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I recently interviewed for L7 EM at Google and had 4 great interviews and one not so great system design. I submitted external referrals all of which gave great feedback. The recruiter said the next step is team match/interviews and then the HC. Anyone in a similar situation? What was the result? Google
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You're right on track, OP. A paid off home provides you a great opportunity to FIRE quickly not to account for the mental peace afforded by not having a monthly mortgage. (Just know that in purely numbers, if your current mortgage is tied to a low, low rate, paying off the mortgage faster is not going to be the most financially optimal play, if you were to invest the extra payments into the markets. But that's ok)
Now, extend your thought one more step. When your assets start generating $100k annually, you have FIRE-d! You don't need a job. You can still decide to have a job in something you really enjoy, but there is no need.
Personally, paying off my mortgage was one of the last steps in my FIRE journey. We - spouse, child - live very comfortably on $60k/year in spending.
Mentor
Some people on this app live in such a bubble ...
In 2021, $67,463 was the median household income in the United States. This is down from $68,400 in 2019.
https://dqydj.com/average-median-top-household-income-percentiles/
I will gladly lend someone a $1000, if I can secure a lien on an “expensive” item.
Coach
I have two kids and my “good lifestyle” costs roughly $215k per year. After taxes.
So no, $100k would not be enough
Coach
It’s a 1600 sqft house in CA.
And who said I wouldn’t be working? The scenario OP describes, they are still working. Just less stressfully
If you retire prior to Age 65, do not forget Healthcare. It is not cheap and it would eat into your $100k. Also, do everything possible to avoid taking Social Security until age 70. If you need me to explain, DM me.
I am retiring at age 61 and getting my CFP for a retirement career
Part of having a job still is for the insurance. So that should be covered, I’d pump my HSA or get something premium when I’m older.
Mentor
Only you can calculate what your living expenses truly are as everybody has a different lifestyle.
That being said, don’t forget to account for property taxes / utilities / groceries to continue to rise in price over time. $100k now won’t cover anywhere near the same volume of expenses as 10 years from now.
Granted it is going to wildly depend upon location, I feel like it was more than good enough to sustain a good lifestyle 14+ years ago. $100k is barely above the median household income now. If the question is “is $100k enough to live comfortably outside of a HCOL city after mortgage is paid off” then yeah, most likely, until (if) you have kids.
Barely above the median…?
The objective is to live a stress free life, I’ve worked in industry so I know how much I have to give to kill it and esp with all the exp under my belt I feel like I can easily do some BA gig which pays good and requires like 8hrs of real output for me. But it would be great not caring about promos, performance metrics, lay offs, company politics. Just cashing my checks and going on trips with my family VERY often
Coach
Industry gives 2 weeks of vacation a year to BAs. You take much more than that and they show you the door. So not sure what fantasy role you are thinking of.
For any income you get that’s over $100k, please Zelle me bby. DM me and I’ll send you my phone number and name 😘
I’m assuming this is all in the States.
With kids there’s the location infrastructure with raising them. For instance, do you need to live in a certain neighborhood to access nearby good public schools? If not going to public school, how much is private school tuition per year per kid? After school activities? Sports leagues?
Not sure when your mortgage will be paid off - in your 50s or 60s? Even though the accounting profession has a staff shortage problem, there’s still lotsa age-related job discrimination that goes on.
Your 40s are when subtle health problems show up (breast cancer, heart disease, diabetes), and others will show up or worsen as you age, when medical insurance premiums are the highest if you’re not covered with a company that’s got decent volume negotiations w a carrier, all just before you’re Medicare eligible at 65.
Aging parents will likely need care and help, whether they live with you or not. Medicare doesn’t cover everything, there’s supplemental which can be a few hundred or thousand per month per person, plus every little visit for this test or that procedure, plus daily meds.
And those kiddos in college thatve graduated, they may need some help getting started with you as a guarantor for an apartment or maybe a down payment on a car or car insurance or a house, b/c they got student loans!
And your paid off house? As mentioned, yep, ongoing repairs, insurance and property taxes. And if applicable, same w a car, possibly minus the property tax part.
Wife and I live a pretty luxurious DINK lifestyle (lots of eating out, lots of travel) in a LCOL area spending ~$160K a year. About $30K of that is mortgage (not including property tax, since paying off the mortgage won't eliminate that). So we'd need ~$130K in today's post-tax dollars to support our current lifestyle
I'm sure we could live very well on less. For this much in LCOL, we just don't even think about purchases. Don't feel like cooking? Go out or order whatever we're craving. Want to get away? Book flights and hotels for a weekend trip
This depends on your family situation, COL, how much you’re saving, local taxes, etc. I’ve been debt free (including mortgage) for a decade, and my husband and I could live very comfortably on a single 100k income if we weren’t focused on saving aggressively.
A well paid job doesn’t necessarily have to come with poor WLB. As my income has risen the positions have become more flexible and less demanding than my low paid early career jobs. When I started in tech in 2014 (not my first career), I was only making 60k in a BSA type role that required long hours and frequent travel for client projects. Today I work 100% remote in the consulting practice within a publicly traded SaaS company making 203k without the 60+ hour weeks.
100k was a low estimate, I’m at about 220 TC rn so just thinking in terms of if I downgrade to one my earlier roles which were super easy and had great WLB. Hard to imagine needing loads of money after paying off my mortgage. Feel like 130ish should be enough to travel and sustain lifestyle expenses but understand this is totally dependent on lifestyle
What level are you at Deloitte?
It depends on a few things. For perspective, we have been 100% debt-free (including zero mortgage) for a decade. We very aggressively fund 529s, 401ks, UTMAs, and a mutual fund, and are actively buying company stock at an employee discount. Removing all of those from the equation, we “live” on less than $100,000 a year after taxes. But, we do all of the above to allow us to retire at 55. Good luck!
Not including the mortgage, my husband and I (no kid) spend less than $100k a year. It’s doable, but also depends on your retirement plan and current savings for retirement. If we only make $100k a year, we wouldn’t be able to continue to contribute to our savings.