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BigMoneyJim is Back
Old 02-08-2003, 02:04 PM   #1
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BigMoneyJim is Back

Hi all,

I probably wasn't one of the more well known MF REHP posters, but I posted a fair bit from mid 2000 through the time they went pay.

I tried the Yahoo groups board, but it didn't feel comfortable to use and most of the regulars weren't there. I don't know if I ever tried the MSN board, but this one looks real nice, Dory36, and I see a lot of familiar names. I haven't read much yet, but I'm willing to bet the signal-to-noise ratio is high.

I admit I miss a "rec" or moderation-type system, but the way the topics are separated looks like it will be better than the MF boards. (Besides, the "rec" or moderation systems tend to result in voting for opinions more than substance and some posters--me included--might sometimes thing about what might get more points than what they really want to say.)

Oh yeah, I'm also long-winded at the keyboard. I hadn't tested in years and thought I was slipping, but a coworker had installed Mavis Beacon and I took the test and clocked at 69wpm. I had no idea I was that fast, and I didn't think I did well on the test. Maybe Mavis was being generous.

I'm single and 32, have a comfortable amount in my 401(k) (although it's only half as comfortable as it was about 3 years ago...you know what I mean) but also have credit card debt. I don't have a retirement date in mind yet; I'm more focused on eliminating the debt, cranking the 401(k) and IRA contribs to max, building a cash cushion and then saving for a down payment and "nonretirement" investing--that is, outside of a tax-deferred account.

I was smart and/or lucky enough to start contributing 15% of my gross income to my 401(k) since age 21 but didn't have it invested intelligently, and I had a few thousand in credit card debt. About 6 years ago I read a couple of finance books, adjusted my investments and started working on the debt.

I always seemed to be 5 years away from paying it off. In March 2000 I bigheadedly quit my 11-year job and joined a startup company with stock options. They promptly went under and I stupidly "took a few months off" because I had some cash. During those months the economy and job market crashed and I was racking up more debt while looking for work. I finally took a desperation job for a couple of months to keep my head afloat before I got back into my industry at a lower-than-hoped-for-but-thankful-to-have salary. That company announced layoffs, and I didn't get laid off but I was scared.

I got back with my 11-year company in mid-2001 at a much better salary. In mid-2002 I consolidated my debt with the help of a relative's low-interest credit card, sold my fancy truck and bought a cheaper (but reliable) car from a relative. After all that I seemed 3 years away from being debt free.

However in this new year I started looking at what I had and rethinking. I could pay it all off in 2 1/2 years, or I could reduce my 401(k) contributions and/or take a loan from my 401(k) and pay off the credit card debt possibly as soon as December this year leaving just the interest-free payments to my relative for the car. (I'm leaving out a bunch of details and will probably post this in more detail in one of the other forums and request advice.)

So I'm in a position in my finances where I can see the light at the end of the tunnel where I will emerge debt free and relatively financially independent--not to the point of retiring but being able to support myself on minimum wage if necessary and still have retirement investments.


I will do a loud and raucous MF-LBYM-style Happy Dance when that happens. (When I'm independent, not necessarily when/if I'm making minimum wage!)

After that I can start thinking about when my retirement will be and what form it will take. I see Dory36 was in Fort Lauderdale 3 days ago. How big is that boat, Dory36?
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Re: BigMoneyJim is Back
Old 02-08-2003, 02:09 PM   #2
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Re: BigMoneyJim is Back

http://www.aprs.net/cgi-bin/winlink.cgi?ad0ry

Oops, I guess that was West Palm Beach, not Fort Lauderdale.

By the way, I'm not coming on to Dory36, but it was 6 degrees here this morning and I expect the weather is a bit better where his/her boat is.

[Edited "her" boat to "his/her" boat because I'm not sure if Dory36 is Mr. Dory36 or Mrs. Dory36. Sorry Dory36!]
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Re: BigMoneyJim is Back
Old 02-09-2003, 01:18 AM   #3
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Re: BigMoneyJim is Back

Thanks for the narrative -- I bet many of us went through something similar!

BTW, Dory is the name the boat had when we bought her. That name was taken when I tried to register it on TMF, so I added the length (36 feet) to get Dory36.

Dory36, aka Capn Bill, traveling with Admiral Sue
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Re: BigMoneyJim is Back
Old 02-13-2003, 10:01 AM   #4
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Re: BigMoneyJim is Back

Quote:
I probably wasn't one of the more well known MF REHP posters, but I posted a fair bit from mid 2000 through the time they went pay.
So, does this mean I should take you off my TMF Favorites list

Anyway - welcome aboard. The more the merrier, I think we're reaching a critical mass, and this is an interesting bunch of people.

