Do you have a net worth goal and did you achieve it before ER ?

[Brett_Cameron]

No net worth goal before ER. My goal was to be able to have an income stream that was sustainable and meets estimated expenses throughout retirement. The accumulated savings is part of my net worth calculation but the net worth was not the goal.

 

[FIREd]

We did have a NW goal and did achieve it before I retired. Since DW is still working and we are living on her income, our NW has continued its upward progression and we are now well passed our original NW goal. But even when DW retires, I hope that our NW continues to grow in real terms. We are not 40 years old yet, and I think it's too early to start feeling comfortable with an eroding NW - even with no heirs of our own. So we are shooting for a low SWR - living on our portfolio's income or less - and hoping that our portfolio keeps up with inflation over the next decades. I know that this is probably not the optimal use of our money (spend more when we're young and die broke), but that's the price to pay to retire at our age IMO.

 

[jollystomper]

I did set a net worth goal (excluding home equity. I am not retired yet, but as of the end of 2012 I was within $70k of that goal. So I hope to achieve it by the end of the year. However, I have also been doing a detailed analysis of what anticipated expenses would actually be, which is really more important than just targeting a number.

 

[scrabbler1]

I am a lot like gsparks2.

I did not have a net worth goal as part of my ER plan. But I did have a goal for the total value of my company stock to be as part of my ER plan. I hit that goal in the summer of 2008 although it dropped very slightly 3 months later during its next quarterly evaluation (close enough, I said, as the market meltdown was well under way). I invested this big blob of money in a bond fund which is generating an income stream to cover my expenses with a nice cushion.

My net worth has grown quite well since I ERed 4 years ago and that is despite having to pay $75k in income taxes on that early stock payout (I used NUA, or Net Unrealized Appreciation, to pay only 25% federal+state tax on most of the stock). As I have posted in another thread, I broke through the $1M milestone a few years ago and am heading towards $1.2M.

 

[Alan]

Did you have a net worth goal in mind ?

Yes

Did you achieve that before you decided to take ER?

Yes

Is retirement a stage for drawing down and you just want to hold your own, so money does not ever run out, or you still hope to grow your net worth as you are going forth?

I am in the same mindset as Audrey's comment below. Because the market returns have been so good in the 3 years since we ER'ed our net worth is up but that is by chance not planning as our spending is much higher in retirement.

As a retiree, I'm not really striving for a higher (real) net worth in the future, because I view that as money better spent now while I am alive and healthy.

 

[W2R]

Yes, I had a net worth goal before ER and I achieved it. I thought Hurricane Katrina was going to set me back. My house was not destroyed, although there was some damage that cost me a few thousand dollars in repairs. I managed to get through that rough patch without delaying my progress.

My net worth is growing right now. That is to be expected since I retired in 2009, and the economy has gone up since then. It has occurred to me that at some point I would like to see double my initial net worth (on the day I retired). But really, I believe I have enough to fund my desired lifestyle. Any excess is all on paper and I cannot envision it ever affecting how I live.

 

[Tom52]

We are not yet RE but hope to do so by the end of this year. We definitely have a NW goal (money invested only for the purpose of retirement) that we hope to achieve by then. Our goal is roughly what Firecalc says is needed for 100% success rate plus another 17% on top of that. We do not expect out NW to grow much and in fact we expect it to decline during the years until be both reach full SS retirement age. We hope that after SS kicks in the NW will keep up with inflation or only decline modestly as we age.

I am sure I will stress over this for at least the first year of retirement since we have no pensions or employer sponsered health care benefits. We might be living like poor college students during that time.

We would like to leave at least a fair chunk of money to our DD but we do not expect it it will be enough to instantly finance her ER.

 

[rodi]

I have a net worth goal (that excludes home equity).

I'm close to it now... not quite there. Should be there in the next year or so.

Firecalc says I'm 100% - but want a bit of a cushion because I include SS in the firecalc projections... and want to provide a buffer for any downgrade to benefits.

I'm close enough that if I get laid off in this next round of mergers/acquisitions I'll take the severance and ride off into the sunset.

Not planning on leaving the kids anything other than the paid for house. If market gains allow leaving more that's fine... but planning (via firecalc) allows market declines.

I'm ok with declining net worth as long as I'm within the 3.5-4% withdrawal rate. (Less after SS kicks in, more in the pre-SS years.)

 

[xyz]

Yes I had a NW goal.
Yes we hit it(and then some) before ER.
Yes I fully expect it to grow during retirement as I am rather conservative.

