Plan for Exit 2024

[Markola]

Fortunately, we haven't fought much over money either but sometimes I wish I wasn't the only one who ever thinks about it. I really can't complain either though. In most ways, I get to run the money department so I guess I should be grateful that DW doesn't care and doesn't know a back door Roth conversion from a make up provision, god bless her.

 

[kgtest]

I've told my wife when we've lost multiple thousands of dollars and she says "yeah but that is today, what about tomorrow?" Smart women.

 

[Lawrencewendall]

I will add one to your list: - have spouse who is on board and will sacrifice as necessary with you to work the plan. That is huge. Give that spouse a hug, because you hit the jack pot!

I am struggling with this right now. Not sure what to do. "Stuff" has spilled into the "guest room" (DS1's old room). Can be discouraging to see the night of payday having <$10 in the account. I max out retirement contributions just so it's not in the account. DISPITE DW actions, RE in less than 5 years and that includes a wedding on the horizon. Would be a lot easier with DW's support.

 

[Exit 2024]

Fortunately, we haven't fought much over money either but sometimes I wish I wasn't the only one who ever thinks about it. I really can't complain either though. In most ways, I get to run the money department so I guess I should be grateful that DW doesn't care and doesn't know a back door Roth conversion from a make up provision, god bless her.

Markola, think positive, if she would care about all of it - it could result in disagreement (read fights) in investment strategies or parameters for FIREcalc

 

[Exit 2024]

Lawrencewendall, I really feel for you that is tough but you are still doing great with FIRE on the horizon.

 

[Exit 2024]

Got letter 4883C from IRS today, asking to call to verify identity.

All was going well through our personal info verification and through 2015 return verification till we got to 2016 one, lady on the phone said that she can not match any info and now I need to go to local IRS with all paperwork and 2 forms of ID.
Closest appointment they gave me is on May 18. Looks like I got identity theft going - do not have any other explanation. Lady on the phone refused to give any additional info. Our refund is now stuck there for unknown period of time (?) Did anyone have experience with similar letters and all? what should I expect?
I checked my credit reports through creditkarma - no suspicious activities so far. Do I need to freeze it just in case?

 

[Standard Staples]

Got letter 4883C from IRS today, asking to call to verify identity.

All was going well through our personal info verification and through 2015 return verification till we got to 2016 one, lady on the phone said that she can not match any info and now I need to go to local IRS with all paperwork and 2 forms of ID.
Closest appointment they gave me is on May 18. Looks like I got identity theft going - do not have any other explanation. Lady on the phone refused to give any additional info. Our refund is now stuck there for unknown period of time (?) Did anyone have experience with similar letters and all? what should I expect?
I checked my credit reports through creditkarma - no suspicious activities so far. Do I need to freeze it just in case?

I would have the exact same concerns as you, but it may not be as bad as you think. I found this on a quick Google search:
===============================================
Hi everyone.

My name is Benny, I am a Senior Moderator here on the AnswerXchange forum, and an Official Intuit TurboTax Employee.

I was affected by that same letter last year after E-filing my return, it is a move on behalf of the IRS to protect taxpayer identities. It didn't matter what software I used, or that I actually worked for a tax software company.

The IRS simply wanted to confirm it was me that filed my return, so I visited my local IRS office and got the verification instantly. They also advised me that it would process within nine weeks, but it was faster than that in the end.

I just wanted to provide some background on what the letter is, why they are doing it and my personal experience with it. I hope this helps all of you feel more comfortable about the experience and what the IRS is doing.
===============================================

So, hopefully, once you go to the office, it'll be a simple verification, and they can process your refund. Maybe you were just one of the "lucky" ones that got picked for ID verification.

 

[Exit 2024]

Thanks for posting it, Staples! Very hopeful that it is the case for us also, although my concern is that based on reaction of lady on the phone it was obvious that she was looking at something different than our 2016 form 1040 as she was asking multiple times to repeat different numbers from different lines and was trying to make sure that I read from the correct line, final "oh" was when she asked me to read account number and routing number for DD - and we did not provide any on our tax return, expected refund by check, she definitely had something listed there but when I asked, she said that she cannot confirm my identity and can not answer any questions because of that.

 

[Exit 2024]

Update on visit to local IRS office:
Despite assigned time had to sit in line for more than 1 hour, agent was nice and apologetic, reviewed my docs and my file in their system, found nothing suspicious, made notes on our case, said wait additional 4-6 week, we either will receive refund or new letter. I asked what type of letter, she said she does not know and thinks it was just random identity verification, but on other hand there is case opened and assigned to someone and ID verification could be just part of some bigger process. At this point I am still monitoring our credit report, will post again as soon as there are any news.

 

[Standard Staples]

Update on visit to local IRS office:
Despite assigned time had to sit in line for more than 1 hour, agent was nice and apologetic, reviewed my docs and my file in their system, found nothing suspicious, made notes on our case, said wait additional 4-6 week, we either will receive refund or new letter. I asked what type of letter, she said she does not know and thinks it was just random identity verification, but on other hand there is case opened and assigned to someone and ID verification could be just part of some bigger process. At this point I am still monitoring our credit report, will post again as soon as there are any news.

Very frustrating, but I'd put that in the 'W' column. Identity theft is nasty business, and if they had evidence of fraud and/or told you someone already claimed your refund, I can only imagine the time and headaches involved. Good luck, and I'll sure you'll get your money soon!

