Introducing myself: HappyDane - or working on it:-)

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HappyDane
Posts: 7
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2018 1:35 am

Introducing myself: HappyDane - or working on it:-)

Post by HappyDane »

I have slowly realized that I have actually been searching for the FIRE community/philosophy my entire life... i am 46 years old meaning that I will, at best, be able to go for an early-ish retirement:-)

I SO much wish that somebody had introduced these ideas to me many years ago, as I have been struggling with finding happiness in the middle class kind of life. Study hard, get good grades, get a degree, get a PhD, get a good job, please your boss(-es), specialize, fight hard in the corporate world to eventually position yourself to the perfect job, which you can expect will bring you endless amounts of joy and personal development...

I DID actually find moments of happiness but these moments, however, were brief and seemed to become more and more rare, and I could never understand why - what was wrong with me??? A few years ago I started considering a career change but quickly realized that I had been cornered by my specialization and that it would therefore be next to impossible to convince a future employer of the usefulness of my skills in a completely different field.

In connection with mass lay-offs a couple of years ago at work, I began to make some quick-and-dirty NW calculations and slowly realized that it would not be a disaster for our economy if I was "appointed" (which I was not). Shortly thereafter, I read one of the most interesting newspaper articles of my life where Jacobs ERE philosophy was introduced in a DK newspaper. I knew immediately that this was what I wanted to do as well. After a while, I started reading blogs and books and I am amazed by the fact that this subject is far more entertaining and interesting than anything I have been studying before. It now makes me feel like a perfectly healthy and normal individual that I do not find true happiness in the cubicle.

My husband is only slowly getting interested - a few of our friends are also curious (but of course also reserved) about the concept. I am a very extroverted person (ENTP personality type) and I would therefore really like to make some like-minded friends in DK - preferably the grater CPH area (I live in the city of Gentofte). We are currently not FI, but with a few life style changes we could most likely get there quite soon. I am not the worlds most organized type of person - I prefer elevator pitch plans over Excel sheets and detailed tables (I do in fact hate Excel!) and I am therefore a firm believer in FIRE "the other way round".

I hope this is enough for now - FBeyer has also encouraged me to post an informative post somewhere else. Numbers I presume???

FBeyer
Posts: 1069
Joined: Tue Oct 27, 2015 3:25 am

Re: Introducing myself: HappyDane - or working on it:-)

Post by FBeyer »

Welcome.

CPH has a very large ERE community. Large measured in ERE adherents per capita that is. You're in good hands, don't worry :)
Also, take most of what that FBeyer dude posts with a grain of salt. However, you WILL need a post count of 5+ to send me that PM, so there is that...

If you'd like I can come by some day and we can have a talk about ERE (according to me. It seems we all have a different take on it). If you're 'new' there are a lot of things to be aware of, and if your husband is somehow hesitant I can do my best to answer as many of his questions as possible.
The next meetup is not really planned yet, but there might be grounds for a ERE summer shindig in Sydsjælland within the next couple of months.

HappyDane
Posts: 7
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2018 1:35 am

Re: Introducing myself: HappyDane - or working on it:-)

Post by HappyDane »

"Post #5":

Looking forward to meet a lot of Danish (under cover) freedom lovers - count on me for the social event in Sydsjælland! I will also reach out to this "FBeyer dude" for some serious coaching that will be highly appreciated...

Money nerds like numbers, I presume - so here are some...
- I am afraid that I have no idea of what our savings rate has been over the last many years!
- Currently, close to 50% of our NW is in home equity (house, summer house and an andelslejlighed), about 15% is in shares (taxable), and the rest in high risk retirement funds (also taxable).
- If we can adjust our monthly spendings to the average spendings of a Danish family, then we should be close to FI according to the 4% rule.
- Both of us are still working. I am in particular working on my exit strategy and this is where I hope that my new secret network will be able to provide me with some useful input:-)

BadHorse
Posts: 55
Joined: Sun Jun 05, 2016 4:17 am

Re: Introducing myself: HappyDane - or working on it:-)

Post by BadHorse »

Welcome to the forum, @HappyDane!

As Fbeyer said, we have a good Cph community with different people and different approaches to FI/ERE.
You should definitely join a meetup. They are always inspiring, and we are happy to see new faces.

It sounds like you are well on the way to FI. Are you counting the value of your house(s) as part of your assets for the 4% SWR?

(Btw I've sent you a PM)

wolf
Posts: 1102
Joined: Fri Jan 06, 2017 5:09 pm
Location: Germany

Re: Introducing myself: HappyDane - or working on it:-)

Post by wolf »

Welcome HappyDane!
Well choosen nickname by the way ;-)

Mae
Posts: 107
Joined: Wed Dec 27, 2017 3:44 am
Location: Belgium

Re: Introducing myself: HappyDane - or working on it:-)

Post by Mae »

Welcome to the ERE forums, HappyDane.

HappyDane
Posts: 7
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2018 1:35 am

Re: Introducing myself: HappyDane - or working on it:-)

Post by HappyDane »

Thanks for the warm welcome:-)

... #BadHorse poses a very good question wrt. house equity and SWR... the answer is that I do indeed include the house equity (property value minus mortgage loan) in the 4% SWR. I realize that this approach may not be appropriate, as real estate appreciation is expected to be a lot lower than e.g. shares. This is exactly why I will need the super powers of your financial kryptonite brains in order to optimize the exit strategy!

I am imagining that the equity dilemma can be solved by e.g. "financial gearing", i.e. taking up additional (low interest and payment of interest only) mortgage loans and investing this capital in e.g. index shares and/or additional apartments for renting out - an alternative nick name in this forum could thus be "land lady wannabe"! Another possibility could be to sell the house and buy or rent something cheaper and investing the surplus. Renting out the summer house could also be a possibility. Renting out spare rooms in our house for students is most likely be an idea that the rest of the family would not be very enthusiastic about though!

Hey - nice to have options! But I am not an accountant and I have limited understanding of e.g. the tax system and therefore do not know to which degree e.g. company constructions would be a benefit, etc. Feel free to chip in ;-)

Eureka
Posts: 340
Joined: Fri Jun 10, 2016 11:03 am

Re: Introducing myself: HappyDane - or working on it:-)

Post by Eureka »

Welcome from yet another Dane to yet another Dane.

The more the merrier, but I did not get this one :
HappyDane wrote:
Wed May 16, 2018 3:38 am
- If we can adjust our monthly spendings to the average spendings of a Danish family, then we should be close to FI according to the 4% rule.
Thus, if you just adjust your spendings to say 50% of the average spending of a Danish family (IMHO not a big deal to do so), you are where you want to be and can quit your job today!

And start doing all the things you really want to do in this life.

HappyDane
Posts: 7
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2018 1:35 am

Re: Introducing myself: HappyDane - or working on it:-)

Post by HappyDane »

@Eureka (nice avatar BTW) - you are nailing it!!! I presume that I am stuck in the "one-more-year" type of thinking. Crazy, when you think of how short our lives are... (who said mid life crisis?)

I can assure you that I have a very long life bucket list with things I would love to do!

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