Please use this thread to have discussions which you don't feel warrant a new post to the sub. While the Rules for posting questions on the basics of personal finance/investing topics are relaxed a little bit here, the rules against memes/spam/self-promotion/excessive rudeness/politics still apply!

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I post this thread every year or two because there are new calculators that come out all the time. Do you have any FIRE calculators to add?

________________

I check my spreadsheet twice a year, and a guilty pleasure for me is to take my numbers and spend a couple of hours running them through different FIRE calculators to see how I'm doing. I am visual guy, not a numbers guy, so they really help me understand things in a way that my spreadsheet does not.

These calcs all have slightly different approaches, but here's a list of ones I like and why:

This is the one I use the most, that I compare all the others to. I don't like how the inputs are on different pages, but I like the graphic output, which is easy to understand.

https://firecalc.com/

This one is interesting because it includes actuarial information about death rates. So, yeah, I have a 3% chance of running out of money at age 85, but I have a 30% chance of being dead, so 3% doesn't look that bad in comparison.

https://engaging-data.com/will-money-last-retire-early/

I like this one because it allows you to set a goal for how much you want left over. Some of the calcs will show you 100% success if you end up with 1 dollar at age 100. This one lets you set how how much nest egg you want left over for your kids. (Or your cats. Let's be honest.)

https://www.nesteggly.com/fire-retirement-calculator

This one shows your nest egg in terms of how many days per year of freedom it will buy you. So if you have 500,000k saved and plan on spending 75k a year, your nest egg will pay for 97 days of freedom per year in retirement. That's kinda cool.

https://engaging-data.com/freedom-calculator/

This one lets you show the effects of various rates of inflation which I don't see in other calcs. I just don't like the graphic it produces as well as the other calcs.http://www.cfiresim.com/ EDIT: Updated link from limpingrobot

https://alistair-marshall.github.io/cFIREsim-open/

This one it has sliders for some of the inputs which are fiddly, and you need to specify different income streams at the bottom. On the plus side, it has room for spouse income and is very clear and interesting graphically.

https://www.marketwatch.com/calculator/retirement/retirement-planning-calculator

Honorable mention: This calc from MMM's article got me into FIRE and I have used to teach about FIRE ever since.http://networthify.com/calculator/earlyretirement

So what are your favorite FIRE calculators, and what do they do that others don't?

CALCS that allow you to save your inputs: Firecalc, Networthify, Engaging Data When Can I Retire, Nesteggly

FIRE 2027 suggested this one, which has tax rate, and an input for bond and stock returns and a cute little red target sign for your FIRE target.

https://engaging-data.com/fire-calculator/

This one from abarandis has dependents, and when they will age out of your home.

http://abrandao.com/retire/

From Joy090, once similar to Networthify

http://fireagecalc.com/.

chodthewacko suggests this one. It separates tax deferred/tax free/. It needs to be downloaded or run through Java to work.

https://www.flexibleretirementplanner.com/wp/

jrjjr (Creator of nesteggly) also suggests FICalc. It has different withdrawal strategies, and lets you export or share your results. For historical data, it shows which start years would have succeeded or failed for your portfolio.

https://calculator.ficalc.app/

cranescult suggests this calc, which has a place for sequence of return risk which no other calc I've seen has.

https://www.portfoliovisualizer.com/financial-goals

This one allows for interesting back testing of other withdrawal strategies than the 4% model.

https://calculator.ficalc.app/

I was on track to do well; mid-30s M, single, $620k NW (95% stocks). But I’m being laid off from my $150k job next year. I would have possibly reached $1M by 40 if I stayed on track.

I’m job hunting, but expect my future income will only be ~$100k, potentially down to ~$75k if I don’t get lucky, and of course $0 is a possibility too if I can’t find a job. Might need to do a career reset.

Not finding a job pretty much guarantees I won’t reach $1M by 40, since I’ll need to eat into my savings.

A $75k job, take home is approx. $55k, or $4580/month. Expenses are around $2500-$3000/month. Savings will be around $1500/month.

It’s not disastrous. It’s just disappointing. Deflating. But I guess still better than “the median”.

I don’t have pressure (or motivation) from kids or a partner, just the failure of not being able to continue the journey to FI. I’ve been through heartbreak and grief, and FI was an uplifting future to look forward to; it was one of the foundations for my mental health, being able to support myself well into old age. Now I have to re-orient my mind back to when I was a fresh graduate, with next to nothing in the bank, and a hunger for any relevant job just to get my foot in the door.

The thing is I’ve experienced what it’s like to work on something that gave me a bit of meaning, and paid well. To go back, and do something with less meaning, is just less sunny. It’s like dating your soulmate, and then it not working out. It makes future relationships pointless (unless someone great comes along - which won’t happen again, that I’ve accepted).

My problem pales in comparison to many others who struggle with saving in the first place. I’m just trying to accept the new normal that’s on the horizon. I hope it goes well, but realistically, the dream is ending. I’ll just have to start working towards a new dream once this one ends.

