We’re in territory where I could stop working, but I still feel uneasy about it. My main hang ups are insurance and the fact that I’ve got two young kids. College savings are established but not fully funded.

It’s hard to walk away from my job because each year still adds significantly to our savings. It feels like it’d be stupid or irresponsible of me not to keep at it and over shoot the target so we’ve got options and a buffer. This is definitely one more year syndrome.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I feel that. We're not quite at our number yet, but we are nearly at our first FIRE goal, before we moved the goal post. Now I'm thinking of moving it again... How much are you planning on saving for kids college?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

The rough plan is to pay four years of a good in state university plus some buffer. That works out to something like 100-140k in today’s dollars/tuition depending on housing and school. My goal is to front load their 529s so a) it’s got 10+ years to grow and b) I can worry less about it for the RE budget.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I hit my all time high when semiconductor stocks peaked a few weeks ago, and they've pulled back since then. But Q1 earnings season is coming up in a few weeks, so the roller coaster continues.

I've been out of work for the better part of a decade, caring for family members with dementia, but I'm looking forward to going back to work soon, just for a change of pace. It did give me a chance to do a test run of my FIRE plan - I've been living off my pension, and was able to work occasionally and still contribute to my Roth.

Hopefully I'll be able to upgrade to a better house before I retire. I'm seeing lots of new homes in my city, but it'll be a while before prices actually start coming down.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Sorry to hear about the dementia. If you don’t mind my asking, was the care a choice or a financial necessity?

As for the going back to work, what have you missed about work and has this experience given you any second thoughts about early retirement?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

Well, I retired from the military, and my sister was already taking care of my parents, but she needed help, so I decided to do that instead of finding another job. Caring for them in their home was wayyyy cheaper than a nursing home. Then, once my parents passed away, my brother started showing symptoms of dementia, so I looked after him during the daytime so his wife could go to work.

I'm only now realizing that I've been suffering from depression. I've probably always had it, but work was the only thing that kept my mind off it. So, I'm going to go back to work, and hopefully start therapy soon. My brother recently got approved for adult-daycare, so there's no need for anyone to watch him at home during the day.

I'm still reassessing the retirement plan. It seems like people in my family start developing dementia after they stop working, so my best hope is to try to stay as active as possible. I'm going to start drawing Social Security as soon as possible and live life to the fullest before the cognitive issues start showing up.

But money-wise, I'm ok. I'd like to buy a house before I retire, but if worse comes to worst, I have a rental property that I can move into.