Hi from dukebound85

[dukebound85]

Been following this forum for a few months after being shown the firecalc and got inspired. Got the FIRE bug from watching youtube channels (ie OurRich Journey) and following websites like MMM.

Like many others here, I am wanting to not live my life working for a living and hope to retire early and have work be "optional".

Some background, I am 35, recently married with my wife (36) and a little one on the way!

I keep a spreadsheet of my amounts and projections. As of this month, we have:

Combined Income:
~160k/year (110k for me; 50k for wife)

Retirement accounts:
Tax Advantaged Accounts (401k/Roth/HSA):
Me: 112k; Wife: 55k

Taxable and Savings Accounts:
Me: 106k; Wife: 16k
Of the above 122k, We have ~30k in liquid bank accounts as our EF

Pension Accounts:
Me: 31k in my contributions (not including state contributions)

Properties
Primary:
~100k in equity (350k left on mortgage)

Rental 1:
~150k in equity (250k left on mortgage)

Rental 2:
~50k in equity (170k left on mortgage)

Net Worth

Net Worth Without Real Estate Equity:
~320k

Net Worth With Real Estate Equity:
~620k

We do not have any debts aside from mortgages. I wish I was aware of FIRE before the last few years and am hoping to reach a 1 million net worth (without houses factored) by 2025 (we would be 40) and 2.5 million by 2034 (would be 49) and have work optional. Our current savings rate is ~55-60% combined

I hope we are on the right track!

Anyways, that is me and I welcome any and all advice. Very much looking forward to this community and following along.

[Dtail]

Welcome to our wonderful forum.
It sounds like you are off to a good start in your pursuit of ER.

[finnski1]

Welcome aboard and congratulations on such a great savings rate at your ages.

That was a similar rate that the DW and I maintained although we had no kids and it worked out well.
I use to look at it in real simple terms that if we saved half(or more) of our income then we would only have to work half as long
Of course it's not that simple with inflation, taxes.recessions, bad returns etc. etc. but the very discipline of saving that much and trying to control lifestyle creep made all the difference for us.


You are so far ahead of so many 30 somethings I know that I think you will do well.
Most people are not wired to be such great savers.
Having a household income comfortably more than 2x the median but only living a little above the median will bode well for the future.
Good luck

[Out-to-Lunch]

Welcome aboard!

[38Chevy454]

Welcome to the forum. Doing good on where you are at currently. Your high savings rate is great. I assume the rentals are basically self-supporting so you don't have much out of pocket for them.


You didn't mention much about investments, but at your age and timeframe the general recommendation is to be nearly all in equities. Beware of fees, try to limit those as they negatively affect your accumulation due to compounding. Keep up the good work you have started.


I never focused on net worth, just concentrate on the savings and the net worth will follow. NW is a nice comparison tool for some, but what really matters is your savings and the income producing part of NW. Rentals can be a nice source of income, and tax advantages in your accumulating phase.

[TDub]

Welcome!

And congrats on the recent marriage/baby on the way! There's nothing better. And what a gift it will be to retire early and spend lots of time together.

Keep up the great work.

[HI Bill]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dukebound85 We do not have any debts aside from mortgages. I wish I was aware of FIRE before the last few years and am hoping to reach a 1 million net worth (without houses factored) by 2025 (we would be 40) and 2.5 million by 2034 (would be 49) and have work optional. Our current savings rate is ~55-60% combined

Welcome! A 55-60% savings rate puts you at the head of the class! To do that at your ages is awesome! I wasn't able to hit 50% saving rate until I turned 47, had a salary bump, sold my condo, and moved into my wife's condo. Does your savings rate include the income from the rentals, less expenses?

Equities and real estate earnings are, unfortunately, subject to ups and downs. If we continue to see returns similar as 2008-present, you may well make your goal! Have you tried inputting your info into FIRECALC? I did a quick run with a starting spending rate of $80K annually, a starting portfolio value of $490K (included rental equity, since I'm assuming it generates a rate of return similar to equities, after costs), a 41-year retirement period, and a retirement year of 2034, and did not include SS. I got a 100% success rate!

[pb4uski]

Welcome!

I suggest that you consider getting Quicken Deluxe and using their Lifetime Planner to develop your plan. You can also use it to track your finances, cash management, your progress towards your goals and the info that you need at tax time for those rentals.

[dukebound85]

Update!

DD finally welcomed us 5 weeks early and it has been an adjustment. However, I am excited at our net worth update!!

We recently reached:
- investable assets of 410K
- property equity of ~380k (two rentals and primary)
- total NW is almost 795k (or ~650k not including primary home)

Our net worth has JUMPED 170k in 5 months?? This is fun to watch and is even more motivating

[CindyBlue]

Congratulations on the addition to the family - how sweet to have a DD in the house!

