Recalculating FIRE Odds

I’ve been late in ‘closing the books’ for our finances in 2018. With tax preparation season on us, I’ve spent a few hours this week trying to figure out exactly where things ended last year so that I can effectively pull together our tax statements. I also taken opportunity to recalculate the historical probabilities of our overall FIRE plan. The financial markets ended 2018 badly … Continue reading Recalculating FIRE Odds

FIRE Station Fun – Calculating Returns

Most of 2016 did not bring a lot of growth in the stock market.  It wasn’t until Election Day that the S&P500 really took off with gains of +15% behind the so-called Trump Rally, which seems to hinge on corporate and individual tax cuts and simplification.  Heaven knows how the Federal government is going to pay for all of that (more about that in next … Continue reading FIRE Station Fun – Calculating Returns

Calculating Retirement Odds – Using FIREcalc

Now that I am retired early and enjoying my first month without work, people are asking me for advice on how much THEY need to save to retire themselves.  Many people don’t seem to know where exactly to start.  Calculating the money needed for retirement feels like walking into a foreign casino to them – full of opportunity, but also fraught with risk. With that … Continue reading Calculating Retirement Odds – Using FIREcalc