When Were You Ready To Pull The Trigger?

[nvestysly]

At one point our goal was 20X and when we reached that point realized that was too close for comfort and FIRECalc indicated significant chances of failure.

Our next goal was 25X and while FIRECalc showed much better success rates we realized that was still not a sufficient cushion for us.

We continued to save and invest, along with understanding our expenses, and finally found ourselves at 33X and FIRECalc showed 100% success almost without fail. We used FIRECalc along with a series of spreadsheets, including some budgeting calculations for off-chart spending, and finally decided 33X was sufficient knowing we may find ourselves back into 20X - 30X spending with market downturns.

 

[CyclingInvestor]

I was ready to retire when my dividend income (from my all-stock portfolio) minus health insurance and taxes equaled my take-home pay minus mortgage (which I had just paid off) and savings.

This happened in 2004, although I worked 2 more years because I was in a sweet spot at work. I retired with 17x my gross pay (about 30x my expenses?) at 48.

 

[scrinch]

We (57 and 53) are at 50x estimated expenses, and will retire this year. I'll find out in a couple of weeks whether I'll be eligible for a severance package to help ease my exit.