The Intersection of FIRE and Disney

[arielmomma]

Thank you for posting this thread. I have been following a few FIRE blogs for several years now. They have helped me increase my savings rate dramatically. I am also a Disney lover. I am aware that most FIRE folk would be appalled by how much my family has spent on WDW/Disney Cruise Vacations, but they have brought joy to our lives, so in our opinion they have been worth it. In other words, I like to save, and I love to travel. I am, however, interested to learn tricks to increasing my saving rate and everyday frugality, while not depriving myself of the things that my family loves. I look forward to learning what all of you have to offer.

 

[calypso726]

Not able to answer your question, but also as an add-on:

Is there are formula to calculate your FI and RE targets? We have a certain multiplier by income, or a certain amount in retirement by age. Just curious what others are using to calculate.

No, I was just going by what the financial planner told us. I’m sure we will want to reevaluate and see where things stand.

 

[lovewdwfun]

Thanks for starting this thread! I always appreciate the transparency. I am 33, married with a stay-at-home spouse, and have 4 kids. One child is disabled and will be dependent on us for his life. My goal is to retire at 54 and have the flexibility to retire at 50 should I be laid off or have a family emergency then. I have a little over $500K in savings/retirement, which includes college funds for kids. My goal is to spend $100K or less for each of my three kids to go to college and have between $4M and $5M to retire at 54. Right now I save a little under $60K total each year, with $10K of it earmarked for college for kids. The big fear for me is the cost of my disabled child. Spouse will not ever be going back to work and will care for him. It could be a boon to our finances as we will receive social security income to offset his costs when he is 18, or it could be a tremendous drain financially to pay for a group home or his own condo, for example.

Having a child with a disability has made me realize that you need to live in the moment. We don’t know when everything might change. So we spend a small fortune on Disney each year, which is his favorite. I include all of our eating out at Disney and we spent about $20K on vacations this year (although that includes paying off an Alaska cruise for next year).

I tend to be very frugal every January and Q1 and loosen up later in the year. We are definitely not MMM - we have a nice home, travel, eat out, etc., but I always make sure we save first. Our only debt is our mortgage (3.25%). I love tracking finances and keep track of every penny we spend. I do, however, value time with kids above all else, which is why I am fine having a housekeeper (only $65 a week is worth it!) and splurge like crazy on their gifts, memories, and travel. However, I have one pair of sneakers and one pair of work shoes and wear them until they have holes. It’s all about prioritization!

 

[piccolopat]

Not able to answer your question, but also as an add-on:

Is there are formula to calculate your FI and RE targets? We have a certain multiplier by income, or a certain amount in retirement by age. Just curious what others are using to calculate.

I use the excellent tools from Fidelity where I have my 401K. Their tool allows me to input detailed expenses (and separate discretionary and non-discretionary items), when DH and I will take SS, tax bracket, inflation estimate, etc. With such detail specific to us, it is able to project the likelihood that my savings will last for my planning years (I planned to age 93) through average, below average and significantly below average markets. This tool helped me decide that I could retire this year instead of waiting another couple of years. I like the expense based approach better than tools that use a multiplier of income or a fixed amount by retirement age. Now that I am retired, I track expenses every month and compare to my retirement budget. This will help me make adjustments going forward so we can remain on track.

It's important to note that we started saving for retirement much later than we should, partly because I had a company pension at one time (it was closed and my accrued value was converted to an IRA) and partly because we were paying for college and then a wedding for DD. My best suggestion to younger people is to start saving as much as you can and start as soon as you can. Don't forget to spend enough to enjoy life so you don't regret not doing things when you are young and healthy enough to do them but make sure you are getting good value out of every dollar you spend. Financial independence gives you a peace of mind that material things can never do.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

If you don't mind my asking, what is the number you feel you need to reach in order to retire and have enough money to maintain your current style of living? We are much older than you guys, I'll be 50 in a few weeks and DH is 46. Yup, I'm a cougar too ... rawr. We were told that number needed to be something like 4 million, if memory serves.

Some scattered thoughts on this question:

Right now I don't necessarily have a number in mind where I'd pen my resignation. Back in my mid-20's We set a goal of $100k NW by 30 and we hit that goal. For awhile we were without a "target" just saving as much as we can. No our new goal is $1million NW by 40. We are on target for that goal.

