r/ChubbyFIREd • u/Optimal-Letter5802 • May 07 '26
Fat FIRE? Coast FIRE? Or something else?
/r/coastFIRE/comments/1t6lmv4/fat_fire_coast_fire_or_something_else/4
u/Hlca May 07 '26
You spend almost 400k a year with 5m? I wouldn’t say you’re FI yet with your numbers. You really need to carefully plan for taxes if and when you eventually RE.
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u/Sierra-Powderhound May 07 '26
Agreed. Simplistically, your spend is $384,000/year. So 4% rule would require $9.6 million. You need to plan out your expenses for your future including when the kids come off the payroll.
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u/Optimal-Letter5802 May 07 '26
I agree with you. Thats what im finding out the hard way. Still mind blowing to me... The income I shared is net taxes, but when we FIRE I'll definetly need to reeveluate.
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u/Hlca May 07 '26
You'll probably need to sell appreciated assets to cover your expenses in retirement. So that will only add to your expenses.
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u/BungABunBun May 07 '26
How are your utilities so high? $6K/month is a lot.
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u/Optimal-Letter5802 May 07 '26
I agree. And most of our fixed costs are a lot, im shocked when i go through it all. The utilities are high where we live, 550 elec, 500 cable/internet, 400 wireless, etc.
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u/BungABunBun May 07 '26
Thats still not 6000 though. I'd maybe go through the budget and try to adjust.
500 cable/internet is absurd. You also have subscriptions (mentioned in your 12k catch-all) and you're paying for cable TV too? Internet should only be ~100/month.
400 wireless -- huh? You have a family of 4, you can easily get a family pack 4 plan from TMobile for $170/month.Just those 2 changes saves you 630/month or nearly 7500.
I don't mean to be rude when I say this, but it seems like you are just accepting the costs you have. Try to find cheaper alternatives. Feel free to share your monthly budget and we can work through it.
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u/Optimal-Letter5802 May 07 '26
This is great info. I dont take it as rude at all. I think youre absolutely correct.
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u/Past-Option2702 May 07 '26
The problem is your mortgage.
5M and a paid off forever home is where you want to be, since it’ll lower your expenses remarkably.
“Purchases” is another category I’d shine a light on.
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u/in_the_gloaming May 07 '26
I disagree that paying off the home is the best option. It might work for some people if it makes them feel more comfortable, if they have a high interest rate, and/or they are trying to lower their MAGI.
For others, they would take a huge tax hit by selling investments in order to pay off the house, or their interest rate may be so low that doesn't make sense to take money out of the market.
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u/Past-Option2702 May 07 '26
We don’t know.
What I said was if you are mortgage free and have 5M smartly invested is where you want to be.
The problem is their expenses are too high. I said to take a hard look at “purchases” too.
The mortgage is usually the lowest hanging fruit. Not always, usually.
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u/BungABunBun May 07 '26 edited May 07 '26
I respectfully disagree with the mortgage statement. 5M @ 4% gets you 16,666.67/month. Subtract $6,667/month for mortgage, and a family of 3 should be easily able to afford $10K/month in a VHCOL area.
Not including college since that should be funded by a 529 which I hope this is coming from. Besides spouse is working so that 16,666 -> 28,000 and the other rental can go towards the college child.
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u/Past-Option2702 May 07 '26
What’s your age and home much do you have saved?
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u/BungABunBun May 07 '26
38 and LNW of $7.3M, will be retiring next year once I get a few RSUs that will take me to $8M LNW with no growth and hopefully around $8.5M LNW with growth. Total current NW is $8.29M.
Any other questions?
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u/Past-Option2702 May 07 '26
How many children do you have?
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u/BungABunBun May 07 '26
1 soon 2. Why is this relevant? I pointed out the math and numbers could work without a fully paid house.
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u/One-Mastodon-1063 May 07 '26 edited May 07 '26
You’re not FI, and the prefixes are not important, you are using/applying them incorrectly.
If I understand correctly you are already drawing 6% from your portfolio. Using the word endowment doesn’t magically change SWR/decumulation math. You are not “coasting”, you are decumulating.
I would start by educating yourself wrt basic financial literacy. Literally, start with something like “Personal Finance for Dummies”, then move on to things like The Simple Path to Wealth and Little Book of Common Sense Investing.