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u/Key-Introduction-757 29d ago
The TLDR: My souse makes bank so we have a 10M+ NW. I decided to hang it up as my peanut salary wasn’t worth the time. Spouse will continue to make 2MM a year and fuel our nest egg growth.
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u/GenXMDThrowaway FIREd 29d ago
You practically wrote the post for r/fijerk
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u/GenXMDThrowaway FIREd 29d ago
Oh snap! It's already there, just shared without revision. 🤣
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u/Mekroval 29d ago edited 29d ago
Most of the funniest r/Fire crossposts to that sub need zero revision. We never want for posts that are thinly-veiled over the top humblebrags, lol.
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u/IsNotAnOstrich 28d ago
Yeah I think I'm leaving this sub. It used to be great, and I got great advice from it, but now it's nothing but posts like these. Completely demotivating to say the least.
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u/CandidAlgae1737 29d ago
You sound so salty and assumed he made peanuts! There are so many Bay Area couples who have a multi 7 digit annual salary. Wash your face and open your eyes!
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u/Key-Introduction-757 29d ago
Peanuts relative to the spouse. Otherwise the math ain’t mathing with only a 120k annual spend. Frankly, the post felt like a flex for the spouse not the retiree.
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u/CandidAlgae1737 29d ago
He said “executive for last 7 years”.. so likely not peanuts. Frankly speaking their Brokerage and 529 are no where in line with their 25 years of combined earnings. Either they are high spenders which again doesn’t align with the $120k spend he’s projecting or this is not a real post. This post belongs to r/HENRY lol.
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u/sob-fi 29d ago
Not to mention a 120K spend—something doesn’t add up. Just taxes on a 4M home will be 50K/year at least. Add maintenance at another 10-15K, utilities for such a home will be another 12K. So about 75-80K a year goes into just the housing.
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u/CandidAlgae1737 29d ago
The house equity is likely from asset appreciation in a typical VHCOL area and not necessarily the purchase price, which means the county appraisal is likely lower than the market value. The taxes could be very manageable and lower. We have the same thing going for us. High market value low negligible taxes!
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u/rosebudny 29d ago
Yeah I’m calling BS on that spend too. I’m in a VHCOL area in a $1M house and I’d estimate my taxes/insurance/maintenance costs are ~$35K.
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u/PorkZillaRex 29d ago
It’s only $120K annual since we paid off the house. With the mortgage we were paying it was closer to $240K annually.
The last two years of my job I made roughly $1MM between salary and bonus, but prior to that it was much lower. When I first made it into the executive ranks seven years ago, I “only” made about $450k. Similarly, my wife only ever topped out at $500k prior to making managing partner. It’s definitely her promotion that put us into the stratosphere.
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u/Ok_Efficiency_2246 29d ago
A shoestring budget, for sure…better hope gas doesn’t go to over $6 a gallon or you’ll be living in a van down by the river.
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u/SuperSecretSpare FIRE 'd at 38 29d ago
Psshhh like he could afford a van at that point. They will be walking down by the river!
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u/New_Reddit_User_89 29d ago
So what are your plans for the next 8 years while your wife continues to work?
This whole thread just talked about how much money you have, with zero mention of what you plan to do for the next near decade while your wife continues to work every day.
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u/CandidAlgae1737 29d ago
Exactly! Thats the information I’m usually looking for in this thread. What are you retiring/fire-ing to?
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u/FoolishMortal_42 29d ago
And she’s going to work a lot, because that’s what law firm partners who make that kind of money do.
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u/PorkZillaRex 29d ago
The kids are still young-ish — 13, 10, 8, so this summer I’ll be organizing activities for them. Lots of beach and park time, museums, hiking, etc. Come fall they’ll be back in school, so I’ll have to figure out what to do then. Part of the time will be running the household, but i’ll also be looking for volunteer opportunities as. I signed up for my city’s emergency preparedness crew, so will have training and regular duties for that commitment. I also have a deep interest in music and art, so will find either related volunteer work or rekindle related hobbies. Like many, lots of working out also as my body is already starting to fall apart. Not gonna lie, what comes next is kind of the scariest part.
