I think I made it...for now, at least.

[Andre1969]

Maybe this isn't the right forum, since I'm going to be 54 in a couple months, so maybe that's not exactly a "young" dreamer anymore. Anyway, this morning I added up my figures, and just barely popped the $3M mark. $3,000,521

I know it's not going to hold, but it's nice to see that it is achievable.

It's funny though...now that I'm there, it doesn't seem quite as exotic as I thought it would be, when it was still a distant goal. Back in early 2020, I got close to the $2M mark, before Covid had its way with the world. I was actually seriously considering retiring on my 50th birthday, which would have been in April of 2020. At that time, I was thinking $2M was enough for me to be "comfortable," and used to fantasize about how different things might be if I hit $3M. I figured that, even if I wasn't retired, at $3M that would cure any One More Year (or even One More Month (OMY)) syndrome I might have had. I might splurge on having someone else cut the grass. And I was thinking about building a nice pool house. And pretty much buying anything I wanted. I never was the type to aspire to personal jets and yachts, or romping around the Riviera. Unless it's the Buick variety.

But, now that I'm there, I'm finding I really don't have the desire for any of that. I'd still rather cut the grass myself. And while a pool house would be nice, we have just as much fun out there with a couple of big umbrellas, a cooler, and some big speakers. And as for work, I've worked mostly from home since March 2020, and even before that my company was pretty flexible with scheduling, as long as I got my hours in, and we had coverage when needed. Also, over the years, the people at work who really annoyed me either retired, got laid off, fired, moved to another project, or died. While I'm not exactly close friends with most of my coworkers, by and large they're a decent group of people. So, there's enough balance in there, that I don't feel the pressing need to jettison the job, just yet.

It's easy to get stuck on that OMY/OMM treadmill, but if I don't cut the apron strings before then, I'm going to try and force myself to retire at 55. Unless some major catastrophe comes up between now and then. But even so, maybe I need to look at that one financial calculator that plots your chances of being rich, broke, or dead a little more often, and let it sink in that the things I worry about probably won't happen.
https://engaging-data.com/will-money-last-retire-early/

 

[FLSUnFIRE]

While I'm not exactly close friends with most of my coworkers, by and large they're a decent group of people. So, there's enough balance in there, that I don't feel the pressing need to jettison the job, just yet.

That just doesn't sound like a compelling reason to stay to me! "I love my coworkers and the work" yes, but "decent," nope! There are lots of decent people on the other side! Nothing wrong with choosing to work but that seems like a weak why and more like a momentum thing. I like the engaging data calculator as well... more important is health span... how much time can you physically and mentally still do what you wish to do?


ETA: Just found this.. not a lot of parameters but interesting to play with variables: https://apps.goldensoncenter.uconn.edu/HLEC/

 

[whatnot]

Congratulations! You have done well.
OMY will go by very quickly.

 

[LateToFIRE]

Congratulations Andre1969!

Reminds me a lot of me at your age. But, please don't wait as long as I have (til ~60) to FIRE. I've been suffering from OMY syndrome for the past 10 years. I get it though - each time I'd reach some big NW milestone that I thought was gonna be IT, it just didn't feel like much of a difference, and I actually enjoyed my work, so kept at it, though it left little room for work-life balance. Part of what kept me going was that FI gave me the confidence to adjust the balance.

I think partly the reason reaching these goals is so "boring" is that it doesn't change who we are, nor does it much change our lifestyle (ok except for we bought a vacation home which was a huge change in lifestyle). Also, I think we're chasing inflation, so that $3M you were so wistful about a few years ago is not the same $3M you just reached. Nontheless, the time it took you to get there is impressive!

And that's where my eyes have been popping outta my head the last 10 years - witnessing the power of compounding and seeing annual growth in assets 10x outstrip anything I could save from earned income. That's what's really given me a metaphorical smack in the head - like fate screaming "what are you doing with your life man, I gave you all this good fortune and here you are squandering it toiling in this soulless dystopian hellhole, THEY will never love you the way I do you meathead" (that plus DW giving me an actual physical smack in the head along with similarly descriptive statements).

