Race to 2024 - please join :)

[cooch96]

1 week down, 30 to go for me. Bought tickets to visit Cabo in February. I've never been! I need to make sure I take all my vacation before giving notice.

I decided this week that I don't really ever need a backyard swimming pool. So, one less thing to worry about. Inflation has made that luxury seem a bit silly; it never gets that hot where I live anyway.

 

[Jeffman52]

20 weeks until my wife and I retire. We are planning on telling our employer (we both work for the same place but different departments), in early March that our last day is Friday, May 31.



In many ways I know it will go by very quickly and yet today, it seems like its going to be a long 20 weeks.

 

[NgineER]

20 weeks until my wife and I retire. We are planning on telling our employer (we both work for the same place but different departments), in early March that our last day is Friday, May 31.



In many ways I know it will go by very quickly and yet today, it seems like its going to be a long 20 weeks.

Awesome-congratulations!

 

[Unpaintedhuffhines]

20 weeks until my wife and I retire. We are planning on telling our employer (we both work for the same place but different departments), in early March that our last day is Friday, May 31.



In many ways I know it will go by very quickly and yet today, it seems like its going to be a long 20 weeks.

When I started my countdown timer, it was at 256 days. Seemed like a lifetime at the moment, but they flew by. A few hard weeks of work, a few vacation days in there, the odd holiday or two, and before you know it, you're 2 weeks away. For me, the last two weeks were awesome - work was being offloaded from me, no new projects, the goodbye call (which was nothing but a huge ego boost for me).

I look back and cannot imagine ever going back. Congratulations!

 

[cooch96]

When I started my countdown timer, it was at 256 days. Seemed like a lifetime at the moment, but they flew by. A few hard weeks of work, a few vacation days in there, the odd holiday or two, and before you know it, you're 2 weeks away. For me, the last two weeks were awesome - work was being offloaded from me, no new projects, the goodbye call (which was nothing but a huge ego boost for me).

I look back and cannot imagine ever going back. Congratulations!

Good to hear. I started my timer at 278, today is 200. The time hasn't exactly flown by, but it's going well enough. I think it'll go faster as the days get longer and I'll be happy to spend more of my off-hours outside; and I think the last two months will indeed fly.

I have only have rough plans so far, so I need to start nailing down the details (e.g. what kind of non-work phone should I get; I'll likely get COBRA health insurance for the last few months of 2024 and switch to ACA in '25, but how does all that work?). I reckon I'll start taking more action once my countdown hits double digits; I have some time yet.

 

[Jeffman52]

Good to hear. I started my timer at 278, today is 200. The time hasn't exactly flown by, but it's going well enough. I think it'll go faster as the days get longer and I'll be happy to spend more of my off-hours outside; and I think the last two months will indeed fly.

I have only have rough plans so far, so I need to start nailing down the details (e.g. what kind of non-work phone should I get; I'll likely get COBRA health insurance for the last few months of 2024 and switch to ACA in '25, but how does all that work?). I reckon I'll start taking more action once my countdown hits double digits; I have some time yet.

Same here on nailing down plans.

I have started the ball rolling on our plans for health insurance (ACA) and what COBRA will cost that first year. I downloaded a new bank transactions report for 2023 so I could do a full on review of our spend so we are planning our budget accurately. I thought I had a pretty tight idea of our budget but had a few surprised in the actual. I highly recommend that.

After the budget review and the review of how we will start taking money out, we are going to take 3% our first half year (this year) then 6% to 7% for 3 years (barring a bad run on the market) then lower it back to 4% to 5% as DW and I hit Medicare age, then lower it again when we start taking SS because SS between the two of us is going to cover 90% of our "needs" and less need to draw off our investments. That does not include some planned tax hits when we are rolling some of our IRA's into Roth's.

I will say this site has been instrumental in helping to keep all those things in mind that I would possibly have missed if I had not had that resource.

 

[LateToFIRE]

Well, I nervously type this as I plan for the resignation/retirement talk I plan to have with boss and staff in the coming days. But, I'm ready. I've run a dozen calculators a hundred times, and taken a crash course in retirement planning (compliments of this board, thank you). My assets are enough and if anything, I've probably overshot the landing zone.

