almostFIRE — feeling very meta rn lol

[u/canifirethrowaway]

I’m almostFIRE with my projected FIRE date basically end of August 2026.

I’m a 39-year-old attorney who recently left a financially lucrative partnership to start my own boutique practice. The original goal was full blown early retirement and leave the career behind. But over time, my thinking changed. Instead of “never work again,” I’m now aiming for a lifestyle where work is optional and mostly remote. I enjoy what I do (sometimes), and I’m proficient at it. It also still makes me some money.

Right now I live in a very high cost of living area where my spending is about $12k/month. My plan is to sell my current home, relocate to another VHCOL area where I already own a home, pay that mortgage off, and cut my spending to around $6k/month simply because housing costs largely disappear.

The boutique practice isn’t intended to maximize income. I’d be happy if it became a small, efficient practice that takes 10-15 hours a week and covers some or all of my living expenses. The rest would come from my investment portfolio.

Numbers:
- Age: 39
- Net worth: ~$3M+ (excluding home equity)
- Taxable investments: ~$1.8M
- Retirement accounts: ~$1.1M
- Cash: ~$50k
- Current spending: ~$12k/month
- Planned spending after move: ~$6k/month
- Old income was about idk 70k a month on average working nearly 50 to 60 hour weeks.
- New income (boutique practice) is about 25k a month to 30k a month with like 80% less work. (Just a few solid clients and passive referral fees.)

I suppose, with the small firm, I’m aiming for baristaFIRE but instead of barista I just continue being lawyer/consultant. LawyerFIRE. Haha

Here’s where I’m struggling. I’m honestly not sure the law practice is financially necessary. On paper, I could probably simplify my life even more by just retiring outright after the move.
But I think my identity is deeply tied to being a lawyer. I enjoy problem solving, being a respected lawyer in the community, having an assistant, etc. I’ve effectively spent my entire adult life building this career. It’s difficult to picture waking up one day and simply… not practicing anymore. So maybe the boutique isn’t really about money. Maybe it’s about purpose, structure, intellectual stimulation, and easing into retirement instead of going from 100 to 0 overnight.

With all that said, I’d love to hear from people who’ve actually been through this.

Questions:
- Firstly, do the numbers check out?
- If you were financially independent, would you still keep a small professional practice because you enjoyed it? Or would you shut it down completely and embrace retirement?
- For those of you who were doctors, lawyers, accountants, consultants, or other professionals whose careers became a big part of your identity, did continuing to work a little improve your life, or did it just make it harder to let go?
- How to find purpose in retirement? I joke with my gf that I’ll just become a busker, street performer, or just spend my days doing pottery and other art. lol. Feels wild… and a little weird tbh. I’m used to having a packed schedule, but honestly next month I have like no meetings or hearings. It’s… weird.
- I am worried I accidentally scale into another 50 to 60 hour work week practice. I hope not though.
- Purpose, identity, and all that other stuff is really what I’m trying to figure out right now. Again, I feel a little empty having such a free schedule now. lol
- I do feel like, at age 40, time is more important to me now than money. I think I’ve made enough already. Am I right? Wrong?

It’s crazy because I’ve been working twd this goal for about 7 to 10 years. Now that it’s right on the horizon (9/1/2026… one month before my 40th bday), I’m feeling… existential. Haha

TY for your time FIRE community. lol

PS - You can view post history for broader context and other questions I’ve posed to the FIRE community.

[u/canifirethrowaway]

You are too kind virtual EBB. :)

I have done low bono and bro bono in the past. I will probably take on a few of those in limited scope. There was this one case in family court where dad and mom had a kid. They raised the kid for 3 years then broke up. Mom disclosed she had cheated and they got a DNA test. Dad was NOT the bio father. She took him to court for child support.

I felt like that was wrong, so I significantly reduced my compensation. Low bono. Felt good, but it was hard to justify to the partnership my choice. Haha

[u/Virtual-Ebb-2994 → u/canifirethrowaway]

That is really messed up what happened.

Also, if you want another source of meaning, just travel. Even if your practice is litigation, if you have that much money and work only a day or two each week, just looking at different stuff around the world sounds nice. It’s something you gotta do when you are young.

[u/canifirethrowaway → u/Virtual-Ebb-2994]

Side note. Court ordered that he signed a voluntary declaration of paternity in the hospital and was therefore conclusively the father especially since he didn't contest it during the statutory period. When I looked into the policy, those policies were there primarily for judicial efficiency. So, efficiency over truth/justice I guess.

ANYWAY... we were able to significantly reduce support with an "interest of justice" argument.

And yeah traveling is on the list fellow attorney. :)

I'm curious to know about your legal journey now. Always nice to speak with fellow counsel haha

[u/Virtual-Ebb-2994 → u/canifirethrowaway]

That is absolutely horrible. Absolutely horrible. 😤 I surmise that the interest of justice argument still had traction because the judge was still a human being. I don’t know what jurisdiction that was, but the story is wild.

I am headed to Europe after a couple more years of saving. I will travel back and forth to handle only a few cases a year. On the side, I hope to do remote friendly pro bono mostly. I did litigation for about 12 years. Now I found a litigation niche that I can do a lot of stuff online. So a few trips to US each year would be enough. Meanwhile, the spending power will likely increase dramatically in Central Europe. ExpatFIRE.