And so here I am on the verge of entering the realm of the non-employed. Best of luck to you. 55 is going to come along very quickly.

 

[Surewhitey]

We are 6 months behind you with a similar trajectory. My 54 is EOY and we saw the last mil in exactly 5 years, 1.4 to 2.4...

We'd be there if we didn't take the 3 year sabbatical back in mid 2010's, but the memories were well worth it. The last year seems a bit of a head fake so I think the ride later this year will cement /unhinge our OMY syndrome. If it holds up, we can definitely go, but DW may be hard to get away from the home office and occasional biz travel (which I sometimes join) to nice spots.

Either way, I'm staying with my coast lifestyle and just wait for her to have enough. My plan is solid by my spreadsheets...

In the meantime, we're traveling more, exploring Europe and hitting the beach in Mexico (old stomping grounds). It's giving me a base for future spending wants to account for.

 

[Andre1969]

That just doesn't sound like a compelling reason to stay to me! "I love my coworkers and the work" yes, but "decent," nope! There are lots of decent people on the other side! Nothing wrong with choosing to work but that seems like a weak why and more like a momentum thing. I like the engaging data calculator as well... more important is health span... how much time can you physically and mentally still do what you wish to do?

Oh definitely, I'll be the first to confess that me staying on the job is just a momentum/inertia type thing. But, for the time being I'm happy. I tend to be a creature of habit, and even though I might fantasize about it, change doesn't always come easy to me. As for retiring, I sort of liken it to trying to get into a swimming pool for the first time of the season. At first, there's going to be some hesitation. But, once you jump in, after a few moments, you realize the water's fine, and wonder why you didn't do it sooner!

 

[FLSUnFIRE]

Oh definitely, I'll be the first to confess that me staying on the job is just a momentum/inertia type thing. But, for the time being I'm happy. I tend to be a creature of habit, and even though I might fantasize about it, change doesn't always come easy to me. As for retiring, I sort of liken it to trying to get into a swimming pool for the first time of the season. At first, there's going to be some hesitation. But, once you jump in, after a few moments, you realize the water's fine, and wonder why you didn't do it sooner!

That's been my experience! One of the best things to happen to me was my boss at the time not accepting my request to work PT... If I waded in I'd probably still be there!



In hindsight I could have quit a year earlier (on my original plan) but the world was very weird in 2020.

 

[Andre1969]

I think partly the reason reaching these goals is so "boring" is that it doesn't change who we are, nor does it much change our lifestyle (ok except for we bought a vacation home which was a huge change in lifestyle). Also, I think we're chasing inflation, so that $3M you were so wistful about a few years ago is not the same $3M you just reached.

Yeah, the inflationary aspect of it is definitely something to consider. When I first got serious about thinking of retirement goals, one of them was to have $1M, plus be mortgage-free. Well, that was in 1999. Today, that would equate to roughly $1.8M, and mortgage free. I had always planned on using the inflation-adjusted number as a rough goal, rather than the raw number. I hit $1M for the first time in early 2015, but I knew full well it was NOT the same $1M I had my sights on back in 1999! Plus, I had about $173,000 on the mortgage.

If I paid my mortgage in full, I'd still have around $2.565M, so that's a bit above my original inflation-adjusted goal. But, the mortgage is at 2.875%, so I don't feel a pressing need to pay it off.

I think another reason these goals don't seem so exciting, once I hit them, is that for the most part, I've worked for them, and it's taken patience and a bit of sacrifice here and there. They've come on gradually. I'm sure that if I had nothing at all, but $3M suddenly fell into my lap, I would feel totally different!

Looking back, one of the happier financial moments in my life came not from hitting a particular milestone, but from being relieved of some bills. It was December 2004. I had moved in late 2003, but held onto my condo, because I wanted to fix it up. I kept running into delays, because of unreliable contractors and such, but it worked in my favor, because of the way real estate prices were starting to shoot up so much. My condo sold, and I went to settlement around December 1, 2004. I walked out with a check for around $94,000. My total invested assets were pushed over the $200K mark (something like ~$230K I think), but the thing that really excited me, was no longer having to worry about the ~$1,000 that condo was costing me, every month that I held onto it. Oh, and on top of that, on November 22, 2003, I made the final payment of $347.21, on the first new car I ever owned, a 2000 Intrepid. So the combination of having ~$1350/mo cleared up, plus no longer having to deal with the hassle of that condo, I felt like I was on top of the world.

