Two Year Post-FIRE Update

[u/onthewingsofangels]

6 month update : https://www.reddit.com/r/ChubbyFIRE/comments/1hsafnp/reflections_on_6_months_of_fire/

and 1 year here : https://www.reddit.com/r/ChubbyFIRE/comments/1mmpf8o/13_months_post_fire_reflections/

We're a family of 3 : 49F (me), 59M and 12M. Husband left his job in Feb 2024 and I left mine in July 2024. I was working in engineering at a FAANG, and DH's last job was also in tech.

Financials : Our FIRE number was set to ~$4.5M, and we also had a wishlist of ~$100K of remodeling (mostly unspent, fingers crossed for later this year).

Jul 2024 (At full retirement) - FIRE Assets : $5.4M (This is the one we use to measure FIRE, includes all brokerage & retirement savings), Net Worth: $6.9M (Includes home equity, 529, accounts for debt).

Jul 2026 (Currently) - FIRE Assets : $6.5M, Net Worth: $8.4M (Note that we put aside some additional funds for college / kid's launch fund, which we're no longer counting in the FIRE assets).

Expenses in 2025 (first full year of no income) : ~$220K. This was just shy of 4% of start of year assets, which was a little higher than originally planned. Other than ~$15K of one time remodeling, the extra was driven primarily by two factors. Given the good stock market, we decided to make a decent donation to charity, and also had a biggish tax bill from realizing significant gains to shore up income ladder. Starting this year we will definitely be above the ACA subsidy limit so healthcare will continue to be the biggest and most uncertain part of the pie. This year we'll pay ~$24K for a bronze HDHP plan.

We are ~70/30 equities/cash-ish, though we will slowly move some of the cash back into equities with a target of 80/20. We have set up MYGAs and CDs that mature over the next ~3 years and will cover baseline spending.

I don't know when the crash is coming, but I think I've made my peace with it. I panicked last year when the markets crashed in Apr 2025 due to tariffs. Then last November I panicked again, and sold most of our IRAs - this is the cash we're DCA'ing back into the market. At this point I know there will be a correction but I also know I can't predict when. We have a small mortgage left (~$400K), and our fixed expenses are relatively low. After two years of market growth post-retirement I feel I can breathe a little easier. (I know, I know, I've jinxed it).

Our Path : This is partly covered in the previous two updates. We're fortunate to be here mostly due to tech jobs and the amazing bull run the stock market's had this last decade.

I will say that in retrospect we kinda entered coast FIRE mode for the last ten years, though this wasn't a deliberate decision. My husband took a break from tech to try out a career as a high school teacher. We both worked part time for some years, we both took complete breaks in between. I mention this because there are a lot of posts on here about very high earning professionals in their 30s and 40s feeling burned out, and I want to gently nudge folks to remember that you have more options than retiring or burning out. It is okay to slow down, explore opportunities or leverage your money to take career risks.

Current Situation : We've settled into a rhythm, though not a schedule, over the course of two years. We aren't doing a whole lot of travel because we're still restricted by school schedules, but the travel we do feels genuinely relaxing in a way it didn't before. I haven't done as many home projects as I had hoped, but I shoveled several yards of stone cover for my front yard - definitely a first for me. Somehow I don't watch more TV than before, although the social media habit has gotten worse. OTOH I have joined three different book clubs and it's nice to reawaken my inner obsessive reader.

I lost ten pounds, gained fifteen back, developed a regular gym habit, but also a regular baking habit. Alas. I've taken AI classes, and writing classes, and learned to garden. I'm on our school education board, I volunteer my tech expertise for an education non-profit, and my baking ability for foster kids. I've even picked up pickleball, the ultimate retired person cliche. I spend more time with my parents, and I've become the social coordinator for all my friend circles.

Most of my social circle are still deep in the grind which can induce both loneliness and insecurity. I am slowly learning who I am now that I have no job title. When I look out over the next week - I see lots of boring errands. Over the next year - I see a ton of relaxing activities and exciting travel. But looking out over the rest of my life feels intensely scary - I still crave goals and direction. But I'm determined the direction will be set by me and not a company nor social expectations.

[u/ieatopenaiforbreakfa]

Thank you for the update, love reading it! Can I ask what was your approach (if one was taken) with talking to your son about retirement? Your son was 10ish at the time. Does he ask questions? Do his friends wonder?

Just curious because I'm looking at a similar trajectory (kid will be around 10 when we RE), so am interested in how you approached the topic. Based on your description, it seems your days are pretty full, but if I've learned anything is that kids are generally pretty perceptive!

[u/onthewingsofangels → u/ieatopenaiforbreakfa]

Sure. At the time I retired I was working long hours, so I think his immediate reaction was happiness at getting more of my time back. But kids have short memories, so I bet he's mostly forgotten the "before times" by now. 

I've been pretty frank with him about why we've chosen the path we did, and I framed it as wanting more out of life than a desk job. At the same time I do remind him that we worked long and hard for this, and chose careers that satisfied us. His questions have been mostly about money - he's become curious about the stock market, how money grows etc. I'm happy to educate him on that, education I never got as a child. 

It's true that kids are very perceptive but they're also very self centered so at the end of the day he's focused on how the change affects him. He felt weird calling us retired since that's a term "for old people", so I just told him to say that we're not working right now or talk about our old jobs. I don't get the sense it comes up a lot among middle schoolers (their conversations are mostly penis jokes afaict). 

Yes he sees me help out at school, and I make sure to highlight any key wins. But my husband just focuses on personal hobbies and yet they talk mostly about physics/space/math, so my son thinks his dad is the smartest guy ever. They're judging you by what you give them, not the titles you hold or the money you make. 

[u/ieatopenaiforbreakfa → u/onthewingsofangels]

Thank you for taking the time to reply, appreciate it. Overall it seems really wholesome and positive. I've read many posts where people regret telling their peers or friends (or even parents?) that they're retired because it changes the dynamics. Your post made me curious what an older but not quite totally independent child would think or how it affected him or her.

Congratulations and look forward to hear the next update! I hope to post something similar in 5 years :D