At The Finish Line?

[refi]

TL; DR - How can I get motivated to pull the plug? $5.25M NW/42/M/Single

I've seen a number of these posts, so hopefully, it's not redundant, please move it if it is, just trying to get that motivation to call it a day!

STATS
42/M/Single/VHCOL
Salary = $540k

NW = $5.25m
Cash = $350k
Stocks = $1.4m
401k/IRA/HSA = $1m
Real Estate = 2.5m

Spend: $2500/mo for food/utilities/travel/hobbies + $2,300/mo for mortgage/tax/HOA (2.5% on 15 year, 12 years left). In retirement I could probably bump up spend to $4-5k/mo, but I’m generally not super spendy.

PROPERTIES
Prop 1 (Primary) - val - $600k (owe $200k)
Prop 2 - val - $350k, paid off, rent: $1700, HOA: $295; net cash flow = $1100/mo
Prop 3 - val - $750k (owe $300k), rent: $2550, HOA: $500; net cash flow = $150/mo
Prop 4 - val - $400k (owe $180k) rent: $3600, net cash flow = $1,200/mo
Prop 5 - val - $760k (owe $360k) rent: $6000, net cash flow = $2,500/mo
Prop 6 - val - $600k (owe $280k) rent: $6000 net cash flow = $3,500/mo
Prop 7 - val - $1.05m (owe $700k) rent: $9500 net cash flow = $2,800/mo

Net cash flow includes property management, vacancy, and repairs. So these are conservative and comes to $11,250/mo. This does not include taxes which I think I can offset by a fair amount of depreciation.

Roughly above are my numbers. I’ve made a number of posts (2017, 2020) in the past documenting how I got to where I’m at today. Reading back through posts, I see some sagely advice:
- If you are 40, working a demanding job and managing rental properties when do you plan on marriage/kids?
- This will be the healthiest (and youngest) you’ll ever be
- See how your properties handle downturns and how they perform over a long period of time before counting on that money

At 37, I was like - $2M and paid off Primary and I’ll be set was even contemplating quitting at $2M total net worth. Well, I’ve bit the bullet and have worked and got to a bit above $5M now and only think about how unhappy on the daily going into corporate America. I don't get the Sunday Scaries, I get the Every damn day scaries. My last lengthy post, I asked these questions as to why not at $3.3M -

- These are my prime earning years, shouldn’t I continue to work, it seems I’m leaving cash on the table?
- Do I want a better forever home? I could work 5-10 more years and I*could*live in a $2M home and have way more money.
- Not married and don’t have kids, but haven’t ruled them out.

My thoughts now are I can think too much more on the What-Ifs? The math makes sense to cut the cord and see how things go. I’m generally a busy person, so I think I’ll still do my work on side-hustles and be super active and my rental income will cover my monthly spend and my equities should grow untouched.

My goal is to quit by the end of year:
- bank a little more salary
- 1031 either property 2 or 3 to something more cash flowing
- get any medical and dental work needed

Anyways, A lot there, but seeing if I'm not missing anything. Any insights would be helpful!

 

[HarryHawk]

The bad news is you are facing a number of decisions. The good news is there are no bad choices in that decision mix.

You could live the rest of your life with what you already have. You could make a lot more money and die a very wealthy man.

It seems to be less a question of numbers more a question of what do you want to do with the rest of your life? That choice doesn't have to be a one and done, whatever you might decide could at any time be modified or reversed.

You have the sort of problem that most people only dreamed they had. Be proud of your accomplishments, be thankful and spend your remaining days on earth enjoying the rest of your life.

p.s. I will add, by far the most rewarding and fulfilling thing that has happened to me is having a child and just recently a grandchild.

 

[pb4uski]

....My thoughts now are I can think too much more on the What-Ifs? The math makes sense to cut the cord and see how things go. I’m generally a busy person, so I think I’ll still do my work on side-hustles and be super active and my rental income will cover my monthly spend and my equities should grow untouched.

My goal is to quit by the end of year:
- bank a little more salary
- 1031 either property 2 or 3 to something more cash flowing
- get any medical and dental work needed

Anyways, A lot there, but seeing if I'm not missing anything. Any insights would be helpful!

I don't think that you are missing anything other than... what are you going to do all day?

One thing to consider... I have a friend who came from money, did well on his own and retired about 50 after our employer made older employees a generous early retirement offer. Financially he was fine, but one thing that he found was that there were no guys his age that were not working that he could go skiing with, wind surf with, etc. He ultimately did find a niche volunteering to help disabled kids skiing.. but something to think about.

Best of luck.

 

[HarryHawk]

I don't think that you are missing anything other than... what are you going to do all day?

One thing to consider... I have a friend who came from money, did well on his own and retired about 50 after our employer made older employees a generous early retirement offer. Financially he was fine, but one thing that he found was that there were no guys his age that were not working that he could go skiing with, wind surf with, etc. He ultimately did find a niche volunteering to help disabled kids skiing.. but something to think about.

Best of luck.

