Hi everyone and thanks for reading as well as for your candid feedback.
I originally posted here in Aug. 2021 with a planned FIRE date of May 2022. Based on feedback at the time, and my risk averse tendencies, I delayed retirement until May of 2023 and could not be happier with that decision. I resigned from my position because my work environment was toxic in 2021 and it only got worse. In spite of that, I did agree to return this year in a (remote) part-time role. It's a bit weird hearing about the dumpster-fire that was my former department, but I am completely removed from it....and still getting healthcare and retirement benefits.
As a quick update to the original post:
• Home in 2021= $925k (remaining mortgage = $137k) / in 2023 = $1.65M (remaining mortgage = $109k @3.5%)
• TIAA in 2021= $412k / in 2023 = $455k
• IRAs in 2021 = $96k / in 2023 = $104k
• Money market, cash, bonds… saving in 2021s = $110k / in 2023 = $88k
• Other investment accounts in 2021 = $34k / in 2023 $29k
• Pension = My partner will be pension eligible in 7 years (50% salary) and plans to work until then
Also an update to income:
Expenses continue to remain stable at about $4k/month.
The reason I delayed retirement for a year was to build up a larger cash reserve. From 11/2022-2/2023 we incurred several unexpected large expenses that wiped out our cash reserve. Had I not delayed retirement, we would have had to delay some work and perhaps finance at least one needed expense. Instead, we're building back our cash reserves with an income surplus of around $5k/month.
Biggest change for me is quitting my "jobby job" (as my partner calls it). It felt so good to quit and even better when they asked me to come back. It was 40+ hours a week of mostly misery at work that ended this past May. Since then, it's been about 10h/wk (at most) and it's entirely with students.
While the hours per week vary greatly, I've been able to increase my consulting income and work fewer hours overall with two large bumps to my hourly rate. The total bump has been 30-50% to both my top and bottom line rates working 10-15 hours per week. In addition, my better half has received over 25% in salary increases in the past 2 years.
Our home value is absurd. I get it. Our long-time neighbors sold in 2021, and our new neighbors just sold the same home this summer for twice what they paid. For insurance, the replacement value of our home is $2.4M. On the upside, the property pays for itself in an area where we wouldn't be able to afford to live otherwise.
The plan is to continue working part-time and continue consulting until my partner is pension eligible. With 7 more years of continued saving and growth, and a partner with a full-time job and healthcare, I feel great about where we'll be financially in 2030. At that point, we'll sell the house and she'll join me in retirement. Until then, I'm outdoors biking, hiking, and ('tis the season) skiing almost every day. That combined with charity work has made me a much happier person.
So glad that I waited an extra year to FIRE and glad that I've now made it to this point!
I originally posted here in Aug. 2021 with a planned FIRE date of May 2022. Based on feedback at the time, and my risk averse tendencies, I delayed retirement until May of 2023 and could not be happier with that decision. I resigned from my position because my work environment was toxic in 2021 and it only got worse. In spite of that, I did agree to return this year in a (remote) part-time role. It's a bit weird hearing about the dumpster-fire that was my former department, but I am completely removed from it....and still getting healthcare and retirement benefits.
As a quick update to the original post:
• Home in 2021= $925k (remaining mortgage = $137k) / in 2023 = $1.65M (remaining mortgage = $109k @3.5%)
• TIAA in 2021= $412k / in 2023 = $455k
• IRAs in 2021 = $96k / in 2023 = $104k
• Money market, cash, bonds… saving in 2021s = $110k / in 2023 = $88k
• Other investment accounts in 2021 = $34k / in 2023 $29k
• Pension = My partner will be pension eligible in 7 years (50% salary) and plans to work until then
Also an update to income:
- Salary in 2021 = $65k/yr / working part-time in 2023 = $23k/yr
- Spouse (43yo) salary in 2021 = $45k/yr / in 2023 = $58k/yr
- Online business in 2021 ~$55k/yr / in 2023 = ~$65k/yr
- Rental income in 2021 = ~$25k/yr / in 2023 = ~$30k/yr
Expenses continue to remain stable at about $4k/month.
The reason I delayed retirement for a year was to build up a larger cash reserve. From 11/2022-2/2023 we incurred several unexpected large expenses that wiped out our cash reserve. Had I not delayed retirement, we would have had to delay some work and perhaps finance at least one needed expense. Instead, we're building back our cash reserves with an income surplus of around $5k/month.
Biggest change for me is quitting my "jobby job" (as my partner calls it). It felt so good to quit and even better when they asked me to come back. It was 40+ hours a week of mostly misery at work that ended this past May. Since then, it's been about 10h/wk (at most) and it's entirely with students.
While the hours per week vary greatly, I've been able to increase my consulting income and work fewer hours overall with two large bumps to my hourly rate. The total bump has been 30-50% to both my top and bottom line rates working 10-15 hours per week. In addition, my better half has received over 25% in salary increases in the past 2 years.
Our home value is absurd. I get it. Our long-time neighbors sold in 2021, and our new neighbors just sold the same home this summer for twice what they paid. For insurance, the replacement value of our home is $2.4M. On the upside, the property pays for itself in an area where we wouldn't be able to afford to live otherwise.
The plan is to continue working part-time and continue consulting until my partner is pension eligible. With 7 more years of continued saving and growth, and a partner with a full-time job and healthcare, I feel great about where we'll be financially in 2030. At that point, we'll sell the house and she'll join me in retirement. Until then, I'm outdoors biking, hiking, and ('tis the season) skiing almost every day. That combined with charity work has made me a much happier person.
So glad that I waited an extra year to FIRE and glad that I've now made it to this point!