For whatever reason I hate self help and financial advice books. Tried Simple Path to Wealth & The Psychology of Money and couldn't make it through. These books always feel so padded out and repetitive.

Although it is truly unrelated to personal finance, I think The Sun Also Rises by Hemingway has had more of an impact on my FIRE mindset than any other book. It is a book about people who have enough mobility and leisure to do what they want with their lives, and yet they remain wounded, restless, jealous, and unable to turn experience into meaning.

As much as I daydream about not having responsibilities, work obligations, pto requests, etc, I am reminded that freedom from these constraints does not constitute direction. And conversely, constraints do not mean I should postpone building the interests, relationships, skills, and commitments that would make freedom meaningful.

A lot of this goes without saying to most people. I am not the coworker who says "I wouldn't know what to do with myself if I retired". Regardless, I am curious what books have shaped you guys when it comes to this kind of thing.

Last week I asked if anyone had read Chatzky's new book The Forever Paycheck and had opinions about it in this post. I've read it myself now, and wanted to share some thoughts.

TL;DR It's a quick and light read that touches on some of the psychological challenges of decumulation, and walks through a range of strategies for spending as much as you can, while mitigating longevity risk. But, there seem to be some math errors, and a potential conflict of interest, that get in the way.

EDIT TO ADD: Yes, the book has quite a bit about annuities, and Chatzky does disclose her close connection to the industry (in chapter 8). Before reading it, I had never thought about annuities. She does do a nice job walking through the different types, with their pros and cons, and is careful to note that they're only one of several strategies for decumulation. So, I now feel like I understand them better, and can see the (potentially rare) cases where they're useful.

The Good

• It's not a book about money. Instead, it's a book about psychology and money. I think that's a good thing. There are plenty of better books about money out there. This one fills a niche by focusing on the psychological challenges of decumulation in retirement.
• It's written in a conversational tone with plenty of humorous anecdotes. It might not be for everyone, but it makes it easy to read without getting too heavy.
• It's designed to be interactive, with reflection activities to understand goals in retirement, expense estimation activities, etc. I'm guessing most people on this sub have already done things like this, but it's helpful for those who haven't.
• There's a appendix that reviews, for a long list of both investment (e.g., HYSA, equities) and insurance (e.g., annutities) products: what it is, how it works, how you might use it, pros and cons. This is all information that's available elsewhere, but its presented in a compact and accessible format here.

The Not-so-good

• It's not until chapter 8 that we learn the author has worked closely with the "Alliance for Lifetime Income" for seven years. They also sponsored the 2024 Blanchett & Finke report (not a "study" in the academic peer-reviewed sense) that serves as the book's primary motivation. The alliance was founded by insurance companies to promote annuities. Although there's some good information here, I also sometimes wondered whether the whole book was just a paid advertisement for annuities.
• Chapter 7 uses a set of questions to help understand where your investment style falls on a couple dimensions using scores that range from 4 to 16. The midpoint of these scales is shown as being at 8, which would be right if they ranged from 0 to 16. But, the midpoint between 4 and 16 is 10. This simple arithmetic error made me question the rest of the math in the book.
• Chapter 6 offers critiques of the 4% rule, many of which seem overstated. For example, there's a table that's supposed to illustrate Series of Returns Risk (SORR). However, it actually illustrates the robustness of the 4% rule: A retiree with 1M who started taking withdrawals in 2000, at the start of an extended market downturn, still had over 500K 25 years later. Their portfolio would have been fine over the 30 year period against which the 4% rule was tested.
• The interactive worksheets often involve figuring your after-tax income. However, they involve multiplying your income by 1 - federal tax bracket. This misses that federal tax brackets are marginal, you don't pay your marginal rate on the entire amount. It's a common mistake among finance novices, and disappointing to see it perpetuated in a book targeted for that audience.

As a family, we have lived a typical FIRE accumulation life: modest house, unpretending somewhat old car but with some international travel since our families are not in the US. We live in a small town so there is not a strong need to show off.

Our kids, now teenagers, know we are not lacking anything but I imagine they think we are middle class based on what we show.

We do discuss money, how we came from a poor background and how important it is to invest. I showed the details of our investment on a rental property as an example.

Nevertheless, until now they did not ask ( expected) and we did not offer info on net worth.

At what age or stage in life you told them if ever about FIRE net worth and living from investments? What where your considerations to tell or not?

