Spirit_Cheese
Dryer sheet wannabe
- Joined
- Dec 18, 2017
- Messages
- 10
TLDR – Mentally I am ready. FireCalc says 100% and I realy, really, really want to believe it
Been lurking for a while and collected a ton of info from everyone's posts. So thanks for that.
Here is my situation. Me: 56. DW: 59 DD1: 21 - senior in college. DD2: 19 – sophomore in college. Was laid off from the Megacorp j*b about a year and a half ago. Was already doing some part-time consulting for a software start-up, so it was an easy transition to go from consulting to full time. DW has not worked outside the home for about four years now. We pay for DW’s healthcare on the Exchange ($700/month) and have a family plan for eyes and dental (another $170/month). DDs' healthcare is through colleges and mine is through VA.
Because we just moved (downsized), I have only got three months’ data of what the new expenses are, but I have tracked detailed expenses for the last 3 ½ years. Our annual spend is projected to be about $80K. Historically it has been closer to $95K per year, but many of those costs have gone away because of various reasons. In my opinion, there is a lot of fat that could be cut from the current expenses (if required). For example, we probably do not need Amazon Prime, Netflix, HBO, Hulu, Spotify, and cable…seems like we could get rid of a couple of those and it would not be the end of the world.
The monthly details:
I use $105K as the expense number in the online calculators. I have run our numbers through FireCalc (100%), Personal Capital (97%) and Engaging Data (98%). I forecast out for 39 years (when I turn 95.) The expense numbers do not include projects (kitchen remodel, tuition, etc) – I track those in FireCalc on the “Portfolio Changes” tab and do something similar with the other two calculators. So really the extra $25K would be for travel, taxes, car-related expenses, health-related issues and whatever else life throws our way.
Current Assets (both DW and me combined):
Current Liabilities: House is valued at about $525K and we have $266K remaining on a 15-year mortgage (2.75% fixed-14 years/10 months left). We use credit cards for the cash-back deal but are paid off every month. Both cars are paid for (2012 & 2015 – bought new). We have three more years of college to pay for with at least one year sitting in the 529 now.
Current Income: $70K salary (no benefits). I get $18K in disability (COLA adjusted) for the rest of my life. Portfolio generates about $25K in dividends (although I am curious about the second half of this year). We have always reinvested dividends. I used the social security calculator to determine the current best time to apply for benefits, so the numbers right now are $12K per year for DW (year 66) in 2027 and $41K for me in 2034 (year 70).
Three Concerns:
1. COVID – are we heading for another deep drop in the market? I figure we have savings for a year before we must start liquidating assets, but, just like everyone, I do not want to retire at the beginning of a down market.
2. College Tuition – I think I have projected high on tuition for the next three years, but one never knows until the bill appears.
3. Asset Allocation – I know it is out of whack for my age, but I’ve always been a buy-and-hold guy, so I struggle with selling perfectly good stocks to convert to bonds. I think I need to overcome that phobia though.
Three other pieces of info.
1. I am not crazy about my current j*b. I like some aspects of it, but if I am honest, I am not in the “start-up” mindset of being willing to work all hours and wear multiple hats. Also, there are some aspects of it that drive me insane and it seems like the insane aspects are getting so they are about 75% of the time. I have no equity in the company. Additionally, while I have not asked directly, I would be willing to go hourly part-time with this company if I could just do the stuff I like to do (and am good at) and my guess is they they would probably jump at that. So that could generate another $1000 a month minimum, but I do not include that figure in the FIRE calculations.
2. I had a j*b offer with a position I could do for a couple years easily, but because of COVID, there is a hiring freeze. This j*b would have a decent salary (would easily cover current expenses) and would have excellent benefits. I could see myself doing this for a couple years to pad the portfolio, but it might be several months before the freeze is lifted.
3. DW and I have two major hobbies that cost money – travel and restaurants – both of which are not really available to us right now. So if I were to quit now, we would be withdrawing less from the portfolio than normal for the foreseeable future. We both have plenty of other interests to occupy our time, so being bored in retirement is definitely not a concern.
So, my questions are, given my concerns, do you see anything major that I have missed? While I realize there are no guarantees in life, if you were in my position, would you be more willing to take the plunge if you knew there was a j*b available to you probably within six months if you needed it? Or should I just hang on to the current drive and put up with the daily frustrations?
Been lurking for a while and collected a ton of info from everyone's posts. So thanks for that.
