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Re: Any other attorneys considering FIRE / early retirement / part time?

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Mar 06, 2019 12:29 am

SFSpartan wrote:To get this thread back on track - would be really interested in seeing how folks are pulling this off in ultra high COL areas. I'd love to do FIRE, but it just doesn't seem possible in my market (Silicon Valley) without 2 biglaw incomes (primarily due to the absurdly high COL - paying $4500ish/month on a mortgage really cuts into my ability to save and pay down debt).
FIRE crowd is typically down on investing in such an expensive asset, though of course bay house appreciation has the potential to beat their market returns. Not that hard to hit $1 mm in 8-9 years of biglaw given returns in nyc / sf, if lifestyle doesn't inflate and you find bottom of market rent, even with loans.

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Re: Any other attorneys considering FIRE / early retirement / part time?

Post by dabigchina » Wed Mar 06, 2019 1:03 am

Anonymous User wrote:
SFSpartan wrote:To get this thread back on track - would be really interested in seeing how folks are pulling this off in ultra high COL areas. I'd love to do FIRE, but it just doesn't seem possible in my market (Silicon Valley) without 2 biglaw incomes (primarily due to the absurdly high COL - paying $4500ish/month on a mortgage really cuts into my ability to save and pay down debt).
FIRE crowd is typically down on investing in such an expensive asset, though of course bay house appreciation has the potential to beat their market returns. Not that hard to hit $1 mm in 8-9 years of biglaw given returns in nyc / sf, if lifestyle doesn't inflate and you find bottom of market rent, even with loans.
Ok but reaching 8-9 years in biglaw ain't exactly a walk in the park. It might even be easier for op to find a so with a biglaw income.

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Re: Any other attorneys considering FIRE / early retirement / part time?

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Mar 06, 2019 10:52 pm

dabigchina wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:
SFSpartan wrote:To get this thread back on track - would be really interested in seeing how folks are pulling this off in ultra high COL areas. I'd love to do FIRE, but it just doesn't seem possible in my market (Silicon Valley) without 2 biglaw incomes (primarily due to the absurdly high COL - paying $4500ish/month on a mortgage really cuts into my ability to save and pay down debt).
FIRE crowd is typically down on investing in such an expensive asset, though of course bay house appreciation has the potential to beat their market returns. Not that hard to hit $1 mm in 8-9 years of biglaw given returns in nyc / sf, if lifestyle doesn't inflate and you find bottom of market rent, even with loans.
Ok but reaching 8-9 years in biglaw ain't exactly a walk in the park. It might even be easier for op to find a so with a biglaw income.
Didn't say it was a walk in the park. The OP to the thread is a 6-9 year associate and that is the context for the question for "how people do this." If you want pursue a FIRE style life through biglaw, it can be done. And his question was how are people pulling this off.

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Re: Any other attorneys considering FIRE / early retirement / part time?

Post by dabigchina » Wed Mar 06, 2019 10:58 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
dabigchina wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:
SFSpartan wrote:To get this thread back on track - would be really interested in seeing how folks are pulling this off in ultra high COL areas. I'd love to do FIRE, but it just doesn't seem possible in my market (Silicon Valley) without 2 biglaw incomes (primarily due to the absurdly high COL - paying $4500ish/month on a mortgage really cuts into my ability to save and pay down debt).
FIRE crowd is typically down on investing in such an expensive asset, though of course bay house appreciation has the potential to beat their market returns. Not that hard to hit $1 mm in 8-9 years of biglaw given returns in nyc / sf, if lifestyle doesn't inflate and you find bottom of market rent, even with loans.
Ok but reaching 8-9 years in biglaw ain't exactly a walk in the park. It might even be easier for op to find a so with a biglaw income.
Didn't say it was a walk in the park. The OP to the thread is a 6-9 year associate and that is the context for the question for "how people do this." If you want pursue a FIRE style life through biglaw, it can be done. And his question was how are people pulling this off.
Right, but the quoted poster isn't, and it's hardly useful advice to tell him to "just be an 8th year."

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Re: Any other attorneys considering FIRE / early retirement / part time?

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Mar 07, 2019 10:51 am

I've been giving FIRE some serious thought recently. Our household net worth surpassed $1 million last year, and given ordinary market returns and our savings rate, we are on track to hit $2.5-3 million by our early 40s, which I think would be sufficient to retire at a reasonably middle class lifestyle. Since we are two lawyers making roughly biglaw mid-level salaries in a medium cost of living market (though not on traditional biglaw up-or-out tracks), we can easily live on just one of the two and save the rest.