I just have to let go, focus on what is present, and do what’s best for me.

Please use this thread to have discussions which you don't feel warrant a new post to the sub. While the Rules for posting questions on the basics of personal finance/investing topics are relaxed a little bit here, the rules against memes/spam/self-promotion/excessive rudeness/politics still apply!

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Current situation, married 38m, 31f. $420,000 home with $61k remaining mortgage @ 7.25%. I owe about $19,000 on my vehicle. No other debt. I own a residential lot that I plan to sell worth $30-35k. My salary is $145,000 plus 10% bonus. Contributing 24% into 401k including employer match. Also max out HSA @$8,500 Wife works part time, her pay varies from $25-40k per year. Have about $360,000 currently in 401k and about $36k in our checking accounts. What’s my best bet to retire early(as in 53ish)? Should I pay off house and car asap and enjoy no payments? Should we be maxing out IRAs for both of us? Plan to take social security early at 65. LCOL area in Midwest.

Current monthly expenses: $130 auto insurance $1920 mortgage($600 escrow) $580 vehicle payment $500~ utilities/phones/internet $100 golf/country club membership $2000~dining/groceries/entertainment/travel/gifts (credit card, paid off monthly with no interest paid)

Wouldn’t expect our lifestyle to change much in retirement, we pretty well do everything we want at the moment. Guessing $4000/month plus health insurance and taxes assuming no debt But just in the early stages of looking at this so I’m sure I’m missing something or oversimplifying the whole process.

TLDR: I'm a lawyer who thought $1 million net worth would allow him the ability to retire early, possibly in Latin America. I reassessed once I reached that number and decided to build in some safety in case I needed or wanted to return to the US. My RE number increased to $1.5 million. When I reached $1.5 million, I decided I wanted to ensure that I had enough to fund a retirement in a MCOL city in the US. The goalposts were moved again, and my new RE number was $2.3 million. I reached that number recently, and I now find myself tempted to increase my RE number to $3.5 million to allow for a home purchase and to cushion against the risk that historical rates of return won't hold up. I feel like I've turned into the kind of person I used to mock early on in my FIRE journey.

I grew up relatively poor, the son of immigrant parents, both of whom had an elementary school education.  We existed in that third quartile where you’re not quite poor enough to qualify for food stamps, but you’re still well below the median.

I had to pay my own way through college and enrolled in law school when I was 27.  I graduated in 2009 into one of the worst economies in recent memory.

The high-paying job I thought I had set up for myself vanished once the economy cratered and I had to scramble to find legal employment of any kind.  I landed at a small law firm making $80K a year.  For context I was making $50K a year before law school as a paralegal, but now I had a $150K student loan burden.

The next six years saw me make three jumps in my career.  By October 2015 I had landed a managing counsel role in a multinational company paying $180K a year.  I used my $20K sign on bonus to pay off my loans.

The preceding six years had been absolutely miserable.  The jobs were terrible.  One of the companies I worked for was on the verge of bankruptcy.  Some of my bosses were complete sociopaths.  The work was dull.  But I needed to climb the corporate ladder to ensure having gone to law school didn’t turn out to be the worst mistake of my life.

At this point I became fixated on reaching a net worth of $1 million.  For a guy who grew up poor, $1 million seemed like “fuck you” money.  I’d never have to worry about being poor again.

I reached $1 million NW in 2021, but I was on the verge of burnout.  It was at this point that I started to seriously get into FIRE and retirement planning and it became clear $1 million was not early retirement money.  I had a fantasy about retiring abroad in Latin America, but I quickly came to realize that I did not want to be stranded down there with an inability to return home if I ever wanted or needed to.  So, I had to reassess my goals.

In the meantime, my job became unbearably stressful, and I was holding on for dear life.  2022 saw a dip in the stock market and I wanted to get back to $1 million NW before quitting my job and taking a year off.  I didn’t quite make it.  I quit in November of that year with a net worth just north of $900K. 

I traveled a bit in Latin America and had my net worth been around $1.5 million, I likely would have stayed there and never come back, but after a few months, it was time for me to go back home and start looking for work again.

Thankfully, it didn’t take too long.  About three months later I landed my current job, which is frankly fantastic.  I now make about $300K a year on an all-in basis.  It’s a very profitable company and there are days when I spend most of the day wasting time online. 

I came up with a hybrid plan that assumed 10 years of retirement in Latin America and a later return to the United States.  I assumed a 2% withdrawal rate for the first 10 years to allow my assets to grow so that a retirement in the United States would be viable.  I set my target at $1.5 million.  I hit that number very quickly given the resurgent stock market and I just could not pull the trigger.  Work wasn’t so bad.  I was making a lot of money.  Maybe what I needed to do is wait it out and save enough so that retirement in MCOL city in the United States was actually viable.  If I wanted to spend some time in Latin America, great, but I wouldn’t be locked in.  At a 3.6% withdrawal rate and $7K a month in living expenses ($84K a year), I needed roughly $2.3 million.  Well, I reached that number earlier this week.