Here is my situation. Me: 56. DW: 59 DD1: 21 - senior in college. DD2: 19 – sophomore in college. Was laid off from the Megacorp j*b about a year and a half ago. Was already doing some part-time consulting for a software start-up, so it was an easy transition to go from consulting to full time. DW has not worked outside the home for about four years now. We pay for DW’s healthcare on the Exchange ($700/month) and have a family plan for eyes and dental (another $170/month). DDs' healthcare is through colleges and mine is through VA.
Because we just moved (downsized), I have only got three months’ data of what the new expenses are, but I have tracked detailed expenses for the last 3 ½ years. Our annual spend is projected to be about $80K. Historically it has been closer to $95K per year, but many of those costs have gone away because of various reasons. In my opinion, there is a lot of fat that could be cut from the current expenses (if required). For example, we probably do not need Amazon Prime, Netflix, HBO, Hulu, Spotify, and cable…seems like we could get rid of a couple of those and it would not be the end of the world.
The monthly details:
- House-related: $2650 (Mortgage/HOA)
- Health Premiums: $870
- Utilities: $355 (Gas, water & electric)
- Groceries/Restaurants/Miscellaneous: $2000
- Entertainment: $425 (all the aforementioned streaming services, plus cell phones & internet included here)
- Insurance: $300
I use $105K as the expense number in the online calculators. I have run our numbers through FireCalc (100%), Personal Capital (97%) and Engaging Data (98%). I forecast out for 39 years (when I turn 95.) The expense numbers do not include projects (kitchen remodel, tuition, etc) – I track those in FireCalc on the “Portfolio Changes” tab and do something similar with the other two calculators. So really the extra $25K would be for travel, taxes, car-related expenses, health-related issues and whatever else life throws our way.
Current Assets (both DW and me combined):
- Retirement: $1.15 million (75% index & dividend funds, about 10% REIT and industry-specific funds and about 15% in bonds/targeted retirement date/small cap funds)
- Taxable: $315K (Stocks & stock ETF, Bond ETF and about $80K in cash/money market account-the emergency fund)
- Health Savings: $25K
- College 529: $103K
- Total assets: Just under $1.6 million (current asset allocation 90% stock/5% bond/5% cash) This does not include equity in house.
Current Liabilities: House is valued at about $525K and we have $266K remaining on a 15-year mortgage (2.75% fixed-14 years/10 months left). We use credit cards for the cash-back deal but are paid off every month. Both cars are paid for (2012 & 2015 – bought new). We have three more years of college to pay for with at least one year sitting in the 529 now.
Current Income: $70K salary (no benefits). I get $18K in disability (COLA adjusted) for the rest of my life. Portfolio generates about $25K in dividends (although I am curious about the second half of this year). We have always reinvested dividends. I used the social security calculator to determine the current best time to apply for benefits, so the numbers right now are $12K per year for DW (year 66) in 2027 and $41K for me in 2034 (year 70).
Three Concerns:
1. COVID – are we heading for another deep drop in the market? I figure we have savings for a year before we must start liquidating assets, but, just like everyone, I do not want to retire at the beginning of a down market.
2. College Tuition – I think I have projected high on tuition for the next three years, but one never knows until the bill appears.
3. Asset Allocation – I know it is out of whack for my age, but I’ve always been a buy-and-hold guy, so I struggle with selling perfectly good stocks to convert to bonds. I think I need to overcome that phobia though.
Three other pieces of info.
1. I am not crazy about my current j*b. I like some aspects of it, but if I am honest, I am not in the “start-up” mindset of being willing to work all hours and wear multiple hats. Also, there are some aspects of it that drive me insane and it seems like the insane aspects are getting so they are about 75% of the time. I have no equity in the company. Additionally, while I have not asked directly, I would be willing to go hourly part-time with this company if I could just do the stuff I like to do (and am good at) and my guess is they they would probably jump at that. So that could generate another $1000 a month minimum, but I do not include that figure in the FIRE calculations.
2. I had a j*b offer with a position I could do for a couple years easily, but because of COVID, there is a hiring freeze. This j*b would have a decent salary (would easily cover current expenses) and would have excellent benefits. I could see myself doing this for a couple years to pad the portfolio, but it might be several months before the freeze is lifted.
3. DW and I have two major hobbies that cost money – travel and restaurants – both of which are not really available to us right now. So if I were to quit now, we would be withdrawing less from the portfolio than normal for the foreseeable future. We both have plenty of other interests to occupy our time, so being bored in retirement is definitely not a concern.
So, my questions are, given my concerns, do you see anything major that I have missed? While I realize there are no guarantees in life, if you were in my position, would you be more willing to take the plunge if you knew there was a j*b available to you probably within six months if you needed it? Or should I just hang on to the current drive and put up with the daily frustrations?