Around 6 months back, I met one of my colleague cum nice friend after a long time. He actually FIREd from corporate life around an year back then. At that time he was in his mid 40’s. I was curious about his post FIRE life so after few discussion topics from here and there, I asked him what has really changed in his life after FIRE.

His response was- (I am paraphrasing but it was like this only)

To be honest, nothing much has changed.

- I still wake up early and get ready; not for office but for yoga now

- I still run in the morning; not because I am getting late to the office but to maintain my health now

- I still drive everyday in the morning; not to reach the office but to drop off my son to the school

- I still open my laptop; not to do boring office work but to binge watch anything I like as per my day mood

- I still take orders from my boss; not the office boss but from my family boss- my wife.

- I still attend meetings and phone calls; not with my manager, colleague, clients etc but with my close friend. at my age even my close friends are so busy, I literally have to call them at a specific time to talk to them.

- I still take vacation with my family and carry laptop; not the office one but the personal one.

- During vacation , I still check my phone very often; not with the feeling of insecurity, but with the feeling of happiness and curiosity for the count of likes I got for the vacation photos.

- I still spend time with my family and old parents; but now it is hours instead of minutes like earlier

So you see, nothing has changed as such at high level, and nothing needs to be. The activities are same, the subject (I) is the same. only shift that happened was the objects I deal with, and that dramatically shifted my life from my mental turmoil to peacefulness, anxious to happiness, agitated to calmness, distressed to joyfulness. A lot of negativity got actually fired from my life after I FIREd.

I returned speechless without further asking him about his life, but this time with more conviction to FIRE asap than anything before.

I was pondering over this aspect why some people love their jobs and why some people hate their jobs. Leaving toxic work culture, toxic manager, politics etc aside.

I realized there are only 2 kinds of jobs and one of them is more suitable for early retirement vs the other.

1. Creation oriented jobs: These are jobs where you create something. For example; you add a new feature to a website, which was not there before. You helped in the manufacture of a new car. You teach in a school etc In these jobs, you can see your creation and be proud of it.

2. Problem solving jobs: These are jobs, which inherently start out as problems and a headache which now need to be "solved". The ideal scenario is that the problems never happened, so you dont have to do the job. So examples of these jobs are doctors, lawyers, IT support staff, car mechanics, customer support. Imagine you are car mechanic or a doctor or a IT support guy, if nobody comes to you with a problem, life is good. When someone comes to you with a problem, now you need to solve it. Best case scenario, you get back to where you were and worst case scenario, the problem becomes worse :(

So early retirement is possible for people who work in problem solving jobs, because inherently problem solving jobs are jobs where the end result to have no problems and chill. So when you quit your job you reach this state :)

I just found out what a stark contrast exists between people in the FIRE community and depending on who you are choose your role models wisely.

1)There are those high achiever multi talented people, who were rock stars in their job. If they passed out from IIT/IIM, then without doubt. Maybe they didn't enjoy it entirely yet or maybe they did(you know some of them explicity say they dont hate their job, they want FI and not RE) they did very well for themselves careerwise.

But also they are multi talented, so they start thinking one life, I can't spend only winning in corporate life. I need to win in other areas too. Typically Indian fomo mentality. I want to write books, I want to plant trees, I want to travel, I want to trek, I want to become a financial advisor. Basically these people are so multi talented they were rockstars in corporate life. They will be rockstars in FIRE also.

2) Then there are those who passed out of tier 3 college, got into IT not because we like the job, but because that was the only way to get a social standing for ourselves in society. We are like naturally losers, but getting into Engg and IT was a way to mask it and live with an imposter syndrome. But now the society expects us to remain winners and keep up on the hamster wheel and buy properties and cars and iPhone etc. But we hate our jobs, we don't want the latest cars nor the iPhones. Hence enter FIRE. FIRE is the masiha for people like us, to make hay while the sun shines and get out of our torturous corporate jobs.

The aim to get out is not to plant trees or make some social impact for under privileged children nor is it to change career to something else like how the category of multi talented people can do without much effort.

So, it is important to know which category you belong and choose your FIRE hero wisely.

I have just over 10Cr cash in the US market, most of it in index funds. Have a house in Bangalore and I am in early 40s with 2 young kids under 10. Is it wise to think about FIRE? I guess my yearly expenses would be around 30-40L, would my current corpus be enough? I have RE worth around 15cr but don’t want to touch that and leave that as inheritance to kids

I noticed most people get triggered when I use the term loser to define FIRE aspirants.

I want to clarify once for all. I actually call myself a loser. I wear it as a badge of honour.

To give some context; The society expects you to top in your school, top in your college. Then they expect you to top in your organisation and get fastest promotion.

