Hey everyone! I hope you’re enjoying the beautiful spring weather. It’s been a while since I posted an update. To be completely honest, blogging became much more difficult once I stopped posting every single week. There are always so many things to do around the house, and writing is much harder when I don’t stick to a strict schedule.

Anyway, I promised to update my withdrawal plan, so here it is.

This plan isn’t set in stone. We’ll constantly modify it to minimize taxes and respond to unforeseen circumstances. We will likely withdraw more in some years to cover “lumpy” expenses, like buying a new car. Life is full of surprises, and we’ll have to adapt as needed.

Our early retirement withdrawal plan is flexible. Right now, we have almost $1 million combined in our taxable brokerage account and Treasury bonds. However, we also have changing family circumstances to navigate. Our parents are getting older and need more assistance. Because of this, we plan to move to California to be closer to Mrs. RB40’s family when our son finishes high school in 2029. As you’ll see below, this move is a massive factor in our financial timeline.

(For context, I am 52.5 years old right now.)

The Timeline: 2026 to 2049+

2026 to 2028: The Early Years & Simplifying Real Estate

2026 is our first year of full retirement. Our active income will be minimal—probably around $5,000 from blogging and minor side gigs.

Fortunately, Mrs. RB40 has a small pension of about $10,000 annually. More importantly, her retirement plan includes group health insurance coverage. We pay the same premium amount as we did when she was working, and it’s deducted directly from her pension. This is huge. Not having to worry about the ACA marketplace or healthcare costs gives us a lot of breathing room.

• Estimated Annual Expenses: ~$75,000
• Active Income + Pension: ~$15,000
• Passive Income (Dividends/Interest): ~$20,000
• The Gap: We need to cover a shortfall of about $40,000.

The Solution: Since we are moving to California in a few years, I am winding down our Portland rental real estate. We recently put our rental condo on the market. Once sold, it should generate roughly $150,000 after fees and taxes. This cash pool, combined with our other income streams, will fund the next 2 to 3 years of living expenses.

Our Housing Adjustments: Currently, we live in a duplex and rent out the upstairs unit. However, I’ve asked our tenant to move out in 2027. RB40Jr is a teenager now and needs more space. One bathroom doesn’t cut it anymore. Mrs. RB40 also wants more room since she is home full-time. We will use the next few years to live comfortably in the whole property while fixing it up to get it ready for sale. It’s a big win that we resisted upsizing for 15 years. Most families expand their housing when they have kids.

Note on a lumpy expense: I may purchase a new car in 2027. My budget is around $30,000. Our 2010 Mazda5 minivan is still going strong, but an upgrade would be nice. I want to take advantage of Oregon’s 0% sales tax before we move.

2029 to 2032: The California Move

When RB40Jr graduates from high school in 2029, we will sell the duplex. This should generate around $500,000.

From there, we will relocate to California. Recently, Mrs. RB40 transitioned her dad into an assisted living facility. It’s a big life change, but he can’t live alone in his house anymore. Currently, she spends about half her time in California managing the property and helping both of her parents (who are divorced but live in the same town) with random logistics.

Her dad’s house is completely paid off, and he wants us to move in there. It’s Mrs. RB40’s inheritance. Because we won’t have a mortgage or rent, the $500,000 cash from the sale of our Portland duplex can act as a bridge fund to cover our living expenses until we can withdraw from our retirement accounts.

What about college? RB40Jr will head to college right around this time. Our 529 College Savings Plan should be enough to cover his tuition… unless he gets into Stanford. Haha!

2033 to 2034: The Traditional Retirement Age Gate (59.5)

I will hit the magic age of 59.5 in 2033. Then, I can finally withdraw from my traditional IRA without the 10% early withdrawal penalty.

My preliminary plan is to withdraw roughly $100,000 per year from my IRA. This is highly flexible because I suspect we will still have plenty of capital left over in our taxable accounts. Mrs. RB40 is a year younger than I am; once she turns 59.5, we will split the distributions evenly (e.g., $50,000 from each of our IRAs) to manage our tax brackets.

Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) could become a tax problem for us down the road if we don’t start aggressively drawing down these tax-deferred accounts early. We’ll ask the AIs to help us run the math on the optimal drawdown numbers when the time comes! They should be way smarter in 10 years.

*Everything is highly speculative after this point.

2035 to 2040: Early Social Security

I’ll turn 62 in 2035 and plan to file for early Social Security benefits. Based on our projections, we won’t actually need this money for baseline living expenses. Instead, we’ll use my Social Security checks to supplement our travel budget and charitable donations.

2041 to 2048: Maximizing Benefits

Mrs. RB40 hits her Full Retirement Age (FRA) of 67 in 2041. She can choose to file then or delay until 70 to maximize her monthly benefit. Since women tend to live longer, it’s likely a smart move for her to delay filing to lock in those 8% annual delayed retirement credits.

2049 and Beyond: RMDs

I will turn 75 in 2048, which means my Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) will officially kick in by April 1, 2049. The RMD could become a problem if we don’t manage the IRA withdrawal well.

Note on Roth IRA conversion: I plan to do a Roth IRA conversion whenever we have a low tax year.

Why Our Withdrawal Strategy Shifted

If you’ve followed this blog for a long time, you know this is a significant departure from my original retirement withdrawal plan. Initially, I thought we would live off our taxable brokerage account and passive income until I turn 59.5. Then, we could draw down our IRAs.

However, our pending relocation to California changed the math entirely. By converting our illiquid real estate equity (the rental condo and our primary duplex) into liquid cash, we can fully fund our 50s without touching our core taxable brokerage account unless more surprises pop up.

Looking back, a handful of major wildcards worked out tremendously in our favor:

1. The Health Insurance Jackpot: Mrs. RB40 worked just long enough to secure a lifetime pension and retiree health insurance benefits.
2. The Housing Windfall: Moving into her dad’s paid-off house eliminates what would otherwise be a massive California housing expense.
3. Market Growth: Our investments have grown significantly since I retired back in 2012. We have a fantastic cushion in both our taxable and retirement accounts.
4. Moderate Lifestyle Maintenance: We continue to live a relatively frugal, moderate lifestyle. We share one car and cook at home almost every day. When we travel, we still fly economy and stay in mid-range hotels.

That last point is actually why I’m pushing myself to spend money on things like a vehicle upgrade and taking over the whole duplex. We probably should live it up a little more while we are healthy and active in our 50s and 60s!

The Wildcard

If it all goes according to plan, we are looking at a smooth, comfortable retirement. The primary variable left is our parents’ long-term health.

Mrs. RB40’s dad has enough personal savings to fund many years of assisted living care. Her mom has fewer financial assets, but she is currently in excellent health. Meanwhile, my dad is also doing well and has enough to fund a comfortable retirement in Thailand. If any of them need financial assistance, we’ll probably step in. (Unfortunately, my mom passed away in 2023. I still miss her.)

Everything is stable for now, but health can change in an instant when you’re over 80. I plan to spend a lot more time in Thailand when my dad needs more help. Actually, I’m thinking about moving to Thailand before Mrs. RB40 and I need long-term care. You get a lot more value for your dollars there. I plan to visit a few luxury assisted living facilities in Thailand this summer.

What do you think about our updated withdrawal plan? Has your retirement withdrawal plan changed as aging parents or family obligations popped up? Let me know in the comments!

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Hey Everyone! I’m still here. The Retire by 40 blog is on life support, but I’m committed to posting at least once per month this year. Did you know Retire by 40 will be 16 years old soon? Wow, that’s a long time to be blogging. Interestingly, I was an engineer for 16 years as well. Maybe 16 years is the longest I could keep something going… Anyway, I will continue blogging this year. I don’t know about next year, though. It’ll be tough to keep blogging when it turns into a negative cash flow hobby. Thank you for your support over the years. We wouldn’t have lasted this long without you.

Alright, on to the FIRE update. Mrs. RB40 retired from her job last year, and 2026 will be the first full year of FIRE for both of us. We will need to draw down our savings for the first time. I prepared by modifying our asset allocation to be more conservative and padding our accounts with cash (VMFXX.) Our burn rate is pretty low. We should be able to ride out the market volatility for a few years. I will need to figure out a good system to replenish our cash cushion. I also need to figure out if it’s a good idea to do a Roth IRA conversion to help optimize taxes.

