firecalc success factor ,confidence in..

[ERD50]

... Nah, since childhood, I've been an extremely independent person, always figuring no one was going to take care of me but me. ...

I think most of us plan and want to be independent (there are exceptions of course), but things don't always go according to plan. And like others have said, we may have an 'exit plan', but that doesn't mean we will be in a position to act on it.

IMO, my MIL & FIL worked too hard to be independent. There are things we can help them with that are really no trouble for us, but nearly impossible for them. So now we try to go out of our way to ask - 'anything else you need done around here?' when we visit.

-ERD50

 

[Options]

I think most of us plan and want to be independent (there are exceptions of course), but things don't always go according to plan. And like others have said, we may have an 'exit plan', but that doesn't mean we will be in a position to act on it.

IMO, my MIL & FIL worked too hard to be independent. There are things we can help them with that are really no trouble for us, but nearly impossible for them. So now we try to go out of our way to ask - 'anything else you need done around here?' when we visit.

-ERD50

I think it's awesome that you're there for your IL's. I intend to do the sme thing for my own mother when the time comes.

Back then, my exit plan included ending life before it ended me, and that plan came "this" close to happening before the gods intervened healthwise.

My estate plan (created then and still in effect today) gave detailed directives that I was not to be kept on life saving drugs/devices of any kind. I made it clear to everyone and their mother (including all healthcare providers) that when I decided to end things no one and nothing was to get in my way. On one hand, it's amazing the amount of detail that I put into it at the time; on the other, it's the way I do everything so it shouldn't be surprising at all.

Point is, we do have control over these things if we think far enough in advance and plan thoughtfully for them. For some, wanting to have caretakers is great. For me, I do not want to be in any nursing home or LTC situation as I do not trust the care and won't consider it a quality of life anyway. A friend's uncle paid $3K a month at one of the most expensive upscale nursing homes in Vancouver. Family ended up moving him because they didn't like the care.

As to that illness, I came back from all that with a vengeance, by the way, in every single way, so you see we can rise from the ashes.

 

[REWahoo]

I made it clear to everyone and their mother (including all healthcare providers) that when I decided to end things no one and nothing was to get in my way....

Point is, we do have control over these things if think far enough in advance and plan for them....

It's nice to think that we do. Truth is, the only thing we really have control of is making our wishes known.

 

[obgyn65]

FIREcalc results show 100% success rate in my case, but I still work.

OMY syndrome, definitely.

When firecalc results are calculated using the 100% success rate and the results are successful, how confident are members in believing that they have achieved ER success? Everything has a certain tolerance level to account for. Do members throw in an additional "pad" to feel confident or do they consider the 100% success factor good enough (without adding a extra pad factor?

 

[galeno]

I have a lot of confidence in firecalc. It's a great guide.

 

[RobLJ]

Fire-Calc is backward looking, but enormously helpful.
By dropping spending about 2%, it modelled from 96% to 100%, but this is all based on assumptions and backwards data.
It's a hell of a lot better than skiing blindfolded, although last spring, I did ski down behind a guy sking behind a barking dog. It took me a while to realize he was blind. That was a bit of an eye-opener and a life-lesson as well.
Barring a portfolio collapse, I'm looking at retirement in 2006, based in part on FireCalc. I model SS as worth 60-65% of current assumptions, but we have alot of travel and other luxuries built into the default budget.

 

[REWahoo]

Fire-Calc is backward looking, but enormously helpful.
...

Barring a portfolio collapse, I'm looking at retirement in 2006, based in part on FireCalc.

Man, when you say backward looking, you aren't kidding.

 

[NW-Bound]

I don't think one would need money in heaven by definition. It is probably needed it in hell.

In this life as well as in the after-life, it is prudent to diversify. Never put all in one basket!

As you are new here, I will refer you to a story that I read a while back.

See: A Miser Story.

 

[truenorth418]

I use Firecalc 100% score with a grain of salt. I hedge my bets by treating pension and SS as optional "reinforcements", plugging in a higher inflation rate, and testing my assumptions across as many other retirement calculators as I can, looking for 100% on all if them if possible.

 

[longranger]

Planning for retirement is a recent development for me and DW. It is driven by an increasing need to truly enjoy the years we have to the max. Our fears of wasting any our last 20+ healthy summers scare us more than a reasonable level of financial uncertainty. Firecalc and any other measure I can think of are usefull metrics for us, nothing more. No guarantees are expected regardless of how thick we pad above all the formlas we can find. Just want to slow down and enjoy the time left.

 

[Shanky]

Either you operate based on data or fear. At a certain point, the pads, belt & suspenders approaches become meaningless. As you start to protect yourself against very low probability events, many of which would render any financial instruments "worthless" anyway. Sometimes I feel some on the forum are a step a way from being "doomsday preppers".