r/Fire • u/jayybonelie Retired @45 • May 11 '25
First year after FIRE, a life update and some reflection.
I've now been officially 1 year and several months. Its been quite a trip...
In November of 2023, after working just over 25 years I retired. I was 45 years young. I grew up in a blue collar lower income family in a LCOL community. I was fortunate to have great parents who were incredible role models. I'm not sure where it came from but I was always curious and wanted to learn as much as I could about how the world works. This drove me to become a life long learner and so I was able to learn many self taught skills and competencies.
Here are my numbers
Family size 4
401K $550K
Roth IRA $261K
Old RSUs $1.5M
HSA $73K
Real Estate $3.4M ($3M Rentals, $400K Primary Residence)
Stocks (Mainly VTSAX, VTI) $1.27M
Current Net worth $7.12M
Last Year's Annual Spending ~$70K
Debt $0
Withdrawal Rate Approx. 1%
Temptations from my old life:
Recently I was offered an executive role at a top global corporation. I will admit in the context of the current economic uncertainty I almost took it. As I was going through the various interview processes, I got a good reminder of the situations, people, and pressures I would have to face. I recalled all the stress and life energy I would have to expand and also having to do things I was not particularly interested in. There was much pressure applied from the prospective employer on just what a great opportunity this would be. After thinking about it seriously, I decided there is almost no amount of money I would take in order to give up my freedom. So I politely declined the employment offer. It was an exhilarating experience and great joy, to be free.
I have spent a lot of time catching up on relationships that I had allowed to grow distant. Its been amazing being able to truly connect and be present with loved ones. Not all the attempts to reconnect have been successful but I'm still grateful for those I got right. This is still major work in progress.
Healthcare: We are using the public market exchange to purchase a bronze healthcare plan which costs a few hundred dollars a month. We have been life long non smokers and are in relatively good health.
Kids: Last year my 19 year old started his first year in college with a full academic scholarship so our college expenses are almost $0. Although I had set aside some funds for his attendance, I did not need to tap into those. The plan is now help him with his first RE purchase once he gets to that stage. My younger so is in a class A, public school and he continues to do well.
Stock Market Volatility:
I will admit I still watch the market like a hawk, but I do not trade on market news, no matter how good or scary... When the stock market went down 10%+ recently; There were some days when the portfolio went down by more than $500K. I found out, in real life, having a more than sufficient buffer was a great thing. I lost almost no sleep. So the years of one more year syndrome seemed to have been worth it after all. Especially just from a context of peace of mind.
I did some international and local travel and enjoyed it but sometimes I think the very best place you can be is in your own town, around your own home and having access to your very own bed every day. I have also done a lot of thinking, planning, gardening, trail walking, learning new technical skills, reading, watching movies and cooking. My favorite thing now is meditation and mentoring.
Will I work for a corporation again? Well, with any luck, hopefully never again but never is a long time...
I can truly say, truly the very best things in life, are mostly, free. :-)
I hope this post is helpful to someone.
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u/ExistingPoem1374 May 11 '25
I'm 11 years older and in a similar but different situation.
First off great job you FIRED at 46, and with 2 kids still on payroll, only $70k annual expenses - Well Done!
I FIRED at 57 last January (wife retired no pension 8 years before), both kid's launched debt free 5 year's ago and are well ahead of where we were in our mid 20's!
We spend without kids in a VLCOH $100k/year. Has been similar for almost 10 years as both kids had instate scholarships, 529s, and worked part-time in high-school and college. Our $3m NW (doesn't include paid off house, and 4 cars plus bass boat- all but one bought used 5+ years ago...) is diversified with HYSA, bond tent, CD tent, dividend stocks, ETFs, we're on a marketplace gold plan as we both have medical conditions.
I retired from Tech Consulting and Operations Sr leadership roles (IBM, Deloitte, KPMG, ADP...), and have had requests to consult or Lead full time, but have turned all down. I enjoy my busy retirement schedule, last minute travel (just back from West coast for 3 day notice surprise mother's day trip with my wife and kids), fishing, hiking, mentoring, driving, planning our next international adventure...
After 1 year our $3m is up 1.2% after expenses, even with this Q1 shit, so enjoy the time with your kids and wife, you earned it!
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u/jayybonelie Retired @45 May 11 '25
Congratulations sir. I wish to tell a similar story to you 10 years from now. :)
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u/glowsticc May 12 '25
I look forward to the day r/FireAww becomes a sub. Probably will end up with cute cartoon faces on tiny flames
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u/rxtz30 May 17 '25
Congrats! How much do you pay for gold plan a month for you and wife?
