You Dreamers what is your number

[street]

So what number are you working for so you can retire?

 

[aaronc879]

$600K at age 55 with paid off mortgage and low mileage car purchased before retirement. No pension. That would give me $24K/yr. With no mortgage, I would have a hard time finding ways to spend that much. Then I would get SS on top of that at some point. Then I would really be living large by my standards.

 

[jonat]

7-5/8. Oh, you mean assets? Well, I did retire just recently at 61 - have a bit over $3M.

 

[marko]

$600K at age 55 with paid off mortgage and low mileage car purchased before retirement. No pension. That would give me $24K/yr. With no mortgage, I would have a hard time finding ways to spend that much. Then I would get SS on top of that at some point. Then I would really be living large by my standards.

HC might take a 1/3 bite out of that $24K.

 

[exnavynuke]

$700k would put me at about a 100% success rate per firecalc and fidelity calculators when combined with my disability "pension" (cola'd) and reduced SS taken at 62. Healthcare for me is free (VA).

Of course, I currently expect I'll work a few months for each of my first 3-4 years in retirement so I may decide to cut out early or I may decide to stick it out and just use that extra income as a "buffer". It'll likely depend on how I feel about my job when I'm closer on what option I choose.

 

[COcheesehead]

54 now, FIRE' ing at 58. Should have $3 -$4 mil in the investment account, maybe more. Have $3.2 now

 

[nash031]

Aiming for $1.45M w/ military pension at 42 to call "FI". Dunno if I'll retire for good then or not.

 

[aaronc879]

HC might take a 1/3 bite out of that $24K.

If I took the P&I out of my mortgage payment then my total annual expenses minus HC would be under $15K so I think I would be fine. If needed, I could take 5% out per year($30K) until SS starts.

 

[street]

I do take my hat off to all of you that have a goal. Of course everyone has different levels of income with different kinds of careers. Also each one of us have different spending goals in retirement so numbers will be all different.

I also believe that people that have a number has done their home work and has put a lot of thought into their plan and goals. Your plans sound good and the fun part is working towards the day you can just live life every day the way you want too.

 

[Hopeful]

I am 43, and DW is 50. Currently at at 3.1M with a goal of 4M to maintain our current spending. But who knows, as with all things in life that may change.

 

[cooch96]

I figure $700k plus DW's income would provide a comfortable retirement. If she were to also retire, we would have to move to a lower COL area. But I like the idea of being rich and doing more international travel and not having to worry about the furnace burning out or a new round of levies and taxes getting added, so I'll see if I can make it to $1.5M or maybe even $2M.

It's fun to sometimes dream about living at that $5-$15M range, but I don't think that's in the cards.

So I don't have a proper hard money number. I'm going to try to negotiate for more vacation time when I get to ~$700k. If I get canned, so be it. I figure I can get a fun, part time gig for extra spending cash. If I get the vacation time, then I reckon I could hold out for another decade. I don't plan on working past my 51st birthday.

 

[target2019]

So what number are you working for so you can retire?

Many numbers in a thought cloud above my head.
1.5M, 75k, 2 years, 4 years, 2.5k, 3.5%.
Bottom line is that I'm working to buy things and have fun.

 

[Greencheese]

I'm only 27 but DW and I are guesstimating $4m with a paid off house/condo. With decades to go I'm keeping it flexible to see what healthcare and social security look like closer to the goal number.

 

[FI by 2024]

$700K + military pension at age 41 for FI. I plan to retire somewhere between age 41 and 46. The pension is all I need, but the $700K gives me a lot of extra breathing room plus it's how much I estimate I'll have once I hit pension eligibility, give or take $100K. The pension is the key, not just for the guaranteed COLA income but also for the healthcare. Anything beyond a 20 year military pension is gravy in my book.

 

[T-Minus]

My number? 74. As in seventy-four more days 'till FIRE! Woo-hoo...

 

[Johanson]

My number keeps going up as I keep thinking about the stuff I want to have and do in retirement. Maybe I just need to find a nice young good looking rich woman to be a trophy husband to.

 

[Midpack]

It's always in my last sig line...

