Senator
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
As I look back at different retirement planners, I remember when I used to think ‘If I could make $50K each year, I would leave work tomorrow”. Of course inflation (and salary increases) change things.
Lately, after looking at the FIRE numbers for several months, and seeing my balances and cash flow increase, the ‘old’ numbers from just a couple of years ago, just seem small. Like I have gotten used to them, and now they are not as good any more. Doubts and second guessing start to set in.
My budget has not changed, other than mortgages being paid off. My cash flow has increased due to increased rents and fewer mortgage payments. So I am much better off than my old number, yet the old numbers seem awfully small now. I wonder “Are my current numbers going to seem small, and actually not be enough, in a few years?”
Lately, as I look at the numbers, I sometimes think, Do I have enough buffer? Do I have enough redundancy? Do I have enough of a lifestyle at my chosen budget? Are my current numbers going to be small in a few years too, after I am locked in? Have I planned well enough? Do I really understand what I am doing?
I am not having second thoughts; I am just noting the mental preparation of FIRE is just as important than the financial one. Not so much as in “what will I do when I no longer work?”, but mentally the jumping off point. Sometimes I think getting laid off is an easier transition, but I know that is a mentally devastating thing if it comes out of the blue.
Did you find that your required retirement numbers kept creeping up, or you adjusted them down, as you got closer to leaving the workforce?
Lately, after looking at the FIRE numbers for several months, and seeing my balances and cash flow increase, the ‘old’ numbers from just a couple of years ago, just seem small. Like I have gotten used to them, and now they are not as good any more. Doubts and second guessing start to set in.
My budget has not changed, other than mortgages being paid off. My cash flow has increased due to increased rents and fewer mortgage payments. So I am much better off than my old number, yet the old numbers seem awfully small now. I wonder “Are my current numbers going to seem small, and actually not be enough, in a few years?”
Lately, as I look at the numbers, I sometimes think, Do I have enough buffer? Do I have enough redundancy? Do I have enough of a lifestyle at my chosen budget? Are my current numbers going to be small in a few years too, after I am locked in? Have I planned well enough? Do I really understand what I am doing?
I am not having second thoughts; I am just noting the mental preparation of FIRE is just as important than the financial one. Not so much as in “what will I do when I no longer work?”, but mentally the jumping off point. Sometimes I think getting laid off is an easier transition, but I know that is a mentally devastating thing if it comes out of the blue.
Did you find that your required retirement numbers kept creeping up, or you adjusted them down, as you got closer to leaving the workforce?