FUEGO
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
- Joined
- Nov 13, 2007
- Messages
- 7,746
Yippee!! Getting closer. I wanted to provide a little snapshot of where we are and what we are thinking about now.
After running the quarterly financial statements for our personal finances, I realized we are closing in on our magic number that will allow us to retire early. Right now the portfolio can support our basic expenses at a SWR well under 4%. But we still have at least a few years to go before we are truly FI (and maybe ER). I'm 30 now and I'm thinking FIRE at age 33 is a possibility with average market returns, 35 with below average returns.
Outstanding items that we need to throw money at:
- Mortgage payoff ($75000 or so remaining, and at the amounts we are currently paying, it will be paid off in ~4.5 years)
- College savings for 2 kids (still ~$60000 to go)
- Extra $$ to cover the SWR due to additional expenses during FIRE (that we don't have now)
- Extra $$ to cover the SWR due to fun/travel/entertainment during FIRE
Issues we will need to address in the next few years:
- Healthcare - will obamacare be substantially intact to enable us to get cheap guaranteed issue health insurance where we pay a certain amount based on our income?
- What will we do all day (mainly the DW's concern - I got all the answers for myself!).
- Shifting portfolio from accumulation to distribution phase. Part of this is shifting from 100% equities to something less than 100%.
- avoiding "one more year" syndrome where we keep trying to pad the portfolio even when we have enough or more than enough.
Any big picture items I'm missing here?
In the meantime, I have started a new job in the public sector at the beginning of the year and it is going great so far. It is still work, but I don't dread going in everyday. Better pay, better benefits, more time off, less stress.
We are saving more than ever, and the job change has allowed a significant increase in tax deferred savings (with the addition of a 457 plan plus a 401k plan). I will also be receiving a rollover from my former employer's ESOP plan over the next 5 years so I can control the money instead of a bunch of fuddy duddy miscreants. And with a 457 plan, my understanding is that I can withdraw money before age 59.5 as I want and not pay a penalty (great news to allow flexible withdrawals during FIRE).
All in all, things are going very well for us.
After running the quarterly financial statements for our personal finances, I realized we are closing in on our magic number that will allow us to retire early. Right now the portfolio can support our basic expenses at a SWR well under 4%. But we still have at least a few years to go before we are truly FI (and maybe ER). I'm 30 now and I'm thinking FIRE at age 33 is a possibility with average market returns, 35 with below average returns.
Outstanding items that we need to throw money at:
- Mortgage payoff ($75000 or so remaining, and at the amounts we are currently paying, it will be paid off in ~4.5 years)
- College savings for 2 kids (still ~$60000 to go)
- Extra $$ to cover the SWR due to additional expenses during FIRE (that we don't have now)
- Extra $$ to cover the SWR due to fun/travel/entertainment during FIRE
Issues we will need to address in the next few years:
- Healthcare - will obamacare be substantially intact to enable us to get cheap guaranteed issue health insurance where we pay a certain amount based on our income?
- What will we do all day (mainly the DW's concern - I got all the answers for myself!).
- Shifting portfolio from accumulation to distribution phase. Part of this is shifting from 100% equities to something less than 100%.
- avoiding "one more year" syndrome where we keep trying to pad the portfolio even when we have enough or more than enough.
Any big picture items I'm missing here?
In the meantime, I have started a new job in the public sector at the beginning of the year and it is going great so far. It is still work, but I don't dread going in everyday. Better pay, better benefits, more time off, less stress.
We are saving more than ever, and the job change has allowed a significant increase in tax deferred savings (with the addition of a 457 plan plus a 401k plan). I will also be receiving a rollover from my former employer's ESOP plan over the next 5 years so I can control the money instead of a bunch of fuddy duddy miscreants. And with a 457 plan, my understanding is that I can withdraw money before age 59.5 as I want and not pay a penalty (great news to allow flexible withdrawals during FIRE).
All in all, things are going very well for us.