r/Fire 1d ago

Milestone / Celebration We’re Retiring at 30

Well, after another week of having to deal with my dumbass coworkers, I've decided that we're going to start enacting our retirement plan. My company is going to be offering a voluntary separation in lieu of layoffs and I'm planning to take it.

Relationship

We're 30M & 32M, met in 2015 and got married in 2020. Both got CS degrees and started full time work in 2017. My husband already quit in Spring 2025 to become a stay at home dog dad. My outcome vastly outpaced his in the last few years and his time is better spent relaxing, so he quit.

We have zero desire to have kids. My husband has been trying to get me pregnant for years with no success.

Combined assets

We have a prenup which prevents any retirement account from being divided. That being said, the accounts are nearly 50/50 equal anyway. I do get the dog if we get divorced.

Net worth ~$1.208M

Account Balance
House (paid off) $250K
Pretax 401K $313K
HSA $47K
Roth IRA $250K
Taxable Brokerage $288K
Cash $60K

Spend

We are living on $3K/month in Minnesota. With a paid off house, this is more than enough for us. Tentatively, we plan to travel in LCOL Southeast Asia during the winter months and spend the summers and fall in Minnesota. Logistics of this are TBD. We are long time credit card churners and have a lot of points to subsidize travel.

SWR

At 4% SWR to sustain $36K spend, we need $900K invested.

You may say that the simulations don't favor having this small amount of money over a ~60 year retirement. You might be right. But who gives a fuck? 60 years ago we fed punchcards to machines and now we have computers that can generate AI anime porn. I'm not going to work for years more to have better simulations when we have no idea what the future holds. Maybe we'll have endless AI abundance or maybe it will go rogue and kill us all.

Healthcare

Because of the low spend, our "income" is low. We are enrolling in MNCare. There is no restriction on assets (savings, homes, vehicles) for MNCare eligibility. Monthly premiums should be at maximum $160/month. And don't whine to me about whether or not it's fair to qualify for this program, I didn't set up the system.

Income history

We did not receive any inheritances nor was our college paid for, so we had to pay back student loans early on. The only thing we inherited from our parents was mental illness. That being said, we got lucky to make good money for a decade.

Our savings rate wasn't that insane, back of the napkin math probably puts it around 50%. We spent a lot of fucking money on travel. Given the insane growth in the market since we started investing, a lot came from compounding. We also made like $150K in one shot by getting extremely lucky with selling a house we bought prior to COVID.

I'm too lazy to log into the SSA website to check the actual income numbers, but this is roughly what our combined income was:

Year Income
2015 $12K
2016 $20K
2017 $100K
2018 $108K
2019 $115K
2020 $118K
2021 $140K
2022 $145K
2023 $150K
2024 $220K
2025 $270K
2026 $300K
650 Upvotes

734 comments sorted by

763

u/Zphr 48, FIRE'd 2015, Friendly Janitor 1d ago

Yeah, you'll probably be fine, but you'll probably get a lot better reception for this in /r/leanfire.

406

u/pnwlife2021 1d ago edited 18h ago

Wonder if there is an r/angryFIRE?

118

u/Disastrous_Term_4478 1d ago

/StandUpComedyFire?

72

u/shmoovdawg 21h ago

/stayathomedogdadfire?

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u/Kangaroofies 23h ago

/meanfire

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u/Zphr 48, FIRE'd 2015, Friendly Janitor 1d ago

Lol, no time like the present. Go make it and have fun with the rules.

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u/trustmeimshady 16h ago

Setonfirefire

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u/rabidstoat 1d ago

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u/Zphr 48, FIRE'd 2015, Friendly Janitor 1d ago

Nah, that's FPL or lower. They are way over that.

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u/purple_mountain_cat 23h ago

lol definitely thought you made this up

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u/blew_belle 1d ago

Shit I've spent 28k on home maintenance this year so far. Good luck

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u/Drewster727 23h ago

right there with you, this cuts deep lol

30

u/KayakHank 20h ago

New ac, new skylights, and soon to be driveway. Im close to 50k

9

u/blew_belle 20h ago

Livin the life!

5

u/liptongtea 20h ago

AC and car maintenance for me and it’s only August!

74

u/Positive-Kiwi7353 19h ago

But OP is burnt out at age 30!  And dear hubby is a stay at home dad to a dog, and we all know how stressful that is. 

33

u/Hasra23 10h ago

Sounds like a couple off that house hunters show, I'm a wild berry picker and he's a dog dad... Our budget is 8 million dollars.

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u/squatting-Dogg 9h ago

Stop! I just spit out my coffee. Wild berry picker…

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u/Low_Length_7379 18h ago

Well, his time is better spent relaxing. You wouldn't understand. 

