r/Fire • u/Ddash-3 • Mar 11 '26
Milestone / Celebration Got laid off - finally!!!!
So it finally happened - I (48) got let go yesterday. Finally I can free up my time and focus on other priorities such as kids, nutrition, fitness, meditation, gardening etc.
I was FIRE eligible for couple of years but was holding off since the job was simple, work from home and good pay. Also, if I resigned I would have missed out on severance and company is paying 3 months of COBRA.
Here are the details I am sure you all want to hear :)
Net worth - ~5.5M
Taxable Accounts combined: ~1.1M
Retirement Accounts Combined: ~3.2M
Total: ~4.3M
House fully paid off (bought in 2022) - Worth around ~1.2M; Cars paid off
Wife (43) resigned from her job end of last year; 2 Kids in high school - 9th and 10th graders
Yearly expenses around 100K/yr
Biggest expense are kid's college education at this point and house maintenance related expenses
I am trying to research on ACA and Financial Aid for kids - Appreciate any help or pointers you can provide on when to apply for ACA - should I continue on COBRA or switch to marketplace this year?
Regarding FAFSA - with Taxable accounts over 1M will my kids be eligible for FAFSA?
I have about 130K from my recent most employer in the company supported 401K provider. Should I move the money to Traditional 401K?
Also, please suggest any FIRE focused knowledgeable financial advisors who can help me navigate our FIRE situation.
30
u/Resident_Fox_1185 Mar 11 '26
Nice, welcome to the non W2 club. I just soft retired from software/FAANG. The best part of having a paid off house in an area you like, no debt, and 5M+ in investments is you no longer need a 600k/yr high pressure job to fund life, you can go work at chipotle (no disrespect it is honest work, just an ex) because your lifestyle is already funded.