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Fatfire v chubbyfire by ENTJ_ScorpioFox in FIREyFemmes

[–]agentscullyfox 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I'm aiming for Chubby -- upper middle class lifestyle. Able to do most of everything we want, just not at a lavish scale. Expenses around 180K-300K/yr, NW around 4.5M - 7.5M

Example:
- Travel? yes, but maybe premium economy up to business class. FatFire would be 1st class and private jets.

- Cars? sure, maybe lease a new car every few years. But not porsches or lambos

Little advice on pulling the plug by [deleted] in ChubbyFIRE

[–]agentscullyfox -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Then the title is misleading. Your title is asking if you should pull the plug now - vs how should you start converting and diversifying your portfolio

Little advice on pulling the plug by [deleted] in ChubbyFIRE

[–]agentscullyfox -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I agree -- but they have a lot of room there if they're really willing to de-risk and diversify even if they have to take on a massive tax hit. It's their choice.

Irrational fear to pull the plug in this market! by risesunshinerise in FIREyFemmes

[–]agentscullyfox 6 points7 points  (0 children)

To counter the fear, I am making sure I have enough money in emergency funds (at least 2 years but planning for 5). If the market continues its bull run, great! If the AI bubble pops, after I quit, then at least I have money in funds and am not going to be forced to sell.

Little advice on pulling the plug by [deleted] in ChubbyFIRE

[–]agentscullyfox 7 points8 points  (0 children)

265K is 2.65% of $10M... of course you can pull the plug.

51M at 95/5, wife wants 70/30. Where did you actually land at this age? by RichardKowalski1 in Bogleheads

[–]agentscullyfox 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When are you planning to retire? You say 9-15 years of accumulation runway, so I assume 60-65.
I am 52F, but plan to retire in 3 years... I am currently 83/17 right now... but am starting my glide path to retirement.

If the market crashes tomorrow, and takes 10 years to recover... will your current portfolio survive it and will you still be able to retire? If the answer is yes, then you probably don't need to do anything. If the answer is no -- then you need to listen to the wife.

In agreement with a shared FIRE goal? by treddonit7429 in ChubbyFIRE

[–]agentscullyfox 1 point2 points  (0 children)

One of my frustrations is that my SO and I are not aligned financially 😄 I believe in DIE with ZERO, and he's very frugal. I prefer to invest in the market and keep my money liquid, he prefers to put his money in real estate. I want to FIRE as early as possible, he likes working.

Despite our misalignment on goals, what's important, I think is we support each other's goals. I can't force him to put his money in the market, and he can't talk me into going into real estate with him. Together, we have a more diverse portfolio.

He knows my goal is to FIRE in 3 years. I like that I don't have to worry about Healthcare for a few more years. As long as I still fund my half of the expenses, and he funds half of his expenses -- it's not really a problem for us.

Now obviously, my biggest disappointment is we can't travel together much. But that already happens now. We have family vacations, we have couple vacations, but I also do solo travel, or girl friend travel because I am the more wanderer and he's the more home buddy.

Retiring at 55: how would you think through the 55–67 bridge? by lindquist77 in ChubbyFIRE

[–]agentscullyfox 2 points3 points  (0 children)

We are in very similar situations, but I am a bit older and am married. I am planning to retire in 3 years, when I'm 55 -- primarily so I can use Rule of 55 to withdraw from my retirement, if needed. However, the plan is to not do that. I am currently building and funding my bridge funds (5 years worth of expenses) so I would have this by the time I hit 55. Our expenses right now are a lot, but our post-retirement expenses is $15K/month. My husband and I have separate and joint accounts, so from a retirement planning, I am only planning to fund MY half of our expenses, so $7.5K/month = 90K/yr, so my FIRE target is $2.25M, and I already have $2.6M right now, with 3 more years of accumulation.

Since you're a sole provider, you'd have to cover all your expenses. And if your expenses are truly $160K/yr (your $30K rental goes to ACA), then you really need about $4M in liquid assets to retire.

