Turning 50 in a month, I know what you are going to say..

[chassis]

You're good. Congratulations!

[RobLJ]

Congrats on your accomplishments!
I would be even more shy than you, given the age of your yewts, although your reserve for them seems more than sufficient.

I would echo someone's advice to at least explore the possibility of consultancy (perhaps during a sabbatical). While this may not be applicable to you, it might be a way of dipping your toe into semi-retirement, while preserving career options.
(While not very relevant to your circumstance, I wanted a 10-15% minimum "slack" on the numbers including a generous yearly travel budget which we haven't fully spent in any of the last 6 years. When I pulled the plug at 57, my university offered a generous 1/2 time online for 1/2 pay option for 2-5 years. This allowed the younger DW to fully retire 3 years ago, 7 years ahead of "the plan" and I was happy to work part-time on my own schedule 9 months out of the year while the portfolio continued to swell. Now our "slack" is about 40%).

Far down the road, the second home (which I think you own free and clear) and an ability to downsize the main homestead give you a lot of budget "slack" or optionality--if your wife and you are willing to consider it. But I would ignore this and other advice on your budget; you know your priorities as a family--it's just a thought. DW is complaining about the high 90's temps in Reno the last 2 summers, so I'm almost regretting selling the Colorado cabin when we moved from Houston to Reno 6 years ago.

[GoodLife59]

At first glance the answer is YES! But your wife is significantly younger and you have younger kids. So lifestyle desires and expectations should be considered. Also, your kids are coming to an age where they’ll be watching mom and dad to see how they conduct adulthood. I get the impression you are a skilled leader with the ability to build and develop meaningful businesses. Likely how you’ve done it are good examples for your children.

Probably being a little too personal. Congratulations on all your successes to this point.

[Bdroc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by StuckinCT Okay so the big 5-0 is just over 30 days away, and here is where things stand: Primary Home- $1.49mm $565k mortgage Second Home- $717.5k Paid Taxable Portfolio- $7.2mm IRA- $1.35mm Roth-$150k SS $42k me at 70 stopping now, wife will get $21k No pension No other debt Total Spend including Taxes Health insurance is $300k DW makes $25k part time job she likes and ten years younger Three kids 11,10,9 have $1.75mm set aside in 529s /other accounts for Ed Will downsize house at age 62 for $1mm home, reduce spend some as kids leave? Firecalc just barely 100% spending $290k- assuming DW contributes $10k I have to work until March of next year for final payment of business sale, which is factored in above, So drum roll, can I retire? Firecalc saying 3.5% WR is 100% living to 87 not including downsizing etc.?? ** We assume $25k for misc expenses each year like new furniture, painting, replacing boilers AC Roof etc.. I still feel uncomfortable- I could cut CC club which is $25k or work part time as well.

You have almost $9m excluding real estate. Assume you live to 85 and your investment returns are no more than inflation. That means you can spend more than $250k per year. That doesn't include SS or savings from downsizing.

Your bigger issue is to have a good estate plan. Do you live in a low tax state?

[Dtail]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bdroc You have almost $9m excluding real estate. Assume you live to 85 and your investment returns are no more than inflation. That means you can spend more than $250k per year. That doesn't include SS or savings from downsizing. Your bigger issue is to have a good estate plan. Do you live in a low tax state?

Stuck in CT translates to stuck in Connecticut.

[kykejuga]

I had a very similar situation so I thought I would reply. The short answer is yes, you can retire and shouldn't have to worry about it to much.

I retired at 50 with a slightly lower net worth (9M) and slightly lower annual expenses (250). I had a 2nd winter home, CC membership, and 2 kids in college. I alleviated some of my fears by consulting part-time which brought in enough income to avoid having to dip into savings and it kept my head in the game. It's worked out great and now I'm 58 and looking to retire fully at 60. Another thing that might be similar is I found out that I overfunded my kids college via 529 such that there was enough left over that I will now have my future grandkids colleges paid for. With the amount that you have saved in your 529, you might be in the same situation.

My advice, relax and enjoy your success

[patela6]

Congrats to the OP. I've always thought of ER being tied to my kids going to college and us parents getting our time back, for me at around age 50. At the moment it really feels like being an uber driver for my 10 and 12 year old. I may as well work while bring said uber driver...lol

You are in an awesome spot.
I would think about what you really value next 5 or 10 years. In your situation I wouldn't balk at a 'priceless' Africa trip with the kids in a few years (first class of course!). To do these kinds of $50k to $100k trips, you'd likely need to reduce some expenses. Second home sounds like the best option to nix.

