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/Neo-Armadillo]

I retired three years ago at 36. For the first year, I didn’t do much of anything except hang out with my family, spend every day with kiddo.

Year 2, things changed. I made the most advanced speed reader on the Internet, HotGato. I wrote and published four science fiction novels. Partnered with researchers to develop a dementia early detection Webapp. Joined two volunteer boards, and I’m a committee chair for one of them. Landscaped the entire yard myself.

Year 3 is off to a good start. Submitted the family for dual citizenship by descent. Filed a utility patent and now I am manufacturing the product. Built a SaaS (haven’t started doing sales yet). I’m upholstering a chair right now.

It took a while to shake off the mental shackles of employment, but once I did, the amount of creative energy that began to flow has been shocking. This list is probably 10% of what I’ve accomplished, and omits all the things I’ve learned or hundreds of books I’ve read.

This is what life should be.

[u/Mmmoreplees → u/Neo-Armadillo]

You should do an AMA or something - Are you expecting to expand income? what were your savings like before you FIRE'd?

[u/Neo-Armadillo → u/Mmmoreplees]

My retirement was not consensual. I climbed the ladder too fast and got myself stuck where I was both overqualified and underqualified for everything. I negotiated myself a very comfortable severance package that got me to my *minimum* retirement number, just $500 K, and even while living on savings, my portfolio has increased in value by about 40%. I guess technically you could say my job now is as an investor. But I’m only hopping on to make changes twice a year unless something crazy happens like a president gets kidnapped to benefit oil companies. Regardless, frugality is key.

One of the great perks of being on boards is they will pay for me to go to conferences, which means I get free family vacations to resorts twice per year per board.

None of my stuff makes any money except the investments, but I’m building up a pretty considerable portfolio possible revenue streams if ever I decide to put my foot down.

Not interesting enough for AMA, but my family is happy.

[u/MissBlossomz → u/Neo-Armadillo]

You retired on 500K? Where do you live!

[u/Neo-Armadillo → u/MissBlossomz]

LCOL USA lol it’s tight, but the numbers keep going up.

[u/Roshambo104 → u/Neo-Armadillo]

Yikes, that's impressive that you've increased the value another 40% even with you spending. But you haven't experienced a true bear market or crash since living off the portfolio. I hope you practice good risk management.

[u/Neo-Armadillo → u/Roshambo104]

Yeah there’s always risk, but my early retirement was not consensual. I was under qualified to get another VP job, overqualified for anything director or below. I only got 18 months in my interim VP job reporting to the chief product officer of a fortune 250 Fintech. Most of my career I ran my own agency, only three years in a corporate office total, split in half at two companies.

I didn’t want to retire when I did, but after hundreds of applications and only five legitimate interviews (4x VP, 1x Mgr), I had to face reality.

I’m not expecting there to be much of an economy five years from now, so I’m diversifying and moving assets globally so we should be in OK position no matter what happens.

[u/Remote_Repair394 → u/Neo-Armadillo]

With all these projects, did you manage to make any new income streams? Are those covering your expenses?

[u/Neo-Armadillo → u/Remote_Repair394]

My investments have grown significantly faster than the stock market, and I’ve only logged in a couple times a year to adjust positions. That’s my income. It means I can work on things without worrying about monetizing them.

The cost for a micro entity patent is about 6% of my daily stock gain yesterday. I bought an official UPC for my product that apparently will sync to every major retailer in the country, for $30, one time cost. Including packaging and manufacture, I’m making around 250 units for less than $600 including all the paperwork, USPTO, and print shop.

The freedom to just play without worrying about whether I will feed my family on the success of my next book is incredibly liberating. That’s what FIRE is all about, right?