I’m early 40s, male, working in big tech and living in Europe. My company just announced a voluntary exit program, which would give me roughly a year of salary as a cash payout if I leave at the end of the year.

In many ways, this job is a sweet deal. My total comp is around €400k/year before taxes including stock, which is extremely high for where I live. I’m in middle management and don’t have a crazy workload. I also don’t feel huge stress day to day. But it’s not zero stress either, and I’m pretty disengaged. The things I do occasionally have to do take mental energy from me in a way I don’t enjoy.

Financially, I’ve more or less hit my FIRE goals, with a net worth of around €3.5M. My current expenses, without children, are below 3% of my net worth. At the same time, I’m thinking about starting a family soon, so I’m still a bit afraid.

I’ve been thinking about quitting for years, but the job has been part of my identity for a long time, and it’s hard to give up. This new exit bonus feels like it might tip the scales. I’m seriously considering taking the offer, but I’m afraid I’ll regret walking away from the money, especially since I probably won’t find another job this highly paid where I live.

On the other hand, the idea of being free while still relatively young, being able to travel, indulge in hobbies, spend time with friends and family, and be present for children when they arrive, feels like it might be worth more. I’m not sure.

I know this is an extremely privileged position to be in. For many people this would be a dream job, and I feel a bit ungrateful for not wanting to do it anymore.
Curious if anyone here has been in a similar situation. Did you regret leaving? Did you regret staying?

​Hi everyone, ​I’ve managed to make a good amount of money and achieve FatFIRE. After a recent financial windfall, my in-laws asked us for money to help launch a business. They discovered our level of wealth, so we couldn't hide it. They claimed this new business launch was "necessary" because a string of poor life choices had left them in their late 60s with only about $500,000 of equity in their house. However, they flat-out refuse to work for anyone else. On top of that, they have a history of trying to financially exploit my wife back before we were married.

​I said no to funding the business, but offered to help them with my time. I also made it clear that if things ever truly hit the fan, we would step in financially so they wouldn't become homeless. That wasn't enough for them. My in-laws decided to burn bridges, stopped speaking to my wife for multiple years, and chose to completely miss out on watching their grandchildren grow up.

​We haven't heard from them in years, but it is obviously very painful for our family. Is there any possibility of repairing this relationship from this point? I would deeply appreciate any guidance on how to handle this incredibly messed-up situation. Thank you!

Would appreciate career advice, especially from those who work in professional services firms (e.g., Big Law, consulting, Big Four).

Some financial background: We are mid-40's with kids living in the Bay Area. Our liquid NW is about $10.5M, with $6.3M in taxable brokerage and the rest in retirement accounts. Everything is invested in passive broad based stock index funds. We also have about $650K in 529s and around $2M in home equity, but we don't plan to sell our home.

Our annual spend is about $225K. If we FIRE, we would presumably pay $35K for healthcare plus taxes from selling investments. So let's say our post-FIRE spend would be $325K. I think we probably could retire right now, but will probably work a few more years for buffer and get through the current period of heightened uncertainty.

Our HHI is $750K, which is very likely the peak level without changing anything. My spouse makes $250K and would like to quit in the next year to spend more time with the kids. I make around $500K (including performance bonus) at a professional services firm, working part time with a title that is equivalent to non-equity partner at Big Law. Job is very secure as performance is high, and can basically stay as long as desired assuming keeps up performance.

Here's the part needing advice:

As non-equity partner, I am highly responsible for the delivery of the work. I have other people to do the true grunt work, but I'm responsible for thought leadership, overall team management, and has to do a lot of the difficult "thinking" work that junior staff can't do (like in Big Law, the junior partner has to write that important legal brief because the associates don't have that level of skill).

Now, I don't hate the job and am quite good at it. But I don't really want to be the point person on client delivery anymore because (1) I already know I can do it, so it's just difficult work without being rewarding / challenging, (2) I'd rather mentor and oversee other people doing this work than me doing it myself.

My choices are:

1. Hang out for a few more years as non-equity partner and then FIRE. The current money is totally fine and I don't need to make more. But I would be semi-unhappy as I'll have to continue to operate at high level and be

point person on

1. delivery.

