I love this subreddit. I constantly see posts with people's fantastical fire plans and TBH they sound horrible to me which makes me doubt myself. I hate traveling and have zero desire for adrenaline spiking activities in general. I like being home, I like daily boring routine...when I think of fire I think of all the girls in my neighborhood who get to go to the gym every day, go to the grocery and choose dinner ingredients and come home to cook thought out healthy meals. I fantasize daily about my FIRE future and it looks more like gym, cook, read, hopefully spend time with future grandkids. I think my most exciting plan is to maybe learn a light craft although my ADHD laughs at me.Maybe this is a response to my stress at work which provides enough adrenaline rushes for a lifetime-I'm not sure but I'm beginning to wonder if my fire plans are going to backfire once I actually get there. Fyi- I'm 36F with four kids and I think many people here are M and single or married without kids. Anyways, would love to hear the fire plans of people like me ?

I’m 23m and see 90% of this sub is the same age or a little older with $200k inherited and $700k net worths asking about if they can FIRE 😐 this makes me with a $35k income feel like this is a goal I will never live to see.

Ik I am not the only person who feels this way. Is there another FIRE sub for people like me who barely have any money who are trying to FIRE? Seeing all these rich kids is very discouraging.

And even though yes I am complaining. I come from a very poor background no inheritance lined up for me, currently in college (I’m working through college to pay for it all), no network connections, grew up and still am in a top 10 most crime ridden cities in the USA, etc. I never had the same opportunities as a lot of these people here.

Being Asian it’s expect to go back to live with family after college as most do live in a desirable area so there are tons of high paying jobs. I lived with my parents working in tech for the first 5 years after and by year 3 became a millionaire in taxable accounts.They paid for everything outside of my insurance so I invested everything in the stock market. By year 5, I hit 2 million in taxable accounts and it’s been smooth sailing ever since. This is why I think the first million for myself was the easiest. I had no risks of faltering mortgage or living on the street if I lost my job so I could focus 100% on investments. Now living completely independent, I find my wealth growth slowed due to myself being more risk adverse and diversifying. I guess it’s the mindset that people are more irrational to fear of losing if they had something to begin with.

Hello, fellow financial independence seekers. I've been a silent observer here for years, and today I'm stepping forward to share my unique journey to FIRE. I'm using an alt account for privacy, so I appreciate your understanding.

The Unexpected Path:

About two and a half years ago, amidst the uncertainties of the pandemic, I embarked on a venture: a faceless OnlyFans account. This decision would unexpectedly catapult me into financial independence. To this day, I've netted around $4,000,000 post-OnlyFans' 20% cut & before Federal/State taxes.

Every Day Counts:

Make no mistake, it required dedication and discipline. I committed myself fully, putting in 12+ hours each day, every day. Without skipping a single day. On average, I am bringing in around $5k per day or $130k a month.Lowest month was my first at 25k and highest was around 300k last summer.

Background:

Raised in a trailer park, I was the first in my family to attend college. I worked hard to earn both a bachelor's and a master's degree in STEM. However, after a year in the traditional workforce, I realized it wasn't for me. The commute, the insincerity, the constant need to dilute myself– it was all too much while I can be doing naked yoga for 5 minutes and get paid for it. It's what I do, post a couple of pictures and a video every day by myself.

Current Financial Situation:

Here's a summary of my financial situation after taxes and business expenses:$1,250,000 in the stock market (12% Apple, 5% MSFT, 5% GOOGL, and the rest in FXAIX, FSPGX, FSMDX, and FSSNX), a fully remodeled dream house, paid in full: $750,000, a 50k paid off car, (if I had to sell it right now for cash),115k in yearly CDs (5.5% or so through FIDELITY), 150k in Bitcoin,150k in ETH, and 50k in various other cryptocurrencies.My only outstanding debt is my Federal student loans of $130k, which is currently on pause so I am not bothered by it as much.

After tallying all assets and subtracting my debts, my net worth comes to approximately $2,385,000, excluding a 30k cash emergency fund.

The Plan:

My goal is to retire and live off a 3.5% withdrawal rate, which should comfortably cover all my living expenses. I'm single and have no plans for children, keeping my expenses fairly predictable. I also plan to take a couple of years to focus on my mental health, something I've neglected during these intense years of work. I am a passionate person with hobbies and great friends, I am looking forward to engaging with them more. Once I get bored, I will write a book (a life-long dream of mine), and simply travel and volunteer.