 

[Gumby]

Yes, we have a liquid net worth goal (i.e. - not home equity). Specifically, we want a nest egg which, at a 4% withdrawal rate, will provide the same income that we expect to receive in pensions and social security. Given that I expect pensions and social security to provide about 30% more than our yearly expenses, I expect our net worth will grow in retirement.

 

[NW-Bound]

Let me see if I understand. You like to have

4% WR = Pension + SS
Pension + SS = 130% expenses

Therefore, WR + Pension + SS = 260% expenses!

Golly, your net worth should grow like wild weed! But if you already have excess from Pension+SS, why withdraw anything? Perhaps you are talking about a very generous charity donation?

 

[sanfanciscotreat]

Target BF retirement was to have 4% of cash and invested assets (excluding housing, vehicles and other noninvested assets) equal my living expenses and taxes. Met that a year or so BF retirement but waited for a large chunk of stock to vest that gave us a really good buffer. Have not increased living expenses much at all during retirement but will need to so that there is not a large pile of assets left

 

[obgyn65]

Did you have a net worth goal in mind ? not ERed yet, but financially independent. I don't have a NW goal in mind. I am focusing on cash flows.

Did you achieve that before you decided to take ER? Yes but still hesitant to make the jump.

Is retirement a stage for drawing down and you want to spend most of your time enjoying life, and be happy to have a stable nest egg and just let it rides , or you still working on growing your net worth as you are going forth? I would prefer to have a stable next egg.

And if you are the grower group, what percentage of net worth increase do you hope for in 10 to 12 years? Happy with zero growth as long as the nest egg is still available.

 

[Donzo]

I came at retirement from a different angle. I started saving right away after getting my career job. I was convinced it was to good to be true - working from home, company car, freedom from office politics and great money - I thought they would figure out I was unworthy.... I stayed in the industry for well over 20 years and things changed during the decades. I got promoted to Regional Manager - less freedom and plenty of office politics and mind numbing meetings/conference calls/travel etc. I was so burnt out..... Found this site, crunched the numbers/did firecal and "pulled the trigger". My life is SO much happier and free now! I am so lucky I started saving from fear early on (and made it a habit). I would have been in deep sh*% if I had not - I was near the end of my personal sanity rope. I have more now than I did when I got free 6 1/2 years ago, but have changed my AA (less risk/reward). I have 2 kids and would like to leave some money - but, they are both doing great in college and will do fine in life - I have really discussed the importance of saving with them and they have both read YMOYL (your money or your life) while the investment advice is outdated to be sure - the message of time spent is eternal. Saved money is truly "saved life energy".

 

[traineeinvestor]

Net worth goal: sufficient assets to support myself + family over a retirement period that could last for 50+ years. The target has shifted a bit over the years.

Achieving the goal before deciding to ER: We went past it a while back but I got a bit paranoid after some investment losses in 2011 and delayed a bit on the theory that I would rather work an extra year up front than be faced with a choice of looking for work or cutting living expenses later in life.

Post FIRE: given that the money may need to last for 50+ years, even a small annual shrinkage in the real value of our nest egg could have significant long term consequences, I hope our net worth in real terms will grow over time. It is also possible that our personal rate of inflation will be higher than CPI in general. There is no specific target

 

[Gumby]

Let me see if I understand. You like to have

4% WR = Pension + SS
Pension + SS = 130% expenses

Therefore, WR + Pension + SS = 260% expenses!

Golly, your net worth should grow like wild weed! But if you already have excess from Pension+SS, why withdraw anything? Perhaps you are talking about a very generous charity donation?

Your math is correct. My thinking is that pensions and social security can disappear, and I'd want to have enough saved so that the loss would not change our lives. A belt and suspenders approach, as it were.

I expect we may want to travel on a whim or, as you suggest, increase our charitable contributions. But maybe it will just grow and, once we shuffle off this mortal coil, make some of our nephews very happy.

 

[ERhoosier]

Yes twice. Once pre-divorce and once after.

Ouch!

 

[imoldernu]

We hadn't set a goal. Only retired after a health scare. Bass ackward. We were "there", just had to check the finances to see if it would work out. Thankfully it did. The decision was not made on the basis of financial acumen.

Not recommended, but... even a blind squirrel can find an acorn.

 

[Mulligan]

Some people do not share my joy of "counting money".

See, once I decided to live on 3.5%WR (or maybe even 4%), then if my stash grows, I will be happy to credit that to my investing skills. Then, as I aim to spend 4% of current portfolio, if my stash grows, that should be enough let me climb up the hedonic ladder, meaning spending 4% of a bigger stash (er, do not know how that would reconcile with my Bernicke's model).

Anyway, for someone as scroogy as me, there's pleasure in seeing your stash grow, and you do not have to spend all of it.