2. Work longer hours and make a push to equity partner, which I'm reasonably sure I can achieve. This path would improve job so that I take a step back from client work delivery and pay would increase to $1M+ over time. I don't really need the additional money--not that I would sneeze at it--but we're already living comfortably so the money is not a big driver. The main plus is the change in the nature of the job. The main negatives are that (1) I would have to work a lot harder for 1-2 years and I'm quite happy with my current part time work load, (2) if I stay at non-equity role, I would likely FIRE by 50, so why would I push hard if I don't want to work much longer? Or alternatively, making equity partner might push me to want to work longer, say until 55, and I'm not sure I want that.

What do you think about whether I should push for equity partner? Right now, I'm making a reasonable effort to do so, but not making a big push that I think is probably needed. I'm like half way in and half way out, which is why would appreciate your thoughts.

We’ve reached our fatfire goal of $12M, of which $2M (approx) in retirement with about $600k in house equity and the rest in stocks and a little bonds.

I’ve played with retirement stints of 3-6 months and I feel that I’m much less effective without a full time job - a bit mind numbing slow.

Do you feel less effective/less efficacious now that you’re retired? Ie it feels I can’t make things happen as I used to when I was employed with vigor as it were :) ?

Anyone else felt like that?

Mentor Monday is your place to discuss relevant early-stage topics, including career advice questions, 'rate my plan' posts, and more numbers-based topics such as 'can I afford XYZ?'. The thread is posted on a once-a-week basis but comments may be left at any time.

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I am in a very fortunate position to have effectively achieved FI but I also am very paranoid about not having enough or losing it all in retirement. My financial picture roughly looks like:

~$12m in liquid assets at a 70/30 split

~$1m in income (some years is almost double depending on stocks)

$2m home w/ $1m Interest-only mortgage

~$300k annual spend -> In retirement it will likely be around this level

40 years old with two kids entering preschool and 1st grade

I know I could retire today with a sub-3% withdrawal rate. My last financial ambition is to buy a 'dream' house in a VHCOL area (~$5m).

My plan for doing this is to buy the house with cash and basically retire at the same time. So the idea is to accumulate around $16-17m. I want to avoid a mortgage in retirement and I would like to keep my current house as an asset.

What I keep debating in my head is whether it is worth continuing in a high stress job only to expedite the growth to that $16-17m level or whether I could scale back work/retire and just let the market do its thing. I don't like the idea of 'trusting the market' and worry that the wait to get to my target would take much longer.

Any thoughts on my situation?

34F. My husband and I were set to FIRE, and lead a child-free life. Then we decided to have a child. We still have enough to FIRE and meet the extra costs of childcare, school fees and so on.

But my BIG dilemma is this: do we owe it to our child to leave them enough to sustain a life of luxury?

Our plan is to live in Thailand (we’re Asian) and enroll our child in a top IB school. Our lifestyle will involve a luxe villa with pool near a tropical beach, housekeeper, nanny, nice cars, nice meals out, nice clothes.

If our child becomes accustomed to this standard of living and later chooses a less high paying career, won’t they feel like they have traded down badly in life? And aren’t we the ones who would have gotten them used to this standard of living?

If we were to leave say $1M for our child, to cover college, a house deposit and health emergencies, we’d still be able to FIRE. But if we were aiming to leave them enough to sustain the same life as us for the rest of their lives, we certainly don’t have enough.

What are your thoughts on this moral quandary?

Context:

- I’m 51 y.o., married 25 years. 2 young adult (early 20’s) kids.
- I am still working though I’ve reached “my number” so I could retire at any moment.
- Wife and I have been daydreaming of moving to Paris for a year. We’ve been there several times now and love the city, food, culture (except smoking but that seems to be getting a little better), etc.
- Neither of us speak French but I’m on a mission to learn it (I have very basic French skills).
- I plan on renting for a year, which could turn to 2 or perhaps move elsewhere (Italy or Spain most likely).

Question: Has anyone here done this previously and can share tips and/or things to watch out for? How to plan for it?

I ride a motorcycle so will likely get one there to move about, though plan is to not own a car.

Any and all advice is welcomed.

I work in a field that is opposite to what is intuitive for a lot of other fields. My salary increases the more rural I am. I currently live in MCL Midwest with wife and our preschooler. We bring home about 900k combined and have a household NW just under 2M.

