29 yrs old, looking to Semi-ER in 2-3 years, RE by 50 maybe?

[ronocnikral]

when DW was 29, I could see her writing almost the exact same OP. with a few modifications of course.

I plan to quit my job, get married (yes, those two happened in that order), wake up at 11am every day, have my new husband finance my business ventures and enjoy "semi-retirement."

my offer to switch roles with DW is met with laughter.

my suggestion: sink your hooks in this guy or keep your nose to the grindstone.

 

[cb7010]

I do have a couple things in common with the original poster...I started thinking about ER when I was about 29 and I live in Denver, CO! But, I chose a slightly different course...

I've kept working and growing my savings over the past 10 years or so, since my initial thought about ER, and am now in a much better financial place to consider some form of ER. What I chose to do when I had $200K or $300K saved was to look at it as liberating in the sense that if I left that money alone and assumed historic returns, then my later life retirement (say after age 65) should be taken care of. Then, all I had to do was make enough money until 65 to live (yep, I could've been a bartender on the beach)..so, from my perspective $200K at age 29 is a fantastic start; but, probably wouldn't have worked for me as it would require a more extreme budgeting strategy than I would have desired. But, each person has to make their spending and lifestyle decisions for themselves.

One other thing to consider, at least from my perspective, is how you define the term "retirement". I used to have this vision of retirement as me enjoying my hobbies all day long and doing mostly nothing else. What I've realized is that I already ski, golf, fish, cycle, etc..pretty much as much as I want to and I'm still working full time. So, the more I've considered it, I now define "retirement" as being able to work at whatever I want and with little to no consideration for the money. I am pretty sure I will occupy myself with some type of "work" until the day I die; but, is it really work if you are doing something each day you enjoy and are truly passionate about?

 

[eridanus]

and any smart person should budget 1-2% of their property purchase per year toward maintenance, and I have done so.

I think 1-2% is far too little but, then, I don't know your expenses. I budget an extra 15% and part of that is car, which you don't have. Fuego, above, budgets an extra 45% but part of that is taxes and kids and car replacement. Everyone has to plan for these lumpy expenses but taking $4000 out of $400,000 is a lot different than taking $4000 out of $1MM. In your new freedom, though, you can learn a lot of skills, from auto repair (for SO's car?) to carpentry, that will reduce some of those lumpy expenses.

I sorta-kinda do part-time but not on a weekly basis. I do a contract, take a month of two off, and then start another one. I had 2 months off last year. In some years, I've only worked 8 months out of the year. I know you said that work sucks but it might be something to consider if it's only the people and not the actual work.

 

[FUEGO]

I think 1-2% is far too little but, then, I don't know your expenses. I budget an extra 15% and part of that is car, which you don't have. Fuego, above, budgets an extra 45% but part of that is taxes and kids and car replacement. Everyone has to plan for these lumpy expenses but taking $4000 out of $400,000 is a lot different than taking $4000 out of $1MM. In your new freedom, though, you can learn a lot of skills, from auto repair (for SO's car?) to carpentry, that will reduce some of those lumpy expenses.

I took the 1-2% the OP is talking about as a percentage of the property value. In other words, a $150,000 house will need $1500 to $3000 per year to maintain it. That is roughly what my house is worth and roughly what I budgeted after adding up all the components of my house that depreciate. I imagine 2% is what you would use if you wanted your house pristine and never wanted to lift a hammer or install your own fridge/washer/dryer/dishwasher and 1% is what people like me would budget if you just don't want it to fall apart.

Of course if you are handy and healthy I imagine you can cut those costs to a half percent. However the last thing I would want to do is fall off a ladder with a stack of shingles and break a hip when I am 70 because I couldn't afford the extra couple thousand bucks to hire a crew to re-roof for me...

 

[haha]

I am happy with some of the positive replies, and also with some of the constructive criticism but pretty insulted with being called "crazy". Did I call you crazy for working into your 50s and 60s? No? Because I would be crazy to stay at this job that long. I thought this was a respectful forum. Maybe I was wrong. I hope not but we'll see.

A few comments here. In case you are referring to me, I did not and would not call you crazy. As far as I know, I have never called anyone crazy. I did politely say that you might perhaps consider that this could be a crazy idea. These are very different statements. 2ndly, putting rules around what sort of polite comments you will accept basically means that no comments that might cause you to reconsider your plan will be offered.

Also, consider you you have no idea (and never will have) how old I was when I retired, what my financial situation was, how it went for me, what do-overs I might like, or what experiments in basic living I have tried. Or whether people might have said to me when I pulled out, "That might be a crazy idea!" Or whether I came to think that they were correct, and that only a good dose of luck and circumstance kept it from becoming a disaster.

So good luck and may the wind always be at your back. I hope it is not only relatively satisfactory but overwhelmingly, bounteously ecstatic!

Ha

 

[brewer12345]

2ndly, putting rules around what sort of polite comments you will accept basically means that no comments that might cause you to reconsider your plan will be offered.

Ha

Why else would one ask a question on the forum?

 

[Nords]

I am happy with some of the positive replies, and also with some of the constructive criticism but pretty insulted with being called "crazy". Did I call you crazy for working into your 50s and 60s? No? Because I would be crazy to stay at this job that long. I thought this was a respectful forum. Maybe I was wrong. I hope not but we'll see.

I don't have a dog in this fight, but I have an observation.

Historically, the posters here who feel "insulted" by other posters tend to move on pretty quickly. I'm not saying that this board is rude to newbies (it's not) or that you're oversensitive (you haven't been here long enough for us to tell) but I can say that previous posters who have complained in your manner... have moved on. For some reason the "my feelings are being hurt, stop doing that" card doesn't play around here.

If you can get past that then you'll learn more than you know now, and you'll get the best constructive criticism & financial advice you can find. Wishful thinking and hopeful planning will quickly be identified. Those have been my experiences. But then I come from a background of extremely harsh criticism.

If you think the constructive criticism has value to you then you're gonna need a thicker skin. I'm just sayin'.

 

[pb4uski]

LS, you have done well. My sense is that you are willing to live more frugally and closer to the edge than many of us are. It seems like you could change to a less stressful part-time job and between the earnings from the part-time job, withdrawals from savings and SO's support make things work but you might be financially exposed to the least little hiccup.

Is the stress you are having at work now the result of your profession or the result of your employer? Depending on your answer, perhaps a career change or a change in employers might be a better choice for you.