However, I don't think simply quitting law and moving to a cheap suburb to do precisely nothing would be all that satisfying over the long run. You need to retire TO something, not simply from something. But, I also am reticent to quit to start some hobby business that could just as easily burn more money than it makes. I have at least a few years to think harder about this before hitting FI, and there's nothing that says you need to do anything at all in response to becoming FI- it may be nice to continue has if nothing changed with the confidence that economics no longer has to govern our decision making.

I've played with FIRECALC a decent bit, which looks at returns from historical periods with a given portfolio and shows your chances of running out of money at a given withdrawal rate with a given investment portfolio:

https://www.firecalc.com/

It gives you a much better idea of what it means to spend a given amount of your portfolio than simple rules of thumb like 4%. Personally, I'd be more comfortable spending between 3% and 3.5% based on the FIRECALC results. I'd also recommend boggleheads.com as a resource for folks looking at investing and early retirement. The community there is a bit less hardcore spartan than the MMM community, and also provides some great investment and tax optimization advice.

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Re: Any other attorneys considering FIRE / early retirement / part time?

Post by QContinuum » Thu Mar 07, 2019 6:46 pm

Anonymous User wrote:Since we are two lawyers making roughly biglaw mid-level salaries in a medium cost of living market (though not on traditional biglaw up-or-out tracks), we can easily live on just one of the two and save the rest.

However, I don't think simply quitting law and moving to a cheap suburb to do precisely nothing would be all that satisfying over the long run.
Not to disagree with anything in your post, and I'm certain that as a midlevel you already know what I'm about to say, but just to clarify to other readers of this thread, particularly those who may be less familiar with the typical BigLaw career trajectory: It's unrealistic to plan on indefinitely making a BigLaw midlevel salary. Absent elevation to the partnership or a counsel role (neither of which should be counted on), BigLaw is inherently a transitory state, so no one should plan to retire/exit legal practice/pursue a startup or other costly, risky venture based on the idea that they'll stay afloat thanks to their partner's BigLaw midlevel salary. Rather, a sound financial plan should assume that the current BigLawyer will take a large salary haircut within the next few years.

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Re: Any other attorneys considering FIRE / early retirement / part time?

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Mar 08, 2019 10:00 am

QContinuum wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:Since we are two lawyers making roughly biglaw mid-level salaries in a medium cost of living market (though not on traditional biglaw up-or-out tracks), we can easily live on just one of the two and save the rest.

However, I don't think simply quitting law and moving to a cheap suburb to do precisely nothing would be all that satisfying over the long run.
Not to disagree with anything in your post, and I'm certain that as a midlevel you already know what I'm about to say, but just to clarify to other readers of this thread, particularly those who may be less familiar with the typical BigLaw career trajectory: It's unrealistic to plan on indefinitely making a BigLaw midlevel salary. Absent elevation to the partnership or a counsel role (neither of which should be counted on), BigLaw is inherently a transitory state, so no one should plan to retire/exit legal practice/pursue a startup or other costly, risky venture based on the idea that they'll stay afloat thanks to their partner's BigLaw midlevel salary. Rather, a sound financial plan should assume that the current BigLawyer will take a large salary haircut within the next few years.
Just to clarify: I'm not in biglaw and spouse is in more of a boutique situation. There's no question that we may not continue to make our current salaries forever, but we aren't depending on that happening. If we fall off the gravy train, it will just delay FI. Our living expenses are low enough that we could get by on 1/4 of what we are making right now.

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Re: Any other attorneys considering FIRE / early retirement / part time?

Post by Anonymous User » Sun Mar 10, 2019 4:26 pm

I haven't seen mention of this, so I wanted to add my two cents. My plan is to save as much as possible during my time in biglaw. I don't want to leave, but if I am eventually asked to, I am hoping to have around $200-$300,000 saved up in index funds in both tax-advantaged and normal accounts. Just letting that account sit for 3-4 decades will then give me a pretty good chance of having retirement covered. Even those accounts don't cover all of my retirement, I think that having them accruing interest in the background will alleviate pressure to choose my next job solely based off salary. I think of it as a version of coastFIRE, if I understand that term correctly.