Easy to play with someone else's portfolio. You have plenty of money...just not enough to do 'everything'. Good luck and enjoy your retirement!

[troutnut1]

Traditionally 50 is the year you get your first colonoscopy. New studies say we should be doing it at 45. If that comes out good, and inflation doesn’t eat all your cash, you’ll probably be ok.

[HunterAdvisor]

Question is do you really want to retire and what will you do instead? What is your passion?
I would recommend meeting with a CFP who is also a RLP. All of these letters stand for Certified Financial Planner who is also a Registered Life Planner with the Kinder Institute. There are several in your area.
7 Stages to Money Maturity
Congratulations 🎈 and 🥳 Happy Birthday !





UOTE=StuckinCT;2609188]Okay so the big 5-0 is just over 30 days away, and here is where things stand:

Primary Home- $1.49mm $565k mortgage
Second Home- $717.5k Paid
Taxable Portfolio- $7.2mm
IRA- $1.35mm
Roth-$150k
SS $42k me at 70 stopping now, wife will get $21k
No pension
No other debt

Total Spend including Taxes Health insurance is $300k
DW makes $25k part time job she likes and ten years younger
Three kids 11,10,9 have $1.75mm set aside in 529s /other accounts for Ed
Will downsize house at age 62 for $1mm home, reduce spend some as kids leave?

Firecalc just barely 100% spending $290k- assuming DW contributes $10k

I have to work until March of next year for final payment of business sale, which is factored in above, So drum roll, can I retire? Firecalc saying 3.5% WR is 100% living to 87 not including downsizing etc.??

** We assume $25k for misc expenses each year like new furniture, painting, replacing boilers AC Roof etc..

I still feel uncomfortable- I could cut CC club which is $25k or work part time as well.[/QUOTE]

[FLD3C]

It is not about your savings. It is not about your spending.It is not about the country club. You have enough money to retire.
This is about your emotional readiness to stop working. If you are not working at the buisness then who are you?
If you want to work it is ok to keep working until you feel ready to call it a career and start your next chapter.

[medved]

My advice is this: First figure out when you want to retire. That’s not about the country club and the houses and boats and stocks and whatever. It is about how you want to spend the finite and unknown number of years you have left on earth, and how many of those years you want to spend working. There is no right answer to that question. I know people who retired very early and are happy. I also know people who worked into their 80s and were also happy. But that’s the first thing you need to figure out. And probably the most difficult. In your situation, I would not allow other issues to get in the way of that threshold decision.

Then, when you retire, pick a withdrawal rate that you feel comfortable with. Maybe that is 2 1/2% or 3% or 4%. Whatever you feel comfortable with. I personally would keep it under 3% at most — and probably less — but others would disagree. And then fit your expenses within that withdrawal rate. You have a lot of luxuries within your budget. That is fine. There’s wrong with luxuries; you earned it! But there is no question that you can tailor your expenses to fit within whatever withdrawal rate you select, and still have an extremely high quality of life.

[HunterAdvisor]

I remembered another book I found interesting “Encore”. Discussion about volunteer, part time and other options in early retirement.

[Retired Expat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by njhowie The silly comment was before seeing you do actually intend to spend $300k/year. I would not feel comfortable at all in this situation - the expenses are way too high. You need to downsize and get better control over your expenses - I'd agree with ditching the country club to save $25k/year...is it really worth $500/week? Minimally sell one of the homes before leaving the job. It should not take $10k/month to run a household, even with three kids and a nice house. Just my views. Good luck whatever you decide.

Slightly different perspective.

You may well find that preretirement expenses don’t jive with post retirement projections…. Preretirement spent $2500 a year on professional laundry and dry cleaning. Ate lunch out everyday and ordered in dinner a lot as there was no time to cook. About 15k in savings per year. Spent $100 a week on Gas in CA. In retirement more like $100 a month or less. (Don’t need to drive stop and go in rush hour). Tons more like those

But if you want to play more golf and tennis,, swim etc you should keep the CC. This is a time of enjoyment!

[Delawaredave5]

Quote:

Originally Posted by daylatedollarshort Your lifestyle expenses have seemed to cause you to be a financial prisoner of your own making. You could move to the south of France tomorrow if you wanted and never have to work again. You might want to read some books or watch videos on happiness studies and also the benefits of simplifying and minimalism. What good is all that savings if you aren't using it to buy happiness and peace of mind? Also check out the studies linking materialism to depression and anxiety.

Excellent points.

