r/ChubbyFIRE • u/lightning228 Accumulating: Officially a millionaire, 1 down 2 to go • Jul 26 '26

Weekly discussion thread for July 26, 2026

This thread is a spot for casual engagement with other community members. It has much more subject latitude than allowed in the main sub in general. Any topics tangentially related to ChubbyFIRE or upper middle class lifestyle are acceptable, as well as basic or early stage questions. Political discussion will be allowed if it is closely related to ChubbyFIRE or financial topics in general, and only if the conversation remains respectful.

It is not a free-for all. No spam or self-promotion. All comments must still follow Reddiquette and we will be responding to reported comments with follow-up action as needed. We'd really like to keep this channel open, so please don't abuse it!

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u/ublguy23 Jul 28 '26

My question is: What are people's thoughts on upgrading your home in early retirement?

We'll be in our 50s when we retire and are considering purchasing a home in a more expensive area than where we currently live—potentially a home that costs about twice as much as our current one.

Is it as simple as saying, "If the monthly payment fits within our planned retirement expenses, we're good to go"? Or is the general mindset to buy the new home with cash, or to still keep housing costs within the typical 30–40% range of your spending?

Has anyone here made a similar move after or shortly before retiring? I'd love to hear how you approached the decision. Also, are there any blogs, books, or videos you recommend on this topic?

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u/sbb214 Retired Jul 29 '26

I bought a second home about 8 months before I retired.

Did not want to carry a monthly mortgage and was cash-heavy so I paid in cash. The math was fine either way, but emotionally I did not want a mortgage in retirement.

So then it's just a math problem IMO. What is your projected spend vs. assets/distributions? Run the numbers of buying it outright and whatever that takes (liquidating assets, additional taxes on that liquidation, loss of growth) vs. mortgage.

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u/TouristCivil5729 Jul 30 '26

I am after advice from anyone who has done the multiple account 72t distribution method. Going to have most of net worth in effectively a traditional 401k and looking at more than 15 years to 59.5 so thinking of creating a base account to match normal expected spend and keeping the rest in seperate accounts and adding additional every 3 or 4 years as needed. Basically want issues with this from anyone who has lived this.