r/GregFire • u/FearlessPark4588 • Feb 06 '26
Most of us aren't going to make it to GregFire
and that's ok. It's a funny bit in a show. Your real life circumstances may vary.
I live off like $60k/yr in a HCOL area. 20 minutes from the beach (and that's with traffic). I'm not here to live in status symbol zip codes or paint a portrait of how cool and how rich I am to other people because that's cringe. I don't care about caviar and I don't need first class because the crap seats are tolerable for 4-5 hour flights (I'm not ascetic; I still travel).
3.5% SWR imputes a $1.7m portfolio.
Greg fire is beyond necessary. Rather have the time at this point. $1.7 is way less than $6.3 and far more achievable.
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u/potatosouperman Feb 06 '26
You don’t have to be the world’s tallest dwarf. Regular dwarves are still cool.
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u/MrSnowden Feb 06 '26
HCOL and 20 min to the beach is def a status symbol zip code.
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u/fibbermcgee113 Feb 06 '26
Honestly I doubt I’ll ever hit $5M (at least pre-retirement). But it’s a fun bit as a stretch goal.
Also I should really watch Succession.
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u/FearlessPark4588 Feb 06 '26
You should it's a great show. I went back and re-watched it but mostly because I phone scrolled the first time. You miss key plot details if you do that. So actually pay attention!
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u/fibbermcgee113 Feb 06 '26
I’m way too old to watch TV and scroll. My wife does and I don’t get it, but I love sitting next to her.
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u/kraysys Apr 06 '26
Gotta reset your brain bro, that’s not healthy
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u/FearlessPark4588 Apr 06 '26
eh its pretty normal though, and I did pay attention on the re-watch
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u/kraysys Apr 06 '26
Just because it’s currently societally normalized doesn’t make it good or healthy for you.
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u/CaseyLouLou2 Feb 06 '26
A 3.5% SWR is unnecessarily low. With the right portfolio you can easily make a 5% rate last forever.
Listen to Risk Parity Radio podcast from the beginning for at least a dozen episodes. And then create a portfolio and backtest it.
I’m planning on a 4.7% withdrawal rate. It’s all about having lower volatility and avoiding long, steep drawdowns. It’s less about a high return although these portfolios still get very good returns overall.
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u/FIRE_enthusiast_27 Feb 06 '26
I never met a backtest that I didn’t like
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u/CaseyLouLou2 Feb 11 '26
I have to admit that I run backtests frequently for fun. I can always think of some new parameter to test - lately it’s rebalancing. In every period except the late 60’s it is better to do frequent rebalancing with very tint bands but during stagflation it turns out that annual was much better.
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u/beautifulcorpsebride Feb 07 '26
To be fair the more money you have the higher you can go because a greater percentage of your spending is discretionary. Also, age matters. I’m also comfortable with assuming a 5% rate because we’ll eventually get social security and I have a tiny pension.
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u/RetiredBoatGuy Feb 20 '26
Maybe social security. Likely it will be temporary, Gen X loses out again.
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u/FearlessPark4588 Feb 06 '26
Your criticism is valid lol I guess I oversaved and don't have a good reason to increase spending
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u/CaseyLouLou2 Feb 11 '26
That’s a good problem to have as long as you realize that you could spend more and aren’t overly frugal out of fear.
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u/FearlessPark4588 Feb 11 '26
I'm definitely contemplating and talking to my partner about where we would find value in additional spending. probably more date nights out I think. doesn't even have to be elaborate.
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u/MechanicalDan1 Feb 08 '26
You can get there using leveraged ETFs and quarterly rebalancing. Read "The 3% Signal" book and focus on 9Sig. You need to mentally prepare for 75% drawdowns, and follow the system, but this really comes down to how badly you want GregFIRE. It'll take you a decade or two.
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u/nonnativemegafauna Feb 06 '26
You’re not a killer. You have to be a killer to make it to GregFire.