I Finally Hit My FI Annual Income Number!

Every June and December I update my financial metric goals.  As I entered all my data and scrolled over to see the chart my eyes widened.  I could not believe it, I entered my FI zone for annual dividend income.   I knew I would hit it this year (expecting around November) but instead I hit it 4 ½ months earlier than planned and now I can pull my retirement date in by an equal 4 months. After 37 years of working I finally nailed it!!!

This could not have come at a better time. I have worked my entire career for one company and up until the back half of my career I truly loved working in the Aerospace industry.

However things changed after my company was bought out and I have been watching it slowly degrade as new management tears down an icon in the field that has culminated into losing major contracts, a 50% increase in product costs, a lack of vision and no new product for the future. Without change this company will be nothing but a bookmark in history in about 15 years (give or take a year). Emotionally and mentally this has worn on me to the point where I despise coming to work very everyday. Hitting my FI number lets me break those corporate chains and escaping the dark fate I see coming.

What comes next you ask? That would be the final 12 month countdown to the day I quite and make the final adjustments to live off of dividends. To date these are the accomplishments I have completed in the last 6 years:

1. Eliminated all credit card debt
2. Paid off mortgage at age 50
3. 2 of 3 kids through college and no longer financially dependent
4. Developed a detailed financial plan
5. Funded all my retirement risk buckets (market volatility, longevity, & long term care)
6. Set aside money for major home improvements
7. Hit my FI income number

Here are the remaining things I need to accomplish over the next 12 months

1. Stop adding cash to brokerage account and begin building a cash reserve
2. Get child number 3 through university and off of our expenses
3. Continue funding my 401K & Roth to ensure I hit my age 59 dividend income goal (2 years after I retire)
4. Get a new healthcare plan
5. Link my 401K to financial accounts and establish monthly or quarterly distributions

I am so close right now I can taste the freedom but being realistic I just need to holdout until my last child graduates in December and gets a fulltime job. Considering how many job offers he has received over the last 12 months, I feel pretty confident it will go to plan. Come January I could leave if I want to and its good to know I have that option if work gets too unbearable.

The best emotion that I can use to describe how I feel at this moment is relieved knowing I can see the end. Its like being a long distance runner seeing the finish line just a few 100 meters away and somehow that relief turns into adrenaline to give you that last kick with everything your body can give to run as fast as possible.