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Posted
4 hours ago, Fudge Nuggets said:

My parents always worried about having sufficient retirement savings even though they did fine financially.  A few months after my dad passed away I asked my mom if she was doing ok.  She said when she takes the required minimum distribution from their 401k, she winds up sending almost the entire amount back to her financial advisor. 

The dad of a guy I work with got caught up in a layoff about 10 years ago and had a real tough time finding another job so he said screw it, I'm done.  He said he's making as much if not more in retirement off his investments and wished he had pulled the plug years earlier.

Guess that's a good thing for you and her other heirs if she basically withdraws low amounts from a net standpoint. I find it sad though that someone perhaps sacrificed along the way, and does very little with those savings. Who knows, maybe peace of mind is worth it to some.

I'm not a YOLO person at all but now in my mid-50s there are experiences or purchases that I wouldn't do now that I might have in my 20s. I would have to guess that the same will occur when I'm in my 70s and looking back on my mid-50s. Nothing wrong with living life now, if you can.

Posted
On 9/1/2025 at 1:29 PM, Brisketexan said:

I mean, it sure seems like it comes down to that.  Where is it going to earn me the most?  One of the wildcards is the currency arbitrage: if I park $200k in a propery valued in pounds, and the pound keeps gaining on the dollar, plus the property appreciates, plus it earns rental income, it seems I CAN come out ahead.  But that's betting that we can beat the market.

And my concern is....I think the market is irrationally high right now, and we're heading for a fall (no CR, I just think too many forces are aligning at once: tariffs, inflation, stagflation risk, softer employment, recession indicators popping up, etc.).  So, my lean is "if I can park some real value outside the American stock market (and outside of stock markets in general), there's value in that as a risk mitigation part of our portfolio.  I mean, worst case scenario....long run, it's a paid-off piece of property that we can actually use as a residence for half the year.

The answer to the question is obvious to any financial professional. Any debt you have is risk free to you. So the correct comparison is the risk free rate of return. Currently and for the near future there is no risk free rate of return that will give you 5%. If the mortgage cost isn't tax deductible then it makes the decision even more obvious because the 5% is after tax money. So you pay off the mortgage. 

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Posted

I think my wife will retire in the next two years. She will be 47. I will keep working until the kid is mostly done with college. He’s 14 and a high school freshman, so that gives us a few more years. I think I will be done in 7 years and that should allow our investments to almost double. From there - I will find a fuck you job in something that interests me or provides discounts.

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Posted (edited)

Wife and I are eyeballing the next 18 months.  I just can't do the grind in DC anymore and I'm FIRE-able right now.  I worry about currency depreciation, but I don't know what to do about it. 

Long term, we are looking at Europe. Although I don't mind the politics, the idea of having to drop 25-40K a year in Obamacare is eyewatering.  I'd rather take advantage of the French tax treaty and cheap healthcare. We started hatching a plan last year while in Normandy and Brittany, and we are going back in the spring to look at Montepellier-Nimes-Avignon, Touluse, and Bordeaux.

 I can fuck up some Gigondas, but I look like trash in a beret and french navy shirt. 

Edited by Bateshorn
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Posted
30 minutes ago, Bateshorn said:

Wife and I are eyeballing the next 18 months.  I just can't do the grind in DC anymore and I'm FIRE-able right now.  I worry about currency depreciation, but I don't know what to do about it. 

Long term, we are looking at Europe. Although I don't mind the politics, the idea of having to drop 25-40K a year in Obamacare is eyewatering.  I'd rather take advantage of the French tax treaty and cheap healthcare. We started hatching a plan last year while in Normandy and Brittany, and we are going back in the spring to look at Montepellier-Nimes-Avignon, Touluse, and Bordeaux.

 I can fuck up some Gigondas, but I look like trash in a beret and french navy shirt. 

