Anyone else obsessed with FIRECalc?

[PointBreeze]

In the years before retiring I would run FIRECalc every so often.

Just prior to retirement I ran my situation through FIRECalc and just about every free retirement calculator known to man, plus my own retirement spreadsheet plus the free (at the time) retirement review from Vanguard. Every one gave me various versions of a green light so I retired.

Now that I am retired, I probably run it once or twice a year when I happen to think of it.

Exactly my situation!

 

[dheb]

I used to be obsessed with running our numbers in Firecalc. But at some point, I started using the feature under the "Investigate" tab that - given a time horizon, an asset allocation and a success rate you provide - calculates the withdrawal rate that would have provided you that success rate.

Great ... you've pointed out a feature that I haven't obsessively tried. I'll be back in a couple days.

 

[steveark]

It shows 100% if we doubled our spending, not much point in checking it again.

 

[JOEBEAU10]

Firecalc

This calculator is set up very poorly and needs to be revamped as it looks like it was built 10 years ago. Would be nice to see something more user friendly.

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

This calculator is set up very poorly and needs to be revamped as it looks like it was built 10 years ago. Would be nice to see something more user friendly.

I think you are volunteering to do this work? Did I get that correct?

 

[REWahoo]

Another patient at the free clinic complaining about the outdated decor in the waiting room.

 

[Ole Red 29]

Firecalc was another great way to examine my portfolio, but I haven't used it in years. I have a VERY detailed spreadsheet I started 30 years ago that addresses every aspect of my finances. I enjoy tweaking it often.

 

[JOEBEAU10]

I think you are volunteering to do this work? Did I get that correct?

there are better ones out there which are more user friendly and give you same info

 

[Plantman]

there are better ones out there which are more user friendly and give you same info

Would you be so kind as to share the names of your preferences?

 

[Koolau]

there are better ones out there which are more user friendly and give you same info

I guess you missed the memo on discussing religion and politics.

 

[Live Large]

Self Directed Brokerage

Exactly my situation!

Firecalc - nice tool made use of it while back but didn’t repeat. I’m a market watcher like #’s but my SDBA was pretty volatile 75/25 not highly advocated in ER posts but I value the contrast in many opinions.
Obsessed? Naw! We all end up doing what we feel comfortable with. Free FA perk ran Monte Carlo 80%
based on 6% WD I specified for 25yrs start@55-80.

hughcal gives a payout over time simplified from your input % ROI and % inflation - Retirement payout plan.

I’m retooling AA to taper down volatility 60/40 next 10yrs turn 55 in JUL. I ER’d at 50 w/LBYM pension.
I have medical coverage which it’s fortunate, I know.
Capital preservation goal T.Rowe Vanguard Schwab.
Held large basket of eggs individual stocks-sold

Lots of great posts here, prudent money managers.
I’m happy to spend monies accumulated over time.
Can’t say I’m worried about running out? Took such a long time to save it. Part of my plan is too actually spend it ALL

 

[ILikeStarTrek]

Like many in this thread, I used to run FireCalc fairly often before I retired (in mid-2018). Since then, occasionally but not much.

My comments about a few others' observations:

... checking my investment account way too much. It is starting to annoy me that I keep doing it.

This may be a bigger problem. Statistically, people who check their accounts often have been shown to get poorer results. The behavioral finance people explain it in terms of our evolution-driven risk aversion. The account is always jittering up and down and seeing all the downs rings the mental alarm bells, which in turn incline the investor towards excessive trading aka market timing.

There was a poster her a few weeks ago who reported a Fido study of their mutual fund investors. The ones with the best returns were the dead ones. (https://www.morningstar.com/articles/964493/from-the-archives-in-praise-of-the-dead-investors) I have also been told that if an investor checks his Schwab robo account too much, the robot sends him an email suggesting that the most successful investors do not check so often.

So stop looking! Buffett: "Much success can be attributed to inactivity. Most investors cannot resist the temptation to constantly buy and sell. ... Lethargy bordering on sloth should remain the cornerstone of an investment style."

My investments are about 50% rental houses, 50% money-type assets. Of the money-type assets, it's about 95% stock mutual funds, 5% cash (money market), with practically no bonds. So my rental income gives me a big cushion, while the money side of my investments are aggressively invested in equities. But I am buy-and-hold and it's rare for me to touch these funds. With that being said...

It's a lot more fun to check account balances when the market is going up than down! When the market nose-dived last March, I barely checked my balances at all for a couple of months. I figured the market would eventually turn around but I thought this would take at least a year or two (and probably wouldn't do much of a turnaround until vaccine availability was announced). Then at some point in about May or June I read that there had been a big market turnaround and it was going up again. Well, I started to check my balances again.

Now, I'm checking balances more often than ever, because: 1) There seems to be no end (and I know there will be an end, but it hasn't happened yet) to the market skyrocketing the past several months. It's hard to resist looking when my accounts are going up so fast. 2) Without being able to travel (my biggest single activity pre-pandemic), I have too much time on my hands! Once I get my vaccine shots and get back to traveling, I won't have nearly as much idle time to check balances.

So even though I currently check balances very often, I don't think I will do anything rash if (or when) there is another market crash.

... at some point, I started using the feature under the "Investigate" tab that - given a time horizon, an asset allocation and a success rate you provide - calculates the withdrawal rate that would have provided you that success rate.

This is a great feature! My overall net worth is up about 33% since I retired (less than 3 years ago). Even though I haven't increased my spending, as my assets go up, it's informative and fun to plug the numbers into Firecalc's Investigate tab and see how much I *could* be withdrawing (still at 100% success rate) if I wanted to. This is the main thing I use in Firecalc now that I'm retired. I'm age 58, and if we don't get a stock and/or housing market crash in the next few years and my numbers keep going up, by my early to mid 60's I will likely start doing some BTD! (I don't have any kids, and you can't take it with you!)

