Travis Shakespeare

Playing With FIRE (The Gateway Drug)

April 15, 2019 by Mr. 1500 Days 13 Comments

When I first discovered FIRE six and a half years ago, my first thought was:This is bullshit!No one retires in their 30s. You're supposed to work until 65 or 67, move to Florida and die. End of story. What were these crazy people on the Internet trying to sell?But then, I read a little more. The 4% Rule made a lot of sense to me. So did a simple life built around … [Read more...] about Playing With FIRE (The Gateway Drug)

Why The Playing With FIRE Documentary Is Important

October 1, 2018 by Mr. 1500 Days 26 Comments

Fact: People kill themselves because of financial distress. Some speculate that the Great Recession led to more than 10,000 suicides. (Please, please, please!; if you're not feeling right, please call the Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800-273-8255.)Playing With FIRE Did you know that there is a documentary coming out in early 2019 about the FIRE movement? It's called Playing … [Read more...] about Why The Playing With FIRE Documentary Is Important

My goal was to build a portfolio of $1,000,000 by February of 2017; 1500 days from the birth of this blog (January 1, 2013). And hey look, I’ve since retired!

Investments only (primary home excluded)
1/1/13 (The Start): $586,043
1/1/14 (1 Yr Later): $869,635
1/1/15 (2 Yrs Later): $987,351
1/1/16 (3 Yrs Later): $1,057,961
1/1/17 (4 Yrs Later): $1,257,128
1/1/18 (5 Yrs Later): $1,527,701
1/1/19 (6 Yrs Later): $1,549,440
1/1/20 (7 Yrs Later): $2,035,040*
1/1/21 (8 Yrs Later): $3,379,746**
1/1/22 (9 Yrs Later): $4,762,642
1/1/23 (10 Yrs Later): $3,112,821

2023: Investments only
1/1: $3,112,821
2/1: $3,582,368
3/1: $3,716,852
4/1: $3,861,599
5/1: $3,694,445
6/1: $4,089,141
7/1: $4,384,858
8/1: $4,539,865
9/1: $4,468,622

Gains: $1,355,801

Overall
Gains since 1/1/2013: $3,882,579
Net worth***: $4,698,622

* The big jump between 2019 and 2020 was partly because we bought another home, but kept the previous (much more expensive) one as a rental. We have since sold it.

** Tesla.

*** Includes our primary home equity in addition to our investment portfolio.

Finally, we still have about $290,000 in mortgage debt (which I love!). No regrets about the debts!