Weird Movie Brothers a X: "We love 'European Vacation' Rusty! He's our  favorite Rusty of all the Vacations. The dude has swagger and style.  https://t.co/N8SqwrjNYv" / X

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Posted

I am well past my original “FIRE” number from years back but I’ve pretty much decided to keep working until my kids graduate HS.  Mostly because I it feels weird to not work while my kids are still around and I don’t want to set the example for them that you don’t have to work (especially since they weren’t around to see me do the hard part), and I don’t really have anything else I want to do.  It also helps that my job is relatively low stress/effort/demand.  Which means I very likely won’t be retiring until my mid 50s.  So the bad news is I’ve got 7-10 more years of the grind ahead of me.  But the good news is I will likely be extremely fucking rich by my standards.  No idea what I’m going to spend it all on, I’m not a materialistic person and I don’t really have the travel bug.

Posted
2 hours ago, Snake Diggity said:

I am well past my original “FIRE” number from years back but I’ve pretty much decided to keep working until my kids graduate HS.  Mostly because I it feels weird to not work while my kids are still around and I don’t want to set the example for them that you don’t have to work (especially since they weren’t around to see me do the hard part), and I don’t really have anything else I want to do.  It also helps that my job is relatively low stress/effort/demand.  Which means I very likely won’t be retiring until my mid 50s.  So the bad news is I’ve got 7-10 more years of the grind ahead of me.  But the good news is I will likely be extremely fucking rich by my standards.  No idea what I’m going to spend it all on, I’m not a materialistic person and I don’t really have the travel bug.


In this situation I would recommend doing memorable things with your family (doesn’t have to be big trips to Europe if that’s not your thing). Don’t be afraid to spend more than you normally would. 

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Posted
2 minutes ago, Firemans4Horn said:


In this situation I would recommend doing memorable things with your family (doesn’t have to be big trips to Europe if that’s not your thing). Don’t be afraid to spend more than you normally would. 

Yeah I pretty much told my wife I won’t say no to any family trip she wants to take over the next 10 years.  We are going to Disney World later this year and I’m going to be in for over 10 grand when it’s all said and done.  Definitely not something I would have agreed to 5 years ago. 

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Posted
2 minutes ago, Snake Diggity said:

Yeah I pretty much told my wife I won’t say no to any family trip she wants to take over the next 10 years.  We are going to Disney World later this year and I’m going to be in for over 10 grand when it’s all said and done.  Definitely not something I would have agreed to 5 years ago. 

Yup. If you've lived longer than the time you have left, go do everything.

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Posted
On 8/1/2024 at 3:56 PM, Snake Diggity said:

Congrats!  Great to get a take from somebody actually doing it who doesn’t appear to be full of shit.

What does 6-7 shifts per month look like in terms of days/hrs per week?

What was your household net worth when you went down to part time?

I am beyond the “number” I originally shot for and if it weren’t for my wife wanting more and my kids being so young I would probably quit working or go part time.  My job just represents way too good a value to me right now in terms of pay vs time/energy I actually put in; I work from home and essentially have my schedule set up to have half days every Friday.  My kids are in elementary school, so retiring wouldn’t free me up enough to make it worthwhile; if I quit now, I’d be running errands for them and doing housework rather than anything enjoyable.  I will be 55 when my youngest graduates high school and I can’t imagine working beyond that.  I have told my wife that if something changes to the downside with my job (get truly miserable or laid off), I’m not getting another one, and she’s on board with that (in theory).

You and I are on similar timelines, although I'm nowhere near close to my required goal to be able to retire at 55. I've got 10 more years, and some things need to go right for me to get there, but I'm optimistic. Additionally, I want to be able to have a retirement nest egg and income large enough to be able to help our kid out. It seems to be a pretty shitty world he's going to inherit, so being able to send him to school debt free, and if necessary, help him get his first house early and help him into that, or help him weather whatever the job market looks like is on my list of priorities. 

On 8/31/2025 at 2:43 PM, Superhero said:

Slightly off topic, but this thread seemed the most appropriate.

So the wife and I make decent money between salary, bonuses and stock. We max out our 401ks and we put another chunk in another account.