I used to think Americans had better lifestyles than Europeans - bigger houses, more "stuff", lawn tractors, toys, etc. However many Americans are "slaves to stuff" and materialism.

[StuckinCT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoodLife59 At first glance the answer is YES! But your wife is significantly younger and you have younger kids. So lifestyle desires and expectations should be considered. Also, your kids are coming to an age where they’ll be watching mom and dad to see how they conduct adulthood. I get the impression you are a skilled leader with the ability to build and develop meaningful businesses. Likely how you’ve done it are good examples for your children. Probably being a little too personal. Congratulations on all your successes to this point.

Great point on the kids, I think about this all the time. I always say kids learn by watching. Appreciate the vote of confidence, I def feel like I have steered the ship okay thus far.

[HopeToGolf]

Isn’t this case super simple?

Yes, the math using any reasonable calculator and rule of thumb say you can walk away now and spend $300K. However, your comfort in doing so is a totally different question.

The reality is, based on your posts, it seems that if “you” want to feel “comfortable” walking away and not ever (even in your 70s) have to worry about changing your lifestyle (i.e. keeping two houses, paying for weddings and such for your kids, always having a country club membership, etc.) then yes, you need more money. It seems you need to spend time figuring out what level of lifestyle you want to lead and financial security you need to feel comfortable. If you want to spend only $300K and in the bad scenarios are comfortable having only one house at some point and maybe having the kids fund their own down payment for a home and their weddings, you are pretty far in the clear.

I’ve run similar expense numbers with a similar portfolio and no home equity and ******** and Firecalc get to 100%.

I think your post and this thread is another version of a typical OMY question.

Congrats on your achievements!

[tb001]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HopeToGolf Isn’t this case super simple? Yes, the math using any reasonable calculator and rule of thumb say you can walk away now and spend $300K. However, your comfort in doing so is a totally different question. The reality is, based on your posts, it seems that if “you” want to feel “comfortable” walking away and not ever (even in your 70s) have to worry about changing your lifestyle (i.e. keeping two houses, paying for weddings and such for your kids, always having a country club membership, etc.) then yes, you need more money. It seems you need to spend time figuring out what level of lifestyle you want to lead and financial security you need to feel comfortable. If you want to spend only $300K and in the bad scenarios are comfortable having only one house at some point and maybe having the kids fund their own down payment for a home and their weddings, you are pretty far in the clear. I’ve run similar expense numbers with a similar portfolio and no home equity and ******** and Firecalc get to 100%. I think your post and this thread is another version of a typical OMY question. Congrats on your achievements!

I think this is a great way to look at it. And I would also add that those ‘bad scenarios’ where you’re cutting out some of the big extras, are statistically much less likely than the good ones. Some of our extras like weddings etc are far enough away for us that we’ll have a decent understanding if we’re heading for a bad sequence or on a good trajectory, which was helpful in pulling the trigger.

[StuckinCT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HopeToGolf Isn’t this case super simple? Yes, the math using any reasonable calculator and rule of thumb say you can walk away now and spend $300K. However, your comfort in doing so is a totally different question. The reality is, based on your posts, it seems that if “you” want to feel “comfortable” walking away and not ever (even in your 70s) have to worry about changing your lifestyle (i.e. keeping two houses, paying for weddings and such for your kids, always having a country club membership, etc.) then yes, you need more money. It seems you need to spend time figuring out what level of lifestyle you want to lead and financial security you need to feel comfortable. If you want to spend only $300K and in the bad scenarios are comfortable having only one house at some point and maybe having the kids fund their own down payment for a home and their weddings, you are pretty far in the clear. I’ve run similar expense numbers with a similar portfolio and no home equity and ******** and Firecalc get to 100%. I think your post and this thread is another version of a typical OMY question. Congrats on your achievements!

I agree with this, and appreciate it. I know it sounds like a big lifestyle, and it is in some ways, but there are definitely things we can cut like BMW and country club. Also, I won’t be spending 300k when I’m 80, unless I’m gifting or doing big family trips.
That’s another reason why I decided to try the Lake George place, later on for family get togethers that can be expensive. I like Disney etc but that can be spendy, but there is always Airbnb too.

[HopeToGolf]

To be clear, I do not think $300K is a big lifestyle in your described situation. It’s only big if you do not make enough or have saved enough.

I suspect most on this forum will die leaving far more to kids/charities/government than they expected. Most can probably spend more, including you.

If you don’t plan to spend an inflation adjusted $300K after 80, you are very much financially ready to hang it up.

[RetireeRobert]

Cut the country club.