Under FIRE
Dryer sheet wannabe
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2005
- Messages
- 24
This Board is a fantastic platform for giving “life" back to denizens of the corporate world.
Well, here’s my story.
I’m based in Malaysia. All figures here converted to US$ equivalent semi-adjusted for purchasing power parity.
I’m 42. Currently grossing $220,000 p.a. plus ~$100,000 net p.a. in Share Option proceeds plus all the perks that come with heading two subsidiaries of a Telco Megacorp. Liquid investments currently dumped in two main buckets: $530,000 in fairly conservative dividend-earning mutual funds and $580,000 in a government guaranteed retirement plan somewhat equivalent to the Australian Superannuation scheme (earning 4-5% int. p.a.) where I can make tax free lump-sum withdrawals of 1/5 at age 50 (about $200,000 in 2013 assuming no further contribution) and the balance 4/5 at 55 (about $800,000 in 2018 with same assumptions). Currently contributing a mandatory 11% of gross salary to this retirement account, with megacorp contributing an additonal 12%.
I started working life as a retail banker and evolved into investment banking during the Asian economic boom days of the early 1990s. Smelling the sexiness of a fast deregulating telecommunications sector, I changed industries and served current employer from its embryonic origins as a fledgling telco start-up in 1995 to its current incarnation as a regional telco-entertainment-media giant. Six months ago, the thought of ER struck me like a tropical thunderbolt (….or was it my subconscious absorption of the stories and prescriptions in this forum?) and I began to question the sheer sanity of a two hour daily commute
, mind-numbing boardroom politics, dumb corporate rituals 
, and operational paralysis and …… yuggggh.
A couple of mths back, I negotiated a voluntary severance package (the default sum is none so every buck is a bonus). The deal: Last work day April 11. Full pay/benefits till mid July. Lump sum ex gratia of $200,000 in July and to exercise share options vesting also in July. All these add up to about $250,000 after tax. Add to my existing cash hoard of $530,000 (mostly in low-cost index funds), I’ll be sitting on $780,000. Plus, as mentioned, I’ll be receiving two sacks of government retirement scheme cash est. at $200,000 in 7 yrs and $800,000 in 12 yrs.
I have a non-working wife and a 6 yr old son. House bought for cash 10 years ago and currently valued at about $350,000. Also have a paid-for ½-acre empty lot at a nearby golf resort valued at $330,000. No development plans for this plot. May sell if necessary. We have a commercial property valued at $290,000 with a mortgage balance of $190,000. The rent covers the monthly payments, but little free cash flow from this property. Our two cars are paid for. I’ve been salting away at least 60% of my net the past few yrs and the family could live in comfort on $45,000 p.a.
Bottom-line: $45,000 p.a. on $780,000 equals a SWR of 5.8%. This may not epitomize conservatism but I’m also staring at $1 million in two tranches in future (of course, this may just be half that in today’s dollars).
May also sell the land, use proceeds to pay off commercial property and invest the balance of $140,000. The net rental of $1,500 p.m. on the commercial property may substitute for part of the withdrawals from investments. Potential revised current SWR = (45k p.a. – (1.5k rental income X 12 mths)) / (780k + 140k net land sale) = 27k / 920k = 2.9%.
Plan to take a 3-mth sabbatical to regain sanity and physical fitness wretched by 12-hour days in a super-stressed corporate powderkeg. Will then “dabble” in pet projects – nothing fancy, maybe two 4-hour days a week as advisor to a couple of telco-related start-ups. May or may not make money on these, but no risk either as my “equity” will purely be coloured grey plus industry networking. Any fees or profits will be the froth to underwrite my wide-ranging interests in the natural sciences, paleontology and ancient cultures. One of these ventures may actually strike it big in which case I may then be more inclined to partake in browsing the likes dupontregistry.com. On the other hand, I may well decide that I’m too lazy to dress up and go consult in some stuffy boardroom even for that two short days per week and may just extend my sabbatical to enjoy the scenic beauty and cultural richness of the blessed tropical paradise in my midst for literally a few dollars a day.
Yup, with basic needs fulfilled (full belly; comfy shelter; easy access to cool hills and powdery white beaches; and good non-work friends), it is, indeed, a challenge to propagate corporate servitude here in the tropics.
