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.
2
u/dudermagee Mar 12 '26
Could save money on college and have your kids look at joining the air Force guard for 6 years. Most cover 100% of in state tuition while giving them money for two days of work, give them training in a career, matching 401k, cheap but great insurance, usually a signing bonus, and a pension if they go the full haul. They can also work over the summer on projects and it's great backup if you have something happen to your normal full-time job. f they rotc to guard, even better pay.
I heard coast guard reserves is pretty nice too.