I miss the rec system, too. When he's not partying with other boaters or recovering from a hangover, Dory36 has promised to think about recs. I think it is technically a difficult think to do.

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Old 01-01-2011, 01:35 AM   #5
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Old Thread Warning
This Thread is more than 2879 days old. It is very likely that it does not need any further discussion and thus bumping it serves no purpose.
Well on you vBulleting warning!

I saw DRiP Guy's update and felt like copycatting compelled to update. I come and go on the boards, so I was scarce here for a while.

Anyhoo, I paid off my CC debt in June 2004 and paid off the car shortly after.

I quit my job again in 2006 to move back to TX to be closer to my niece and nephew(s). (Then one, now two.) Less-than-optimally I quit and moved without having a job lined up and then dragged my feet on going back to work, so I had a little debt again. Then I updated my car when it started having several more serious problems. I paid all that off again, in 2008 I think, and have maintained being debt free and building my savings.

Currently I am looking at buying a house since rates and prices are low, and I don't see being compelled to move in the next several years. I am contributing to a 401(k) and after-tax savings. My investments are largely on autopilot, and although I'm making progress I may not be able to retire until age 55 or so. I'm 40 now.

After working so hard and long to get out of debt I found it hard to start spending again, but I want to enjoy life now as well as when I retire. It took a while to figure out my balance between saving and spending.

I also find that sometimes I fretting too much about my savings and my job security. When I was in debt it was easier to make decisions on what to do with the money: pay down the debt. Now I have more freedom and sometimes worry too much about whether I'm making the best decisions. I have to remind myself that I am much better off with no debt and a few months of emergency funds than I was when I owed $30k and had only the 401(k) to fall back on if it came to that.
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Old 08-21-2017, 10:15 PM   #6
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Another update, and I'm (maybe) back again.

I did buy a house in 2011, and then I got a job with a financial services company and went very low profile here. I had also slowed down here because my finances were on auto-pilot, and the topic of early retirement was no longer of immediate interest to me.

Now I'm getting laid off. It's a sad, sad story...they re giving me money and releasing me into a hot job market with lots of glowing references. Ok, not that sad; I'm almost over it.

The original plan was to find work immediately, most likely with another financial services company because they seem to be hiring for my skills—cloud and automation—right now.

But the savings milestones keep piling up for me. I'm not near my inflation-adjusted year-2000 retirement target of then-$1mil, but it first occurred to me that I could conceivably quit saving, work to cover expenses for 5-10 years and still retire early.

I am also realizing that I am now closer to drawing early SS than I am to when I first started thinking about early retirement. I guess I'm not a young dreamer anymore.

So now, for the third time in my career I may take multiple months off and burn through some severance and savings. But this time I'm going to test the waters of early semi-retirement. (Although since I'm not planning on taking withdrawals, maybe it isn't truly semi-retirement.) I'm going to see what alternative income streams I can come up with, and if I can cover expenses.

I'll probably have to start looking for work again, but it's worth a try.

And if getting laid off isn't enough of a change, my niece graduated high school, and my sister and nephews might move to another state, so I might take the opportunity to follow them depending on where they go.
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Old 08-21-2017, 10:28 PM   #7
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Welcome back again, BMJ. Sorry to hear about the layoff, but it sounds like you have several attractive possibilities in mind. I never tried being semi-retired, but many here say that they love it.
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Old 08-22-2017, 06:30 AM   #8
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I highly recommend semi-retirement with w*rk you enjoy and the flexibility to travel, etc.

Might be a winner for you....
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Old 08-22-2017, 11:08 AM   #9
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Welcome back...again. Good luck with all your decisions.
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Old 08-22-2017, 12:37 PM   #10
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Welcome back! A few years before I FIRED I took time off between j*bs with severance and then went part time when I returned to w*rk. I recommend both if the opportunities arise and finances allow it. It was a nice transition prior to FIRE.