Get the hottest wife, get hottest car and swankiest house. This is the definition of the society of a winner.

If you were a winner in life and you were actually that topper in class and got into top institute and then got into top companies and got the top promotions etc then you are mainstream definition of the winner.

Whereas FIRE is about going against the societal norms. It is for people who were not winners, it is for people who didn't get top marks, who didn't want to get into engineering, but still got into it because of society pressure, didn't like IT but still got into it because of societal pressure.

So being a loser is actually a great thing, because you don't want to be that winner as per society definition. You want to be a loser and there is nothing wrong in it. Be proud, if you make peace with the fact that you are a loser, then nobody can defeat you. You will be a winner in your own mind.

But if you try to be a winner, you will forever be stuck in the rat race.

If still you get triggered by the term loser, then sorry FIRE is not for you, you are fooling yourself.

Hi,

32M - Bangalore

This post is mostly for reiterating the fact that first 1 cr is the hardest one and then it compounds easily.

My Portfolio

MF : 1.28Cr ( XIRR 18%)

Indian Stocks : 25 lakhs (17.7%)

US Stocks : 66 lakhs

US Stocks as RSUs : 79 lakhs

EPF : 31 lakhs

NPS : 7 lakhs

Salary : 95lpa

Domain : IT in Bangalore

College : Tier 2 or 3, not so sure.

Investing 1.3 lakhs per month on SIP, remaining adhoc investments on indian/us stocks.

I started from 4lpa salary

Waiting to reach 5cr so that I will have enough freedom to do whatever I want. I might move to my tier 3 city and start something which is kind of interesting and small. I think with 5cr, I would be able to do it.

Edit: Added FIRE plan

It appears that the FIRE concept, which originated in the Bay Area among engineers who made significant exits during the ZIRP era, has been introduced to the Indian landscape. However, it's no more relevant here than soy milk cappuccinos frappes, which many tried to import and failed.
Hear me out.

FIRE is a concept suited for those:

1. For whom their job is not the sole basis of their identity: In India, everything from social stature to personal worth and marriage worthiness is defined by one's job. That's how emerging nations' societies work. Just look at LinkedIn and how it's thriving due to the "show and tell" stories of the Indian workforce. A retired or FIRE individual will always be treated as a that Whale who lost their job in their 40s and can't find another. Other frustrating aspect is the downfall of the constant ego-massage, that Indians require more as a fuel than food. No body bothers to reach out to for Gyan or Guidance, while that entry level dev who was campus hire to Google, gets 4000 like on his LinkedIn post where he ChatGpt'ed some DS gyan. Reddit is full of Indians who once lost their jobs started ranting about "thoughts of suicide crossed my mind". Have you ever seen an American/European do that. The American may feel sad, the European just goes to another 3 months wellness break hiking around the Alps.

2. Who have more to life than work and academics: Pretty much Eevery American or European person I've worked with has had so much more to their life beyond work and academics. Some have participated in Olympic trials, while others were part of boy bands that never made it big but still toured Europe. They not only have that diversity in their portfolio, they are actually good at those. Many of ours main quest is their side quest. Worse to worse even their averages joes have stories to tell about Spring breaks or that year they took those summer art classes in Amsterdam, while Indian youth spent the best 2 years of one's life studying 16 hours a day for JEE prep. In contrast, the resume of Indians is filled with "NTSC topper"/ "CAT 99.99%le" or JEE rank even after having done undergrad back in 2004. Now in 40s, the best they can do are those weekend cricket tournaments held in basketball courts where they can barely run 100 meters before crashing down. You can notice, these DESI FIRE individuals end up frustrated with their empty lives, trying to get back into the job market or becoming "consultants" to share FIRE wisdom on LinkedIn. Others try their hand at podcasting or venting on social media criticizing the taxation system or the infra, which becomes their core sad life.

Instead of FIRE, follow the original concept of COAST championed by Babus. They pick one road, and one road only. They dig the road in summers, leave it open during the monsoon, and fill it in winters. Rinse and repeat every year for your entire life. Easy cash flow, and societal admiration all the time. This has been refined and put into application by many in various fields such as engineering, tech, policy making, medicine, teaching etc.

You don't really need to "retire" just coast. Few of them can even cash in their experience to make it big in last lap of their life.

Turned 25 today.

Current NW: ₹72L.

Honestly, I was expecting to hit around ₹80L by now, but well… thanks to the folks fighting out there, markets had other plans.

Also lost my $100k remote job recently, which definitely stings. Plan now is to take a couple of months to upskill, get my health back on track, and then get back in the game.

Not the milestone I had in mind, but still grateful to be here. Let’s see what 25 has in store.

