I am 34 years old...Can I afford ER?

[firsttimer]

I am a single male. no kids. no personal debt. My personal net worth is 600k liquid

I do pay mortgage of 535.00 per month interest only. the home loan amount is 103k the appraised value is 100k.

What would be a good nest egg amount to carry me through the rest of my lifetime? Can I stop working now? What about retiring overseas as I know some tax friendly countries do not have tax on interest income.

Thank you very much for any and all responses.

 

[brewer12345]

What are your expenses?

I would not retire with that little at 34.

 

[firsttimer]

my expenses are 1025 per month.

 

[brewer12345]

my expenses are 1025 per month.

Doable, then, at least mathematically.

The bigger picture is important, though, and magnified at an early age. Do you know who you want to be when you grow up? How irrevocable would pulling the plug be? What happens if you meet the significant other of your dreams within a year of quitting and want to have a family, etc.? This is a serious question you would want to have sorted out for yourself before you make the leap. I quit the day job recently at 40, but I am married, with kids, in the place I want to be for the long term, and even so I am staying agile, mobile and hostile. I have a few decades before I start the long slide into the dirt nap and I am keenly aware that my desires might change a lot in that time. As a totally faithless mercenary for much of my career, I am prepared to continue the same in retirement.

The problem with overseas locations is that sooner or later they either turn into shitholes or become expensive for dollar-based investors. If you choose this path, be prepared to pick up stakes after a while and head for new shores. I like a more settled lifestyle, so I simply chose a lower cost area of the US.

As for tax minimization, if you are no longer one of the chumps in the W-2 brigade, there is a ton of absurdly low hanging fruit to minimize lifetime tax burden. This year I expect to pay approximately zero federal taxes, vanishingly little state, and get absurd subsidies towards health insurance. You do not need to be overseas to play the game.

 

[ShortInSeattle]

You could probably scratch out a meager existence. Perhaps 18k per year?

The question is... would that be the way you want to live your life? For the next 60 years?

Sounds kinda crummy to me. But you know yourself better than I do.

 

[firsttimer]

I understand what you are saying, thank you for taking the time to explain your point of view in a rational non judgmental manner. I was actually taken back by the previous post from another user.

 

[firsttimer]

Doable, then, at least mathematically.

The bigger picture is important, though, and magnified at an early age. Do you know who you want to be when you grow up? How irrevocable would pulling the plug be? What happens if you meet the significant other of your dreams within a year of quitting and want to have a family, etc.? This is a serious question you would want to have sorted out for yourself before you make the leap. I quit the day job recently at 40, but I am married, with kids, in the place I want to be for the long term, and even so I am staying agile, mobile and hostile. I have a few decades before I start the long slide into the dirt nap and I am keenly aware that my desires might change a lot in that time. As a totally faithless mercenary for much of my career, I am prepared to continue the same in retirement.

The problem with overseas locations is that sooner or later they either turn into shitholes or become expensive for dollar-based investors. If you choose this path, be prepared to pick up stakes after a while and head for new shores. I like a more settled lifestyle, so I simply chose a lower cost area of the US.

As for tax minimization, if you are no longer one of the chumps in the W-2 brigade, there is a ton of absurdly low hanging fruit to minimize lifetime tax burden. This year I expect to pay approximately zero federal taxes, vanishingly little state, and get absurd subsidies towards health insurance. You do not need to be overseas to play the game.

I understand what you are saying, thank you for taking the time to explain your point of view in a rational non judgmental manner. I was actually taken back by the previous post from another user.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

600K is a big enough cushion to give you pad to search out other careers. I went back to school in my thirties to try to find something I could do at home. I had a lot of fails but ended up with something I could do at home and paid much more per hour than my 40+ hours a week job.

Do a Google search for digital nomad jobs. We like watching House Hunters International, too. Some of the people on there live in pretty cool, low cost of living places but have online businesses, do contract work or have telecommute jobs with U.S. type salaries.

I was taken aback at a couple of the previous posts as well. I see one of them has been deleted.

 

[photoguy]

The math of safe withdrawal rates doesn't change with the size of the nest egg. So if you can live on 3% you are probably fine on paper.

However, when stuff hits the fan, like a new roof or special assessment, with only 600k you may have too little a buffer.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

I would consider going back to school to learn something that pays $100K+ (if you don't have this already), keep a low overhead lifestyle, and then just work part of the year, part time and/or get a telecommute job. You'd have a lot more income and you wouldn't have to work too much.

The top ranked person at my last job did that. Brilliant IQ, big accounting experience, MBA from a top school and but he lived low overhead lifestyle in a rent controlled apartment and took mass transit. He ended up forming a consulting company, working half the year and doing charity work and traveling the rest of the year. I always knew he was hands down the smartest person at work, but thought he had a really unconventional lifestyle. In hindsight I realize he was very life smart, too.

Thirty-four is kind of young to check out of working completely because you don't know what life will hold for you over maybe 70 years of remaining life span, you won't keeping earning Social Security credits and your income would be minimal just living off your portfolio, but working part time at something you enjoy would give you a lot more financial security and you'd have more SS to look forward to when you are older.

 

[Ready]

Hello Firsttimer and welcome to the forum. I think the general question of whether you have enough financially to retire has been addressed. If you're comfortable, perhaps you could share a bit more about why you are thinking of retiring, what you would do with your free time, and what else might be on your mind that prompted you to join the forum.

Perhaps there are others in a similar situation whose point of view could be helpful to you.

 

[firsttimer]

Great Feedback

Hello Firsttimer and welcome to the forum. I think the general question of whether you have enough financially to retire has been addressed. If you're comfortable, perhaps you could share a bit more about why you are thinking of retiring, what you would do with your free time, and what else might be on your mind that prompted you to join the forum.

Perhaps there are others in a similar situation whose point of view could be helpful to you.

I would like to thank everyone for their kind words of direction. I have learned quite a bit from this forum which I believe to be words of wisdom based on years of experience.

I started a small business which I was later able to sell to a group of investors, after taxes and fees my net was 600k. I am at a turning point in my life. With dedicating the last seven years of my life...night and day to growing my small business I just wanted to poke my head up and take a breather.

What are your feelings on owning a franchise? I am young and able to work...I know that is not an ideal situation but proven business models are easier said than done.

Sincerely,
Firsttimer