The factors that come into play here in my mind are SWD (Safe Withdrawal Rate) and Expected Annual Expenses.

• As it relates to SWD - I'm in the 3% camp which should provide ample safety net and allow us to pass money along to the next generation (ideally in that scenario our balances would continue to grow even while retired).
• Regarding Expenses - we have averaged $44,313 in annual expenses over the past 11 years. Despite having 2 kids during that time our avg is still only $45,256 over the past 3 years so we're holding fairly steady.
• The number I'm aiming at on the horizon is $2million. That covers $60k annually @ a 3% SWD
• I could see myself taking a step back when we hit $1.5mil though - maybe negotating an arrangement where I could work 4 days a week, or work from Florida for 3-4 weeks at a time in the winter.
• I think 10 years is a long time and my goals and ideas could change so I haven't locked myself into one concept of what this will look like yet

 

[MEM]

Thanks for starting this thread! I always appreciate the transparency. I am 33, married with a stay-at-home spouse, and have 4 kids. One child is disabled and will be dependent on us for his life. My goal is to retire at 54 and have the flexibility to retire at 50 should I be laid off or have a family emergency then. I have a little over $500K in savings/retirement, which includes college funds for kids. My goal is to spend $100K or less for each of my three kids to go to college and have between $4M and $5M to retire at 54. Right now I save a little under $60K total each year, with $10K of it earmarked for college for kids. The big fear for me is the cost of my disabled child. Spouse will not ever be going back to work and will care for him. It could be a boon to our finances as we will receive social security income to offset his costs when he is 18, or it could be a tremendous drain financially to pay for a group home or his own condo, for example.

Having a child with a disability has made me realize that you need to live in the moment. We don’t know when everything might change. So we spend a small fortune on Disney each year, which is his favorite. I include all of our eating out at Disney and we spent about $20K on vacations this year (although that includes paying off an Alaska cruise for next year).

I tend to be very frugal every January and Q1 and loosen up later in the year. We are definitely not MMM - we have a nice home, travel, eat out, etc., but I always make sure we have first. Our only debt is our mortgage (3.25%). I love tracking finances and keep track of every penny we spend. I do, however, value time with kids above all else, which is why I am fine having a housekeeper (only $65 a week is worth it!) and splurge like crazy on their gifts, memories, and travel. However, I have one pair of sneakers and one pair of work shoes and wear them until they have holes. It’s all about prioritization!

I could have written the part in bold, except we spend more like $6,000 for three adults. What's eerily familiar is that we also have an Alaska cruise in 2019 - but not on a Disney ship. My DH has been the SAHD since our son was diagnosed - 22 years ago.

 

[GlamMistress]

Not able to answer your question, but also as an add-on:

Is there are formula to calculate your FI and RE targets? We have a certain multiplier by income, or a certain amount in retirement by age. Just curious what others are using to calculate.

You can try this - https://www.firecalc.com/

Like @calypso726 DH and I just went to our Fidelity advisor and got advice there and I use the online tools to track, etc.

 

[bcwife76]

Thank you for posting this thread. I have been following a few FIRE blogs for several years now. They have helped me increase my savings rate dramatically. I am also a Disney lover. I am aware that most FIRE folk would be appalled by how much my family has spent on WDW/Disney Cruise Vacations, but they have brought joy to our lives, so in our opinion they have been worth it. In other words, I like to save, and I love to travel. I am, however, interested to learn tricks to increasing my saving rate and everyday frugality, while not depriving myself of the things that my family loves. I look forward to learning what all of you have to offer.

I feel like I could have written this exactly word for word as well! My husband and I are early 40's, he works in a physically demanding job and we are on target for him to retire at 55, if not sooner. I am currently a SAHM and would like to work for myself but we are in a fortunate position where I don't *need* to work as our mortgage is paid off and our net worth is quite healthy. Still, I can always use more info on saving even MORE since we also value experiences over things and love to travel.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Welcome everybody who jumped in here! I'm actually surprised this went to 4 pages in 2 days.