Financially, Q1 2026 was okay. Our net worth dropped a bit due to the Iran war. Unfortunately, everything is getting more expensive. Trump has been very unsuccessful in controlling the cost of living for regular people. It’s a tough time to retire. Fortunately, we have plenty of cushion so I’m not too worried about the Sequences of Return Risk. We’ll try to keep our lifestyle inflation under control. Our cash flow looks fine so far.

2026 New Year Goals

Below is the spreadsheet for my 2026 goals. It’s helpful. Try it out if you can’t keep up with your New Year’s goals. The key is to review the spreadsheet monthly to track your progress. That way, you can see which goals need extra attention and work on them.

Financial Goals

Sell Rental Condo

We purchased this condo in 2011 for my parents to live in. We live in the same complex and thought they could move there. However, it didn’t work out. Instead, my mom moved in with us, and my dad lived in Thailand. It has been a rental ever since.

Our tenant moved out at the end of 2025. I fixed the place up and put it up for sale. The condo market in Portland is pretty slow. Portland has a bad reputation since the COVID pandemic. Things are slowly improving, but the condo market is still very slow. Also, the interest rate is over 6%, and the economy is uncertain. We cut the price once and might need to reduce it again to generate more interest.

Optimize withdrawal and taxes

2026 is the first full year that Mrs. RB40 won’t have active income. Our taxable income will be pretty low, probably around $40,000. I need to figure out how to replenish our cash cushion and optimize for taxes.

For example, the long-term capital gains rate is 0% for AGI up to $98,900 in 2026 (married filing jointly). I should sell some stocks in our taxable account to take advantage of this rule. I should also do some Roth conversions to reduce future RMDs.

Help Mrs. RB40’s mom file for Social Security Benefits

Mrs. RB40’s mom applied for social security benefits years ago, and they told her she didn’t qualify. She was a teacher in California and had a pension. She didn’t pay into Social Security. Her pension also offset any spousal benefits. However, the rule changed in 2025, and she can appeal the denial. She should be able to get the spousal benefits now. She was reluctant to do it because she got rejected previously. I finally convinced her to appeal.

I cajoled Mrs. RB40 and her mom to talk to the Social Security Office, and they are planning to do it next week. This shouldn’t be that difficult. Her mom doesn’t need the money now, but it will be helpful when her healthcare expenses increase in the future. (Mrs. RB40’s dad is paying a ton for long-term care.)

Track net worth and hope for 10% gains

I’ve been tracking our net worth since 2006. It’s great to see the progress over the years. This year, I’d like to see 10% gains. At this point, it’s all dependent on the stock market, and there isn’t much I can do to influence this goal. I’ll track it and keep my fingers crossed.

The stock market was doing quite well before Trump started an ill-conceived war with Iran. Now, Iran controls the Strait of Hormuz, and the global economy probably will go into recession soon. Our net worth is down only a bit so far, but I think it’ll get much worse soon. I don’t understand why people believe this war will be over in a few weeks.

Health Goals

Lower my triglyceride level

On the last annual physical, my triglyceride was 486 mg/dL. That’s very high. I had this problem for a long time, but the medication helped keep it under control. My new primary care physician told me to go on a low-carb diet, and we’ll see what happens next time. My goal is to reduce it to around 150.

I replaced white rice with brown rice and cauliflower rice. I also need to stop purchasing chips and other junk foods. I’m making some progress on that front, but lifestyle change is tough.

Help move Mrs. RB40’s dad

Mrs. RB40 successfully moved her dad into an assisted living facility. He couldn’t live at home anymore because he lost his mobility. We hoped he could regain his ability to walk with physical therapy, but it doesn’t look good. It seems to me that he isn’t making the effort.

He is pretty antisocial. He stays in his room and watches TV all day. Mrs. RB40 is spending a lot of time in California to help with taxes and various appointments. He let a lot of stuff slip through the cracks last year. His tax refund is still on hold because he needs to verify his identity with the IRS. Now that Mrs. RB40 is retired, she has time to fix all the problems. Unfortunately, this means she has been in California for most of Q1. I’m looking forward to having her back at home soon.

