Share your FIRE Milestones - 2013- 2020

[PandaBear]

Dh’s last day of work was Friday. So tomorrow morning, no alarm set for him!

 

[Lawrencewendall]

It's almost 2 am on Monday and I don''t care. No alarm clock for me!

 

[kgtest]

Finally closed out my work 401k , last work date is July 4th and did a roll over to an IRA with little over 1 mill after 24 years of contribution.

impressive. Did that include any ESOP? If not, super impressive! Must have had a generous match, returns and full contributions annually, very swell.

 

[targatom2019]

Company matched 50 cents on a dollar for first eights years. I maxed out for 24 years and was in 100% growth equities with no bonds. From my research, many people hit 1mil in about 22 years.

 

[flybynight]

Investments hit $2.7M last week and NW hit $3.7M. I'm looking forward to being RE in a month or so.

 

[Boose]

Had a 2-hour consultation with a CFP yesterday (free through my 457 plan). As we suspected, we are completely FI and good to go for travel, future home purchase and other plans! But my healthcare is the boogeyman (DH has VA disability coverage), so we're working until the next presidential administration is firmly in place - whatever that may hold. In the meantime, we are earning fun money (or future healthcare funding). I'm feeling a great sense of relief.

 

[W2R]

Had a 2-hour consultation with a CFP yesterday (free through my 457 plan). As we suspected, we are completely FI and good to go for travel, future home purchase and other plans! But my healthcare is the boogeyman (DH has VA disability coverage), so we're working until the next presidential administration is firmly in place - whatever that may hold. In the meantime, we are earning fun money (or future healthcare funding). I'm feeling a great sense of relief.

Congratulations, Boose! That extra fun money will be nice to have in retirement. I did the same thing; worked for 2 years past when I was FI in order to qualify for retiree health insurance, and continued saving as always during those 2 years. So now that I have retired, I have extra fun money too.

 

[DireWolf]

Turned in my notice today. Will RE at the end of this month, a bit shy of my 51st birthday

 

[freedomatlast]

Turned in my notice today. Will RE at the end of this month, a bit shy of my 51st birthday

Congratulations on making the decision and pulling the trigger! I'm only 3 weeks into ER but it has been fantastic so far!

 

[Downtown]

Investments hit $2.7M last week and NW hit $3.7M. I'm looking forward to being RE in a month or so.

Congrats, flybynight! We’re looking at eerily similar numbers with a RE date of Sep-30. Best of luck with your transition to whatever comes next.

 

[GoBears]

Both kids went off the payroll in June. DD was married. DS graduated with a CS degree and is now programming and earning his own $.

 

[flybynight]

Congrats, flybynight! We’re looking at eerily similar numbers with a RE date of Sep-30. Best of luck with your transition to whatever comes next.

Thanks Downtown. I just read your FIRE post and we are very similar. I have no pensions and the only real estate is our residence ~$325K. My big spread in investments to NW is a discounted value for illiquid company stock that will be monetized at some point in the future.

This RE business is anxiety provoking but at 57 I'm really getting excited to start my next chapter. Best of luck to you as well!

 

[cnocmmz]

Celebrate a new milestone on your journey to FIRE with us! Did you just pay off your mortgage, reach financial independence, or pass a nice round number on your way to FI? Tell us of your accomplishments here!

So, in May we reached our first milestone of 1-M in Investments and cash
That being said, I also am aware that it is because of the market surge and that we are also due for a correction, or worse a recession. Which brings me to my point (my apologies long winded), just turning 59 and planning on retirement here at 60 DW is 6 years older and will collect SS next April at 66.
I have a mil pension, will have small gov pension, wife has gov pension, SS. All in all after tax we will take home 9K until I can get SS at either 62/67?
I want to ER I guess; however, I think I am just a little uncertain of our economy, our politics as a nation, etc. Anyone else in the proverbial "boat"?

 

[teetee]

Here is my planned milestones (I don't often look into the past - it's a dangerous thing to feel that I have accomplished something).


The projections below are based on my current income and the saving/invest rate. Single with no debt. I am working on increasing my income for the next 10 years. After that I don't think I need to have income or social security anymore and should be able to become self insured.


Even by 2037 the spending power is only 2/3 of what is today, I will still have $4M to retire on comfortably based on the investment gain.


https://drive.google.com/file/d/11pOzF5Ur_FI_AASj1coMTWE9NnU_yZ6x

 

[Getmeout]

Just passed 1.5 nw in HCOL area, so have a couple more years.

 

[brett]

Looking in the rear view mirror, we had four milestones.

