Share your FIRE Milestones - 2013- 2020

[NgineER]

Congratulations!

 

[someguy]

I turned in my 2 week notice today.

That's a HUGE milestone.

congrats!

 

[MichaelB]

I turned in my 2 week notice today.

That's a HUGE milestone.

Nice!

 

[Sea Kayaker]

I turned in my 2 week notice today.

That's a HUGE milestone.

The question of how much notice I need to give to my employer is something I'm wrestling with. I've been with this company for almost 25 years, and like to think I have evolved into a vital cog in the whole enterprise.

Would it be innapropriate to give two weeks notice? I was thinking of giving about 2 months notice. My wife brought up the good point that they might decide to let me go right there on the spot - I'd be out 4 paydays that I'd like to use to pad the savings before I'm done.

Hopefully they would view the two months notice favourably, and use it as an opportunity to train someone to take my place.

 

[rodi]

The question of how much notice I need to give to my employer is something I'm wrestling with. I've been with this company for almost 25 years, and like to think I have evolved into a vital cog in the whole enterprise.

Would it be innapropriate to give two weeks notice? I was thinking of giving about 2 months notice. My wife brought up the good point that they might decide to let me go right there on the spot - I'd be out 4 paydays that I'd like to use to pad the savings before I'm done.

Hopefully they would view the two months notice favourably, and use it as an opportunity to train someone to take my place.

I'm a technical developer. I'm not management. The corporation has made it clear they consider engineers and software developers to be interchangeable commodities.

As they've laid off over 5k people in the last few years - people just as talented as me - but assigned to the wrong product - they gave severance and 1 week notice. That 1 week is up from 5 years ago when they used to escort people out at the time of layoff.

I have historical knowledge of products and problems - but so do some of my coworkers. (I'm in a very tenured group.)

If I was an exec, or senior management... maybe I'd feel obligated to give more notice. But 2 weeks is pretty standard around here.

 

[Huston55]

The question of how much notice I need to give to my employer is something I'm wrestling with. I've been with this company for almost 25 years, and like to think I have evolved into a vital cog in the whole enterprise.

Would it be innapropriate to give two weeks notice? I was thinking of giving about 2 months notice. My wife brought up the good point that they might decide to let me go right there on the spot - I'd be out 4 paydays that I'd like to use to pad the savings before I'm done.

Hopefully they would view the two months notice favourably, and use it as an opportunity to train someone to take my place.

I agree with Rodi that your position in the company is a factor in what notice is appropriate. But, from the tone of your post and question, it seems like you think it's appropriate to give more notice; if that's the case, then do so. You can only be responsible for your actions, not the employer's. They have to choose their reaction, and whatever it turns out to be is not your responsibility. In other words, do the right thing for the right reasons, and assume your employer will do likewise.

 

[3800Fiero]

Whoo Hoo!!! DW and I are debt free for the first time in over 30 years. The mortgage will be paid off today. No car payments. Both kids done with college and living on their own. Hoping to be able to downshift in 2015.

 

[Marita40]

This is a big milestone for me. I've just paid off my mortgage. I'm starting the process of moving and am able to buy a house before selling for the first time in my life. Yes, a bit risky but better (and far less expensive) than selling too quickly and having to move twice and rent. It feels good to have the luxury of taking my time to find the house I really want.

 

[ShortInSeattle]

Congrats 3800Fiero and Marita40 on your mortgage payoffs. That must feel mighty liberating!

 

[3800Fiero]

Thanks ShortinSeattle. This feels like the biggest accomplishment so far to reaching ER.

 

[Theseus]

Just got off the phone with the (outsourced third party) Megacorp pension plan customer service rep, took the "initiate retirement" option with a last work day of 8/1/14 and pension payments to begin on 9/1/14 - first step in making it official.

Think I'll go sit on the deck (burning up remaining vacation days) and ponder that thought a bit

 

[rodi]

Did a few things that qualify as FIRE milestones.

Paid off the mortgage.
Transferred money to live on for 6 months into my high yield checking account. (This is the one I don't use every day - vs the no-interest, but local one, I use for cash flow.)

4 working days left and then I'm RETIRED.

 

[coalduck]

Congrats to all who've recently paid off their mortgage. That was the milestone for us when our portfolio really started to grow.