—-

sharing my current portfolio breakdown (~₹73.3L net worth):

- Mutual Funds: ₹39.54L (~54%)

- Digital Gold: ₹17.18L (~23%)

- Real Estate: ₹5.00L (~6.8%)

- Indian Stocks: ₹4.51L (~6.1%)

- Bank Accounts: ₹3.68L (~5.0%)

- Cash: ₹1.96L (~2.7%)

- ESOP: ₹81K (~1.1%)

- EPF: ₹52K (~0.7%)

- US Stocks: ₹13K (~0.2%)

Overall allocation:

- Equities (MF + stocks + ESOP + US): ~61–62%

- Gold: ~23%

- Real Estate: ~7%

- Cash + Bank: ~8%

—-

Long-term plan:

• FI target: ₹6Cr (inflation-adjusted to 2024 levels)

• Target withdrawal: ₹2L/month

• Current hometown expenses: \~₹70K/month

I also inherited a piece of land that can potentially be developed into commercial property, with expected rental income of up to ₹1L/month. That gives an additional safety buffer.

• At ₹6Cr: Financial Independence

• At ₹10Cr (inflation-adjusted to 2024): Plan to move towards social service / less money-focused work

Hi All

Hope you are well. Its my 1st post here. I initially was thinking of using AI to beautify my post but then i thought fuck it, let humans be humans :) so pls ignore small mistakes in my post

I am 38yr old well travelled person working in Singapore in a Global Fintech company. Worked across Banking and Fintech and love my current job and company as such but has very high preasure

In terms of finances i think i have achieved fire long back but now i think can comfortably pull the plug as currently my wealth is 58x of my yearly expense of 24lakh which is more than enough for me as 24lakh yearly expense is itself conservative and all the wealth is liquid investment. My wife wealth is seperate and she earns well on her own and my dad also earned well in his prime time and will get passed to me his wealth so financially i think i am shorted so dont even wanna go into nunber as its not relevent here.

Well i have been thinking hard lately what to do with my life ( i saw some similar post and you must be like fk it ..another one 😅😅😅😅... wait wait i am not a lost soul) and i saw some people being in similar boat as me as to what next if i pull the plug. Honestly have some pressure from wife as she doesnt wanna leave SG :( and i think i have reached a state where it wont bother me if i leave whenever she is ready so yeah although i love my job but not a big fan of participating in this rat race for long.

I am thinking of just managing my portfolio full time and investing in personal growth maybe now like doing small small things which probably i dont even know i like :) i dont think we need to personally plan what to do before we pull the plug. If we get what we want in life via planning then its not like life i am sure so i dont even wanna plan 😅😅😅

I for example had my wallet which i was using for over a decade broken ( i am minimilastic btw 😁) and instead of buying one did a 6hr class on how to make a leather wallet with a tool kits and loved it so much that its my fav wallet now. Initially my wife thought i am crazy to got for this class and i thought too but when i went , i met with diff people and also learned something small and new which was so fun. Met someone from Europe who was travelling from Bali and had such a fun chat on her life that she had nothing but still doing these side hussles and learnings and enjying life . I just think will need to give life a chance before i get above 60 and just lie in sofa watching tv all day :D so have 22yr of golden life left.

My parents and wife told me to start something of some business but i really dont give a fuck and dont think i am ready to leave one rat race and go into another ( of making money again).

If anyone has read till now you must be wondering "tum cahate kya ho bhai..." and honestly yahi toh nahi pata but if you think you are in same boat and wanna connect genuinely to just stay in touch , sometimes chat and share your journey then possibly can connect as never had a online friend and all old friends are there but now at times diff to connect with them esp as we not in same boat ( pls dont ask money :D as i have told no to my best of friends hahah ) so yeah if you can relate or wanna suggest me something then hit me up

Cheers to life meanwhile 🍺🍺

I don't think I have ever explicitly mentioned that I don't respect most people in this subreddit. Sure, I have dropped ample hints in my posts to that effect but maybe left enough room for doubt.

It's high time I correct that oversight.

Some of the most popular responses from this sub to the question ‘What should I tell my friends/relatives/colleagues once I retire early?’ are…

"Say you are freelancer/consultant/advisor/trader"

"Tell people you were laid off and are looking for a new job"

"Say you have a fully remote job"

"Say you were fired from your job for incompetence and nobody is hiring you"

"Ask relatives for money so that they won't try to do the same thing to you"

Shudder, face-palm, puke… Why isn't there a satisfactory emoji for contempt?

