Just crossed the $3M NW Threshold. 42, and FIRE Seems Close!

[HI Bill]

Congrats! You guys are rockin' for your ages, if not undersaving for your income!

I'm going to stick with the concept of invested assets. Right now, we are about to buy a house, with 50% down. If I included the house, it would have a $0 value, as we will owe the same amount as we equity.

To me, it's about invested assets, WR, and cash flow. Real estate that you live in or that doesn't generate income doesn't count, whether or not you hold a mortgage. If you can't pay your mortgage with your WR, then you have a different problem.

 

[hilltide]

Congratulations & Nice work! I keep track of my progress monthly as well. Keeps me motivated to keep plowing through the stress and meet my goals. Keep us updated on your progress.

 

[cargetter100]

I keep a spreadsheet in which I track my NW monthly, so I have a running series of columns so I can always look back and see how it fluctuated month to month over time.

I just did a preliminary completion of August (I usually do that, and then update on the last day of the month). I'm happy to report that for the first time ever, I crossed the $3M NW barrier.

I never set a specific exit number, but figured it might be in the $3M - $5M range. I'm starting to feel like it's close to time. I'm 42, the wife is 41. No kids. Both in lines of work (technology) where PT consulting from anywhere is easy to come by, if things ever start to feel too tight, which lends further credence to the feeling that I can do it sooner rather than later.

Anyway, just thought I'd share since I was pleasantly surprised as I saw that number crank out a $3 in front.

[edit -sorry, this probably shouldn't be in the "Hi, I am..." sub-forum.]

Congratulations. $3 mil net worth means you are financially independent. No, it doesn't necessarily mean you can light money on fire. But it does mean you and your wife can stop working virtually forever (if you so choose, I'm not recommending it) and live very comfortably pretty much anywhere in the U.S., Canada, Western Europe (and certainly cheaper countries) except the very HCOL areas.

IOW do whatever you want with the rest of your life, but working is no longer a "necessity" for you.