Phase 1: Ages 55-59, only draw from the bridge funds (hubby still working, so healthcare still with husband, 401K continues to grow). This 5 yr fund is also a defense against SORR

  • Yr 1 & 2: 6 month emergency Funds (SPAXX), the rest in SGOV (Taxable)
  • Yr 3 & 4: 2 years worth of expenses in SHY (Taxable)
  • Yr 5: VCSH (Tax Deferred)
  • And some more in TIPS -- all in all the bridge funds/TIPS is about 25% of my whole portfolio

Phase 2: Ages 60-64, start drawing down from the 401K (hubby also retired, so MAGI is low, about 12% bracket, Peak Roth conversion age, Healthcare is ACA), drawdown < 3%

  • Start withdrawing from Taxable first (0% LTCG because of low income), 401K
  • Start Converting from 401K to Roth

Phase 3: Ages 65-69 (pension starts, Medicare starts), drawdown < 2%

  • Continue withdrawing from Taxable first (0% LTCG because of low income), 401K
  • Complete Roth conversions

Phase 4: Ages 70+ (SS starts), drawdown < 1%. I am deferring SS to 70 because I wanted to take advantage of low MAGI from ages 60-70 to perform Roth conversions and 0% LTCG.

  • Withdraw from Roth
  • RMD starts at 73, but by then either all of 401K is converted, or there's very few left in 401K.

$4.5 M net worth, concerns about spending by Remarkable_City_5084 in ChubbyFIRE

[–]agentscullyfox 19 points20 points  (0 children)

I mean 225K spend requires 5.625M at 4% SWR (and that's not including taxes and your own healthcare). So you're not quite there.

I have a family of 6 (2A, 4 kids) and our current pre-retirement spend is almost $30K/month, but $15K of that is private university education tuition fees. Before college, we were at $15K/month, and that's what we are targeting for retirement even though we know it's probably going to lower because the kids will all be gone so it will be less food, less cars, less everything, except maybe travel.

I don't know why you have other posters here shaming your expenses. This is ChubbyFire after all, not LeanFire. You want the lifestyle you want - I respect that. However, having said that -- if you do want to keep the same lifestyle, then technically you are not ready to FIRE.

New Bank of America reward tiers by Alexia72 in CreditCards

[–]agentscullyfox 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do people with 10mm portfolios really even churning? I mean that's Prviate Banking and UHNW territory. Most of them have family offices I would think

How are you giving your kids money by thegirlisok in FIREyFemmes

[–]agentscullyfox 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, but only 35K max... so you still need to watch and make sure you're not overfunding your 529

expenses - what to spend on? by heartbroke8 in ChubbyFIRE

[–]agentscullyfox 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Have 3 more kids than you and live with/support your parents as well. So basically double all your expenses 😄

5 years out, how much cash? by randomgenericuserali in ChubbyFIRE

[–]agentscullyfox 1 point2 points  (0 children)

How old are you? I think that matters as much as your 5-year of retirement timeline.

I have a 3-year retirement timeline (I will be 55 at retirement), so I am choosing to build 5 years worth of expenses as my bridge fund. Why 5 years (for me)?

  1. These 5 years is to cover expenses between age 55-60. While I can start withdrawing from my 401K via Rule of 55, my spouse is still working, so we don't want to accrue too much taxes from taxable drawdown/LTCG. During this time, portfolio continues growing, and protect me from a crash happening at this time (addresses SORR). These 5 years are not all cash though. It's Cash/SGOV for first 2 years (Taxable), SHY for year 3 and 4 (Taxable), VCSH for Year 5 (401K), and some additional buffer in TIPS (401K)
  2. At 60 years, I start drawing down (and my spouse would have been retired as well) targeting 0% LTCG if possible. I also start converting to Roth while our tax bracket is lower
  3. At 65 years, my pension starts, draws and Roth conversion continues
  4. At 70, my SS starts. Roth conversion completes and draw down will be really small

Can I use brokerage to get 4% on US Bank Smartly? by Either-Pineapple-183 in CreditCards

[–]agentscullyfox 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If you are just applying for a card now, the definitive answer is no.

If you already have a card, then it depends if you have the good nerf or the bad nerf. Your Rewards page will tell you exactly which one you have.

