I can see the happiness in her face. Thank you James for this video. I'm 63 and retired almost 3 years. I can resonate with her. I am frugal and don't need more than 3K a month to live. Also, I have a 20K healthy budget for travel this year. After watching this, I am more comfortable of not running out of money. Thank you James.
30:10 I’m so happy to see the joy on her face as she’s realizes all her sacrifice have not been in vain 😊. You’ve lived such a frugal life all these years… time to relax and enjoy life a little. You deserve this!
Fantastic video James. It makes me proud to be a client of Root knowing that leadership is so kind, thoughtful and caring. My wife and I loved seeing the relief on Stacy’s face as the video progressed and it started sinking in that her dream life will be a reality. What a sweet lady. It is awesome to see hard work and sacrifice pay off. Hopefully 4 more years for us with Roots help and we will be in a similar situation.
As a student of root financial academy, it is insightful to see how you walk through networth, income, goals and scenarios using the software. Your calm demeanor as you explain things are much appreciated. Awesomeness, James and Team!
I’m always amazed at how little people budget for travel in retirement. I’m single, plan to retire in 2025, and love to travel all over the world. When I first started doing retirement planning with my financial advisor, he allocated $12,000 a year to travel. I laughed at that and said do you know how much international plane tickets are these days - and hotel and car rental? I need at a minimum twice that amount! (I’m assuming that food while traveling will be paid out of my monthly living expense allotment.) People who budget $10K or $12K a year for travel are looking at maybe a road trip to the Grand Canyon and a cruise on a budget cruise line. I’m not looking to take one huge retirement trip every 5 or so years - I want to be traveling two or three months a year, every year. That’s retirement travel.
Great video!! Really really good to include the actual person and not just imaginary names. Their emotions have a bigger impact to the viewers then just charts and graphs. I hope to see more of these videos in the future. My favorite video from you guys so far!!
The guest should be very proud of their financial position. That is clearly the culmination of years of deferred gratification and self-sacrifice. Very commendable! Enjoy a fabulous retirement!
This was a good example of why a simple and frugal life has so many benefits. 1) you are able to save more for retirement; 2) once you do retire, you have already learned that 'things' and 'money' do not bring happiness, so your actual required income is surprisingly small. I know this from experience!
Retirement success is not just based on your savings, it's also about your spending. But don't be miserable by underspending in your retirement. I think $4000 a month would be a good base for them.
I'm so proud of these frugal people showing that you can be successful, and she wouldn't even need social security. It's like a nice bonus of cash living so long ;)
I totally understand why James kept questioning the $2,500 monthly expenses. They must be cautious not to underestimate the economy, especially the rising costs of homeowners insurance and utilities for the home, not to mention food.
Awesome video! We are 48 & have similar (maybe a little bit more) financial profile. This gives me a lot of comfort we’ll also be able to retire at 55 or sooner. 😁
I’m 55 and about to retire. Have about $3.5m in investments and a $1.7m house (owned free and clear…no mortgage). Excited to get off the hamster wheel of work….but still nervous. Appreciate the video!
Thank you Stacey (and James!) for bringing this discussion. Appreciate the transparency. You really hit home as I have been considering having the wife retire early (57) as she is burned out. I will be reaching out to discuss a similar analysis. Thank you both!
Great case study! Clearly the emphasis should be placed in derisking away from that 50% company stock, and move that to a more diversified portfolio preferably with broad market index funds, as that could make or break their retirement. They should definitely take advantage of NUA to start replacing that company stock.
I love this story - someone with more assets than me - but just as frugal. Joy in life doesn’t come from spending more. Enjoy your retirement! Mine will start January 1, 2025. Thanks to James and the makeover he did for me, I just can’t wait - everything is falling into place! Root is the best
This is probably a financial advisor's favorite client. Client comes in with a huge nest egg and warped expectations of how far that nest egg will get them. So the advisor gets to spend a few hours building up to that big moment: you're fine. You can spend like twice what you're planning to spend and still have an excellent chance of success. It does surprise me that Stacy actually needed to hear a professional tell her she's fine, though. She seems very financially literate (I know I don't know my dividend rate), and she's so far in the green that she'll get a raise by the simple expedient of retiring.
