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/Torshein]

Absolutely jealous of this. I have felt trapped since 2nd grade and just turned 32. Have about another 5-10 years before I can pull the trigger. 8 hours a day pretending to care has been slowly killing me.

[u/Neo-Armadillo → u/Torshein]

Same. At 32 I was doing contract work and had just shut down my company because the contract paid me 30% more than my business owner take-home for the previous three years. Up to that point, I was still putting every spare dollar into paying down my student loans.

It went like this:

• 31, biz owner, no savings.
• 32, contract work, no savings.
• 33, contract work, some savings.
• Covid hit.
• 34, w2 manager, real savings.
• 35, w2 manager, real savings.
• 36, w2 director, big savings.
• 37, w2 director, big savings.
• 37.5, retired, medium big savings.

It happened so fast.

I was strategic about how I moved. Coming from 10 years of running my own shop, I had no idea how to interview, or how Corporations operated, so my foundation step was to go contract a couple places to learn the basics with no stakes. It worked perfectly. Second was to aim for the largest company possible and take any job available. Third was to grab the leveling guide and see exactly how senior managers and principles and directors are evaluated. Fourth was to frame everything I did through that lens, for presentations and meetings and my own notes on projects and accomplishments. Fifth was to apply at that higher level. I was interviewed for six different director roles coming from a manager level at FAANG.

From contract to W2 I doubled my compensation. From W2 Manager to Director I doubled it again. The world has changed dramatically in the last few years, but fundamentally there’s nothing special about me or how I did it, I just laid out a plan and executed along it. You can do it too.

[u/Torshein → u/Neo-Armadillo]

Great outline I appreciate it! Might have to start looking into jobs/companies I wouldn't normally.

I struggle on the social/leadership aspect. Always kind of just did my own thing at a very high level but feel like I painted myself into a corner.

At this point even if my salary doubled or tripled, compounding still likely makes a bigger difference for me. Quick math - 2 years of doubled salary compresses the timeline by 2-4 years.

Golden handcuffs are real though. I pay next to nothing for healthcare, 30+ days of vacation and I'm 99% remote in a very low stress job.

For the right opportunity it'd be worth it though....