Anyone else obsessed with FIRECalc?

[Dtail]

For no charge and fairly easy to use if you properly read through the instructions, Firecalc is a very good tool.
There are many folks here who use less than a 3%WR, so effectively there isn't a need to run any numbers except possibly the initial run if so inclined.

 

[rodi]

Prior to retirement I used Firecalc a LOT. And I-orp. And Fidelity RIP. And Quicken Lifetime planner.

They were all different and made me flesh out my plan more. Fidelity let you inflate some things more than others (healthcare, college). Quicken accounted for big planned expenses like college (and whether you were on track for saving for it.) But Quicken was based on fixed rate of return and inflation (you enter/guess). I played around with some variable withdrawal rate models as well.

Once I retired I still played around with them, a *little* less frequently till I got more confident. Now I run firecalc and Fidelity RIP about 2-3 times a year... Usually when I'm toying with the idea of increasing the annual draw.

 

[Koolau]

Interesting observation. Do many early early-retirees (who are now >65 years old) actually reduce their retirement planner assumptions below 30 years? I'm still using 37 years, soon to notch down to 36, but hadn't really thought about when to stop decrementing.

It seems to me that keeping 30 years as your horizon, even into your 70s is another conservatism for the belt and suspenders set. Then again, once into your 70s it is not obvious that retirement planners are very useful any more.

I actually started subtracting a year beginning at age 70. That not only reflects some health changes, but mostly just because - even here in Paradise - most people (men especially) do not reach 100. Thought that was a reasonable place to say "game over." IF I should wake up on my 100th BD and find I'm broke - I'll deal with it then!

 

[aboatguy]

After reading this thread, I used FireCalc for the first time. Long story short the more info I put into it the more $$$$ I could spend in retirement.

According to FireCalc I'm currently 100% while spending 75% (more per year) than we plan on spending. If FireCalcs predictions are sound, my heirs will be rich. However, I'm a belt and suspenders type of guy so I'll continue to OMY until my current job stops being fun.

 

[Koolau]

After reading this thread, I used FireCalc for the first time. Long story short the more info I put into it the more $$$$ I could spend in retirement.

According to FireCalc I'm currently 100% while spending 75% (more per year) than we plan on spending. If FireCalcs predictions are sound, my heirs will be rich. However, I'm a belt and suspenders type of guy so I'll continue to OMY until my current job stops being fun.

Yeah, it'll sneak up on you - all that money you'll never get to spend. We're trying to give it away before we croak. Two kids just had more grandkids for us, so upping their insurance policies, funding Roths, etc. Charities we've had relationships for years are also benefiting. If you do it now then YOU are much more in control than AFTER you're gone - even with a great will.

Oh, and you might warn the kids (we did) there won't be much for you when we're gone. You're getting your "share" now. Leftovers will go to our fav charities for the most part. Of course, that may not be your thing so YMMV.