1. Paying off our mortgage in our early 40's

2. Being grandfathered in a DB plan and reaching a combo of age and service that yielded additional DB benefits.

3. Selling stock options at the right time-placing market price, early retirement protection ahead of tax consequences.

4. Waiting it out in the final year for a golden handshake.

 

[Jeffman52]

So, in May we reached our first milestone of 1-M in Investments and cash
That being said, I also am aware that it is because of the market surge and that we are also due for a correction, or worse a recession. Which brings me to my point (my apologies long winded), just turning 59 and planning on retirement here at 60 DW is 6 years older and will collect SS next April at 66.
I have a mil pension, will have small gov pension, wife has gov pension, SS. All in all after tax we will take home 9K until I can get SS at either 62/67?
I want to ER I guess; however, I think I am just a little uncertain of our economy, our politics as a nation, etc. Anyone else in the proverbial "boat"?

To a degree. I can choose to work longer if necessary which is why I have so much of my assets in growth stocks and taking advantage of this Bull market. That has served me well in increases in my portfolio over the decade but is risky for all the reasons you speak about above. I am within a year of balancing to something less risky in preparation for RE

 

[Dtail]

We are at the 2 year anniversary of FIRE. It is has been tremendous with no regrets.
Every day is cherished and enjoyable. After 34 years on Wall Street, there is no going back to w*rk.
Made a few minor rookie mistakes with investments, but the portfolio is still up after withdrawals.

 

[cusetownusa]

Paid off our mortgage a few weeks back. Today marks the first day that we don't have to make our scheduled mortgage payment.

Unfortunately my property taxes are very high.

 

[LarryMelman]

I have my life history in Quicken so I looked up some of my milestones.

1. Hit $100K NW at age 30, in the same month that I bought my house.
2. Hit $1M for the first time at 42. Then again at 45 after recovering from the 2008 downturn.
3. Paid off the house at 44.
4. $3M at 52. NW has been bouncing around that ever since.
5. However, I don't focus on NW but rather on the dividend income that my assets can generate, hopefully without ever needing to sell a share of anything. I'm way past the finish line by that metric too. Although I expect to develop some hobbies and do more travel in ER, and actually spend all my income which will be a mental shift for me.

As I wrote in my intro post on the "Hi I'm new" forum, my hand is literally on the plug, ready to pull it at any moment. For future tax planning, I need to go. I have no pensions and no real incentive to work past Sept. 1st.

 

[hotwired]

@LarryMelman,
Great job. You're .8M ahead of me but we started with the same. I diverged into RE in 2008 (didn't cash out, used margin and home equity to get started, built up 52 units in 3 years). I almost think I would have been better just leaving it with my FP in the 70/30 allocation he had us in, vs. 10,000 hours of work I put in buying up and managing distressed RE. Do you mind sharing how you did so well, tripling your NW in 10 years? Was alot of it contributions or just plain growth?

 

[LarryMelman]

Do you mind sharing how you did so well, tripling your NW in 10 years? Was alot of it contributions or just plain growth?

Since 2013 I've had a job that lets me save about $100K/year ($25K to 401k and $75K taxable). The job before that, I saved in the $75K/yr range. So it looks like the growth since 2007 is about 50/50, contributions vs growth. Roughly guessing.

 

[hotwired]

Well what a great job you've done landing a job like that. I hope it offers some enjoyment as well. Hat is off to you, Larry.

 

[SoReadyToRetire]

Gave my manager a date ...

I finally [went against advice received from this forum and] told my immediate manager that I plan to retire no later than 12/31/19.

He did confirm what some here said, which is that once he "makes it official" and notifies HR, there's a chance I'll be walked out the door that day.

So we're holding off until I give him the go-ahead.

But the date is out there in the universe now, and plans are being made as though I will no longer be here at the office--hallelujah!!!

 

[HI Bill]

I finally [went against advice received from this forum and] told my immediate manager that I plan to retire no later than 12/31/19.

He did confirm what some here said, which is that once he "makes it official" and notifies HR, there's a chance I'll be walked out the door that day.

So we're holding off until I give him the go-ahead.

But the date is out there in the universe now, and plans are being made as though I will no longer be here at the office--hallelujah!!!

Just make sure you don't need to work through December 31 to receive your company match. I'm waiting until January 2 to give notice. Don't want to give up the New Year's day holiday, nor the 401(k) company match, nor my floating holiday (which I plan to use in January for my birthday). If you tell them you're working through 12/31, but they walk you out the door earlier, you might lose the match. Best wishes!