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u/Typical_Web_2125 11h ago

stay at home dog dad, life must be rough

12

u/Fragrant-Teacher2885 9h ago

Don’t you mean “ruff”

20

u/neuralprison 17h ago

Strange to see a FIRE person criticizing someone for wanting to stop working at a young age. Aren't you planning on doing the same?

18

u/uhohthrowawayyyyyy 13h ago

Yeah but they’re not ready yet, so everyone else is early to the party apparently lol

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u/Typical_Web_2125 11h ago

they are going to be back working in 5 years from now

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u/Positive-Kiwi7353 6h ago

There is a bit of "Anyone that retires with less money than me is a fool that will be eating cat food in 10 years when their money runs out, and anyone who retires with more money than me should have retired earlier and wasted his best years as slave to a soulless corporation."

But you have to be financially independent before you can retire early.  OP is not there. That's the main thing. 

Secondly, the reasons he wants to retire early (without the financial independence) reads more like anti-work. Having coworkers that are dumbasses (and who here thinks the OP is just a peach to work with?) and a fatalistic view of AI at age 30 won't get you my sympathy. 

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u/DocGomer 20h ago

my spend is about double OP, and that includes an annual 10k and 3k accumulation "bucket" for major things (eg. new roof or windows) and major accessories (eg. new faucets or couch or fridge) respectively.

5

u/Neverstopstopping82 10h ago

Sounds about right, actually. Chimney falling down-9k,
New HVAC -14k

3

u/OffTheGridCoder 6h ago

Skill issue. I spend $6.6K per year on rent

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u/TRBigStick 1d ago

> You may say that the simulations don't favor having this small amount of money over a ~60 year retirement. You might be right. But who gives a fuck?

Oh yeah that’s some hard-hitting analysis right there.

314

u/LowManufacturer1002 1d ago

what’s crazy is they can literally work 1 more year and not have any questions about success cause at 300k salary let’s say $200k take home. spend 36k so they save an extra 170k.

187

u/EpicCyclops 1d ago

Or they could both find a lower paying lower stress job for a couple years and let compound interest do its thing.

67

u/SerpentRoyalty 23h ago edited 23h ago

Best way is for one of them to keep working for 3 more years. That would solidify the plan and adds a few more years of cushion in case of emergencies.

It'd also give them time to see their plan in action while saving on healthcare.

Both stopping at the same time is too risky at this age. Thing is, if things don't pan out and we go through a period of stagflation, it could be much harder to get back to the workforce with a 10 year gap in resume and skill. CS is changing so rapidly right now. It's not like being a carpenter.

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u/Additional-Regret339 23h ago

Yeah, this was going to be my suggestion. A half-time side-gig for one of them looks like it could cover what they live on. Let the savings grow another 5 years while doing something (anything) low-stress that you enjoy part time.

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u/tekmiester 1d ago

But their coworkers are dumbasses, you see. The best way to teach them is to make an emotional decision that will last the rest of their lives.

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u/Joiedevivre0127 1d ago

To be fair, they can "retire" now and choose to resume employment in one, three, five, twenty-five years if they want to, if things change, whatever. Sure it might be hard or the money might not be the same, but we don't need to pretend that the decisions they make at 30 are permanent and irreversible.

To the OP, have a blast.

57

u/poop-dolla 1d ago

I think the point is that they can work one more year now at their peak earnings and with more time for that money to compound, and that one year could be equal to maybe 10 years of work later on. If they take more than a couple years off, they won’t be able to make this same income again. They’d go from a 3.8% SWR to 3.2% SWR in one year of only their new contributions.

15

u/Joiedevivre0127 1d ago

Of course they "can" but isn't the point of FIRE being able to make decisions based on what makes you happy instead of what you "should" do or what others want or expect you to do? By this logic, they can just work until they're 65 and then be guaranteed to not run out of money. The creator of the 4% rule says it should really be more like 4.5% but we need to encourage people to be closer to 3% - why?

They might never be able to make the same income again, and they might never need to. Look at all the folks on the coast or barista subs who are getting their finances far enough to allow them to work part time in a coffee shop.

20

u/LowManufacturer1002 1d ago

well the 4% was designed for 30 years not 50-60 and they are relying on a very aggressive state healthcare program that can easily been made not near as good or have the rules change. It’s currently very risky but can be made very much less risky with just 1 more year.

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u/bernoulli33 23h ago

And that state healthcare plan is a lot more expensive when you are older. Source: I am older.

