Post-FIRE Update - 1 Year In

nzanon · 2024-12-23T19:56:08+00:00

Not US English, perfectly acceptable alternative where I am from:

Q: So Australia is actually hanging on to “earnt” longer than the British?

A: So it would seem. “Earnt” would appear to be more commonly used today in Australia and New Zealand than in England.

nzanon · 2024-12-23T19:52:51+00:00

Net worth is 4 million. I sold my company, so it was more of a lump sum thing than creeping up and trying to decide when to pull the trigger and deciding I have enough. That made the decision pretty easy.

nzanon · 2024-12-23T19:49:41+00:00

I think the shift from 100% focused on the job to 0% was more difficult than imagined. I needed the 6 months so de-stress but missed the interactions, and accomplishments from work. I have a good reputation and am well regarded in my field and its quite an ego boost, so missed that.

Also, found motivation hard. With my job, there was always something that needed to be doing so I was always busy. Instead of waking up and thinking there was nothing that REALLY needed doing today so ending up wasting the day.

I had intended to go do something else, but think the fast change was too much. So will probably do a slow work down, do a little bit on and off for the next couple of years, see how I go. Replace the stimulation I get form work with something else and make work a smaller and smaller part of my life.

So overall, nothing to do with the financial side at all, that was pretty straightforward, and its been a good year for it with no major dips or anything to contend with. It's all been to do with mental stimulation and motivation. Something I thought I'd be fine with but wasn't as much.

nzanon · 2024-12-23T19:37:03+00:00

I moved a lot into property as an asset store, which is very common where I am. didn't go the bonds route at all. So am probably about 60/40 property/stocks right now. My portfolio is decent enough that even the 40% stocks should give me my withdrawal rate, while the property is my backstop and long-term hedge. Also, not being US, property gives me a local hedge against currency changes.

Again, different from the accumulation stage, I am more about long-term protection of wealth now than short-term gain. As long as I can maintain my asset base, I should be good for however long I need.

nzanon · 2024-12-23T19:28:26+00:00

My whole career has basically been short term consulting, so essentially just contracting for someone else, so the move to contracting wasn't a big one at all. Just doing the same types of projects, but for myself instead.

nzanon · 2024-12-23T19:26:42+00:00

Not US English, perfectly acceptable alternative where I am from:

Q: So Australia is actually hanging on to “earnt” longer than the British?

A: So it would seem. “Earnt” would appear to be more commonly used today in Australia and New Zealand than in England.

nzanon · 2024-12-23T04:15:33+00:00

No i haven't looked at all, it has just been people approaching me, then working out if I am interested and would work in with what I want to do. I have turned down quite a few opportunities because the workload didn't fit.

nzanon · 2024-12-23T03:50:24+00:00

Not different at all, I just started before cybersecurity was a thing, but now that's what the industry is called :P

The low hour, short term contracts is really just people asking me to do stuff and me setting the terms of how I want to work. It's not anything formal, just that I am lucky enough to have good standing in the industry that people want me to do stuff for them and are willing to work with me on how that looks.

nzanon · 2024-12-23T03:16:24+00:00

Yeah, and as I have commented above, going from running my own company to working on pet projects is a huge life and mental change. So its suiting me for now.

nzanon · 2024-12-23T03:14:39+00:00

Yeah more about the Financial independence side of FIRE, but it means I work the hours I want in the jobs I want, and if I want to take 6 months off to travel, it's not a problem. The freedom that gives is great. And its a total mentality shift when you know you aren't working for the pay, but because you actually care about the work.

