Thanks for all the "congrats!" and questions!
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Originally Posted by travelover
Congratulations. 
What will you do all day?
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Even though you are kidding, it's a great question; I'm not sure, but now I'll have time to find out!
In the volunteering space, I'm looking to leverage my corporate experience to help returning veterans and the disadvantaged with their resumes and interview skills. I haven't found great matches in the Chicago area yet; if anyone has any leads, let me know!
In the travel space, I'm scouring for travel deals. We're going to Nashville tomorrow for 4 days of eating and dancing; we're going on a 2 week road trip in July to visit my family in upstate NY and spend a week at the lake in the Adirondacks, visit Niagara Falls, and spend a day riding roller coasters at Cedar Point in Ohio; we're flying and then going on a 2 week Texas road trip in September to visit my wife's family and spend time in Austin; we're spending 4 days in Tulum Mexico for our anniversary in October; we're spending 1 month in San Miguel de Allende, central Mexico, in January or February. I've mentioned my travel sources here if you similarly inclined:
http://www.early-retirement.org/foru...ml#post1745149
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Originally Posted by medved
Congratulations. Every success story I read, like your's, makes me think I can do it too. (By the way, no kids, I assume?)
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That's right, no kids. Also aiding us financially: no student loans to pay off for me (my parents told me throughout high school that they'd pay for 4 years at a public university, or contribute that same amount toward a private university; I happily went public), and my wife paid her student loan off within 4 years of graduation, we lived without any cars for the past 13 years, and my parents informed me early about the power of compound interest so I started saving summer job money and continued significant saving when I got a "real job". Not to mention the ultimate aid: we were born in America to great parents with great genes and were never hungry... though neither of us were affluent; both my wife and I grew up in a single-income household and in both cases it was a nurse's income.
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Originally Posted by audreyh1
Wow - you all really did get your ducks in a row! Congrats!
Retired at 39 here - and that was almost 17 years ago. (1999)
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Wow, bravo!! We can all learn from so many of you here on these forums.
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Originally Posted by retire2020
Well done! Congrats. Any reason why you decided to move to to Chicago?
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Several reasons:
- From a lifestyle standpoint, we thought it wouldn't be too jarring a change for us coming from Manhattan: cosmopolitan, good public transportation, good food, good pro sports
- From a budget standpoint, we thought it would be much more affordable than Manhattan, yet still not cheap; kind of a "if we can make it there, we can make it anywhere!" mentality with respect to keeping to our budget
- It's geographically central so we are closer to family and closer to most travel destinations in the U.S.
- My wife lived in Chicago for several years so we have some great friends in the area to make the transition easier
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Originally Posted by Standup
Your age/nest egg/annual expense aligns nearly perfectly with my wife's and mine. However, I've been a bit of a head-case with the 'one more year' and 'will it be enough' questions and feel like I'll never be able to actually retire. How can I walk away from another year of 300K+ income, etc.
Outside of the 2.5 million, do you have pensions or anything like that? Would you be open to sharing your calculations and thought processes for what got you to finally be able to do it?
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Originally Posted by Exit 2024
Also would be interested to see calculations as we are targeting similar investible amount but with lower budget and older age, thinking maybe we are too conservative
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I'm very data-driven and rather decisive so it didn't take long for us to turn the corner once enough evidence presented itself to say it was safe to pull the trigger.
No, neither of us have pensions.
Here was our thought process:
- First came the numbers, and there were a lot of calculators and spreadsheets (see: data-driven), too many to articulate here, but I can say that FIRECalc was especially convincing to me; if we could have survived retirement before the Great Depression or the Stagnant 70s, we can survive nearly anything
- Then came the "what are we working for?" realization: if we do work 5 more years, say, at 300K+ for peace of mind, 2 of those 5 years of hard work are simply to pay taxes. How inefficient and unsatisfying is that?
- Then came the "what better time than now?" realization: we already feel our bodies creaking more and more each year; if we are going to see the world, better to see it in bodies that have the mobility and stamina to really take it all in!
- Then came the confidence that we can answer the "what if?" question: what if this time is different and the markets collapse for far too long and threaten our retirement? We are confident that we can greatly reduce our spending via geographic arbitrage (meaning, move to a low cost of living country for some time) and/or we can earn income using our skills.
I'm sure that if you are earning 300k, you have the skills to find work if you want to - whether it's to shore up your retirement budget or to gain a sense of achievement that only income brings you. I hope you find the fortitude soon, Standup & Exit 2024!
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Originally Posted by aim-high
Congrats! FIRED at 41 (which is very early), a reasonably cushy lifestyle, manageable expenses, a solid portfolio, and you don't even have a blog to sell tell your story. You actually can do whatever you really want to! ;-)
Seriously though...mega congrats! Excited to hear about the volunteering as well. The world needs this kind of FIRE.
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There are enough blogs, right?
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Originally Posted by Live And Learn
What a great success story ! Your hard work and dedication has paid off. Enjoy your retirement. I just completed my first year and like your wife I am MUCH happier. It has been the best year of my life.
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Best year of your life?! Wow, what a vote of confidence!
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Originally Posted by JohnM
Nice! Enjoy the FIRE time - give us another update in a few months and let us know how you are settling in to the new reality!
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I'd be happy to!
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