Long time without posting on these pages!
If I am not mistaken, the last time I did I was 32 (now 39), and I thought it would be interesting to offer an update on where we currently stand, with the hopes that you folks could offer your invaluable advise and, by all means, critique my choices.
Like most of you, I spend most of my waking hours (and some of the rest as well) contemplating, ruminating and, some of my friends would agree here, sometimes perhaps even obsessing over the idea of an "early" retirement, away from the camouflaged slavery of contemporary society and ever-growing blindfolded masses.
As an admirer of the discipline and tactics of most of the folks in this board, I would love to hear your opinions, advice and any comments and/or perspective you might have on my particular situation.
I thought it would also be fun to compare our current situation with that of of my last post on the subject a few years ago, so I have copied and pasted what I posted back in the day below, and added the updated totals in bold next to each line.
My basics:
- 34 (now 39)
- Married. (same)
- No kids. (same)
- No debt WHATSOVER. Never been in debt, ever. (same)
- House is paid for. (same)
Biggest difference since the last time I posted is that I quit my day job and went solo. I am technically self-employed. So far, it has been a fantastic ride. I was able to make about 3 times what I used to make, but the dry patches are nerve-wracking and keep me awake at night. Sometimes you are able to make in one month what you used to make in 6, and sometimes the phone does not ring for 3 weeks in a row, specially now that we are in the Summer. You know how it goes... But I would say all in all the positives far outweigh the negatives.
Luckily, my wife has a "traditional" job (about $60K+ a year), so at least a paycheck is more or less guaranteed every two weeks, and this completely covers our full monthly expenses. I budget all our main expenses as if my own income did not exist, in fact.
- I keep a low-expense, below-my means lifestyle. Don't care about what most people my age care about. Don't need a fancy this or that. I am happy reading books, watching films and listening to music. All low-expense activities that I could do for the rest of my life. Smoke and mirrors are not for me. I don't have time for the media bombarding and telling me what to look like and what to do with my life. I only use my TV to watch movies and NOTHING else. Freedom is an illusion, and I am simply hoping to retire early in order to have more time for myself and my wife, to do with that time what we please.
Where We Stand:
- I have 56K saved in a Money-Market Savings account that used to have a 3% interest rate and is now basically collecting dust (ie: a 0.55% interest rate). I consider this my "retirement account".
(this is now $175K, and the interest rate is 0.5%)
- I also have 15K saved in a regular savings account. I consider this my "Emergency Fund" account.
(this is now $125K)
- I keep around 5K to 7K in my checking account. This covers my monthly expenses, times 3. I consider this my "Everyday account", and if I loose my job, I can still use it for about three months before even touching my savings.
(this is now $25K... excessive, I know, but please note that out of this, about $7K goes to property taxes, and the rest I keep for unforeseen house repairs, my quarterly taxes, etc.)
- We spend between 2K and 2.5K a month, TOTAL. This includes $1100 a month for our house. Even though it is paid-for, the condo fees and taxes add up to that monthly amount.
(this is now more like $3K a month on average, mostly because we like to travel to Europe once a year, and because condo taxes and fees have increased slightly)
- We save between 2K and 3K per month. If we ever get a raise, that amount will only increase.
(this varies... but I try to save at least 2 to 3K a month, and many times I am able to put $5K aside. If I have a crazy-busy month, and I can stretch it, I try and save $10K that month, but this is rare. My goal is to save at least $50K a year, which I have been able to more or less do during the last 2 years, but I realize that this may not be feasible forever, since my job can be unpredictable).
- We don't have much investing experience. We recently opened a brokerage account, but it only has 1K worth of ONE mutual fund in it. This account has been opened for a little less than a year and it has performed at around 3.2%.
(this changed dramatically. We now have about $45K in a self-investing account, mostly Vanguard ETF's and a few individual stocks that pay a high dividend (T, OHI, VTR, O, etc.). My wife also has an additional $21K in a 403b plan, all in low cost Vanguard ETF's...)
To sum up, I estimate our net worth to be +/- $800K.
Property: $400K
Cash: $300K
Investment Accounts (combined): $70K
We also have a life insurance policy originally worth $100K (now $240K) that my in-laws purchased for my wife more than 25 years ago. I am not in favor of this type of vehicles, normally, but the policy essentially pays for itself through the dividends it produces. It is on auto-pilot. Cash value if we decide to terminate the policy is currently about $36K.
Annual dividend and interest income is only about $3800. THIS is what I would like to work on, but as you can see above, I am mostly in cash and always fearful/hesitant when it comes to the stock market. This is the area where your feedback and input would be most appreciated.
I welcome ANY feedback. Thank you for reading all the way down here. I appreciate your time and look forward to your comments.
