FIRE by 40? 2M in a HCOL area possible?

[refi]

Hi ! =)

TLDR - I met my initial goals, 2M by 40, but working OMY is always better, right? Maybe time for a sabbatical? Anyone call it quits late 30’s/early 40’s? How did it go for you?


Just making a quick check-in update, again, for my own tracking and seeing the growth in my thoughts and hoping for any feedback/guidance. Is this the right subheading to make this post?

Age: 40, single, HCOL

Salary = 320k/ bumped up salary + side gig

NW = ~3.3m
Cash = $425k
Stocks = $755k
401k/IRA = $630k
HSA = $6.5k

Properties
Prop 1 - val - $425k, paid off, rent: $2025, HOA: $295; cash flow = $1550/mo
Prop 2 - val - $740k (owe $315k), rent: $2550, HOA: $485; cash flow = $300/mo
Prop 3 (Primary) - val - $600k (owe $220k)
Prop 4 - val - $300k (owe $180k) rent: $3600, cash flow = $1400/mo
Prop 5 - val - $560k (owe $360k) rent: $5250, cash flow = $1800/mo

Current Outgoing: $4500/mo = $2000 (food, utilities, services, etc..) + $2500/mo for mortgage on primary (13 years left on 15 year ARM) and HOA

Some thoughts/ realizations:
- to stabilize remote investment properties 4 and 5, it took WAY longer than anticipated; around 2 years. I finally fully rented every unit and am cash flowing well now. Realized, If you want to rehab remote, it takes a while to turn and raise rents, but it has and I'm pretty glad I made those efforts. I am in contract to get one more and expect the same, but looking forward to it.

- I doubled down on individual stock picking (vs. ETFs). Luckily I've been tech heavy and it's done significantly better than the S&P500 (3x-4x better). Worked out in the current market.

- With this downturn, I was pretty happy holding that 10-15% (of my NW) in cash. It enabled me to pick up some things on the cheap. Again, WAY TOO MUCH CASH, but it made much more comfortable and in the end was better for me and allows me to pick up property deals.

- Still holding my low yielding properties, but hoping to do something with the property this year when my renter’s lease is up.

- Work is still pretty miserable, but I haven't actively pursued anything else. I don’t think moving jobs will solve things if everything I do is comparison to FI.

- I need to take a step back and look at life priorities. I think I’ve been overly focused at FIRE, I’ve lost sight of things that make me happy.

-------------------
Open Questions:

When is enough enough? My initial post target was $2M + primary real estate paid at that time = ~$2.6m. I’ve passed that and I’m still working. I could honestly just pay off my primary and just have an outgoing of $2,000 and be pretty well set; I don’t spend much except for food or travel. Main things that stop me:

- These are my prime earning years, shouldn’t I continue to work, it seems I’m leaving cash on the table?
- Do I want a better forever home? I could work 5-10 more years and I could live in a $2M home and have way more money.
- Not married and don’t have kids, but haven’t ruled them out.

Was thinking time for a sabbatical? Maybe time for some soul searching?

 

[Toocold]

Congratulations on hitting FI!

There comes a point when it is no longer about money (because you are set) and more about your life goals. What do you want to accomplish in your relatively short life and are you getting that from your current position? When I reached FI, I still had some career (and mission) aspirations I wanted to accomplish that led me to work 5 more years, and I recently pulled the trigger.

Soul searching is good. I don't think you'll find that your life's mission will be about a bigger house. I find that the bigger the house, the more maintenance and energy you need to put in, and that in itself becomes a chore.

 

[street]

Can't help you on the questions you asked, but I would like to say you have done very well and have accomplished a lot.

Congratulations.

 

[brokrken]

- These are my prime earning years, shouldn’t I continue to work, it seems I’m leaving cash on the table?
- Do I want a better forever home? I could work 5-10 more years and I could live in a $2M home and have way more money.
- Not married and don’t have kids, but haven’t ruled them out.

Was thinking time for a sabbatical? Maybe time for some soul searching?

1. You should only continue to work if you enjoy it. You don't need the money and you can't get that time back.
2. Do you need/want a better home? DW and I discuss this all the time. We could afford a nicer home, but we really don't need it. So, to us it would be a waste of money.
3. I now caveat what I said for #1 and #2 with marriage and kids change everything. Both are expensive, especially the latter. Also, both typically require that you stay in one place for a period of time, mainly for schools or your wife's career if she has one. Just a couple things to consider.