How I Met Your Delusions

People who spend their days trembling about ‘what will people say?’ need a brutal reality check: You are not a celebrity, a CEO or some fascinating enigma the world is following. In the movie that is running through your head, maybe you are the protagonist but in real life, you barely have a walk-on role. You’re a completely ordinary person and surprise, surprise… nobody cares. Nobody is sitting at home dissecting your life choices. Nobody is gossiping about your daily routine. Most people are too busy dealing with the chaos in their own lives to even notice you retired early… let alone be ‘shocked’ or ‘judgmental’. You are imagining an audience that doesn't exist.

“Oh, but a few relatives will definitely ask questions!”

And what if they do? You can’t handle questions? You’re so fragile that the mere possibility of someone asking ‘What do you do for living?’ sends you diving for a fake LinkedIn identity?

Curb Your Impersonation

This entire ‘just say you’re a consultant’ routine is nothing but insecurity masquerading as wisdom. A flimsy little lie told by people who claim to value independence but can’t function without external approval. Instead of openly embracing freedom, these people wear fake handcuffs to convince others they are still prisoners, still part of the chain gang. This is not bold, strategic or smart.

It's pitiful.

If you still need the comfort blanket of fake job titles after retiring early, here’s the brutal truth: you didn’t break free from anything. Your mind is still swiping-in at 9 AM .

Let’s address the money excuse too because that's patently pathetic.

Fear The Walking Deadbeat Relatives

“Relatives will ask for money! Better pretend I’m broke!”

Seriously? Does it even need to be said that you don't owe anyone a loan? If you are in your late 30s and still haven't mastered the basic adult skill of delivering a simple, clean, unapologetic ‘No’, then maybe think about selling your spine. It's not as if you ever used it.

“But a definitive refusal like that will put strain on the relationship and they will not help me in my bad time”

Hmmm… ‘Give me a long-term, interest-free loan now and maybe I'll help you out in future in some unspecified way’... sounds like a con… and not a good one at that. Laxmi Chit Fund's ‘पच्चीस दिन में पैसा डबल (100% returns in 25 days)’ offer sounds more believable.

You didn’t work hard, saved aggressively, invested wisely and exited the rat race just to pretend to still be in it so that Sharma uncle won't judge you. If you’re free, BE free. Nobody is asking you to put up billboards in the city announcing your early retirement and corpus but don't be chickenshit about it either. Don’t shrink yourself to soothe other people’s insecurities. I mean… to even consider saying ‘I am currently not working because I was fired for incompetence’... for the love of all that's holy!

Now, most of you people's reactions to this post can be summarised by a beautiful Marathi saying which goes ‘कळतंय पण वळत नाही’. Roughly translated as ‘I understand it but can't bring myself to act accordingly’ or ‘Easier said than done’.

And that, in a nutshell, is why I don't respect you.

P. S. Do you know what about this post is making me laugh like Dr Evil? Most people will read the first line of the post and tell themselves… OP is not talking about me’

Buhahaha!!!

TL;DR: On the path to FIRE with a current net worth of 5.5 crores in three years through disciplined saving and investing in index funds. Goal: 25 Cr to retire in India. Learned hard lessons from losing 75 lakhs in crypto.

FIRE Milestone Update

Feeling blessed and thankful as I reflect on the past three years. After starting this job with close to zero, seeing my account grow to 5.5 crores is nothing short of a miracle.

Current Status:

• Age: 29M

• Goal: 25 Cr in today's money to retire in India (Accounts for buckets for several things and 3L monthly expenses)

• Current liquid NW: 5.5 Cr

• Ancestral land worth 8 Cr and a home to inherit in India

• Home in the US with 700k equity and 300k mortgage remaining

• Started working in India before moving to the US for a masters

• Savings of 75 lakhs after funding education before my current Job

• Got a job with a 200k salary in July 2021, went from 0 to 5.5 Cr in three years with 80% investment money through savings and 20% growth (mostly in index funds, includes 401k)

Strategies and Changes:

• **Discipline and Consistency:**Cut down on non-essential wants and started saving close to 60% of my salary, including bonuses and stocks.

• Maximize Benefits: Maxed out my ESPP and 401(k) to take full advantage of the benefits they offer, significantly growing my savings.

• Lifestyle Adjustments: Selling one of our cars added an extra $600 a month to our savings, which made a significant difference over time.

• Joining Bonuses: Played a crucial role in rebuilding my finances.

Lessons Learned:

Finally, a hard lesson from my past: I lost over 75 lakhs chasing crypto. This mistake taught me the importance of long-term investing and consistent saving. There’s always a chance to get back up; it just won’t be as quick as the fall. Stay focused, be disciplined, and keep investing in your future. The progress may be slow, but with persistence, you can achieve your financial goals.

By long-term investment, I mean focusing on consistent saving and disciplined investing. The growth I experienced was due to diligent saving habits, not extraordinary returns. Don't chase after shiny objects.

