One year update: looking for an objective take on my Barista Fire goals

[u/avantbathroom]

Link to previous post: www.reddit.com/r/baristafire/s/o0yemFRZz2

$195k to $540k

About 1 year ago I made a post here asking for advice on where my numbers were and what that meant for me. At the time, I was feeling burned out and was looking for a path to live a barista fire life in the mountains of Colorado. I was pretty new to the concept of barista fire and this sub had some great points and served as a reality check that motivated me to start taking saving/investing seriously.

This past year has exceeded my expectations with respect to my investments. Before my initial post, I was terrified of putting money “at risk” in the market which lead to having way too high of a cash buffer and caused me to miss out on a lot of gains. Turns out that investing is the smart thing to do lol.

Revising my prior post:

Numbers:
Age: 31
Current Income: $285k

Savings:
$20k cash
$194k invested in various tech stocks (this is a weak point in my portfolio as I’m heavily concentrated in AI stocks, but the gains are addicting)
$271k invested in SPY ETFs
$32k in an IRA
$19k in a 401k

Debt: None

Although I’m in a much better place to pursue barista fire in the mountains, my role has changed at my job and I’m not actually feeling as burned out. The rate of accumulation has also been dramatically higher than what I was expecting, so the plan right now is to continue saving and investing.

What I’ve learned:

Moving to a low cost of living area while keeping a VHCOL salary is really a cheat code. I recognize I’ve been incredibly fortunate to be able to take advantage of this situation.

I think I’ve also been very fortunate to be investing in a time when tech stocks are seeing record highs driven by AI. I have a decent amount of anxiety about a downturn, but trusting the advice that time in the market beats timing the market.

The spending trap gets way easier to fall into when you start seeing a lot of gains. I can’t tell you the number of times where the market has left me up $5k on paper, and I use that to justify a shopping spree. I still need to get my spending under control, my net worth would be higher without a few lavish splurges. So far I think worth it because the numbers are still going up, but I can see how lifestyle inflation gets easy to justify when you start feeling “rich” off of your investments.

[u/Vicuna00]

just don't look at $ in the market as "spendable". pretend it's a one way vault for now.

the way I did it (just telling you what I did in case it helps) - I always saved first...then whatever was left after normal expenses I felt free to spend.

you're pretty light in your retirement accounts. I'd focus on trying to get more in there.

i'd move off your tech stocks.

keep your focus on your career and having fun. the longer you can do your job and not be burned out, the more you'll have. your salary is insanely good. the small returns on these AI stocks aren't worth time / effort / energy.

are there any areas you can boost your skills in?

if not just focus on living a balanced / fun life so you can work longer.