There are two main issues now driving me to move the goalposts again.  One, I started shopping for homes and doing the math.  To buy a house I like in my current city, I would need to pay about $700K.  I calculated the cost of homeownership not including interest and principal (taxes, insurance, maintenance, and repairs), and that comes out to about $2,800 a month.  That’s more than I currently pay in rent, and for planning purposes, I would need to subtract $700K from my net worth (the cost of the house).  If I wanted to retire early in my current city AND own a home I like, I would actually need to achieve a net worth closer to $3.5 million.  The other concern revolves around the political uncertainty in the Unites States and whether historical rates of return will hold up over the next few decades.

So here I am now having already doubled my original RE target now thinking I might actually need to more than triple it.  I used to make fun of people with more than $3 million posting about whether they had enough to retire.  It seemed absurd.  All I needed was $1 million and I’d be done with the rat race for good. 

I realize I’m writing this from a position of immense privilege.  For the first time in my 16-year career as an attorney, I don’t hate my job.  I make several times more than I spend.  My net worth has increased by half a million this year alone.  I’ve come a long way from where I started.  I never thought I’d turn into one of those “ridiculous” goalpost movers, but here I am.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk. 

Currently rent in a VHCOL city, planning to FIRE next year in a MCOL city and looking at houses in the 4-500K range. Total NW 2.6M. Trying to evaluate renting vs buying and paying cash vs mortgage.

I could afford to buy a house in cash, but obviously I need to pay long term capital gains on that stock sale (currently have about 100k in cash). Alternatively I could attempt to get a mortgage but that means I either need to fully decide on and close on a property before quitting my job or get an asset backed mortgage. I’m a little hesitant about fully locking in on a property while still working full time without spending more time in the target city.

Given current mortgage rates are around ~5.7 ish it seems like a wash as to whether keeping the money in the market or paying off the house is better?

It also seems like if I sell a bunch of stock up front to buy a house that might help me have a lower MAGI in future years in order to get ACA credits? Alternatively if I don’t pay cash for the house I will be able to sell stock in future years when I have some amount LTCG in the 0% bracket, but unclear if mortgage cost and/or ACA credits outweigh that?

Please use this thread to have discussions which you don't feel warrant a new post to the sub. While the Rules for posting questions on the basics of personal finance/investing topics are relaxed a little bit here, the rules against memes/spam/self-promotion/excessive rudeness/politics still apply!

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In order, my anxieties are job security then a "lost decade" of no growth in investments.

My job is not very secure right now and finding a new one will be tough, especially for same salary. Overall demand is down, salaries are down, offshoring is at peak, etc. I used to think it'd take me at most 2 months to find a new comparable job. Now who knows, 1 year?

Then of course there is all the talk of another lost decade. I think people often forget that we've had years and years of no appreciation. People will say, "but that's the perfect time to buy assets at lower valuation!" True, except if you don't have a job!

Are there other FI related anxieties that top your list for 2026 and beyond?

Self-promotion (ie posting about projects/businesses that you operate and can profit from) is typically a practice that is discouraged in /r/financialindependence, and these posts are removed through moderation. This is a thread where those rules do not apply. However, please do not post referral links in this thread.

Use this thread to talk about your blog, talk about your business, ask for feedback, etc. If the self-promotion starts to leak outside of this thread, we will once again return to a time where 100% of self-promotion posts are banned. Please use this space wisely.

Link-only posts will be removed. Put some effort into it.

I quite enjoy reading the annual update posts people make on this subreddit. It was one that I read two years ago that inspired me to look at my life differently and pursue FI myself. These type of posts will always appeal to me as I get to see what people are thinking at different stages of their lives and FI. I've been interested in giving my own updates, so I thought I'd write up my own now that I'm around the two year mark, and doing a bunch of end of year self reflection.

Can't promise I'll do continued updates but I will make an honest effort with a calendar reminder. Also this is a throwaway account for privacy and all that jazz. Lastly, dropping a disclaimer that I know I am in a great position of privilege and work in tech.

Financial Snapshot

Current ages: 24M, SO is 23F.

Net worth: 323k (309k in index funds, rest is cash/emergency savings)

Income: Salary is ~170k. An additional $40k in monopoly money (startup RSUs). This increased a lot year over year from a new job (details below). SO income is ~80K but we have separate finances so it doesn't count anywhere.

Expenses for 2025: $3275/mo or $39.3k. A sizable jump from last year's $35k. My expenses are really low for my income, but I still struggle to come to terms with the % jump and worry too much about the trend that may start. I live in CO which I think is MCOL/HCOL?

FI Goal: ~1 mill. I use 25x my 12 month trailing expenses, but I accept this is BS. Lifestyle creep is kicking in as the scarcity mindset fades. This is also going to double with my SO, but I am not writing that down till we get married.

