FIRE in my bones
Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2016 6:59 pm
Hello all,
I made my introductory post here http://forum.earlyretirementextreme.com ... f=1&t=8145, aka the "silver shackles" guy.
The purpose of this journal is just a public record of my progress and to keep myself honest.
I'm going to deliberately avoid posting too many financial specifics, mainly because it's tedious but also because this will be more of a "qualitative" journal rather than a financial ledger.
Background; why I got into FI:
As noted in my intro, it has dawned on me in the past year how "unfree" I really am. I made what I thought were a series of conscientious, wise decisions about my future and career path, only to find out the things I thought would get me more freedom ultimately ended being shackles.
FREEDOM is what I value most. It has never been about "retirement" in the traditional sense of the word, it's really about being beholden to nobody; financially or occupationally. That is how I would define FI.
The good: I have a relatively high-income job with reliable salary increases twice a year. I am in a union so my job is reasonably protected. I have free health care, and all the usual benefit trappings of a white collar, upper middle class salary job. So the income infrastructure is there. I am also married and my wife works in a similar stable industry. Qualify for Public Service Loan Sorgiveness---total federal loan payoff tax free in 10 years.
The bad: To acquire such a ticket into the professional workforce I also acquired a tremendous amount of debt. Without a doubt my biggest anchor. My job always carries the potential for burnout, which is somewhat beyond my control, and has happened to me before. I have valuable skills like any other doctor or PA, but my skills require strict licensure and cannot be "moonlighted" or scaled. I lack the laterality the MD degree carries--e.g.; authorship, consulting, business opportunities.
Sex: Male
Age: 34
Personality type: no one cares (INTJ, have been for life)
Marital status: Married
Children: 0. No interest in children.
Location: Denver, CO
Employment: salaried, full time
Salary: ~100k/yr. ~140k yr with wife.
Housing: Homeowner, mortgage
Debt: ~209k in student loans. 2 modest low-interest vehicle loans. Mortgage. No consumer debt.
Savings: Depleted recently to purchase home. About 3k and rising.
401k: ~15K in the total market index
Life insurance: yes, term
Hobbies: MANY!! Hiking, backpacking, playing the drums, gardening, weightlifting and fitness (former competitive lifter), hunting, fishing...
FI strengths: I can live modestly. I have the mind for FI. Not beholden to social conventions. High-ish income job. Stable industry.
FI weaknesses: HUGE student debt. Live in a high COL area. Restricted to work in one industry to make maximal income. Non-transferable skills.
My start:
Rebuilding 10k contingency fund, should be there by March. Wife is on board with overall strategy; grew up in a frugal home; getting her on board with certain lifestyle changes is an ongoing process.
My goals:
I believe in simple, durable strategies.
Year one: Replenish 10k emergency fund. Begin investing in a taxable account. Continue to chip away at lifestyle costs and increase frugality. Achieve 25% savings rate.
Years 2-3: Pay off all vehicle debt. Achieve 35% savings rate.
Years 3-5: Sell our starter home, relocate to a lower COL area. Buy home less than 1/2 the cost of our current home. Achieve 50% savings rate.
Years 5-9: Stay the course. Maintain and improve low lifestyle costs. Maintain or improve 50% savings rate. Cultivate new skills that can be reliably converted into income. E.g. lawn and garden care, personal training, writing more books.
Year 10: Achieve PSLF!!! Loans now gone, only modest mortgage debt. Can now live on remarkably lower income. Achieve as sizable a nest egg as possible; realistically 600-800k. Formally retire from full-time medicine; work locums jobs a few months a year, or cultivate whatever side work I have gotten into by that time.
I made my introductory post here http://forum.earlyretirementextreme.com ... f=1&t=8145, aka the "silver shackles" guy.
The purpose of this journal is just a public record of my progress and to keep myself honest.
I'm going to deliberately avoid posting too many financial specifics, mainly because it's tedious but also because this will be more of a "qualitative" journal rather than a financial ledger.
Background; why I got into FI:
As noted in my intro, it has dawned on me in the past year how "unfree" I really am. I made what I thought were a series of conscientious, wise decisions about my future and career path, only to find out the things I thought would get me more freedom ultimately ended being shackles.
FREEDOM is what I value most. It has never been about "retirement" in the traditional sense of the word, it's really about being beholden to nobody; financially or occupationally. That is how I would define FI.
The good: I have a relatively high-income job with reliable salary increases twice a year. I am in a union so my job is reasonably protected. I have free health care, and all the usual benefit trappings of a white collar, upper middle class salary job. So the income infrastructure is there. I am also married and my wife works in a similar stable industry. Qualify for Public Service Loan Sorgiveness---total federal loan payoff tax free in 10 years.
The bad: To acquire such a ticket into the professional workforce I also acquired a tremendous amount of debt. Without a doubt my biggest anchor. My job always carries the potential for burnout, which is somewhat beyond my control, and has happened to me before. I have valuable skills like any other doctor or PA, but my skills require strict licensure and cannot be "moonlighted" or scaled. I lack the laterality the MD degree carries--e.g.; authorship, consulting, business opportunities.
Sex: Male
Age: 34
Personality type: no one cares (INTJ, have been for life)
Marital status: Married
Children: 0. No interest in children.
Location: Denver, CO
Employment: salaried, full time
Salary: ~100k/yr. ~140k yr with wife.
Housing: Homeowner, mortgage
Debt: ~209k in student loans. 2 modest low-interest vehicle loans. Mortgage. No consumer debt.
Savings: Depleted recently to purchase home. About 3k and rising.
401k: ~15K in the total market index
Life insurance: yes, term
Hobbies: MANY!! Hiking, backpacking, playing the drums, gardening, weightlifting and fitness (former competitive lifter), hunting, fishing...
FI strengths: I can live modestly. I have the mind for FI. Not beholden to social conventions. High-ish income job. Stable industry.
FI weaknesses: HUGE student debt. Live in a high COL area. Restricted to work in one industry to make maximal income. Non-transferable skills.
My start:
Rebuilding 10k contingency fund, should be there by March. Wife is on board with overall strategy; grew up in a frugal home; getting her on board with certain lifestyle changes is an ongoing process.
My goals:
I believe in simple, durable strategies.
Year one: Replenish 10k emergency fund. Begin investing in a taxable account. Continue to chip away at lifestyle costs and increase frugality. Achieve 25% savings rate.
Years 2-3: Pay off all vehicle debt. Achieve 35% savings rate.
Years 3-5: Sell our starter home, relocate to a lower COL area. Buy home less than 1/2 the cost of our current home. Achieve 50% savings rate.
Years 5-9: Stay the course. Maintain and improve low lifestyle costs. Maintain or improve 50% savings rate. Cultivate new skills that can be reliably converted into income. E.g. lawn and garden care, personal training, writing more books.
Year 10: Achieve PSLF!!! Loans now gone, only modest mortgage debt. Can now live on remarkably lower income. Achieve as sizable a nest egg as possible; realistically 600-800k. Formally retire from full-time medicine; work locums jobs a few months a year, or cultivate whatever side work I have gotten into by that time.