Am I close?

[Surewhitey]

Best of any outcome imo. Health insurance coverage, continue to maximize pre-tax savings if you are qualified to do so.

The only thing I would add is when you "really" pull the trigger, move your less tax efficient investment to the pre-tax & put the most tax efficient investment in your taxable accounts. This will help maximize your health insurance costs when you are no longer covered by your biz.

We are similar, but a little older @ 51&57. Our spending is about $50k and I'm just waiting for DW to get on board. Health care is probably the only thing that scares her to keep going. Sometimes finding the reality is more work than work... If you both are on the same page, you are definitely there, imo.

 

[zekeboz]

UPDATE 4:

I did it.

Sorta….

I’m finally backing off, but not quitting completely. I met with my business partner and let him know I need to get out.

We need to figure it out, but the tentative plan is that he will buy me out and I will continue working there part time as a consultant. I will take a small salary and the company will take care of health insurance for me and The Spouse.

Our spending for 2021 came out to 48k, including everything but health insurance. We have about 3.3m invested and after the business sale, should be around 3.5. (Roughly 2.5 taxable and 1 in retirement) We still have a paid off house and zero debt. No kids.

I’m so nervous about turning off the faucet- we have been making so much money (at least in the context of my life). But I am 49 and The Spouse is 45. Even a 3% WD rate gives us about 100k a year- double what we spend. Logically, that should be plenty safe, I think. However, I’m still really nervous- I don’t know why.

However, because I am so burnt out, I am forcing myself to do this. I think I should be okay, but if not, I suppose I will just have to figure it out.

Thanks for all the input and advice. It was definitely a factor in my decision making [emoji16]

Awesome! FWIW I ran your rough numbers from this post in FIRECalc with a 50yr run, 70/30 split and came up with the following graph (highlighting a safe spending level @ 99% success). Basically it reflects a successful spend rate up to roughy 150k per year.

 

[333three]

Awesome! FWIW I ran your rough numbers from this post in FIRECalc with a 50yr run, 70/30 split and came up with the following graph (highlighting a safe spending level @ 99% success). Basically it reflects a successful spend rate up to roughy 150k per year.

That’s really nice of you to take the time and do that for me. Our situation may not be quite that optimistic though. We are way more conservative. Our current allocation in our taxable account is 35% US stock index funds (VTSAX) 15% international index funds, 33% municipal bond fund and 7% cash. In our retirement we are 45% VTSAX, 15% international and 40% bond index funds.

I’m still super nervous about all of this- as you can tell, at this point in our lives, we are pretty risk adverse. I am just hoping that between our savings, low spending and willingness to earn at least some income, will we can make it comfortably. Truthfully, I’m hoping these factors allow our assets to increase. I’d like to bump up my spending to maybe 4K a month excluding health insurance and property tax.

 

[monte1022]

UPDATE 4:

I did it.

Sorta….

I’m finally backing off, but not quitting completely. I met with my business partner and let him know I need to get out.

We need to figure it out, but the tentative plan is that he will buy me out and I will continue working there part time as a consultant. I will take a small salary and the company will take care of health insurance for me and The Spouse.

Our spending for 2021 came out to 48k, including everything but health insurance. We have about 3.3m invested and after the business sale, should be around 3.5. (Roughly 2.5 taxable and 1 in retirement) We still have a paid off house and zero debt. No kids.

I’m so nervous about turning off the faucet- we have been making so much money (at least in the context of my life). But I am 49 and The Spouse is 45. Even a 3% WD rate gives us about 100k a year- double what we spend. Logically, that should be plenty safe, I think. However, I’m still really nervous- I don’t know why.

However, because I am so burnt out, I am forcing myself to do this. I think I should be okay, but if not, I suppose I will just have to figure it out.

Thanks for all the input and advice. It was definitely a factor in my decision making [emoji16]

Other than being approx 5 yrs younger than us, your asset numbers, annual spending, and desired spending are oddly close to ours. We are ending our careers 12/22. We too earn a lot relative to our younger selves, but finally realized that we just do not like what we do for a living. As healthcare professionals, we will maintain our license for a period of time just in case. I also helped "nudge" a colleague into RE mode recently. She and her DH are more than financially ready, more than burned out, and more than excited about the possibilities. Congratulations on your accomplishment.

 

[zekeboz]

That’s really nice of you to take the time and do that for me. Our situation may not be quite that optimistic though. We are way more conservative. Our current allocation in our taxable account is 35% US stock index funds (VTSAX) 15% international index funds, 33% municipal bond fund and 7% cash. In our retirement we are 45% VTSAX, 15% international and 40% bond index funds.

