HighOnLife
Dryer sheet aficionado
Hello ER community,
I'd like to tell everyone that I am High On Life, and here is my intro story:
I grew up in a high achievement culture, starting with a zero balance at 18. My chosen career was (and is) extremely volatile, with good long-term potential for those who are talented, but low earnings up front (think: hundred-hour weeks on pure commission and no sleep, bringing in 6k-30k the first decade but quickly jumping up to six figures after that). I paid off school loans immediately, worked hard, spent close to nothing on my way, and basically postponed living--like you do when you are poor and responsible. At the time, CD rates were around 6%, and I thought "if I only had 100k, I could cover the rent," so I made financial independence a priority.
Fast forward to age 33--my job was finally picking up, and my churchgoing wife and I found ourselves closing in on a major savings milestone that would allow me to ease off a bit and re-claim my health and time. The very second we hit that milestone she filed for divorce and left the state, telling me she was coming after the money. She took slightly more than half of our $600k estate, plus left me with a string of tax liabilities that our lawyers had not addressed. I was left with the house and some savings to get me through about a year of the unemployment which followed--which I put into oil and gas stocks right before the sector completely bottomed out, losing 80% of my investment. So instead of slowing down, I had to backtrack to "almost" the beginning, and continued to sprint albeit in panic mode, having lost my job, my savings, and my family.
I right away started my own company, which allowed me to continue in my chosen career path and secure my earning potential. I decided that if I wanted to learn how rich people managed their money, I needed to hear it from the horse's mouth. I discovered FIRE blogs and this forum. I became a Boglehead, and corrected a lot of the errors I was making. My business has continued to be volatile but is on an upward trend.
My income is regularly six figures now, but I still struggle with wanting a reliable income stream during those slow periods when nothing is coming in for six months or more. My ex previously filled that space with her low, but steady, income, while mine was volatile and much higher. I have em savings, but tapping into them puts me psychologically "back on the streets" with the feeling that the ship is sinking and we are all going to die. I keep around 50k in cash but realize I need to raise that amount to sleep at night. I have also considered real estate for regular income, however I am aware of my limits, and after a hostile divorce am leery of entangling my financial security with other people (renters), since I've seen what animals other people can be. Senator's portfolio is a kind of model for me (strippers included), and I read his blog often as I consider RE.
I have arrived at a 85/15 AA. My overhead expenses are 15-18k/year, depending on how I calculate it. I would probably increase this budget after retirement so I can start living. My preferred portfolio target for retirement is 2m, but I could survive off less (750k-1m). My portfolio is currently at 550k. Since I run my own business, I pay ~50% in income taxes. I recently turned 36. Every time I look at my portfolio I see the void of that missing 100k that I earned after tax but was taken from me in the divorce. But I am learning to let that (and the time it represents) go.
I want to have enough money that I could cover my overhead without work and without worry, knowing that I could go eight months with no income. At half a million, I am pretty much there. At 1m I could retire, which according to cFireCalc puts me at ago 40. At 2m I could do it in style! I am still having to force myself to interrupt my monk-like survival mode with "living along the way," rather than putting my life on hold until I am old and financially independent. For instance I dream of seeing a beach, or having a fling with some foreign girl before I'm too old to get it up. My end goal is to give back to the world in ways related to my career and education.
I realize investors are no strangers to life's ups and downs. I have learned a lot about life's economics in the last few years. I tend to be very conservative, which has helped get me through and which doubtlessly will drive me through a few rounds of "just one more year" syndrome. I truly love my life and am very lucky in so many ways, not least of which is that my gold-digging wife cashed out now instead of another ten years from now, and will not share in what by every measure looks to be a solid retirement to come. Thanks for reading!
I'd like to tell everyone that I am High On Life, and here is my intro story:
I grew up in a high achievement culture, starting with a zero balance at 18. My chosen career was (and is) extremely volatile, with good long-term potential for those who are talented, but low earnings up front (think: hundred-hour weeks on pure commission and no sleep, bringing in 6k-30k the first decade but quickly jumping up to six figures after that). I paid off school loans immediately, worked hard, spent close to nothing on my way, and basically postponed living--like you do when you are poor and responsible. At the time, CD rates were around 6%, and I thought "if I only had 100k, I could cover the rent," so I made financial independence a priority.
Fast forward to age 33--my job was finally picking up, and my churchgoing wife and I found ourselves closing in on a major savings milestone that would allow me to ease off a bit and re-claim my health and time. The very second we hit that milestone she filed for divorce and left the state, telling me she was coming after the money. She took slightly more than half of our $600k estate, plus left me with a string of tax liabilities that our lawyers had not addressed. I was left with the house and some savings to get me through about a year of the unemployment which followed--which I put into oil and gas stocks right before the sector completely bottomed out, losing 80% of my investment. So instead of slowing down, I had to backtrack to "almost" the beginning, and continued to sprint albeit in panic mode, having lost my job, my savings, and my family.
I right away started my own company, which allowed me to continue in my chosen career path and secure my earning potential. I decided that if I wanted to learn how rich people managed their money, I needed to hear it from the horse's mouth. I discovered FIRE blogs and this forum. I became a Boglehead, and corrected a lot of the errors I was making. My business has continued to be volatile but is on an upward trend.
My income is regularly six figures now, but I still struggle with wanting a reliable income stream during those slow periods when nothing is coming in for six months or more. My ex previously filled that space with her low, but steady, income, while mine was volatile and much higher. I have em savings, but tapping into them puts me psychologically "back on the streets" with the feeling that the ship is sinking and we are all going to die. I keep around 50k in cash but realize I need to raise that amount to sleep at night. I have also considered real estate for regular income, however I am aware of my limits, and after a hostile divorce am leery of entangling my financial security with other people (renters), since I've seen what animals other people can be. Senator's portfolio is a kind of model for me (strippers included), and I read his blog often as I consider RE.
I have arrived at a 85/15 AA. My overhead expenses are 15-18k/year, depending on how I calculate it. I would probably increase this budget after retirement so I can start living. My preferred portfolio target for retirement is 2m, but I could survive off less (750k-1m). My portfolio is currently at 550k. Since I run my own business, I pay ~50% in income taxes. I recently turned 36. Every time I look at my portfolio I see the void of that missing 100k that I earned after tax but was taken from me in the divorce. But I am learning to let that (and the time it represents) go.
I want to have enough money that I could cover my overhead without work and without worry, knowing that I could go eight months with no income. At half a million, I am pretty much there. At 1m I could retire, which according to cFireCalc puts me at ago 40. At 2m I could do it in style! I am still having to force myself to interrupt my monk-like survival mode with "living along the way," rather than putting my life on hold until I am old and financially independent. For instance I dream of seeing a beach, or having a fling with some foreign girl before I'm too old to get it up. My end goal is to give back to the world in ways related to my career and education.
I realize investors are no strangers to life's ups and downs. I have learned a lot about life's economics in the last few years. I tend to be very conservative, which has helped get me through and which doubtlessly will drive me through a few rounds of "just one more year" syndrome. I truly love my life and am very lucky in so many ways, not least of which is that my gold-digging wife cashed out now instead of another ten years from now, and will not share in what by every measure looks to be a solid retirement to come. Thanks for reading!
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