Great video. Im always of the mindset that my primary residence needs to be paid off by the time I retire. My initial thoughts were to sell the other properties and pay off the mortgage before retiring. Selling my rental property a few years before I retire and my primary should be paid for by then.
Almost a mirror image of our situation. 2.2 mil. Retiring in Feb of next year at 54. However my spouse is younger and will work another decade. Pulling about 2.5% each year. However won’t pull 2.5% for a couple of years because I have cash the first couple of years.
Something that was not mentioned, is that because they have company stock in their 401K, they can withdrawal that stock and pay long term capital gains as opposed to income tax.
I feel like a lot of people don't watch the entire video before commenting. The $2500 month core living expenses are just for items like groceries, utilities, household items, it excludes housing expenses which he explains at the 12:54 mark and at the 16:26 mark he shows the estimated cash outflows are 30k for living expenses, then 24k for housing, 9k for health, etc. Also are people really planning for 45 yrs of retirement at age 54? She'd be 99 years old, most people don't make it that far. Factoring in family life expectancy history would be a better estimator in my opinion.
54 is pretty young to retire, unless you have a way to get lower cost health insurance. Health insurance is a big barrier to a successful retirement. A 2 million portfolio at 54, you really need to be around 3% withdrawal rather than 4%, because you need 45 years in retirement, and not 30 years. So, this is around $5,,000 a month gross, then adjusted for inflation. If they are spending $2,500 a month, they could do it.
What a great case study. It was wonderful to watch Stacy’s dream, and so much more, become a reality right before her eyes. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them try to retire her husband a bit earlier than currently planned. @James - which software package do members of RPA have access to? I assume renewing each year to “keep the plan alive” is necessary. Thanks for sharing this story, it was very uplifting!
Trying to guess the retailer stock that got her to this level of wealth over the last 7 years. Must be either Costco or Amazon. Given the level of burnout I’m thinking it’s Amazon.
Stacey is amazing. I’m surprised that they funded all of college for more than 1 kid, but also set up their retirement accounts and have this amount in investments is very surprising.
She absolutely needs to diversify and get out of her company stock - 50% of her net worth. That needed to be hammered home She’s one CEO DUI away from losing a considerable chunk of her portfolio
When I retired at 58 in 1998, I sure wish someone like James was on line to listen to back then. .I did a bad thing and interested everything in what became a ponzi scheme. :-( But, I have been very fortunate to have survived that and won't go into why. Call me just lucky! I listen to James and subcribed. :-)
Fantastic video. Thank you James and Thank you Stacey for sharing. Enjoyed very much. Think I'm almost in exactly the same situation as Stacey. Also retiring next year Spring!
Excellent case study with a great “client”. 50% in one stock is terrifying entering retirement but there’s going to be a big (necessary) capital gains hit to diversify. $400/month for medical insurance seems really low and $2500/month general expenses on a combined income of $170k seems extremely low.
Honestly, the back of the napkin numbers weren’t adding up to me at first… how did she grow such an enormous retirement account in such a short period of time with her salary?! Then you mentioned it: 50% of her holdings are in company stock. I’m guessing that means the retailer she works for is one of the ones that has gone gangbusters in the past ten years (ex: Amazon, Costco, etc.). While it’s great that she hit the timing right and made a phenomenal return on her investments, that’s also a risky and speculative way to manage your retirement assets. This gal currently has the money to retire, assuming she doesn’t lose it on a bad turn in a single stock. She needs to be diversifying immediately. Get that money out of your company’s stock and into an S&P 500 index fund at the very least.
100% in stock with 50% in one company stock???? This is high stakes gambling. I couldn't possibility recommend that she retire in 99 days. They need to unwind those positions before being able to comfortably retire. Way too much risk!
Wonderful and so happy for this woman. 🎉🎉🎉🎉....these kind of videos make me feel better because I will have around 4 mill by 55 and still sometimes worry at night and I am only 42 🤦♂️😂. Need to chill out a bit I guess. But I also don't want to live on 2500/month and that explains atleast my race to keep investing for now.
This person likely received a large inheritance to have amassed $2MM in 14 years. Notice no mention of a future inheritance in the retirement calculations.
Bump up that spending after retiring she will spend more (coming from experience as a tight budget person).... Or what about if roof goes out..need new washing machine...etc.. GREAT VIDEO thx for sharing..both of you are awesome...what about son's car insurance..son's car...