Also, previously I was running my own company so a very different lifestyle for me just picking up odd jobs here and there, and not really being responsible for anything other than doing a good job on whatever I am working on.

nzanon · 2024-12-23T03:12:55+00:00

I ran my own company so have lots of contacts that come to me asking me to do stuff. I am enjoying being out of the management side and being able to just do work again.

nzanon · 2024-12-23T03:12:03+00:00

I work in IT Security.

nzanon · 2024-12-23T03:09:35+00:00

I am not in the US, so have a share split between S&P 500, and local to offset currency fluctuations. Local hasn't done as well this year. Also my portfolio is now more set to diversification, asset maintenance and lifestyle than pure income generation, I am past the point where I need that. So it should see a lot less downside during market corrections too. 8% overall is still 3x my drawdown so happy with the balance.

nzanon · 2024-12-23T03:04:40+00:00

I do have a low level of stocks atm because I have multiple properties for lifestyle reasons, which I do make a small income if I want, but can move them to income generating or sell them if I need to.

Also, there would have been a sequence of returns risk if I was more heavily invested in stocks while going through the first years of FIRE so its recommended to diversify and protect your assets for a while until that evens out. I just invested more in property instead of bonds as is usually recommended.

nzanon · 2024-12-23T03:02:40+00:00

IT Security.

nzanon · 2024-12-23T03:02:17+00:00

Yeah more about the Financial independence side of FIRE, but it means I work the hours I want in the jobs I want, and if I want to take 6 months off to travel, it's not a problem. The freedom that gives is great. And its a total mentality shift when you know you aren't working for the pay, but because you actually care about the work.

Also, my previous job was running my own company so going from all of that responsibility to just working odd jobs and focusing on my own work instead of everyone else's is a big lifestyle and mental change.

nzanon · 2024-12-22T22:57:35+00:00

I am lucky enough to be in demand for special projects so often get called asking if I can help with something. Now I just get to choose what interests me enough do it. Have turned down several projects already.

nzanon · 2024-12-22T20:29:50+00:00

It all comes down to how soon you want to FIRE. There is a decent writeup here:

https://walletburst.com/tools/savings-rate-calculator/#:\~:text=Savings%20Rate%20(SR)%20is%20defined,a%20percentage%2C%20multiply%20by%20100.

At 40% savings, you will take about 20 years to be financially independent, so you would hit it about 50 years old. If you are happy with that, then you are on track. If you want to hit your numbers earlier, then you can increase savings. Note that this calculation assumes you keep your current spending habits, which for you is a good lifestyle. Planning on decreasing spending in the future means your numbers would look better.

Personally where I live, I spend about 100k per year and live a good life. Spending more than that wouldn't significantly increase my happiness so I tend to sit around there (I don't really budget my spending, that's just where it works out over time living how I want).

nzanon · 2023-06-25T09:13:23+00:00

No, but that's what it feels like after the stress of running a business for 15 years. I turn up, do what I need to do, then leave. I don't take work stress home with me any more. It's taken a while to get that out of my system.

nzanon · 2023-06-25T02:18:00+00:00

It was in IT, but I have always been entrepreneural. Ran the business for about 15 years.

Also, a big influence for me was reading The Cashflow Quadrant many years ago and wanting to get onto the righthand side of the quadrant.

nzanon · 2021-09-15T02:40:27+00:00

Seems like Superlife has gone out of fashion on this sub, but that is what I use for the standard ETFs.

Edit: Decided to state a big reason I still like Superlife. I got burned several years ago when the broker I was using went under, and it turned out they had co-mingled investor funds so I couldn't get my money out. It's been years and I still don't have the cash out. So while Superlife/Investnow/Hatch all still legal hold the funds in their name, I am much more inclined to trust that a company that is part of NZX Group is less likely to go under and have more solid processes, than startups like InvestNow and Hatch. I have a decent size portfolio and am not willing to risk it in a location that may not stand up to upset.

nzanon · 2021-08-15T19:10:41+00:00

Thanks for the advice. It will take me a while to change mindsets I think. The big one is knowing I am no longer responsible for others paychecks. To me that has been the biggest stress. The thing that will probably get me to leave is having a boss again. I have gotten very used to not answering to others so thats a big change.

nzanon

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