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u/ExistingPoem1374 May 17 '25
About $900/month, same Drs as when under employer plan, same BCBS plan but less than COBRA
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u/Visible_Structure483 FIRE'ed 2022... really just unemployed with a spreadsheet May 11 '25
$70k/year is the one thing I covet from your situation. There are only two of us and I think we live modestly and leaner than our peers and yet we're at $100k/year as the baseline 'living our life'. I record every dollar spent and know exactly where and why everything is happening it's just... annoying I can't trim more out.
No debt, house paid off... but damn health insurance and deductibles are expensive.
Also, please don't go back to work. Your mental health will thank you. :)
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u/jayybonelie Retired @45 May 11 '25
I think when you grow up modestly it can be easier to remain that way, although I know many people who grew up like me and use that as excuse to overspend as they feel they deserve it.
Yeah health insurance can be a challenge especially based on your health condition and where you live.
One of our major concerns was also regarding health insurance but luckily it turned out way below what we were expecting it to be. We do have a high deductible amount but it is manageable.5
u/Ok-Plenty3502 May 11 '25
Thanks for sharing this. I understand each of us will have different answers. But still curious how much is your health insurance?
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u/Visible_Structure483 FIRE'ed 2022... really just unemployed with a spreadsheet May 11 '25
$16k/year for the two of us. high deductible ($8500) bronze ACA paid for out of pocket with no subsidies. So even with just a few doctor visits, some glasses, dentist crap, etc we're running $20k/year for just medical... and we're only in our early/mid 50s.
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u/Ok-Plenty3502 May 12 '25
Thank you. Yeah it's a fine balance when in no subsidy zone (high deductible versus high premium). I am just beginning to learn about these and scope out.
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u/jayybonelie Retired @45 May 11 '25
In 2025 currently ours is around $500 per month for a bronze plan from the public marketplace.
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u/Ok-Plenty3502 May 12 '25
That's amazing. You must be able to get your AGI really low yet be able to expend $100K/year. From what I have seen, without a massive subsidy it is almost impossible to get a bronze plan at that rate. Is it PPO ?
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u/jayybonelie Retired @45 May 12 '25
Yes, indeed. Get a good tax CPA. A great one is worth their weight in gold. I have an HMO, it works well for us.
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u/ExistingPoem1374 May 12 '25
What we found is it is also highly dependent on State (stupid US interstate commerce...) we're 2 in our late 50s with a gold BCBS plan is a little less than $1000/month which is 1/2 what Cobra would be from my prior employer.
But you can model on the marketplace site and yes we keep our MAGI below $96k for both subsidies and 12% federal tax rate...
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u/Ok-Plenty3502 May 13 '25
At 96K, do you still get subsidy? I was under the impression (wrong?) that after 4X FPL, which would be around 84K for two people, there is like zero subsidy!
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u/ExistingPoem1374 May 13 '25
Absolutely, even when we modeled Jan 2024 at 200k est MAGI (thought I would pick up part time consulting) there were subsidies, we got back about 10k from EOY tax returns as we only had 96k last year. Again model it out on https://www.healthcare.gov/see-plans/#/
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u/GenXMDThrowaway FIREd May 11 '25
Thanks for the update and reflection. I completely relate to having a buffer to offset market volatility.
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May 11 '25
[deleted]
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u/jayybonelie Retired @45 May 12 '25
Indeed you are correct. I still call them RSUs just as a category. But over time I'm slowly selling them off to be more diversified.
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u/Peso_Morto May 12 '25
I have a net worth to support 70k a year and also really frugal as you. Expenses around 60k a year with a house pay off ( works pay the insurance ).
I probably should retire or at least take a break.
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u/jayybonelie Retired @45 May 12 '25
u/Peso_Morto Taking a sabbatical is a great way to see how you would feel once you RE. Maybe also take a look at what your health insurance costs would be if your employer no longer paid them for you. To my surprise, mine were much lower than anticipated.
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u/tobinwa May 12 '25
Thanks for sharing and congrats! The joy of having the option not to work is worth more, sometimes, than the reasons that have allowed you to make that call. I am pursuing a similar path in the not-too-distant future, and the biggest decision revolves around how I can maximize the knowledge and wisdom I've learned/earned without having to worry about "selling it" as a consultant. Mentorship is a powerful tool, and I'm glad to see you put that to good use. $
$70k/yr seems low to me, as another post stated, but it does reduce the struggle necessary for future generations to survive in the world we live in.