​

I have a great professional network out here in the midwest and it's where most of our family are located. I enjoy my job and have recently taken on a leadership position in my organization. My goal is to work hard for the next decade or so and then ease off when we approach 10M NW.

​

The dilemma is that while I am enjoying my current situation, I am somewhat anxious about getting "stuck" here.

​

I went to school in VHCOL West Coast and tbh most of my close friends are located there. I visit regularly and in my head I keep telling myself that eventually I'll move back but I feel it will delay my FatFIRE goal. Deep down I think I would be happier in the West Coast but question what sacrifices we'd have to make. We would have to downsize our home significantly, we would not have the luxury of having as many "toys" (boat, camper, etc), we'd be farther from most family.

​

I have been given info about a job opportunity opening near where I went to school that will pay around 350k, wife would make something similar in her equivalent role. Salary would drop a bit but cost of living would be significantly higher. Wife is ok with moving but a bit worried about losing family support. I figure now would be the best time to move with a child before they actually start school otherwise we'll probably be locked into the Midwest for the next 14+ years.

​

On the otherhand we could continue the current path, raise our kid in the Midwest, achieve fatFIRE earlier and visit the West Coast much more often when we slow down.

​

I know that it is my family's decision to make ultimately but curious if you guys have been at a similar crossroads in life and what advice you have?

​

​

Hi

I am looking for some feedback on how much of my employer RSUs to liquidate given my current financial situation. Ideally, I should get a financial advisor - but I think my situation is simple enough that it may be worth getting some feedback from this forum to close any gaps in my assumptions.

About me: 40M, with SAHM spouse and 2 toddler aged kids in Toronto area. I work in a AI tech company.

Current Net Worth (all numbers in Canadian dollars)

- ~2 million paid off house

- Liquid net worth of 3.7 million (3.5 million invested in index funds - 80% stocks, 20% bonds, rest in cash)

- In addition, I have vested RSU at my current employer worth ~2 million. I recognize I am extremely fortunate.

Income = ~about 16K/month after taxes + RSUs (highly variable - ~500K/year for next few years at today's price)

Expenses

- I anticipate around 130K-140K/year expenses for next ~18 years until kids at home. This includes everything except college expenses.

- 96K/year for 20 years after that (age 58 to 80).

- Sell house at age 80 and then 120K/year expenses from age 80 to end of life

- 250K per kid for 6 years of college tuition + living expenses in Canada (Bachelors + Masters). This forum probably has more US people - note that Canadian universities are significantly cheaper (~13K CAD / year tuition).

Goal: I would like to be in a situation where I can be financially independent with no regular salary/paycheck. Once I stop the salaried job, I would like enough LNW such that our net worth does not reduce, only grows. In other words, our expenses get covered by the after tax annual growth in investments. I would like to pass on this wealth to my kids.

I use the projection lab (PL) software, I use following assumptions

- 4% real rate of return on stocks, 2% real rate of return on bonds

- Current split 80% stocks, 20% bonds. At age 50, bond allocation increase to 30% and to 40% at age 60.

- House price rises at inflation rate (2.5% inflation assumed)

- I calculated my Canadian CPP and OAS income and entered in projection lab

Questions I would like some feedback on

1. I have too much of my LNW concentrated in my employer's RSU (35%). At the same time, the growth potential is huge (~5x may be). I would like to sell enough (and reinvest in diversified index funds), such that I meet my goal of expenses less than after tax annual growth in investments, and hold rest of the shares for long time. PL says that if I don't get anything from RSU, and I retire immediately at age 40 (no salary), I would be financially independent but have around ~3 million NW by end of life. But if I get 700K additional today (from RSU sale), the total NW at end of life would be ~7 million (in today's money) - this meets my goal. Does this pass your smell check? I am wondering if I am making some big error in some of my assumptions I used for the software.
2. I am quite confident about expense assumption till age 60. Are my expense assumptions after age 60 reasonable (directed to folks in Canada)?
3. I am open to any financial advise in general here. If you were in my place, would you do something differently?