 

[steady saver]

Prior to retirement I was looking at it almost every single day.

Have been retired 4 1/2 months and tend to run it a couple times a week still!I know, it makes no sense. We are 100% good anyway I look at it. It's just hard to actually believe...I guess it gives me comfort to see it in black and white.

As a matter of fact, I keep it open in my browser so I don't have to re-enter everything again. Maybe I'm missing something on that but, no kidding, it's one of the reasons I rarely turn off my computer at night.

 

[steady saver]

Just reading ILikeStarTrek's reply and will add that using the "investigate" portion is what I use more of now. It's like I need to see that I can actually spend the money I've allocated but also could easily bump that up and be okay.
This year we've spend only about slightly more than 50% of what I've allocated but that is squarely because of the pandemic. I don't think of us as super frugal, maybe just not big on shopping. But we are ramping that up this year b/c we are just starting the renovation of a small cottage...

 

[aja8888]

Firecalc..used it a few times.

Expenses...I am always looking to be efficient here.

Portfolio.....since I manage it myself, I keep tabs on what's going on frequently. Lately, I started selling puts and calls for additional income, but only in a conservative way.

Otherwise, I take it a day at a time.

 

[Major Tom]

I am not cavalier about market volatility. I look at it as a chance to make money, even if I do not spend it. I take it as a challenge (and I do not play poker, or any card game).

I've only just seen this post. It was a poor word choice on my part. What I should have said was something along the lines of,

"Any WR under about 3% or so is sustainable, and the lower it gets, the less concerned I feel about market volatility."

As it is, I am not concerned with market volatility anyway, being very much a buy and hold feller. I do understand how brief downturns represent an opportunity for you, however.

 

[Major Tom]

Another patient at the free clinic complaining about the outdated decor in the waiting room.

+1.

As is often the case, REW nailed it with the minimum of verbiage. I happen to think that FIRECalc is a functional and easy to use site. The premise upon which it operates, is clearly explained on the home page, and a little bit of investigation reveals the various features.

The veterinary hospital I take my kitty to is fantastic. All the doctors there are knowledgeable, empathetic, down to earth, and practical. The prices are fair and reasonable too. Yet on Yelp (where else?) some feel compelled to complain that the decor is not the shiniest, latest, and greatest. Quite frankly, the fact that I trust them with my pet's well-being is the most important factor to me, by far. The place is clean. It just hasn't been updated in a few decades. I couldn't care less about that.

FIRECalc is great. I did donate a small amount once, several years ago. I should probably donate again.

JOEBEAU10 - what specifically about FIRECalc do you find hard to understand? There are plenty here who will be happy to help, and also to explain why it is different from many of the other retirement calculators out there - though you can read about it yourself on the home page.

 

[USGrant1962]

Prior to retirement I was looking at it almost every single day.

Have been retired 4 1/2 months and tend to run it a couple times a week still!I know, it makes no sense. We are 100% good anyway I look at it. It's just hard to actually believe...I guess it gives me comfort to see it in black and white.

As a matter of fact, I keep it open in my browser so I don't have to re-enter everything again. Maybe I'm missing something on that but, no kidding, it's one of the reasons I rarely turn off my computer at night.

You can save a link to your model. On the results page, in the top right where it says "link to this set of data" - drag the link to your desktop and it is saved. Use that link to open FIRECalc and you are good to go.

 

[Morgan22]

You can save a link to your model. On the results page, in the top right where it says "link to this set of data" - drag the link to your desktop and it is saved. Use that link to open FIRECalc and you are good to go.

I learned something new, thank you!

 

[Huston55]

I learned something new, thank you!

Yep, those Keydets are pretty smart!

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

This calculator is set up very poorly and needs to be revamped as it looks like it was built 10 years ago. Would be nice to see something more user friendly.

there are better ones out there which are more user friendly and give you same info

So, if there are better ones already available, why does FireCalc "need" to be revamped? Shouldn't we just use the "better" ones?

 

[Popeye]

In the last year at Megacorp I was running it everyday! Was that obsessive? It actually made me feel better after a bad day at the office. I’d run it and tell myself who cares, I’m good to go! That got me through to 2018 which was the year I hit 55. That yielded access to 401k if needed as my final backup plan. Haven’t needed it yet

Once I fired, I tapered off. I hardly run it at all now. I was tempted back in March but I refrained.

 

[marko]

FireCalc once or twice a year; not that the results would change anything I do; pretty stable.
Check my portfolio balance every morning.
Monitor the S&P hourly...hey, it's my hobby.

 

[Time2]

I tried to play with Firecalc but didn't like it. For my current situation, it gives me 99.1% success. But once I enter for social security any number greater than $10K it always produce 100%. $10K is fairly low number, I hope to have substantially more than that.
I'm not retired yet and definitely anxious about the numbers, but it looks like nobody can predict the future.

Can you be more clear about what you don't like about it? Maybe it's something about the program you don't understand. I ran it many times before I really figured out all the inputs.

If you get 99.1% success with your portfolio and then start adding more income (your SS) you will hit 100%. If you want to see how much spending you could have and still be at 100% success rate, then just bump your spending until you are back to 99.9%.

 

[bingybear]

no, because I prefer a different calculator. But remember that all these calculators provide warm fuzzies.. a good feeling and your mileage my vary

so put your calculator away and go out in the big blue room and enjoy your life ... don't let these calculators consume your life