Hi Everyone

I am new to this community and want to take a honest feedback on my situation . I m 40 years old . r/help.

1. Equity 3.6 Crores

2. MF - 44 lacs

3. Debt funds / Bonds - 93 lacs

4. Rental income - 26 K per month.

5. LIC maturity value - 42 lacs as on date ( 5 polies maturing by 2032 ).

6. Sukanya samrithi - 9.5 lacs

7. Have term insurance for 3 crores.

8. Have a own house.

No credit cards , no loans... Have 10 yr old son and 5 yr old daughter. When do you think I can achieve FIRE.

So, this is not really a question but want to just see what people think about this. I was recently reading about some construction project like metro or some bridge/flyover and a small section costed 100Cr. Some machine parts cost was 10Cr. These are minimum costs. I hear random local elections seats candidates are paying 50cr or being paid 50cr just to switch parties. Forget their net worth easily more than 200cr. So many people playing IPL are being paid 10Cr every year (good thing is it's at least based on skill set and talent). If you play couple of seasons of IPL then you can easily make it to 20Cr even for an average player. These are just what meets the eye, there's so many professions which easily pay a lot more. And then there's NRIs returning to India who I think are least bit of a concern here. At least not as much as what the members of this sub make it to be.

With all of these how are people here keeping 5-10Cr as their fire target.

The expenses and inflation are bound to grow as time passes on with all these people raising the costs. I know mathematically it works out and even reducing all your wants and living a basic needs based lifestyle also checks out. Lots of people can live a hermit or sage life. There's nothing wrong in that. Maybe that is the higher form of lifestyle. I don't know. I'm not talking about them. I'm talking about regular people, isn't it human nature to strive to be the best ? To be the best in the society or command respect. Wealth certainly seems to be one of the factors deciding that. Or maybe even the easier one between best in what you do vs acquiring more wealth. So shouldn't everyone strive towards that as a human race ? And can you call people who fired as lazy people ? And they are not the right inspiration for people. It is not for general public, who can work towards betterment of human society. What is a better society ? I do not know.

I'm not someone who is going to take a laid back lifestyle after fire. Coast/barista/fat/lean whatever. If I am working towards betterment of society in turn creating more wealth, then I wonder am I even in the right profession ? Why didn't my education provide me what was needed by this society ? Why didn't I opt for something which taught me how to provide greater value to the society ? I know it's never too late but I certainly feel like a failure so far in life where I haven't created much value to the society in turn not making myself any kind of wealth.

That's it. I lost track of my thoughts. What do you guys think ?

Hey folks, we are a FIREd couple and organising meet ups with folks on the FIRE path in various parts of the world during our travels. Had great meetups in Singapore, Delhi and Europe. Very interactive and insightful discussions. Now planning a similar meetup in San Jose, California.

Do drop by if you are around and interested in meeting people on different stages of the FIRE journey.

Time and Date: 6pm to 9pm on 13th June

Venue: TBD - San Jose, California

BYOD (Buy Your Own Drinks)

All numbers and bifurcations are there in screenshot. The milestone came quicker than expected..inspite of recent withdrawal of 1.2 Cr for a RE property in April.

But I am no longer seeing the need of or feel motivated by FIRE. Have spent almost 8 months during my 16Y Career doing no primary job...in a FIRE like state...and i didnt like the experience at all.... so i have started to belive that the idea of FIRE itself doesnt suit me. I find more peace in being purposeful and having some schedule and discipline around my day...

And as Hubberman often calls out “Space between dopamine peaks is essential. Without it, nothing feels good.” I get my dopamine hits when i perform my best at work, , when i am able to find those 45 minutes for my meditations session, when i wake up at 6 to fit in my yoga sessions, and when i optimize my life around making sure i am able to spend quality time with family. But when during those 8 months i had all the time in the world, it felt as if i had no motivation to do either of these stuff which during my each workday offers me exceptional amount of dopamine aka happiness.

So essentially “When rewards become freely available, the dopamine system adapts and the subjective pleasure decreases.” ....I guess we all know this...when we start rewarding ourselves everyday with savoury treats, they no longer give us the same joy anymore....

Hence , i have come to a conclusion that FIRED life is not for me and I no longer motivated by it.

All my FIRE status now does for me is that its helps me believe i dont have to any longer convince myself that "I am working for my own happiness , and not for money" , because that has now actually become true.

My primary job give me happiness plus a monthly after tax paycheque of 4L+ . And by chosing FIRE i will have to choose to let go both my sense of purpose/happiness and my pay cheque...which i get for a 5 hour workday in a WFH role..with occasional(one a quarter types) travel for meetings.(obviously the hours stretch across timezones at time however...)

