New to Site a lot to learn (update)

[hilltide]

Couldn't figure out how to edit but wanted to update from original

Original Post 9/2017

Hey everyone. Stumbled across the site as my quest for early retirement continues. I know there are a lot of different strategies and I am excited to get some valuable insight from everyone here!

We are 42 years old. My wife and I are 4 months away from being completely debt free including the house. We have been following the Ramsey plan because it is simple stupid and his podcasts have kept us motivated.

Our current status is House is worth 400k and have about 300k total in retirement 401k's and mutual funds.

We are getting ready to come up with a master plan as we will not have any debt by the first of the year. We make a good living combined but not sure how long that will last as I am in sales and it is a roller coaster ride.

My initial thought is to continue maxing out 401k, come up with a flat amount to contribute to mutual funds and the rest save for a few cash purchased rental homes once the market cools down?

My job is very stressful and I do not feel I will be able to keep this up for more than another 10 years. Excited to be a part of this forum and eventually unscript!

Update: 43 years old now.

Have learned a lot from this site. The two biggest things we accomplished financially were paying off our house and opening HSA's! We are debt free now! It's a great feeling. This hasn't slowed my desire to FIRE. It may have accelerated it. I know the biggest focus now is to continue to fully fund tax deferred accounts, HSA's and really focus on my after tax savings which has been light.

One thing to mention is I did finalize a buyout of the family business with my father and his partner. It is mainly done with Net Profit of the company over a period of time. I did not personal guarantee or take out any personal loans to accomplish this. I have been running the company for some time now with one of the other principles daughters.

It took us two years two get everything right but we finally structured it where everyone was happy including their beneficiaries. When you are dealing with non-related 2nd wives it is not an easy road at times.

This does not change my goal of retiring at 55. I explained to previous principles my intentions and they were very supportive.

Now for the numbers:

House $435,000 Pd Off Not incl in Total

Tax Deferred $ 418,505.00
After Tax Savings $ 141,754.00
B of A Health Savings $ 7,176.00


Total: $ 567,435

Still a long way to go but headed in the right direction!

 

[MBAustin]

Congratulations, hilltide! That's a lot of progress in 9 months - so glad that the forum has been helpful to you. Stay the course and keep us posted!

 

[OldShooter]

... One thing to mention is I did finalize a buyout of the family business with my father and his partner. It is mainly done with Net Profit of the company over a period of time. I did not personal guarantee or take out any personal loans to accomplish this. I have been running the company for some time now with one of the other principles daughters.

It took us two years two get everything right but we finally structured it where everyone was happy including their beneficiaries. When you are dealing with non-related 2nd wives it is not an easy road at times.

... Still a long way to go but headed in the right direction!

A "long way to go" viewed through the windshield is one thing. In the rear view mirror it will not look so long.

In particular, you should be thinking now about the endgame for the business. Sell? To what kind of buyer? To the other principal's daughter? You're the majority shareholder I hope, or it can get messy.

I know a guy who has a great wine shop. About 3K people have opted-in to his weekly emails. Average ticket size is probably $200-300, mostly selling by the case. Knows many customers by name, tastes, and price range when they walk in. Fantastic place as a customer, but he has nothing to sell. He is the whole business and if he leaves the business would just wither up and die. So he too needs an exit plan, probably bringing a buyer on board and working with him/her for a year or two, then getting paid off over time.

I looked at buying business one time but the deal bubbled after I discovered that the VP Sales did not have a non-compete agreement with the owner and would not sign one for me. If he walked, he would take the customer list and all those relationships with him.

So ... lots of words to make the point. Plan now; develop the business and select employees according to the direction it needs to go in order to make your exit plan successful.

 

[hilltide]

A "long way to go" viewed through the windshield is one thing. In the rear view mirror it will not look so long.

In particular, you should be thinking now about the endgame for the business. Sell? To what kind of buyer? To the other principal's daughter? You're the majority shareholder I hope, or it can get messy.

So ... lots of words to make the point. Plan now; develop the business and select employees according to the direction it needs to go in order to make your exit plan successful.

Great Points Old Shooter. Yes I have given this a lot of thought. It is hard not to. There are only two options in my mind. build the company up another level to prepare it for possible sale down the road. My estimation is that this will take at least 5+ years and by this time i should be a lot closer to my minimum FIRE number.

The second option is to insert someone into my position and stay involved to some degree. I have someone in mind but we are a few years away from bringing him in. I think either option I would be ok with.

I am 50/50 but the relationships are mainly one's i have developed. We have discussed the two options and she knows the plan. Thank you for your input!