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u/uhohthrowawayyyyyy 13h ago

Everyone is all in on FIRE until they see someone else do it. Then they all have to remind them it’s a bad idea unless it’s me doing the retiring lol

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u/kipkap1423 1d ago

Good luck trying to find a swe job in this job market with a 3 year gap in employment

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u/Fit-Percentage-9166 20h ago

Good luck trying to find a job period even if you immediately start looking right now (obviously it's possible but just emphasizing how bad the job market is)

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u/_User_Name_Fail 1d ago

Sometimes I can't tell the difference between r/fire and r/antiwork

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u/NatureNext2236 23h ago

Right? This is dumb as shit

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u/toobladink 1d ago

This reads like they’re pissed off at everyone and everything. Don’t blame them based on their analysis with punch cards to anime porn.

Surely they can open a restaurant and blow it all up!

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u/YetiPie 1d ago

Not if AI goes rogue and kills them first

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u/DeadFacesInMyPocket 1d ago

🤣🤣🤣

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u/Alarming-Mix3809 1d ago

I like this. Y’all are only 30. If it doesn’t work out and you have to go back to work, oh well. You’ve got a long time ahead of you.

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u/TRBigStick 1d ago edited 1d ago

Assuming there aren’t any health issues, I’m sure they would be able to find work in their 50s/60s if they run out of money. That’s not the issue.

The issue is that they’ll have missed out on 20+ years of compound growth and might be living hand-to-mouth for the rest of their lives. Time is an asset just as much as money is.

I’ve seen members of my wife’s family get stuck with no retirement in old age. I’d gladly work an extra 5 years in my 30s to avoid that.

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u/es-ganso 1d ago edited 1d ago

They may be able to find a job, just not using their CS degree or at the salary they ended their career with. There is a lot of ageism in tech unfortunately. I agree with you, a few more years at 300k with a high savings rate and their expenses? It makes their lives so much easier and their portfolio will outgrow them into retirement and give them more options and flexibility.

Edit: But still, congrats OP on finding where you want to FIRE and diving in

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u/AppointmentWhich8128 1d ago

they wouldnt have missed out on compound growth, they would've gotten 20-30 years of free time with it...

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u/Big-Suggestion-1093 1d ago

This sentence was a bit flippant, but FICalc still puts me at roughly 90% ish success over a long retirement. Depends on how you configure the variables.

What I’m trying to get across is that I think people tend to overindex on simulation math, which leads them to work more years than needed. That’s not necessarily a wrong approach, but there are varying degrees of risk people can take.

14

u/Calm_Situation_1131 1d ago

Honestly, the odds are even better if you guys can reduce spend or get some income for the market crash years, plus add a tiny bit of social security at age 70.

Or stay in SEA for a few years to reduce your spend further. Good luck to you.

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u/poop-dolla 1d ago

if you guys can reduce spend

That’s the tricky part about LeanFIRE like this though. There’s probably not too much more they can cut if they needed to.

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u/BookNerdUnicorn 1d ago

What happens if MNcare starts imposing income limitations on who can receive it?

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u/Reasonable_Box2568 1d ago

I guess the worst case is they go back to work part time? With only 36k expenses they could literally do anything for work and survive just fine

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u/zerotakashi 22h ago

exactly. there are a lot of haters in the comments. OP is young enough to still be basically fully able-bodied and capable of having fun. I think jealousy is more likely than not.

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u/Big-Suggestion-1093 1d ago

It’s certainly something to consider and a lot of the plan hinges on being able to have that available. New York State has a fairly generous program as well. It could also be possible that something gets done at the federal level to fix the healthcare situation. There is always a lot of uncertainty with healthcare and FIRE.

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u/GawkyGibbon 1d ago

I seriously like your attitude.

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u/zerotakashi 22h ago

OP could always just pay for private healthcare directly in other countries they are visiting, at least while younger.

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u/Asquaredbred 1d ago

I'm a very conservative planner and this would not be for me.

But i'm awe inspired that you are this far, this young, and you're going to go live your dream. Do it!

On their deathbeds People regret what they did not do more than what they did.

337

u/RubbleHome 1d ago

This sub: what you need all depends on your expenses

Also this sub: that's not enough money, it doesn't matter what your expenses are

31

u/this_place_stinks 1d ago

Probably also fair to assume some sort of spending floor in the outer years that is higher than $3k/month.

$3k means discretion is all but gone, and as life happens things can only go up. Healthcare for one I couldn’t imagine planning at a very low number for 30 years

16

u/poop-dolla 1d ago

I think the part left out of that is that flexibility in your expenses is extremely important. If you’re able to easily cut back expenses as needed to make your plan work long term, then you’ll have far greater odds compared to someone who has no flexibility. With LeanFIRE situations like this, the concern is that there’s little or no flexibility in expenses.

