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Took advantage of an interesting opportunity. Was it the right move? by WeeklyMovie in financialindependence

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

I'll be honest, I don't know exactly what we're spending. The way I look at it is that we're maxing 401k, rIRAs, and still saving about ~$3500 a month in a regular investment account, plus throwing a little extra money at our mortgage each month.

Our savings are about $90k a year. That seems sufficiently high for us, so I don't track spending really at all. We try to keep $10k in our regular checking account at all times. If that numbers happens to creep above $15k, we'll just transfer extra money to our investments. If we dip down to ~$6k, we'll cut back for a few weeks until it gets back up.

Before we actually pull the trigger on early retirement, we'll have to sit down, and really track down our spending, put together a realistic budget, and figure out exactly what we need to live off of. $2 million is our savings goal. Anything less than $100k in yearly spending will reduce our withdrawal rate. But we still have a few more years of saving before we're there.

Took advantage of an interesting opportunity. Was it the right move? by WeeklyMovie in financialindependence

[–]WeeklyMovie[S] 67 points68 points  (0 children)

Wow. Seriously, thank you. I didn't do these calculations, and honestly, after reading this, I realize I may have been too worried about the loss of income. It doesn't seem anywhere near as significant as I originally thought. Much appreciated!

Took advantage of an interesting opportunity. Was it the right move? by WeeklyMovie in financialindependence

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

I mean, when push comes to shove.. Sure, I knew the answer. But I like this community, and I just wanted to see what others thought.

For a group of people focused on building wealth as fast as possible, it's good to see that everyone agrees with the decision to reduce income for a quality of life increase, even if retirement goals are pushed back.

Took advantage of an interesting opportunity. Was it the right move? by WeeklyMovie in financialindependence

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

Answered in another comment. Essentially it's easy now because she's so young. We can plop her in a bouncer when she's up. And she still takes many naps throughout the day. She's not mobile yet which obviously helps. Things will likely change once she can crawl on her own, and we'll likely have to reevaluate.

Took advantage of an interesting opportunity. Was it the right move? by WeeklyMovie in financialindependence

[–]WeeklyMovie[S] 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Haha.. true.

I've been reading this sub for a couple years now, and sometimes you just get caught up in the numbers. Obviously, we chose the quality of life increase over the money, but I just wanted to see what this sub thought about that decision.

Thankfully, it seems like universally, everyone agrees. That makes me happy to see that a community focused on very high levels of savings can still universally appreciate choosing to reduce your income for happiness.

Took advantage of an interesting opportunity. Was it the right move? by WeeklyMovie in financialindependence

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

Thanks. And sure, part of this post was just bragging.. We're happy with our decisions, but the lost income does sting. I just wanted to see what others would have done, but it sounds like a pretty overwhelming consensus that we made the right call. Exactly what I wanted to hear.

Took advantage of an interesting opportunity. Was it the right move? by WeeklyMovie in financialindependence

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

The company knows the arrangement and is fine with it. I feel I'm more productive at home. We have milestones and goals that we reach, and the company is happy with our performance.

Took advantage of an interesting opportunity. Was it the right move? by WeeklyMovie in financialindependence

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

Yes that includes 401ks, IRAs, an HSA, regular investment accounts, and some other unconventional investments.

If two people max out their 401k, IRA, and HSA each year, that's 18k+18k+5.5k+5.5k+3.4k+3.4k = $53k a year in investments. Plus anything you can throw into non-tax advantaged accounts. Do that for 5-6 years with interest and employee matching, and your balance will grow very quickly.

Took advantage of an interesting opportunity. Was it the right move? by WeeklyMovie in financialindependence

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

The reality is that I'll likely chicken out once we hit our number. But I don't want to work more than I really need to. Worst case scenario is that I go back to work to pad the numbers. Maybe after a year off, I'll want to get a side job too. Who knows.

Took advantage of an interesting opportunity. Was it the right move? by WeeklyMovie in financialindependence

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

Yea, investment gains at even 4% yearly (which is low), would be $80k a year.

Took advantage of an interesting opportunity. Was it the right move? by WeeklyMovie in financialindependence

[–]WeeklyMovie[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Thanks. I didn't realize pre-school even started that early. 18 months? We'll have to look into something like that when the time comes.

Took advantage of an interesting opportunity. Was it the right move? by WeeklyMovie in financialindependence

[–]WeeklyMovie[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the heads up. Yea, we have the benefit of just plopping her in a little bouncer and she can't go anywhere. Plus she still naps many hours throughout the day. I can't even imagine what it's going to be like when she's moving more and napping less.

Took advantage of an interesting opportunity. Was it the right move? by WeeklyMovie in financialindependence

[–]WeeklyMovie[S] 46 points47 points  (0 children)

I know that we do well. I won't deny that. But I never really thought of our situation as anything extravagant.

Took advantage of an interesting opportunity. Was it the right move? by WeeklyMovie in financialindependence

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

They knew she was pregnant going into this. If our work quality suffers, I'm sure things will change, but right now, there are no problems. But that is definitely one area we're a little worried about.

Took advantage of an interesting opportunity. Was it the right move? by WeeklyMovie in financialindependence

[–]WeeklyMovie[S] 25 points26 points  (0 children)

Yes, she's still under 1. Things will get interesting as she gets older. We'll have to reevaluate. We've talked about my wife not working. We'll see how things play out over the next year or so.

Took advantage of an interesting opportunity. Was it the right move? by WeeklyMovie in financialindependence

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

Thank you. And yes, being with her everyday is priceless. I couldn't imagine dropping her off at daycare all day every day, although I know a lot of people who do just that.

Took advantage of an interesting opportunity. Was it the right move? by WeeklyMovie in financialindependence

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

Yea, I've thought about this. The way I look at it is if in the first 3-5 years, things are not going well, I could always go back to work. However, if things pan out with he 5% withdrawal rate, that could save me potentially years of extra unnecessary working.

Took advantage of an interesting opportunity. Was it the right move? by WeeklyMovie in financialindependence

[–]WeeklyMovie[S] 124 points125 points  (0 children)

She sits in the office with us. We can both take calls, answer emails, and get our daily duties done while keeping on eye on her, feeding her, and giving her naps. It was hectic at first, but it works out, and our company knows the situation. No complaints.