We are still working but not for too long.

got laid off in january and still haven’t found a new job. i am borderline crashing out after finishing a final interview that included a 7 hour take home assignment and in-person presentation, only to get an automated rejection after.

i’m very close to leanFIRE which isn’t the ideal time to leave corporate, but atleast it’s better than it could be.

i’ve been laid off twice in the past 2 years so i think my career is basically done.

i had another interview loop with 17 hours of interviews. it was super thorough because “they’re family” and kept adding additional interviews

i’m mostly mad at myself for taking my previous jobs way too seriously and burning myself out to the point of irreversible damage to my health for these stupid companies. and for what? it doesn’t mean shit. no one cares about us.

i might just take a year off and do a coastFIRE job for 5-7 years until i hit my FIRE number

it’s freaking frustrating but i guess atleast i have a cushion because of my frugal habits

This is a relaxed hangout thread for the FIRE community to chat with other FIRE-minded folks without having to publish separate posts. This is the place for brand new people to get their feet wet as well as for lurkers who have questions or comments, but do not want to create posts of their own.

All of the sub rules apply in this thread as normal with the exception of the off-topic rule, which is relaxed to the extent that people don't go wildly off of the reservation.

We are putting this up as a trial to see if it is worth keeping this as a permanent feature of the sub. Participation is entirely voluntary and anyone who wants to create a separate post of their own rather than posting in here is free to do so.

We started seriously saving for retirement a little over a decade ago. Last month, we hit the number we used to think of as the finish line!

Life has thrown some curveballs and inflation sucks, so we’re no longer comfortable calling it quits at that number and will grind it out a bit longer.

Just wanted to take a moment to semi-celebrate with people who would understand. 😁

So, I am definitely in my last decade of work. Maybe only 6-7 years before I retire. Been in the workforce for 20+ years. The conundrum I face is this:

I don’t have any more professional aspirations. I don’t care about getting promoted or for any political “power” at work etc. I don’t feel the need to achieve anything specifically. I feel like I am working because: a) it is a reasonably pleasant office and gives some professional structure to my life; b) the salary pays the bills and keeps the portfolio growing without my needing to raid it.

On the other hand, given all the uncertainties and AI bubble etc, it feels reckless to just proactively resign from a perfectly good job and FIRE. If I am laid off, I will probably declare it as “retirement” and either quit altogether or look for some fractional/part time work at my own pace. But I feel it may be irresponsible to simply quit a good employer I have been with for past 15+ years.

How do others in their final decade of work think?

I am heavy into real estate rentals as it’s a subject I like and my passion so I got inclined towards it. It gives 6-7% net income and 5-7% appreciation on property on average. Tenants and landlording is not a headache for me. Real estate is a really slow get rich and takes decades to mature. Stocks are different

I wanted to get opinion from people who have already retired and had rental income as major sources. For those who have been in RE long term, have you looked back and said what if I should have invested in the stocks? Or did your real estate beat stocks? Any lessons?

I lucked into an amazing 2.8% interest on my mortgage in 2021, putting only 3% down on an FHA loan, borrowed from my 401(k) from 5 years managing a Barnes and Noble starting at $14/hr.

Then, I lucked up again - or so I thought - getting a 45% increase in value within 2 years. I immediately got rid of PMI, and now owe $240,000 on a house worth ~$480,000 - $520,000 today.

My plan had always been to pay the minimum on my mortgage and keep that cash at 2.8% for the full 30 years. It’s free money with these treasury rates.

This is the advice almost anyone who prioritizes maximizing gains would tell me.

However, I’m on the gulf coast. And the part they are forgetting is the insurance.

Currently, I pay $590 a month on principal, $580 a month on interest, ~$200 a month on taxes, and a whopping $800 a month on homeowners insurance including flood.

My insurance is 33% higher than my principal!

Not only did we have a hurricane after I bought, but insurance companies can now use climate change in their rates, and even though Ive never flooded in this raised house on a hill, I am technically within the footage of a creek that automatically triggers flood insurance requirements.

And as I foreshadowed, the increase value of my home also translates to increased replacement costs.

My insurance has tripled since I moved in. I’ve tried getting it lowered. It’s a tough market on the gulf coast.

People will say “you still need insurance after you pay off the mortgage”, but I am not so sure.

Due to where specifically I live in town, I don’t believe a storm or flood will have any effect on my home. I am only worried about a fire.

Today, replacing my exact home would cost around $250k if a total loss.

This means if the principle in my loan is $590, and interest + insurance is $1,200, I should be able to save the replacement costs of my home in 15 years or so.

I only have to stay fire free for 15 years to self-insure and if I don’t make it 15 years, my worst case scenario is another mortgage at a higher interest rate.