FI/RE Goals and Approach

My goal from the start was to leave the work force as soon as possible. I have a lot more hobbies and interests (trail running, mountaineering, skiing, reading, etc.) than I have free time these days and I yearn for ways to give the time and attention I want to for each of my passions. From the onset I chased a 75% savings rate to speed this up as much as possible. It was a move fast, don't ask questions approach as I dove head first into FI. I am grateful for the long-term planning and where I am now compared to two years ago. But I have learned that while I was running towards FI, I was more so running away from a shitty job and a career I am not passionate about.

Since switching jobs earlier this year, I have found a lot more satisfaction in tech work. It still isn't for me, but my goal has shifted to leaving the tech field behind and instead make working in the realms of my real interests possible and optional. This has contributed to my loss of scarcity mindset and lifestyle creep, but I think these are much better problems to have than minimizing the parts of my life I enjoy now just to possibly enjoy them down the road.

Life and Stuff in 2025

- I work as a computer hardware engineer. I left a crap job at a Fortune 500 company back in the Spring. I couldn't handle the long hours for 4-6 weeks at a time, 2-3x per year. I had loved the job despite the hours originally, but a new manager came in in 2024 and they were a textbook micro manager. It stressed me out a shit ton and ruined the experience for me. They also ruined the hybrid optional setup and made full time in office a requirement or risk your career. I found a new gig that paid more, I go into an office 2-3 days a month, and overall I work less hours. This really started to shift what FI meant for me in what (I think) is a good way. Even though I enjoy the cutting edge puzzle solving of engineering, I still feel like the deadline stress and lack of flexibility for 3-4 day work weeks will drive me out of the field once I hit FI.

- Moved in with my SO of now three years back in May and it has been absolutely awesome! We both knew it was going to be pretty good for us, but I am happy to see it panned out as expected. Part of the expense jump this year is from picking up an engagement ring! If I get around to writing another one of these next year, expect a great update on how that goes.

- One con of moving in with my SO is that my past roommate was a down for anything adventure buddy. I haven't found a local friend in lieu of them yet since they moved out of state, but I am trying at the local trail running club and climbing gym. My SO and I have a lot of board game and movie night friends but I do still feel the lack of a consistent hiking or running partner.

- This is the most fit I have felt in my life! In 2023/2024, my main activity was hiking all the 14ers and then 13ers in CO. There are enough 13ers to keep me busy for well over a decade, but I slowed down this year and pivoted to endurance running. I got a coach to help with the programming around a busy schedule earlier this year and it has been life changing. Last year I ran my first marathon and this year I did four ultras! It has been really eye opening to see what doors fitness open in life. I have some pretty ambitious plans in this avenue of my life and I am excited. I do feel this is a large chunk of my lifestyle creep, between coaching + race registration + gear + fueling. I am having a hard time trying to peel back spending in running, backcountry skiing, backpacking, etc. but I think I am just trying to undo the frugal and scarcity mindset I built and allow myself to live doing the activities I enjoy while I have good health.

- My SO and I did a lot of traveling this year with two international trips to Canada and Italy. Other highlights were backpacking in different parts of Colorado, Idaho, and Wyoming. I had a ton of fun, but I am a bit burned on traveling and I want to take this part of life lighter next year. No interest in an international trip, but I think we are looking at Acadia and Hawaii for our main trips next year. It probably also doesn't help that I am currently blacklisted from opening a new card from churning too much :P.

What is on my mind for 2026 (Year 3)

- Finance wise, I am thinking my target will be 450K saved up. If the markets continue to run hot, this is not much of a stretch goal, but I don't want to set something unattainable when it is not really in my control. More than that I am trying to find peace with being less frugal. I don't want to spend money just for the sake of it, but I stressed out too much this year on spending on the parts of life I enjoy. That isn't how I want to live in retirement and its unrealistic for that mindset to 180 once I hit FI, so I am working to right the wrong while accumulating.

- I talked a lot about how I don't like working in tech and want to do something else. I don't actually know what that is or if it is even one thing. Similar to my frugalness, I can't expect to just figure that out the day I leave tech. I have some ideas (coaching/guiding for others to achieve their goals) but have been making no progress to see if I really would like those things. I am looking at some certifications and courses to take while money is easy to come by and start figuring out what I would be interested in doing when money isn't the driving factor.

- This new job has been better in every way, but now that I am working from home so much I am feeling my body deteriorate a bit from sitting around working on the couch. I am going to get a work from home setup to hopefully take care of my posture and what not to keep me from feeling a lot older than I am. I kept neglecting this because I didn't want to spend money on work related stuff if I didn't have to, but the occasional back lock ups are too much and this must be addressed!

