COcheesehead
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
If you can’t pull the trigger
You aren’t ready.
You aren’t ready.
If you can’t pull the trigger
You aren’t ready.
My wife knows this has been our aim for years. We have "arrived" at our number (and I have a $19k/year non-COLA pension at 65, not counted in the 2.9) and she is pissed that I do not seem to be pulling the proverbial plug on the high stress gig.
I am 46. She is 37. Spend is around $85k with lots of travel baked in. We have shed the McMansion and most earthly possessions already.
She is ready to see the world. I am too but cannot separate from megacorp (the people & THE CHECKs).
What's wrong with me anyway?
Any advice from those who have been in this spot?
Seems like anyone with enough funds to retire early and coming here with can/should they do it questions could be accused of humble brag. I’m sure you would have accused me given my young retirement age.
.. the OP has a couple things going on. Even though they picked a number he's a little uncertain that the number is high enough. That's pretty common, as we've seen by the number of people that run multiple programs for retirement spending.
The other thing is his spouse is onboard with him pulling the plug and doesn't want to delay, maybe because the spouse can see clearly that his job is having a very negative effect on him. Keep talking and thinking and hopefully things will work out.
I'll also add that even good change is stressful and people under stress sometimes have a hard time changing things as they just keep their heads down and slog on.
Cut-Throat. Not sure that is a fair assessment of the OPs post. Looks pretty close to the types of questions that are posted regularly.
It's the latter for me. Regardless of how much you have, you never feel totally secure as the future is unknown. Walking away from a steady stream of income (especially a sizable one) is seemingly difficult. It usually requires a major event, such as health problem, death of a family member or friend, to realize that time is limited and that there is more to life than a steady paycheck.I am too but cannot separate from megacorp (the people & THE CHECKs).
I understand it is a personal decision. I was interested in the mechanics involved in others' decisions. That's all.
...
What's wrong with me anyway?
Any advice from those who have been in this spot?
Can you define yourself outside of your career? That was a hurdle that I needed to overcome and own.
I've posted something similar before, but here it is for your money situation:
$2.9M invested for yields of 4.5% to 6% = $130,500 to $174,000 annual income. Yes, I get yields in this range on most of my investments, mainly individual corporate/muni bonds that I've held for a long time, with recent additions of ETFs of corporate bonds/preferred stock/high dividend stock. Most of our portfolio is in fixed income.
If you're more of a stock person, you can get yields of 3.5% to 5.5% in ETFs, which would give you $101,500 to $159,500 annual income. I know some people prefer to invest for growth, selling off shares as needed for income. That's not my area of expertise, so I'll leave it to others to chime in on the best ways to get at least $85,000 annual income using the growth method.
Bottom line though, it doesn't have to be one or the other method, exclusively. You can do a blend.
You are doing great saving and thinking about the issue. I suggest you find a less-stressful job. You have not been happy for many years now (based on earlier posts). I suppose you are proving that money can't buy happiness. IMO you don't have enough saved yet to support $85k spend for 50 +years. BTW, less stressful does not have to mean less compensation. Good luck!
If somebody was setting up investments today, do you have suggestions for where to get 4.5-6% bonds or other fixed income? Curious to hear more.
Really, 2.9% isn’t workable? Seriously not great advice to be giving.
Boy, lots of anger out there....Really, 2.9% isn’t workable? Seriously not great advice to be giving.
What's wrong with me anyway?
Any advice from those who have been in this spot?
Too young — find something else to do, to build ...
Something between megacorp and seeing the world.