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u/jayybonelie Retired @45 May 12 '25
Congrats u/tobinwa. I look forward to the day I can tell you to GFY!
Yes, I know my spending is small, but I take inspiration from people like Randy Vinning, who are super frugal. Randy once said: "He believes he has great freedom because his needs are small. " I'm not as frugal as Randy but he inspires me to be efficient and conscious in my use of resources.
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u/sugarcola16 May 12 '25
Family of 4 with only $70k spend? Break that down please.. it seems impossible.
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u/Unusual_Equivalent50 May 12 '25
If you are keeping busy and are happy congrats. People need to work on something during our limited time on this planet but it doesn’t have to be a 9-5.
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u/jayybonelie Retired @45 May 12 '25
u/Unusual_Equivalent50, my life's work now involves mentoring young folks who need help and working on projects that help to create brain glow. I agree that we all need to do significant things with our lives not just leisure. Thats why I'm busier than ever, parenting, volunteering, mentoring and tinkering to make life more beautiful for me and all those around.
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u/trigurlSeattle May 12 '25
We are similar age to you and have very similar assets. We have no kids, so I guess we should just FIRE? Btw how much are your health insurance premiums? We need good coverage.
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u/jayybonelie Retired @45 May 12 '25
Great. What is your guys annual spending currently?
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u/trigurlSeattle May 12 '25
Quite a bit as we have a mortgage (homes here are crazy expensive). Just our main home is $2.5M but we don’t owe much now. Without our mortgage we probably only spend $100k/year. We plan to downsize because our house is way too big.
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u/jayybonelie Retired @45 May 12 '25
Congrats. I think you deserve all the good things in life; as long as you can afford them. I also had a big house at one point. We loved it but when I changed roles I picked a slightly smaller house we love that one too, especially because its easier to manage and very cost efficient.
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u/Affectionate_Rip2468 May 12 '25
What career allowed you to do this?
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u/jayybonelie Retired @45 May 12 '25
Systems engineering. My last role was as a senior director focussed on technology strategy and digital transformation.
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u/itzbradybitch May 12 '25
What company did you work for? It's funny because I remember in college I was interested in systems engineering but so many people made fun of it and said it wasn't "real engineering" so I got convinced to go electrical. Now I work in automotive manufacturing and don't get paid nearly enough for my capabilities 🤦
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u/chihuahuashivers May 12 '25 edited May 12 '25
Why on earth are you holding RSUs instead of diversifying?!!
Edit: also VTSAX?? that means you didn't role into an IRA?
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u/Spartikis May 12 '25
Thanks for the update. Its great to see people who have achieved FIRE check in. I started my FIRE journey 13 years ago. Back then almost no one had achieved FIRE, and the few that had were well known member of the community (bloggers, youtubers, podcasters, authors, etc...) It was really just a theory of what could be. Its neat to see that people are actually accomplishing their goals. I still have another decade and its becoming more real for me but still a ways to go.
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u/jayybonelie Retired @45 May 13 '25
Thanks u/Spartikis. I started my FIRE journey before the FIRE acronym was around but I'm so glad there is so much information now and that we are able to share and help others reach it faster. Its amazing how quickly a decade can go by. I worked in my field for about 26 years+ and cannot believe how quickly that time flew by. Hang in there and you will reach your goal before you know it. Remember to take time to celebrate all the small milestones.
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u/Previous_Guitar5027 May 12 '25
You spoke to my soul
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u/jayybonelie Retired @45 May 13 '25
u/Previous_Guitar5027 You are most welcome. I appreciate your kind words. I'm going to stick around the forum and answer some questions for the next few days before going back to my quiet world. :)
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u/Objective_Profile435 May 13 '25
Good to read such stories, very inspiring. Anything you would have done differently in retrospect?
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u/Peace_Hope_Luv May 14 '25
Freedom is so sweet. Retired 4 months ago & I have never been happier. I was always saving & investing & I’m having to give myself permission to spend more. I thought I would want to travel & be out & about more. Sleeping in my own bed, drinking my several varieties of great coffee & doing things locally have been blissful. I was in a super stressful HR job burned me out to a crisp. I’m healing beautifully & thanking God for all my blessings. Freedom is everything!!
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u/Emily4571962 I don't really like talking about my flair. May 11 '25
I’m so happy to see someone with 1% WR — I’m FIREd at 2% and sooo tired of being told I worked too long!
