47 Reached $1M - My Feelings

G

ghandi

Confused about dryer sheets
Joined
Jan 8, 2013
Messages
9
Location
SC
Last week I realized I got past the $1,000,000 mark. Took 25 years, saving regularly along the way. I never made more than $100k per year. Always lived below my means. No wives, no kids (so far).

I thought a lot about early retirement over this last weekend and decided to join and post about how I was feeling (vs. retirement withdrawl rates, taxes, etc).

  • Work and workers don't seem to bother me as much this week as they did 2 weeks ago, but interestingly enough I think I'm getting more done at work now that I seem to care less (maybe I should stop watching the movie, Office Space).
  • I spend a lot time thinking about where I'm gonna sail my 32 sail boat and if I can split time between my mountain cabins in SC and Arizona
  • I reqularly take an extra 20 minutes in the morning to have an extra cup of coffee with my girlfriend before I go to work, getting to work by 8:00 am feels irrevelant
  • I'll never again move for a job to make more money in preparation for moving again and making more money
  • I'll never again apply for job that gives me more money but reduces my quality of life (stress, being on call, staffing issues)
  • I suggested to my girlfriend she reduce her work schedule to 3 days a week so she could spend more time with and caring for her aging Dad
  • Told my girlfriend not to worry about money and bills, told her we had plenty and not to worry about that stuff any more
  • I talk to my cats more
  • I talk to my neighbors more
  • I talk and spend more time with my friends and family
  • I find it easier to meet people in public places and strike up conversations with stangers
Interestingly, after reaching the $1M, goal the money is not nearly as important to me as the choices it provides. Choices I would not have considered prior.

I'm much more relaxed now about how I feel about myself, my family, my friends, and my surroundings. I wonder if I should have felt this way all along?

cheers,
FIRE tbd
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Welcome aboard, ghandi!

And congrats on the $1MM. Yes, it can give you a shift in perspective.

omni
 
ghandi said:
Last week I realized I got past the $1,000,000 mark. Took 25 years, saving regularly along the way. I never made more than $100k per year. Always lived below my means. No wives, no kids (so far).

I thought a lot about early retirement over this last weekend and decided to join and post about how I was feeling (vs. retirement withdrawl rates, taxes, etc).

  • Work and workers don't seem to bother me as much this week as they did 2 weeks ago, but interestingly enough I think I'm getting more done at work now that I seem to care less (maybe I should stop watching the movie, Office Space).
  • I spend a lot time thinking about where I'm gonna sail my 32 sail boat and if I can split time between my mountain cabins in SC and Arizona
  • I reqularly take an extra 20 minutes in the morning to have an extra cup of coffee with my girlfriend before I go to work, getting to work by 8:00 am feels irrevelant
  • I'll never again move for a job to make more money in preparation for moving again and making more money
  • I'll never again apply for job that gives me more money but reduces my quality of life (stress, being on call, staffing issues)
  • I suggested to my girlfriend she reduce her work schedule to 3 days a week so she could spend more time with and caring for her aging Dad
  • Told my girlfriend not to worry about money and bills, told her we had plenty and not to worry about that stuff any more
  • I talk to my cats more
  • I talk to my neighbors more
  • I talk and spend more time with my friends and family
  • I find it easier to meet people in public places and strike up conversations with stangers
Interestingly, after reaching the $1M, goal the money is not nearly as important to me as the choices it provides. Choices I would not have considered prior.

I'm much more relaxed now about how I feel about myself, my family, my friends, and my surroundings. I wonder if I should have felt this way all along?

cheers,
FIRE tbd
Click to expand...

Congratulations! I'm just a year younger than you and won't hit the million mark until ~age 60 (that's the plan for now anyway), so that to me seems to be a very good job! I do have a wife and two kids, so that explains a bit of that for me...my wife was a stay at home mom for 15 years.

I realize this was just your first post and that it is mostly musings about hitting this goal of yours, but I do have questions if you don't mind:

1) Do you already own the boat and the two mountain cabins? If so, good for you!

2) I know you said your retirement is TBD, but do you think you'll do this soon? If you don't add any to it and wait just 5 years, that million dollars will turn into $1,402,551.73 at just 7% annual return. That takes a 3% withdrawal rate from $30,000 a year to $42,076.55.

3) I'm curious what your plan is since you told your girlfriend to not worry about money and bills anymore. If you plan to retire soon, the income from that million isn't that much. A million dollars is VERY nice, but for a 47-year-old, it's not as nice as it is for a 60-year-old who has less time to live and potential Social Security just around the corner in 2 years minimum.

Anyway, I'm not being critical. I'm just curious what your plans are, or what you think they might be if you haven't yet decided. If I had a million dollars in a non-retirement account at age 47 and had no kids, I would seriously consider retiring to a cheaper area, so if that's your wish, more power to you!
 
Last edited:
With $1MM you have a million things to worry about. The only way to really have nothing to worry about is to have nothing and to want nothing........Hmm I must read some Hermann Hesse or sit under a tree
 
I have a house and mountain cabin in AZ, a house in SC, and a mountain cabin in NC. The 32 sailboat is used and paid for. Got 4 other boat projects in the back yard (all of them cheap). I have 2 older cars I drive to work and 2 project cars in the back yard. I have $100k of debt in mortgages, $600k of equity in houses and stuff. House in SC is cheap, AZ house is expensive. I live in SC right now.

Plan to spend a long time with the girlfriend. Maybe get married, we'll see. I'll get a prenup if we do.

Currently saving $35k a year for retirement. Figure I'd get to $2m by the time I'm 52ish, then its probably time "to go"...
 
Nice post. I talk to my dogs alot. I never connected it to savings but I'll have to give that some thought <big grin>. Congratulations on your milestone.
 