Well, that’s a summary of my current state of affairs at age 42. Heck, I may well let the rest of the plot evolve with the times. Thanks for “listening” to my story.
Well, here’s my story.
I’m based in Malaysia. All figures here converted to US$ equivalent semi-adjusted for purchasing power parity.
I’m 42. Currently grossing $220,000 p.a. plus ~$100,000 net p.a. in Share Option proceeds plus all the perks that come with heading two subsidiaries of a Telco Megacorp. Liquid investments currently dumped in two main buckets: $530,000 in fairly conservative dividend-earning mutual funds and $580,000 in a government guaranteed retirement plan somewhat equivalent to the Australian Superannuation scheme (earning 4-5% int. p.a.) where I can make tax free lump-sum withdrawals of 1/5 at age 50 (about $200,000 in 2013 assuming no further contribution) and the balance 4/5 at 55 (about $800,000 in 2018 with same assumptions). Currently contributing a mandatory 11% of gross salary to this retirement account, with megacorp contributing an additonal 12%.
I started working life as a retail banker and evolved into investment banking during the Asian economic boom days of the early 1990s. Smelling the sexiness of a fast deregulating telecommunications sector, I changed industries and served current employer from its embryonic origins as a fledgling telco start-up in 1995 to its current incarnation as a regional telco-entertainment-media giant. Six months ago, the thought of ER struck me like a tropical thunderbolt (….or was it my subconscious absorption of the stories and prescriptions in this forum?) and I began to question the sheer sanity of a two hour daily commute
, mind-numbing boardroom politics, dumb corporate rituals , and operational paralysis and …… yuggggh. A couple of mths back, I negotiated a voluntary severance package (the default sum is none so every buck is a bonus). The deal: Last work day April 11. Full pay/benefits till mid July. Lump sum ex gratia of $200,000 in July and to exercise share options vesting also in July. All these add up to about $250,000 after tax. Add to my existing cash hoard of $530,000 (mostly in low-cost index funds), I’ll be sitting on $780,000. Plus, as mentioned, I’ll be receiving two sacks of government retirement scheme cash est. at $200,000 in 7 yrs and $800,000 in 12 yrs.
I have a non-working wife and a 6 yr old son. House bought for cash 10 years ago and currently valued at about $350,000. Also have a paid-for ½-acre empty lot at a nearby golf resort valued at $330,000. No development plans for this plot. May sell if necessary. We have a commercial property valued at $290,000 with a mortgage balance of $190,000. The rent covers the monthly payments, but little free cash flow from this property. Our two cars are paid for. I’ve been salting away at least 60% of my net the past few yrs and the family could live in comfort on $45,000 p.a.
Bottom-line: $45,000 p.a. on $780,000 equals a SWR of 5.8%. This may not epitomize conservatism but I’m also staring at $1 million in two tranches in future (of course, this may just be half that in today’s dollars).
May also sell the land, use proceeds to pay off commercial property and invest the balance of $140,000. The net rental of $1,500 p.m. on the commercial property may substitute for part of the withdrawals from investments. Potential revised current SWR = (45k p.a. – (1.5k rental income X 12 mths)) / (780k + 140k net land sale) = 27k / 920k = 2.9%.
Plan to take a 3-mth sabbatical to regain sanity and physical fitness wretched by 12-hour days in a super-stressed corporate powderkeg. Will then “dabble” in pet projects – nothing fancy, maybe two 4-hour days a week as advisor to a couple of telco-related start-ups. May or may not make money on these, but no risk either as my “equity” will purely be coloured grey plus industry networking. Any fees or profits will be the froth to underwrite my wide-ranging interests in the natural sciences, paleontology and ancient cultures. One of these ventures may actually strike it big in which case I may then be more inclined to partake in browsing the likes dupontregistry.com. On the other hand, I may well decide that I’m too lazy to dress up and go consult in some stuffy boardroom even for that two short days per week and may just extend my sabbatical to enjoy the scenic beauty and cultural richness of the blessed tropical paradise in my midst for literally a few dollars a day.
Yup, with basic needs fulfilled (full belly; comfy shelter; easy access to cool hills and powdery white beaches; and good non-work friends), it is, indeed, a challenge to propagate corporate servitude here in the tropics. Well, that’s a summary of my current state of affairs at age 42. Heck, I may well let the rest of the plot evolve with the times. Thanks for “listening” to my story.