Fun Goals

Pottery profitable

My pottery hobby is pretty expensive. I spend about $150/month on it. This year, I’d like to sell some pieces and break even. We’ll see how it goes. That’s actually a tall order. I don’t see how I can sell that much pottery. I’ll try…

My latest pieces…

Meandering toward full retirement

This year, I plan to retire more and work less. This means less blogging and delivery driving.

I committed to posting at least once per month. That’s been good so far. As expected, the blog traffic declined. Let’s finish off this year and figure out the rest later. It’d be tough to continue blogging if it cost over $100/month to maintain. Thank you for your support over the years. I truly appreciate it.

I also cut way back on delivery driving. Now, I deliver only a few times per week. The juice isn’t worth the squeeze, but it’s hard to quit completely. I gotta pay for my pottery hobby somehow, right?

Happiness level > 8

Q1 was tough for me. Mrs. RB40 was gone most of the time. The RB40 household was much less lively without her around. RB40Jr was good, but he’s a teenager now. He is more independent, and we don’t have much in common anymore. He always says no whenever I ask him to do anything. That’s alright. I kept busy and had fun with my hobbies – pottery and ukulele. However, current events made me quite unhappy in Q1. ICE running rampant, Iran War, tariffs, birthright citizenship fight, and a lot of other bullshit from Trump and his cronies. I’m bracing myself for a few more years of this craziness.

Also, my dad had radiation treatment for prostate cancer. It worked out well, and he is recovering nicely. I’ll go visit him this summer.

All in all, Q1 wasn’t great, but I guess it could have been a whole lot worse. The gloomy weather didn’t help.  

Net Worth (-3.7%)

I’ve been tracking our net worth since 2006. It is very motivating to see our progress. The power of compounding is incredible.

2026 was going pretty well until Trump bombed Iran. Now, the Strait of Hormuz is closed and everything is more expensive. I don’t see how energy price will come down as long as the situation spiral out of control. We already modified out asset allocation to be more conservative when Mrs. RB40 retired last year. We’ll stay the course and rebalance as needed.

***Important*** If you’re young (under 50), my best advice is to stay the course. Do not stop investing. You should keep investing whether the stock market is up or down. You might think stocks are too expensive, but it’ll look cheap in 10 years. Keep investing and you’ll achieve financial independence someday. Don’t try to time the market. However, you need to be more conservative and diversify more if you’re retired.

This is a chart of our net worth from Empower. Sign up for a free account at Empower to help manage your net worth and investment accounts. They have great free tools for DIY investors. This chart looks suspiciously flat. I think you have to log in more often to get a more accurate picture. I haven’t been paying much attention to our net worth lately.

Q1 2026 FIRE Cash Flow

This FIRE cash flow chart includes Mrs. RB40’s pension, my online income, side gigs, and taxable passive income.

This year, the main goal is to keep our expenses below $80,000. This is a 25% increase from 2025. We’re doing well financially and we’ll try to loosen up a bit.

Q1 FIRE Income: $10,630

• Pension: $3,273. Mrs. RB40 has a small pension from her job.
• Real estate crowdfunding: $963. RE crowdfunding is doing okay. One project is failing, but the rest are good. Overall, we are doing okay.  
• Dividend Income: $4,397.
• Online income: $145. My blogging income is disappearing. I’ll keep blogging for now, but I’ll lose motivation once we start losing money at this gig.
• Odd jobs: $950. My other side gig is catering delivery. I delivered 20 orders in Q1. I don’t get out of bed for less than $35. This means I rejected many orders.  
• Misc income: $902. This is the reimbursement for Mrs. RB40’s expenses from her dad.     

Spending: $16,938

Previously, I updated this chart monthly. Now, I’m doing it quarterly, and it’s harder to compare the numbers. It’s a different format, so I can’t see the trend. Generally, things look fine for now.

