Hey Sandy! Not nosy at all – sorry for the confusion. I left out some private partnerships and joint RE stuff when I started the public tracking reports. That’s why a lower number. Since some of the rentals will be sold soon-ish, I’ll be moving that cash over to our brokerage account and track more completely online going forward.

Numbers aside, the process is simply: Assets – Liabilities = Net Worth. Don’t worry, you’re doing it right!

Yes, I think a mil is enough to coast. People are coasting with much less, or even trying to FIRE with less. We’ve certainly got enough time on our side, as long as we keep covering our annual cost of living and enjoying what we do :)

I think $1M investment portfolio at your age is definitely sizeable enough for CoastFI – people FIRE on that! You have plenty of time for it to grow and if the market is at a snail’s pace, doubling your investments every 15 years, you’d have $4M by retirement age.

I still really enjoy hearing people’s work stories and internal politic challenges (as long as they’re not complaining too much), and sometimes I can even give a valuable outsiders perspective because I’m completely removed. You’re right, the fomo goes both ways. :)

Glad you had a good visit to Cali! Fincon is in Long Beach in 2022 – put it on your calendar :)

It’s definitely common to hear the “how do others perceive FIRE?” question. And many people definitely think that “stopping work” at 45 is somehow lazy.

I like this quote: I’m lazy. But it’s the lazy people who invented the wheel and the bicycle because they didn’t like walking or carrying things.

Besides, knowing you….odds are you’ll keep yourself pretty busy in retirement, including some things that other people might normally recognize as “work” e.g. this blog.

Idk. Just food for thought.

Cheers dude,
Jesse

Definitely scary to just trust the math! I think there’s a benefit to Coast FI when you’re younger – because you have many years to fix things if you go off course. On the flip side, you’ve got many years to screw things up if your math is off or you try coasting too early.

I love reading your LateStarter stories and refer many “older” folks to your site for encouragement. Thanks for what you do! Keep it up!

I’m a late starter & only discovered FIRE at 47. So I was totally surprised when I reached the milestone of Coast FI, thanks to my younger self contributing extra to my retirement account for some years. It is liberating, in that I have the option of working less & only need to earn an income to support my living expenses till I can access my retirement funds at 60. But I am choosing to continue working full time for the next 5 years so that I can fully retire at 55. I confess, though, that the allure of working even a day less is getting very strong :)

The advantage of a late starter is that we don’t have to wait many years to access our retirement fund but the flip side is that we don’t have many years to build it up either. It’s pretty scary to just trust the math. You have youth on your side & therefore the time to adjust to what life may throw at you.

Thanks for a thought provoking article as usual :)

Latestarterfire

Hey Liz, I understand, and used to feel the same. But then I read this article which kickstarted a change in my thinking: https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2018/03/09/money-and-confidence-are-interchangeable/

Not gonna lie, I still have income insecurities! I’m human. But, these scary feelings are WAY less than they used to be… It takes YEARS to re-program your brain and feel secure about the money you have/don’t have, that’s why I wanted to start this Coast FI journey earlier in life vs. later. I needed to change my feeling of attachment to a 9-5 income. If the “not in control” feeling only gets worse with more money, why would I want more money than what I need?

Congrats on your wicked savings pile. That’s a huge accomplishment for you and your hubs! No matter what your resume says, you’ve achieved something 99% of people may never achieve. :). Happy Friday and have a great weekend!

Hey Lady! Any excess money we make this year (and every year) will absolutely be invested! And if our income keeps growing while we do the things we enjoy doing, that’s awesome. Contributing to our retirement accounts is something we’d love to do more of, it’s just not the top priority anymore.

One thing to note if/when you decide to Coast FI… It’s easier to reduce work than it is to build work back up again. You don’t have to go down to earning the bare minimum, just for coasting sake. Take things at your own speed, and if you earn more than you spend, that is all goodness to keep investing.