Watch the movie Office space to find out what to do when you have a million dollars.
 
ghandi said:
I have a house and mountain cabin in AZ, a house in SC, and a mountain cabin in NC. The 32 sailboat is used and paid for. Got 4 other boat projects in the back yard (all of them cheap). I have 2 older cars I drive to work and 2 project cars in the back yard. I have $100k of debt in mortgages, $600k of equity in houses and stuff. House in SC is cheap, AZ house is expensive. I live in SC right now.

Plan to spend a long time with the girlfriend. Maybe get married, we'll see. I'll get a prenup if we do.

Currently saving $35k a year for retirement. Figure I'd get to $2m by the time I'm 52ish, then its probably time "to go"...
Click to expand...

That sounds like a good plan. Take 3.5% at age 52 from $2 million and that's $70,000...if you can also have the $100,000 in mortgages gone by age 52, then I think that's even better. By the time you get to age 62, you could start taking Social Security which will be very nice.

Congrats!
 
Love your outlook and attitude. I think you're going to do just fine. One thing I'd add to that list: listen to more Jimmy Buffett.
 
Congratulations it's a big milestone and as you said financial security sure makes life a lot better.
 
The $500k in equity is in addition to reaching the $1MM target ($400k liquid, $600k retirement accounts).

Today I'm trying to buy a lake house in SC for $200k cash, sell my existing 2 houses and 1 cabin in AZ, reclaim the equity and roll it into Vanguard index funds... so I can "go away" at 52...

Not sure they'll acccept my offer for the new house, but we will see. Can't buy it, if I don't try it...
 
ghandi said:
Today I'm trying to buy a lake house in SC for $200k cash, sell my existing 2 houses and 1 cabin in AZ, reclaim the equity and roll it into Vanguard index funds... so I can "go away" at 52...
Click to expand...
Wouldn't it be prudent to sell at least a couple of the properties (and shed their associated mortgages) first, before buying and ending up with three houses and two cabins? What's the rush?
 
Similar to the above poster, I have a "not being critical, just curious" question.

1MM at 47.
ghandi said:
Currently saving $35k a year for retirement. Figure I'd get to $2m by the time I'm 52ish, then its probably time "to go"...
Click to expand...

How do you hit 2MM in only 5 yrs? 1MM->2MM in 5 years adding 35k/yr is like 12% per year, which seems ambitious.

I guess one answer being that 500k in equity in properties you could sell. But it seems odd to not count it now (in the 1MM) but do count it in the 2MM. Do you basically mean 1.5MM now, and 2MM in 5 years? Or did you mean 1MM liquid now, and 2MM liquid (without counting the properties or proceeds) in 5 years?

Either way your progress and assets at our age is quite impressive. Congratulations on your choices.

And it was very fun for me to read the OP with your "realizations" - such bliss and freedom. Thanks for sharing.
 
ghandi said:
Last week I realized I got past the $1,000,000 mark. Took 25 years, saving regularly along the way. I never made more than $100k per year. Always lived below my means. No wives, no kids (so far).

I thought a lot about early retirement over this last weekend and decided to join and post about how I was feeling (vs. retirement withdrawl rates, taxes, etc).


[*]Work and workers don't seem to bother me as much this week as they did 2 weeks ago, but interestingly enough I think I'm getting more done at work now that I seem to care less (maybe I should stop watching the movie, Office Space).
[*]I spend a lot time thinking about where I'm gonna sail my 32 sail boat and if I can split time between my mountain cabins in SC and Arizona
[*]I reqularly take an extra 20 minutes in the morning to have an extra cup of coffee with my girlfriend before I go to work, getting to work by 8:00 am feels irrevelant
[*]I'll never again move for a job to make more money in preparation for moving again and making more money
[*]I'll never again apply for job that gives me more money but reduces my quality of life (stress, being on call, staffing issues)
[*]I suggested to my girlfriend she reduce her work schedule to 3 days a week so she could spend more time with and caring for her aging Dad
[*]Told my girlfriend not to worry about money and bills, told her we had plenty and not to worry about that stuff any more
[*]I talk to my cats more
[*]I talk to my neighbors more
[*]I talk and spend more time with my friends and family
[*]I find it easier to meet people in public places and strike up conversations with stangers

Interestingly, after reaching the $1M, goal the money is not nearly as important to me as the choices it provides. Choices I would not have considered prior.

I'm much more relaxed now about how I feel about myself, my family, my friends, and my surroundings. I wonder if I should have felt this way all along?

cheers,
FIRE tbd
Click to expand...

I can relate. I recently found out there's a reasonable (but definitely not guaranteed) chance that I will coming into a decent amount of money sometime in the next 5 years. Just knowing that possibility exists makes my daily work life stress level decrease. It makes me realize that work can even be enjoyable when you do it with the mindset that you aren't forced to do it.

In the meantime I continue to enjoy living frugally and building my own wealth so if that outside $ doesn't materialize I can still find that peace of mind.
 
Congrats! Sounds like life will be a little less stressful for you.
 
ghandi said:
I have a house and mountain cabin in AZ, a house in SC, and a mountain cabin in NC. The 32 sailboat is used and paid for. Got 4 other boat projects in the back yard (all of them cheap). I have 2 older cars I drive to work and 2 project cars in the back yard. I have $100k of debt in mortgages, $600k of equity in houses and stuff. House in SC is cheap, AZ house is expensive. I live in SC right now.

Plan to spend a long time with the girlfriend. Maybe get married, we'll see. I'll get a prenup if we do.

Currently saving $35k a year for retirement. Figure I'd get to $2m by the time I'm 52ish, then its probably time "to go"...
Click to expand...

If those older cars are Chevy Nova's I'd be interested in taking them off your hands for a fair price... :cool:
 
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