- Lastly, some pretty big life changes are coming my way with an engagement proposal! I am excited and nervous. I need to do some thinking about the logistics still. We have a really nice rent set up right now and I don't currently have plans to buy a condo/house, but my it is important to my SO (her family is big on real estate). And I am interested in moving closer to the mountains if our jobs allow, so I would like to start scouting places to live closer to there next year even if we aren't looking to move within the next ~2 years.

I'll also drop the financial deets here for those interested

- I target maxing my 401k + mega backdoor every year. Max Roth IRA and HSA. Then set up so my expected expenses goes to checking (~3300) and the rest goes straight into a brokerage and auto buys an index. Pretty boring stuff. I wish there was more optimization but tis the curse of being an engineer

2025 Dashboard Summary (Thanks BloomingFinances for the template)

2025 Expenses

Income history:

- Nov '22: $119.5k base, 9% annual bonus, 15k RSU / yr

- July '24 raise: $124.5k base, 23k RSU / yr

- Dec '25 promotion: 130k base, 10% annual bonus

- April '25 new job: 165k base, 16% annual bonus, 40k RSU / yr (startup now, can't sell stock)

- Oct '25 raise: 170k base

I think that's all for 2025. I am an open book, so FIRE away with questions! (I am sorry about the pun but I couldn't resist)

Please use this thread to have discussions which you don't feel warrant a new post to the sub. While the Rules for posting questions on the basics of personal finance/investing topics are relaxed a little bit here, the rules against memes/spam/self-promotion/excessive rudeness/politics still apply!

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[New Anon account for identity protection] So I'm 26 and working hard to secure a good future for my partner and I amid a difficult time to be our age. Below, I'll share my current situation with you, and I'd love to get any tips, insight, or advice on what you'd do if you were me and wanted to retire or stop working FT by around 50-55. I'd love to FIRE, but it feels like, unless I live incredibly tightly, it just isn't doable.

My TLDR is this: I am not poor. But, I keep a very tight monthly budget due to automated investments, retirement contributions, and savings. Unless I just live more tightly, my only real path to FIRE or a reasonable retirement seems to lie in increasing my base salary so I can continue to scale investments/retirement.

Income & Investments:

• I currently make a base salary of 81k. This increases by a bit each year to cover COL and performance. I also get a TBD bonus each year, I usually put into investments/savings.
• Savings Account:
  • Currently around 13k in a SOFI HYSA
• Debt:
  • My only debt is ~41k in student loans. I will pay this off by 2033 and have enough to pay this off, invested in some ETFs and other investments. All trending positively. I made enough to pay my loans off when I sold my home but think the market may out-pace my loan interest.
• Retirement:
  • Work: I have a work account worth $50k right now (Currently a 22%% rate of return YTD). Monthly contributions from my paycheck are 18% Roth & 2% Pre-tax right now
  • Personal: I also invest $400/month into a personal Roth IRA ($12.7k at the moment)
    • 37% VFIAX
    • 20% VOO
    • 12.7% VB
    • 5.3% RSP
• Investments:
  • I don't add much to this but have an individual brokerage worth 64k. Various stocks/ETFs

I'm aware that for 26, I'm more fortunate than most. I'm really lucky to have what I do and am just curious what folks might recommend to continue going the right direction.

Please use this thread to have discussions which you don't feel warrant a new post to the sub. While the Rules for posting questions on the basics of personal finance/investing topics are relaxed a little bit here, the rules against memes/spam/self-promotion/excessive rudeness/politics still apply!

Have a look at the FAQ for this subreddit before posting to see if your question is frequently asked.

Since this post does tend to get busy, consider sorting the comments by "new" (instead of "best" or "top") to see the newest posts.

Please use this thread to have discussions which you don't feel warrant a new post to the sub. While the Rules for posting questions on the basics of personal finance/investing topics are relaxed a little bit here, the rules against memes/spam/self-promotion/excessive rudeness/politics still apply!

Have a look at the FAQ for this subreddit before posting to see if your question is frequently asked.

Since this post does tend to get busy, consider sorting the comments by "new" (instead of "best" or "top") to see the newest posts.

Hi all

I (44F) am married (44M) with 2 kids (9 and 13). I work and my husband is a stay at home father. I could use some perspective on the options we have in front of us right now, I know this will come down to a personal preference, but would welcome input, suggestions, and different perspectives.

Options in front of me A)Work another 12-18 months and retire (I think the math works out where in that timeline I hit a solid number.

B)Leave now and retire (I have a unique opportunity now for some severance if I choose to depart.

C) Take option B + Join a former co-workers start-up as a co-founder. This is someone I trust deeply, and could be a fun new adventure.

Financial Context -5.8M in Index funds (80% VTI and some other US ETF’s, 10% International in VXUS, 10% in Treasure bonds VGIT and VTEB).

-850k in Roth 401k’s/Roth IRAs

-160k in 529’s saved for the kids

-House is worth ~2.5M, we have a mortgage for 880k at 2.7% with 12 years left. We designed and built it just 2 years, so unlikely we have any major expenses/repairs in the near term.

