How big was your nest egg when you FIRE'd?

[Koolau]

I should ask this question of myself, but... Why does one have significantly more than 25X expenses in ones stash? Several folks have mentioned 25X to 115X!! Asked another way, why not up the spending level so that the X is closer to 25?

If the time horizon is WAY beyond 30 years, then maybe significantly more than 25X is reasonable. Also, I suppose some want to leave a significant legacy. Others perhaps have visions of upping their spend later (for fun stuff). Still others may just be "making sure" - whatever that means. One of mine is planning for inflation OR long term care beyond the standard few years.

I think too (for me) it's that I just don't trust the numbers, no matter how many times I've gone through them (and they always say "you're gold!")

Any insights (or interest in this subject?)

 

[Fedup]

What's reasonable? Why does Warren Buffet still working? He certainly has more than 25x.

 

[ponyboy]

For those that have waaaay more than they'll ever spend...your kids thank you. They'll be glad to spend it for you.

 

[Koolau]

What's reasonable? Why does Warren Buffet still working? He certainly has more than 25x.

I guess that's a category I hadn't thought of. Some folks think increasing the X factor is part of the game or and end in itself. Warren likes to make it. He doesn't like to spend it. Instead of "He who dies with the most toys - wins." It's "He who dies with the most X - wins." Of course, it's not "way more than 25X" with WB, it's way more than 250,000X, but YMMV.

 

[Totoro]

Or T.Boone Pickens:

I've long stated that I enjoy making money, and I enjoy giving it away

 

[km4hr]

You're joking, right?
Or did you miss that the site gives a monthly, not annual payment?

If you're serious, that's the biggest pension I've ever heard of.

Yes, I wondered the same thing. Perhaps he thinks that since the word "annuity" is related to the word "annual" the payments shown on the calculator are annual payments. What kind of job provides a pension over $25k per month?

 

[sengsational]

I "get" dividing spendable assets by your annual burn rate and arriving at a single "X" number. But if you plan on, but are not currently getting SS, how does that math work?

 

[W2R]

I "get" dividing spendable assets by your annual burn rate and arriving at a single "X" number. But if you plan on, but are not currently getting SS, how does that math work?

Maybe this would work:

"Johnny Sengsational will need $50K/year from his nest egg for the next 5 years. After that Johnny will only need $30K/year. How many years worth of expenses does he have, if he has a $1,000,000 nest egg?"

(1000K - 5*50K) = 750K (first five years)

750K/30K = 25 (years after the first five)

25+5=30 years total

 

[REWahoo]

Maybe this would work:

"Johnny Sengsational will need $50K/year from his nest egg for the next 5 years. After that Johnny will only need $30K/year. How many years worth of expenses does he have, if he has a $1,000,000 nest egg?"

(1000K - 5*50K) = 750K (first five years)

750K/30K = 25 (years after the first five)

25+5=30 years total

Wait! I thought the answer was the trains would meet 25 miles east of Cleveland...

 

[W2R]

Wait! I thought the answer was the trains would meet 25 miles east of Cleveland...

Nah, they collided head on 4 miles west of Des Moines....

 

[GrayHare]

I should ask this question of myself, but... Why does one have significantly more than 25X expenses in ones stash? Several folks have mentioned 25X to 115X!! Asked another way, why not up the spending level so that the X is closer to 25?

Spending for the sake of spending, or to flaunt, is not how people reach 100x. Old habits die hard I suppose.

 

[gayl]

I should ask this question of myself, but... Why does one have significantly more than 25X expenses in ones stash? Several folks have mentioned 25X to 115X!! Asked another way, why not up the spending level so that the X is closer to 25?

If the time horizon is WAY beyond 30 years, then maybe significantly more than 25X is reasonable. Also, I suppose some want to leave a significant legacy. Others perhaps have visions of upping their spend later (for fun stuff). Still others may just be "making sure" - whatever that means. One of mine is planning for inflation OR long term care beyond the standard few years.

I think too (for me) it's that I just don't trust the numbers, no matter how many times I've gone through them (and they always say "you're gold!")

Any insights (or interest in this subject?)

maybe it's because it's hard to go from a saver to a spender? I know I struggle with this. I'm fine. And recently I posted on another thread that I was down to only 20K in my checking account. Now granted I spent about 3K a month so that gives me close to seven months worth of spending. And I do get a defined pension but still I was concerned about the delay in in Social Security. And then I took a look at where this money goes. I still save 33% (fixed expenses $800 + invest $1k + whatever) of my income to invest in the stock market. I think that's ridiculous but I don't know how to make that mental change from a saver to a Spender

 

[evilanne]

I don't know how to make that mental change from a saver to a Spender

Let us know when you figure that one out

 

[sengsational]

Maybe this would work:

"Johnny Sengsational will need $50K/year from his nest egg for the next 5 years. After that Johnny will only need $30K/year. How many years worth of expenses does he have, if he has a $1,000,000 nest egg?"