 

[pacergal]

Only you can decide when you have enough.
Is Time>Money or is Money>Time?

If you enjoy life now, keep doing what you are doing.
Congratulations on your investments.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

It's OK to move your own goalposts, if you want. My dad was a wondering LBYM model, maybe too good, surviving on just SSI, never touching his (moderately substantial) savings. I knew I could enjoy a budget retirement, so that's the first thing I put into a planner....and it gave me 100%+ success! So I moved the dates back a bit, increased the budget a bit...then a lot...and now we're at the point where we know we could retire any time fairly comfortably, but, like Andre1969, we both like what we do to some extent and like our coworkers to varying extents. A few I feel quite close to, and one or two I'll be glad to never see again, but even they are mostly OK most of the time.

 

[Zona]

Congrats Andre1969, you should be very proud of your achievement!

The important part of the acronym is the "FI" -- at any point from now, you are okay to change your mind and "RE" if you want, or if the situation changes and you no longer want to stay OMY and beyond. That independence is powerful.

Well done with your plan!

 

[Andre1969]

Only you can decide when you have enough.
Is Time>Money or is Money>Time?

If you enjoy life now, keep doing what you are doing.
Congratulations on your investments.

Yeah, logically I'm all too aware of that, and that it's later than I think. But, it's just getting the motivation to push ahead to that next chapter of my life. My logical side and my emotional side don't always get along. Plus, I'll admit, some of it's just being lazy.

But yeah, I'm happy with the way things are right now. I have a decent balance of free time, and while work can get annoying every once in awhile, for the most part it's easy money. I have a feeling that once we get into spring though, and especially once swimming pool season starts, the urge to retire is going to get a lot stronger.

 

[Andre1969]

Minor update: As expected, that $3M threshold didn't hold, and I dipped below it a few times, but not very far, and not for very long. This morning I added it all up, and hit a new minor threshold, coming in just over the $3.1M mark at $3,106,798.

It was about 5 weeks ago that I hit the $3M mark, so another ~100K in 5 weeks isn't too shabby. Shame it won't do that consistently.

Anyway, I hit 54 in a month. So I think I'm going to try and make that my official, final "One More Year" and go out at 55.

 

[Closet_Gamer]

Congrats. I like your plan to make it official in one more year.

Health is not guaranteed. If you can enjoy life in good health, I'd encourage you to do that. You never know what is around the corner.

 

[Car-Guy]

Health is not guaranteed. If you can enjoy life in good health, I'd encourage you to do that. You never know what is around the corner.

And how fast that corner can come up and be turned.

 

[cyber888]

Congrats! So, what's your yearly expenses ? $3 Mil is a nice number, and you can retire at 55 and splurge. No use postponing it one more year. Just do it.
You can definitely take some European vacation if you want to. As for the swimming pool, you can spend $50K on that.

 

[street]

Minor update: As expected, that $3M threshold didn't hold, and I dipped below it a few times, but not very far, and not for very long. This morning I added it all up, and hit a new minor threshold, coming in just over the $3.1M mark at $3,106,798.

It was about 5 weeks ago that I hit the $3M mark, so another ~100K in 5 weeks isn't too shabby. Shame it won't do that consistently.

Anyway, I hit 54 in a month. So I think I'm going to try and make that my official, final "One More Year" and go out at 55.

Oh what exciting times if that is your decision.

 

[Andre1969]

Thanks for the words of encouragement, guys. As for annual expenses, I know I need to sit down and really hammer that out. Running a few FIREcalc scenarios actually gives me a 100% chance of success if I retire right now, with $110K per year annual spending. $120K is 96.3%, and $130K is 86.9%. This assumes me taking SS at 62, with an estimated benefit of around $20K per year, and projected out to the age of 100, just in case.

