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Found on LinkedIn. Nice kicks.
At Johnny’s Hideaway in ATL. Ask me anything.
Additional Posts in FIRE Financial Independence Retire Early
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Subject Expert
You can’t find a number number because you already hit it, you literally have enough to FIRE.
It’s entirely your choice whether you actually want to retire, or continue to amass wealth, or continue to work for prestige.
How long back did you set $3M as target? Our FIRE number changed from $2M (~2010) to $3M (~2020) to $5M (now).
In my case, two gaps in our planning.
- the ‘25x’ formula doesn’t consider inflation between now and the retirement age, because it assumes that today is the retirement day. Hence, the FIRE number went through 50% inflation adjustment between 2010 and 2026.
- unable to consider the lifestyle changes that come when you come closer to your FIRE number - better college, bigger home, more vacation & increasing kids’ expenses.
Coach
The market return is supposed to cover inflation every year on the average.
Most - none? - of you will ever FIRE.
The percentage of people who know about the concept of FIRE is low. In that group, the % of people who have the means, is lower. In that group, the % of people who actually have the will to FIRE, is super low.
You all are in the 3rd category. And most of you will never FIRE. And that's ok - if you are being true to yourself. You are used to a lifestyle that only a small, small group of people have ever achieved in the history of humanity. It's hard to walk away from it all. The "onemoreyear-itis" or the "onemoremillion-itis" is very real.
If you had to recalibrate your numbers 3 times already, your underlying assumptions were either incorrect or you did not take into account all parameters. The math still maths. People who want to, including me, have taken the leap to FIRE. Macro economics conditions change, recessions come and go, inflation is always a thing. If certain turn of recent events has you worried, you are not ready to FIRE.
I am the third group and don't find anything unfriendly about your comment. As with most things in life, there are stated values or preferences and observed values or preferences. I'd like to not work and I want to fly first class on international flights. I'd like to not work and I don't want to have to pay out of pocket for healthcare insurance. Once our house is paid off (within 2 years) and all our kids are out of the house (also within 2 years), I think I'll feel less angsty about doing it. I'm not comfortable pulling the trigger right now and I'm not upset with myself about that. I view it as my gut telling me it's not time. But I also know I grew up poor and I'd ultimately be okay if I went back to living in a trailer with well water and a septic system.
I just went past 5M and a paid off house at 47 years old in n a HCOL suburb. Always thought that was my goal, but suddenly feel like i should just keep going while the kids are still in the house for another 8 years, since I can’t travel the world full time yet anyway….and then just do it on a nicer level once they go off to college. So now targeting 8-10M. Hoping to just cover my costs with a salary from now on and let what I get grow another 50-100% depending on the markets.
Same. Feel like I need much more than $3m now. Probably $5m is a better number these days to be really comfortable and support market corrections for a few years in a row if that happens
Coach
For market correction years, you keep liquid assets on hand so you don’t touch the portfolio while it recovers
Same. Went from a target of 2.5 to current 3.5 and target of 5.
I think a lot of people miss the fact that you are not guaranteed this level of health and energy when you’re older. Can you pick up additional work when you get older even if physically less energetic? For me, I’d rather retire now and work later. I live with a chronic health condition and it will only get worse as I get older. Might as well enjoy it when I’m at the height.
Coach
The 3M+ will continue to grow if you keep your expenses in check. Take each anxiety one by one and put a price tag on it in ten years and work backward. If you just don’t know what you would with your time, that’s not uncommon. Read Designing your Life and figure it out. At this stage, life starts speeding by and you don’t know how many good, active years you have left. Don’t squander years at the office if you don’t have to/don’t want to.
*You may just need to reassess your portfolio mix to have more security - maybe more cash, munis, or TIPS.
*Maybe a fund to help your kids if AI makes it harder for them to find jobs and they need to reskill (if you are retiring this doesn’t seem to affect you personally unless you are worried about energy and water, but most likely citizens will revolt before we get there).
*If you want to positively affect the global environment, adjust to have a fund that you source annual donations from. Otherwise, the wealthy (like you) are largely protected from global shocks.
*Instead of a number, you can think of an age that allows you to pay off the mortgage and that still allows you to take new directions in life.
*Have a backup plan in case everything really goes to hell, like moving to a low cost country. But your survival is not at risk, and it seems you can safely retire.
What does this number represent? net worth ?including brokerage +401k+roth+real estate?
Subject Expert
Time to get more granular, OP.
How much do you spend, exclusive of mortgage?
Do you have plans of what to do in retirement, and how they will change your spending?
How much is your mortgage?
You old are you and spouse?
What is your bequest motive?
Do you have an anxious personality in other areas beside finances, and are you working on it in any way? Have you found ways to help?
Other than the finances, do you actually want to retire now? You know, if you don't want to, you don't have to justify it with financial factors. You can just be financially ready and not in the mood yet.