Re: Western Red Cedar's Journal
Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2023 7:14 pm
@MBBboy - thanks for the links! I immediately realized I'm probably conflating at least two different ideas. Retirement buckets, which are more or less well-defined (and not what I'm necessarily talking about) and phases of retirement (I'm not sure if there is actually a better term for this). The phases of retirement/FI that I'm talking about are somewhat defined by rules for withdrawal. In my case 59.5, 65, and 67. The first phase or two is informed by our upcoming plans for the future, and some uncertainty about what we will actually want a few years down the road.
This earlier post provides a little more background on my thought process:
I've been thinking quite about this thread on coasting to FI: viewtopic.php?t=6452 and more specifically @bsog's post on 5-year time frames: viewtopic.php?p=194073#p194073
I think there is utility in thinking beyond 5-year time frames for financial planning purposes, but I also think it is easy to get carried away by over preparing for a lot of potential outcomes that may never occur.
I have found value in thinking about all of this, adding new tabs to the spreadsheet, and trying to put something resembling a plan on paper. More than anything, I think it has made me realize that my initial FI target of 600k may not actually be necessary when I consider SS, pension, and a willingness to pick up some work at some point.
Once again, I appreciate the feedback and I'm open to other's critiques or thoughts. This is all a work in progress...
This earlier post provides a little more background on my thought process:
The Kitces article probably speaks more to what I'm thinking about, and it is possible this is simply approaching the mental accounting he mentions in the article. A cornerstone of the strategy is willingness to pick up periodic work in the next five years, or cut expenses with some work-type arrangement or creative living situation. Kitces actually planted this seed when I heard him discuss the power of a small amount of periodic income to protect against SORR for early retirees. That income can also dramatically change the math on the SWR strategy. Ultimately, I'm trying to integrate my financial strategy into the WOG and our broader lifestyle, without letting the financial strategy control things too much. One of the big attractions of ERE was realizing that the creative, low-cost solution may represent the better solution.
I've been thinking quite about this thread on coasting to FI: viewtopic.php?t=6452 and more specifically @bsog's post on 5-year time frames: viewtopic.php?p=194073#p194073
I think there is utility in thinking beyond 5-year time frames for financial planning purposes, but I also think it is easy to get carried away by over preparing for a lot of potential outcomes that may never occur.
I have found value in thinking about all of this, adding new tabs to the spreadsheet, and trying to put something resembling a plan on paper. More than anything, I think it has made me realize that my initial FI target of 600k may not actually be necessary when I consider SS, pension, and a willingness to pick up some work at some point.
Once again, I appreciate the feedback and I'm open to other's critiques or thoughts. This is all a work in progress...