Share your FIRE Milestones - 2013- 2020

[HighOnLife]

I woke up this morning thinking, ok pretend you've hit the 1m mark… my immediate response was: a huge smile, radiant joy, and the thought that now I will focus more on my health.

Well . . . . . I had purchased a foreclosed property last year for 19k which I am fixing up. Today I was reviewing records and updated its market value in my spreadsheet to 40k, which is accurate, and for which I've had one offer already. This move put me at the 1m net worth mark.

It feels fake. Like I just "made up" my millionaire status on the fly by typing it into a spreadsheet. Ever since my windfall divorce reset on this same date five years ago, I've been working like Spartacus, watching my net worth climb slowly from the 300's, to the 500's, to the 700's, to the 900's. Seriously considering changing the value back down and make myself bust my a** to earn another 20k before I celebrate. I've had this forum announcement planned for a while now, and didn't intend for it to look like this; it was going to be concise. "Today I hit the 1m mark."

I realize if a recession comes or my local real estate market were to drop that would put me back under. But it looks like for now I'm in The Club. I'm not ready to accept it for myself yet.

Next goal is to have 1m in investments. I estimate two years out.

 

[HI Bill]

Seriously considering changing the value back down and make myself bust my a** to earn another 20k before I celebrate.

Next goal is to have 1m in investments. I estimate two years out.

Congrats!

If you need motivation, just calculate your "Net Invested Assets", less your liabilities, instead of "Net Asset Value". Since your primary domicile doesn't generate revenue (usually), most of us focus on the net invested asset value, rather than including real estate, with regards to the FIRE goal.

That said, my spreadsheet includes both net asset value and net worth.


Keep it up!

 

[bada bing]

Two personal milestones this month
Mint says I crossed $2M invested for the first time. The number is slightly fake
because Mint can't differentiate between tax deferred, tax free and unrealized
gains. It is a nice number though.

Megacorp is starting the regulatory process to sell the asset I work at. There is
a severance offer on the table if I don't wish to transition to the new owners
(which I don't). I signed the EOI (expression of interest) to sever at
the point of handover yesterday. The time until the regulatory hurdles clear is a
bit foggy, could be as soon as March (unlikely). Probably August. There is a
clause that could require me to work for new owner for an additional 90 days,
but that isn't super likely to be enforced. Retirement countdown with a foggy
end date and a nice package has started

 

[ugeauxgirl]

Congrats!

 

[ckelly78z]

Two personal milestones this month
Mint says I crossed $2M invested for the first time. The number is slightly fake
because Mint can't differentiate between tax deferred, tax free and unrealized
gains. It is a nice number though.

Megacorp is starting the regulatory process to sell the asset I work at. There is
a severance offer on the table if I don't wish to transition to the new owners
(which I don't). I signed the EOI (expression of interest) to sever at
the point of handover yesterday. The time until the regulatory hurdles clear is a
bit foggy, could be as soon as March (unlikely). Probably August. There is a
clause that could require me to work for new owner for an additional 90 days,
but that isn't super likely to be enforced. Retirement countdown with a foggy
end date and a nice package has started

This sounds like what I hope my company will do in the next few years(a nice package, and soft ending). We have been losing clients, making late shipments, and prototyping has stopped, so we are working out the contracts we have.

 

[RxMan]

.

Well this is a retirement account milestone. I’ve reached 100K in my Roth IRA for the first time ever. I know that milestone is a relatively minor one and I have a lot more in my 401k account but it bothered me to see this Roth hover just below the 100k mark for what was a couple of months now.

I know it’s not important to focus on the nice round number figures but that does seem to be human nature. Considering I didn’t start contributing to a Roth until years after starting my 401k and even then I wasn’t consistently contributing for the first few years after I opened the Roth I’m happy with how it has grown.

Now I work for a company that has a Roth 401k option in addition to the traditional 401k plan. This past year at my current job was the first time I’ve ever had access to a Roth 401k plan.

I arbitrarily decided to put 2/3 contributions in my Roth 401k and 1/3 into the traditional 401k enough to get the matching contributions. I’m under the impression that when I leave this employer or retire I can roll the Roth 401k portion directly into a Roth IRA.

I do worry that going forward I need more savings in non-tax advantaged accounts. If I really want to retire early say in my early 50s then I will have to fund those years until I reach 59.5 years old. My current 401k does not have the 55 rule so no access at the age of 55 for me.

Not to derail the milestones thread but is there a target percentage of net worth that you try to achieve in taxable accounts that have unrestricted access prior to the age of 59.5 (or 55 depending on your 401k plan)? This seems like an important factor to consider for those of us who want to retire earlier than 60 years old.

 

[HI Bill]

...is there a target percentage of net worth that you try to achieve in taxable accounts that have unrestricted access prior to the age of 59.5 (or 55 depending on your 401k plan)? This seems like an important factor to consider for those of us who want to retire earlier than 60 years old.

The percentage of your assets needed in taxable accounts really depends on how many years prior to age 59.5 you intend to retire. The longer the horizon between FIRE and 59.5, the greater the %. Some folks here use a really simple method...annual expenses x this time horizon (e.g., FIRE at 49.5. with an annual spending of $100K, you'd need $1M in taxable).

You can always tap the contributions in your ROTH early, without penalty or taxes, but that's not preferred.

 

[scrabbler1]

The percentage of your assets needed in taxable accounts really depends on how many years prior to age 59.5 you intend to retire. The longer the horizon between FIRE and 59.5, the greater the %. Some folks here use a really simple method...annual expenses x this time horizon (e.g., FIRE at 49.5. with an annual spending of $100K, you'd need $1M in taxable).

You can always tap the contributions in your ROTH early, without penalty or taxes, but that's not preferred.