I wasn't sure exactly when I was going to pull the trigger until a few days ago. But, recognize now the timing is not going to get better, I've waited too long as it is, suffered too much from OMY syndrome, and just need to do it. The bonus check has cleared and the RSU's have hit the brokerage account. Yup, I will be leaving considerable $$$ on the table, but the trap is that this will perpetually be the case. I read something on a thread to the effect that at some point we have more money than time - that's kinda where I'm at.

I've had a long and amazing professional career(s), more than one (tell you more about it all some other day when I am fully non-employed), married +30 years, no kids, now early 60's. I don't know if retirement will 100% stick - did I mention I'm a bit of a workaholic, been that way since I was a kid. But, you know, a wise friend once said to me: "The qualities that got you to this point are not necessarily the qualities you will need in order to thrive in the future." Time for me to refocus and reprioritize.

I deeply appreciate all the info and advice and encouragement this board has provided. Not going anywhere (though might be kinda tied up rest of week), just getting started on this new journey.

Stay tuned.

 

[Toast]

Hi LateToFire,

I’m very excited for you and have enjoyed reading your posts on multiple threads. It’s obvious how well you’ve planned for this transition.

 

[cooch96]

Well, I nervously type this as I plan for the resignation/retirement talk I plan to have with boss and staff in the coming days.

Stay tuned.

So? How did the talk go? I'm wargaming/rehearsing mine, eventhough it's still months away (unless my bucket fills suddenly or I come into $70k unexpectedly). This topic fascinates me right now.

I find myself using most of my willpower to just not do anything rash the past 10 days or so.

 

[lilly]

I have been lurking this thread for a while. Making it official...mark me down for 2024! I come here for inspiration, and frankly the last few post about postponing or OMY had me rethinking again. Always worried if I have the numbers right, but I am on or ahead of my planning (going on 15 years now of early retirement planning) It is hard to save and plan so long and actually be here...time to jump in. No official date, Bonus in March, then out sometime after.

 

[militaryman]

Perhaps my final update before the plunge next year!!!



Wearing "Golden Handcuffs" STILL. (BUT JUST A LITTLE LONGER)
I will be 56 years old when I retire in OCT 2024 @ retirement -- (~18 Months!!!)

Currently making $119K (my pay has increased with new position in same agency)

Subtracting my current TSP contributions and SS/Medicare taxes, that I pay now from salary but won’t pay after retirement, reveals we actually living on a budget of about <$85k/year.

I anticipate to have a minimum of $90K/year to live on in retirement from a combination of FERS pension, Guard Military Retirement, Social Security (FERS S.S. Supplement 56-62) and TSP withdrawals.

My FERS pension (minus SBP) should > $40k in today's dollars
My Military pension (starts @ age 60) should = $12k in today's dollars
Together our Early (62) SS checks will bring in $24K/yr (60% of what SS estimates just in case SS isn't solvent)

40+12+24= $76k ($14k deficit to be made up by TSP balance)

FERS pension starts immediately at 56yo retirement age and I will have the Federal SS Supplement to carry me from 56-62 until standard SS kicks in.
Will use a small $36k bucket to carry me from 57-60 until military pension begins.

Currently have $947,000 in TSP

$40k cash for misc. items (home upgrades, emergency fund)

Home 1 worth $290K is paid for
Home 2 (small country cabin) worth $120K is paid for
No Debt, 2018 Car and 2023 Truck
Current budget includes fund to replace vehicles every 5 years with new.

1.5 years left should grow my TSP total to ~1,000,000 with current level of contributions.

That should be good for the needed $14K @ 1.4% draw rate.
Probably we'll use TSP funds to carry us to delay drawing SS until 67 for her and 70 for me.
As I get comfortable seeing TSP balance grow in retirement I’ll increase the withdraw rate to provide some BTD $$ ��

Numbers haven't changed allot. Sold the cabin and put the $144k profit in the brokerage account. 401ks total >1,000,000

Approaching decision time... Thinking that if I decide to leave this year it will be the end of Oct or End of Dec. which means I will be speaking to the boss and HR as early as July for the Oct date.