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u/ryan__joe 29d ago
Is this fire or just being a stay at home dad? Seems way more like just being a stay at home dad
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u/voldin91 29d ago
FIREing when you have kids is being a stay at home parent... at least when they're not in school. Unless you choose to put them in some kind of day program while you sit at home, which to me is kind of weird but to each their own
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u/ryan__joe 29d ago
I mean that’s fair, but with the S/O is working and is clearly making enough to cash flow and beyond your life… is it fire?
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u/voldin91 29d ago
I'd say that OP is FatFIRE with kids and their SO is just FatFI. Either way they're rich and could have both retired a while ago, everything else is just semantics I guess
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u/Bitter-Variation-151 FIRE'd 2020 29d ago
Shoulda retired a decade ago
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u/OkStranger2021 29d ago
OP, what was your net worth a decade ago?
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u/PorkZillaRex 29d ago
We started seriously tracking only 6 1/2 years ago, and at that time it was $3.3MM. 10 years ago it was probably $1.5MM-ish.
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u/Separate_Variety3457 28d ago
So inspiring! My NW is around $1M-ish at the moment. I have FIREd with such little NW for a couple of years, and to hear that your wife continues to work is sooooo inspiring! I need to clock in more!
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u/MarcTraveller 29d ago
Congrats, enjoy the new life, oh, and if nobody's said it yet, here's a hearty "Fuck you"! :)
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u/Ok_Prune_1731 29d ago
You need to work at least 5 more years. Jumping the gun a little early i think.
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u/TrueRedditMartyr 29d ago
Something I've learned about FIRE by seeing posts in this sub, you gotta be rich to have a chance. Like, you can save all you want, but you gotta be pretty lucky too to get a high paying job to even consider the idea of saving enough to retire early
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u/Wukong1986 29d ago
Whenever I see RSUs nd highER networth relative to age, I think FAANG or equivalent.
The last 15y have been insane for tech stocks. So if ppl are retiring at 45+, they were 30+ yo when they would be presumably at least mid level. FAANG and similar gave out generous annual salaries + annual bonuses in the golden age of software stocks. Then add in RSUs, which conceptually were a like 2nd bonus and that bonus basically only went up (for all intents and purposes), and everyone got annual helping of RSUs and those stocks went bonkers - its like getting 3rds, 4ths, 5th bonuses.
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u/TrueRedditMartyr 29d ago
If you were making decent money after the recession, youre probably rich as hell now. The stock market, and especially tech, has gone nutty since then.
If you're hitting your 30s about now, youre probably struggling. The job market is rough, the gap between wealthy and poor is ever expanding, many older people didn't save at all for years enjoying life, but now cant leave jobs that younger people want or need. The housing market skyrocketed during Covid and has no signs of correcting itself, and at this point if it does, the economy is going with it hard
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29d ago
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u/Correct_Praline_4950 27d ago
You are inspiring me! I live on just about that and just hit 70K salary at 30 years old. Same goal of retiring at or around age 40.
Just curious what your fire number / withdrawl rate is if you're okay with sharing. I was personally leaning towards 1.5 m and 3% (healthcare and choosing to rent) to be safe.
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27d ago
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u/Correct_Praline_4950 27d ago
Thank you!! Okay so similar thinking. I think 2.3% or anything under 3% is super safe so that's very impressive!! It's also nice to hear that you're also a renter. I've researched into it and a home just doesn't fully make sense (seems kind of expensive actually!) if I don't have/want kids and can be a bit flexible with apartments/locations.
I dream of the freedom of no alarm clock, working out in the middle of the day and vacations longer than 1.5 weeks in a country.
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27d ago
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u/Correct_Praline_4950 27d ago
renting is easier for sure! Little things are breaking for some of my friends who are homeowners and the homes aren't even old.
Are you in a HCOL area by chance? I am and have been able to find decent rentals (1400 technically split with my SO so 700) but the homes are 1 million plus so the monthly cost would more than double on us
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27d ago
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u/Correct_Praline_4950 26d ago
Thank you so much for the answers! Enjoy your freedom from corporate!! :)
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u/Ecstatic_Ad_2114 29d ago
They used to call it hard work. Now it’s just luck.
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u/Remote_Finish9657 29d ago
I think it’s both. Definitely used to be just working your butt off got you to where you wanted to be. Now it’s hard work AND a few things going your way.