 

[HI Bill]

1. When is enough enough?
2. These are my prime earning years, shouldn’t I continue to work, it seems I’m leaving cash on the table?
3. Do I want a better forever home? I could work 5-10 more years and I could live in a $2M home and have way more money.

1. The common answer to #1 on this forum is "when you've had enough, and you have enough." The more complete answer is when you've had enough and have enough to satisfy your wants and needs for the rest of your life.
2. You will always leave cash on the table, at whatever age you retire, unless you become disabled. At your earnings rate and age, I would suck it up and w$rk another few years to bulk up the investments, allow them to grow, and improve the future quality of your life (house, travel, toys), if those matter to you. After RE, if you realize you want to take up sailing, racing, or flying, and can't afford it, you'll be miserable or have to go back to w#rk to afford it.
3. That's your call. I'm w#rking for a better 'forever' home as a decent 3/2 with a pool where I lives runs about $900K-1M, and I also want to do a lot of travel after RE.

You're young. Life and your health and desires will change. You may get bored after a few years of ER, and go back to w#rk. You may get married, and you may get divorced. Most of my FIRE friends have done this, although not always doing what they did in their 'main event' career.

P.S. I'd pay off all of your properties before RE. I couldn't/wouldn't want to deal with the knowledge that I had debts, even with positive cash flow. YMMV.

You need to nail down your RE budget, if you haven't already. Taking your positive cash flows from your properties, and subtracting taxes, you're close to your budget, but it's not clear if your budget includes health insurance, repair fund, emergency fund, etc. Most here budget at least 1% of property value annually for maintenance. I'd suggest running FIRECALC after you figure out your RE expenses. My gut feeling is that you're close, but not there yet.

Best wishes!

 

[aaronc879]

You are FI so continued working should only happen if you like the work. Sounds like you don't. Can you go part-time/contract? You mentioned a sabbatical. If that is an option then I don't see why not to do that. Take time off and see how you like not working. Maybe it becomes permanent.

 

[retire to nature]

Congratulations on hitting FI!

There comes a point when it is no longer about money (because you are set) and more about your life goals. What do you want to accomplish in your relatively short life and are you getting that from your current position? When I reached FI, I still had some career (and mission) aspirations I wanted to accomplish that led me to work 5 more years, and I recently pulled the trigger.

Soul searching is good. I don't think you'll find that your life's mission will be about a bigger house. I find that the bigger the house, the more maintenance and energy you need to put in, and that in itself becomes a chore.

This is why I was lost about my life goal too after hit FI. I was vaguely thinking to the next step was a better home in nature, but it will be a burden too. I am not planning to have a big family, so big land or big house is not necessary but still longing for living in nice land.

 

[njhowie]

If you want to retire, I think that all of the rentals are baggage that you don't want to be carrying.

Granted, you indicate good cash flow. However, we're in strange times. Renters believe they have power to dictate new terms to their rental agreements, stop paying, and decide when they will pay. In the interim, landlords have their hands tied - they currently can't evict those who decide not to pay, and lawmakers appear to be favoring renters, not really caring about the landlords...who obviously still have their mortgages, maintenance, and taxes to pay.

Maybe you have great renters, they all pay on time, all have kept their jobs, and everything is wonderful. However, you need to run through some "What if" scenarios. Personally, if I were in your shoes and looking to retire, I'd sell at least two of the rental properties. If half your renters would decide to stop paying, that would be roughly $6500/month out of your pocket, and you'd be paying for them to live in your properties! Who knows if you'd ever recoup missed rent payments?

In any case, consider the worst case scenarios and if you'd be comfortable and not stressed about it.

 

[Sojourner]

Age: 40, single, HCOL

Salary = 320k/ bumped up salary + side gig

NW = ~3.3m

This is very roughly where I was when I semi-FIRE'd in my mid-40s about 5-6 years ago. My NW and annual comp were a bit lower than yours, but in the ballpark. Also single and no kids, just like you. The biggest difference, from what you've described, is all your rental real estate and that you live in a HCOL area. For me, just my primary home in metro Atlanta, a MCOL area.

