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Hi Paddler,
Being similar to you in terms of age and finances, give or take some, I too have been asking basically the same questions. From my own experience, the level of job stress is the determining factor whether or not I want to continue in my profession.
I am in a situation at work right now which I can more or less control the amount of stress (or BS factor) that I have to deal with. It has not always been this way, but due to some changes beyond my control, it ended up like this. Initially, I was actually not quite happy with the management change, but after a while, I started to see a silver lining in this. I am at a point in my career where I am not insecure, have the necessary experience and expertise to be highly desired. So I said, well, if I just focus on the work part, and stay away from the BS and politics (which is usually the source of stress in most jobs I believe), then I'll continue for at least the next 2-3 years.
With a stable income outlook and some good possibilty of making 20% - 40% more in the next 2-5 years, I believe my decision makes even more sense. On the other hand, I am not putting all my eggs in one basket. I am also exploring some alternative business which could keep me busy should my current situation change.
Do you think you can reduce the stress level at work even if that means you somehow change your current role? This might sound hard at first, but don't forget your ultimate goal, which is to spend quality time with your family and save for FIRE.
As for your last question about how much is needed to feel "rich", if the definition of rich is in the material sense, then you're rich as long as you can afford your material needs. I think people (myself included) tend loose sight of this simple fact and equate happiness with material abundance. Of course we all want to be able to feed our children, send them to good schools, be able to afford health care insurance, and live in dignity when we are old and unable. But if we travel abroad especially to less wealthy places in the world, you will find people who are much happier living day to day with much less than Americans. Our society conditions us to think and believe that we need more and more materialistically in order to be happy. And "rich" in this country is defined by $ period. If this is the pursuit, then no amount of money will make a person feel "rich". Sorry for the blabbing...
Cheers,
laison612
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