One Year Anniversary

[NanoSour]

Today is our one year anniversary of our FIRE journey and I thought I'd provide a short synopsis of how the first year went.

First off, from a financial sense its been a great year. Our family of 5 came in under budget by a little over $7.5K and there were no unexpected expenses that showed up. As for investment performance, the Three Fund Portfolio did quite well returning 14.4% leaving a pretty good buffer above what our projected end of year financial assets should be. If I was to give the financial part of the FIRE equation a grade, I'd have to say A+.

The emotional part of the equation was a little more bumpy; however, we had no illusions that this part would be easy. I left my dream job at age 49 and moved our family 3000 miles to settle in the city we wanted to live in. After the initial excitement, which lasted about 4 months, I found I missed our old life and the holidays were a challenge as I left my family back east. And though I had no desire to go back to work over the past year, there were times when I missed the people and travel that were previously a big part of my life. I could go much deeper into this area of the journey, but suffice it to say the grade in this area is a C+.

Overall, we have no regrets and are very thankful that our big move went off without a hitch. Our new life is everything we thought it would be and the kids had absolutely no problem adjusting to our new home and lifestyle. They are entering 6th, 7th and 10th grade, so that was a major concern prior to our decision.

With that, here's to an even better 2nd year.


Nano

 

[jjquantz]

Thanks for sharing. What grade would your kids give this first year? That would count for a lot in my gradebook.

 

[MBAustin]

Congratulations on the anniversary and thanks for sharing your challenges with adapting to the changes. With all of that significant upheaval, taking the time to sort out what are temporary feelings and what are ones you need to take action on is a smart thing, rather than just diving into new things to fill the gaps you are feeling. I made the mistake of overcommitting to new activities too soon and after 18 months was regretting it. So since you have the luxury of time, take advantage of it! Good luck!

 

[heeyy_joe]

You are on MY honor roll...

 

[38Chevy454]

You receive a grade of A for giving status updates!

You made a lot of changes when you first retired, so understandable that it took a bit of adjustment time.

 

[RockyMtn]

remember this is a marathon and not a sprint. You are off to a very very good start. Congratulations!

 

[traineeinvestor]

Congrats on the anniversairy and thanks for sharing.

I'm only 9 months in and, while very happy at moving on, it is taking a while to complete the transition.

 

[Retire Soon]

I think you're doing a fabulous job. Being able to retire early while still having 3 children in school is a remarkable accomplishment. Keep up the excellent work!

 

[Live And Learn]

I moved 1500 miles back in 2002 to live in the place I wanted to. I understand how big of a change it is. On the one hand you are physically where you want to be, but emotionally you're still in the middle of the move. I totally understand the C+. There are times when I still miss being in NYC. But then there are times where I'd rather be right here than anywhere else in the world.

When faced with emotionally challenging times I've found that having a "gratitude journal" has really helped me. Each evening I write a single sentence stating what I am grateful for. After a few weeks I feel much better. My journal has starts and stops (I'm not very good at being consistent - when things are good I tend not to write it in ). Each time I restart I go back through all my prior posts.

Thank you for posting and enjoy your retirement.

 

[NanoSour]

Thanks for sharing. What grade would your kids give this first year? That would count for a lot in my gradebook.

Thanks for all the encouragement. The above question piqued my interest so I thought I'd have a family dinner discussion to get their answers.

15 DD - B+ "high school was hard", her first year was a flying success with a 3.875 GPA with some honors and AP classes. She's made some excellent friends this past year and I much enjoyed being around to help her with her Chemistry.

12 DS - C+ no real reason but he is the middle child and quite pragmatic. He is an excellent student, but doesn't care for any sports so it's been a challenge to connect. He is really starting to make an impression on the young ladies though. A posse of 3 recently started to request his presence. We'll be keeping an eye on that.

10 DS - A+ loves his new soccer friends and keeps us very busy with his/our soccer life.

BTW, DW absolutely loves our new city and home. She is the primary reason we made the move and I figure keep mama happy and everyone will be happy.

 

[whatnot]

Thank you for your post. I always love to hear about what happens after FIRE, especially when it involves a big change. Good insights.