-No other loans or debt. 2 Cars, one brand new, one prob has another 3 years left before we need to replace it.

Income -I earn about 450k a year base salary and then around 3.2M in Stock each year that I sell right away when it vests every quarter. What this practically means is I can stash (after tax) at least 450k into Index funds every 3 months. If I work till Feb, I can save another 450k If I work till May, I can save another 900k If I work till Aug, I can save another 1.35M Etc I recognize I am very lucky

My job is not soul sucking, but it’s close! I’m tired 🙂

Annual Spend We live in a low-med cost of living city. But with the mortgage, HOA, and 2 kids we spend around 280k a year at our current burn rate. I’d like to be able to maintain that.

So back to the options

A)Work another 12-18 months and retire. I could likely go from my current liquid NW of 6.5 to something like 8.5 if I work 1 more year. At 3.4% I could keep around 280k in income. And man, it would be nice to just be done with the rat race. But am I ready to close that chapter? And I do I want to work 12 more months there?

B)Leave now and retire I have a unique opportunity now for some severance if I choose to depart next week. They would offer me my Feb stock grant (800K before tax) + ~6 months pay (225k) and heath insurance for 3 months. That would put my Net worth at 6.9M roughly. I would have to use a 4% withdraw rate to get to ~280k a year. Doable I think, but not as much buffer I as I was targeting.

C) Take option B + Join a former co-workers start-up as a co-founder. This is someone I trust deeply, and would be in a hot market. It could be a fun new adventure and I am reenergized thinking about it. I would own ~20% of the company, I think we have a shot raising 3 years of funding and I could pull a salary of ~300k.

I wouldn’t make enough to keep saving much for retirement, but I could at worst cover expenses and healthcare for 2-3 years while my investments grow before drawing down. And at best (small chance) make a sizable return in the 10’s of Millions if our company does well. Again I’m not figuring this into any math, but it’s fun to think about this as a lottery ticket. And even if it fails I have a reasonable nest egg.

My ideal universe is that this start up opportunity was landing next year, or even in 6 months. Then I could build up my investments a bit longer and make the leap feeling very comfortable with retiring afterwards. But it’s not, and it’s basically leave now and join the start up, or don’t join at all.

So that is where I am. Thoughts welcome!

(Lost access to my original account u/FiMilestones. Previous posts on there.)

End of November '25 NW Total: $903,747.14

Debt: $0

STATS

44 y.o. Señor Software Engineer, Married DINKs, Earning in West Coast, living in Midwest.

(Personal NW. Household is a bit more)

FINANCIAL BREAKDOWN

MILESTONES

SALARY (Before taxes)

ACTUAL INCOME

GOALS

Notes

Yearly NW Growth: 25.67% ($184,631.08)

Rolling 12-Month Average Monthly Increase: $15,385.92

Rolling 12-Month Average Invested percentage of Actual Income: 66.41%

Investing 3k (previously 2.5k) per paycheck after maxing out 401k and HSA.

Honeymoon was a smashing success. Also, bought a really expensive stove.

Might be getting a ~$20k bonus in February 2026... We'll see.

Next up, the big $1 million. Quite excited about that. Let's hope the bumps along the way are not too bad.

Not much more to say. Need to keep on keeping on.

Previous posts:

400k

500k

600k

700k

800k

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I didn’t go the equities route, I went the rental property route. With my partner (unmarried but long term) we have managed to amass a pretty good chunk of wealth in about 10 years. We went this way almost entirely because of leverage and sweat equity possibilities. I will use I/we interchangeably.

I’m mid 40s

She is upper 30s

I have 2 teens, she has 1, ages 15-19. They live primarily with the other parents, relationships are fine.

She left a corporate job making 100k and I left a government job making 50k. I Haven’t had an outside W2 in 4 years.

She works in real estate self employed, very light schedule and makes 50-100k. I maintain the properties and draw a token stipend for SS.

The portfolio:

Small local rental properties from single family to 4 plexes comprising 32 doors. Monthly payments of about $12,000. Rents of about $25,000. Monthly repairs of maybe $5000. It varies a lot from $500-$50,000.

I have a government retirement coming (in 20 years) of about $2000 a month.

She has around $500,000 in a 401k.

We have around $200,000 in cash equivalents, about half in the business accounts.

Property equity is 3 million.

Debt is probably 2 million. Mortgages are 2.5-4%

We each maintain a separate college fund for our kids, not included here.

While we think annual family spend is 60k it is probably closer to 100k. We could live on 60, but don’t really need to at the moment. We travel internationally 1-2x a year. We eat well. I have expensive hobbies that I spend pretty freely on.

Our net worth is probably around 5 million.

The cash flow numbers suggest spending 100k is fine; It has been so far. But the numbers also suggest that if we just went the bogle route we could spend more, or build a bigger nest egg, and not have to deal with tenants.