Waiting until 2025 bumps up $120K per year to a 99.1% chance of success, and $130K a 93.5%. I only gross around $95K per year at the job, and last year I put $30K into the 401k, so I figure that burning through $120-$130K per year, or even $100K on a consistent basis would probably be extravagant to me. And because those numbers are all more than I make, and more than I bring home by a large amount, I never really looked too closely at a budget. But, here's a rough breakdown of some of the major expenses...

$33,600 yr: Mortgage (About $2800/mo. It was $468K originally, 30 year fixed, 2.875%)
$3600: electricity.
$1000: oil (and that's a bit high)
$3000: pool maintenance (opening, closing, weekly maintenance, occasional chemicals)
$3000: car insurance (Main cars are a 2023 Charger RT and 2012 Ram Hemi, plus a bunch of antiques)
$185: cell phone bill (I have one of my housemates on my plan)
$2000: groceries/eating out. (It's rare that I eat out, and my housemates buy most of the groceries)
$500: booze (housemates buy most of that, too)
$2000: gasoline (and that's probably high)

Adding all that up, I come to $50,920/yr. So that leaves an awful lot of wiggle room for clothing, footwear, house repairs/maintenance, house furnishings, car maintenance/repair/eventual replacement, entertainment, health insurance, medical expenses not included in health insurance, and anything I haven't thought of yet.

The house is on well and septic. The septic tank does need to be pumped out every so often, and the well water does need chemicals, but these costs are negligible. But, no substantial water/sewer bill like what many people have to deal with. Although on the downside, I guess if the septic tank or well need replacing, that ain't gonna be cheap!

My housemates also handle the home phone, internet, and FIOS tv. The one wild card I can think of is health insurance. If I'm fully on the hook for it, I know it isn't gonna be cheap, although I'm sure it's not going to be enough to break me.

I don't really do a lot of vacationing. Last "real" vacation I took was a week in Aruba back in late 2019. I went in with some friends who rented a house on the upper part of the island. I didn't keep track of the cost, but I'd guess with air travel, my portion of the lodging, food, rental car (I paid for that but was partially reimbursed by friends), I doubt it was more than $3,000 or so. I hit a few classic car shows up in Pennsylvania during the summer months, but for the most part, that's also cheap entertainment...unless one of the cars needs a major repair.

When I was younger, I always thought I'd want to do a lot of traveling when I retired, but notice the older I get, I'm losing the desire. I've always liked road trips, but never did like flying all that much.

 

[427Vette]

It appears that you are ready now. Stick around your job until your comfort level with retiring improves then never look back. Congratulations!

 

[brydanger]

Congrats on clearing the hurdle!

I will simply never understand posts like these... I mean I know I ran away FAR too early for most peoples comfort (at the time, even my own) - and I have long been jealous of those who actually love/are passionate about/enjoy their job (though... to be fair I did not hear you say that about your job above, only that you could now tolerate it based on the current group of people around you).

You've crushed your goals... why not go reap the benefits?

Is there literally nothing that you have aspirations to do or achieve, nowhere you want to go, nothing you want to learn or experience before you die?
If you died at the end of the year, or learned you had only days to live (or learned that your DW or best friend or child only had days remaining) is going to work every day really the choice you'll look back on and be happy you made?

If so - no argument from me, I support WHATEVER it is that lights you up/makes you the most happy... but if there is ANY thing that you would wish for, regret or long for having done on that day - please... GO DO IT!!!

We can always make more money and change the trajectory of our lives.
(In fact, you can always come back to that job, it's literally the easiest thing you could do later as its a known entity and you know it inside and out).
The one thing we cannot control is what day we'll no longer be here to spend it (or more importantly, to do the things we want to do, to spend the time with our DW and kids, to reap the benefits of all that working and saving and making good decisions.

I would suggest you go take a gap year. No, seriously.
Go travel, take classes, play golf, learn a language, see the world, stare at every sunrise and sunset for that year... whatever it is that you think you might enjoy.

