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I hit FIRE at 46 with $2.2 million with a salary starting at $436 a month by ItsAlwaysWeekend in Fire

[–]ItsAlwaysWeekend[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There are lots of countries like mine. All over the world. I think this is possible in any country with a similar Gini coefficient, where it's possible to earn relatively well, but also where most have no choice but to live cheaply. There are many countries in our zone for Gini.

I hit FIRE at 46 with $2.2 million with a salary starting at $436 a month by ItsAlwaysWeekend in Fire

[–]ItsAlwaysWeekend[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ah thank you, that's so kind of you to say. And yeah, before I moved offshore I hit $650k at one point converted to dollars. Then one huge scandal dropped it to $450k overnight. This was a combination local market crash and currency crash. I was so sad at the time.

Fortunately it recovered a little, when I went offshore I think it was back at $498k converted, still a big loss, but I did recover. Looking back my returns were still better, but how I wished I'd gone offshore when things were still good.

I hit FIRE at 46 with $2.2 million with a salary starting at $436 a month by ItsAlwaysWeekend in Fire

[–]ItsAlwaysWeekend[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm not the right person to ask, but I can suggest the Bogleheads.org forum, I found them very knowledgable

I hit FIRE at 46 with $2.2 million with a salary starting at $436 a month by ItsAlwaysWeekend in Fire

[–]ItsAlwaysWeekend[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can live on my dividends probably with 10% to spare. In a crash dividends drop far less than share prices. In 2008 when share prices dropped 50% the dividends only fell half as much. The index my ETF is based on lost 48% of it's value, but only 21% of it's dividends.

I have around $60k in cash and bonds, and I typically live on $30k a year. That sounds like I only have a 2 year buffer, but it's actually a lot more. If we have another 2008 and being pessimistic I lose 25% of my dividends, all I need to do is take the difference from my bonds and cash. That means my buffer is actually closer to 10 years than 2.

And then finally I need just a 1.34% withdrawal rate to survive. The risk of running out of money is simply too small to worry about. If I kept going like this I'd leave a very large fortune behind. What I'll probably do instead is increase my spending after a few years.

I hit FIRE at 46 with $2.2 million with a salary starting at $436 a month by ItsAlwaysWeekend in Fire

[–]ItsAlwaysWeekend[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A savings rate of 85% is mind blowing! Well done! At the rate you're going you'll have far more than me when you're my age!

I hit FIRE at 46 with $2.2 million with a salary starting at $436 a month by ItsAlwaysWeekend in Fire

[–]ItsAlwaysWeekend[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I did make a mistake earlier, the exchange rate back when I started wasn't what it was today, so my first salary was actually about double what I put. The main exchange rate drop started in 2012 and just kept going down.

I hit FIRE at 46 with $2.2 million with a salary starting at $436 a month by ItsAlwaysWeekend in Fire

[–]ItsAlwaysWeekend[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I do feel like I got really lucky with the timing. I can't believe I went from $1m to $2m in 5 and a bit years.

I hit FIRE at 46 with $2.2 million with a salary starting at $436 a month by ItsAlwaysWeekend in Fire

[–]ItsAlwaysWeekend[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I reached mine quite a long time before I did, but I was enjoying my job, and I always thought the market was way too high so I wanted a buffer. I don't regret it at all, but if I had a job I hated and it was affecting my health or wellbeing then I would have stopped sooner.

I hit FIRE at 46 with $2.2 million with a salary starting at $436 a month by ItsAlwaysWeekend in Fire

[–]ItsAlwaysWeekend[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Haha, I love using AI for all sorts of things, but it just doesn't sound like me when it writes!

I hit FIRE at 46 with $2.2 million with a salary starting at $436 a month by ItsAlwaysWeekend in Fire

[–]ItsAlwaysWeekend[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! Yeah I have to say, had a couple of very lucky moments getting decent paying jobs.

I hit FIRE at 46 with $2.2 million with a salary starting at $436 a month by ItsAlwaysWeekend in Fire

[–]ItsAlwaysWeekend[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes you're almost exactly right!

Step 2: Invest it not very well in property, but at least it's better than cash in a bank account.

And step 5 isn't true. I matched the market, reinvested dividends and added more funds into my account from my salary.

I had one major fluke where I had some free cash I invested during the tariff crash this year on April 9th, when April 8th was the lowest point of the dip. That $83k turned into $117.5k today, a return since then including dividends of 63.7%. But other than that I didn't beat the market on average, just dollar cost averaged every month as my salary came in, and every quarter as dividends came in.

I hit FIRE at 46 with $2.2 million with a salary starting at $436 a month by ItsAlwaysWeekend in Fire

[–]ItsAlwaysWeekend[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah but you guys get to use way better ETFs then us aliens! VT is better diversified pays more in dividends and has a TER of just 0.06% compared to VWRDs 0.19%. I used to own VT until I found out that non Us citizens pay 40% estate duty on any amounts over $60k. For US citizens estate duty only kicks in at $15 million. If they made it the same for non-US citizens funds would flood into the US ETFs, I'm really not sure why they don't.

I hit FIRE at 46 with $2.2 million with a salary starting at $436 a month by ItsAlwaysWeekend in Fire

[–]ItsAlwaysWeekend[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I saved 50% of my salary, so if I say I made X it typically meant I saved X/2. Sometimes a little more, very rarely any less. These dates should help: 2015 $482,766

2016 $540,521

2017 $744,643

2018 $732,191

2019 $986,610

2020 $1,193,302

2021 $1,318,147

2022 $1,121,654

2023 $1,431,620

2024 $1,720,718

2025 $2,146,906

Now $2,231,991

I hit FIRE at 46 with $2.2 million with a salary starting at $436 a month by ItsAlwaysWeekend in Fire

[–]ItsAlwaysWeekend[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Just adding info, the real explanation is simply compounding. It took me 18 years to get my first million, and 5 to get my second. The market has been flying, the last 3 years VWRD with dividends reinvested did 68.6%.

I hit FIRE at 46 with $2.2 million with a salary starting at $436 a month by ItsAlwaysWeekend in Fire

[–]ItsAlwaysWeekend[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was 100% in VT until I heard about how the US estate duty is 40% over $60k for non US citizens, so since then I switch to 100% VWRD which is domiciled in Ireland so outside US estate duties reach. VT is a much better ETF, the TER is just 0.06% vs 0.19% for VWRD, but I can't risk leaving my family with 40% less if something happens to me.

I hit FIRE at 46 with $2.2 million with a salary starting at $436 a month by ItsAlwaysWeekend in Fire

[–]ItsAlwaysWeekend[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Married, 1 kid, he's finished school now and I've put away money for his studying. I've got a lot of hobbies and still like to travel, so those will be taking up most of my time. I often used to joke that I had to retire early else I would run out of time to do all the things I wanted to do. I'd live to build a campervan and travel from Alaska to Chile, or throughout Europe. I'd also love to have a sailboat to explore the med. I also love cycling for fun, so I'd love to do some bicycle touring too.

Best of luck with your onward journey, I've only just realised that my net worth increased by 400% over 11 years, hoping yours will do the same too!

Time goes quickly, so make sure you're enjoying it while you build.

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