FUEGO
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
- Joined
- Nov 13, 2007
- Messages
- 7,746
I didn't realize my 3 year anniversary had arrived until late in the afternoon. I bought a fancy chocolate stout beer from Trader Joe's the other day so I cracked that open tonight to "celebrate". 
3 years ago today my boss walked in my office, told me he was letting me go effective immediately and handed me a brown cardboard box for my personal effects, and had his stooge escort me out of the office. After some soul searching and financial number crunching that day, I knew I was done and that I was retired at 33.
The first six months were decompression, the next six to twelve months were getting into the ER groove. And the last couple of years kept getting better and better. My wife joined me in ER about six months ago and it's been awesome since then.
I've watched our littlest one grow from a nearly helpless age one to a fiercely independent age four (something I missed with our older two daughters).
We've managed to spend four to nine weeks traveling every year so far.
In addition to the freedom to travel long term, I also enjoy the freedom to dive deep into whatever interests me at the moment. It's also fulfilling to be able to drop everything and take care of family and friend craziness when the $hit hits the fan.
My old pastimes remain my current ones - computer/video games, reading, hiking/exploring parks, Netflix, tinkering with things around the house. Post-FIRE I'm a lot more involved at the kids' school too.
Right after retiring I started a blog on a whim and it's really taken off (though I haven't posted much this summer). It's also led to some freelance/consulting gigs that take an hour or two some weeks. In dollar terms, the blog and side hustles generate almost enough to fund our living expenses (aiming for $40k/yr but not quite spending that much right now). Not bad considering I spend a few hours per week on these activities right now. It's also opened doors to meeting some cool people in real life that are aiming for FIRE in their 30's or already there.
Financially, our net worth is up about $400,000 from $1.2M to $1.6M. Mostly because of market gains, but also due in part to DW working for the extra 2.5 years and due to the side hustle income. At this point my concern is not spending enough, instead of running out of money prematurely (this could obviously change with a 25-30% market correction).
3 years in, the stresses of work are a distant memory. I could go back if I had to for money though I've learned I can hustle up some dough with a little effort and ingenuity, so a return to FT W-2 employment is unlikely for financial reasons. I don't really keep in touch with anyone from my last job, but do hang out with one old friend from a previous job I left in 2011 a few times per year (he confirms, yep, work still sucks).
Within a year of starting full time work back in 2004, I discovered this forum (I googled "rule of 72t" if memory serves). It's been immensely helpful over the years to keep me focused on the path to FIRE and act as a sounding board for all kinds of ideas. For that, thanks to all the members both new and old.
3 years ago today my boss walked in my office, told me he was letting me go effective immediately and handed me a brown cardboard box for my personal effects, and had his stooge escort me out of the office. After some soul searching and financial number crunching that day, I knew I was done and that I was retired at 33.
The first six months were decompression, the next six to twelve months were getting into the ER groove. And the last couple of years kept getting better and better. My wife joined me in ER about six months ago and it's been awesome since then.
I've watched our littlest one grow from a nearly helpless age one to a fiercely independent age four (something I missed with our older two daughters).
We've managed to spend four to nine weeks traveling every year so far.
In addition to the freedom to travel long term, I also enjoy the freedom to dive deep into whatever interests me at the moment. It's also fulfilling to be able to drop everything and take care of family and friend craziness when the $hit hits the fan.
My old pastimes remain my current ones - computer/video games, reading, hiking/exploring parks, Netflix, tinkering with things around the house. Post-FIRE I'm a lot more involved at the kids' school too.
Right after retiring I started a blog on a whim and it's really taken off (though I haven't posted much this summer). It's also led to some freelance/consulting gigs that take an hour or two some weeks. In dollar terms, the blog and side hustles generate almost enough to fund our living expenses (aiming for $40k/yr but not quite spending that much right now). Not bad considering I spend a few hours per week on these activities right now. It's also opened doors to meeting some cool people in real life that are aiming for FIRE in their 30's or already there.
Financially, our net worth is up about $400,000 from $1.2M to $1.6M. Mostly because of market gains, but also due in part to DW working for the extra 2.5 years and due to the side hustle income. At this point my concern is not spending enough, instead of running out of money prematurely (this could obviously change with a 25-30% market correction).
3 years in, the stresses of work are a distant memory. I could go back if I had to for money though I've learned I can hustle up some dough with a little effort and ingenuity, so a return to FT W-2 employment is unlikely for financial reasons. I don't really keep in touch with anyone from my last job, but do hang out with one old friend from a previous job I left in 2011 a few times per year (he confirms, yep, work still sucks).
Within a year of starting full time work back in 2004, I discovered this forum (I googled "rule of 72t" if memory serves). It's been immensely helpful over the years to keep me focused on the path to FIRE and act as a sounding board for all kinds of ideas. For that, thanks to all the members both new and old.