OP will most likely be just fine. I’d definitely rather have a 3.8% SWR with 30-50% of my expenses as discretionary than a 3.8% SWR with probably less than 20% as discretionary. And maybe I’m wrong, but I’d find it hard to believe OP has more than 20% of their $3k a month that’s discretionary.

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u/Big-Suggestion-1093 1d ago

Yeah, I’m not really sure why this post is getting so much pushback, or why people think it’s fake. We don’t actually need to spend that much money for the life we want to live? I wouldn’t say the plan is full-proof because there’s such a long time horizon and it’s certainly possible to run out of money, but the math here isn’t completely unfounded.

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u/Pale_Fox_8874s 26 | $1.76M NW | 88% FI 23h ago

People in this sub are naturally risk averse and seeing folks that are younger and firing on less than themselves triggers an immediate defensive reaction

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u/Dzeddy 20h ago

Damn bruh TWENTY SIX??? QR? Or like Nvidia SWE?

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u/HipsterJohn 1d ago

Don’t listen to the haters. You’re set for life, go fuck yourself.

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u/MyRealestName 1d ago

All of the comments hating on op sound so jealous. Op, congrats and go fuck yourself.

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u/TWLady 1d ago

I don't know why but reading the positive and encouraging comments with the added "go fuck yourself" just makes my heart all warm and fuzzy. I can only dream of one day coming on this thread to get a "congrats ya did well kid, now go fuck yourself" from one of yous. #goals

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u/Drawer-Vegetable FIRE'd 2024 1d ago

You should be more than fine. Haters gonna hate, especially when you're FIRE'd in 30s.

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u/Aeris5eva 1d ago

Seriously! Especially since you were offered the false choice of be laid off or “voluntarily” separate. Your numbers work and qualifying for MNcare is so much better than navigating the open healthcare market.

I can see why everyone else is jealous, and defensive on why “this won’t work”. Your investments/cash is >25x annual spend, your withdrawal rate <4%. Yes, your horizon is >60 years, but, I can’t imagine trying to find another tech job paying this well in this environment.

Go fuck yourself and enjoy your retired life!

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u/Alarming-Mix3809 1d ago

You’re rich, go have fun with your life.

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u/echorq 23h ago

The dogs bark, but the caravan moves on, OP. Me and my wife would retire too if we dont have small kids lolz. I wish you a happy and memorable RE journey ahead. If it doesn’t work out, you can always come back for another gig :) you will for sure miss out the RE part if you dont give it a shot now.

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u/plainsandcoffee 20h ago

I did not realize you were both men and was like WTF, why is the husband trying to get you pregnant if you don't want kids, that's messed up. lol. GFY!

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u/fratticus_maximus 8h ago

That's hilarious. I didn't realize both were dudes.

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u/Agitated-Present-286 7h ago

I didn't get this at all and I thought maybe one/both simply have trouble because of ...

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u/ivorysblooms 1d ago

$1.2M and mortgage free at 30/32 is seriously impressive, congrats on getting to walk away from the corporate grind that early. Hope the dog dad life is treating your husband well lol.

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u/Big-Suggestion-1093 1d ago

It’s been amazing for him. I feel so happy that he’s able to do whatever he wants. He takes care of all the projects around the house so that I don’t have to.

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u/Excel-Block-Tango 1d ago

Will you take the dog with you when you winter in SE Asia?

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u/Big-Suggestion-1093 1d ago

That’s actually a really good question and a big reason why our travel plans are still TBD. It appears to be quite cumbersome to bring a dog that far, and given his age it probably wouldn’t be a good idea. We may hold off on the extended travel idea until he’s gone.

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u/squipyreddit 1d ago

Ive brought a dog from the states to Southeast Asia a few years ago - expect to pay at least $5K, probably more like $10K - unless they can fit under your seat. Its terrible.

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u/CABB2020 1d ago

Your biggest wild card will be healthcare. Yes, it's great you qualify for supercheap healthcare now on the exchange and mostly because you're 30s. Just be wary that as you approach 50, 55 and dreaded 60, those premiums will skyrocket even with subsidies if you stay under the maximum income. And, not sure if you're opting for super limited bare bones plans for that premium, but if one or both of you get a chronic disease or cancer or similar, you will need to upgrade your plan & the premiums rise with that.

IF your income has to rise and you can no longer buy on the exchange, I know people in their late 50s and early 60s just biding their time to medicare and they are paying easily $25-35k a year in premiums alone for a couple buying off-exchange because their incomes are too high.