 

[imoldernu]

$600K at age 55 with paid off mortgage and low mileage car purchased before retirement. No pension. That would give me $24K/yr. With no mortgage, I would have a hard time finding ways to spend that much. Then I would get SS on top of that at some point. Then I would really be living large by my standards.

Those numbers come close to my own numbers when we retired at 53 in '89, but inflation would scoot that up quite a bit to today.

Age is a bonus... we always looked at it as a fallback to be able to earn some money to supplement the cost of living, if we had to. One encouraging thing is that over the years, that $$$ base has only changed by a minor amount.

The way it worked for DW and me over the past 28 years, is detailed here.

http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f27/sharing-23-years-of-frugal-retirement-62251.html

Not opulent by any means, but always very happy. Mostly just takes getting used to giving up some things, for others. In our case, no sacrifice, as we fit in with those who were doing the same thing.

 

[Ronnieboy]

Our goal is a little bit fluid, I am shooting for 55 y.o., DW would be 58. At that time I am looking at $1.7m, house paid off and generating $70-75k in annual dividends/cap gains.

Depending on the healthcare situation and if the house ISN'T paid off or I am not generating the $75k per year from the nest egg (read recession/downturn), then DW will quit (if she wants) and I will continue to work PT maintaining benefits and enough income to fund the mortgage/401k/roth/etc.

This of course all depends on if the current employer will need me PT, if they still offer PT employees benefits and last but not least, I am still alive at that point

I guess I'd be closer to 56 as I have given myself till the end of 2023 and my bday is in Feb. If market gains keep going I'll hit it early. I am hoping the next downturn/recession is coming soon so there'll be time to recover before 2023

 

[street]

imoldernu >>> some great advise for everyone just not the people that haven't retired yet.

The way I read your post was that through all those years being retired your dollars are about the same as the day you retired. I think that is what you were telling us. If so you have lived off of your earnings and that has been my plan when I retired.

 

[Aiming_4_55]

I have several numbers as we are FI but not RE yet. Some have real thought to support one thing or another, others are just gut check, etc.

Number of kids: 2 (this became very important to us)
College fund of $100k per kid by age 10 (on target by end of 2017 and invested)
Work to age 50, a personal, mental thing I have, part time contracting after 50 maybe
Current/proposed retirement budget: $65k/78k per year (supported by rental income)
SWR: 3.5% or less if RE at age 50 (on target, not including small pension or SS)
Net worth without rentals or primary residence: $2M (in good shape)

I'll probably work longer than I need if looking at pure retirement budget, but ok with that. When it's time, I'll have belt and suspenders plus SS in the future. ;-)

 

[flyingaway]

Our FI number is $2M and we achieved recently with the current market surge. We might RE in a few years at 55 or later, after our young son finishes college. I am semi-retired and could walk out at any time, but the job is not stressful with lots of free time.

 

[Dreaming of Freedom]

A couple years ago, I thought $1.25 million + $7,500 in rental income would be enough. Then I decided we needed $1.3 to $1.4 million + rental income. Now I don't know if there is any possible number if we can't obtain comprehensive health insurance at any reasonable cost in the near future. Is anyone else dealing with this issue squashing all their ER plans?

 

[cooch96]

A couple years ago, I thought $1.25 million + $7,500 in rental income would be enough. Then I decided we needed $1.3 to $1.4 million + rental income. Now I don't know if there is any possible number if we can't obtain comprehensive health insurance at any reasonable cost in the near future. Is anyone else dealing with this issue squashing all their ER plans?

No, I figure there will always be competent hospitals at reasonable cost somewhere in the world. Medical tourism seems to be currently focused in Mexico, Thailand, Turkey, and India. If there's a life and death emergency, then I'll go to the ER and deal with it from there. Can't prepare for everything.

 

[cooch96]

My number keeps going up as I keep thinking about the stuff I want to have and do in retirement. Maybe I just need to find a nice young good looking rich woman to be a trophy husband to.

That had been my plan. When folks asked me what I wanted in a bride, I'd say, "A hot doctor that likes to cook and clean." Can't blame me for trying, right?

Good luck!