I think my Dad would enjoy you as a friend, NW! When the stock market swooned four years ago, or so, he had me worried he would run out of money. What he neglected to tell me was it could have gone to zero and he still would have lived fine off his pension and their 2 SS checks. Even now pushing towards 80 he is very disappointed if he doesn't save at least a $1000 a month. Has over 3/4 million with no debt despite never making $50k once in his life. I have given up trying to convince him to spend any of it on himself.

 

[brewer12345]

I think my Dad would enjoy you as a friend, NW! When the stock market swooned four years ago, or so, he had me worried he would run out of money. What he neglected to tell me was it could have gone to zero and he still would have lived fine off his pension and their 2 SS checks. Even now pushing towards 80 he is very disappointed if he doesn't save at least a $1000 a month. Has over 3/4 million with no debt despite never making $50k once in his life. I have given up trying to convince him to spend any of it on himself.

Sounds like my dad. Yeah, he goes on regular junkets to New Orleans and Vegas, but he still goes fishing in the boat that is as old as I am and since hanging up his spurs has not drawn on his portfolio for a dime (its all be a cash hoard and SS). The guy has a heart condition and is 73, you cannot take it with you. But he seems happy enough, so it is what it is.

 

[NW-Bound]

... My thinking is that pensions and social security can disappear, and I'd want to have enough saved so that the loss would not change our lives...

I have no pension, but worry a bit about SS too. Yet, it would disappear first for rich people, and as I am not rich, should my 3.5%WR deplete my stash, they will let me have some. So, having a lot of money may make SS disappearance a self-fulfilling prophecy for people with money to spare.

Well, it's not like I do not want so much more money such that SS becomes small change, but I've got to think positive about the situation I am in.

I think my Dad would enjoy you as a friend, NW!

... Has over 3/4 million with no debt despite never making $50k once in his life. I have given up trying to convince him to spend any of it on himself.

I dunno. I am scroogey all right, but if scaled up from the income and stash amount you quoted above, I should have more than what I have now.

Oh wait, I am not 80 yet. Didn't I tell you that FIRECalc said that in the best case, I might become a decamillionaire, and long before the age of 80 too.

How about that?

 

[bondi688]

Sounds like my dad. Yeah, he goes on regular junkets to New Orleans and Vegas, but he still goes fishing in the boat that is as old as I am ...

Nothing wrong with enjoying life's simple pleasure, and fishing in a beautiful peaceful lake on a sunny day may be one. Beside, fillets of freshly caught fish are beyond delicious!!

 

[Mulligan]

I have no pension, but worry a bit about SS too. Yet, it would disappear first for rich people first, and as I am not rich, should my 3.5%WR deplete my stash, they will let me have some. So, having a lot of money may make SS disappearance a self-fulfilling prophecy for people with money to spare.

Well, it's not like I do not want more money such that SS becomes small change, but I've got to think positive about the situation I am in.

I dunno. I am scroogey all right, but if scaled up from the income and stash amount you quoted above, I should have more than what I have now.

Oh wait, I am not 80 yet. Didn't I tell you that FIRECalc said that in the best case, I might become a decamillionaire, and long before the age of 80 too.

How about that?

Take comfort in knowing I am sure you have more entertaining hobbies than my dad has. His idea of a entertainment is driving to the store and buying cases of food on sale. When I was doing some house work for him a few months ago, I bet I pulled out over a years supply of canned vegetables from the area I was working on. His answer was food prices are going through the roof. He said he bought it now before the prices go up again.

 

[NW-Bound]

Take comfort in knowing I am sure you have more entertaining hobbies than my dad has...

Right now, yes. When I get to 80, not so sure.

 

[RobLJ]

I think you are doing just fine with your situation, congratulations.
What I was wondering was whether people tend to think of ER as the distribution phase of their lives, and want to enjoy what they have, and not too into leaving a substantial "legacy" to their children? Or is it easy for the FIRED group to get away from the mind set of accumulation, even in retirement, and growing the net worth is not just a happy happenstance, but something they are still actively working on?

10 years ago I ran a plan in Microsoft Money, which we hit recently. I didn't think to distinguish between portfolio value and net worth. Back then, I was assuming retirement at 65 or so with Social Security. I've upped it another 35-40%, which at our savings rate is do-able in 2-3 years (with a bull market).
We don't plan to leave money to the boys; that was the point of sending them to school. Also planning on spending at a higher rate until Social Security kicks in, then choking back the withdrawals to 3.5-4%. The new argument to recalculate withdrawal rate each year based on life expectancy and portfolio is an interesting approach, however, particularly if leaving a big estate isn't a goal.