We are in a similar situation except our savings are in Roth 401 Ks and 401 K plans. We were wondering if we can make it to age 60 so we can retire early. We just paid off college for both of our children. My dream is to live on the lake.
Everyone is different. Im single and don't spend $2,500 a month. Including my mortgage, insurance and taxes. Lol. I own a townhouse. Everything included is less than $800. I own my car. No car payment. $50 car insurance. I drive less than 20 min. To work. 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
Good video and I don't want to be a wet blanket. But IMHO, given their ages they don't have enough money to pull this off safely. Yes, they are frugal. But they are planning out a long way on a net worth that is still only moderate. And they are way overexposed in stocks. They will have to work at least part time to bring in some money.
On Social Security, you have to stop saying "somethings coming"(cuts). We must start saying "the wealthy have to start paying their fair share". No more FICA cap. No more 15% on Cap Gains you owe 25% tax. If over $400k income, your taxes are going up. That is what we have to say! No more welfare to the wealthy and corporations. No more Medical Insurance companies taking a middleman cut while providing no value whatsoever. Say it with me now "insurance companies, your free ride is over, starting with you United". You will now pay your fair share.
Impressive - only 2% of the world have > $1M in retirement funds. Find out how much you want to spend with 3 % COLA for the next 11 years till SS kicks in at 65. If you withdrawal rate is
Math seems off. First 100k is 5% of 2M. Second he ignores fact that investments are in tax deferred 401ks… those are actually worth significantly less than current gross value.
Hi James, New subscriber and I am sharing my story. My age is 55 and I have zero debt, 110k in the bank, 35k NVDA shares, 401k $270k, IRA 145K and 2 houses in Bay Area with zero mortgages. Just got a Mercedes SUV as my 3rd car. I started saving after marriage only after marriage but will all this be enough to retire?
Great video! what does she mean that she hasn’t given herself a raise in 14 years? It doesn’t sound like she’s an owner of the company where she works? Why wouldn’t she accept a raise?
The numbers don’t add up. They must have had an inheritance or something. Can’t save that much in 7 years on that income. If/when 2008 recession happens again it might be hard to weather.
I can see the happiness in her face. Thank you James for this video. I'm 63 and retired almost 3 years. I can resonate with her. I am frugal and don't need more than 3K a month to live. Also, I have a 20K healthy budget for travel this year. After watching this, I am more comfortable of not running out of money. Thank you James.
100% this gal works for Costco! I bought a healthy chunk of Costco stock over 10 years ago and loving the growth!! 🎉
So timely. I’m 41 on track to hit $2-2.5M by 54 when I plan to retire. This was very informative.
30:10 I’m so happy to see the joy on her face as she’s realizes all her sacrifice have not been in vain 😊. You’ve lived such a frugal life all these years… time to relax and enjoy life a little. You deserve this!
Fantastic video James. It makes me proud to be a client of Root knowing that leadership is so kind, thoughtful and caring. My wife and I loved seeing the relief on Stacy’s face as the video progressed and it started sinking in that her dream life will be a reality. What a sweet lady. It is awesome to see hard work and sacrifice pay off. Hopefully 4 more years for us with Roots help and we will be in a similar situation.
It would be great to have a follow-up video after she retires.
This is probably the case study that's most similar to my own. Thanks for sharing, Stacey!
James - I love that you couldn’t hide your discomfort/body language when she said she was 50% invested in one company.
So grateful we were frugal, we now can retire at 55 and live a long healthy life, with a plan for our grandkids.
As a student of root financial academy, it is insightful to see how you walk through networth, income, goals and scenarios using the software. Your calm demeanor as you explain things are much appreciated.
Awesomeness, James and Team!
Her and James smiles made me smile, a feel good episode! Thanks for this and enjoy!
I’m always amazed at how little people budget for travel in retirement. I’m single, plan to retire in 2025, and love to travel all over the world. When I first started doing retirement planning with my financial advisor, he allocated $12,000 a year to travel. I laughed at that and said do you know how much international plane tickets are these days - and hotel and car rental? I need at a minimum twice that amount! (I’m assuming that food while traveling will be paid out of my monthly living expense allotment.) People who budget $10K or $12K a year for travel are looking at maybe a road trip to the Grand Canyon and a cruise on a budget cruise line. I’m not looking to take one huge retirement trip every 5 or so years - I want to be traveling two or three months a year, every year. That’s retirement travel.