When I was putting together my ER plan back in 2007-08, I split it into two parts. The first part, the more difficult part, was getting from my age at the time of expected ER (45) to age ~60 using only the money in my taxable account. The second part, the easier part, was getting from age ~60 to beyond. Starting at age ~60, the first of my "reinforcements" begin to arrive. They include (a) unfettered access to my IRA, (b) my frozen company pension, and (c) SS.

For me it wasn't so much the % split between my taxable account and my IRA, but how much money I had in my taxable account, after I made a big move of cashing out the company stock in my 401k using NUA and adding its proceeds (after taxes) to my taxable account, then anticipating how much income I could reasonably generate versus my expenses. (I had no Roth IRA but I did have some after-tax contributions in my 401k which I also cashed out without taxes or penalties.)

 

[RxMan]

Thanks HNL Bill and scrabbler1! Those were helpful responses. When I get closer to retirement I will put together a plan based on our average monthly expenses and make sure I can make it from my retirement age until I turn 60 using the taxable account assets.

 

[scrabbler1]

Thanks to some market gains the last few days, I finally pierced the $1.6M mark. I hope this is as bumpy a ride I had with the $1.5M mark. I had first hit $1.5M at the end of 2017, only to drop below it a few months later. I hit it again in the middle of 2018 only to drop below it again when the markets tanked at the end of last year. By March of this year I was again over $1.5M and never dropped below it again.


Onward and upward?

 

[Rianne]

Two personal milestones this month
Mint says I crossed $2M invested for the first time. The number is slightly fake
because Mint can't differentiate between tax deferred, tax free and unrealized
gains. It is a nice number though.

Megacorp is starting the regulatory process to sell the asset I work at. There is
a severance offer on the table if I don't wish to transition to the new owners
(which I don't). I signed the EOI (expression of interest) to sever at
the point of handover yesterday. The time until the regulatory hurdles clear is a
bit foggy, could be as soon as March (unlikely). Probably August. There is a
clause that could require me to work for new owner for an additional 90 days,
but that isn't super likely to be enforced. Retirement countdown with a foggy
end date and a nice package has started

YeY!!! Congratulations. I love reading posts like this. Happy days

 

[Months.in.Wyoming]

$3 Million Cash and Investments reached!

So November bonus is going to put us over $3M in Cash and Investments for first time ever. This doesn't include non-residential land owned outright, nor our house owned outright... nor does it include business ownership. Total of all that is roughly $6M. But, the $3M is very real and accessible so making us smile. The thing is as stated several places on this forum is that it really starts taking hold later in life. I'm 56 and still working... It's just slow and steady, and then you really start seeing compounding after that first 1M - hard to detect until then was my experience. Good Luck to all you youngsters!!

 

[ugeauxgirl]

So November bonus is going to put us over $3M in Cash and Investments for first time ever. This doesn't include non-residential land owned outright, nor our house owned outright... nor does it include business ownership. Total of all that is roughly $6M. But, the $3M is very real and accessible so making us smile. The thing is as stated several places on this forum is that it really starts taking hold later in life. I'm 56 and still working... It's just slow and steady, and then you really start seeing compounding after that first 1M - hard to detect until then was my experience. Good Luck to all you youngsters!!

Wow- very impressive. Congrats!

 

[Dtail]

Finally hit our all time high in investments vs. the previous high set in 08/18. It is a silly little thing, but I am proud of the results even if potentially fleeting.

 

[RxMan]

Finally hit our all time high in investments vs. the previous high set in 08/18. It is a silly little thing, but I am proud of the results even if potentially fleeting.

Congrats Dtail! Keep setting those all time highs going forward!

 

[Vacation4us]

Mint says I am worth 1.6 mil but almost 800k is in my house.

Milestones I count 401k and Roth hit an all time high of $720k yesterday and I owe 29k on my house.

House will be paid off in 10 months, Retirement starts in 12/13 months.

The count down has started.

 

[street]

November 1st 2019 has been the highest my portfolio has ever been. When I retired I was just hoping to stay about the same amount in my portfolio through the years, but it has exceeded my expectations. I have a lot to be thankful for.

 

[Vincenzo Corleone]

DW and I are planning to use the constant % of current portfolio balance withdrawal strategy when we're both retired, and plan to go with 4%. As of 11/1/2019, we reached a point where a 4% withdrawal + DWs expected pension would allow annual discretionary spending that would represent a little more than 60% of total spending - offering a nice buffer.

 

[TDub]

Saw two commas for the first time today!

 

[ugeauxgirl]

That's a fun milestone. Congrats to you!

 

[TDub]

That's a fun milestone. Congrats to you!

Thanks! I'm sure it'll dip below that fun line multiple times before the total gets high enough to stay, but seeing it for the first time is so exciting.

 

[dvalley]

Well I'd better get in here quick before the market drops lol

First time saw the savings/investment accounts cross the 800k mark. My YTD rate of return is 18%. Last year it was -9%.

 

[tdv2]

November 1st 2019 has been the highest my portfolio has ever been. When I retired I was just hoping to stay about the same amount in my portfolio through the years, but it has exceeded my expectations. I have a lot to be thankful for.

Same here. I have been setting sporadic records ever since I retired a year and a half ago. Still worry a little about sequence risk but.....


Feel much more comfortable about blowing the dough now.

 

[DrRoy]

I total the RE investment NW monthly. Like many others, hit a new all time high recently in spite of funding 2.5 years of RE. Also hit a new $million multiple. Likely to blow some soon. It goes against the saver's muscle memory big time, but what is it for anyway?

 

[Dtail]

Multiple daily highs recently too, but only up ~5% since retirement, so still very conscious of SORR.