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Re: Any other attorneys considering FIRE / early retirement / part time?

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Apr 04, 2019 2:48 pm

Will revive this thread. Sitting at 270k right now and in big law for a year and a half so far. If the markets don't tank the next two years (a big IF) I am expecting to hit 350k by year end and 475-500k by end of 2020. My plan is to then leave big law at the beginning of my 4th year.

Assuming a conservative average 4% return for 9 years after I leave big law, I can contribute just a lowly $2,500/month or $30k annual and still hit 1 million at age 40. The big unknowns are now whether I can last in big law for 2 more years to hit the $500k number and if I can find a SO that is on the same page re: FI(RE) who has a decent income.

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Re: Any other attorneys considering FIRE / early retirement / part time?

Post by MillllerTime » Wed Apr 10, 2019 8:56 am

Anonymous User wrote:... I can contribute just a lowly $2,500/month or $30k annual and still hit 1 million at age 40.
Is $1M your retirement number or just a nice target that allows you to coast even more? Even going full Mustache, I can't imagine feeling comfortable truly retiring (both with my lifestyle and comfortable that the 4% rule will hold up) with less than ~$2,000,000 or so.

That said; good work. That's a lot more than I banked in my first couple of years in biglaw.

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Re: Any other attorneys considering FIRE / early retirement / part time?

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Apr 10, 2019 9:07 am

MillllerTime wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:... I can contribute just a lowly $2,500/month or $30k annual and still hit 1 million at age 40.
Is $1M your retirement number or just a nice target that allows you to coast even more? Even going full Mustache, I can't imagine feeling comfortable truly retiring (both with my lifestyle and comfortable that the 4% rule will hold up) with less than ~$2,000,000 or so.

That said; good work. That's a lot more than I banked in my first couple of years in biglaw.
Nope, just a baseline goal of 1 million at 40 where I will then feel comfortable doing any sort of job without stressing over salary. I don't plan to "retire" in the traditional sense until at least 50-55. The above mode requires me grinding it out 21-22 more months in big law to hit the $500k number but then essentially doing a "coast job" that allows me saving $30k a year. I put "coast" in quotation marks, because I feel like as a 4th year I shouldn't have a problem finding a more 9-5 job that pays at least $150k and I am at the point where a fixed 40 hour work week would feel like coasting. My drop-dead date for big law is January 2021 and having an end in sight helps me get through this. That being said, if some opportunity fell in my lap this plan might change.

If I do indeed take a "150k job" -- I figure I can actually save more like $50k/year for the 9 years post-big law until I turn 40, which at a conservative 4% return, is 1.24M. I think historically, stock market returns more like 10%/year or 7% adjusting for inflation, so that number could be more like 1.54M (at 7%).

I think at that level and at 40 I'd feel pretty comfortable. I haven't really thought about how this calculus will change with kids entering the photo and a SO. I'm single right now, so it will depend a lot on what my potential wife is like lol

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Re: Any other attorneys considering FIRE / early retirement / part time?

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Apr 10, 2019 9:57 am

My goal is to hit $1 million at the end of my 6th year. Currently a fourth year. Currently on pace saving about 7000-10k monthly; this is only possible because we’re living off the spouse’s salary though and my school loans were minimal. And assuming I won’t get pushed out before then... how common is it to last until your 6th year. I’m one of the few remaining in my class year, though I think everyone left by choice...

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Re: Any other attorneys considering FIRE / early retirement / part time?

Post by MillllerTime » Wed Apr 10, 2019 8:35 pm

Anonymous User wrote:My goal is to hit $1 million at the end of my 6th year. Currently a fourth year. Currently on pace saving about 7000-10k monthly; this is only possible because we’re living off the spouse’s salary though and my school loans were minimal. And assuming I won’t get pushed out before then... how common is it to last until your 6th year. I’m one of the few remaining in my class year, though I think everyone left by choice...
This seems pretty similar to my situation. I didn't expect to last 6 years from the start, but now that I'm a midlevel and at least moderately secure financially I've found the job to be much more chill. Still looking forward to the $150k/yr 9-5, but for now I will happily stay in biglaw and make more than double that to work a job that overall isn't much worse than 9-5 (at least in overall quantity).

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Re: Any other attorneys considering FIRE / early retirement / part time?

Post by jdoe12345 » Tue Dec 10, 2019 9:38 pm

Will revive this thread, because I have a question for my fellow FIRE seekers.