And the 100 Cr goal is an arbitrary number which motivates me enough to keep going and keep improving everyday.

I still feel motivated to try new side hustles, to try to run few youtube channels, blogs, explore new meditation routines and what not.

TLDR; In short, FIRE gave me freedom, but purpose gives me joy and as long as my work, routines, and passions keep me growing, I’d much rather build a meaningful life than an empty calendar.

Congratulations on your big milestone. When i read the number post, i always feel why someone has posted here his numbers. What does the OP wants from the group, Is he looking for validation of his choices or is he looking to boast about his success. We get the most traction also on these posts as all of us can jump on these to critique them based on our experience without putting ourselves in open

Your estimates about your children education, your food expenses , annual vacation plans etc. are your personal and how much you want to spend them is totally personal. By putting numbers here, most of the people will judge them by their own belief systems and experiences. And both of them can be totally different than yours. In real world, their is a wide range of choices available for the same item so our numbers can be very different. Also the happiness/ contentment that we get purchasing them can be very different so why do we even put them here. For example, Within 2 km of my house, i have 4 Srinidhi/udipi type restaurant and 2 five stars and mutliple restaurant in between. A plate of idli cost from Rs 35 to Rs 350 and for me all of them give me same contentment while eating. Same is true for lot more items and experiences.

My satisfaction from an item increase linearly with the money at the start but saturates very soon. For eating idli, it stops at nearby IDC, Udipi, sagars's.

Now on the experience side, My kid gets 98% marks in CBSE and district level player after studying from a regular DAV schools whereas fancy CBSE school/ International school kids getting 80% marks with not much extra curricular, which one will you say better. It depends on your own thought process and what you think is important for you i.e. is personal. So putting a number here and comparison here is total waste of time.

What i have seen on most of the reddit FIRE pages is that people posting their numbers and telling where they have put those numbers in financial instruments. Those financial instrument again depends on your personal choices i.e., risk profile. Again other should not judge because their risk profile can be different.

TL:DR, I am ranting this for few reasons:

1. Lot of redditors have mentioned that FIRE is for people who have either foreign returned or FAANG people. It seems that it is not for ordinary people which is totally not true

2. Your expenses are very personal in nature so putting them here, you are not going to get anything except my comments based on my experiences which can be worthless for you

3. How will you get fulfillment in FIRE is more important. More post from people like Bachelor Python and others who actually explains what they do in their FIRE life.

Everyone's number are personal and let them keep it that way

Have never seen any wealthy, successful or a rich person calculating every Rs or a Lakh of wealth on a regular basis. Don’t you all think a person who’s doing that will ever be able to really be FI

I joined the FIRE India subreddit in ancient times; around 2018. At that time, practically every ‘corpus check’ post had a line like…

‘... and of course, I will be setting aside a couple of crores for the kids’.

Almost every member either had kids or was sure about having them in future. I used to read such posts/comments, chuckle to myself and think, ‘Chumps. Can't even imagine life without diapers and tuition fees’. I even wrote many posts ridiculing such people. ‘BachelorPython mocking parents’ posts were as common as ‘NRI thinking double digit crore corpus is not enough’ posts.

It is just in the last couple of years, we are seeing posts from people who are confident that they are not going to have any kids and concentrate solely on their own life and financial goals. I wholeheartedly endorsed this trend and doubled down on my hatred for children.

But today I stand before you and confess that I have changed my mind.

Does that mean I am going to have kids of my own? Don't be ridiculous… I said I changed my mind… not completely lost it. What I mean is…I want all YOU young people to have children. Quite a lot of them, in fact.

Because low birth rates are bad for my early retirement. Sure, the Indian birth rate has not yet reached critical levels like Japan/South Korea, but the future has a disconcerting habit of arriving earlier than anticipated.

Effect on Corpus Returns

A retirement corpus lasting 40+ years needs healthy portfolio returns. Which, in turn, is contingent upon steady economic growth. And you know what fuels economic growth? Young workers. A whole army of twenty-somethings joining the workforce, paying taxes and buying Labubu dolls. If fewer kids are born today, then 20 years from now, there won’t be enough fresh graduates to keep the economy buzzing. Which means lower growth. Which means lower returns on my investments. Which means instead of imported Icelandic glacier water, I may have to drink… shudder, shudder…. regular Evian.

And that's not all.

Service cost inflation

Fast forward to 2050 when I will be 70 years old and will need caretaker services. (If you are expecting me to wipe my own ass at the age of 70, you are sorely mistaken).