I’m still super nervous about all of this- as you can tell, at this point in our lives, we are pretty risk adverse. I am just hoping that between our savings, low spending and willingness to earn at least some income, will we can make it comfortably. Truthfully, I’m hoping these factors allow our assets to increase. I’d like to bump up my spending to maybe 4K a month excluding health insurance and property tax.

No problem. Running the numbers is FIRECalc is a pretty easy if you haven't done so already. Even with the numbers you clarified in this post the program highlights a 'safe withdraw' amount range from 91k to 130k. Now I am not suggesting you spend that amount if your budget is lower, I just mention it as a peace of mind data point knowing you could spend multiples of your current budget and still have a 99-100% success result. good luck!

 

[young-ish]

Congratulations on your decision to slow down. The consulting part-time sounds ideal for you.

It's totally normal to be nervous about turning off the faucet. Even people who earn way less than you are not comfortable turning it off. But you are in fantastic shape financially. Also you are at a great age that you can still enjoy your health & your savings.

Keep us updated.

 

[333three]

Well…. I did it. Officially.

It went kind of like I mentioned in my last post- I sold my share of the biz. I will get paid a little bit for consulting and health insurance for my spouse and me is covered 100% for as long as this lasts

So, I guess I’m retired? It’s hard to believe and doesn’t really feel like it because I still go hang around the office a few days a week for a little while. And I’m good friends with my former employees, so we still hang out a lot and talk shop. But, I’m done with the career and the business.

I don’t have anything planned and am just going to coast a while during the adjustment.

Thanks to all who gave advice and encouragement.

 

[zekeboz]

Well…. I did it. Officially.

It went kind of like I mentioned in my last post- I sold my share of the biz. I will get paid a little bit for consulting and health insurance for my spouse and me is covered 100% for as long as this lasts

So, I guess I’m retired? It’s hard to believe and doesn’t really feel like it because I still go hang around the office a few days a week for a little while. And I’m good friends with my former employees, so we still hang out a lot and talk shop. But, I’m done with the career and the business.

I don’t have anything planned and am just going to coast a while during the adjustment.

Thanks to all who gave advice and encouragement.

Congratulations..!

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Well…. I did it. Officially.

It went kind of like I mentioned in my last post- I sold my share of the biz. I will get paid a little bit for consulting and health insurance for my spouse and me is covered 100% for as long as this lasts

So, I guess I’m retired? It’s hard to believe and doesn’t really feel like it because I still go hang around the office a few days a week for a little while. And I’m good friends with my former employees, so we still hang out a lot and talk shop. But, I’m done with the career and the business.

I don’t have anything planned and am just going to coast a while during the adjustment.

Thanks to all who gave advice and encouragement.

Welcome to the land of leisurely pursuits! You have undoubtedly worked very hard to get where you are and certainly deserve a nice, long retirement!

 

[FLSUnFIRE]

Congrats!

 

[333three]

Today is the first day I’m really feeling it. I’ve been going to the office for a little while every day and have been pretty busy with various things.

I didn’t have an alarm set this morning. I still awakened pretty early, but laid in bed for probably another hour. Then I got up and screwed around in the house most of the day doing things I enjoy. I didn’t shower or change out of my pajamas until probably 2:30.

I don’t plan to live such a lazy lifestyle, but for right now, it felt really nice. I’m just trying to unwind and adjust.

[emoji18]

 

[patela6]

Really enjoyed reading this thread! Well done OP.
Impressive taxable account I’m about 5 years younger and just worried about being too skewed on the retirement accounts side (401k) and mega backdoor etc. i guess your business ‘allowed’ you to save more in taxable vs. tax deferred. Likely a great thing! Bravo!

 

[333three]

I thought I would drop in with an update- an epilogue to this thread.

It has been a year since I sold my business. It is hard to believe. The time went quickly.

I have been very busy- mostly ordinary stuff, but also more time with my hobbies, fitness and a big vacation that my wife and I had dreamed about for man years. I still do a small amount of consulting with my prior company.

My stress level is way down and I feel happy. I especially enjoy not having to get up early in the morning.

Financially, things are working so far.

Looking back, I feel I made the right decision and am glad I left work.

 

[38Chevy454]

Thanks for the 1 year update. Your past year has been a good one for you, just think about the future years and how the good results can continue.

 

[Youngblood]

Congrats, 333three! It's always refreshing to hear things go as planned after taking the leap. Enjoy the good life!