In your journey to financial independence, do you ever feel like you are settling for mediocrity?


I'm 29 with approximately $900k net worth (a lot of this is real estate gains and crypto - no investment prowess, just dumb luck). There are plenty of late nights when I'm banging away in front of the computer, just wishing I could sit on a beach somewhere for the rest of my life. At the same time, there are certainly days when I wonder if I am dreaming too small.

We live in an exciting time when new and innovative ideas (including FIRE) are being introduced and I sometimes wonder if I will look back on my youth and wonder if I should have been more courageous and tried to find my passion or impact the world on a larger scale. In particular, I am concerned that by the time I am FI I will be too old to take a bigger risk and am settling for a good (but not great) life.

For those of you who have felt this way, how have you dealt with those feelings? What would you tell someone in my position? I'm especially curious to hear from those of you who are a little older and farther along the journey to FIRE.

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Re: Any other attorneys considering FIRE / early retirement / part time?

Post by dabigchina » Wed Dec 11, 2019 12:53 am

How exactly does having a bunch of money stand in the way of "greatness"?

If you are asking whether you should quit law and take a shot at doing something you care about - do it. 900k is a decent net worth. You can find something low paying and low stress and think about what the hell you want to do with your life.

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Re: Any other attorneys considering FIRE / early retirement / part time?

Post by BlackAndOrange84 » Wed Dec 11, 2019 3:02 am

dabigchina wrote:How exactly does having a bunch of money stand in the way of "greatness"?

If you are asking whether you should quit law and take a shot at doing something you care about - do it. 900k is a decent net worth. You can find something low paying and low stress and think about what the hell you want to do with your life.
His question seems to be about there being a real opportunity cost in terms of at least time (and I'd say other things, too, and not just foregone consumption!) in doing what it takes to "have a bunch of money." That could certainly get in the way of being "great" (however defined) or whatever one wants to be besides financially independent. And focusing on amassing surplus wealth for one's own benefit cuts against lots of different moral beliefs that people hold (certain kinds of progressives, Christians, and socialists just for example). I mean, at bottom, FIRE is about becoming a rentier through capital accumulation rather than having to be a wage earner.

My youthful dreams are dead (I certainly never "dreamt" of being a lawyer), but I enjoy practice and I'm pretty happy trying to become a decent lawyer in what I think is at least a necessary profession, while working towards FI and maybe RE. Those things aren't true for everyone and frequently seem to be a minority position, but I get what jdoe is saying. And to be clear, I don't mean to suggest that jdoe shouldn't follow his dreams or should put his beliefs on the shelf.

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Re: Any other attorneys considering FIRE / early retirement / part time?

Post by unlicensedpotato » Wed Dec 11, 2019 2:28 pm

jdoe12345 wrote:Will revive this thread, because I have a question for my fellow FIRE seekers.

In your journey to financial independence, do you ever feel like you are settling for mediocrity?


I'm 29 with approximately $900k net worth (a lot of this is real estate gains and crypto - no investment prowess, just dumb luck). There are plenty of late nights when I'm banging away in front of the computer, just wishing I could sit on a beach somewhere for the rest of my life. At the same time, there are certainly days when I wonder if I am dreaming too small.

We live in an exciting time when new and innovative ideas (including FIRE) are being introduced and I sometimes wonder if I will look back on my youth and wonder if I should have been more courageous and tried to find my passion or impact the world on a larger scale. In particular, I am concerned that by the time I am FI I will be too old to take a bigger risk and am settling for a good (but not great) life.

For those of you who have felt this way, how have you dealt with those feelings? What would you tell someone in my position? I'm especially curious to hear from those of you who are a little older and farther along the journey to FIRE.
This is probably very naive but I'd like to get FIRE and then just use my time to help people. Not necessarily as a pro bono attorney but just connecting with people and trying to help them fix their problems. I think a lot of people these days want to do the "right" thing but are constantly running around and have too little time and attention for others. Any type of serious career (even one that I was passionate about and was doing "good") would leave me in the same place in that respect.

I think of FIRE as like putting your oxygen mask on first in an airplane so that you can take care of others and don't have to worry about making money doing it. Once a profit motive is introduced, people's incentives tend to get distorted.

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Re: Any other attorneys considering FIRE / early retirement / part time?

