Hello! 33, Father-to-be, Lawyer, Looking for ER in 15 years

[Montecfo]

Yes. Setting saving investment goals and achieving them is laudable. Some hate their job and can't wait to quit. This is not you. Wasn't me either.

But you also need something to retire TO, not just retire FROM. This is difficult for some. Your journey of discovery can provide answers.

Well done, so far so good!

 

[aciranger]

Just wanted to introduce myself, as I'm very happy to have found this community. Of course, I also welcome any feedback on the below.

My wife thinks I'm nuts, but I think we're on target to have the ability to ER by 2030 (we'll be late 40s). And that's what I'm aiming for.

Current status:

• Retirement Accounts: $250k (combined) (90% equities, 10% bonds)
• Taxable brokerage account: $90k (90/10)
• Home: $450k left on mortgage (30/3.5%), $200k equity
• Student loans: $125k (2.5-3.5%)
• Cash: $25k
• Yearly expenses: about $100k
• Yearly savings: about $70k (about $55k to retirement accounts, incl. employer match; about $10-15k to taxable account)

As I mentioned in the title, we're having our first kid soon. That will certainly change our budget a bit, and may bite into the taxable brokerage savings. But, I don't expect it to derail us entirely.

We live in a very HCOL area right now, which is good for our incomes. Long-term, we plan to move to a lower COL area, which should allow us to "downsize" on the home within 5-10 years.

I haven't been in a hurry to pay off my student loans (obviously). But at <3.5% interest I feel okay about that. It's allowed us to save prodigiously, and I think the markets will do better than 3.5% long-term.

Pleased to meet y'all.

Future looks really good for you. I retired same age as your plan two years ago by the way.

Just curious how you got such low interest rate on your student loan? Normally it’s 8%+ now especially for law school.

 

[B0bL0blaw]

Future looks really good for you. I retired same age as your plan two years ago by the way.

Just curious how you got such low interest rate on your student loan? Normally it’s 8%+ now especially for law school.

my student loans were a mix of federal stafford loans with fixed high interest rates like you said, and private loans (citi assist) with variable rates. i went to law school in 2006-2009 and interest rates were very low at the time so the private loans were actually a much better deal than the stafford loans. i paid off the stafford loans relatively quickly and i ended up carrying private student loan balances for 13 years, not paying them off until interest rates rose in 2022 or so.

 

[Gumby]

Just wanted to note that I really enjoyed being a lawyer, especially after a day on trial. I have good memories, but I haven't missed it at all now that I'm retired. There are plenty of other fulfilling things to do in my life.

 

[CaliKid]

thanks, i appreciate that from someone who knows. what age/nw did you pull the trigger? any regrets or things you wish you knew then?

I started reducing workload and income about age 50. I sold my book of business at about age 55 to give a little more income for 3 years but nothing significant. So, I guess, a short answer would be age 55. The way I did it has worked well for me. I just kept reducing my workload/stress/income each year so I never just fell off a cliff. I became gradually more used to having more free time so now that I have all the free time in the world it never really hit me as a major change. Sometimes I regret leaving the high income on the table but I really didn't like the stress and feel it was effecting my health. Overall, extremely happy with my life today!

 

[B0bL0blaw]

Staying the course here, finances are on autopilot. As of July 1, 2026 (with 6 month change in parenthesis):

Retirement Accounts: 2.1M (+200k)
Brokerage Account: 1.1M (+80k)
Mortgage Debt: -734k (+9k)
Cash: 20k (-50k, back to normal cash reserves)
529s: 183k (+23k)

I have not made much progress on the hard introspective work of really figuring out what I want to do after hitting FI in a couple years. I did take a job change from a law firm to an in house position, which I hope will be a refreshing change of pace. Kids are getting older and life is too short to chase billable hours forever.

 

[chemEguy]

Staying the course here, finances are on autopilot. As of July 1, 2026 (with 6 month change in parenthesis):

Retirement Accounts: 2.1M (+200k)
Brokerage Account: 1.1M (+80k)
Mortgage Debt: -734k (+9k)
Cash: 20k (-50k, back to normal cash reserves)
529s: 183k (+23k)

I have not made much progress on the hard introspective work of really figuring out what I want to do after hitting FI in a couple years. I did take a job change from a law firm to an in house position, which I hope will be a refreshing change of pace. Kids are getting older and life is too short to chase billable hours forever.

I’ve enjoyed your progress thread, long time in the making but it’s fun to read about others like us who understand and follow a disciplined approach.

My wife and I are early 50s with two in college, which brings me to my question. Daughter is applying to law school this fall while entering senior year at a Big Ten U. She has a 3.91 gpa and scored a 171 LSAT on her first attempt. We told the kids we’d cover all undergrad schooling (we are) but law school is on them. Yeah, we could easily cover that as well but at some point the money spigot must turn off.

Any advice to offer on loans and such? She’s aiming for T14 type schools (probably the lower end). I’d appreciate any wisdom you can offer.

 

[pjigar]

Good progress! Are you tracking your current and projected expenses in retirement (including taxes, healthcare, cars, lumpy home repairs, etc. expenses)? If yes, then you can put them in your future updates as well. Just a suggestion.