• Housing: $4,971.   
• Transportation: $503. Gas, parking, and insurance. This one was pretty good. Our car is paid off, and we don’t need a new one yet.   
• Groceries: $1,573. Groceries are more expensive than ever. I try to stock up when things are on sale and keep it under control.
• Entertainment: $2,382. This includes eating out and other fun activities. This one was higher than usual because I splurged on an expensive Sumi ukulele ($1,000).              
• Health: $1,008. Our health-related expenses are increasing as we get older. I guess that’s life.   
• Kid: $1,024. This wasn’t too bad. RB40Jr grew a lot this past year, and we spent quite a bit to replace his clothing and shoes. He had plenty of activities as well – debate, racquetball, Ultimate frisbee, Jit Jitsu, etc…
• Personal spending: $887. Hobby, clothes, haircuts, gadgets, and more.
• Travel: $4,417. We purchased flight tickets for our summer trip to Thailand and Australia as soon as the Iran war started. I still need to book rooms and activities.     
• Rental Loss: -$3,593. That rental condo is vacant and really needs to go.           

Retirement Savings Withdrawal: –$9,901

• Our withdrawal is pretty low so far. Our taxable account should be able to support this until we can withdraw from my retirement accounts, in 2033.

Q1 2026 wrap-up

Alright, Q1 is over. It was a tough quarter for me. The gloomy weather, Mrs. RB40 gone, and craziness in the news. They all weighed me down psychologically. However, the weather is finally nicer. It was sunny and warm in Portland when I wrote this blog post. I can already feel my mood improving. Keep at it, everyone.

Disclosure: We may receive a referral fee if you sign up for a service through the links on this page.

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Hey everyone! Have you seen Alysa Liu’s Gold medal cinching performance at the Olympics? It was carefree, joyous, and inspirational. She glided over the ice and won the heart of everyone watching. Words can’t do it justice—go check it out if you haven’t seen her programs. I haven’t watched figure skating in years, but I tuned in at the right time this year. I’m a huge fan now.

The Burnout

How is this related to FIRE? Well, she retired from figure skating four years ago, when she was only 16! At the time, she had already won two U.S. National Championships and numerous other prizes. But Alysa was burned out.

She was discouraged by the total lack of autonomy. Coaches controlled every aspect of her life: what to eat, when to practice, and who to see. At 16, she didn’t yet know how to advocate for herself. She stopped enjoying the sport, and her performance declined. In 2022, she announced her retirement and went off to find herself.

Finding Yourself

After retiring from figure skating, she tried to be a regular teenager. She enrolled at UCLA to study psychology, trekked to Mount Everest Base Camp, got her driver’s license, and hung out with friends. Okay, maybe that isn’t exactly “normal,” but good for her!

In 2024, she went skiing at Lake Tahoe and rediscovered the “need for speed.” If you’ve ever gone skiing or snowboarding, you know how addictive speeding down the slope can be. It reminded Alysa of how skating used to feel, and she wanted more. She went to a rink, tried a double Axel, and realized she still got it.

Alysa decided to try for a comeback, and this time she will control her destiny. She picked a coach who let her be herself, Phillip DiGuglielmo. She skated for her own joy, rather than for the prize, and the result was Olympic Gold. That’s what autonomy gives you (and a world-class talent.)

The FIRE Lesson

Regular folks like us don’t have Alysa’s talent, but that’s where FIRE comes in. Financial Independence can give us that same autonomy.

Alysa was 16 when she hit her wall; I was 16 years into my engineering career when I hit mine. Burnout has no age limit. Whether you’re an elite athlete or a Senior Engineer, the symptoms are identical. You feel like you can’t continue, and you need to GTFO. Many people hold on and become miserable because they have no choice. However, FI gave me a chance to step away.

I retired from engineering and became a blogger/SAHD. The last 14 years were awesome. However, life changes. My son is older now and doesn’t need me as much, and blogging is almost dead. But I’m fine with that because FI is still here for me. I’m looking forward to the next chapter.

Even if you love your job today, I encourage you to prioritize financial independence. You never know when life—or your feelings about your career—will change. Alysa loved skating when she started at five years old, but she still needed that “retirement” to find her way back to the joy.

Are you working toward FIRE as an “exit strategy,” or are you looking for the autonomy to redefine your current role?

Bonus: Her short program.

image credit: Wikimedia common

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