Household NW: 3M (excludes paidoff home 1.3M) - 401Ks/IRAs: 1.3M - Taxable: 1.7M Age 44, Married, 1 Kid College fund: 300k (not included in NW) TC: $500k (wife’s another $200k) Retirement needs (not adjusted for inflation) - $120k/Yr before taxes - at 3% withdrawal rate, need $4M nest-egg Given the job market for EMs, I think it’ll take me 9-12 months to find a job. I would love a low stress job (if they exist, I don’t know where to look for those). Wondering if I can coast FIRE now, work a low paying job that pays bills/expenses/vacations but can’t save more (preferably comes with low stress) vs grinding to keep saving more. I can work another 5-10 years until the $3M becomes $4M-6M with investment growth without contributing more. Am I pulling the plug too soon? What would you do? Where are the low stress EM jobs?
Awesome job at building equity and fully paid off home!! 👏👏
lol at 300k college fund for 1 kid
You can easily survive the 9-12 months pause and find a lower pay job within that time. Good for you to keep college fund aside from NW. Seattle or Bay Area? Do you have a choice to move if needed. Some coasting type jobs may be elsewhere.
Your spend comes from the taxable 1.7M x 3% = $51k right? This is already pretty great. What do you want to do from age 45 to 60 is probably the right question to ask. Do you feel like you could find another high paying EM job? Would you rather work at Costco doing return go-backs for $20/hr ($41.6k annual)
Talk with your wife, not Blind
That’s a great start for your age. Congrats! You could probably pull it off but if you live to 85 you’ll have to really limit your lifestyle quite a bit. So - just try to figure out how much tolerance you have for being budget friendly. If you don’t want to worry about that kind of thing for you or your kids - put in another 10-15 years and you’ll be set. Or just plan on dying younger and have a good life insurance plan for your kids.
10-15 years of not touching the savings or 10-15 years of continuing to save?
I meant 10-15 years of working and saving and then retire young. I mean you could retire now but it limits your lifestyle and risks out-living your money - which brings a completely different kind of stress you won’t want in your older age. I’m 46 and close to same situation as you and I would not even consider retiring anytime soon. But I’m pretty conservative with money. My father retired at 55 - not due to wealth but due to disability and it’s horrible to see what they deal with now at 75 with finances. My goal is to retire around 60 - which is still very early for the vast majority of the population.
Apply to a bunch of jobs that are more junior than your could qualify for and grab one quick. Keep applying for more senior roles in the meantime. In 9-12 months when an opportunity comes along you will have a sense of whether you are liking the lifestyle. You can for sure coast now if you want to. For some though, it will bother them that they are sub-optimally using their time, even if continuing to optimize their earnings just throws more dollars on the stack for the kid’s inheritance.
Are you in HCOL? I see you mentioned the retirement needs, does it include all expenses? How about vacations, family emergencies? Are you prepared to touch your 401(k) if it comes to that? The way I see it, you have 1.7 that you can actually use for the next ~20 years. Since you asked WWYD, happily accept the severance. (Looking at how much you have saved, that should be a big fat check). take a few months off. Travel (if you are into it). Clear my mind. Reduce stress. Start applying for job in non FAANG, all the while not worrying about money. If I get a job, set the expectations from the get go. You have enough money to decide what you want to get stressed about. Use it wisely.
44 is too young to do nothing. Instead, do something you enjoy
How do you know that you are about to be laid off
Org needs to cut staff drastically and I am not in good performance standing
which org? Since you're an EM you might know which all orgs are looking to cut off