Post by Anonymous User » Sun Dec 22, 2019 2:04 pm

I'm not in the FIRE camp, but I have maxed out my TSP (fed govt equivalent of 401k) and my wife and I are frugal. I do think you're taking this too far, though. First, if these folks are real friends, then their weddings will be fun--I had a blast celebrating mine with my two closest friends from law school and college (didn't invite many people, just those I was close to). Second, you should still have fun even while you're saving. My 3L year three of my classmates died unexpectedly, and that really drove home for me that life can end at any time. You can both save for the future and enjoy life in the present (recognizing that you could die at any time).

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Re: Any other attorneys considering FIRE / early retirement / part time?

Post by redtalun » Tue Dec 24, 2019 11:43 am

tl;dr - subscibe the Rational Reminder podcast; min-max your happiness, not your 401k

I would strongly recommend getting a hold of the Rational Reminder podcast and listen to the ep. where they discuss FIRE. A great point they made (I'm paraphrasing here) is that FIRE should be a means to achieving happiness rather than the goal itself. If what makes you happy is volunteering (or spending more time with kids, tending a garden, or any other of a vast # of poorly paid/unpaid activities) FIRE makes a lot of sense as a means to reach the goal of being able to do what you enjoy without being stressed out about your financial future. On the other hand, if you enjoy the intellecutal challenges and collaborative envinromnet of the legal profession, you might be happier and more fulfilled by working in as in-house council in non-profit that advances a cause you care about.

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Re: Any other attorneys considering FIRE / early retirement / part time?

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Dec 24, 2019 1:29 pm

Anonymous User wrote:Will revive this thread. Sitting at 270k right now and in big law for a year and a half so far. If the markets don't tank the next two years (a big IF) I am expecting to hit 350k by year end and 475-500k by end of 2020. My plan is to then leave big law at the beginning of my 4th year.

Assuming a conservative average 4% return for 9 years after I leave big law, I can contribute just a lowly $2,500/month or $30k annual and still hit 1 million at age 40. The big unknowns are now whether I can last in big law for 2 more years to hit the $500k number and if I can find a SO that is on the same page re: FI(RE) who has a decent income.
OP here, thought I would bump to provide an update and go back to talking hard numbers and big law plans, rather than the philosophical discussion that is current being had.

Market performing extremely well to end the year has me at a NW now of $380k instead of the 350k I was projecting back in April 2019. My assets are allocated 79.2% stocks (VTSAX and VTIAX at a 70-30 balance), 16.2% Total Bond and 4.6% Cash (about $17.5k). To be honest, I'm out of balance right now since I should have been 90-10 for AA instead of 80-20. I've been hesitant to buy any new equities all of Q4 in fear of a crash and now I have 80k built up not doing anything for me. If I didn't try to time the market, all of this would have been invested and grown in the past few months. I'm probably going to start dollar cost averaging and auto buying some VTSAX at 2k a week until I get back down to a proper asset allocation right now. I always max out my 401k contributions in beginning of year so that's going to all hit in January too. After bonus hits in January I am hoping to finally crack $400k.

In terms of my big law plan, man is it hard. I think about rage quitting all the time without having anything lined up whenever someone staffs me on some bullshit on friday afternoon and ruins yet another weekend. I'm not sure I will make it through 2021 and the end of my third year in big law to hit my 500k goal and am actively applying to every inhouse position I have a remote shot at. Unfortunately no bites given my practice area. It's true that money doesn't buy happiness because I'm pretty miserable but at least I don't need to worry about money if I can find a job that gives me some work life balance and fulfillment.

ETA: Also still single because no time to date while being a slave at work....

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Re: Any other attorneys considering FIRE / early retirement / part time?

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Jul 17, 2021 10:44 pm

Came across this old thread today. Curious if anyone else is on the FI (or RE) track?

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Re: Any other attorneys considering FIRE / early retirement / part time?

Post by Definitely Not North » Sat Jul 17, 2021 11:22 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Sat Jul 17, 2021 10:44 pm
Came across this old thread today. Curious if anyone else is on the FI (or RE) track?
We’ve had a few threads on it on here and L S L—good number of people shooting for it. Big law is great for it if you can hack the horrible lifestyle.

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Re: Any other attorneys considering FIRE / early retirement / part time?