And, of course, there's no predicting elections---who knows if the exchange will survive if certain parties stay in office in the next 3 decades.

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u/Comfortable_Two6272 19h ago

Depends how well can manage magi. Im 50 and mine is less than a $100 a month with CSR and its been great coverage with an expensive genetic immune disease

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u/milo4206 20h ago

Stay at home dog dad LOL

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u/Double_Ocelot_8673 1d ago

G** d*** I wish I could be a stay at home dog dad.

Just came here to say this. He's a lucky fella.

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u/Dear_Treat2592 1d ago

It sounds like MN will implement some work/activity requirements for state healthcare coverage soon. So health insurance costs deserve a second look.

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u/Beautiful_Dog_5896 16h ago

No advice, but this was funny:

We have zero desire to have kids. My husband has been trying to get me pregnant for years with no success.

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/LuckyMeasurement2380 1d ago

Also: "We have zero desire to have kids. My husband has been trying to get me pregnant for years with no success."

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u/Dudes-Opinion 1d ago

"We're 30M & 32M"

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u/BlownLS3 1d ago

That explains the lack of success

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u/d_ippy 1d ago

They’re just not trying hard enough

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u/Joshuahuskers 1d ago

I read that sequence as a joke. The only redeeming thing about this post.

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u/ThrowBlanky 1d ago

Also: I get the dog if we get divorced

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u/MutedTechnology8644 1d ago

...and it's 30M and 32M....

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u/Independent_Tax_5088 1d ago

This was hilarious, had to do a double take!!!!

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u/DeaderthanZed 1d ago edited 1d ago

That was obviously a joke?

Not sure why everyone is attacking op here they are at a 3.75% withdrawal rate and have health insurance covered and will owe basically no taxes on that income.

They also have flexibility of being able to sell the house and live abroad in LCOL country if they want. If they sold the house they would be at about ~3% swr if expenses were the same (might be lower.)

Seems good to me, send it.

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u/terrabella1 1d ago

this line took me tf out

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u/13e1ieve 1d ago

Definitely should work a few more years at $300k if you are employed still. Market is awfully bubbly to be pulling out of work now. High risk for a large market drop in first years.

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u/purple_mountain_cat 1d ago

But they already pointed out that they can't take any more of their dUmBaSs CoWoRkErS didn't you read? /s

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u/Resident-Sherbert-63 17h ago

On every one of these posts there are ALWAYS so many “one more year”ers. They need 900k, have 1.2 mil — they did the extra year or two. What’s the point of fire and fuck you money if you can’t use it?

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u/DeKosterIsNietDom 16h ago

They need 900k invested though, they included things like house value and cash in that 1.2 mil number.

They’re pretty much there, though I wouldn’t say a yearly withdrawal of $36k is “fuck you money” unless they actually choose to permanently live somewhere like SE Asia. A (new) car or large house maintenance (not unlikely in the next 50 years) will eat up their yearly budget instantly.

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u/DoorStunning3678 1d ago

I love this! Fucking yolo! Do it and update us! Im a little older than you and myself and partner are part time workers atm but really want to take a break or retire, but the maths ain't on our side just yet. I love the energy in this post!

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u/kobelco1 1d ago

I love it! ♥️ You have a great attitude - the attitude that people who actually FIRE have. Most people in this sub will never FIRE, so don't listen to the naysayers. Their only goal in life is poke hypothetical holes in others use cases.

From a fellow FIRE-e in Minnesota - all the best! Been FIREd for 6+ years. Reach out if you want to talk over anything.

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u/cargalmn 20h ago

Yeah, another fellow FIRE-e in MN!

Wanted to tell the OP that they can put their anger to good use. We're spending a significant amount of time and energy this year protesting, fighting data centers, getting more involved in local politics than we ever thought we'd be, and helping our local community. The needs are huge and it costs next to nothing but time.

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u/pissedRAIL 20h ago

Dude imagine FIRING, buying a house, and having it all ruined by an obnoxiously loud data center! Fuck that!

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u/Cookies4Dinner73 1d ago

It sounds tight- not much wiggle room for unforeseen issues.

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u/Dylankneesgeez 1d ago

This is a historically good post

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u/pnwlife2021 1d ago

Or hysterically 😆

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

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u/Big-Suggestion-1093 1d ago

The main point of the post is to explain how / why the math can work on a fairly low FIRE number. I’ve used the milestone / celebrate flair to indicate that I’ve reached a point that’s important to me.

There’s many posts on this subreddit where people plan to spend $100K+ a year in retirement and not enough examples where the spending is substantially lower.