Our portfolio hit 1.6 M. this week. I'll turn 55 this fall. As I can't see myself working another summer, I'll pull the pin sometime between November 1 and May 31. Smiling inside and out.

 

[Huston55]

Did a few things that qualify as FIRE milestones.

Paid off the mortgage.
Transferred money to live on for 6 months into my high yield checking account. (This is the one I don't use every day - vs the no-interest, but local one, I use for cash flow.)

4 working days left and then I'm RETIRED.

Outstanding, congrats!

These were also some of our last Pre-RE moves:
- Paid off mtge (~3 yrs pre-FIRE)
- Transferred 6 mos living expenses into separate fixed income acct
- Also created 4 yr CD ladder for added cushion if needed if down market

We just Semi- FIREd last Friday.

 

[danwhite77]

Debt Free

Paid off the last of my student loans today. That makes DW and I debt free. No credit card debt, car loan, student loan, or mortgage. Feels good, but we do still have a number of obligations, including four young kids that will one day go to college and our house needs further rehabbing. That said, it's nice to think that none of the dollars that I am earning today have been spent already.

 

[GravitySucks]

I finally drew funds out of my retirement account. My first time taking out from the 401K after 25 years of putting in, feels wrong somehow! Also started rebalancing to a more conservative AA as I'm never going to work again.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Early Retirement Forum mobile app

 

[NW-Bound]

A real milestone for me is for my portfolio to grow faster than my expenses, such that I can live on 3% WR.

Alas, that did not last long, as home repair and improvement projects will push it to 4%. And who knows what extra expenses will come after that.

Maybe the WR will be low again when we draw SS.

 

[Gunny]

Seeing the light

Just calculated my assets and adjusted my plan. A little over 500K in retirment accounts and DCA 33k/year for the next five, 50k in my son's 529 with nine years left until college, 90k in money market. House on the market, when it sales I am totally debt free. I will FIRE in a little less than 5 years at age 56, four years earlier than my original plan, with a nice FERS pension which alone should more than meet my COL needs.

If I would have found this site 30 years ago, who knows, I might be FIREd now.

 

[FIREd]

Some frustrating house hunting in the Bay Area (who are all the people who can afford to pay those 7-digit prices for a hobbit-size house) and spending too much time here have us convinced that we need to push the FIRE goal posts one more time. So new FIRE milestone and it's back to the grinder.

 

[REWahoo]

So new FIRE milestone and it's back to the grinder.

Bummer.

 

[Koogie]

Some frustrating house hunting in the Bay Area (who are all the people who can afford to pay those 7-digit prices for a hobbit-size house) and spending too much time here have us convinced that we need to push the FIRE goal posts one more time. So new FIRE milestone and it's back to the grinder.

Sorry to hear that too. Your "journey" and stories have been inspirational. Especially for someone that likes the Bay Area and dreams of spending winters there too.

Hopefully you can pull the trigger again soon !

 

[MichaelB]

Some frustrating house hunting in the Bay Area (who are all the people who can afford to pay those 7-digit prices for a hobbit-size house) and spending too much time here have us convinced that we need to push the FIRE goal posts one more time. So new FIRE milestone and it's back to the grinder.

Hopefully you can make it work. The Bay Area is pricey but a nice part of the country to live.

 

[jollystomper]

After today's market gains, my Megacorp 401(k) hit $1M in its 31st year. Many years of LBYM, savings, not-very-brilliant investing, and patience has paid off. Naturally it will fall back as the market bounces, but still nice to have hit the level for the first time and hopefully soon stay above it until RE.

 

[ShortInSeattle]

Outstanding, congrats!

These were also some of our last Pre-RE moves:
- Paid off mtge (~3 yrs pre-FIRE)
- Transferred 6 mos living expenses into separate fixed income acct
- Also created 4 yr CD ladder for added cushion if needed if down market

We just Semi- FIREd last Friday.

Congrats on the Semi-FIRE! I like the 4 year CD ladder idea. Do you have criteria for how "down" the market needs to be before you tap it?

 

[Snoopy]

Almost There $1.7M

Reached $1.7M on 6/18/2014. We need less than $80k more to reach our goal. The goal includes lots (20% plus) of safety margin. Just waiting for next year so the DW and I can retire.

No debt and earned a state $30k pension starting in 2021. We do include SS int he budget as we are not that far from collecting.