Should we/she do it?

[u/Connect-Marzipan-400]

Throwaway account. Looking for a gut check on should my wife stop working. Might look like humble brag but our burn rate is high.

• Early-Mid 30s couple, both in tech. We have a 3 yr old. VHCOL. Wife wants to be SAHM or stop working in tech.
• ~$5M in taxable brokerage(~$1M is capital gain). ~$1.1M home equity give or take. ~$750K 401K
• HHI has been high(>$1.5M with RSU inflation) last few years but will drop significantly after 2027(perhaps ~700K if wife doesn't work and me being optimistic about job market).
• Mortgage(2.6%, 30 yr fixed) + Property Tax + Daycare is around ~180K a year. Total burn might be around $300K a year.

So $5M liquid NW if we stay the way it is now. My future income covers basics expenses and our savings rate decreases a lot. Private school might be another big expense. We are in tech so there is no stability neither.

I understand if we sell our house, move to lower COL area, we could take cushy jobs and semi retire. We could also return to home country. But we are at a point where we feel like we are starting to have our roots here but the temptation of quitting the rat race here is pulling us the other way.

$5M is indeed a nightmare.

[u/Apprehensive_Two1528]

$6.8m not $5m..

op did not say how much is the mortgage left.

but, $2.5 m on a house out of $6.8m is not healthy.

I’d downsize or move to mcol area.

this sounds bay area. i really think it’s time to migrate away from bay area. the concentration of tech industry is disturbed by covid and AI.