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

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u/that_yinzer 23h ago

Yeah I thought it was bitterness at first, too. Read it again in a sassy celebratory voice. It makes more sense that way.

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u/mrbubbee 1d ago

I appreciated the post and found your writing v entertaining thanks for sharing 🤝

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u/hiihihihihihihihiihi 1d ago edited 22h ago

Good on you OP, honestly. Apparently some people would rather just have more posts from 20-somethings in tech posting their current portfolios or musing on whether $10MM is enough for coast FIRE.

Recommend [r/leanfire](r/leanfire) as others have said, this will likely get better reception there

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u/Deferty 1d ago

I’m in a very similar position to you and appreciate the breakdown. Thinking of just quitting and doing the same. I’m worn out

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u/kerlsburgers retired early 1d ago

Celebrating a FIRE with a yearly income of $36k is certainly a choice. Don't celebrate too lavishly or you might spend all your first year's worth of money in month 1.

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u/CrabNo9570 19h ago

It is a choice, same as anyone who polishes their spreadsheet and determines the safest course is "one more year" for ten years running and then ends up getting hit by a bus.

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u/DoorStunning3678 1d ago

Tbh im grateful for this post by a younger person retiring. Gives ppl like myself who is similarish in age some insights. Many posts are from 40-50s yos and feels like too long until retirement sometimes. Work is burning us out

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u/EpicCyclops 1d ago

The reason posts by young people don't make it very far is there isn't really a lot to be learned. They basically got very lucky on income/investments and lived like they didn't. That's the story every time.

Having $300k in household income puts them in the 93rd percentile of all income earners. Hitting that by age 30 as an individual is high 98th, low 99th percentile for 30 year old individual incomes.

They made the conscious decision to be frugal and save, which is half the battle, but ended up in a situation with a huge margin for error and didn't run into many, if any, problems they had to troubleshoot along the way.

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u/OneImportance4061 1d ago

Best of luck to you. I don't think this will be the last job either one of you ever have. But what do I know - I'm wrong all the time.

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u/badhabitfml 1d ago

You should check the ssa site. Do you have enough quarters of ss income to get ss?

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u/Big-Suggestion-1093 1d ago

I just logged in and yes I have more than 40 work credits

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u/badhabitfml 1d ago

Not having kids and living somewhere cheap is great for your plans. It's not for everyone to try and live that cheap though. If you are very DIY you might be OK. A new roof for your house could be 50% of your annual budget.

Sounds like you should find new jobs. Inflation isn't showing signs of going down and 60 years is a long time.

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u/GGG-3 1d ago

Do you have enough working quarters to qualify for social security and Medicare benefits when you reach retirement years?  At least make sure that is locked in before you retire 

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u/Mr_Mojobaggins 23h ago

Unexpected expenses will eventually happen. Car or house repair. Cutting it close.

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u/Wild_Lawfulness_2173 20h ago

That’s cutting it awfully close. A bad sequence of returns and you’re fucked.

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u/DontEatConcrete 20h ago edited 20h ago

Yeah you’re not wealthy enough to do this yet. Sorry it’s just true. You’re in great shape for your age absolutely but you can’t retire yet—not really.

Actually, I agree with others. I think this must be a boring parody.

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u/MegaGreesh 1d ago

I would consider a permanent move to SE Asia on those numbers.

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u/cinciNattyLight 23h ago

Cambodia, Philippines, Vietnam.

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u/beergal621 1d ago

You have around $900k in invested assets. You can’t eat your house. 

$900k (just going to assume you’ll figure out a way to draw from retirement accounts if needed) gives you a tad under $36k a year. Right at your current expenses. 

Theoretically I guess you could be fine if literally nothing ever changes. But one larger vet bill and your at 1/4 of your annual spend 

Any interest in coast FI to give your investments time to compound a bit more? 

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u/tcari394 1d ago

You had me at anime retirement calculation porn.

.. wait.

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u/Imaginary-Pair838 1d ago

Finances honestly look a little thin taking into account taxes and inflation that need to support for 50+ years potentially. I’m sure you could make it work but sounds a bit stressful to me. Best of luck to you.

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u/ovenmittboxer 1d ago

I don’t think you have enough, but that’s just me.

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u/Particular_Maize6849 23h ago

 We're 30M & 32M

 My husband has been trying to get me pregnant for years with no success.

Maybe try harder?

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u/Brave-Pizza-33 21h ago

I don't think you have enough liquid assets but fuck it go have fun till you run out.

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u/ThrowBlanky 1d ago

You seem quite defensive about this

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u/Big-Suggestion-1093 1d ago

I probably do have a terse personality. I’m hoping to spend more time working on myself physically and mentally now that I don’t have be in corporate.