Work is still pretty miserable, but I haven't actively pursued anything else. I don’t think moving jobs will solve things if everything I do is comparison to FI.

I need to take a step back and look at life priorities. I think I’ve been overly focused at FIRE, I’ve lost sight of things that make me happy.

For me, I knew it was time when I rarely felt anything but dread on weekday mornings, thinking about trudging into the office for yet another day of the same old soul-sucking routine. I was confident that I was FI, but I wouldn't have given up my very well-compensated senior-level job unless I was really sure that I had no desire to ever go back or to make that kind of money again. And in your situation, making over $300k/year, I would have wanted to be even more sure about that before walking away. IOW, I would have stuck it out a few more years—especially in my early 40s—if my job was only "pretty miserable" and not intolerably miserable.

These are my prime earning years, shouldn’t I continue to work, it seems I’m leaving cash on the table?

My two cents: Yes, you should continue to work and bank that $300K for a few more years, unless a) you would rather do anything else Monday morning than go in to your job/office or b) you have run your numbers and can't imagine any reasonable scenario in which you'd need (or really, really want) that extra $300k, $600k, $900k etc. that you'd bank by working a few more years. You're looking at possibly a 50+ year retirement, so having some significant padding and buffer to cover unexpected costs, and/or fund luxurious lifestyle upgrades, is worth serious consideration.

 

[Starsky]

You're still very young, so you may wind up spending more money for a lot longer than the average retiree. It depends on what you want to do in retirement and how much monthly income you have to spend. You can retire. You have enough to do it, but there's not a huge cushion depending on your spending habits and unforeseen expenses. Having more money will definitely make your retirement better and give you more freedom.

You owe $1.1M+ on your rentals which is payable whether rented or not. (Hopefully they're not AirBnB rentals.) Your rent to value seems excellent on #4 and #5 but a lot less good on #1 and #2. If you could flip your underperforming properties and get ones that are more like #4 and #5, you're all set financially. Or you could cash them in and use the proceeds for a different [market] investment with a higher return. FWIW, In theory, with such a long timeframe, you will pay off your rental [and primary] properties before you are 70 which is an additional $1.1M in net worth accumulating to you along the way.

You have a lot of money in the market and some people are very comfortable with that as a source of dividend or growth-based retirement income. How do you see the market for you as a source of annual income? That answer could help you decide how you want to balance your overall investment portfolio.

You clearly have a lot of options and are lucky to have a great paying job. If you aren't dying to retire, a few more years might be a good play to have plenty of cash to do whatever you want. If you need a break, a sabbatical would be a smart move too - assuming you can pick up your career afterwards. It would definitely help you understand the cash flow situation a lot better. It would let you try retirement for awhile and see if you like it. Having a more expensive home may not be as attractive as you think, unless it's more about moving to a nicer area and quality of life. Whatever you decide. Good luck!

 

[refi]

Thanks for the replies, gave me some insight.

You owe $1.1M+ on your rentals which is payable whether rented or not. (Hopefully they're not AirBnB rentals.) Your rent to value seems excellent on #4 and #5 but a lot less good on #1 and #2. If you could flip your underperforming properties and get ones that are more like #4 and #5, you're all set financially. Or you could cash them in and use the proceeds for a different [market] investment with a higher return. FWIW, In theory, with such a long timeframe, you will pay off your rental [and primary] properties before you are 70 which is an additional $1.1M in net worth accumulating to you along the way.

Maybe you have great renters, they all pay on time, all have kept their jobs, and everything is wonderful. However, you need to run through some "What if" scenarios. Personally, if I were in your shoes and looking to retire, I'd sell at least two of the rental properties. If half your renters would decide to stop paying, that would be roughly $6500/month out of your pocket, and you'd be paying for them to live in your properties! Who knows if you'd ever recoup missed rent payments?

Seems like varied feedback on the Real Estate. I've been invested in properties for a while and seen a steady increase in rent over the years, without too much tenant hassles (knock on wood). I do have to up my lower yielding properties, but overall, I generally enjoy the less volatile swings vs. the market; I like to see checks come in monthly. I guess a good litmus test is to see a continued stability over the next year or so for my newer rentals given the current economic/health turmoil. I guess a better question, is if anyone has retired with more real estate centric investments and seen changes? Overall my equities vs. RE split is around 50/50, so I do have some diversity in both. Properties aren't AirBNB and cash flows account for 5% repairs for the last two properties. The first two don't but rarely have repairs; small condos.