Maybe we should do some introductions - If you're willing - maybe share the following:

• Age:
• How Long You've Been Chasing FIRE:
• How much longer you think you have to work:
• 1 Random Fact not related to FIRE:

I'll start!! I'm 34. I've been chasing FIRE actively since 2015. I think work could be optional for me by the year 2029. My name is in reference to my high school football team. I basically never miss a game (attend with my parents - it's a fun tradition). I have been to 41 consecutive games and 99 of the last 101 games (the team has won 93 of those 101 games)!

 

[speedyfishy]

Welcome everybody who jumped in here! I'm actually surprised this went to 4 pages in 2 days.

Maybe we should do some introductions - If you're willing - maybe share the following:

• Age:
• How Long You've Been Chasing FIRE:
• How much longer you think you have to work:
• 1 Random Fact not related to FIRE:

I'll start!! I'm 34. I've been chasing FIRE actively since 2015. I think work could be optional for me by the year 2029. My name is in reference to my high school football team. I basically never miss a game (attend with my parents - it's a fun tradition). I have been to 41 consecutive games and 99 of the last 101 games (the team has won 93 of those 101 games)!

I’m 24. We started about a year ago. Our timeline is up in the air because we are so young and we don’t know what our expenses will be like when we have kids and what our future employment will look like. Based on our current expenses and current savings it would take 12 ish years. I want more money though so I think 20-25. This really can fluctuate so much. It could be quicker than my projections because we are young in our careers so I’m hoping in the upcoming years we will make more. I didn’t project with any raises. We are also in a HCOL area that I want to get out of. On the other hand it could also take longer. I would like kids and that will add to our expenses plus the unknowns of healthcare costs. I’m just focused on savings and not a timeline.
Random fact: my favorite Disney attraction is splash mountain. (This changes often lol)

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

I’m 24. We started about a year ago. Our timeline is up in the air because we are so young and we don’t know what our expenses will be like when we have kids and what our future employment will look like. Based on our current expenses and current savings it would take 12 ish years. I want more money though so I think 20-25. This really can fluctuate so much. It could be quicker than my projections because we are young in our careers so I’m hoping in the upcoming years we will make more. I didn’t project with any raises. We are also in a HCOL area that I want to get out of. On the other hand it could also take longer. I would like kids and that will add to our expenses plus the unknowns of healthcare costs. I’m just focused on savings and not a timeline.
Random fact: my favorite Disney attraction is splash mountain. (This changes often lol)

Similarities:
1) I don't project any raises in my figures either!
2) Favorite and IMO BEST Disney Attraction = Splash Mountain

 

[QueenIsabella]

I'm 54. We haven't been so much chasing FIRE as chasing FI, if that makes sense. DH is an engineer, I don't see him stopping work, just changing the focus. We've always been frugal, but we also have 4 kids and I'm a SAHM, so it's been about being able to afford me staying home with the kids. Even now--the youngest is 12, so not so hands-on anymore, but DH has been known to work some crazy hours, so it makes sense to have a parent available. I'e been home now for 24 years.

DH just got laid off, and we could be fine if he didn't find another job, but he wants one. He's been out ~2 weeks, and already has some excellent prospects. Our original plan was for him to work 10 more years--he likes what he does. Financially, we could FIRE at any time. However, for better or worse, our kids are now fond of international travel. That's never cheap for a family of 6!

Random fact: we survived Hurricane Florence, only to go out afterwards and find 3(!!!) tiny, drenched kittens. No sign of mom, we ended up fostering them. We kept the girl--she's a lilac-point ragdoll (!!!) named Florence. Of course.

 

[Haley R]

I’m 25. Dh and I had never heard of FIRE until this topic was brought up on the credit card thread. We’ve been actively saving for awhile and just recently started our own ROTH IRAs and maxed them out for this year. We also started seeing a financial advisor this year and he’s been a great help (and free!). We will most likely be having kids very soon so it’s hard to project when we will or won’t retire. I’m also a sub currently and would like to eventually be a SAHM when we have kids but there is a school I love and if a full time position opened there I would apply in a heartbeat. That doesn’t mean they’ll hire me though so we have a lot of things up in the air.