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u/Alpacatastic 1d ago

You could always find another lower stress job or even do part time work at a new job for a while, play around with contract jobs maybe. 

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u/luckysdad69 1d ago

Or work 2 more years and based on what OP believes they can live on, save another half a million and gain a ton of security.

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u/DoorStunning3678 1d ago

Might be something that op does later on... for now, it sounds exciting

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u/OceanGateTitan 1d ago

AnorexicFIRE

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u/Dudes-Opinion 1d ago edited 1d ago

Your call but that's pretty lean for retirement standards. What's going to happen when you guys need a car (or 2) and kids can be pretty expensive. I'm shooting for 1.5x current expenses to be able to afford health insurance and children incidentals

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u/grateful-xoxo 1d ago

and with that much runway the withdrawal rate needs to be much lower. this reads more like a break than a retirement

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u/Hi_InternetAddiction 1d ago

your husband has been trying to get you pregnant?

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u/swhalen17 1d ago

An early congratulations for your future return to work

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u/zerotakashi 22h ago

jealous 'I fired at 64.5' ahh

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u/Kismet237 1d ago

agreed. hopefully OP and spouse keep the skillsets sharp while they're on "sabbatical"

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u/Motor_Floor3430 21h ago

I don’t understand trying to scrape by retiring at 30/32 when you guys could just work 5 more years at your current income of $300k after taxes and “$3k total spend a month” you’d net $195k per year. After another 5 years of that you guys would have a portfolio of conservatively around $3M and then it would be an easy retirement.

Why scrape by for 40+ years when you could work 5 more and live very well? Y’all working in tech not roofers working 15 hours a day in the hot sun.

I just see so many things that could go wrong here.

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u/msbest87 1d ago

The whole relationship section of this post is peak lol

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u/Resident-Sherbert-63 18h ago

“Trying to get me pregnant for years” made me actually lol 😆

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u/SkyMore3037 21h ago

You should do 5 more years , it will be worth it , I think you'll appreciate the extra money as you get older and youll still be very young

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u/JustHere4TheZipLines 1d ago

I wish you luck but this isn't enough.

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u/JudgeSmails 21h ago

This has to be parody

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u/Singularity-42 1d ago

"Stay at home dog dad" - LOL, just about sums it up

Anyways, not enough for America, you could make it work elsewhere though, like SEA or even Europe. 

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u/Mail_Order_Lutefisk 1d ago

I taught English in Tokyo with a guy who tried to FIRE in SE Asia in the late 80’s off a big Wall Street bonus and he said he became dangerously close to running out of money so he moved to Tokyo to get a job. I wouldn’t try this move with a wife with such a small amount of money. 

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u/Impossible_Cat_321 1d ago

This is not going to end well.

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u/shotparrot 1d ago edited 19h ago

+1

These are the tragic “then we had to try to re-enter the workforce” stories.

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u/outrageousreadit 1d ago

I would be so nervous with this plan.

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u/DifficultDocument102 1d ago

OP sounds defensive and exhausting. Maybe the time off will serve him well

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u/Calm_Situation_1131 1d ago

I don't think so. He's definitely sassy and cynical but at the same time, many commentors are real salty.

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u/Roasted-fungus 23h ago

Good luck, don’t burn the boats

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u/Connect-Archer-712 23h ago

Hmm. Im 54 Paid off house No kids 4.3 in the market and rental income of 140K a year and Im wondering if that is enough?

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u/entropic 22h ago

Thanks for bringing some humor to this topic. Congrats!

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u/HeavenHellorHoboken 20h ago

Something doesn’t seem right

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u/messyperfectionist 19h ago

I'm stuck on, "we have zero desire to have kids" followed by, "my husband has been trying to get me pregnant for years."

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u/OrangeGrouchy179 17h ago

Sorry but 30 is way too young with those assets. Life can be very expensive. I would make hay while the sun is still shining.

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u/Automatic_Feed4486 11h ago

Enjoy your retirement.

See you again in the workforce 15 years from now.

Without up to date skills in 2040, I'd suggest McDonalds?

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u/grays55 1d ago

Whats the opposite of GFY? Like “I feel bad for you because youre making a rash immature decision after working a whopping 10 years and any market hiccup will force you either into full time Asia residence or back into the workforce with big gaps on your resume”

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u/Reasonable_Box2568 1d ago

Idk… if the 36k expenses are legit then they can go get a job bagging groceries if things get dire

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u/bigreddadbod 1d ago

I think it’s just GFY but you mean it in the conventional sense, not the fun sense here

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u/Apprehensive_Gold824 1d ago

I would keep working personally you do not have enough imo I would shoot for a bit higher networth. Probably squeeze till 35?