For me, I knew it was time when I rarely felt anything but dread on weekday mornings, thinking about trudging into the office for yet another day of the same old soul-sucking routine. I was confident that I was FI, but I wouldn't have given up my very well-compensated senior-level job unless I was really sure that I had no desire to ever go back or to make that kind of money again. And in your situation, making over $300k/year, I would have wanted to be even more sure about that before walking away. IOW, I would have stuck it out a few more years—especially in my early 40s—if my job was only "pretty miserable" and not intolerably miserable.

Heh, i'm somewhere between "pretty miserable" and "intolerably miserable". At my current spend, i'm 1000% FI, BUT if i get that bigger house, have kids, etc... that's another story. Again, that's more of a personal decision and probably my biggest decision and probably the crux of this post;mid-life crisis dilemmas. Appreciate the feedback about the pitfalls of getting a bigger house.

You have a lot of money in the market and some people are very comfortable with that as a source of dividend or growth-based retirement income. How do you see the market for you as a source of annual income? That answer could help you decide how you want to balance your overall investment portfolio.

I actually feel the opposite, I don't think i have enough money in equities. I think it will be a split between RE and Equities. Currently, I'm more into broad ETF ad growth with some dividend return (VTI, MSFT, AAPL, TGT, etc...) and a couple tech unicorns. Getting about 10k/yr in dividends, so not relying on it. My goal is if I could just live off of RE returns which i'm kind of at now (or very close). Or if paid off my primary mortgage with cash, I'd be there and then some.

 

[pj.mask]

If you are 40, working a demanding job and managing rental properties when do you plan on marriage/kids?

I’d recommend you enjoy some time together with a spouse as two adults before having some babies. That completely changes the dynamic that you will hopefully return to 20 years later.

Just an observation that if you are super busy with work, working more may inhibit the ability to find a spouse and negating the need to save the extra money. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.

You have plenty, I personally would want to rid myself of the rentals prior to kids (or retire so you aren’t juggling both work/rentals)

 

[Katiek]

I didn't work all the details, but it seems like you could have enough to live, but that you're still young and your goals may change. Remember that a bigger house comes with bigger taxes and upkeep. I'd suggest fining a home you like, but evaluating how it fits into your overall goals.


How do you feel about your job? Do you enjoy it or do you dread it? Or maybe somewhere in between. It's easy to let your job consume you and your free time - years pass faster than you think they will. If your job is leaving you stressed, consider if there are options to work part time or at another job more suited to your passions. How hard would it be to get another job in your industry if you decide you want to work in a few years?



Being FI allows you to consider your options. If you do retire, what do you want to do with your free time? Will that take more money? A wife and kids change the story as kids can be expensive, but that may also heighten your desire for a job that allows you more time to be with them. They always talk about retiring "to" something - what is that for you? You have a lot of options and it's good to take some time and consider which ones really work for you.

 

[Gumby]

.....


My two cents: Yes, you should continue to work and bank that $300K for a few more years, unless a) you would rather do anything else Monday morning than go in to your job/office or b) you have run your numbers and can't imagine any reasonable scenario in which you'd need (or really, really want) that extra $300k, $600k, $900k etc. that you'd bank by working a few more years. You're looking at possibly a 50+ year retirement, so having some significant padding and buffer to cover unexpected costs, and/or fund luxurious lifestyle upgrades, is worth serious consideration.

Just want to note that he won't bank $300k per year. He is single making $320k per year. After federal tax (35% bracket), state tax (his profile says PNW - assume he lives in OR not WA, so 9.9% bracket) and FICA, he'll only net about $193k per year.

 

[djfiii]

Congrats. Very similar stats. And very similar mental struggles.

I'm 42. I live in SoCal. NW is currently around $3.5m, but going up quickly because of rapid spikes in income. Every day, I wonder if today is the day I should pull the plug though.

Married, no kids, no plans to have kids. Two dogs. Primary house is small, but in one of the nicest areas of LA, works for us and worth $1M, mortgage is only $400k. Could pay it off and walk. Annual income now approaching $1M (combined between the wife and I). Building a fancy mountain home in Montana for another $2M, but will rent it out when not using it.