A random fact about me is I play the drums in a rock band. Dh plays the bass in our band. If you want to know the name of the band PM me lol

 

[MEM]

Age: I'm 59, DH is 71
How Long We've Been Chasing FIRE: about 10 years (late I know). We were in good shape until our house burned down 4 years ago (wrong kind of FIRE-chasing!). Had to use DH's retirement savings to re-build the house. Still fighting with the insurance company four years later. They feel they have given us "enough money"???
Years Left to Work: Probably 10, unless we win our case against the insurance company.
Random fact: I rescue "chi-weenies"! I have two, with a third coming in February after her puppies are weaned.

 

[alryan]

Like others, I had never heard of FIRE until I came across it on the credit card thread. So we are not chasing FIRE exactly, but definitely FI, and hopefully retire a little early. I am 45 and DH is 50. We have been married for 14 years and both of us had started contributing to Roth IRAs and 401k starting in our late 20s. In the beginning it wasn't much, probably only $100/month or so. I have worked very part time to mainly stay home when the kids were younger and then to home school them. Our kids are 9, 10, and 13. Since we were married later, our retirement timeline will be right in line with kids going to college, so we will see how that all plays out.

Like others have mentioned we are trying to walk the line of YOLO and saving for the future. My mother had her first heart attack at age 48, followed by another heart attack or stroke every few years. So I've been very conscious of enjoying life while you can. For us that means not saving for college. I remember meeting with our financial advisor when the kids were young and him saying we should be saving $600/month for college. That just wasn't possible, our house payment at the time was only $500. There was no way that was happening. Our plan for college is that if needed I can work more to help pay for it. Or the kids will be on their own.

I really appreciate others sharing their numbers, because I think it is valuable. It is easy to think that this is only possible with big salaries. So here are ours. We started off probably making around 45,000 up to 72,000 currently. Our retirement savings is just over 300,000. DH would like to retire at 62. I'm not sure if you call it retiring for me since I only work about 12 hours per week, so I don't know how long I'll work. Our goal is to have between 900,000 and one million to be able to retire. As far as our savings percentage, going off net income we are at 19%, so definitely not at the level some of you chasing FIRE may be.

Some of my questions have been answered already, but wondering for those who are planning on a younger age to retire. Do you plan on just keeping all your money in stocks/bonds and withdrawal your percentage or do you think you would invest in rental property to have income from that?

Thanks for starting this thread!

 

[Cruising Engineer]

Age: 64, DH is 75
Chasing FIRE: Just learned the term but have been frugal all our married life (34 yrs). House was paid off in 1993. Cars are paid in cash (new car every ten years).
How much long working: DH is retired airline pilot. I got laid off in 2012 and returned to advance my education. Both retired Army in addition to careers.
Random Fact: I am pursuing my PhD in Civil Engineering.

 

[Jaime4004]

Age: 42 for DH and I
Chasing FIRE: Been reading up for a few years but didn't know it had a name until the cc board. Really just starting to think about ramping things up a little. I've been mostly a SAHM (some part time work off and on over the years). DH makes a good salary and has been contributing to his 401K. I contributed a small amount to a roth when we had extra money, but nothing for the past few years. ALso have a rollover IRA from when I worked fulltime prekids. I'm in the YOLO camp and tend to spend more on vacations than we probably should. My goals are to pay off the cars (which will be within a year) and the house (about 15 years at the rate we're going, but hopefully will throw more money at it). I'm applying for more steady part-time jobs now, about 2 days/week and plan on increasing that as the kids get older. My oldest will have a license in a year, which will help. My plan to continue to live off DH's salary and use mine to help the kids with college and save.
Working years left: No idea. I'll probably work part time for a long time and DH likes his work, so we'll see.
Random fact: The pic in my avatar is my dogs as puppies, who both died about 2 years ago of old age at 15/16. We now have 2 more dogs, coincidentally also black and yellow, but different breeds.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

...We were in good shape until our house burned down 4 years ago (wrong kind of FIRE-chasing!)...

I legit laughed out loud at your "wrong kind of fire" comment.

Like others, I had never heard of FIRE until I came across it on the credit card thread. So we are not chasing FIRE exactly, but definitely FI, and hopefully retire a little early...

Some of my questions have been answered already, but wondering for those who are planning on a younger age to retire. Do you plan on just keeping all your money in stocks/bonds and withdrawal your percentage or do you think you would invest in rental property to have income from that?