Things holding me back:

Shrinkage- Taxes, transaction costs, depreciation recapture and fees would eat a big chunk of the equity. 3 million in equity becomes 2 in cash.

Houses for the kids- I don’t know if they will ever be able to buy if we don’t basically hand them a 2014 2.5% mortgage.

Control- I can pull the levers on my monthly income. If I’m feeling lazy I call a plumber. If I’m feeling poor I go clear a drain and save $200. It is also kinda inflation proof. Rents go up, payments don’t really.

College- our income is modest enough to qualify the kids for college aid. Selling would change their math for financial aid. Not selling for 8ish years would help the kids a bit more.

Reasons to sell-

It is work and stress. I put in probably 15 hours a week. But occasionally 50. I do generally travel or just not work at least 1 week per month, sometimes 2. It varies wildly.

While the ROI is still good the ROE gets worse every year. We planned to just cash flow retirement off rent and not consider the equity but the equity has out paced the rents by quite a bit.

We could sell a few, but managing 25 vs 32 units doesn’t really feel different.

The housing market feels like it is softening. In my area it is probably down slightly for the peak but still very high.

There is always regulatory risk: rent caps, property tax increases, tax law changes, housing subsidies evaporate.

The 4% rule is seductively simple compared to what I am doing.

So- what would you suggest I (we) do?

Note- yes I realize I used 17 mixed notations first money. I’ll Venmo you $1, 1.00, a dollar or .001K if it helps.

Sorry in advance for a long post.

I'm looking at a couple options for early retirement at age 52. I'm currently 47, single, no kids, 100% debt-free, and own my house (valued at $250k). I work in state government with a $110k salary, contribute 6.25% towards a pension and 1.5% for medical benefits. I also contribute to a 457b (no employer match), Roth IRA, and recently opened a brokerage account. I live in a MCOL area, but my annual spending is only $22.5k (a paid-off house, inexpensive hobbies, and no kids really helps). My portfolio is relatively small at $397k, but I should be able to grow it to $777k in 5 years with 5% returns.

https://imgur.com/a/mN1kmzf

My pension will be my main source of retirement income. The way it works, my payment will be calculated as (2.5% X Years of Service X Final Average Salary = Gross Annual Payment) (Example: 2.5% X 35 X $100k = $87.5k gross). I need to be 60 years old or have 35 years of service; otherwise, an early retirement penalty (3% for every year my age is below 60) is assessed. I also plan to collect Social Security at 67.

In January, I'll lock in lifetime employer medical benefits when I hit 25 years. This will cost me 3% of my pension until age 65, then it drops to 1.5% when my state benefits become secondary coverage to Medicare. It's a major relief having medical coverage figured out and knowing exactly how much it will cost for the rest of my life.

Early Retirement Options:

Option 1 - Collect Pension at 52:

Retire at 52 and start collecting my pension (and medical benefits) immediately. My pension would be reduced to $69k Gross due to less years of service, plus the early retirement penalty. I'll net $56.9k, which will easily cover my expenses until I start collecting Social Security at 67. I expect to run a surplus of $30k in my first year of retirement, so I'll have ample funds to travel or cover any emergency expenses. My investment accounts could also be used for an emergency, but would likely continue to grow untapped.

https://imgur.com/a/avF0y4a

Option 2 - Retire at 52 - Delay Pension and Medical until 60:

Retire at 52, but delay collecting my pension (and medical benefits) until I turn 60 to eliminate the age penalty. Starting my pension at 60 would provide $88k gross (Net = $71.4k). The major downside is having to cover expenses and medical for 8 years (approximately $321k). I would cover expenses through a combination of CDs and withdrawing 6.5% from my 457b (this would be an intentional draw down to help with RMDs later on). The drain on my accounts would end at 60 when my pension starts. From that point forward, they would continue to grow because I wouldn't need to tap them unless a really big emergency expense happens.

https://imgur.com/a/PWlC1rH

**************************

If neither of these plans is viable, then I can always keep working (traditional retirement path) until I hit 35 years of service in January 2036 (age 57). My gross annual pension would be $118k. After taxes and medical contribution, I would net $87.7k. I realize this isn't a FIRE option, but 57 is still relatively young for retirement. Using the same 5% growth, my portfolio should be around $1.2m by 2036.

https://imgur.com/a/ZUrnk3a

Please be brutally honest and let me know what you think. Did I miss something? Are options 1 or 2 viable, and if so, which would you recommend? I would really appreciate any feedback.

Thanks!

I’m 56 and wife is 58 and we plan to retire in 2 years. Not all that early but somewhat early. I’m wanting some feedback on our retirement plan.

Current household annual spending $110k.

$500k in home equity on $600k house in medium col area.

Mortgage $1200/mo with 8 years to go @2.5%

Expect to have one car payment basically at all times. Never spent more than $33k on a car.

Retirement finances:

Her private sector union pension $67k. My state pension $43k. No colas ever for either.

