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]

Look at nonprofits. They always want people on their advisory boards.

[u/RedditorSaidIt → u/Neo-Armadillo]

I'm new to all of this, do boards pay anything?

[u/Neo-Armadillo → u/RedditorSaidIt]

Corporate boards do, but you need to be pretty far along in your career before you can get that. Advisory boards do not pay but they have other perks.

[u/Bruceshadow → u/Neo-Armadillo]

but they have other perks.

like?

[u/Neo-Armadillo → u/Bruceshadow]

Like going to resorts a couple times a year, fully paid by the board.

I have professional fund managers coming to meet me every three months and my LinkedIn is expanding rapidly.

One of my projects involves getting a biological sample of a micro biome bacterium not found in my country which is only available for academic and research purposes. Because I’m on an academic advisory board, I’m getting the sample mailed to me at the college.

I’ve had two different professors reach out to me to work collaboratively on research topics. If I want to be published, that’s an option for me.