I've been reading this forum for the last few months and officially registered a few days ago. The following is a brief introduction (well, I guess it isn't so brief).
First, I'm 47, single with no dependents except for pets, live in the suburbs of the San Francisco Bay Area, and hope to ER sometime between 10 minutes and 6 years from now. I've been a research scientist at a large government laboratory for the past 15.5 years (in school or the equivalent before that).
Based on the methodology outlined in previous threads, my net worth is a little over 2M (680K non retirement accounts + 300K retirement accounts + 600K pension + 550K house - 110K mortgage + 10K misc). I'm a relatively conservative investor (65% equities, 15% bonds, 20% cash or equivalent).
I consider myself a frugal person. In fact, some people here might prefer the words deprived, cheap, or stingy. My expenses over the last 6 years have averaged about 30K/yr (12K mortgage + 3K property taxes + 2K utilities + 1K house maintenance + 0.5K home insurance + 0.5K auto insurance + 1K auto expenses + 3K charity + 1K other gifts + 6K general living and recreation expenses). That's been pretty constant, except for 25K in veterinary bills two years ago.
My income (salary) is currently about 180K/yr, and it has significantly increased since 1995 (i.e., 72K in 1995; 115K in 2000). My expenses to salary ratio is about 16%. Minus 50K taxes, I'm currently able to save/invest about 100K/yr.
Although I've been thinking about ER for the last 7 years, I'm more motivated today because I hate my job. It has been immensely stressful and unrewarding over the past several years and it has taken a physical toll. I have headaches and wake up in the middle of the night with dread. I've gained more weight than desired over the last two years (my fault, of course). The technical work itself is quite interesting, but there is a crap level that is unbearable. Much of this is caused by a management structure that means well but is grossly incompetent. We are a government organization so there is no need or profit motive to eliminate bureaucratic and other waste. They cause far more problems then they solve. I cost over 3 times my salary, with most of my time spent doing meaningless drivel. Your tax dollars at work.
I will not get medical and dental unless I wait until 50 to ER. However, there are many complexities and other scenario's that could change this.
I'm interested in this forum for several reasons. I enjoy many of the financial discussions. More so, it is beneficial to get multiple perspectives and experiences about ER. I'm probably in the 99th percentile with respect to the amount of time I currently spend at my job, so I don't know how ER will impact me.
I have a long career history as an earthquake seismologist (contact me if you want more information) and don't know if this will cause a sense of loss and depression. For example, in my current job I have the opportunity to use the fastest computers in the world. That said, I do most of the interesting work on my own time. I get paid to do crap. I accomplish meaningful objectives at night or on weekends and holidays. In ER, I may be able to continue some of the enjoyable work by accepting an unfunded position at a nearby university (e.g., UC Berkeley).
Likewise, I may enjoy "being bored" in ER because there is pleasure and a sense of accomplishment from doing those mundane activities that can take up a day (raking leaves, going to the hardware store to get a thingymagig, buying an ice cream cone, changing a light bulb, reading a magazine, etc). I'm physically active (running, bicycling, hiking, backpacking, etc) so there would be more time for these activities. I enjoy road trips, but in the past always have been in a hurry to get from Point A to Point B. I'd like to start spending a few minutes on side trips to see the "biggest ball of yarn in the world." A dream is to summit Mt. Everest. Mostly, I believe the most enjoyable part of ER would come from knowing that I no longer need to go to work and can enjoy Sunday evenings. Freedom to do what I want, when I want.
That's me in a much longer than intended nutshell. I don't have any particular questions or comments at this time except for, "What the heck are dryer sheets, anyway?"
First, I'm 47, single with no dependents except for pets, live in the suburbs of the San Francisco Bay Area, and hope to ER sometime between 10 minutes and 6 years from now. I've been a research scientist at a large government laboratory for the past 15.5 years (in school or the equivalent before that).
Based on the methodology outlined in previous threads, my net worth is a little over 2M (680K non retirement accounts + 300K retirement accounts + 600K pension + 550K house - 110K mortgage + 10K misc). I'm a relatively conservative investor (65% equities, 15% bonds, 20% cash or equivalent).
I consider myself a frugal person. In fact, some people here might prefer the words deprived, cheap, or stingy. My expenses over the last 6 years have averaged about 30K/yr (12K mortgage + 3K property taxes + 2K utilities + 1K house maintenance + 0.5K home insurance + 0.5K auto insurance + 1K auto expenses + 3K charity + 1K other gifts + 6K general living and recreation expenses). That's been pretty constant, except for 25K in veterinary bills two years ago.
My income (salary) is currently about 180K/yr, and it has significantly increased since 1995 (i.e., 72K in 1995; 115K in 2000). My expenses to salary ratio is about 16%. Minus 50K taxes, I'm currently able to save/invest about 100K/yr.
Although I've been thinking about ER for the last 7 years, I'm more motivated today because I hate my job. It has been immensely stressful and unrewarding over the past several years and it has taken a physical toll. I have headaches and wake up in the middle of the night with dread. I've gained more weight than desired over the last two years (my fault, of course). The technical work itself is quite interesting, but there is a crap level that is unbearable. Much of this is caused by a management structure that means well but is grossly incompetent. We are a government organization so there is no need or profit motive to eliminate bureaucratic and other waste. They cause far more problems then they solve. I cost over 3 times my salary, with most of my time spent doing meaningless drivel. Your tax dollars at work.
I will not get medical and dental unless I wait until 50 to ER. However, there are many complexities and other scenario's that could change this.
I'm interested in this forum for several reasons. I enjoy many of the financial discussions. More so, it is beneficial to get multiple perspectives and experiences about ER. I'm probably in the 99th percentile with respect to the amount of time I currently spend at my job, so I don't know how ER will impact me.
I have a long career history as an earthquake seismologist (contact me if you want more information) and don't know if this will cause a sense of loss and depression. For example, in my current job I have the opportunity to use the fastest computers in the world. That said, I do most of the interesting work on my own time. I get paid to do crap. I accomplish meaningful objectives at night or on weekends and holidays. In ER, I may be able to continue some of the enjoyable work by accepting an unfunded position at a nearby university (e.g., UC Berkeley).
Likewise, I may enjoy "being bored" in ER because there is pleasure and a sense of accomplishment from doing those mundane activities that can take up a day (raking leaves, going to the hardware store to get a thingymagig, buying an ice cream cone, changing a light bulb, reading a magazine, etc). I'm physically active (running, bicycling, hiking, backpacking, etc) so there would be more time for these activities. I enjoy road trips, but in the past always have been in a hurry to get from Point A to Point B. I'd like to start spending a few minutes on side trips to see the "biggest ball of yarn in the world." A dream is to summit Mt. Everest. Mostly, I believe the most enjoyable part of ER would come from knowing that I no longer need to go to work and can enjoy Sunday evenings. Freedom to do what I want, when I want.
That's me in a much longer than intended nutshell. I don't have any particular questions or comments at this time except for, "What the heck are dryer sheets, anyway?"
But seriously, there are various "sweet spots" in the next 3-5 years where ER could be timely.