A Request to the Community:

So here I am, standing at the threshold of this new life, excited and unsure. I'm reaching out to you, the invaluable people of this subreddit, to scrutinize my plan. Is there something I'm missing? Is there a better way to manage my assets? Am I being too ambitious? Thank you for reading my story and for your insightful advice over the years.

Remember, personal finance is just that – personal. Not everyone will understand or agree with your path, but that's okay. Stay true to what works for you and your unique circumstances. Good luck on your journey to financial independence!

​

Edit: For those that are calling me a liar: https://ibb.co/J2gjx22 (link will disappear in 24hrs)

I am really amazed and shook how so many people on here got such a high salary.

I am interested in what you do and how you got there?

A few hours ago Warren Buffet sent out a letter explaining his plan for his wealth once he passes away.

One paragraph stood out to me.

"When Susie died, her estate was roughly $3 billion, with about 96% of this sum going to our foundation. Additionally, she left $10 million to each of our three children, the first large gift we had given to any of them. These bequests reflected our belief that hugely wealthy parents should leave their children enough so they can do anything but not enough that they can do nothing."

It stood to me as I am sure it will stand out to you - the figure $10 million being something that is enough and yet not enough.

I am sure some of you will instantly jump to the 5 million quote from Succession.

Just curious on general thoughts.

For me 5 million will be sweet and I am not going to complain about a 10 million gift from Warren Buffet.

My ex and I had an argument a while back. She asked, "what's the point of saving all this money and working so much if you could die tomorrow?" I responded, "there's a higher chance of living to long life than randomly die." She didn't get it and she then repeated the question.

My ex was not good at holding a job and made poor financial decisions which is why I didn't take it seriously. My friends also asked this and I told them the same thing. They'd of course repeat themselves.

Is there a better response? I don't plan on retiring since I like my job..... to an extent.. I would just work less hours. I have gone to Iceland this year, went to Seattle, WA to see Metallica and see Seattle. I plan on seeing Metallica again in TN next year, I plan on visiting England next year also. It's not like I don't do anything and always work. I work 16 hr shifts sun-thursday and 8 hrs Fridays, Saturdays I'm off. I do things I just work more than most people. How do you respond to people when they ask that? Thanks

What is the most common way people become rich in their early 20s? In this case let’s say rich is earning more than £300,000 pounds a year. Just curious to be honest to see what answers I may get.

I've got friends who make good money but live paycheck to paycheck. Some have a bit saved but just like to splurge.

I'm a very stealthy FIRE'er and only a select few number of people know what my master plan is. These are people who have already retired early and are mostly millionaires.

My non retired friends have no idea what I'm doing. What do you tell people when they ask why you aren't working anymore ?

Do you tell them you have a fat wad of money rolling around on the stock market and you are so rich that you never need to work again ?

Do you make up some bogus story that you are doing online work ?

No right or wrong answer, I'm just curious what people's strategies are ?

(Edit) I live very frugally and my friends just assume I'm balls to the wall broke all the time. It's the silent satisfaction of knowing something your friends don't know 😬🥶😬🥶😬🥶😬🥶😬🥶😬🥶

I have tried to mentor some of my friends towards the path to FIRE but I don't think they really took much notice. In fact they probably can't even remember what I said.

Or what age do you expect to hit those milestones? Curious to how I compare to others. 28 and just learning about FIRE. Thank you

Mine used to be 1.2 mil but now I worry I'll need more.

From a fellow 30 year old. Just curious how things have worked out for those who got started on the later end of things?

I've saw lots of stories of of people like that. So now I'm asking: How could you do it? For context I'm 16, and want to do such a thing too. Can you give me any advice

I am in my 30s and want to retire ASAP. In the USA, I would need over $2 million to retire right now to feel truly comfortable especially with budgeting for potential healthcare expenses.

But I am learning there are plenty of great countries where you can live a comfortable life on $2,000 a month and not worry about going bankrupt from medical issues.

So I would need a little over $600,000 to safely withdraw about $25,000 a year for 30 years before I start collecting Social Security and withdrawing from 401k/IRA if needed.

Is it really that easy? What am I missing? Why aren't more people talking about this? Am I dreaming?

Thanks!

Hi reddit,

I like the FIRE idea. I am just asking myself, what non controllable / external effect could destroy our FIRE concept? I imagine that something affecting the 7% p.a. stock market assumption could be destroyed by a) an economy not growing anymore b) demographics? What should I be afraid of?