Great video!! Really really good to include the actual person and not just imaginary names. Their emotions have a bigger impact to the viewers then just charts and graphs. I hope to see more of these videos in the future. My favorite video from you guys so far!!
What a great episode and walkthrough of their finances. Congrats to them on achieving such a successful retirement goal!
The guest should be very proud of their financial position. That is clearly the culmination of years of deferred gratification and self-sacrifice. Very commendable! Enjoy a fabulous retirement!
Agreed
She needs to diversify ASAP! 50% in one stock makes me very nervous.
What a kind person! Really enjoyed this video! Keep up the great work!
This was a good example of why a simple and frugal life has so many benefits. 1) you are able to save more for retirement; 2) once you do retire, you have already learned that 'things' and 'money' do not bring happiness, so your actual required income is surprisingly small. I know this from experience!
Retirement success is not just based on your savings, it's also about your spending. But don't be miserable by underspending in your retirement. I think $4000 a month would be a good base for them.
I'm so proud of these frugal people showing that you can be successful, and she wouldn't even need social security. It's like a nice bonus of cash living so long ;)
I was 50% in company RSU. Then it dropped from $50 to $29. I was greedy and paid the price. Every year I now cash them in and put the money in S&P500.
I totally understand why James kept questioning the $2,500 monthly expenses. They must be cautious not to underestimate the economy, especially the rising costs of homeowners insurance and utilities for the home, not to mention food.
Awesome video! We are 48 & have similar (maybe a little bit more) financial profile. This gives me a lot of comfort we’ll also be able to retire at 55 or sooner. 😁
I’m 55 and about to retire. Have about $3.5m in investments and a $1.7m house (owned free and clear…no mortgage). Excited to get off the hamster wheel of work….but still nervous. Appreciate the video!
Your children should feel very fortunate to have such responsible and nurturing parents.
It seems like most funds are tied up in the tax deferred accounts. How do they plan to fund 54/57 to 59.5?
Just found you. This is one of the best financial podcast episodes I’ve ever heard. Really nice job. Can’t wait to watch some more of your videos. 👍
100% chance that Stacey did a Happy Dance after this recording finished!
I really appreciate the real life examples. Thank you James. And thank you Stacy for sharing your numbers and key learnings.
Love this format! This makes it so easy to visualize being a new Root Financial client.
Thank you James!
I really loved this show. Stacy we are very happy for you. This story is very inspirational.
Nice job Stacey and family on sticking to your plan and making your retirement dreams come true. Thanks for making this video, I find it very helpful.
Thank you Stacey (and James!) for bringing this discussion. Appreciate the transparency. You really hit home as I have been considering having the wife retire early (57) as she is burned out. I will be reaching out to discuss a similar analysis. Thank you both!
Great case study! Clearly the emphasis should be placed in derisking away from that 50% company stock, and move that to a more diversified portfolio preferably with broad market index funds, as that could make or break their retirement. They should definitely take advantage of NUA to start replacing that company stock.
I love this story - someone with more assets than me - but just as frugal. Joy in life doesn’t come from spending more.
Enjoy your retirement! Mine will start January 1, 2025.
Thanks to James and the makeover he did for me, I just can’t wait - everything is falling into place!
Root is the best
Very similar situation but I predict she will have trouble spending money. You don’t just flip the spending switch on!!
This is probably a financial advisor's favorite client. Client comes in with a huge nest egg and warped expectations of how far that nest egg will get them. So the advisor gets to spend a few hours building up to that big moment: you're fine. You can spend like twice what you're planning to spend and still have an excellent chance of success.
It does surprise me that Stacy actually needed to hear a professional tell her she's fine, though. She seems very financially literate (I know I don't know my dividend rate), and she's so far in the green that she'll get a raise by the simple expedient of retiring.
This woman is Gold. I hope her husband rewards her with some more luxuries because finding a partner to sacrifice like this is truly rare.
How could you not be happy for this woman? 🎉🎉
Great video. Im always of the mindset that my primary residence needs to be paid off by the time I retire. My initial thoughts were to sell the other properties and pay off the mortgage before retiring. Selling my rental property a few years before I retire and my primary should be paid for by then.