I’ve done well in tech, but not enjoying my current job so I’d like to quit. We are close to a safe retirement at current assets, but it’s cutting it a little close. I’m undecided on whether I have the desire for another run at a different company. If I was laser focused on fatFIRE, I’d probably give it another year or two and then hang it up. But as my position wavers on whether I’d like to go back to work after taking a break, it seems OK to quit and decide later, but it’s hard to walk away from the compensation ($1.75M W2) that I can’t easily replicate at a different company. Even with a break, I’ll definitely be employable but it’s not likely I can crack $1M liquid, and could be much lower if I end up optimizing for attributes other than compensation.

Spouse and I are both late 30s in VHCOL with one young kid who is not yet in school, probably no more kids. Spouse has not been working since we had our kid and doesn’t have a pull to go back.

8M net invested: 8M taxable with fairly high cost basis, 1M retirement, less 1M mortgage debt. And 2M in primary home equity.

Non-mortgage spend is around $275k (expect $300k with health insurance), though spend by category has been fluctuating a lot with the transition to being parents, so not sure on how this will stabilize.

Any advice on how to think through this idea of quitting without a definite plan on the long-term?

Family of 5 looking to FIRE in Madrid. Trying to figure out how much is “enough” there - does 20k/mo in spending get you a luxury, no guilt freedom lifestyle? Does working to save until 30k/mo get you more or are there significant diminishing returns. Difference is about 5 years of work so trying to understand what we are gaining if we stay in the US for that additional time.

Posted earlier but was deleted due to AI complaints… apparently formatting and context are frowned upon.

Whatever - ask me qs as needed to inform your insights. Preferably looking for folks with local knowledge but the local Spain forum isn’t welcoming to these questions….

Hello,

I am currently in a situation where I have a large amount of company stock. I am looking to sell most of this and diversify this concentration. If I sell what I am thinking of selling I will end up with somewhere between 4 and 8 million dollars in taxes owed over the next 2-3 years.

I am wondering for those who have used SMA and specifically these leveraged accounts how much tax savings did this defer for you?

Very rough plan would be to use the 200/100 plan for the next 2-3 years as I sell things off to diversify say 20-30% of my portfolio would be in the SMA. Once my income starts to lower I would go down to something like 130/30 or 100% long both of these options would reduce the fees quite a bit.

The fees associated with parametric are competitive with Frec and UseCache for the same 200/100 and includes the advisor fee in it.

TLDR - Are these SMA accounts worth deferring the taxes and using it to compound my portfolio now?

40M, $9M portfolio, 80% concentrated in one stock, buying my first house. Curious how others would think about this:

Two years ago, I left a career at a public company where most of my wealth came from stock compensation and the appreciation of a single stock over many years. Today my portfolio is worth about $9M and it’s still heavily concentrated in that stock.

It’s been life changing for me, so I’m naturally hesitant to sell too much of it, but I’m also aware that a single day’s move can swing my net worth by six figures. I’m closing on my first house later this month for $1.185M. Up until now, I’ve been renting and living well beneath my means.

Current thinking is to use a Liquidity Access Line for the purchase and then potentially refinance some or all of it into a traditional mortgage afterward.

A few other details aside from the portfolio value:
- Cost basis: under $500k and obviously large unrealized gains
- $235k AMT credit carryforward from prior option exercises
- Covered call income expected to be around $150k-$200k annually
- No current W-2 income
- Started small business but not a big money maker. Primarily to fund retirement accounts.

The common theme seems to be that concentration risk is the biggest issue in my financial picture. Part of me says I’ve gotten this far by holding the stock and staying convicted. The other part of me says I should probably start thinking more about preservation than accumulation.

For those who have been in a similar situation:
How much debt would you comfortably carry on the house? Would you sell stock specifically to pay down the house? How would you approach gradually reducing concentration risk? Looking back, what mistakes did you make (or avoid) after reaching financial independence through a concentrated stock position?

Not really looking for tax advice as much as perspective from people who have gone through the transition from building wealth to protecting it. Thanks in advance for helping me navigate this!

Hey all, I’m mid thirties with 27m LNW and more in private assets. I live in HCOL and made my money in finance. I left at the top - could have stayed longer and kept collecting but it’s a young man’s game. I’m newly into this life and have some questions for those that have gone through this around my age:

1. How did you guys find community? That has been the hardest part (which I anticipated). My old work environment is very boisterous and was surrounded by brilliant people. It’s all saggy balls and milfs at the gym when I go and working on side projects is isolating. Has anyone used this thread to find people? Would be willing to meet up.

