NEW MEMBERS PLEASE READ: Overdue Thank You to this incredible resource.

[Ally]

Thanks from me, as well. When I joined, both my husband and I were in extremely high stress jobs we could hardly stand much longer. Although we had been diligently saving in my 403b plan, and he had a governmental pension with health insurance for us both, we didn’t have nearly the assets members here seemed to have. Even so, we learned so much from you all. We paid everything off, then decided to retire a few yrs early. Thank goodness it has all worked out.

In fact, six and seven years later, I find that we have no trouble paying cash for home remodeling projects, travel in the US, entertainment, charity donations, 8 rescued pets, and all the things that make us happy.

[Dean56]

Ted, you are so right. This forum has so much valuable information. I too am thankful to all the people that post on this forum.

[F.I.R.E User]

This forum is the G.O.A.T.

[Perryinva]

Same same. So much learned, and better yet, so much USED to FIRE confidently. Far more in the portfolio than I ever expected. I lurked for a long time before I had anything reasonably intelligent to add!

[FLSUnFIRE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NgineER I have to express my thanks as well. A separate thanks to the Mod's who do a great job keeping it civil.

Absolutely, I was on the original Retire Early Home Page Board on TMF in the late 90's before it became a sewer of politics and trolling (and ultimately split along semi-partisan lines). It was a great community and gave me a big jump start on my journey but without any control (self or imposed) the value was overcome by the garbage and bickering.



I'd lurked here and on other boards over the years but was digitally homeless until I finally signed up here near the end (or is it the beginning, of my FIRE journey). While I hate "censorship" I really appreciate the great job the mods to here to keep this a valuable resource and community based on our common interest in FI/RE.


Everyone here is great and respectful and when they get out of line, the mods step in quickly and decisively. I appreciate you all and hopefully some of my posts have been helpful to some as well.

[Vacation4us]

I concur. I was actually a member 15 plus or so years ago under my old married name Turkel. Got divorced changed my email and went back to work as a single mom. Never forgot the forum. When I finally came back I rejoined under a new name.

The lessons learned here stuck. Save,save,save and LBYM. Retired 1 year ago, 10 years post divorce.

Even remembered a few posters user names like Gumby and Nords just to name 2. Thank you to all who participate on ER.org

[iloveyoga]

Great post and thread and my thanks also. I have very much enjoyed reading and sometimes commenting. I got a lot of my Covid info here too, although I know that is not the main objective.

Thank you to the moderators and contributors.

[ventoux]

Bravo, Ted! I concur entirely with your comments, so many people on this site have assisted me through the years, and helped me gain confidence in going it alone.

[Major Tom]

+1 to everything already said. Also, I know it's been said many times before, but the quality of the moderation here is absolutely knockout. Whenever I see issues in other groups, I will often reference this place (without actually naming it) with regards to how excellent moderation really sets the tone for a forum. It's hard for me to think of a site that has better moderation; I doubt there is one.

[SlowlySaving]

Great post! Congratulations!

[Lstansbury]

Last week a group of ladies asked me to host a webinar on personal finance and how to "hit your number." (I started over at age 42 with less than $0.)
They asked me to break down how I did it and I listed Early Retirement.org at the top of my go-to resources. Free, amazing, helpful, practical advice from real people happy to share the lessons of success. Even put a little screen shot of the Firecalc page. I hope some of them become lurkers and/or contributors.

[JoeWras]

This forum is a good resource. I learned the following, all of which are huge:
- Using Roth conversions between ER and SS, to groom income to a bracket
- Managing future RMDs using technique above
- IRMAA: had no idea you have to pay attention 2 years before Medicare
- And countless other small tips

Currently, I think the best resource - fairly unique on the internet - is:
The important "trigger" income levels for 2022

So helpful!

I wish I could share general enthusiasm for everything else. Unfortunately, I see this forum as having "eras" and due to a variety of things, the current era is just different. We lost a few strong members to death (imoldrnu, kahn and others). And some really colorful members melted away (rayinpenn, haha, tromboneal). I miss them all.

The forum has also changed tone and I'll leave it at that.

Still, there's much to like. So, have a Happy Thanksgiving to all in the USA, and I wish everyone a good upcoming year. Life is precious. Live it.

[Timeisprecious]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaptTom Good points all. It sounds like you (OP) are closer to what I once called "shoestring retirement" than to the "Blow That Dough" crowd. Hopefully your words are an inspiration to others to follow this path, and not feel they're not wealthy enough to join the club.

Well, I don't feel I've done as well as many others in here, but I'm still thankful to those on this page. Of course my investments have grown some, but I did purchase a fixed index annuity that's doing well. I could've probably done better financially if I'd been more "all in" on stocks or a stock fund index or two, but I have a far lower "risk tolerance threshold" than I did when I was younger. Some investments have been slow (e.g., my small investment in metals - only invested there because of our crazy government spending), but others have done better (e.g., my thrift savings plan). I'm not living a "shoestring retirement" but that's mainly because of my healthy military retirement pay. All in all, I have several investments but not nearly the size nest egg of many others in here. I guess it's fair to say I'm content. I've also enjoyed the conversations with people in here - a great group for sure. At this time of thanksgiving, thank you all!