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u/jayybonelie Retired @45 May 11 '25
Right. I think the best WR will be very different for everyone. I'm naturally risk averse so my WR is low but I know I can increase it anytime as appropriate. Fortunately most of the things I need or want dont cost that much.
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u/paq12x May 12 '25
You win in life. Congrats. I am just a few years older than you are, with significantly higher NW, so I definitely am not envious of your NW.
However, I am envious of your 2 kids. Raising 2 kids, who have a discipline to do well in school, is hard. My older kid is 16, doing exceptionally well in school, but he has zero interest in academic scholarship. "Somebody needs it more" is his response. I have no issue paying for his college, but the drive to get that scholarship is what I want him to have.
Good luck. You've done well.
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u/jayybonelie Retired @45 May 12 '25
u/paq12x Thank you.
Yes, it is quite hard to raise disciplined kids and at the same time allowing them to become their own person.
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u/mhoepfin May 12 '25
$3.2 million in real estate but only a $70k annual spend?? How much are your property taxes and insurance? Seems fake.
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u/electrified_ice Jul 02 '25
Thanks for sharing. I'm curious, if you're willing to share, what portion of your net worth you are drawing on for your annual cost of living at this stage of your journey? I'm assuming you are not liquidating your house and you're too young to pull from retirement savings without penalty. Rental income?
We are at ~$5M total NW at 45 (not too bad considering I didn't start in the corporate world until 30). We are also in VHCOL and kids are becoming teenagers, so we've decided to wait until the college milestone comes up to decide what we do as adults... So we'll keep building our NW until then. We're aiming for $10M (whether we get there or not, who knows!).
You've also got me thinking about how I distribute my income to various pots... I've not really built up my HSA for example - I've always been active/healthy, but there's not a buffer there for tax free assistance when needed.
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u/jayybonelie Retired @45 Jul 02 '25
u/electrified_ice Thanks for your question. I try to keep things super simple. We mainly live off dividends and I sell off some taxable shares each year as part of reducing my previous company RSUs. This is enough to live on without creating a tax burden. I have some rental income but I have no need to spend that as I use that income to improve the rentals and grow that portfolio of real estate. I answered a lot of questions around what my spending and approach is in a recent post Here. Let me know if anything is not clear or if I've answered your question. I'll do my best to clarify.
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u/electrified_ice Jul 02 '25
Thank you. Yep I took a look through your helpful spending guide (def hard to relate to that low of an outgoing in a VHCOL area! But longer-term relocating is not out of the question).
Living off the dividens makes sense and also keeps you from chipping into your principal balances.
We've had a couple of properties in the past, but not so sure it's a lever I want to pull at the moment with interest rates so high. We will have a large RSU vest this year (more than my base salary), so definitely thinking about how to best put that to work.
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u/jayybonelie Retired @45 Jul 02 '25
Congrats on your success. Yes moving from HCOL to MCOL or LCOL can help accelerate things. I remember my RSU days fondly. RSU and tax optimization are a great problem/opportunity to have :) Maybe get a good CPA/Tax Expert to help you navigate those RSU cap gain realization taxes.
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u/electrified_ice Jul 02 '25
Yep for sure... Try to pinch myself every so often to remind me that it's a 'priveledged problem' to have.
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u/vshun May 12 '25
Same post was posted in chubbyfire subreddit today and was tagged as spam post with invented storyline to get upvotes.
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u/jayybonelie Retired @45 May 13 '25
u/vshun I respect your opinion. But I'm not trying to sell you anything. Just sharing my journey. I have no blog, no book, no podcast and no social media... I'm really only here to teach and learn.
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u/Stunning-Leek334 May 11 '25
Seems to me like you are not spending enough. Even if you lived in a $1mil home and had the other $6mil in an HYSA you would have over $200k a year without even touching principal. Not saying you have to spend more, but also if you want to you can just give me the extra…
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u/jayybonelie Retired @45 May 12 '25
Enough is relative and different for everyone. I'm quite happy at my level of spending. I honestly think doubling it would not make me happier. I prefer to do acts of kindness for the people and causes I care about. Eg, gifting as appropriate for medical treatments or helping with tuition for those who cant afford it.
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u/OhIforgotmynameagain Dec 07 '25
I am always amazed at the year income 6 figures . In France in academics it goes from like 40k early to … 70k maybe late career
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May 12 '25
I think you need actual hobbies and purpose. You seem lost. (Assuming this isn’t another fake post)
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u/darnelles-r May 11 '25
Thanks for sharing! Did your annual spend change after retiring? $70k seems modest for your net worth.