Dilemma is, when to quit? I own a 10x unit apartment building in Long Beach, worth $2.5M, with $1.5M in debt on it. The two houses, each with mortgages. Around $1.5M in cash & marketable securities.

In the end, same boat - lucky to have accumulated what I have, and even luckier to have the ability to accumulate more. But I have also lost sight of what makes me happy, and care less about the money every day.

 

[refi]

If you are 40, working a demanding job and managing rental properties when do you plan on marriage/kids?

I’d recommend you enjoy some time together with a spouse as two adults before having some babies. That completely changes the dynamic that you will hopefully return to 20 years later.

Just an observation that if you are super busy with work, working more may inhibit the ability to find a spouse and negating the need to save the extra money. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.

Yes, i know this, but I haven't made it a priority, sadly. Especially the part where i'm hyper-focused on financial growth and busy. Thank you for the call out.

Congrats. Very similar stats. And very similar mental struggles.

I'm 42. I live in SoCal. NW is currently around $3.5m, but going up quickly because of rapid spikes in income. Every day, I wonder if today is the day I should pull the plug though.

Married, no kids, no plans to have kids. Two dogs. Primary house is small, but in one of the nicest areas of LA, works for us and worth $1M, mortgage is only $400k. Could pay it off and walk. Annual income now approaching $1M (combined between the wife and I). Building a fancy mountain home in Montana for another $2M, but will rent it out when not using it.

Dilemma is, when to quit? I own a 10x unit apartment building in Long Beach, worth $2.5M, with $1.5M in debt on it. The two houses, each with mortgages. Around $1.5M in cash & marketable securities.

In the end, same boat - lucky to have accumulated what I have, and even luckier to have the ability to accumulate more. But I have also lost sight of what makes me happy, and care less about the money every day.

Welp, it sounds like your opportunity cost is a little big higher. At $1m annual income, I'd work a couple more years, just b/c $1m/yr looks so big to me. Though someone who makes a fraction of what I make would probably say the same to me. To the advice earlier... do you find your work intolerably miserable? If not and you enjoy work, why not keep working? Also, as noted earlier, Sometimes we just need to step back and re-evaluate what we're saving for and is it leading to our happiness.

Maybe I'll check in a half year and see where you're at. Good luck!

 

[Toocold]

Thanks for the replies, gave me some insight.

Seems like varied feedback on the Real Estate. I guess a better question, is if anyone has retired with more real estate centric investments and seen changes?

I pulled the trigger and I have rentals. They are all paid off and the majority of them are managed professionally. I only need 1 of the homes to cover the property expenses. This year, several have turned over and we've had no issues getting them rented. Only 1 tenant lost their job but their lease was up and we used their security as last rent. We've been fortunate and location is everything.

In terms of overall portfolio, I like our rentals as a core (semi-) passive income for our normal living expenses, and they represent less than 1/3 of our net worth and have been a stabilizing asset vs the market. I would feel uncomfortable relying on one or two asset classes.

I like that our primary home and cars are paid off. Lots of flexibility.

 

[djfiii]

Yes, i know this, but I haven't made it a priority, sadly. Especially the part where i'm hyper-focused on financial growth and busy. Thank you for the call out.





Welp, it sounds like your opportunity cost is a little big higher. At $1m annual income, I'd work a couple more years, just b/c $1m/yr looks so big to me. Though someone who makes a fraction of what I make would probably say the same to me. To the advice earlier... do you find your work intolerably miserable? If not and you enjoy work, why not keep working? Also, as noted earlier, Sometimes we just need to step back and re-evaluate what we're saving for and is it leading to our happiness.

Maybe I'll check in a half year and see where you're at. Good luck!

Actually, the real opportunity cost is our time. I've had a few tragic reminders of that in the last ~2 years or so.

And yes, $1M/yr sounds huge when you're looking at it from $320k/yr, but that's combined and my wife is about $250k of that, and you're right in observing that we all think that way. I work for guys that make $2M/yr and have $20M NW, and they work for the guys that own everything and make $10M/yr and NW in the $100M - $500M range. At some point it's just ego, vanity, and a need to prove to yourself that you're good enough to operate at that level too (which doesn't drive me).

