I updated my numbers this morning and found out that I reached FI…
feeling good, not too excited actually. Just turned 46 last month. Quitting my job seems no longer as important to me as it was a few years back, funny. So just FI, without RE for me.
Anyway, thanks for all your support you guys. Just knowing that other people out there are on a similar path as me helped me a lot.
Congratulations! This calls for a big celebration!
What was your investment strategy?
What SWR do you use?
I assume you continue your strategy and continue paying in and not taken out as long as you still work?
Will you change anything job wise? Try something else, reduce %?
I’ll take a year off, spend more time with my family, parents and friends and travel (hopefully) but plan to go back to my old company, but work a lot less, maybe just a few hours a month.
Concerning my investment strategy, I started with a Vanguard ETF, then tried everything else, from crypto gambling (lost some money there), robo advisors, P2P Lending, real estate crowdfunding and value investing.
Today I am more interested in the companies I invest in now and care about what they do, not only how they perform financially, so while I still have my ETFs and plan on keeping them, I no longer buy new ones. Instead try to find interesting companies that I can invest in directly.
An important step for me was that we were able to buy an inexpensive apartment a few years back. Since we are paying now a lot less mortgage than what we paid in rent before, this freed a lot of money that we are able to invest in the stock market.
I calculate with a 8% SWR because I can do twice as good as the the average 
Seriously, I think the 4% rule is for the very cautious. I plan to use a dynamic withdrawal rate of 3-6%. If the market tanks, we can always cut down on expenses, take a margin loan against my assets at around 2-3%, go back to work and/or find another way to make more money. I will avoid selling too much stock in a market crash, which is the main reason for the 4% rule.
Here is a pretty interesting article concerning dynamic withdrawal rate (in German)
When did you start investing?
What is your FI number?
How much did you save per year?
I started investing systematically 2014, when I first read about Mr. Money Mustache, before that i had some obscure postfinance and bank funds, that performed really horrible, but I got curious about investing and realized how much the banks and pension funds are stealing from us and how easy it was to do much better.
Our FI number is 2,4 Mio CHF (inkl. 2nd and 3rd pillar, inkl. apartment, -mortgage)
My wife and I saved 57% (around 108 k/year) over the last 6 years (she’ll continue to work, but also at a reduced level)
Congrats @kraphael very impressive and happy to see people arriving to the end of the marathon 
It would be very interesting to see your portfolio and evolution over time. That cuold help us to see how your approach was and get some ideas.
Thanks!
My portfolio is a pretty big mess, haha, I wouldn’t recommend to replicate it
My ETF positions are
2000 VWRL
1500 WSRUSA
300 SMMCHA
300 SRECHA
500 CHDVD
The rest are shares from about 30 handpicked companies because I like the idea of directly owning parts of a company (10-20k each, about 50% swiss). Sometimes I buy shares just because i like the company or their product. My Swatch and Calida share prices have fallen since I bought them, but I believe in their long term success and also look forward to the natural dividends every year - a pyjama and a watch. Still thinking about buying a Lindt & Sprüngli share where you get a 10 kg chocolate box every year And I plan to go to some shareholder meetings and get a free lunch 
I am not really a passiv investor, but I try to be very aware of my emotions (greed/fear), step back if i feel that they took control of me. I always try to buy when the markets are in panic and avoid assets that are too popular, at least that much I have learned from Warren Buffet. So my performance of my active portfolio over the last few years was a bit better than my ETFs.
Congrats @kraphael , I hope you will enjoy a fancy bottle of champagne 
today or soon.
I am just a little older, aiming for a similar FI number and up till 2015 also had a few various weird funds I didn’t understand, but that my Credit Suisse sales guy recommended/sold to me.
My SO will also continue working, she is younger and likes her job.
I have FIRE-trigger-anxiety & suffer from OneMoreYear Syndrome, as I “unfortunately” currently have the best paying job I’ve ever had by far, and probably no chance to return or find something similar, once I quit. Also, alas, this Corona nonsense doesn’t help, when there is somehow so little to easily do, in the sense of leisure, travel etc.
Cheers
(Edit … and then I forgot to say what I mainly wanted to - thanks for sharing the news, it does indeed help to read about your and other cases.)
The point of the FIRE movement is to do whatever once you hit it. If you like the job you can continue but if not it‘s time to move on. Salary is no longer the reason to work.
Congrats! You seem to like where you are in your life aside from the financial part, so that’s even more awesome. Rock on!
Congratulations! Big achievement!
I wonder did you estimate SWR on your total pot or pot minus pillar 2/3? as you will have these blocked for few more years.
My plan is to get to FIRE in approx 10 years (45) but excluding pillar 2. I consider this as safety pot until I get to 60.
Congratulations!
Do you plan to stay in Switzerland?
What was your NW 6 years ago?
Anyway, big felicitations. Must be a great feeling.
Re. SWR, I was just listening earlier today to the Rational Reminder podcast where they interviewed the 4% rule guy: he claims that 5/5.5% might be sustainable going forward. Ben Falix disagrees though and I tend to side with him, aiming at something like max 3%.
When you retire really early at 30, 40, it’s really likely that you’ll maybe find a hobby that brings income, do some freelancing or have a part-time job at some point.
Jobwise it’s indeed time to move on, yes.
But the FI is a number based on personal factors, which you can adjust, what’s the SWR your are comfy with, what’s your expected annual spending development, etc. What I mean is, you can adjust to give yourself reason to carry on, and on, and on.
I’m bad with big decisions, and this certainly is one.
My take / advise: Don‘t move the goalpost without rational reasons.
Calculation: Let‘s say you no longer feel comfy with SWR of 4% and adjust it down to 3.5%. Let‘s also assume that the FU number is 1 million and you can add 50k every year (savings) and 5% ROI on the 1 million, which is another 50k. After 1 year of working more you end up with 1.1 million. Now SWR rate of 3.5% gives you 38500.- instead of 40000.- for 4% at NW of 1 million. Small difference right?
The other question then is why are your expenses and therefore your FU number rising?
Without pillar 2/3. I’ll have them invested in the stock market via VIAC and if our mortgage changes dramatically - it is fixed at 1,5% for another 5 years - use them to pay off the apartment. If we really, really need that money, i’ll withdraw it by starting a new company.
Yes, I was born here in Zurich and all our friends and family live here. But we definitely plan to spend some time abroad, somewhere with an ocean.
I don’t know exactly, for the first years my NW was just a number on an excel sheet without any history.
We had just bought the apartment, so all the cash was gone. Probably had around 200k in UBS funds at that time…
Congratulations! I hope you can have a glass of champagne with your family and listen to some great music together
A bit fitting for your big day today 
The King Will Come - YouTube
If you are interested in reading other peoples way of FIRE in the german speaking world, I can recommend this page. Many of them are exactly in your position and had ingenious ways to deal with making “the next step”.
Hier findest Du alle Beiträge der Freiheitsmaschine
Would you like to share a bit about how you managed your work life here in Switzerland? So how did you change jobs, how long is it feasible to stay at one place, what is your industry and what could you recommend the “youth” to do careerwise.