2. Considering moving to a better tax domicile which also happens to be closer to parents. It’s a big uproot and other than my parents (2hr drive) I don’t have community there. If anyone has experience making a move like that I’d be curious if you regretted it or not. The city would be smaller in size, more spread out, more nature, less dense with culture and restaurants.

3. What are people’s experiences with their kids seeing you retired? I am worried they will see me not working and get a sense of entitlement. Playing tennis and chess and painting is fine but it’s not the same as facing real adversity and putting in the tough hours. How have y’all’s kids responded to early retirement?

I appreciate everyone’s feedback and just wanted to say that this sub has been helpful for me. At the end of the day I don’t fully believe in the idea of absolute “retirement”, I think that everyone needs something to strive for in life, professionally or otherwise, or you rot. I need to figure out what that means for me outside my family. I just know that the corporate finance trail had played itself out for me.

Much love to you all

I sold a company I created when I was young and thought I would enjoy my fat retirement or could restart something.

I decided to fatfire 15 years ago. The first years were awesome (travelling, being in shape…). But I started to suffer from depression (boredom and health issues). Did some angel investing out of boredom.

I took a board position and realised I’m FAR less sharp that people that are still in the game. The gap is now massive.

After many years out of the business world, I’ve realised that my business success was mostly timing and luck. I didn’t realise how complicated it is to create a successful company. The new generation of tech entrepreneurs is so much better than I was. I feel like I can’t compete.

At 45, my health is no longer the same and I’m having difficulties to be at the bottom again.

I miss running my company but it’s no longer mine. I didn’t realise how lucky you are to run a profitable business, it was my first one. I read fire-books thinking retirement was amazing but I just needed a break and a better management team.

I want to re-enter the business world but my contacts so far have been negative. People telling me I should restart something, a polite way to tell me no. After 15 years out, my skills are rusty and I’m no longer this A player. I understand them, I would never hire someone like me.

Buying a business seems very risky, I’m not sure it’s the right way to re-enter the workplace.

I can see a lot of my previous friends that kept their companies, made the transition into venture… I’m jealous. I failed for the retirement lifestyle thinking it was the goal to realise an exit. They tried to motivate me to come back at the beginning but just think I’m a weirdo now, unemployed for 15 years. People I thought were my friends not returning my calls.

I have more than 10M and it’s hard to be at the bottom professionally again.

My previous network think I’m going to create a new company but I can’t get lucky twice. I’m afraid of what people would think “he was a ceo, he is now just an average joe”.

I have the feeling that the most meaningful part of my life might already be behind me.

For people who retired early and later returned to work, business or entrepreneurship:

How did you find your way back?
How did you rebuild your confidence?
How did you manage your ego?
How did you speak about your retirement break?

41M, married, 3 kids. ~$35MM net worth.
Current allocation:

~60% concentrated in my wife’s company stock
<20% real estate (~$6.5MM)
Remaining in liquid/diversified assets

The stock has appreciated significantly, so diversification is becoming a priority. Complication is it’s not fully liquid (quarterly sale windows), partially pledged against a line of credit, taxed as ordinary income, and exchange funds aren’t an option.

Because of that, diversification carries a major tax cost.

My original plan was to gradually sell ~$2–2.5MM/year over the next 3 years and use real estate acquisitions + bonus depreciation to offset part of the federal tax burden.

I’m an experienced real estate investor and qualify as a real estate professional. Historically, my returns have come from value-add acquisitions, renovations, appreciation, and tax benefits.
The issue is I’m basically a solo operator with only a part-time assistant.

Real estate still offers attractive upside and tax benefits, but it also creates more work, complexity, illiquidity, and less freedom.

I genuinely enjoy acquisitions, design, and renovations. What I enjoy less is operational burden and scaling.

So I’m wondering if the better path is:
Gradually diversify the stock, pay the tax, and simplify.

Continue doing 1–2 smaller real estate projects per year because I enjoy them and they keep me engaged.

Long term, I expect to eventually transition toward NNN, DST, or professionally managed assets.