There is no lack of opportunities to volunteer. My life as a professional volunteer is much more fulfilling and rewarding than was my life as a professional, even though I always enjoyed every job when I was employed.

 

[street]

Wow!
You have accomplished a lot in a short time. Outstanding!!

Your biggest decision is what you want to do with your new life after FIRE.

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

I have no real basis for this comment, but I think you might be happiest, not by quitting completely, but by drastically scaling back. Find work that you enjoy, or maybe spend more time on your properties. In other words, ditch the stuff you don't like, but find a productive outlet.

 

[dixonge]

We have two middling pensions and one SS income, and we could actually make similar house payments and match your other personal expenses and still have a few dollars left over, even though our assets are about 2% of yours, our income about 10% of yours. We've been retired for five years.

Now imagine if you upped your travel and hobby game, kept some side-hustles, and still never touched your equities. You could likely keep that up indefinitely. Your biggest headache will be required minimum distributions, not running out of money or being forced to reduce your lifestyle.

Just this morning I was commenting on how many people my age (61) are still working, because almost no one thinks they can retire until 62 or even 70. And yet every day for the last five years I wake up and do what *I* want to do, all day long.

You've won the freakin' lottery already! Do what you want. Yes, you have to figure out some sort of purpose in life, some sense of mission. Humans need that. So figure it out and do it and enjoy!

 

[superdave]

You are winning for sure. Generally the type of person that wins like this cannot simply turn off the tap. I have had a side hustle or two since I retired ( photography and flipping bikes ). Whatever you do, Enjoy!

 

[refi]

Wow!
You have accomplished a lot in a short time. Outstanding!!

Your biggest decision is what you want to do with your new life after FIRE.

I always appreciate your posts. They are always so supportive!

 

[refi]

I don't think that you are missing anything other than... what are you going to do all day?

One thing to consider... I have a friend who came from money, did well on his own and retired about 50 after our employer made older employees a generous early retirement offer. Financially he was fine, but one thing that he found was that there were no guys his age that were not working that he could go skiing with, wind surf with, etc. He ultimately did find a niche volunteering to help disabled kids skiing.. but something to think about.

Best of luck.

You've won the freakin' lottery already! Do what you want. Yes, you have to figure out some sort of purpose in life, some sense of mission. Humans need that. So figure it out and do it and enjoy!

You are winning for sure. Generally the type of person that wins like this cannot simply turn off the tap. I have had a side hustle or two since I retired ( photography and flipping bikes ). Whatever you do, Enjoy!

Great feedback! Yea, I'm generally super busy, so I probably won't have problems filling my time, I will:

- keep work side hustles in real estate investing
- keep a closer eye on my equities
- sleep 8 hours a night
- workout more consistently (1-2x/daily)
- learn a couple languages
- travel more, a lot more
- pick up a fun job
- hang out w/ my family more
- hang out with friends more
- organize and automate my life

Will that said, I think the larger existential questions, I don't have an answer for, but do I need that? Maybe this will allow to actually think about it.

 

[Dtail]

It sounds like you are there. So go for it. We are typically shaped by regular norms, but don't have to be.
Last night, I was wondering which errand to do this afternoon, after 5 hours of Pickleball. That will be my biggest decision today.

 

[FLSUnFIRE]

What are you waiting for? Your passive income is double your "increased" spending which your AT and 401K could fund and you have 70 months of spending in cash. The only reason to work is because you want to and it really doesn't sound like you do.

 

[pjigar]

Do it already. And if you run out of things to do then buy a farm! "Buy a farm" is my old joke. I have an acreage and I seem to never run out of things to do. YMMV.

 

[livingalmostlarge]

Do it. Do you want to just sell a couple of rentals and pay off the rest?

 

[refi]

Do it. Do you want to just sell a couple of rentals and pay off the rest?

I actually like real estate ownership, I know some people hate it. I’d honestly like to buy one more before I call it a day. I like the leverage, appreciation, tax break, and the consistent cash flow; the tenant hassles are mild compared to the stress of regular work.

 

[refi]

It sounds like you are there. So go for it. We are typically shaped by regular norms, but don't have to be.
Last night, I was wondering which errand to do this afternoon, after 5 hours of Pickleball. That will be my biggest decision today.

I felt this on my break about two years ago. What could you possibly do with all that free time? Any damn thing I want! And it’s glorious. Again, as an a generally busy person, I’ll fill my time and then some.

 

[F.I.R.E User]

Any kids? Planning to get married?

 

[refi]

Any kids? Planning to get married?

No kids. Yea, that’s the thing I think about.. what if I do want to get married and have those two kids? Get that large house in the suburbs?

I think I’m okay either way, my net worth will still grow even if not working, I’ll probably have my side hustle for fun to bring in $100k and play it by ear. So I’m thinking this will help if there’s a pivot to having kids.

 

[F.I.R.E User]

No kids. Yea, that’s the thing I think about.. what if I do want to get married and have those two kids? Get that large house in the suburbs?

I think I’m okay either way, my net worth will still grow even if not working, I’ll probably have my side hustle for fun to bring in $100k and play it by ear. So I’m thinking this will help if there’s a pivot to having kids.