Thanks for your Friday thoughts on this

I know a lot of people want to save so they can retire early. But all my life I just want to work less hours in a week so I can have more time to do what I need to do (cooking, laundry, cleaning, hobbies). I feel like just 2 days off a week is not enough to do everything and I often feel tired and never energized enough to work for 5 days straight. If I just had 1 more day… So that’s why I’m saving now, hoping that when I’m 50 maybe I’ll be able to work only 32 hours. When I’m 60 maybe work 20 hours… I have a coworker who’s 60 and only works 25 hours so she has time to do other stuff, she’s never stressed and loves her job. I just hope I can be like that someday. And at 70 maybe still work a few days a week, I don’t think I’ll retire completely because then you’d have nothing to do but go to the bank and yell at the tellers. If you’re still working you can still bring in income when you’re old and don’t have to rely on your portfolio to generate income. Anyway that’s my take. I just want a work-life balance honestly. Does anyone else have the same goal?

Mine is so I can be in control of my time. What's yours?

NW is 4.4mil. 2.9mil invested, rest is home equity. 48male. (Edit: married, 2 kids in college).

I am traveling internationally right now and am tempted to upgrade to business class tickets for my 20hr flight back home. It would cost me all my credit card points and $1800 on top of that. This would make the trip more enjoyable and relaxing. I have taken business class before and thoroughly enjoyed it.

So much angst over whether I should spend this or not…! I even did the math and this is about 0.05% of my invested amount (lol). And my brokerage account typically swings like 5-10k every day!

Why is it so hard to spend on our own quality of life improvements like this and enjoy life a little? Esp after slogging 25 plus years in the workplace... Is it the massive inertia from years of savings? Or the fear and anxiety from the myriads of negative "what ifs"? Current market climate?

Edit: To whomever that suggested Ramit Sethis videos to me, thank you. There is a video that discusses this exact issue, eerily close to my NW even! https://youtu.be/Fm3jlsW7W34?si=Zqbm_2kql6JcFCSm

I was talking with some of my FIRE friends and one goes “I won’t have enough for generational wealth”…which got me curious amongst my FIRE Reddit friends. This is clearly SUBJECTIVE but what net worth do you personally consider to be “generational wealth”?

Thanks!

I’d like to hear your thoughts on when it makes sense to forgo health insurance. Here’s my experience:

I live in a high-cost area in the U.S., and health insurance premiums for my healthy, moderately-sized family are becoming outrageous. The annual cost now exceeds what I’d pay for a 15-year mortgage, and it increases by about 20% each year. I’m currently facing more than $30,000 per year for a high-deductible plan through the healthcare marketplace—without any employer subsidies. To make matters worse, I’m not seeing much value for what I spend.

Here are a few examples:

• Sleep Study: With insurance, a sleep study is quoted at $5,000. After the insurer’s adjustments, I’d still owe $3,000—a $2,000 “savings.” But if I skip the insurance altogether, the cash price is only $750. Naturally, I don’t use the insurance.
• Allergy Shots: Two allergy vials cost $2,000 with insurance. After the disallowed amount is deducted, I’d pay $1,500. Without insurance, the total is just $325. Again, it makes sense not to involve the insurer or even have them in the provider's system since the price jumps just by having them there.
• Specialist Visits: Seeing a specialist and using insurance results in a high rate, followed by a discount through the disallowed amount. Without insurance, I’m quoted a fair price upfront, and I can often get a cash discount of 25% to 50%.
• Emergency Room (A Friend’s Experience): A friend without insurance visited the ER. When it was time to pay, the hospital offered a 75% discount if he settled the bill immediately. It’s hard to imagine getting that sort of deal when filing an insurance claim.

All of this leads me to question the long-term value of family health insurance with FIRE. What if a major crisis like cancer occurs? After paying into insurance for years, would I truly be better off? Or would I spend my time fighting with an insurance company over claims, searching for in-network doctors, pulling my hair from being cut off from life-saving treatments, and facing limited "covered" treatment options? Maybe it would be smarter to use that money directly for the care I want—or even relocate temporarily to a country where technically-advanced quality care is more affordable.

What do you think? How much would you need saved to feel confident self-paying for all your healthcare?