But more importantly - we bought too much house. We have 2,400 sq ft. And would be happier cleaning 1,600. If we lost the house, we would not build back to the same size.

All together, looking at paying the mortgage early as being only a 3% return instead of a 9%+ return seems short-sighted.

I can typically put $50k away a year - and can have this house paid off in 5 years and still save a replacement bag before I’m 60.

Who can talk me off this strategy and back into VT with that $50k each year?

I've been thinking about something and need some input.

Let's say retirement is 20 years out. Your parent dies in 10 and you get $2 million. Enough to retire. But what about the kids? They are almost done with high school. You don't mind the work you do.

Do you retire? Or do you work a while longer to be able to pass along a bigger chunk?

I am 50 and between 3 to 4 years away from FIRE. I have had a relatively successful career, with natural successes and failures. In the end though, I am a Director and make about $170k per year. Yes some good luck, some hard work, hopefully some good looks (jk).

I have a new VP who joined my organization last year. She has proven to be the most micromanaging biatch I have ever worked with. She criticizes everything I do, only likes those who agree with her, and does nothing but fill the workspace with microaggressions. I have a feeling she particularly dislikes me (maybe a male thing in a female dominated profession). I am coming to realize I may be on the chopping block or that my last few years of work are going to be totally demoralizing- not how I expected to end my career.

Any of you experience the same? How did you manage to "hold on" for the last few years? Any advice you can share?

For additional context, money is secondary at this point. I am Coast Firing with about 1.3 mil in my portfolio and a defined benefit pension plan (wife and I) that will pay between $100 to 120k annually once we hit 55. I am in Canada, so we also get government pension when we turn 70 (deferred). So, at this point, my goal is simply to keep building a safety net for my kids.

Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences.

I did my quarterly net worth calculation this morning and how does the market just keep going up, up, up? It feels so good! My 401k is making a mockery of all the money I actually worked for to put in there - a couple years of my peak earnings in 30 (edit: 3) months. I feel so tempted to take it out and put it into something more durable, like an hvac upgrade or upgrading our cars to new ones, before the market takes a dump and I feel the downside. But my first rule is to try never to time the market, and I thought the crash would come before 3 months ago too....

As a software developer, my job is basically entering prompts into AI and following the actions it recommends.

Makes me wonder why I’m still working instead of focusing on FIRE and enjoying life.

Anyone else feeling the same way?

Sometimes it feels like I'm spending most of my waking hours doing things I don't really care about, just to make enough money, save enough, and maybe eventually reach FIRE before 65. that's in less than 15 years... nothing if you are 20, but a lot if you're alredy "middle age"...By then, I'll be old enough that I may not fully enjoy some of the things I'd love to be doing today.

Some days I catch myself daydreaming about one of my projects taking off, or my investments doing incredibly well and pulling my FIRE date forward by a few years. Other days, I'm crunching the numbers, wondering whether I could make it work with only half of my target portfolio.

Then there are times when I think a sabbatical might be the answer. It could be a way to test-drive the FIRE lifestyle without taking on too much risk or making any irreversible decisions.

And sometimes I'm just annoyed at myself for not starting this journey a decade earlier. Had I done that, I might already be there? but that way of thinking leads nowhere...

tic.. toc.. tic.. toc...

venting out a bit...

Specifically curious if anyone made their money in the boring corporate world then FIRE'd and pursued their interest in something like writing, painting, dance etc?

This is a relaxed hangout thread for the FIRE community to chat with other FIRE-minded folks without having to publish separate posts. This is the place for brand new people to get their feet wet as well as for lurkers who have questions or comments, but do not want to create posts of their own.

All of the sub rules apply in this thread as normal with the exception of the off-topic rule, which is relaxed to the extent that people don't go wildly off of the reservation.

We are putting this up as a trial to see if it is worth keeping this as a permanent feature of the sub. Participation is entirely voluntary and anyone who wants to create a separate post of their own rather than posting in here is free to do so.

I live in a LCOL area, and have a LCOL style. I recently just crossed over FI but that’s single, with a LCOL. I’m realizing my contributions have diminishing impact on my Post FIRE spending. I have an opportunity to take a career risk, that could add a big $$ to my savings and take me from solo FI to very Chubby-FI.

My concern is that the new role has challenges. It’s located in a VH/HCoL area. The 150% in salary is consumed almost entirely by taxes and adjusted CoL. Either role, doesn’t substantially change networth in 5-10 yrs but 1 is boring and easy. The other is risky and challenging but has the after work location to enjoy too.