I used to enjoy my work, which is what made me good enough at it to get to where I am. But I don't anymore. So I'm just formulating the exit strategy, likely another 18 months because I have some significant bonuses that vest at the end of 2021 if I'm still around. Between now and then, I'm refinancing debt to lock in low rates, making sure my debt service levels will be safely low enough that passive income sources easily cover them, etc. In the process, I'll try to rediscover happiness not rooted in being good at my job.

 

[refi]

Interesting turn of events, sounds like I might be able to get a severance package, debating if it's worthwhile now. It would around $150-$200k. A quick list of pros/cons.

PROS
Paid Time Off in a lump sum pay, a good chunk
Ability to work on side projects
Actual time to look for a more relaxing job
Spend time dating
Sleep
Get into shape

CONS
Limits my ability to purchase real estate (i.e. - get some loans)
Health insurance is expensive
A large chunk of my cash flow disappears if I don't get another job
Economy has a huge number of questions marks upcoming
Can't travel anywhere now
Might not be able to get the same pay as now in next role (or maybe I'll get paid more?)


I was mulling a sabbatical in my first post, maybe this is the push I was looking for?

 

[TheHobbit]

I'll tack on my story for comparison, as I'm similar to some of the other posters here. Unmarried, no kids, early 40s.

NW is $4.5M
$3.1m stock/bond portfolio - 75/25
Primary Residence #1: $1M w/ 400k owing
Secondary Residence #2: $1.3M w/ 440k owing

Why do I still work? First, I've never made more money in my career, and I like what I do. BUT... I'm also mindful that I only get one go at this life, so even though I like what I do, I can't see myself doing it for much longer. There's another chapter of my life coming -- FIRE, and I'd like to see what it is going to be like. Secondly, at some point the value of time far exceeds the incremental value of the money. I won't be much happier with $10m vs. $5-6M -- in fact with ~$5-6m, so why trade the time in for money which doesn't matter? This is the my calculus.

Like others here, I'm at the point where I'm setting the stage for my retirement, I'd like to top up the nest egg to $4M (~$11.5k/month in spending @ 3.5% SWR) and then get as close as I can to paying off the two properties, final NW should be ~$6M if all goes well. In retirement I want a "forever" home base and a secondary residence somewhere.... one will be somewhere warm, the other in a LCOL/MCOL area with seasons and sane state tax rates.

I'm basically "time boxing" this setup stage, I'm giving myself 18 months, and I end up where I end up. After that, there's going to be a morning when I'm looking at the sunrise over some beach (hopefully from a beach house I will have ), with a flight to catch to go back to work the next day, and I'm going to be like "I'm done." -- and I won't get on that plane.

The other tidbit of advice I'd give, is also keep an option open to be "semi-retired", you don't have to just go from working like a dog to zero. In fact it might be wise to ramp down over a 2-3 year period, which gets you darn close to that $2m house. I still hold this option open for myself, but it's a bit tricky in my field to pull this off, so I might be forced to "sprint" to the finish, though perhaps working remotely might be an option given all the COVID-19 changes to how many of us work.

 

[tmitchell]

I'm in a similar situation but 10 years older and half as wealthy.

First off, you have a ton of money for your age, so I really wouldn't worry about that. The more pressing question is your happiness. You have the privilege of youth, wealth, and I assume health. That would point me to the sabbatical.

How likely or unlikely is it that you would be able to get another job? At your income you must be good at your job and therefore some one somebody would want on their team. So what if you take a year off? If/when you start the job hunt you just be honest: "I saved up enough money to travel for a year and consider how I wanted to shape my career for the next decade." Probably the person hiring will think you're amazing and offer you a job on the spot. Also s/he'll be incredibly jealous!

Or maybe you realize during your sabbatical that you want to do a completely different job. Maybe it's lower pay and just covers your expenses, but you'll have the ability to watch your money grow in the background. In ten years it will have doubled and you'll have had a chance to work on something you like a lot better.

 

[refi]

So just a quick update here, I ended up taking the severance. It just made sense:

1. I could probably get a job back in industry if somehow I start doing cocaine, making it rain, and lost all my money
2. I'm getting paid to do something I've been wanting to do forever, take an extended time off.
3. I don't have to go to work, no more meetings where i'm questioning my life choices
4. I can see how my cash flow holds up to not working.