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Old 08-22-2017, 01:54 PM   #11
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I went part time (consulting engineering) for about two years and it worked out fine. But now I am done with it.
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BigMoneyJim is Back
Old 08-22-2017, 02:07 PM   #12
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BigMoneyJim is Back

For me the key to "semi" is control - I love saying no to boring projects and lousy people and enjoy saying the occasional yes to interesting problems and good people. If the cause is good enough I'm happy to do it for free or for equity (and it looks like one of these might even pay off this month!); if the cause is purely commercial I keep my rates very high to discourage jerks and ensure working a few days a month is enough. But the key is control. As soon as you do it because you have to, it feels like a job again I think.
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Old 08-22-2017, 05:44 PM   #13
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Welcome back, Jim. Every time I see your name, I'm reminded of the Day of Jennifer. Sounds like you are well on your way -- older, wiser and richer.
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Old 08-22-2017, 06:45 PM   #14
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<sarcasm>Sorry about the layoff. That sucks!</sarcasm>

edit: crap, the html tags didn't render correctly. Internet must be broken today.
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Old 09-03-2017, 03:05 PM   #15
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Hi BMJ.
I hope the layoff is the start of a new, interesting time for you. I saw your post at MMM and hope to follow your journey.
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Old 08-12-2018, 10:07 PM   #16
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Another year, another update, and this one is big: I am financially independent.

I'm not sure when that happened, but I just realized it within the past hour based on data I dug into last week.

18 or so years ago I set a retirement target of $1 million intending to withdraw $40k/year. I am not there. But that was a long time ago, and I intentionally ignored a pension plan and social security because one was small and not inflation-adjusted, and the other I thought I couldn't count on to be there.

I actually went back to work at a great full-time gig 6 months after my layoff for more money than I've ever made, and I'm still there another 6 months later. I did this because it seemed easier and more efficient (and honestly less scary) than trying to cover expenses without a plan.

But while I really enjoy this job as full-time jobs go, I am missing the free time not just day to day but more than two weeks a year to travel.

I finally realized that although my pension is 6.5 years away at the earliest and Social Security is 13.5 years away at the earliest, maybe it was time to get better estimates of them and their impact on retirement survivability. As it turns out, they have quite a large impact when entered into FireCalc! And tonight I read a Nords post that stated the should-have-been-obvious fact that lifetime fixed income like annuities, SS, and pensions never fail, even if a portfolio goes bust.

So Firecalc gives me 95.8% survivability if I have a starting withdrawal rate of $30k and have the pensions kicking in. $35k is 83.9% successful, and $40k is 64.4% successful. But "failure" is my having a pension starting at age 55 that puts me above the poverty line on its own plus SS kicking in at age 62 that is more than that in nominal dollars, but it also adjusts for inflation.

Plus, I'm still not planning to just not earn more money. I just don't want to work 40+ hours/week 50 weeks out of every year. And I don't have to. And if I don't, I can see that some pretty pessimistic scenarios still work out quite fine for me.

So I haven't hit my year-2000 goals, especially in year-2000 dollars, but I'm pretty darn solidly set to be at double the poverty line without earning money or touching my home equity ever again, both of which are unreasonably pessimistic. And I'd much rather downshift and semi-retire than continue to work so much.

For various reasons I'm figuring on working full-time at least 6 more months but no more than 18.
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Old 08-13-2018, 12:40 AM   #17
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Originally Posted by BigMoneyJim View Post
Another year, another update, and this one is big: I am financially independent.
[…]For various reasons I'm figuring on working full-time at least 6 more months but no more than 18.
Woo-hoo!!! That is terrific, BMJ.

Those 6-18 months will pass by so quickly.
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Old 08-13-2018, 04:08 AM   #18
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Originally Posted by BigMoneyJim View Post
Another year, another update, and this one is big: I am financially independent.

...

18 or so years ago I set a retirement target of $1 million intending to withdraw $40k/year. I am not there. But that was a long time ago, and I intentionally ignored a pension plan and social security because one was small and not inflation-adjusted, and the other I thought I couldn't count on to be there.

..
I finally realized that although my pension is 6.5 years away at the earliest and Social Security is 13.5 years away at the earliest, maybe it was time to get better estimates of them and their impact on retirement survivability. As it turns out, they have quite a large impact when entered into FireCalc! And tonight I read a Nords post that stated the should-have-been-obvious fact that lifetime fixed income like annuities, SS, and pensions never fail, even if a portfolio goes bust.
+1 I had a similar type of eureka-moment shortly before FIREing.

For years I ignored SS in my estimates -- thought I would leave it as a hedge for health care costs. Prior to that it seemed that FI was always a few years off.

Now I could see, by including SS, that I was over the top -- even with discounting my accrued SS by about 1/3.

Congratulations.
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Old 10-07-2019, 07:00 PM   #19
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AAaaaaaand I'm done!

Friday, October 11, 2019 is my last day. I'm 49.

I'm not entirely sure I won't need or want income again, so I'm going to dabble in blogging, YouTube, and who knows what else.

But I hope I'm done working as an employee for good.
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Old 10-07-2019, 07:03 PM   #20
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Congratulations on getting to the finish line and starting your retirement
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