Playing with FIRE

The Ultimate Guide to Safe Withdrawal Rates – Part 1: Introduction

The Yield Illusion: How Can a High-Dividend Portfolio Exacerbate Sequence Risk? (SWR Series Part 29)

Not sure if you have followed big ern? He is all over the sequence of return (SOR) risk, abit better than the 4% rule IMHO.

 

Don't forget he was retired before his blog was bringing in $400k and it looks like he hasn't changed his way of living since that. Might be as a result of the Stoic way of though, but one thing for sure, he practices what he preaches..

 

So it seems I pulled that number from Wikipedia a while ago
Mr. Money Mustache - Wikipedia
But the source cited, only mentions his $400k paid off house. Dunno where they got the income number from, sorry :/

 

This profile of Mustache in the New Yorker states (from him) the blog income at around $400k.

The Life-Style Guru of Frugality

 

@Terry_w

Here's an article starting $400k/yr (quote below), its mentioned a few times on his site in threads also

He told me that his blog is now earning around four hundred thousand dollars a year. He was reluctant for this to become public, without his being able to provide a detailed explanation. He makes money from the products and services he recommends Betterment, Lending Club, Geico, and numerous others. They pay him for every customer who comes to them via his site. He insists that he makes these recommendations based only on his own research and experience. He's saving all this income and plans to give it away someday. Making money off the idea of not needing money is perhaps mildly perverse but little different from a cleric who preaches poverty yet lives in a parish manse.

The New Yorker

Mr. Money Mustache’s retirement (sort of) plan.

 

@Snowball

That will teach me to read the whole thread before responding

 

A fascinating subject. In one way I think it depends on where you live as to the outcome.

For example, I suspect it could be very difficult for a person living in Boorowra with the LGA having a median income of somewhere around $40k pa to be able to save 50% of it after tax. Of course there must be others who have an income well above that median. Maybe a few of us should move there in order to distort the statistical data.

 

I imagine houses are cheap in this area so a couple each on $40k could potentially pay off a property in a few years and then invest $40k pa into shares for about 10 years and this could resut in $40k pa passive income potentially - which is what they would have been living on for the past 10 years = FIRE

 

Possibly. Been two years since I have actually stopped in the town and browsed around. I recall when I did a 2 bedder freestanding was around $220k although there were more pricey properties at the $600k and above mark. Not done the numbers on what a mortgage would be at those prices. Beyond the reach of a single person on the median maybe? Getting hitched in order to afford a mortgage is an extreme move I would have thought.

 

Saving Your First $300k Takes Roughly the Same Amount of Time as Saving the Next $700k

Nice little article and graphics

Suppose you have $0 and your goal is to save $100,000.

By diligently saving and investing $10,000 each year at a 5% annual rate of return, you would be able to save $100,000 in about 8 years.

Next, you might have a goal to reach $200,000.

it turns out it would only take a little under 6 years to go from $100k to $200k, assuming you kept investing $10k each year earning a 5% annual rate of return.
Cont...

 

This is a very useful FIRE calculator because it allows you to explore potential outcomes for your savings rate against historic variability of returns (albeit US data).

[just select the projection method as historical cycles]



When Can I Retire? Early Retirement Calculator / FIRE Calculator - Engaging Data

 

Another calculator from the same mob, this one is super simple. Could be good for seeing how you are tracking and keeping you motivated.

Lots of assumptions behind the 4% SWR% figure – you can go there if your game otherwise just leave it set at 4% as the best ball park guess.

Simply enter current savings and targeted (fire) annual spend and the calculator drills into the most important thing: The amount you save and its impact.

Displays how many days of freedom your savings covers and tells you how much you need to save to buy each extra day of freedom.



Financial Freedom Calculator - Engaging Data

 

This one is my favourite...
Early Retirement Calculator

Simple and clean. Play around with savings rate to see the massive difference it has on the time to FI.

 

Playing with FIRE documentary (screening in Sydney & Melbourne)

For people interested to watch the documentary on the Big screen, below are links to Sydney & Melbourne premieres (Thanks to Aussie HIFIRE for sharing these links)

Sydney premiere on 14 Aug (there are still early birds tickets left)
Playing With Fire: The Sydney Premiere Tickets, Wed 14th Aug 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm | Humanitix

Melbourne on 19 Aug (looks like early bird tickets are sold off & hopefully they will release remaining tickets soonish)
https://www.playingwithfire.co/events/melbourne

 

Did anyone here check out the premieres in Sydney and Melbourne?

Too hard for me to get down in the middle of the week, but would have loved to go. @Snowball How was the Q&A panel afterwards?

 

I went to it with my brother. Couldn't stick around for the Q&A.
I enjoyed it myself. Don't want to give spoilers or anything like that, but as a creative, i think the cinematography was well done.

 

8 people who retired before age 45 reveal how the decision changed their money habits

Business Insider spoke with eight people who retired early about how their finances changed after they took the leap and left the workforce for good. Turns out, their financial lives generally improved after retiring early. Many early retirees ultimately lowered their cost of living and are far less concerned about money than they were while working.

That’s not to mention the many priceless opportunities early retirement has afforded them, like the ability to travel the world or become a stay-at-home parent.

Here’s how retiring early has changed each of their relationships with money, for the better.

 

Cheers, a great read!

 

Hello FIRE'ies. How many months worth of buffer do you keep in cash in the accumulation stage? What do you include in your buffer amount?

 

While I haven't Fired yet I like to keep at least 2 years of living expense aside and then have everything else all in. Though there are periods like right now where I am holding some extra cash. Only to take advantage of a possible market correction that may or may not arrive some time in the near or not so near future.