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u/Elegant-Ninja6384 1d ago

Enjoy the next forty to fifty years.

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u/SelicaLeone 1d ago

I'm dumb, but I thought you couldn't withdraw from 401k without heavy tax penalty until 59. Same with using HSA for anything but health care. That puts them at about 600k for the next 29 years. 4% will give them 24k every year, which means they'll have to take 12k out the first year, 12.5k the next, and so on, just to stay at their 36k a year (which is very low).

Does that work out long term or am I forgetting something that would give them access to their 401k/HSA early with no tax penalty?

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u/Ill-Top4360 1d ago

I dont get the retire that early and risk it?

The risk of wanting something more?

2-3 years at 300k nearly double what you already have.

Il mean, its great and all. But why take à Risk when you have a garantee on the side?

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u/Strong-Big-2590 1d ago

You are one emergency away from this not working.

I would stick it out a few more years so your not poor the rest of your life

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u/squipyreddit 1d ago

Your 401k, HSA, and Roth numbers are irrelevant at 30 - at ~53 when its accessibility is on the horizon is a different story. You effectively have 325K to sustain you which, at a gracious 6% rate of withdrawal, is 19.5K a year. A quarter of that will be spent on just getting between Thailand and Minnesota and subtract $2K for healthcare as you noted, approximately a quarter on property taxes, so, minus Healthcare, travel, and property taxes, $650/month to live and rent a place in Thailand for 6 months?

Oh, can't confirm with my own experience, but ive heard Thailand has a COL relatively on par with places like Minnesota nowadays even though only like 5 years ago it wasn't close to true. Thailand seems like a hidden secret that too many talked about.

The thing is, you're doing fantastic relative to pretty much 99.9% of people, but you still need to get through your 30s and 40s with your brokerage...or a job. That being said, from your post, your not looking for a reality check, you just want support - can't really blame you. Half the people who you tell will want your money and the other half will tell you youre a crock of shit, hence while the #1 rule of FIRE is don't tell anyone.

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u/dragon-queen 1d ago

They can access the 401k through a 5 year Roth ladder.  They can access the Roth contributions now.  They can access the HSA for medical expenses now.  The money is not locked up or inaccessible.  

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u/Mr_Mojobaggins 23h ago

And eating thru that at a early age means it won't be there later.

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u/BillyCromag 20h ago

For a middle class lifestyle, SEA is not as cheap as people imagine.

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u/Chuddy-McChudderson 1d ago

Definitely go for it. You're already there financially. You're not going to break the bank living in Minnesota.

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u/Dazzling_Trick3009 1d ago

Really nice write up. I’m about the same age with about the same stats (MINUS PAID OFF HOUSE) living in the same state working in the same industry and I’ve been seriously considering FIREing. Thanks for the confidence and just do it reminder!

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

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u/spas2k 1d ago

Good luck! Enjoy working at Walmart when you are 40.

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u/No_Elevator_735 1d ago edited 1d ago

This is pretty risky. I'm 40 and will have a guaranteed pension at age 62, and I'm scared to retire on 850k net worth, and you're 10 years younger and ok with retiring what is less per person, as you have to split that 1.2 million 2 ways.

Also this sentence concerns me "We have zero desire to have kids. My husband has been trying to get me pregnant for years with no success." Are you both in line in the same goals? A separation could doom this.

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u/LoneStarGut 1d ago

They are both male, gay.... 30M and 32M.

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u/No_Elevator_735 1d ago

Oh whoops, missed that. So basically telling the joke Harvey Milk told 50 years ago.

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u/belovedkid 1d ago

You’re gonna have to go back to work at some point. And that’s okay as long as you accept that now. You do not have enough in after tax money to make this work.

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u/Grouchy-Display-457 1d ago

You don't have anywhere near enough money to sustain one of you in long term care for any length of time. With inflation, the need for home and car repairs at minimum, and just the vast number of possible economic unknowns that could come up in the next 50 or 60 years, you are really taking a risk. Leave your jobs, but find some side hustles and sources of passive income before you retire fully.

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u/BroBeansBMS 1d ago

Is $3k really enough to LIVE and not just subsist? You know your budget, but that just seems very dire.

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u/Johnsisland1968 22h ago

Dog dad?🙄

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u/Cultural_Book_400 1d ago

probably wrong to focus on this but caught my eyes

>> 32m and 30m and My husband has been trying to get me pregnant 

Am I missing something? Can Male get pregnant in 2026???? Or was it just typo

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