IF... AFTER that year you still long for work - then go back. There will still be a job (likely the same one), but do so knowing that you've tasted both sides and CHOSE it vs decided to stick it out a few more months/years without knowing if that's just fear, or uncomfort with the unknown... or worse yet - just simple comfort with the daily life you've always known.

 

[pacergal]

Don't forget Taxes! I don't see that on your list of expenses.
But it looks like your budget will do fine.
Use this OMY to refine your budget and decide what you want your retirement to look like. What are you retiring too? What do you look forward towards?
Congratulations!

 

[MC Rider]

Sorry, Suze says you need at least $20Mil.

 

[skyking1]

Congrats Andre. You've done well, I see no reason to delay besides your feels.

 

[CSdot]

Great job!!! How do you have the $3M divided?

Roth/Trad/Cash/Rentals/Primary Residence?

 

[Andre1969]

Thanks again, everyone! Here's a few more details that I probably should have included, so thanks for the reminder.

As for how it's divided up (as of 3/1/24: I know it went down a bit yesterday)
$1,254,126: After-tax investments (mutual funds, online brokerage)
$254,958: Roth IRA
$1,246,288: Workplace plans (two rollover IRAs from old employers and 401 with the current)
$90,150: two inherited IRAs, pre-SECURE Act. I have to do RMDs on them, but they're small. Designed to deplete completely when I turn 84 (currently about to turn 54)
$226,237: Inherited IRA, post-SECURE Act, from my late uncle. He died before he hit RMD age, so the Fidelity Rep told me I don't have to do RMDs each year, but DO have to make sure it's totally paid out by the end of the 10 years.

Then there's what I call the "chump change" stuff...
$21,084: I-bonds
$8,755: checking account
$3,000: trust account. I had to set this up in 2022 when I sold my old house, which had been in a living trust. I just kept it open in case I needed to use it again.
~$2,200: old paper savings bonds. A few have hit their final 30 year maturity, and the rest are within a few years. I've just been too lazy to redeeem them.

As for any real estate equity, I didn't include that in the ~$3.1M total. But, I owe about $432,700 on the house. Zillow thinks it's worth about $890K, whereas Redfin is even more optimistic at around $960K!

I also have 10 acres of mountainside down in Holly Brook, Virginia. My grandparents bought it back in 1979. My uncle was living down there at the time, and Grandmom had this pipe dream about building a cabin down there to use once she retired. Granddad was already retired at the time. I don't know if he was really on board with it, but Grandmom usually got her way. Anyway, my uncle moved back up this way in 1982, so it was a moot point. Grandmom put it in my name, when she was still alive. My uncle used to joke that it would be a miracle if it was even worth $10K now. Every once in awhile I'll get offers in the mail from land companies to buy it, with minimal hassle, but tend to ignore them, because I don't know how legitimate they are. One recently came, offering something like $27K, and that one at least made me pay attention.

Oh, and then there's Grandmom's house. It's still held in a living trust, which was set up for everything to be splilt 40/40/20 among my Mom/Uncle/me. Everything else was distributed, except the house. Mom was supposed to take care of it, but then she died over the summer. My uncle wouldn't have known how to handle it, so tending to it would have mostly fallen on me. Well then he died in October. My stepdad had all of Grandmom's trust paperwork down at their place, as Mom was handling it, but he's been a wreck since Mom died, so getting him to do anything is like trying to get Congress to agree on something. He had to come up this way to meet with the trust lawyer, just a week or so ago, and brought Grandmom's trust paperwork and other documents with him to give me, but I haven't bothered to look at it yet.

I don't know how the trust is set up with regards to survivorship and such. Whatever the house sells for, I figure I'll get anywhere between 60-100% of the proceeds. I don't know if Mom's portion would go to my stepdad, or to me. And my stepdad said that even if it went to him, he wouldn't want any claim to it. But, saying something and doing it are two different things. I figure the house may fetch $300K, if I'm lucky. But, figuring capital gains and such is probably going to be a mess. So for the time bieng, I'm not including any potential money from that, and figure that whatever comes, I'll just treat as an unexpected windfall.