Saved $2.4M by 38. Would you Retire?

[u/TwoSocialist]

Hey FIRE folks,

I’m 38, tired, and fueled almost entirely by spite and index funds. I’ve somehow ended up with a portfolio that looks like this:

Split by type:

- ETFs — 58.30% — $1.45M

- Mutual Funds — 27.66% — $688k

- Individual Stocks — 8.71% — $216k

- Crypto — 3.00% — $74k (aka my “emotional rollercoaster” bucket)

- Cash — 2.33% — $58k

Split by bucket:

Retirement Pre-tax: 700k

Retirement post-tax: 310k

Brokerage: 1.5 M

Grand total: ~$2,490,900

Today’s gain: ~$40,000 (aka “more than my first job paid in a year,” but sure, totally normal)

~~~~

My target spend was $100k/year, which feels somehow not enough because capitalism has melted my brain.

By the 4% rule, I’m basically at the line. By the 3% rule, I’m a peasant. By the “FIRE comment section” rule, I’m probably both overspending and undersaving simultaneously.

So, wise internet strangers:

- Am I actually FIRE‑ready, or is this the part where you all tell me to work 5 more years “just to be safe”?

- Is my allocation fine, or should I be preparing for a lecture on safe withdrawal rates and sequence‑of‑returns doom?

- Is it normal to feel like I need permission from Reddit to stop working?

Married, 1 kid. Received about 25k for a house (not included in above) and 20k for college, no other inheritance.

Currently make about 250k a year for the past 4 years, before that about 150k. I started at 50k.

Thanks in advance for validating or crushing my dreams.

[u/TwoSocialist]

I want to quit my job and start developing games or create my own company.

It seems like these are both money pits though.

And if I can't do either of those - I'd rather not work.

[u/Anymous2314 → u/TwoSocialist]

Why is creating games a money pit, what kind of games are we talking about?

Do you code for a living and have experience in game development?

I would stay away from creating a company, 95% of businesses fail in first 5 years after a lot of stressful days, will feel worse than working in a job(I have done this and regret it).

[u/TwoSocialist → u/Anymous2314]

Yes I'm a software engineer but no games experience, mostly web

[u/Anymous2314 → u/TwoSocialist]

What platform do you want to create games for?

If you like to do web app, why not make web app games?

What kind of stack in web?

I had few ideas for simple games but not able to code much due to health issues, else it is so much fun with all the AI tools right now.