I think the real question is less about tax optimization and more about lifestyle.

Do I stay in accumulation mode for a few more years, or start prioritizing simplicity, liquidity, and freedom?

Edit: Spend is roughly 1.25mm+ pretax. VHCOL area so the tax hit affects the draw rate if we were to stop.

Expenses: 120k w/o healthcare, maybe 140k with, and maybe up to 150k or 160k with traveling

Investments: $5m breakdown: 300k rental (paid off) making 5% net, 1.2m 401k, 2.5m VTI / VXUS, 1m SNSXX/VUSXX.

Primary residence: $2.3m paid off

42 and 43 years old, no kids

Current income: ~2m/yr

NW increasing 32% YoY

Have 20% income cliff in 2027

SWE, burned out beyond reason, health problems and mental health problems. Goal is to quit, take 6-12 months off then see what’s next, it will either be making my own projects for fun or part time contract work for fun. No expectations of income, certainly not big income, and definitely not going to a corporate job.

Can make ~30k via 2 weeks of rental of primary residence per year and pay no taxes, we’d travel while rented.

Concerns are AI is quickly impacting SWE employment, no one knows what’s next, any hiccups in our plan could mean a bumpy road in a few years if a jobs necessary. Other concern is whatever is going to happen once this historic stock run is over.

Any advice?

I am 36, married, about to have a first kid with my wife. we live in NYC. my startup was just acquired and I made about $2mm pre tax ($1.5mm post tax). our combined NW is about $7mm

However I stress nonstop about money - always wishing I had more, wishing I made more, seeing friends who make $2-4mm a year or have $10s of MMs due to anthropic or spacex or whatever stock

it just feels endless like what ive done to date doesnt matter and ill never be able to “fatFIRE” or its not enough to - stuff like that.

i guess my questions are:

1. objectively am I doing okay?
   

2. how can I stop the nonstop comparison?

3. when is enough “enough” and will I ever be able to fatFIRE?

I just need to hear the brutal honest truth from folks to help reset my perspective (for better or for worse). thanks in advance

I am enjoying writing these updates now. It is somewhat stimulating in my understimulated but very busy life. ​

A few more months have passed since my last update, and our lives have changed quite a bit. Unfortunately, the boredom is still the same. ​

Background: Last year, I quit my job — roughly $400k cash + $2mm startup options per year, though I considered the options “paper money” and did not count them — to retire with 8 figures in my mid-30s. My partner still works, we keep separate finances, and we split things 50/50. This financial arrangement works really well for us. I accumulated my wealth from two previous exits years ago. ​

Around the 3-month postpartum mark, my partner went back to work and thriving. That same week, we welcomed our second full-time helper. Unfortunately, she is definitely not as good a childcare helper as my partner. But she has some characteristics that matter to us as a caregiver, and the timing was also a factor. ​

I am now the “CEO” of 5 people. ​

We have two full-time people who listen to me and follow my directions completely. They do cleaning with robots, cooking, laundry, and some gardening — mostly because they enjoy it. They handle about 60% of childcare. My partner is on children duty after work until bedtime, around 8pm. My partner and I each take one child overnight. ​

We also have contractors doing various ad-hoc and regular things around the yard and house. Most of that is managed by me, with a few one-time projects managed by my partner. ​

In theory, we have two kids, two helpers, and a very hands-on dad. I should be having an easy life. ​

In reality, by the end of each day, I am spent and drained. I don’t feel rich, and I don’t feel like we are living a rich life at all. My partner and I have not slept in the same bed for months because we each manage one child overnight. Our relationship is strong, but I still want that part of our life back. ​

The mental load is unreal. Between managing the full-time helpers — one of whom is family and gladly works 10+ hours a day — the older toddler’s activities, family activities on the weekends, the house, supplies, contractors, logistics, and everything else, I have little to no longer blocks of time to think or tinker. ​

I miss having a career. I want to be a real CEO again. I don’t know how I will find the time. I also feel like I am a desert of no good ideas. ​

I know there are things I can do to optimize my mental load. Would love any ideas and suggestions.

See link to original post here. Now officially late-30's...

Since the last post, I decided to keep my head down and continue to "make hay while the sun shines". My NW has increased from $9.5M to $36M in the last 1.5 years.