Thanks for starting this thread!

I think I'm also in the FI (but not necessarily RE) camp. I don't know that I'd want to stop working...but just to have the ability to would be great.

For now my plan is to be all stock market. I'm not interested in being a landlord but I know some people are doing the rental property thing as their strategy. I think it can work either way and both come with their own set of issues and risks.

Some other random musings for the group: As I've progressed on my journey, I've realized how liberating it can be to realize that a short term job loss would not be a huge deal. And now a slightly longer term job loss would not be a big deal. I know in FIRE circles this is referred to as having "F-U Money" but...I would never say F-U so...I don't like that term lol.

My assessment of the situation is...Employers and bosses are often afraid of losing their best people (or any people because hiring and training sounds hard). Workers are afraid of losing their jobs so they don't want to rock the boat. Typically those chasing FIRE are also super productive good workers. We figure out that because we are NOT afraid of losing our job but the employer/boss is afraid of losing us that we have all the leverage. The further down the path to FIRE I get, the less likely I am to comply with something I don't want to do. Busy-Work, needless meetings, paperwork for nothing...no thanks. Don't like it...hmmm fire me (they won't). Of course I wouldn't actually refuse to do something that is necessary and has value in my job.

 

[AlohaNow]

So last night I went to the library and checked out The Millionaire Next Door. Because I like not paying for things that I can get for free! I’ve heard of it many times over the years and I think it will be an interesting read. Thanks for putting it back on my radar.

So both DH and I are 47 (not a cougar) and we are not on the path to FIRE, but maybe y’all can turn me. I find these discussions extremely interesting. I have always enjoyed handling our investments and have done pretty well. But we plan to meet with a financial planner soon to discuss retirement and college financial aid issues. DH was left some money in trust and from everything I’ve read that means we’re screwed for FA. We’d really like to maintain the principal throughout our living years, as he draws a small RMD from it annually. We’re not talking seven figures in there, but very low six. Even so, it’s the largest single line item in Quicken for us, so I’d rather not see it depleted in the first 2-3 years of college for our oldest. But if that’s what it comes to, then at least the money is there to pay tuition, right? His younger brother will follow three years later, so we should have seven years of tuition. We will help them out with undergrad, but if they wish to continue their education on beyond that, they know they are on their own! We are two years away from starting, so we are strategizing!

We both work for non-profits so our salaries are definitely not up there, never have been, and never will be. With the RMDs included, we only recently moved into the six figure category for income. Yeah, any recent engineering graduate would probably laugh at what we make this far into working! I’m so thankful that I started reading Money magazine when I was in my 20’s and fully embraced the importance of TVM! So even when we had to stop contributing to our retirement investments temporarily while paying out daycare for two, those assets continued to grow for us. I love tracking everything and updating in Quicken!

Like most of you, we definitely enjoy travel! It’s so funny, my co-workers seem confused because I talk about shopping at thrift stores and they’re like, “But you travel every year!” (They do not travel at all.) Do they not get that the thrifting is the trade-off for the travel? If I’ve learned anything here on the fantastic Budget Board, it’s that life is choices, especially when it comes to money. And with DH’s parents kicking the bucket in their mid-50s, we will not stop travelling anytime soon, as life is short. Anyway, sounds like you guys are making some of those good choices. Sorry for my rambling post. I’m here to learn from the masters!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

...It’s so funny, my co-workers seem confused because I talk about shopping at thrift stores and they’re like, “But you travel every year!” (They do not travel at all.) Do they not get that the thrifting is the trade-off for the travel? If I’ve learned anything here on the fantastic Budget Board, it’s that life is choices, especially when it comes to money. And with DH’s parents kicking the bucket in their mid-50s, we will not stop travelling anytime soon, as life is short. Anyway, sounds like you guys are making some of those good choices. Sorry for my rambling post. I’m here to learn from the masters!

This ceases to amaze me too...because I travel I am rich?? Trade-Offs is so not understood with some folks!

My saying to people is "You can have practically ANYTHING you want. You can't have EVERYTHING you want". Unfortunately many of the people I encounter actually have NOTHING that they want because they waste all their money buying things somebody else has that isn't even important to them