The "wrench" in my plans is my promotion in late 2022 gave me a nice pay bump and to take full advantage of it for retirement purposes I need to stay for 3 years from the promotion start date as they base me pension on the high 3 average. It would bump my pension up by >10% to stay until the end of 2025 (Classic OMY)

I am waiting to see how things are at work in June/July of this year to make the call. I am a winner either way! If I do wait and stay OMY I have decided it will be a year of FUN as I will let the retirement accounts grow without contributing anything to them except to get the employer match. If I had retired this year I wouldn't be contributing to them anyway. Instead, each month I should have $4,000 to spend on a trip/adventure of some sort and I will use most of my annual leave (440 hours) to take time off to do the trips/adventures throughout 2025.

Meanwhile working from home is continuing for my position which makes each day sooooo much easier/enjoyable!

 

[LateToFIRE]

Thanks for all the well wishes! I am officially class of 2024, gave notice soon as annual bonus cleared bank account, kept conversation very short (just said personal reasons), informed staff, a lot of shocked colleagues, now locked out of all systems (blessing in disguise), and serving out notice period (basically paid leave required per noncompete).

Had already done a lot to position staff, make sure there would be a smooth transition, make sure nothing would fall thru the cracks. I’m sure it is difficult for them, but wouldn’t know. Right now am laying on a tropical beach.

 

[LateToFIRE]

Further to the above (because I have nothing much else to think about right now), what impressed me last few days is the realization of just how much mindspace my work occupied even when I wasn’t actively engaged in or thinking about work. DW is keen to remind me how much time I spent on conference calls and e-mail during our past vacations - pretty much each and every vacation past 30 years has been disrupted in some way by work. And it had only been getting worse as technology made me ever more available.

But more so, I now realize my brain was trapped in work mode which never shut off. Now, I have this quiet blank space in my head, kind of like an empty house after the movers have loaded everything onto the truck and driven off. The rooms look smaller and unfamiliar now. There are lots of memories but that’s all that’s left now, just the memories. I don’t live here in this space anymore. It’s no longer functional, its meaning has been forever altered.

This is both scary (because I have no idea where the movers are taking all my furniture) and liberating (who needs all that stuff anyhow). I’m just telling myself to breathe deeply.

I will, of course, have plenty to do over the next year or two of planning and repositioning and figuring out what comes next. And I’m sure I’ll have a couple of panic attacks along the way (or maybe not). But, I am quite certain this was the right thing to do and the right time. And so, here we go!

 

[Jeffman52]

My wife and I were talking about the same thing this weekend. Just how much our minds are occupied by w**k. We have never had a vacation that we didnt take a laptop and have to log in to fix some issue. (we both work at the same place in different departments). Even when its minimal, it takes a few days to stop thinking so much about that place, then a day or two before its time to leave, its thinking about all the issues that have piled up while we were away.


I love your analogy!


I have this quiet blank space in my head, kind of like an empty house after the movers have loaded everything onto the truck and driven off. The rooms look smaller and unfamiliar now. There are lots of memories but that’s all that’s left now, just the memories. I don’t live here in this space anymore. It’s no longer functional, its meaning has been forever altered.

 

[LateToFIRE]

My wife and I were talking about the same thing this weekend. Just how much our minds are occupied by w**k. We have never had a vacation that we didnt take a laptop and have to log in to fix some issue. (we both work at the same place in different departments). Even when its minimal, it takes a few days to stop thinking so much about that place, then a day or two before its time to leave, its thinking about all the issues that have piled up while we were away.


I love your analogy!


I have this quiet blank space in my head, kind of like an empty house after the movers have loaded everything onto the truck and driven off. The rooms look smaller and unfamiliar now. There are lots of memories but that’s all that’s left now, just the memories. I don’t live here in this space anymore. It’s no longer functional, its meaning has been forever altered.

Thank you! To take it a step further, guess I’ll be locking the door and slipping the key under the mat. I will most certainly never be living in that house again. Onward to a better place!

 

[Unpaintedhuffhines]

I have been lurking this thread for a while. Making it official...mark me down for 2024! I come here for inspiration, and frankly the last few post about postponing or OMY had me rethinking again. Always worried if I have the numbers right, but I am on or ahead of my planning (going on 15 years now of early retirement planning) It is hard to save and plan so long and actually be here...time to jump in. No official date, Bonus in March, then out sometime after.

No better time than the day the bonus hits the checking account!