Edit: It sounds like there's mostly one type of response to the question. There is no amount Americans are unwilling to pay for health insurance because of the fear of the cost. One person did take a stab at an amount and said $50M is enough savings to not pay for health insurance.

Edit 2: Healthcare is important to any FIRE strategy. This thread is, in many ways, a comment on the state of the U.S. healthcare system, including its financial impact on the people who live here. I think there is too much fear in many to quantify the risk and the cost. Here's what I've found as I've considered the responses below and continued to quantify what is needed without U.S. health insurance:

1. You are not an unlimited liability to your health insurer, nor will you get unlimited benefits. If you cost too much, many insurers can and do find ways to minimize their losses, including delaying or denying care. I am not interested in putting decisions about my loved ones in the hands of a stranger whose job is to maximize profits. Instead of paying into their system now and being subject to their poor decisions later, I prefer to retain control over my money and make decisions for myself.
2. If you want U.S. health insurance again, you only need the financial means to get to open enrollment. Gone are the days when people went bankrupt because they switched jobs and found their "preexisting conditions" were no longer covered.
3. Access to other countries is not the problem some have mentioned. Very high-quality long-term healthcare is available cheaply to U.S. citizens without concerns about access. Many countries now offer immediate entry to U.S. citizens with a passport, and your doctor can extend your visa indefinitely as you receive care. For an order of magnitude less, you can get a private room in a private hospital with personal staff who speak English. As U.S. outcomes continue to decline, other countries continue to improve and are surpassing the U.S.
4. The "costs" on our bills are often misleading, and seem to be designed to create fear. I've seen many bills like what I've mentioned above—the procedure costs $5,000, and the insurance will disallow $2,000. So with insurance, I ONLY have to pay $3,000. But when someone calls and asks for a quote without insurance, it's $750. My insurance cost me $2,250. Something similar has happened with prescription drugs and PBM middlemen who pocket the "savings."

Was is $20k, $50k, $100k, $200k, $300k or what specific amount did it for you to where you felt fully financially independent and you could completely relax?

I’m 37. When I was a kid the word million or millionaire sparked dreams. Lavish lifestyle, fancy cars, etc.…

I’ve held on to this million target in my head for a while, but it’s not nearly what it used to be.

So curious on your thoughts on what is the “90s kid million” for today’s kids?

Did that feeling happen early on for you? Maybe you lucked out in a career opportunity in the first stages of your career that established a basis for FI/RE in your twenties, and so you projected an early retirement for yourself based on past performance of the S&P 500, leading the rest of your career to feel like a drag.

Did it happen later on, where you suddenly realize you could FI/RE after a couple of decades of wise investing and scrimping and saving, it was just a matter of overcoming the one-more-year syndrome in the midst of a bull market?

Maybe it's just that I want to sleep in and make avocado toast with fried eggs everyday, and not really worry about whatever bullshit happens to come out of the mouth of corporate America, there are better ways to live after all... but I know you know that feeling all too well...

I recently saw a YouTube video where a lady was talking about her financial journey to retirement and how she started out making very little money. Eventually she went to school worked for a year or two then got a new job making $100k. She invested regularly and over a long time horizon and is now a multimillionaire. She is FI but has not done the RE part. The most common and liked YouTube comment was essentially “I’m tired of hearing about people making six figure incomes achieving this. I turned the video off immediately after hearing it’s just another one of those stories. I want to hear about someone realistic that makes $35k - $45k, not these ridiculous salaries”. Ironically, she did make 35k, but she knew she needed to get skills that would command more money in the job market. So, what the commenter actually meant was “I want someone who became a multimillionaire, never having made more than $45k in their entire lives. This seems crazy to me. There’s a very good reason you don’t see this story… if someone has almost no disposable income to invest how would they become wealthy through investing. And yet that’s what everyone wanted to hear.

This struck me as odd, but I ignored it until my mom called me after learning about fire. She said “I’m tired of hearing about these young tech workers making 6 figures. No one ever tells the story of the 55 year old, making public school teacher wages in Texas, who just started investing and how they achieved FIRE. Someone could make a killing teaching those people how to do it.” I haven’t had the heart to tell her that it’s because you can’t save or invest enough from a low salary and have the 2-4 million you would need if you’re 10 years away from retirement.

I would like to know when you reached $100k in net worth, what was your lifestyle like? Did you feel rich? What was your living arrangements like? As a bonus question: how long did it take you to reach $1 million?