Poll: How long did it take you to save for FIRE

[riskadverse]

Two years.

It's not how much you make . . . it's how much you keep. You can time the market.

 

[kaudrey]

I'm not retired yet, but I plan to retire at 52. I started working at 21, so that would be 31 years of LBYM.

I didn't actively start to make spreadsheets and projections until about 2 years ago at the age of 35.

Karen

 

[Andre1969]

I started becoming fascinated with the idea of investing and saving for early retirement back in 1991, when I was 21. That was when I first dabbled in mutual funds. I think the thing that really fascinated me was when I figured out that if you put away just $1000 and it earned 20% per year, you'd have a million bucks in something like 38 years. Of course, it was soon after that I learned that while a stock might do 20% or even better in a year, or even over several years, "past results are no guarantee of future performance"

But, I guess a lot of young people start off with lofty, pie-in-the-sky goals like that. Anyway, I hit a few stumbling blocks like buying a condo I really couldn't afford at the time, under-estimating expenses like utilities, groceries, gasoline for the longer commute, etc, a bad marriage, etc. But by March of 1998 I saw a light at the end of the tunnel, and was well off enough to start investing seriously. At that time I didn't have a set retirement goal...I just figured I'd do it when it "felt right". Back in the late 90's, when things were doing well, I used to joke that I was going to retire when I turned 37. Which, is in about 2 months. Yikes!! Needless to say, I still have a ways to go. After that, I started figuring sometime in my mid 40's. And now, my current goal is April Fools Day, 2016. That's a Friday, and the day before my 46 birthday. So I figure that would be a fitting birthday present to myself!

So, at this point, using March 1998 as a starting point, I'd say my goal is roughly 18 years.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

It's not how much you make . . . it's how much you keep. You can time the market.

Its a little of both. I made a lot and thought about buying the 8 bedroom house with the permanent housekeeper/cook, upgrading my cars, getting a boat and taking flying lessons with one of my buddies. Maybe a second home up in tahoe for occasional ski jaunts.

Decided on a whim to pay off my debt, put the remainder of that years pay and the free years salary I got from the separation package into investments and quit working, and drastically downsize and simplify my life.

So far, so good.

 

[FinanceDude]

Two years.

 

[Nords]

He's a trained sales professional who took the apparently idiotic steps of regularly trashing cashing in his stock options.

Don't try this at home, kids. Stay in school.

 

[FinanceDude]

He's a trained sales professional who took the apparently idiotic steps of regularly trashing cashing in his stock options.

Don't try this at home, kids. Stay in school.

OK...........