Post by Anonymous User » Sun Jul 18, 2021 9:05 am

I'm more naturally frugal than specifically aiming for FIRE, but FIRE allows you to put context on your savings rather than just mindlessly accumulating wealth. For me, I realized recently that I hit CoastFIRE (I basically have enough invested now to retire at 65 without contributing anything else to retirement), which has opened me up to other opportunities that may be more rewarding/aligned with my values and a purpose I believe in rather than helping large corporations. So I'm starting to apply to/research other legal opportunities that may be more fulfilling. I expect if/when I approach FIRE that will only intensify. Basically I view getting closer to FIRE as a sliding scale where the closer I get, the more heavily I will value working/spending my time on something meaningful that impacts the world in a way consistent with my values, as well as having a better work-life balance.

I think FIRE can be a trap for the unwary, especially with type A personalities, who view it as checking off a box and arriving at some enlightened state when you have a certain net worth. As someone said earlier in this thread you have to retire TO something, not from something. You need to be looking into potential roles (legal or nonlegal) that will enrich you, and are in line with your values and purpose, on your way to FIRE - this is part of the journey. The closer you get to FIRE the longer financial leash you have to take on lesser-paying roles. But if all you're doing is counting the days until some mythical FIRE number without putting the time in now to figure out what you actually want to do when you get there, you're potentially missing out on some great opportunities which could present themselves earlier - as well as figuring out what it is you actually want to do.

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Re: Any other attorneys considering FIRE / early retirement / part time?

Post by Anonymous User » Sun Jul 18, 2021 9:33 am

Anonymous User wrote:
Sun Jul 18, 2021 9:05 am
I'm more naturally frugal than specifically aiming for FIRE, but FIRE allows you to put context on your savings rather than just mindlessly accumulating wealth. For me, I realized recently that I hit CoastFIRE (I basically have enough invested now to retire at 65 without contributing anything else to retirement), which has opened me up to other opportunities that may be more rewarding/aligned with my values and a purpose I believe in rather than helping large corporations. So I'm starting to apply to/research other legal opportunities that may be more fulfilling. I expect if/when I approach FIRE that will only intensify. Basically I view getting closer to FIRE as a sliding scale where the closer I get, the more heavily I will value working/spending my time on something meaningful that impacts the world in a way consistent with my values, as well as having a better work-life balance.

I think FIRE can be a trap for the unwary, especially with type A personalities, who view it as checking off a box and arriving at some enlightened state when you have a certain net worth. As someone said earlier in this thread you have to retire TO something, not from something. You need to be looking into potential roles (legal or nonlegal) that will enrich you, and are in line with your values and purpose, on your way to FIRE - this is part of the journey. The closer you get to FIRE the longer financial leash you have to take on lesser-paying roles. But if all you're doing is counting the days until some mythical FIRE number without putting the time in now to figure out what you actually want to do when you get there, you're potentially missing out on some great opportunities which could present themselves earlier - as well as figuring out what it is you actually want to do.
Do you mind explaining what CoastFIRE is? That seems to be more in line with my goals than actual FIRE. What is the amount you need to have saved?

I'm graduating this year and my spouse and I are working on our financial goals and trying to figure out what we're working towards. No student debt and we'd like to save as much as possible but we'd also like to a live a decent lifestyle in our HCOL market.

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Re: Any other attorneys considering FIRE / early retirement / part time?

Post by Anonymous User » Sun Jul 18, 2021 9:56 am

CoastFIRE assumes that you continue working until a "normal" retirement age (62, 65, whatever) and that you don't make any additional retirement contributions. So you put in your current retirement fund/NW (X), with reasonable investment returns until you retire: (X*1.07)^n. N is the number of years until retirement.
The number you need is where you can live off 4% withdrawal rate. For me, I have about 260k saved at 31, so (260*1.07)^30 (assuming retirement at 61) is close to $2M. That means if I just cover my expenses until I retire, and don't contribute anything else to retirement, I'll have $2M at retirement, which at a 4% withdrawal rate is about $80k/year. Of course this isn't factoring in kids or anything like that, which makes things more complicated. But in theory CoastFIRE means you can work any random job that allows you to cover your expenses and still be able to retire. For me hitting CoastFIRE means I'm levelling up my search for other positions that will be more intrinsically rewarding, with the knowledge that I can afford a pretty significant pay cut.

Seriously? What are you waiting for?

Now there's a charge.
Just kidding ... it's still FREE!


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