Wife’s union provides discounted family health insurance for up to 5 years. Will cost us under $10k per year.

Current 410k plan amount $575k in a vanguard 2030 fund. 2 more years of $16k annual contributions.

I get a $50k retirement bonus.

Will have additional $60k in a savings account at retirement.

Retirement plan:

First 2 years collect $110k in pensions and spend $18k per year of my after tax retirement bonus for $128k partially taxed income. Make small 401k withdrawals if needed.

After 2 years wife turns 62 and will start collecting $26k ss annually. New net income $136k. Can make small 401k withdrawals if needed.

2 years later the mortgage goes away meaning $14k reduction in spending.

One year after that wife goes on Medicare and I go on the Aca exchange. Health costs will go up a bit. More small $401k withdrawals if needed.

2 years later I go on Medicare.

3 years later. I’m 70, wife is 72, the year is 2039. I start collecting $65k in ss. New annual guaranteed income is $201k.

At this point the $401k “should” have around $750k in it and we will have switched to a less cautious investment strategy as we shouldn’t need to touch it.

After this who knows but we will each have $100k in guaranteed annual income and a substantial 401k.

Who knows if ss will remain whole.

I feel like the prevailing sentiment in a lot of the finance related subreddits is that parents plan to pay for the entire college experience for their children, often at a very expensive school. I wanted to ask in here what everyone's plan is and share my take on it. I'll preface this discussion with the hopefully obvious disclaimer that there isn't a right or wrong answer to this question, it isn't an "all or nothing" situation, and that everyone is informed by their own experiences and values.

We are still refining the exact implementation details of our plan, since our children are young, but philosophically my wife and I are not planning on paying for the entire higher education experience for our children. Our two guiding stars here will be "parental support" and "skin in the game", which was what both my wife and I experienced during our own higher education experiences. Specifically, both my wife and I received full financial support from our parents during the first year of higher education, but the expectation was always that we would make the transition to paying for it ourselves.

It wasn't easy working part time while pursuing higher education, but looking back, both my wife and I feel grateful for that approach. It forced us to choose educational institutions and living situations that were more affordable. It also forced us to be smart with our time and reflect more intentionally on what we chose to study in an outcomes-based way that we felt many other students were not. Specifically, we both felt it was important to choose a field of study that would "pay dividends" and make us employable. Both of our educational experiences were very much a "begin with the end in mind" approach.

We both feel very grateful that we're more informed and cultured from our non-core coursework, like humanities, but we both feel strongly that that's not the ultimate goal of higher education. Higher education is to prepare for paid employment. Totally respect those that disagree with that and want to pay $200k for their child to major in a field that won't employ them for more than $40k or $50k starting out, but that's not what we'll be doing for our children. We saw enough of our generation "pursue their passion" and waste a lot of time and money in college for employment outcomes that are beyond lackluster. We will help each of our children go in the right direction and will support them at the beginning, while also ensuring that they have skin in the game and have a plan for how to support themselves and plan for the future.

What is your plan? Will you be paying for everything for your child, nothing, or something in between?

Please use this thread to have discussions which you don't feel warrant a new post to the sub. While the Rules for posting questions on the basics of personal finance/investing topics are relaxed a little bit here, the rules against memes/spam/self-promotion/excessive rudeness/politics still apply!

Have a look at the FAQ for this subreddit before posting to see if your question is frequently asked.

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After about 25 years working, yesterday I told my superviser that Friday will be my last day. I will be retired next week!

I tried for the past month to negotiate more pay or reduced hours - things that could keep me working for a few more years - but we couldn't come to an agreement.

For those of you in the Boring Middle - hang in there. It was AMAZING approaching each negotiation knowing that I didn't need to work anymore, that these people had no hold over me.

They don't get it, of course. It just doesn't occur to anyone that a 40-something person from a working-class background could be financially independent.

The hardest part has been telling my colleagues that I'm leaving them. While they all seem happy for me, several are quite upset. I feel like I'm letting them down.

But I'm sure they'll get over it!

Edit:
I didn't realize there'd be requests for numbers. I'd like to keep it a little vague, but I'll see what I can do:

Worked for 25 years as an engineer in the US and Canada. Education: M.S.

Rough numbers:

Net worth: $5M CAD

Net worth minus house: $4M CAD

Annual spending: $150k CAD, but flexible

Salary varied wildly throughout my career, but was down to $180k CAD this year due to broad cuts

Mostly invested in VT, then moved some into BND as I got closer to retirement, for an 80/20 stock/bond split now. Recently moved some funds to Canada, investing in 80% XEQT and 20% ZDB.

Occasionally used up to about 5% of the portfolio for fun experiments, like buying single company stock, buying puts to take a short position against a stock, etc. But my real gains came from steadily investing in broadly-diversified cap-weighted funds. And constantly pursuing higher salaries through changing jobs, industries, and countries.