If I am not mistaken, the last time I did I was 32 (now 39), and I thought it would be interesting to offer an update on where we currently stand, with the hopes that you folks could offer your invaluable advise and, by all means, critique my choices.
Like most of you, I spend most of my waking hours (and some of the rest as well) contemplating, ruminating and, some of my friends would agree here, sometimes perhaps even obsessing over the idea of an "early" retirement, away from the camouflaged slavery of contemporary society and ever-growing blindfolded masses.
As an admirer of the discipline and tactics of most of the folks in this board, I would love to hear your opinions, advice and any comments and/or perspective you might have on my particular situation.
I thought it would also be fun to compare our current situation with that of of my last post on the subject a few years ago, so I have copied and pasted what I posted back in the day below, and added the updated totals in bold next to each line.
My basics:
- 34 (now 39)
- Married. (same)
- No kids. (same)
- No debt WHATSOVER. Never been in debt, ever. (same)
- House is paid for. (same)
Biggest difference since the last time I posted is that I quit my day job and went solo. I am technically self-employed. So far, it has been a fantastic ride. I was able to make about 3 times what I used to make, but the dry patches are nerve-wracking and keep me awake at night. Sometimes you are able to make in one month what you used to make in 6, and sometimes the phone does not ring for 3 weeks in a row, specially now that we are in the Summer. You know how it goes... But I would say all in all the positives far outweigh the negatives.
Luckily, my wife has a "traditional" job (about $60K+ a year), so at least a paycheck is more or less guaranteed every two weeks, and this completely covers our full monthly expenses. I budget all our main expenses as if my own income did not exist, in fact.
- I keep a low-expense, below-my means lifestyle. Don't care about what most people my age care about. Don't need a fancy this or that. I am happy reading books, watching films and listening to music. All low-expense activities that I could do for the rest of my life. Smoke and mirrors are not for me. I don't have time for the media bombarding and telling me what to look like and what to do with my life. I only use my TV to watch movies and NOTHING else. Freedom is an illusion, and I am simply hoping to retire early in order to have more time for myself and my wife, to do with that time what we please.
Where We Stand:
- I have 56K saved in a Money-Market Savings account that used to have a 3% interest rate and is now basically collecting dust (ie: a 0.55% interest rate). I consider this my "retirement account".
(this is now $175K, and the interest rate is 0.5%)
- I also have 15K saved in a regular savings account. I consider this my "Emergency Fund" account.
(this is now $125K)
- I keep around 5K to 7K in my checking account. This covers my monthly expenses, times 3. I consider this my "Everyday account", and if I loose my job, I can still use it for about three months before even touching my savings.
(this is now $25K... excessive, I know, but please note that out of this, about $7K goes to property taxes, and the rest I keep for unforeseen house repairs, my quarterly taxes, etc.)
- We spend between 2K and 2.5K a month, TOTAL. This includes $1100 a month for our house. Even though it is paid-for, the condo fees and taxes add up to that monthly amount.
(this is now more like $3K a month on average, mostly because we like to travel to Europe once a year, and because condo taxes and fees have increased slightly)
- We save between 2K and 3K per month. If we ever get a raise, that amount will only increase.
(this varies... but I try to save at least 2 to 3K a month, and many times I am able to put $5K aside. If I have a crazy-busy month, and I can stretch it, I try and save $10K that month, but this is rare. My goal is to save at least $50K a year, which I have been able to more or less do during the last 2 years, but I realize that this may not be feasible forever, since my job can be unpredictable).
- We don't have much investing experience. We recently opened a brokerage account, but it only has 1K worth of ONE mutual fund in it. This account has been opened for a little less than a year and it has performed at around 3.2%.
(this changed dramatically. We now have about $45K in a self-investing account, mostly Vanguard ETF's and a few individual stocks that pay a high dividend (T, OHI, VTR, O, etc.). My wife also has an additional $21K in a 403b plan, all in low cost Vanguard ETF's...)
To sum up, I estimate our net worth to be +/- $800K.
Property: $400K
Cash: $300K
Investment Accounts (combined): $70K
We also have a life insurance policy originally worth $100K (now $240K) that my in-laws purchased for my wife more than 25 years ago. I am not in favor of this type of vehicles, normally, but the policy essentially pays for itself through the dividends it produces. It is on auto-pilot. Cash value if we decide to terminate the policy is currently about $36K.
Annual dividend and interest income is only about $3800. THIS is what I would like to work on, but as you can see above, I am mostly in cash and always fearful/hesitant when it comes to the stock market. This is the area where your feedback and input would be most appreciated.
I welcome ANY feedback. Thank you for reading all the way down here. I appreciate your time and look forward to your comments.