My wife and have a few nice things, but total maybe $25-30K which includes her engagement ring. I’ve always wanted a weekend convertible, but the thought of insurance, gas and maintenance give me pause. My BIL says I’m worried about those things before I even change the oil for the first time. 🤣

I suppose he’s right and I should enjoy life a bit more, and not just worry about retirement. We could probably do retire in 5-10 years if we’re willing to dip into savings, but my goal is to only live off of interest and dividends.

So, curious for those of you on the FIRE path if you’re treating yourself along the way  

 

Every plan I have is to be able to live solely off the retirement interest and still save some amount per year without touching the principle. So if my nest egg profit/dividends/whatever are 300k a year, after taxes, we'd better be able to live off 200k, for example. 

On 9/3/2025 at 9:28 AM, Bateshorn said:

Wife and I are eyeballing the next 18 months.  I just can't do the grind in DC anymore and I'm FIRE-able right now.  I worry about currency depreciation, but I don't know what to do about it. 

Long term, we are looking at Europe. Although I don't mind the politics, the idea of having to drop 25-40K a year in Obamacare is eyewatering.  I'd rather take advantage of the French tax treaty and cheap healthcare. We started hatching a plan last year while in Normandy and Brittany, and we are going back in the spring to look at Montepellier-Nimes-Avignon, Touluse, and Bordeaux.

 I can fuck up some Gigondas, but I look like trash in a beret and french navy shirt. 

How're you going to get around the citizenship thing? She French?

Posted
On 9/5/2025 at 6:41 AM, Snake Diggity said:

I am well past my original “FIRE” number from years back but I’ve pretty much decided to keep working until my kids graduate HS.  Mostly because I it feels weird to not work while my kids are still around and I don’t want to set the example for them that you don’t have to work (especially since they weren’t around to see me do the hard part), and I don’t really have anything else I want to do.  It also helps that my job is relatively low stress/effort/demand.  Which means I very likely won’t be retiring until my mid 50s.  So the bad news is I’ve got 7-10 more years of the grind ahead of me.  But the good news is I will likely be extremely fucking rich by my standards.  No idea what I’m going to spend it all on, I’m not a materialistic person and I don’t really have the travel bug.

 

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Posted
16 hours ago, SydneyCarton said:

You and I are on similar timelines, although I'm nowhere near close to my required goal to be able to retire at 55. I've got 10 more years, and some things need to go right for me to get there, but I'm optimistic. Additionally, I want to be able to have a retirement nest egg and income large enough to be able to help our kid out. It seems to be a pretty shitty world he's going to inherit, so being able to send him to school debt free, and if necessary, help him get his first house early and help him into that, or help him weather whatever the job market looks like is on my list of priorities. 

Every plan I have is to be able to live solely off the retirement interest and still save some amount per year without touching the principle. So if my nest egg profit/dividends/whatever are 300k a year, after taxes, we'd better be able to live off 200k, for example. 

How're you going to get around the citizenship thing? She French?

France has fairly simple permanent residence laws.  5 years with sufficient income, plus B1 language (if I'm remembering correctly).  You can long stay visa the whole way. The big upside of France is they have one of the strongest tax treaties with the US, and as of now, do not tax pension or IRA distributions. 

Unfortunately, they are making the citizenship tougher, requiring B2 starting next year.  But that's different than permanent residence. 

The paper work is a bitch from what I understand.  There are legal sherpas, but expensive, but we will probably use them. 

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Posted
On 9/5/2025 at 6:41 AM, Snake Diggity said:

Mostly because I it feels weird to not work while my kids are still around and I don’t want to set the example for them that you don’t have to work (especially since they weren’t around to see me do the hard part)

I'm with you on this.  My company has a hybrid schedule and I've fine-tuned my job enough that I'm basically on cruise control unless something weird pops up.  My daughter always bitches about how it must be nice to hang out at the house half the week while she still has to trudge off to school.  Narrator, yes it is nice; but she didn't see the years of 14+ hour days to get to this point.

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Posted

I’m full time work from home. It allows me the ability to also be my son’s learning coach (he’s in online school). If I ever got the call to come back to the office full time, that would be my retirement day.

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