 

[Thomas3857]

I'm in! Goal is $3m and I'm at $2.7m with 500k of that being residence / rental property at age 55. Sitting on $1m in cash - $400k in SEPP and $600k in cash earning .5%. Need to invest the cash but can't pull the trigger thinking the market is due for a correction. I know I shouldn't try to time the market but something about cash in the bank makes me feel good - even though I'm losing ground to inflation. Thinking of DCA and getting that cash to work - maybe at $100k a month split amongst 3 index funds keeping my AA in mind. So close and don't want to screw up now!

So here we are in 2024 and here I am still working. Thanks 2022! Rebounded from 2022 with a good 2023 and off to a good start in 2024 but still short of my goal. Sitting on a lot less cash and the cash I am holding is getting a much higher return. All the retirement calcs say I'm good to go so I'm hoping to pull the trigger by the end of this year.

 

[cooch96]

S&P just cracked 5,000! That was one of my milestones. My next milestone is $1.5mil invested. The S&P will have to go up about another 2% for that to happen.

I don't think I can possibly make it to August. My new goal is July 1st or July 5th. But of course we'll have to see what the bank account looks like after the annual bonuses in June. It's taking most of my willpower to not do anything rash.

 

[skyking1]

Today I have solidified the plan on exit 2024. It will be a soft break, I will work 50 hours a month through the end of the year. I can take my pension at the same time and get started on that. The tentative date for starting the pension is May 1.

 

[LateToFIRE]

S&P just cracked 5,000! That was one of my milestones. My next milestone is $1.5mil invested. The S&P will have to go up about another 2% for that to happen.

I don't think I can possibly make it to August. My new goal is July 1st or July 5th. But of course we'll have to see what the bank account looks like after the annual bonuses in June. It's taking most of my willpower to not do anything rash.

I am definitely appreciating cooperation from the SP500 since I just joined the Class of 2024, but making me think that we're probably in for some wild volatility for remainder of the year, which is one reason I've set aside enough cash for first two years of FIRE - conservative yes, but what was that about SORR y'all been sayin.

 

[Jeffman52]

Love seeing all the solid plans in this retirement class.



I looked at the calendar again this morning.... 15 more weeks.... wildly excited. Ive been winding down the work by transitioning much of it off to people that work for me. Mentoring and training on an accelerated pace but spending less time worrying about the future of my department and how decisions for later this year impact it. Its a bit freeing when you realize its not your problem anymore.

 

[LateToFIRE]

Love seeing all the solid plans in this retirement class.



I looked at the calendar again this morning.... 15 more weeks.... wildly excited. Ive been winding down the work by transitioning much of it off to people that work for me. Mentoring and training on an accelerated pace but spending less time worrying about the future of my department and how decisions for later this year impact it. Its a bit freeing when you realize its not your problem anymore.

Hang in there. I can vouch for those final weeks feeling like an eternity!

 

[chasedream2002]

Had a major setback during COVID, but still trying to make to my goal. Kids are going to college soon, so I need to suck up 5 more years.

 

[skyking1]

Love seeing all the solid plans in this retirement class.



I looked at the calendar again this morning.... 15 more weeks.... wildly excited. Ive been winding down the work by transitioning much of it off to people that work for me. Mentoring and training on an accelerated pace but spending less time worrying about the future of my department and how decisions for later this year impact it. Its a bit freeing when you realize its not your problem anymore.

congrats to both of you.
My gig is a bit different. Nobody does what I do here, and I am OK with taking care of thier needs through the end of the year. I'm counting Mondays to that first pension check and only coming in as needed.
9 more to go!

 

[chasedream2002]

2024 Q1: 2.15 M.

Four years have passed since my last update. It was very stressful during COVID, so I didn't post any update. Both myself and wife had to stay home without work for almost a year in 2020. We were able to restart working in late 2020.

Both kids are going to college in the next 5-10 years. Due to high inflation and upcoming college tuition, I plan to suck it up for another 5 years or so to reach 3-4M. My current job is very unstable, so I am not sure what will happen in the next few years. I explored part time gigs such as uber eats food delivery. I am also selling some products online. I can make 2k a month from side hustles. If I get laid off, I may do these side hutsles and cut cost dramatically and hope to coast to 3-4M.

2019 Q4: 1.01M

Went up by 250k in 2019.

Hope to reach 1.2M in 2020!

My job is very unstable and a possible layoff may slow me down, but I will do whatever I can to reach my goal!