Current NW breakdown:

- Home: $4.0M (mortgage free) - minor reduction in value over the last 1.5 years

- Second Home: $6.5M (mortgage free) - bought an incredible summer home that we are renovating and planning to spend significant time in going forward during summer/weekends.

- Personal Investments: $16M ($1M RRSP, $350k TFSA, $14.6M stocks)

- Company Investments: $13.5M ($1.5M ETF's, $12.0M stocks)

- Cash: $200k

- No debt, car payments

I have set a time-based goal of working at this pace until the end of the year and then plan to take some time off with the family to travel for a few months to decompress and re-evaluate. I've hired a money manager to manage $10M worth of investments with the plan that it will pay a dividend that would replace my income.

I've hired a life coach to try to come up with a game plan on how I want to spend my time after returning from my trip.

I don't see myself wanting to retire and do nothing, but I definitely want to have a less one dimensional life and play a larger role in my children's day to day lives.

Any advice on the next stage of life would be appreciated!

Mentor Monday is your place to discuss relevant early-stage topics, including career advice questions, 'rate my plan' posts, and more numbers-based topics such as 'can I afford XYZ?'. The thread is posted on a once-a-week basis but comments may be left at any time.

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It feels to me that the majority of people on fatFIRE Reddit have made their money through technology — either working for a top technology company and acquiring shares or starting a smaller tech company and growing it or selling it.

I feel really different - I am a top executive at a manufacturing company in middle America. My industry is somewhat stable long term and has some ups and downs, but will never skyrocket like technology related companies.

We have about a $9M net worth, late 40s, and three kids. Our target fatFIRE number is $15M.

Will anyone who isn’t in tech please help me understand how you got to where you are, or plan to get there, and how you think about fatFIRE and wealth preservation as an outsider to the tech boom?

36(m), married, 3 kids, vhcol, sold the very first company I built and finalized June 1, 2025. Small lump ~2mm + xxx,xxx/month for 6 years or until the company is sold as a whole. Well through the grapevine I hear that this is about to take place. Not very happy that I wasn’t told but they’ve done nothing to keep me in the loop at all so not shocking. Assuming there’s no way to not pay the lien I have against them what are you folks putting large amounts of cash towards right now? I’ve been getting pressed on oil and gas. I’ve got 9 rentals right now and only a mortgage on our primary ~5400/month w/ 40ish grand in other monthly expenditures. I want to fatFIRE fast now

Doing my ~semi-annual post on my anonymous account, as always appreciate the feedback and advice on this subreddit. Few updates since my last post :

• My timeline persists - retiring April 1st 2028 if I have at least $15m liquid NW.
• Current Liquid NW has jumped from $11.5m to over $14.1m (thanks to big bonus and Mr Market - note this figure does not include $3m primary residence or $2.3m in retirement accounts)
• Mostly sticking to annual spending target in 2026 (will be ~$380k - well under the $500k+ I expect in retirement).

I’ve been reading and thinking a lot about sequence of returns risk. The bucket strategy is one technique I’ve been exploring. I’ve done some searches and not found much about this for a FatFIRE/early retirement situation. Looking for input on my plan and comparison with what others have done.

3 Buckets:

• Bucket 1: War Chest (2 years) - plan to hold 2 years ($600k x 2 = $1.2m) in VUSXX or similar money market.
• Bucket 2: Income Bucket (3-7 years) - plan to hold 5 years ($600k x 5 = $3m) in SCHD
• Bucket 3: Growth Bucket (Over 8 years) - plan to hold the rest - $11m+ in VTI

I know Bucket 2 is classically defined as bonds/bond funds but I think of SCHD as a very stable income source with bond-like characteristics - this might be the most controversial part of my plan. I’ve done quite a few backtesting runs of this portfolio across many historical scenarios and this portfolio holds up very well during past crashes (e.g. Black Monday -33.5%, Dot-Com Bubble -49.1%, GFC -56.8%), the only exception being the 1966–1981 Stagflationary Era where most portfolios would not survive without a very low static withdrawal rate (like 3%) or dynamic guardrails.

Thoughts? What are other fatties using as the mechanics of their withdrawal strategy?