(1000K - 5*50K) = 750K (first five years)

750K/30K = 25 (years after the first five)

25+5=30 years total

That makes sense. If, when people report number of years at their current or expected burn rate, and SS is adjusted for in that way, it helps align the results to make them a bit more comparable (for people with more or less SS). I never made that adjustment...always just did the simple division, but I think this is "better".

 

[daylatedollarshort]

We have a nice house in a scenic location with a pleasant climate and go out most days to concerts, hikes, plays or dinners out on the current budget. For me, I don't see a reason to turn from saver to more of a spender. My bargain hunting helps keep our withdrawal rate pretty low. We're seeing a concert tonight with tickets I won in a Facebook contest and have comp tickets for two events on the weekend. I saved $120 on groceries this week by shopping at warehouse and outlet stores over Safeway kind of prices. To me the bargain hunting is half the fun.

 

[Sycamore]

It is interesting to see the wide range of nest egg size to spending ratios. In my case I would like to reach a minimum of 35X due to a possible 40 to 45 year retirement duration. I often wonder if I'm being prudent or too conservative. Reading some of the posts on this thread, and other posts detailing actual results, has me wondering if I'm being conservative.

 

[Danmar]

Spending for the sake of spending, or to flaunt, is not how people reach 100x. Old habits die hard I suppose.

Agree, but some people are flexible enough to match their spending/giving to their means without flaunting. A little bit of practice and maybe some creativity could get you there?

 

[kimcdougc]

We are currently only at 13X expenses and might end up at 15x in a couple of years when DW stops working at 62. But, Firecalc has us at 95% and we could fairly easily cut our expenses once our last kid is off the payroll in a few years.

But man, reading all of these responses makes me feel like I should be getting food stamps or something.

One thing I have learned by being on this forum for several years now, only you can decide how much you need to fulfill your retirement dreams. DH and mine are way below what a lot have listed on here. So, don't be discouraged. Do your homework for how much and what works for you.

DH retired 2 1/5 years ago and I just quite 7 years ago. So far so good.

 

[nvestysly]

Lots of interesting information on this thread and I agree the OP's question doesn't specifically address the matter of whether they're close to FIRE. In some ways every situation is different, as mentioned by a variety of posters here, but I agree a more generic way of thinking about FIRE is comparing the ratio of liquid assets to spending. Based on that approach, DW and I FIRED at ~33X and six years later our spending is relatively constant while the value of liquid assets has increased. Our current ratio is more like 40X.

 

[SAtoUS]

Few million. Haven't spent a dice of our savings. We are very fortunate that ALL our expenses are covered 100% (and then some) by our rental incomes.

 

[Souschef]

For those that have waaaay more than they'll ever spend...your kids thank you. They'll be glad to spend it for you.

I have a different outlook. I am dividing my RMD 4 ways among our children- her 2 and my 2. They need the money now, not in X years. I figured that I could do this for 25 years and still have over $1Mil left.

 

[Danmar]

I have a different outlook. I am dividing my RMD 4 ways among our children- her 2 and my 2. They need the money now, not in X years. I figured that I could do this for 25 years and still have over $1Mil left.

Yes, agree. Way better to help your kids when they really need it.

 

[Danmar]

What kind of job provides a pension over $25k per month?

Many large companies provide very large pensions to their senior execs. These are often not funded or tax efficient from the company's perspective though. As I recall the CEO of my previous employer ended up with a pension in the $2-3 million range. That's annual. I think ,generally, pensions are less common in the US as opposed to Canada or Europe.

 

[68bucks]

I am getting super close to pulling the trigger. I was just wondering what your nest egg's were when you retired, not counting home equity? I am thinking it will be about $1.5M with a paid off house.

I was wondering if your $1.5M was in pre-tax accounts? My numbers are very similar to yours, $1.3M but I'm 56 and still have about $250K in a mortgage. I am right on that edge of pulling the trigger too. By far the majority of my money is pre-tax which makes using that money much more complicated. When I do retire I will have an inflow of about another $500K right away then annual roll over money for 10 years. Right now it would be in the $350K range but is dependent on company stock performance. We're a small employee owned company and we're in pretty solid shape right now but you never know. I'm also pondering doing something PT for a year or 2.

 

[flyingaway]

Are you talking about $1.5M for one person or a couple?