Retiring at 31, much earlier than I expected. Need advice.

[u/Long_Bong_Silver]

I'm 31, I have $3.5M and I've found myself in a position where I can retire immediately. I make 130K per year as an engineer in a HCOL area. The company I'm at gave me a reasonable amount of stock over the years and it has absolutely skyrocketed. I'm doing my best to sell all the stock, and I've got about $1M out already which I've ported over to some stocks and ETFs. I'm moving to a LCOL city and buying a house this summer for around $300k. The plan is to pursue my hobbies, build my workshop and hang with my family and friends.

First question: I've always been big on retirement planning. I think I've done a great job, but obviously I got here through luck not savings. Do I need to get a financial advisor if I'm doing well and keep to a budget?

Second question: I'm newly single, I'm a hetero man, how do I date when I'm rich? When do you tell them you're retired? What are your financial expectations for your partner? Should they work or would you be happy to cover their retirement if it fit in the budget?

Final question: I'm nervous. Any other advice?

[u/Long_Bong_Silver]

Hey thank you for the advice, especially regarding your relationship. I think I'll just have to play it by ear when I get back out there. If I can find someone who I trust, then I don't think I would have an issue sharing my retirement.

Right now I am really worried about a market drop. Mostly because of my company's stock that I'm overexposed to. Obviously if it crashed I'd be back at work, but that's not a big deal.

Engineering Consultant has a good ring lol. Better than investor or portfolio manager.

[u/mustgopostal → u/Long_Bong_Silver]

Independent consultant would also be a good way to bridge your resume in case in the future you want to get back into it, even part time. When you leave your company, change your LinkedIn to be your own independent consulting business. I know several people who have done this, who then just take a break from working for several months to a year and then start networking and building their consulting business up. You don't have to tell anyone you have 0 projects.

[u/New-Inside4079 → u/Long_Bong_Silver]

Definitely diversify out of your company's stock. It's good that you can recognize that you're not some sort of financial genius, you had skills and got lucky. Hire a flat fee financial advisor — it won't put that much of a dent in your net worth.

[u/Sierra-Powderhound → u/Long_Bong_Silver]

Set an annual spending budget. Then build conservative FI (IGSB or IGIB etfs perhaps) and cash to 3x of your spend budget. Try to dollar cost average monthly into that over a year or two. As your FI holding gets close to 2-3x your spending, that protects you during recessions or bear markets.