I've been a lurker on this forum for years but figure its time to introduce myself.
Net Worth currently at $925,000. $525,000 of that is in 401/403/457 retirement plans mostly in stock mutual funds. $350,000 in brokerage accounts and other miscellaneous assets, but mostly in stock mutual funds. I have $50,000 in cash savings account from the sale of my last home.
I have a parked pension from a previous job that I was at for 23 years that will pay $5,442.10 (no COLA) a month starting in Nov 3, 2025. If I started taking payments now I would get $2,903.31 a month.
I'm currently putting the max into my work 403 plan which is matched very well at my current job, so between myself and the match I'm adding just over $3000 a month to it.
My original plan was to FIRE at 55 (in 5 years). The plan then was to live off savings until the pension kicked in at ~60.
Social Security would basically be a cost of living increase for me when I needed it - I never really counted on it being there for me, but it looks like it might still be around for a while
My new goal is to retire sooner rather than wait another 5 years.
So I just need to work out a plan where I can FIRE sooner rather than later.
I have been studying expat blogs and forums for several years, and definitely want to live abroad for several years while I'm still healthy enough to do so. Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica, Thailand, Ecuador, Panama, Portugal etc all look appealing to me. I've been studying spanish for some years also, but am still not very fluent. I'm very frugal and don't have expensive tastes, and have no problem living on a limited budget, which has helped me save as much as I have.
So nice to meet you.