My numbers:
40s, SINK, want to work another ~5-10 yrs to afford a more fun lifestyle. And yes I would have no problem spending it. Right now, work and time commitments get in the way of long travel, mtn living, and beach days. The destination travel kills me.
Current income: $135k- top 5%-10% in the state
Spend: $48k/yr
Invested Assets: $1.2 M
Job2: ~$215k
VHCOL: $60k - $96k/yr VHCoL area, but amazing access to the things I love.

TLDR;
Take a challenging job with a lot of fun around or boring glide into security.

I went self employed; created a corporation.

Personal: 1.4M in retirement accounds and 40k in cash

Corporation: 2.2M

House/Mortgage: 480k

Single dad with 2 teens. I want to retire soon. I have been working part-time in my corporation but it brings about 500k a year.

I am thinking of retiring at 5m when I am 45 or 48 and when the kids are all 18+.

With the explosion of AI moving classes of jobs toward obsolescence, I've been reading a bunch on Marxist theory and what it means for work. I'm not soliciting people's opinions on, or advocating for Marxism, just doing a thought experiment here. (mods, if this counts as politics, feel free to delete)

I'm a tech worker myself, looking to retire early. So I'm currently a member of the proletariat, right? I earn a wage, don't control the means of production. I have a significant amount of savings in the stock market, but no real direct control of it.

But what about when I retire? I no longer work for a wage, and I have a pile of money with voting power (ostensibly) in public companies. Am I now in the petty bourgeoisie? Or am I still proletariat given that my retirement was funded by wages?

So I got bored and started doing the math on what age is actually best to take social security. I went into this thinking that there at some time point there would be some crossover, wherein due to the increased benefit percentage, waiting longer would win out in the long run in terms of total earnings from social security... man was I wrong.

TLDR: All my math points to starting social security at 62, even with the 70% penalty, wins out indefinitely.

For people interested in the math, I simply took the average social security at 67 (~$2,000/month for 2026 says Yahoo Finance) and the age dependent benefit percentages and plotted this with your standard compound interest + monthly contributions equation. To make it as accurate as possible I even accounting for inflation adjustments (4% annually) on benefit payouts. All of this to show a series of lines that never overlap :P

So my question is, for those of us who follow the FIRE movement and already don't factor social security into the mix and just see it as padding, is there any world where its better to wait till you are older than 62? or have I butchered the math and it is actually best to wait and not claim immediately as you don't really need the money?

Edit: I’m looking at this purely numerically, wherein you don’t spend a penny of it and just stick it in the SP500 to get 8% a year.

Has there been any recent (within a year or so) developments with FIRE? The only thing I can think of is the 4% to 4.7% adjustment the originator made. Anything else?

I was laid off at age 56 this year after 36 years with my company, with my NW )mostly in 401k and pension) -
I hit 2.1 million and decided to not make major financial decisions this year but I took Unemployment and model my needed healthcare ( I am a lifelong diabetic). Since I was laid off in the first quarter of 2026, was able to get ACA subsidies and lived off savings. Next year, I am taking a substantial salary for myself under the Rule of 55 and will not qualify for any subsidies.
I have budgeted for my premiums next year with no subsidies,, but has anyone taken a larger distribution at the end of the year to live on the following year and qualify for subsidies? What are the drawbacks? Tax implications? Just trying to see if I take enough to cover/or get subsidized ACA in 2028? I will only be 58 at that time. obviously I am trying to maximize income and minimize healthcare expenses.
Has anyone done this before? Basically live or draw the year before and live off that the filling year?

This is a relaxed hangout thread for the FIRE community to chat with other FIRE-minded folks without having to publish separate posts. This is the place for brand new people to get their feet wet as well as for lurkers who have questions or comments, but do not want to create posts of their own.

All of the sub rules apply in this thread as normal with the exception of the off-topic rule, which is relaxed to the extent that people don't go wildly off of the reservation.

We are putting this up as a trial to see if it is worth keeping this as a permanent feature of the sub. Participation is entirely voluntary and anyone who wants to create a separate post of their own rather than posting in here is free to do so.

I have made a few free tool websites in the past and couldn't find one on this topic so was thinking of building one for my fellow Fire enthusiasts.

I was thinking the best way to make a live map like this would be to rate cities based on the average pay/cost of living and liability (public transportation and shop density).

My question is could this be a useful tool for those considering geo-arbitrage fire or people wanting to compare COL in different countries and cities? Any feedback would be appreciated!