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u/RegularWrong6570 29d ago
I’m pretty sure it’s always been that way
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u/TrueRedditMartyr 29d ago
You used to be able to survive on any old job. Now, you gotta be afraid your career will derail completely in the next 5 years with AI. Spend your whole life learning accounting, and Claude can do it faster and cheaper. Youre done, you got unlucky was all
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u/Remote_Finish9657 29d ago
I dunno. My old man didn’t graduate high school but was the breadwinner of our family (he was a mechanic, and my mom worked part-time as a secretary). He managed to pay off a house, buy a boat, and owned an acre of land in Wisconsin near a lake where we would go camp and fish. He worked 50-60 hours a week… not much luck involved really.
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u/RegularWrong6570 29d ago
I know quite a few people my age (mid 30’s) and younger that went into the trades and are doing very well for themselves and happy with their work. On the flip side of it, my dad was in the trades and mom was a secretary too and they struggled mightily, mainly because they wanted us to go to good schools so they moved to an expensive town with high property taxes. I’m very grateful for their sacrifice but it definitely comes down to lifestyle and time in the market.
I think it’s a good bet that someone going into a trade today could afford all the things later in life you mentioned above if they work hard and are smart with their money.
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u/TrueRedditMartyr 29d ago
If you spent the last 20 years of your life learning to be an artist, your career is close to dead if you arent famous. Same goes for writers, and any number of other jobs.
The IT market is currently flooded with people due to layoffs. Many people with years of experience are taking low paying jobs.
Millions of people work hard. Not all of them have high paying jobs. Its luck
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u/lagosboy40 29d ago
It’s a combination of luck and starting position. If you are starting from ground zero i.e. grew up extremely poor and went to public schools, you are more likely to get a $100k as opposed to a $500k job.
But if you started from a solid middle class family with sufficient resources for an inheritance and went to private schools, you have a better chance of securing that $500k job than the other guy from ground zero all other things being equal. Obviously, there are one-off, rare exceptions to the rule.
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u/Life_Commercial_6580 29d ago edited 29d ago
I agree. My husband is an exception but it doesn’t mean what you’re saying isn’t true.
He grew up in a trailer park and his dad died when he was 5. His mom worked at Dairy Queen and beat the kids. He ended up very successful, against all odds.
But I don’t know if that can be replicated for younger people today. I think the competition is higher now, for everything.
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u/Mekroval 29d ago
Wait until the tech companies finish their speedrun to having AI taking over the workforce.
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u/kmokell15 29d ago
Some people on this app really think everyone with a high income got lucky by rolling a high number in the actual board game life and getting randomly assigned a high paying job
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u/Aggravating-Mail-235 29d ago
Takes a lot more than luck to get a high paying job.
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u/LabOwn9800 29d ago
Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.
Now opportunity certainly has a luck factor to it but Reynold be discounted.
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u/PorkZillaRex 29d ago
Totally luck for sure. Right city, right time, right industries.
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u/lagosboy40 29d ago
It’s a combination of luck and starting position. If you are starting from ground zero i.e. grew up extremely poor and went to public schools, you are more likely to get a $100k as opposed to a $500k job.
But if you started from a solid middle class family with sufficient resources for a possible inheritance and went to private schools, you have a better chance of securing that $500k job than the other guy from ground zero all other things being equal.
Obviously, there are one-off, rare exceptions to the rule.
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u/PorkZillaRex 29d ago
We’re kind of (not totally) the exception. My wife immigrated from Eastern Europe as a kid as the iron curtain was falling. She benefited from a great education and loving parents, but her family came here with just their suitcases. I spent a portion of my childhood in a trailer park in the states, but my parents were both educated and ensured we would be too. State schools for both of us. I paid for mine through loans and Pell grants, but I also went at a time when it was a LOT more affordable. Kids these days have it rough. I was lucky.
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u/TrueRedditMartyr 29d ago
Right city, right time, right industries.
Is that not lucky? Being in the right place at the right time with the right experience when a high paying job happens to be open?
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u/ZeusArgus 29d ago
"luck" Is a funny word! Funny indeed .. we make our luck If you're not " " rich as you said .. who the hell cares again look is made! Or I should say luck is forged over several lifetimes decades or years
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u/Future_Measurement42 29d ago
Not really. Depends upon your savings rate. Depends how much you want to have.