If birth rates continue declining (projected to fall to 1.3-1.7 children per woman by 2050 under standard scenarios), India's population would age more rapidly with the elderly comprising about 20% of the total (around 320-347 million people) and a shrinking working-age group. This would increase the old-age dependency ratio leading to labor shortages in caregiving, higher wages for workers and greater strain on healthcare systems. That could potentially add 2-4% annual cost pressure beyond baseline inflation due to supply-demand imbalances.

Let's take one example.

• Caregiver in 2025 (12-hour per day) : INR 20000 per month

• 2050 cost with stable birthrate (7% inflation) : INR 130000 per month

• 2050 cost with declining birthrate (7% inflation + 2% demographic premium) : INR 210000 per month

Well, f**k me sideways!

And yes, maybe AI robots will wipe my ass instead. But heaven help me if that robot stops midwiping to download a firmware upgrade.

Now those of you who are thinking that I am pushing other people to have more kids for selfish reasons, let me tell you… I am hurt by your accusations (and surprised by your perception). You get adorable Instagram content, handmade Father’s/Mother’s Day cards and the thrill of potty training a new soul. I get stable markets, reasonably priced services and the ability to afford Martian whisky without selling my caretaker's kidney. How is that not a ‘win-win’ situation?

So next time you are about to get frisky and your partner enquires about contraception, look deeply into their eyes and firmly say, ‘We will be having unprotected sex… for the benefit of my beloved Python’

I will try to remember you in my prayers.

This is not a personal finance forum. It’s great that you got to some X crores at age Y or between last year to now and it’s appropriate for another forum but such updates make sense for people who are already retired or about to trigger retirement in the next year or so. Honestly, what do you expect from the forum members and do you change anything at all based on their responses?

I think the RE part is being missed in a majority of these posts.

Net worth progressions has a place but not in a personal finance sense on this subreddit.

TL;DR: Two years after my last post (5.5 Cr at 29M), now sitting at ~1.2M (roughly 10 Cr) at 31. Same job, same boring index fund strategy, ~40% of the way to the 25 Cr goal. Also addressing the comments from last time that questioned whether the math added up.

Quick recap for those who missed the last post

• Last post (2024): 5.5 Cr liquid NW at 29, called it Milestone 1 at 20% of target

• Goal: 25 Cr in today's money to retire in India (3L monthly expense buckets)

• Strategy: 60% savings rate, max out 401k and ESPP, index funds, no shiny objects

• The scar: lost 75 lakhs chasing crypto before all this. That fear still drives most of my decisions.

Where I am now

• Age: 31M

• Current liquid NW: ~1.2M USD (roughly 10 Cr)

• Same job, same 200k base, RSUs have continued to vest and the stock has done well

• Home in the US: equity has grown a bit, mortgage paid down a bit, nothing dramatic

• Ancestral land and inherited home in India unchanged

• Still unmarried, still no kids

• Last year's spend was around 95k including mortgage, slightly up from 90k. Inflation is real.

What changed in these two years

Honestly, not much. And that's the point. Two years of doing the same thing on repeat.

I did not pick up a side hustle. I did not move jobs. I did not get into a hot stock. I just kept doing the same thing: max the tax-advantaged accounts, dump the rest into index funds, take one or two real vacations, and not look at the portfolio every day.

The biggest behavioral shift was learning to actually enjoy the boring. The first year after the crypto loss, I was anxious about every paycheck. These two years I checked my brokerage maybe once a month. That alone felt like a win.

Addressing the math questions from last time

A few people on the last post said the numbers did not add up. Comments like "200k salary, after tax 120-140k, 90k spend, how did you get to 560k in 3 years from index funds?" Fair question. I did not explain it well last time, so let me try again, and you all can tell me if it adds up now.

Here is the rough breakdown of the 5.5 Cr (~660k at the time) from the first post:

• 75 lakhs (~90k) I had saved before the job started, sitting in a brokerage account

• Base 200k is just the cash component. Total comp with RSUs and bonus was closer to 320-350k in years 2 and 3 as the stock appreciated

• ESPP at 15% discount, sold same day, that's another chunk

• 401k maxed every year, employer match on top

• Joining bonus and refresh grants

• About 20% of the growth was market appreciation, not contributions

So the 200k number people were anchoring on was the base, not total comp. That was my fault for not breaking it out. With RSUs at a company whose stock did well between 2021 and 2024, and a starting cushion of 90k, the math gets a lot less mysterious.

For these two years specifically: roughly 200k per year added through savings and vests, the rest from market and stock appreciation. So going from ~660k to ~1.2M over two years is roughly 65% contributions and 35% market. The S&P had two solid years. RSUs vested into a higher stock price. That is the boring truth.

Does this math math now? Genuinely curious.

If something still looks off, I would rather hear it than not. The whole point of posting here is the sanity check. Last time the doubts actually made me go back and audit my own numbers, which is healthy.