I loved this interview so much! I watched it over the course of a few days -- looked forward to my lunch break when I could tune in.
Almost a mirror image of our situation. 2.2 mil. Retiring in Feb of next year at 54. However my spouse is younger and will work another decade. Pulling about 2.5% each year. However won’t pull 2.5% for a couple of years because I have cash the first couple of years.
Something that was not mentioned, is that because they have company stock in their 401K, they can withdrawal that stock and pay long term capital gains as opposed to income tax.
Be careful about health insurance. Mine is $683 per month.
I feel like a lot of people don't watch the entire video before commenting. The $2500 month core living expenses are just for items like groceries, utilities, household items, it excludes housing expenses which he explains at the 12:54 mark and at the 16:26 mark he shows the estimated cash outflows are 30k for living expenses, then 24k for housing, 9k for health, etc. Also are people really planning for 45 yrs of retirement at age 54? She'd be 99 years old, most people don't make it that far. Factoring in family life expectancy history would be a better estimator in my opinion.
54 is pretty young to retire, unless you have a way to get lower cost health insurance. Health insurance is a big barrier to a successful retirement.
A 2 million portfolio at 54, you really need to be around 3% withdrawal rather than 4%, because you need 45 years in retirement, and not 30 years. So, this is around $5,,000 a month gross, then adjusted for inflation. If they are spending $2,500 a month, they could do it.
Awesome. I love that people are living right and retiring early
What a great case study. It was wonderful to watch Stacy’s dream, and so much more, become a reality right before her eyes. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them try to retire her husband a bit earlier than currently planned.
@James - which software package do members of RPA have access to? I assume renewing each year to “keep the plan alive” is necessary.
Thanks for sharing this story, it was very uplifting!
Thank you so much to both of you for doing this video!
I am so happy for her ❤
Trying to guess the retailer stock that got her to this level of wealth over the last 7 years. Must be either Costco or Amazon. Given the level of burnout I’m thinking it’s Amazon.
What an inspiring path to early retirement!
This woman's smile makes me want to retire early 😃
Very similar situation. I’m going to do the absolute minimum at work for a few more years.
What retail company is Stacy working with?
Damn, I wish my wife could reel us in to a $2500 monthly budget !
Very impressive! Great video with critical info. Stacy and family remind me of our family's decisions in many ways
Thanks for watching!
Stacey is amazing. I’m surprised that they funded all of college for more than 1 kid, but also set up their retirement accounts and have this amount in investments is very surprising.
She's a lovely woman
She’s really been saving since 2010…they really sacrificed a lot and hope they can do everything they want to do in their old age.
She absolutely needs to diversify and get out of her company stock - 50% of her net worth. That needed to be hammered home
She’s one CEO DUI away from losing a considerable chunk of her portfolio
Great Video!
If I take the $103K of annual expenses from the $2.1M portfolio, I get 5% withdrawal. Did I miss something?
Does anyone have a calculator with a feature that includes dividend income?
Love it. Wow. More of this!
Stacy is awesome...well done!
When I retired at 58 in 1998, I sure wish someone like James was on line to listen to back then. .I did a bad thing and interested everything in what became a ponzi scheme. :-( But, I have been very fortunate to have survived that and won't go into why. Call me just lucky! I listen to James and subcribed. :-)
Fantastic video. Thank you James and Thank you Stacey for sharing. Enjoyed very much. Think I'm almost in exactly the same situation as Stacey. Also retiring next year Spring!
Excellent case study with a great “client”. 50% in one stock is terrifying entering retirement but there’s going to be a big (necessary) capital gains hit to diversify. $400/month for medical insurance seems really low and $2500/month general expenses on a combined income of $170k seems extremely low.
Honestly, the back of the napkin numbers weren’t adding up to me at first… how did she grow such an enormous retirement account in such a short period of time with her salary?! Then you mentioned it: 50% of her holdings are in company stock. I’m guessing that means the retailer she works for is one of the ones that has gone gangbusters in the past ten years (ex: Amazon, Costco, etc.).
