. No need to wait till 2020 with your assets and spending.

 

[meierlde]

I smell a troll.

$1,000/year for trash? $200/month for cable AND $200/month for cellphone? $4,728/year for car insurance for 2 cars? $7,560 a year for gas? At $3/gal and 20 mpg that is 50k miles a year.

1k a year for trash could well happen if you live outside city limits (mine is now 900 a year outside city limits in tx) For car insurance it greatly depends on where you live and of course the fact that a teen driver will soon happen. For gas of course first you won't be commuting so that will reduce miles. In addition consider if you really need 2 cars after the daughter is off to school (buy her beater so there is no need for collision) As to cable cost without HBO and Stars my dish bill is 109 a month. 3 folks with cell bills could run up to 200 a month depending on data used, although a bit of shopping could make a difference. (Now lets not talk about cord cutting which in my case could save about 100 dollars a month by cutting of the land line and its internet in favor of the cable company. I.E. that is from about 85 for landline and dsl, 109 for dish, etc. Streaming such as cromecast could reduce the cost and doing away with cable could cut more out.

One other possibility is the next time you upgrade the cell phone get an unlocked phone for amazon and shop around for the best plan.



As to data usage first consider that you will likely spend more time at home and thus could move from cell data to fixed internet also.

 

[gwraigty]

With $5.7M, you could easily generate what you need without cutting one single penny from your proposed budget, and without drawing down your nest egg.

I've been an income/cash flow investor for a long time now, mainly because I used to be a lousy growth investor, but I digress. Obviously, you have done extremely well in that area. Most of my investments generate around 3.75% to 6.5% in dividends and interest. On $5.7M, that would be around $213,750 to $325K easy. You can get those yields with ETFs. I've posted specific tickers that I use elsewhere in these forums before. Nothing exotic. Long term corporate bonds, preferred stocks, high dividend stocks.

Done.... many posts ago...

Agree, as did I. OP seems to be MIA. Also, OP mentioned they could cut back, if needed. It was easy to pounce on that and look for solutions.

 

[FIREHAPPY]

Congrats on your ability to live below your means, save and invest for the future! You and your wife have done a great job. My wife and I share a similar story....long term positions in well established corporate firms, good benefits and opportunities.

I retired in 2016 at 54. My wife retired at 53 in 2018. We have terrific retirement health insurance with my firm until we reach medicare age. That's was the primary focus for me before I retired.

So, I think you probably know deep down that you can 'afford' to retire. You have a nice egg with lots of discretionary expenses that can flex up and down depending on market conditions.

We spent considerably less than budget in 2016 and 2017, our first years of retirement. We banked the difference between budget and expenses those 2 years and just purchased my wife a new sedan. (nicest one we've ever had) We also plan to have the house painted this year and increase contributions to our church. It has been much easier to adjust than I initially expected.

So since you're "financially" ready to ready, you may want to spend some time thinking about what you'll do once you leave the office. Travel is great, and I travel about every other month, but it's not enough for me to keep me motivated. After several years, I landed into a volunteer position at a children's hospital that makes me happy. It's just every other Thursday. I also just started as a volunteer musician at my church which gives me something to look forward to each week. I do all the yard work now since i enjoy it. It's good exercise too!

I don't miss my job one bit......no regrets for me. Wish I had done it at 50 instead of 54!

If you define yourself with you job, you may have a difficult transition. I think that's really the question for you! Good luck!

 

[cnocmmz]

I assume the "D" means "Dear". I confess that I got tired of writing "my husband" and just started using "DH" because everyone else does it. I could get even lazier and start using "H" and see if it takes off.

D-Dependent Husband

 

[seraphim]

I assume the "D" means "Dear". I confess that I got tired of writing "my husband" and just started using "DH" because everyone else does it. I could get even lazier and start using "H" and see if it takes off.

‘Darling’, fwiw lol

 

[cooch96]

Why does everyone put "D" in front of everything? I mean, I assume H means husband and W means wife. But why the D? Sorry for the off-topic question.

Consistently using the D prefix alerts forum readers you are referring to a relative. It’s a useful shorthand (for dear or darling) and allows the poster to share pertinent yet vague detail. I’ve seen it used for more than just spouses: DS, DF, DM, DB, etc etc.
I think using the combination of two letters is much more clear than a single letter with little extra typing.

 

[RobbieB]

I gotta pay $650/yr for trash.

 

[imnontrad]

I was nervous too. Then I started keeping a budget and documented every expense. I realized I would have no problem living on my retirement income.
Once retired, a LOT of those expenses should go down.
You may decide to go down to one car. And no reason your car cannot last more than 5 years - 10-15 years should be fine.
Dry cleaning costs may also go down. And no need for a lot of new clothing at all especially you only need casual clothing and maybe 1-2 dressy outfits.
Also, you may decide to relocate to a lower cost area/house (you pay 7K in property tax, I pay 1K!)
$800/month for gym, cable and phone? Slash those expenses! Walking outdoors is free and the YMCA has reasonable costs. Your library may have many movies available to borrow for free too.
30K/year for vacations? Learn to travel hack and research travel deals. That amount is more than 15 weeks vacation costs for me!

 

[gwraigty]

OP doesn't appear to have checked in since 10 minutes after posting this topic.

 

[saltera]

Sure, be stressed...,but not about the money

I suspect from what you have written that the biggest problem you'll face will be the psychological impact of leaving a high power/stress position behind and adjusting to your new life. Financially, these looks like good numbers (as others have already written).

Congratulations! And, good luck!

Ash

- Achieved escape velocity at 010501SEP2018

 

[I am He]

Cancer in month #3

I'm going to become a broken record but here it goes.

W Pulled the plug at 52 in May and after 11 weeks in the Pop Up we came home to a Breast Cancer diagnosis. We won't know just how serious this is until it comes off and is fully biopsied in a couple more weeks.

Be smart about a withdrawal rate but live life while you can and expect the unexpected, both financially and otherwise.

God Bless

 

[Sand101]

I'm surprised that Firecalc says you're 100%. Yes, 4% of 5.7M is 228K but there ought to be scenarios where that fails on a $160K spend, if you dial in enough pessimism.

Firecalc tends to be quite optimistic. I'd consider getting 100% in Firecalc to be a gate to even start thinking about hanging it up. It certainly shouldn't be the deciding calculation.

 

[meleana]

Go for it. You're rich.

 

[JJpop]

Not to be negative but I really think your bills are crazy high and you could easily retire if you addressed those issues.One simple example is your cell phone bill.

 

[gwraigty]

I smell a troll.

Per my post #39, I'm with you on this.

 

[Boose]

I Am He, I just sent you a PM.

 

[pb4uski]

Per my post #39, I'm with you on this.

We agreed twice today.... amazing!

 

[JJpop]

After reassessing the post here I will say the OP is someone who is clueless about money in terms of spending.The bills that are listed are ridiculous to how a normal person spends money.No concern here and if the OP is actually real I would say read a couple books about spending and saving.Right now you are a 1 percent poster child.

 

[Moemg]

Anyone who has had the means to save 5 million lives in a HCOL area also probably has a lifestyle they enjoy and would like to continue to enjoy. It’s what’s important to them.

Our budget will be in the 120k range and there is NO way the housekeepers going at $240/ month for us. As we age that becomes especially important. His budget is fat because he can afford it. Good for you. Retire enjoy life. They say as we age the travel budget and fluff decrease I say you can and should retire ASAP.

I agree .

 

[JJpop]

I agree .

Agree or disagree but the OP spends money in a way that says they should not be asking questions on a forum like this.Just my humble opinion