 

[Exit 2024]

Thanks Staples! crossing my fingers that all will be resolved soon

 

[Exit 2024]

Update on our 2016 tax return situation:
Good news - after my visit to local IRS our joined return finally got processed and we just received check in the mail with refund
Bad news - IRS confirmed that fraudulent return was filed under my name, they put extra security on my account and going forward will provide PIN that I have to use to file my taxes

 

[exnavynuke]

Update on our 2016 tax return situation:
Good news - after my visit to local IRS our joined return finally got processed and we just received check in the mail with refund
Bad news - IRS confirmed that fraudulent return was filed under my name, they put extra security on my account and going forward will provide PIN that I have to use to file my taxes

At least you got it resolved. I assume you've put a lock on everything at the credit bureaus and aren't just waiting for a fraudulent account to show up on your report?

 

[Exit 2024]

exnavynuke, yes, placed 90 days initial fraud alert through Equifax, they will update the other 2. To file "extended period fraud alert" I need to file police report first, waiting on IRS papers that should come in the mail this week. Fun times

 

[Sycamore]

Glad to hear your return was accepted and you have the extra security measure.

 

[Exit 2024]

2017 Q2 updates

- with all that market run up we had a very good quarter and that put us at 39.6% of target
- YTD stocks performed really well but that put our AA out of wack - 74% stock vs targeted 70%, trying to decide if I should just re-balance by selling some stock funds, or put all new 401k contributions to Total Bond fund
- our investable assets crossed $800k
- all the IRS saga seems to be resolved, they will send me PIN in December to file 2017 taxes
- I survived major round of layoffs at work, at this point there are corporate plans for 2 more rounds before end of the year
- I looked at the job market, not too bad, but can not just leave my current employer as I still have a good chunk of money in non-vested RSU awards, one batch just vested on 7/1, YEY!!! , if I will be RIFed - rest will vest proportionally to the time employed, hate to leave it behind but depending on situation may have to
- SO's job is also still uncertain, seems like contract will end in September and no any visibility if it will be renewed
- no changes to RE position anymore, rental RE purchase is still on hold
- all extra money go into saving account - hoarding cash due to continued risks to our jobs

We have 28Qs to go

 

[Exit 2024]

2017 Q3 update

It was mixed quarter for us, as we had a lot of income from the market performance but also a lot of spending:

- batch of RSU vested in July, all sold for a good profit
- still both had our jobs but that will change in November, SO's contract was not renewed and looks like in a month we will be down to one paycheck and one unemployment benefit
- August was big spending month - trip to see family overseas, plus we booked and fully paid family vacation in December
- still pilling cash into saving account, as my job also looks as shaky as never before

We have 27Qs to go based on original plan, but now it is all in the air - due to job situation we are also looking at "semi-retirement" option, basically to earn only living expenses in low key jobs and let savings to ride the market without adding to them. Need to run calculators for that though, not sure if we can pull it off right now but could be forced to

 

[brokrken]

Thanks for the update Exit 2024. I think I have mentioned before that we seem to be in similar circumstances, so it's nice to have a benchmark to track my progress against. We also have 2024 as a target year and my job also is shaky like never before. Many parallels. Good luck to us both.

 

[Exit 2024]

Good luck to us both.

Second that

 

[Standard Staples]

Thanks for all the detailed updates, 2024. I think it's way too typical (and certainly I'm guilty of it) for the quarterly or semi-annual updates to just be circled around the finances. It's important to look at the overall picture of how everything is going, as it really shows all of us that life has a way of altering our best laid plans. Fortunately for you, and most of the people on this forum, rolling with the punches is built in. You have tremendous reserves, and you can easily weather a storm. I'm sure the two of you will figure out the best path forward, contract or no contract.

Good luck with the remainder of 2017 and beyond!

 

[Turboslacker]

Another data point for y'all. I'm targeting end of 2023 freedom. $1M goal for 401k. Have pension starting at 55 and planning on taking SS at 62. I'm currently at 46% now or considered 61% when accounting for additional 401k company contributions over next 6 years. Feeling optimistic.

 

[Exit 2024]

... Fortunately for you, and most of the people on this forum, rolling with the punches is built in. You have tremendous reserves, and you can easily weather a storm. I'm sure the two of you will figure out the best path forward, contract or no contract.

Good luck with the remainder of 2017 and beyond!

Thanks for encouragements, Staples! Will see how all will play out, will adjust as we go

 

[Exit 2024]

Another data point for y'all. I'm targeting end of 2023 freedom. $1M goal for 401k. Have pension starting at 55 and planning on taking SS at 62. I'm currently at 46% now or considered 61% when accounting for additional 401k company contributions over next 6 years. Feeling optimistic.

Turboslacker, did you mean to post in that tread instead?

http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f30/race-to-2024-please-join-81680.html

 

[Turboslacker]

Turboslacker, did you mean to post in that tread instead?

http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f30/race-to-2024-please-join-81680.html

Yep LOL

 

[Exit 2024]

2017 Q4 and End of the year update

it was wild quarters for us, but overall looks like we made it through with no major losses

- on job front amazingly on the last day of SO's employment company changed their mind and extended contract for 1 more year, so we are still bringing 2 full paychecks
- investment did amazingly well in Q4 and we crossed $900k in investable assets
- we took wonderful vacation to the beach over Christmas

End of the year results are pretty good for us also:

- NW is up $248k
- we added to savings $106k in 2017 vs only $81K in 2016
- exceeded our NW target of $1.25M by $67K, thanks to the running bull

Plans for 2018:

- Continue to max out our all tax advantaged accounts -
2 401k (will have limitations again for both of us),
2 Roth IRA through "backdoor"
2 HSAs
- Start taxable investments, that was on hold due to jobs uncertainty
- Target NW by end of 2018 - $1.5M - that would be 50% of our RE target

We have 26 Qs to go