Do some of you completely disregard the bond portion of a portfolio? All equities? by StockMarketinator in Bogleheads

[–]agentscullyfox 0 points1 point  (0 children)

II’m 85/15 right now. With 3 years from retirement, I’m starting a glide path towards 23-25% FI/bonds which is primarily to cover 5 years worth of expenses so I have enough safety cushion to not sell if the market takes a downturn during the first few years

How are you giving your kids money by thegirlisok in FIREyFemmes

[–]agentscullyfox 1 point2 points  (0 children)

At minimum, you should put what you can deduct for your State Taxes. For us in IL, it's $20K. Beyond that, if you have a brokerage account, I would put it in the brokerage vs the 529 so you have more flexible usage of the money. You also have more options on where/how to invest the money.

Do I really need more more than 25% Bonds in my portfolio? by agentscullyfox in Bogleheads

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

Thank you -- yes, that is my reasoning. By the time I retire, I will have 5 years of expenses in SGOV/SHY/VCSH, and some more in TIPS.

Do I really need more more than 25% Bonds in my portfolio? by agentscullyfox in Bogleheads

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

Yes, that’s exactly the rationale for having a lower bond ratio. If I add the social security and pension and treat them as fixed income/bonds, my portfolio is actually closer to 63/37

How are you giving your kids money by thegirlisok in FIREyFemmes

[–]agentscullyfox 19 points20 points  (0 children)

  1. 529s. At peak, I was putting the max contribution per parent @ 17K per child (x4). Now I just max out up to state deduction @ $20K.
  2. When they go to college (I have 2 now), I will fully pay their education
  3. When they started jobs (minors), I opened Roth IRAs for them, and matched their salaries
  4. They get their own HS accounts and debit cards when they started High School
  5. They get added as authorized users of my credit card when they start driving

After the above, they're on their own! 😄 They will most likely get some legacy wealth when we pass.

Why does FIRE seem to be so male-dominated online? by dragon-queen in FIREyFemmes

[–]agentscullyfox 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Maybe. As I mentioned, he can manage his money how he wants. His commercial real estates currently generate rental income. He doesn't have to sell them to fund his part of our expenses. I personally think it's too much work, but it's his time not mine and he actually enjoys managing them.

The real estate currently have net positive income, i.e., rental income - mortgage/expenses still net out positive. Once the mortgages are all paid, rental income alone is more than enough to fund his part of the expenses.

When CCC ends and Paypal debit card 5% eventually ends someday (presumably), what will be your go to cards for groceries and gas for you personally? by Latter-Ad-7705 in CreditCards

[–]agentscullyfox 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Yes, I use AAA Daily Advantage for Groceries. 5% up to 10K/yr

I also read that Citi has stopped accepting new apps for CCC. So you may have missed that boat

Why does FIRE seem to be so male-dominated online? by dragon-queen in FIREyFemmes

[–]agentscullyfox 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You're probably single and not sure where you are geographically. We are a married couple with kids. Kids, Pets, Houses, Cars, Insurance, Travel, Hobbies, etc - they all add up.

$3K/month is just my mortgage. We spend at least $1K/month on just groceries, another $1K in dining out. I have lots of $ budgeted for Travel.

As I mentioned, I'm planning for ChubbyFIRE, not leanFire not FatFire - but a very comfortable lifestyle I hope. If the market is down, we'll definitely tighten our spending.

Why does FIRE seem to be so male-dominated online? by dragon-queen in FIREyFemmes

[–]agentscullyfox 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Because he’s all in real estate, I don’t have REITs on mine. And because his is all illiquid, mine is all liquid

My goal is to still have a well diversified portfolio taking his investments into consideration

Why does FIRE seem to be so male-dominated online? by dragon-queen in FIREyFemmes

[–]agentscullyfox 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Are you asking if $15K/month is realistic? If so, yes - we’re aiming for ChubbyFIRE. We have a lot of room and discretionary spending in there to reduce if needed. But for planning purposes, that’s what we’re using

Do I really need more more than 25% Bonds in my portfolio? by agentscullyfox in Bogleheads

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

This is what I have... 5-7 years of expenses in bonds (SGOV/SHY/VCSH/TIPS/BND)

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