My "number" for FI and eventual FIRE has always been the withdrawal rate = (annual expenses)/(invested assets). IMHO expense is the biggest variable for FI(RE).

 

[street]

Please keep us informed as your journey narrows to the end point. You are doing very well.

 

[Koolau]

Staying the course here, finances are on autopilot. As of July 1, 2026 (with 6 month change in parenthesis):

Retirement Accounts: 2.1M (+200k)
Brokerage Account: 1.1M (+80k)
Mortgage Debt: -734k (+9k)
Cash: 20k (-50k, back to normal cash reserves)
529s: 183k (+23k)

I have not made much progress on the hard introspective work of really figuring out what I want to do after hitting FI in a couple years. I did take a job change from a law firm to an in house position, which I hope will be a refreshing change of pace. Kids are getting older and life is too short to chase billable hours forever.

Excellent update! Thanks for sharing.

It seems you have hit your stride within your w*rk-life. You'll adapt to retirement when the time comes. You may even decide you like what you are doing and stay a while longer simply to enjoy the fruits of your l@bor. That's basically what I did. I actually only pulled the plug on w*rk when my assignment was no longer fun. You should have lots of options when it comes time for retirement.

Enjoy the ride!

 

[B0bL0blaw]

I’ve enjoyed your progress thread, long time in the making but it’s fun to read about others like us who understand and follow a disciplined approach.

My wife and I are early 50s with two in college, which brings me to my question. Daughter is applying to law school this fall while entering senior year at a Big Ten U. She has a 3.91 gpa and scored a 171 LSAT on her first attempt. We told the kids we’d cover all undergrad schooling (we are) but law school is on them. Yeah, we could easily cover that as well but at some point the money spigot must turn off.

Any advice to offer on loans and such? She’s aiming for T14 type schools (probably the lower end). I’d appreciate any wisdom you can offer.

at that gpa/lsat, she should have some pretty good scholarship options and will likely have a choice between paying full sticker at the really top schools (maybe not quite HYS but you never know) vs. getting substantial assistance at some of the (still very good) schools slightly further down the rankings. i would encourage her to apply across a range of schools and think long and hard about the debt load.

i faced the same choice many years ago, and ultimately i went to the "best" school i got into, foregoing the scholarship money at lower ranked schools. it all worked out in the end, and i don't regret it, but the debt load is really heavy and should not be taken on lightly. and the costs have only increased since 20 years ago when i did it.

ironically, graduating nearly $200k in debt with a high income but a precarious and uncertain job market was probably the thing that most impacted me to get disciplined about finances. but i'm not sure i'd recommend it. graduating without any debt would be very freeing.

 

[B0bL0blaw]

Good progress! Are you tracking your current and projected expenses in retirement (including taxes, healthcare, cars, lumpy home repairs, etc. expenses)? If yes, then you can put them in your future updates as well. Just a suggestion.

My "number" for FI and eventual FIRE has always been the withdrawal rate = (annual expenses)/(invested assets). IMHO expense is the biggest variable for FI(RE).

expenses over the last several years have been approx $200k, conservatively including some lumpy expenses and taking a 3 year average. so aiming for a $5M nest egg plus a little buffer.

 

[G POP]

Staying the course here, finances are on autopilot. As of July 1, 2026 (with 6 month change in parenthesis):

Retirement Accounts: 2.1M (+200k)
Brokerage Account: 1.1M (+80k)
Mortgage Debt: -734k (+9k)
Cash: 20k (-50k, back to normal cash reserves)
529s: 183k (+23k)

I have not made much progress on the hard introspective work of really figuring out what I want to do after hitting FI in a couple years. I did take a job change from a law firm to an in house position, which I hope will be a refreshing change of pace. Kids are getting older and life is too short to chase billable hours forever.

I'm familiar with your sports interests(MN). Maybe look at writing/blogging about sports. So many options for you regarding retirement. Still young enough to get into sports officiating. Good luck. See you on Gopherhole.

 

[chemEguy]

at that gpa/lsat, she should have some pretty good scholarship options and will likely have a choice between paying full sticker at the really top schools (maybe not quite HYS but you never know) vs. getting substantial assistance at some of the (still very good) schools slightly further down the rankings. i would encourage her to apply across a range of schools and think long and hard about the debt load.

i faced the same choice many years ago, and ultimately i went to the "best" school i got into, foregoing the scholarship money at lower ranked schools. it all worked out in the end, and i don't regret it, but the debt load is really heavy and should not be taken on lightly. and the costs have only increased since 20 years ago when i did it.

ironically, graduating nearly $200k in debt with a high income but a precarious and uncertain job market was probably the thing that most impacted me to get disciplined about finances. but i'm not sure i'd recommend it. graduating without any debt would be very freeing.

Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated. Both kids intend to go that route, but our rising college sophomore son already said he’d rather go lower tier with scholarship money than very best he gets into. Daughter is the opposite, she wants to attend the best she’s able.

Their decision. They knew the bargain from the start, undergrad by my wife and I and more is on them.