An additional note, my portfolio has skyrocketed back up with the fed-fueled money injection and i bought another property for "passive" cash flow, my nw sank to 2.8m in March during the plummet:

NW = 3.3m -> 3.7m -> 3.85m (when severance check comes in).
Cash = $425k -> $300k, bought a property
Stocks = $755k -> $975k
401k/IRA = $630k -> $715k
HSA = $6.5k -> $7k

Properties
Prop 1 - val - $425k, paid off, rent: $2025, HOA: $295; cash flow = $1550/mo
Prop 2 - val - $740k (owe $315k), rent: $2550, HOA: $485; cash flow = $300/mo
Prop 3 (Primary) - val - $600k (owe $220k)
Prop 4 - val - $300k (owe $180k) rent: $3600, cash flow = $1400/mo
Prop 5 - val - $560k (owe $360k) rent: $5250, cash flow = $1800/mo
New Prop 6 - val - $465k (owe $280k) rent: $4000 cash flow=$1500/mo, target rent raises to hit $3,000/mo conservatively.

So total conservatively around: $6,550/mo

Dont' really know what the next few months will hold for me, but hoping to enjoy this time off Who knows? I might like it.

 

[tmitchell]

So just a quick update here, I ended up taking the severance. It just made sense:

1. I could probably get a job back in industry if somehow I start doing cocaine, making it rain, and lost all my money
2. I'm getting paid to do something I've been wanting to do forever, take an extended time off.
3. I don't have to go to work, no more meetings where i'm questioning my life choices
4. I can see how my cash flow holds up to not working.

An additional note, my portfolio has skyrocketed back up with the fed-fueled money injection and i bought another property for "passive" cash flow, my nw sank to 2.8m in March during the plummet:

NW = 3.3m -> 3.7m -> 3.85m (when severance check comes in).
Cash = $425k -> $300k, bought a property
Stocks = $755k -> $975k
401k/IRA = $630k -> $715k
HSA = $6.5k -> $7k

Properties
Prop 1 - val - $425k, paid off, rent: $2025, HOA: $295; cash flow = $1550/mo
Prop 2 - val - $740k (owe $315k), rent: $2550, HOA: $485; cash flow = $300/mo
Prop 3 (Primary) - val - $600k (owe $220k)
Prop 4 - val - $300k (owe $180k) rent: $3600, cash flow = $1400/mo
Prop 5 - val - $560k (owe $360k) rent: $5250, cash flow = $1800/mo
New Prop 6 - val - $465k (owe $280k) rent: $4000 cash flow=$1500/mo, target rent raises to hit $3,000/mo conservatively.

So total conservatively around: $6,550/mo

Dont' really know what the next few months will hold for me, but hoping to enjoy this time off Who knows? I might like it.

Will be curious to hear how this goes for you. Keep us posted & congrats!

 

[refi]

Less than a month into this sabbatical/Early FI, I received an opportunity to interview for a new role. If I get the role, it would pay around $500k/yr. With that said, every bone in my body says I should I relax and enjoy where i've gotten to. I LOVE not having to worry about work, the Sunday dread, the everyday dread, and have kept myself way more than busy with my daily activities. For those already FIRE and overly ambitious folks, how do you relax and focus on what you love rather than what makes you the most money? Up to this point, I've been hyper-vigilant about making money and having all my decisions, even sometimes at the sacrifice of health and relationships, focus on the accumulations of wealth. Even the thought having to prep for this interview gives me anxiety. Any advice would help!

 

[Toocold]

I would see how the interview goes and see whether you would like it.

Here is my framework for decision making. For context, I'm a bit older than you, have had highly comp'd positions, and have a withdrawal rate of ~2% (including a travel budget of $25k), so I don't need to work ever.

There are two conditions where I would return:

1) I love the company, people, role, and mission. It's something that I can sink my teeth into and I will (actually) have a positive societal impact.

And/or: 2) It will have a reasonable shot at a meaningful impact on my net worth. While I have more than enough, if I could 10x+ my net worth, I would do it. This requires that I have substantial equity. The way I see it, I don't need incremental increases in my net worth, but if there is an opportunity to truly leave a lasting legacy, it's worth my time.

Good luck!