While it’s great that she hit the timing right and made a phenomenal return on her investments, that’s also a risky and speculative way to manage your retirement assets. This gal currently has the money to retire, assuming she doesn’t lose it on a bad turn in a single stock. She needs to be diversifying immediately. Get that money out of your company’s stock and into an S&P 500 index fund at the very least.
25:56 $500 to drive to red rocks and a couple nights in a hotel?!? Someone hasn’t stayed in a hotel since she froze her budget 15 years ago.
I’m impressed by how much they saved
100% in stock with 50% in one company stock???? This is high stakes gambling. I couldn't possibility recommend that she retire in 99 days. They need to unwind those positions before being able to comfortably retire. Way too much risk!
Wonderful and so happy for this woman. 🎉🎉🎉🎉....these kind of videos make me feel better because I will have around 4 mill by 55 and still sometimes worry at night and I am only 42 🤦♂️😂. Need to chill out a bit I guess. But I also don't want to live on 2500/month and that explains atleast my race to keep investing for now.
What about medical, dental and vision expenses? Did I miss that?
I am trying to figure out the math. $2.5 million x 2.5% is $52,500, not $103,000k. How does that percentage cover her expenses? Did I miss something?
This person likely received a large inheritance to have amassed $2MM in 14 years. Notice no mention of a future inheritance in the retirement calculations.
Bump up that spending after retiring she will spend more (coming from experience as a tight budget person).... Or what about if roof goes out..need new washing machine...etc.. GREAT VIDEO thx for sharing..both of you are awesome...what about son's car insurance..son's car...
We are in a similar situation except our savings are in Roth 401 Ks and 401 K plans. We were wondering if we can make it to age 60 so we can retire early. We just paid off college for both of our children. My dream is to live on the lake.
Where the world eating out is $40 in the USA 🎉 during 2024🎉
Everyone is different. Im single and don't spend $2,500 a month. Including my mortgage, insurance and taxes. Lol. I own a townhouse. Everything included is less than $800. I own my car. No car payment. $50 car insurance. I drive less than 20 min. To work. 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
Good Job
Surprised about the new car every 7 years.
Comes down to healthcare costs. Right?
I don't see money allocation for health insurance and emergency expenses.
Good video and I don't want to be a wet blanket.
But IMHO, given their ages they don't have enough money to pull this off safely.
Yes, they are frugal. But they are planning out a long way on a net worth that is still only moderate. And they are way overexposed in stocks.
They will have to work at least part time to bring in some money.
congrats Stacey A.
on top of your own savings .... college fund AND IRAs for the kids... wow...
She should not be embarrassed about coupons or anything they have done amazing they are why early retirement is possible.
She deserves all her happiness
On Social Security, you have to stop saying "somethings coming"(cuts). We must start saying "the wealthy have to start paying their fair share". No more FICA cap. No more 15% on Cap Gains you owe 25% tax. If over $400k income, your taxes are going up. That is what we have to say! No more welfare to the wealthy and corporations. No more Medical Insurance companies taking a middleman cut while providing no value whatsoever. Say it with me now "insurance companies, your free ride is over, starting with you United". You will now pay your fair share.
Impressive - only 2% of the world have > $1M in retirement funds. Find out how much you want to spend with 3 % COLA for the next 11 years till SS kicks in at 65. If you withdrawal rate is
The math doesn't add up. 103k of outflows is more than 4% of $2M???
Love the videos, and we are in San Diego. Do you also have offices where we can visit?
Math seems off. First 100k is 5% of 2M. Second he ignores fact that investments are in tax deferred 401ks… those are actually worth significantly less than current gross value.
She sounds just like me, frugal and ready to hang it up.
Hi James, New subscriber and I am sharing my story. My age is 55 and I have zero debt, 110k in the bank, 35k NVDA shares, 401k $270k, IRA 145K and 2 houses in Bay Area with zero mortgages. Just got a Mercedes SUV as my 3rd car. I started saving after marriage only after marriage but will all this be enough to retire?
The issue will be RMDs at 75 for them since they don’t know how to spend it.
Great video! what does she mean that she hasn’t given herself a raise in 14 years? It doesn’t sound like she’s an owner of the company where she works? Why wouldn’t she accept a raise?
What takes to do a financial plan with you?
The numbers don’t add up. They must have had an inheritance or something. Can’t save that much in 7 years on that income. If/when 2008 recession happens again it might be hard to weather.