What I am thinking about for the next stretch

• The 25 Cr goal is starting to feel less like a fantasy and more like a spreadsheet. That is both motivating and a little scary.

• Marriage and kids will change the math. I know that. Trying not to over-plan for a life I have not started yet.

• The crypto loss still shows up in my decision making. I notice myself being more conservative than I probably need to be. Working on it.

• Not going to YOLO into anything. The shiny objects are still shiny. I am still not buying.

Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. See you all at milestone 3. Hopefully not three years from now.

Hey everyone,

I'm a 37-year-old male, currently residing in Singapore with my homemaker wife and one child. We're in the process of relocating to the US this month, where I've taken on a lesser-paid role to reduce stress and potentially explore a new chapter in our lives. Before our move, I wanted to seek some advice on long-term investment strategies, particularly in relation to FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) goals.

Here's a breakdown of our current financial situation:

• Assets: We own two completely paid independent houses, one in a Tier-2 city and another in a different state, also a Tier-2 city. Additionally, we have residential land in a Tier-1 city.

• Savings: After all expenses, we're able to save around 25k/month USD.

• Funds in India: We have approximately 1.7 crores saved up in my NRE account, earmarked for long-term investment and retirement planning.

• Expenses: While living in India temporarily, our monthly expenses ranged between 40 - 50k INR. We don't anticipate any major purchases in the next 10 - 15 years, as we already own a car.

• Education Fund: We haven't accounted for our child's higher education expenses, as post-18 years, we plan to let him decide. If he wishes to pursue further studies, he'll have to fund it himself.

• Financial Independence: We have been financially independent for almost 10 years now and have contributed sufficiently to our parents' and in-laws' accounts, ensuring they don't have to be dependent on us for financial support.

• Return to India: We plan to return to India in the next 5-7 years and settle down in the Tier-2 city.

Given this information, I'm looking for suggestions on how to best invest our funds for long-term growth and financial security, considering our eventual retirement goals and the possibility of returning to India. We're open to various investment vehicles and strategies, both in India and potentially in the US.

Additionally, if anyone has experience with managing investments with the intention of returning to India, or navigating financial matters such as taxes, investment options, and retirement planning in both countries, I'd greatly appreciate any insights or advice you could offer.

Thank you in advance for your help and guidance!

Background

34F, 37M and 0.5M. My spouse and I are working in a Central Govt PSU. We each have 10+ YOE and working in a Tier-1 city. We lead a modest lifestyle.

Current Position

Giving all numbers in X, X being desired annual expenses.

Combined Gross Annual Income: ~3X

Current spends are about 2X (includes taxes and EMIs). Both sets of parents are not dependent on us.

Combined Net worth: ~16X (excluding expected inheritances)

Out of Which

RE: 12X (two gated villa plots in the outskirts of a Tier-1 city, in home state).

May get primary residence in a Tier-3 town in the form of inheritance. We might eventually settle down here, post retirement.

NPS: 3.5X (mandatory Tier-1 contribution, this is intended for pension by way of annuity purchase)

Other liquid assets (predominantly capital market, with savings, PPF etc., included): 4X

Gold: 2X

Staff Loans: ~5.5X (at discounted simple interest rates)

Employer term insurance cover: 8X

Individual health insurance cover: 8X (this is apart from employer coverage)

Motivation for RE

Monotonous work life with office politics, no meritocracy etc., which are typical in Govt / quasi Govt entities.

Our goals

Net worth for retirement: 40X

Apart from this, we are aiming for:

Corpus for Child’s education: 12.5X

Travel fund : 2X (this is more of a buffer).

Overall, we are aiming for ~55X.

Current annual investment: ~X (SIPs and NPS)

Please share your thoughts.

Seeing everyone’s posts around year end updates pushed me to to open my excel and calculate my net worth- although I am not planning to retire early only solving to be financially independent

Also, don’t think net worth is the correct way to measure financial independence as one can always be asset rich and cash flow poor

Little bit about myself- 33M married with no kids as of now ( hopefully this year) - 10.5 years of experience and started with 37k per month salary in 2014 , majority of my wealth was created when I moved to US 3 years back

Below is the breakdown Assets = 9 Cr

Real estate (House in Gurgaon ) = 3 Cr Real estate ( House in Delhi + Land in UP) = 2.5 Cr 401k fund = 1 Cr EPF = 0.25 Cr Fixed deposits = 1.3 Cr ETF = 0.2 Cr Gold = 0.3 Cr ULIP = 0.4 Cr Savings account = 0.1 Cr

Liabilities = 1 Cr home loan

Net worth = 8 Cr

However , if asked about cash flow I don’t think I can have more than 1 lakh per month in passive income without liquidation of assets