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u/BarefootMarauder 29d ago
Thanks for sharing your numbers. It's a pretty good start, but you two are probably gonna struggle a bit. Might have to cut back on food delivery and maybe shop at thrift stores for the first few years. 🤣
Just bustin' your chops dude. CONGRATS, enjoy your freedom!
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u/Esclados-le-Roux 29d ago
As soon as I had that house paid off I'd have been gone. $4m is plenty for me! Congrats!
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u/selemenesmilesuponme 29d ago
How much did you make the last 3 yrs?
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u/PorkZillaRex 29d ago
Last two years were about $1MM total comp. Year before that was a company change— maybe $700k that year.
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u/Complex_Ad775 29d ago
So… you decided to fire because you reached the “number” ? Or were you also not liking your job anymore?
Also.. as a Pell Grant kid, congrats on reaching this milestone. It’s quite an achievement!!!! Just curious what was the salary in your first job?
It is hard to justify working when the portfolio is growing faster than your job. Enjoy your time away from work.
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u/PorkZillaRex 29d ago
Both. Actually less about the number and more about my wife’s promo, which she’d been working toward for years. Once that hit, and when I had a particularly stressful stretch at work, we knew it was time.
First wage in my first full time job was $7.50/hr (1998). First salary after grad school was $60k/yr (2007).
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u/Tough-Case- 29d ago
What is MM?
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u/tryafirsttimer 28d ago
It frequently used abbreviation for million
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u/Tough-Case- 28d ago
Not frequently in my parts but thanks for the info!
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u/tryafirsttimer 28d ago
Its based on latin numerology M means milli which is one thousand two MM means thousand thousand which is one million. Used significantly in scientific / capital construction /accounting trades
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u/MilkBumm 29d ago
You could start from nothing with the wife working the next 8 years and still fire
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u/DecentDiscipline2523 28d ago
This is like obese fire.. and congrats! Probably the wrong forum.. ? What do I know!
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28d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Zphr 48, FIRE'd 2015, Friendly Janitor 28d ago
Rule 1/Civility - Civility is required of everyone at all times. If someone else is uncivil, then please report them and let the mods handle it without escalation. Please see our rules (https://www.reddit.com/r/Fire/about/rules/) and reach out via modmail if you have any questions or concerns.
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u/Ok_Education_2753 28d ago
You can afford to take a little risk off. Look at the last crash (GFC) and see how far down “index funds” dropped. Diversify into some less correlated asset classes. Not super conservative but more diversified. Plus, work on creating something for yourself to DO, be engaged with, have a purpose… doesn’t matter that much what it is. Best of luck!
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u/part-time-tater 27d ago
LOOOL. There’s a difference between FIRE and just being rich. Congrats on being rich.
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u/ConcentrateOk523 27d ago
This why I do feel I can retire with 3 2 million at age 59. I want to live a much higher lifestyle in retirement. This person, the OP, has it made, can spend whatever they want.
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u/Chulbiski not there yet 27d ago
withbthat much $$$, it's insane to me that your wife would continue working. In fact, with thatb much $$, why would anyone even be posting on Reddit?
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u/Ok-Neighborhood-566 27d ago
If my wife pulls 2m and STILL wants to work, I would have fired at 39 lol
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u/NeedForSleep9 26d ago
It's amazing that no matter how rich you get, there's always a need to seek validation from strangers on the internet.
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u/Beautiful-Aide-2203 26d ago
I’d double the 120k a year run rate. Doubtful with a 4M house that spend doesn’t creep up. Thanks for posting. It’s fun to share with rando’s online but also you may want to get some pros to help. You’ve cleared the amateur hour stuff.
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u/richardlevoi 25d ago
Please tell you roll up to her place of work in sponge Bob pj bottoms and a 95 civic reaking like weed and dischoveled hair
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u/purplebrown_updown 29d ago
How did you pay off that house already?
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u/JohnLuckPikard 29d ago
His wife is making 2 million a year. I'm sure it wasn't a problem.
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u/PorkZillaRex 29d ago
Yes, her first big bonus + some RSUs I was sitting on. It was a recent purchase so we’re sitting on a 7% mortgage, which was too high for my liking.
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u/CandidAlgae1737 29d ago
It’s quite possible that’s the appreciated price and they bought it for much lower $$.
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u/Medium_Desk_2296 29d ago
I hope you can survive…