G/f?

 

[refi]

G/f?

Dating

 

[F.I.R.E User]

Dating

You also have to careful because there are lot of women out there who are after money.

 

[Scuba]

I agree with other posters. Leave the corporate world behind and once you don’t have the stress and time spent on that, you can figure out how to spend your time. Worst case, in the unlikely event you miss corporate America, you can always go back and put being the CEO of your real estate business on your resume as your position.

 

[refi]

You also have to careful because there are lot of women out there who are after money.

Yea, it's interesting b/c i've seem to have gone on dates with women with even more money than me lately. Generally in VHCOL cities, seems like everyone is fairly successful and highly educated.

With that said, it's weird not to talk finances b/c since we're all a bit FIRE focused, it's just comes out. Maybe I should be more aware.

 

[refi]

I agree with other posters. Leave the corporate world behind and once you don’t have the stress and time spent on that, you can figure out how to spend your time. Worst case, in the unlikely event you miss corporate America, you can always go back and put being the CEO of your real estate business on your resume as your position.

Yea, maybe I just came on here for confirmation bias, but generally folks are pretty blunt if my strategy is way off base. Yea, I just want some time to think and focus on things that bring me happiness.

Heh, in tech, so could get a gig in industry pretty easily, i'd think. Yup, CEO of my consulting biz will be at the top of the resume.

 

[eyenitnoy]

TL; DR - How can I get motivated to pull the plug? $5.25M NW/42/M/Single

I've seen a number of these posts, so hopefully, it's not redundant, please move it if it is, just trying to get that motivation to call it a day!

STATS
42/M/Single/VHCOL
Salary = $540k

NW = $5.25m
Cash = $350k
Stocks = $1.4m
401k/IRA/HSA = $1m
Real Estate = 2.5m

Spend: $2500/mo for food/utilities/travel/hobbies + $2,300/mo for mortgage/tax/HOA (2.5% on 15 year, 12 years left). In retirement I could probably bump up spend to $4-5k/mo, but I’m generally not super spendy.

PROPERTIES
Prop 1 (Primary) - val - $600k (owe $200k)
Prop 2 - val - $350k, paid off, rent: $1700, HOA: $295; net cash flow = $1100/mo
Prop 3 - val - $750k (owe $300k), rent: $2550, HOA: $500; net cash flow = $150/mo
Prop 4 - val - $400k (owe $180k) rent: $3600, net cash flow = $1,200/mo
Prop 5 - val - $760k (owe $360k) rent: $6000, net cash flow = $2,500/mo
Prop 6 - val - $600k (owe $280k) rent: $6000 net cash flow = $3,500/mo
Prop 7 - val - $1.05m (owe $700k) rent: $9500 net cash flow = $2,800/mo

Net cash flow includes property management, vacancy, and repairs. So these are conservative and comes to $11,250/mo. This does not include taxes which I think I can offset by a fair amount of depreciation.

Roughly above are my numbers. I’ve made a number of posts (2017, 2020) in the past documenting how I got to where I’m at today. Reading back through posts, I see some sagely advice:
- If you are 40, working a demanding job and managing rental properties when do you plan on marriage/kids?
- This will be the healthiest (and youngest) you’ll ever be
- See how your properties handle downturns and how they perform over a long period of time before counting on that money

At 37, I was like - $2M and paid off Primary and I’ll be set was even contemplating quitting at $2M total net worth. Well, I’ve bit the bullet and have worked and got to a bit above $5M now and only think about how unhappy on the daily going into corporate America. I don't get the Sunday Scaries, I get the Every damn day scaries. My last lengthy post, I asked these questions as to why not at $3.3M -

- These are my prime earning years, shouldn’t I continue to work, it seems I’m leaving cash on the table?
- Do I want a better forever home? I could work 5-10 more years and I*could*live in a $2M home and have way more money.
- Not married and don’t have kids, but haven’t ruled them out.

My thoughts now are I can think too much more on the What-Ifs? The math makes sense to cut the cord and see how things go. I’m generally a busy person, so I think I’ll still do my work on side-hustles and be super active and my rental income will cover my monthly spend and my equities should grow untouched.

My goal is to quit by the end of year:
- bank a little more salary
- 1031 either property 2 or 3 to something more cash flowing
- get any medical and dental work needed

Anyways, A lot there, but seeing if I'm not missing anything. Any insights would be helpful!

So, you are 42. That gives you, on average, about 38 more years of life or 13,870 days.

You will wake up (on average) 13,870 more times.
You will go to sleep (on average) 13,870 more times.
And that's it. Then the game is over, and, whoever has the most toys most definitely does not win.

Now, you're a millionaire, worth about $5. Of course, by standard models, $10 million is the old $1 from back in the day. But you certainly know that already.

The question really is, what do you want to do with the remaining 13,870 days you have?
That is your real wealth, not the $5 million.

You have enough money, right now, to do pretty much whatever you want, within reason.

The question is, what do you want to do with your life?



It's a tough question.
Good luck.