Huge Milestone - $5M!!

Retired seven years and our net worth has more than tripled based upon holding (including selling for living expenses) exercised stock options. So don’t let future options hold you if you believe in your company and are holding company stock.
 
NW-Bound said:
...Recently, the market makes me feel the same. Instead of rejoicing, I have the apprehension that something like the following may happen. :)

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I've had that apprehension for years now. Still waiting. At the same time, I shortened bond durations in anticipation of lowerhigher interest rates way too early as well.

However, I was born a month premature, so maybe that has something to do with it. :)
 
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Thanks everyone for all the kind words. To answer a couple of recurring questions, I'll be 49 in a few months and DW will be 54 this year and she pulled the 'shute right before Covid (so right around the age I am now). We have one DD in her freshman year of college. I get and fully agree with everyone's point about not knowing how much time we have left. DW and I have set that 2028 date as a hard one. The idea is to offer to remain on as a consultant (part time, of course) to make for a smooth and easy transition in return for some accelerated vesting. If that's not amenable, I'll just leave those shares on the table
 
brokrken said:
Thanks everyone for all the kind words. To answer a couple of recurring questions, I'll be 49 in a few months and DW will be 54 this year and she pulled the 'shute right before Covid (so right around the age I am now). We have one DD in her freshman year of college. I get and fully agree with everyone's point about not knowing how much time we have left. DW and I have set that 2028 date as a hard one. The idea is to offer to remain on as a consultant (part time, of course) to make for a smooth and easy transition in return for some accelerated vesting. If that's not amenable, I'll just leave those shares on the table
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Awesome - my goal was $5M at 50 - I hit it - and you did a little before that. Plan and then execute- '28 is coming up before you know it. As long as you've got college costs covered then you are good. I got a little surprise 2 years into retirement when my youngest daughter got accepted into the Harvard Business School for her MBA, thank goodness for surplus in the 529's. Point is be ready for stuff like that and ...wedding costs.
 
disneysteve said:
Congrats! I don't know how old you are but don't put off retirement too long just to get more money. "More" is always out there. The key is to decide when you have ENOUGH. You did say this is $5M net worth, not investable assets, so that can make a big difference if a lot of it is tied up in real estate.
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He said "our NW excluding real estate crossed the $5M mark". So it's investible assets. And I'm quite impressed.
 
pb4uski said:
I've had that apprehension for years now. Still waiting. At the same time, I shortened bond durations in anticipation of lower interest rates way too early as well.

However, I was born a month premature, so maybe that has something to do with it. :)
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Yeah that's the wall of worry the market has climbed.

You shortened duration in anticipation of lower rates? Classically you want to do the opposite. Maybe that's what you meant.
 
To the OP:

Every subsequent milestone is more easily achieved.

Also, MOST of us if anything think they should have retired earlier.

And on equity RSU's and other golden handcuffs, just know you can't retire early without leaving money on the table.

But every day, week, month or year that you work is one fewer day, week, month or year of freedom.

It's easy math really.
 
Montecfo said:
Yeah that's the wall of worry the market has climbed.

You shortened duration in anticipation of lower rates? Classically you want to do the opposite. Maybe that's what you meant.
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Yes, I typed it backwards... in anticipation of higher rates... fixed the post. You probably remember that period of time.
 
brokrken said:
As of yesterday's close, our NW excluding real estate crossed the $5M mark. Figured I should post this now because it looks like we'll drop below after today. :ROFLMAO: I have to pinch myself as I think back to where we started back in '09 with a couple hundred grand. Unfortunately, my FIRE date keeps getting pushed back. The long term incentives/stock at work are just too much to walk away from in good conscience. Currently aiming for April 2028.

Thanks to all on here who's wisdom has helped lead me down the straight and narrow for the last 10 or so years. Hoping I can post a $6M at some point!
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congrats, that's a great milestone! :)
 
Flyfish1 said:
Awesome - my goal was $5M at 50 - I hit it - and you did a little before that. Plan and then execute- '28 is coming up before you know it. As long as you've got college costs covered then you are good. I got a little surprise 2 years into retirement when my youngest daughter got accepted into the Harvard Business School for her MBA, thank goodness for surplus in the 529's. Point is be ready for stuff like that and ...wedding costs.
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Wow, super impressive. I'd have no problem finding the money for such an amazing opportunity
 
NW-Bound said:
Recently, the market makes me feel the same. Instead of rejoicing, I have the apprehension that something like the following may happen. :)

merlin_187869822_e7db86be-77a1-43b3-ad8a-9fabf0b867ca-superJumbo.jpg
Click to expand...
Unfortunately I have the same feeling. Some things are just crazy, like AI grabbing up a massive amount of resources mostly on speculation, IMO. Like consumer electronics companies facing serious shortages of memory chips, not to mention power hog data centers being built all over the country. Something has got to give, and it won’t be pretty.
 
brokrken said:
As of yesterday's close, our NW excluding real estate crossed the $5M mark. Figured I should post this now because it looks like we'll drop below after today. :ROFLMAO: I have to pinch myself as I think back to where we started back in '09 with a couple hundred grand. Unfortunately, my FIRE date keeps getting pushed back. The long term incentives/stock at work are just too much to walk away from in good conscience. Currently aiming for April 2028.

Thanks to all on here who's wisdom has helped lead me down the straight and narrow for the last 10 or so years. Hoping I can post a $6M at some point!
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If you're like us, and likely many others here, you'll find that once you gain that first million the dollars seem to multiply like rabbits. 20-yrs ago we crossed the 7-digit threshold and that number has steadily increased year after year.

Congrats!!
 
COcheesehead said:
You will and likely more. At $5m the portfolio takes on a life of its own.
Congrats!
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Definitely! $5M will most likely grow faster than you will ever spend it, especially if you aren't retiring for another couple of years. By the time you hang it up, you'll probably have another million. At that point, unless your annual spending exceeds $250,000 or more, your portfolio will outpace your spending.

I retired in spring 2024. Our portfolio has grown by about $900,000 since then.
 
MarieIG said:
Congratulations!

If 28 is your goal, start working on your mindset (and make peace with the fact that) you are going to have to leave some money on the table . . .
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Yes, like many have said here before. It doesn't matter when you leave but when you do you will always leave money on the table. Then you have to put a value on your time verse more money and stay working.
 
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Montecfo said:
To the OP:

Every subsequent milestone is more easily achieved.

Also, MOST of us if anything think they should have retired earlier.

And on equity RSU's and other golden handcuffs, just know you can't retire early without leaving money on the table.

But every day, week, month or year that you work is one fewer day, week, month or year of freedom.

It's easy math really.
Click to expand...

My wife is getting ready to retire in 83 more working days. She'll have 50% of her 252,000 participation units at a private tech company that was spun off from a very large tech company less then 2 years ago. At an initial valuation of $1 per unit and current valuation of $3.25 per unit in a little over a year and a half she's leaving potentialy obscene money on the table.

We could care less and our investments are a little more than half the Op's. 55 is just too appealing an age to retire. Even if management is projecting a valuation of 13 - 18x, which is deemed very conservative considering the current growth, after the full 4 year vesting schedule.
 
Congratulations! I see that you crossed $4M under 4 months ago. You must have some serious income. If I were you, I wouldn't wait another two years.
 
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