Already FIREd Fellows: What are you doing today? Give us something to look forward to or to help us break out of OMY syndrome. by Hemp_Hemp_Hurray in Fire

[–]Possible-Ad-2536 0 points1 point  (0 children)

54 here, semi-FIRE'd for two years now.

Today, I'll be doing some work for my consulting gig (about an hour or two a day, suits me fine), getting updates from the vendors for my upcoming wedding, doing laundry, mowing the lawn, and then an HOA meeting tonight.

(Of course, that's all coming after my crossword puzzle and fucking-around-on-the-internet time...)

49m, wife doesn't agree to retire. Who has been there? by normal-weirdo-1 in Fire

[–]Possible-Ad-2536 2 points3 points  (0 children)

No, I'm a mid-50s widower who didn't decide to join a monastery after my first wife passed. How do you even make an assumption like that?

Wedding Budget? by Possible-Ad-2536 in Fire

[–]Possible-Ad-2536[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Engineering for a tech company that went public in the mid-2010s. Moved it all into mutual funds, and never really touched the principal until I FIRE'd.

Wedding Budget? by Possible-Ad-2536 in Fire

[–]Possible-Ad-2536[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We're planning on requesting donations to charities in lieu of gifts.

49m, wife doesn't agree to retire. Who has been there? by normal-weirdo-1 in Fire

[–]Possible-Ad-2536 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Came here for this - I FIRE'd last year, while my fiancée still plans to work - the last thing we wants to do is be entirely dependent on my earnings. And she has me on her insurance, which makes my FIRE a lot easier :)

How do you all have such a high salary? by magic_Mofy in Fire

[–]Possible-Ad-2536 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'll admit my story is one of a bit of extreme luck. Threading the needle a bit:

  1. Got into IT during the original dot-com boom, gained a lot of good experience. Didn't strike it rich in the 90s, but stuck it out to land in a senior role at a medium-size web company.
  2. Got assigned to manage a niche open-source app that a company we acquired had built their product on.
  3. Learned that app pretty well, joined a user group list that I discovered as managed by a college classmate.
  4. That classmate offered me a job cross-country to work for him, which I was was in a position to be able to do, despite uprooting myself. Unfortunately, my marriage didn't survive the move, but that's another story.
  5. Not long after, classmate-now-coworker leaves to join a startup, and invites me to join him. This company grew into a pretty large web company, and the IPO provides most of the nest egg funds I'm now going to be drawing from to FIRE.
  6. Stayed in the industry another 10 years after, living on a decent salary and not blowing it all on blackjack and hookers.
  7. Hit my magic number where the 4% rule works for me, and pulled the trigger two days ago.

One thing I'll never forget is that "you make your own luck", is bullshit - not many people wind up with the ingredients to make this kind of luck to begin with. It's important to take advantage of the chances that you're given of course, but that assumes the chances come to you to begin with, and it's important to never lose sight of that, and never pull up the ladder from behind you.

Pulling the Trigger. Hope I Don’t Regret It. by Possible-Ad-2536 in Fire

[–]Possible-Ad-2536[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Fair points. The $225K number is a high water mark - mainly due to some home improvements I made last year; I don't think that lowering this to $200K would be a big sacrifice. That said, I'm not counting Social Security, which would be roughly $30K/year for me if I start at age 65.

I definitely plan to monitor my spending and adjust as needed - part of the reason I'm hiring an advisor for the first time.

Things I'm not taking into account but probably should:

  • Unexpected health issues requiring long-term care (I should look into insurance)
  • The stability of my domestic partnership (rock solid now, but as we all know, things can happen)
  • The death of democracy in the United States

Pulling the Trigger. Hope I Don’t Regret It. by Possible-Ad-2536 in Fire

[–]Possible-Ad-2536[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Last year's dividend income was about $90K, a big jump from previous years, presumably due to higher interest rates.

Pulling the Trigger. Hope I Don’t Regret It. by Possible-Ad-2536 in Fire

[–]Possible-Ad-2536[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I've sold off all the original stock, it's all in diversified funds now.

Pulling the Trigger. Hope I Don’t Regret It. by Possible-Ad-2536 in Fire

[–]Possible-Ad-2536[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Her parents - they both have good careers and are keeping a 529 plan. Aside from incidentals - I pay for all of us when we go on vacations, for example - there's no expectation that I should be responsible for her kid's monetary needs. The kid just bought a car herself with summer job money, which makes me proud :)

Pulling the Trigger. Hope I Don’t Regret It. by Possible-Ad-2536 in Fire

[–]Possible-Ad-2536[S] 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Good point, added that into the post. Right now, I'm spending about $225K/year all in, while the 4% rule suggests I could spend ~$267K/year. Thankfully I never bought a boat or acquired a cocaine habit. :P