[dukebound85]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CindyBlue Congratulations on the addition to the family - how sweet to have a DD in the house!

It is!

Definitely makes us view life in a different perspective

[Eastfolk]

Congrats on DD. I don’t usually post but your post resonated with me as my DD was born last month also 5 weeks early. As other folks have mentioned in this forum, you may want to forecast your your expenses to increase going forward. I’ve already seen this starting with the hospital bill which includes an almost 2 week stay in the NICU. Yikes. Luckily insurance kicked in after I met my out of pocket max.

[dukebound85]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dukebound85 Been following this forum for a few months after being shown the firecalc and got inspired. Got the FIRE bug from watching youtube channels (ie OurRich Journey) and following websites like MMM. Like many others here, I am wanting to not live my life working for a living and hope to retire early and have work be "optional". Some background, I am 35, recently married with my wife (36) and a little one on the way! I keep a spreadsheet of my amounts and projections. As of this month, we have: Combined Income: ~160k/year (110k for me; 50k for wife) Retirement accounts: Tax Advantaged Accounts (401k/Roth/HSA): Me: 112k; Wife: 55k Taxable and Savings Accounts: Me: 106k; Wife: 16k Of the above 122k, We have ~30k in liquid bank accounts as our EF Pension Accounts: Me: 31k in my contributions (not including state contributions) Properties Primary: ~100k in equity (350k left on mortgage) Rental 1: ~150k in equity (250k left on mortgage) Rental 2: ~50k in equity (170k left on mortgage) Net Worth Net Worth Without Real Estate Equity: ~320k Net Worth With Real Estate Equity: ~620k We do not have any debts aside from mortgages. I wish I was aware of FIRE before the last few years and am hoping to reach a 1 million net worth (without houses factored) by 2025 (we would be 40) and 2.5 million by 2034 (would be 49) and have work optional. Our current savings rate is ~55-60% combined I hope we are on the right track! Anyways, that is me and I welcome any and all advice. Very much looking forward to this community and following along.

What a year 2021 has been!

I wanted to give an update:
Net Worth Without Real Estate Equity:
December 2020: ~320k
June 2021: ~410k
December 2021: ~495k

Net Worth With Real Estate Equity:
December 2020: ~620k
June 2021: ~795k
December 2021: ~1,030,000

[dukebound85]

2022 was largely disappointing as many of you can relate to from a stock market perspective

2022 EOY update

Net Worth Without Real Estate Equity:
December 2020: ~320k
June 2021: ~410k
December 2021: ~495k
December 2022: ~483k (despite a savings rate of 60+ %)

Net Worth With Real Estate Equity:
December 2020: ~620k
June 2021: ~795k
December 2021: ~1,030,000
December 2022: ~1,076,000

[dukebound85]

Update Sept 2023

Net Worth Without Real Estate Equity:
December 2020: ~320k
June 2021: ~410k
December 2021: ~495k
December 2022: ~483k (despite a savings rate of 60+ %)
September 2023: ~605k

Net Worth With Real Estate Equity:
December 2020: ~620k
June 2021: ~795k
December 2021: ~1,030,000
December 2022: ~1,076,000
September 2023: ~1,250,000

So far so good this year. Would like to consider a career change sometime in the future as work is demanding in my field. We have a household income of ~180k. DD is now 2.5 and would love to be able to spend more time with her

[dukebound85]

March 2024 Update

Net Worth Without Real Estate Equity:
December 2020: ~320k
June 2021: ~410k
December 2021: ~495k
December 2022: ~483k (despite a savings rate of 60+ %)
September 2023: ~605k
March 2024: ~710k

Net Worth With Real Estate Equity:
December 2020: ~620k
June 2021: ~795k
December 2021: ~1,030,000
December 2022: ~1,076,000
September 2023: ~1,250,000
March 2024: ~1,350,000

Steady gains with aggressive savings rate (~50%+). Working to make the dream happen!

[NgineER]

Congratulations! You are making great progress. Keep it up.

[brydanger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dukebound85 I hope we are on the right track!

Sounds like you're doing great!!

Don't forget that a large part of the beauty n the rentals in the passive income, meaning you need for less of the big number sitting somewhere.

We weren't far from where you were in 2020 (in fact behind you) when we decided to ramp things up, move out of the house.
That was a complete game changer for us in terms of seeing what was possible and just how early we could leave the jobs and just how far we could get living affordably and working for fun rather than because we needed the money.

I recommend trying it, just like I recommend taking a year off to go travel with DD before school requirements set in. Hit the road or sail around the world...
You might be amazed that you actually spend less/save more when traveling full time then when you lived in the house and worked!

Keep it up!!

[pacergal]

Looks like you are progressing well.

[street]

Outstanding and the power of compounding is the trick.