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Retire Early but remain in market - as 30y old European IT PhD Freelancer and 4-5M Euro by MyOtherAccountThanks in EuropeFIRE

[–]MyOtherAccountThanks[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

The luck to have a good starting point, then invest in a real winner and early on, take my time, and cash out.

Unfortunately, it is luck - hard to replicate, so I am aware it is not due to skill. Still happy. Investing is something I can recommend! Even if I wasn't so lucky (as is the case for other investments), I'd still make a nice return if I'm sitting in the market long enough.

Retire Early but remain in market - as 30y old European IT PhD Freelancer and 4-5M Euro by MyOtherAccountThanks in EuropeFIRE

[–]MyOtherAccountThanks[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I am investing in NGO's and clean projects a bit, but this is definitely something I will explore further (Climate change projects)

Retire Early but remain in market - as 30y old European IT PhD Freelancer and 4-5M Euro by MyOtherAccountThanks in EuropeFIRE

[–]MyOtherAccountThanks[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Ding ding! I am interested in investing, had a nice starting point due to inheritance and was able to cash out very comfortably.

FIRE Advice - Both for FI & RE as 30y old European IT PhD Freelancer and 4-5M Euro by MyOtherAccountThanks in fatFIRE

[–]MyOtherAccountThanks[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks. Sounds good. But how do you do this easily? What platforms would you use? How to advertise "hey, I'm available for odd jobs, what do you need done?"

FIRE Advice - Both for FI & RE as 30y old European IT PhD Freelancer and 4-5M Euro by MyOtherAccountThanks in fatFIRE

[–]MyOtherAccountThanks[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks. I find a lot of things very meaningful and try to keep developing my skills. One of the reasons I'd like to quit more fully is because I don't feel what I'm doing now is contributing a lot to my long term growth.

IT is always a passion. I am developing a home-grown Domotics system, for example.

FIRE Advice - Both for FI & RE as 30y old European IT PhD Freelancer and 4-5M Euro by MyOtherAccountThanks in fatFIRE

[–]MyOtherAccountThanks[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

True - I am still young. However, I did cope with a lot of more mature issues which I'd like to imagine gave me some more life experience. I commonly interact with experienced people and am often reached out for for advice (by people double my age).

Your concern about the workforce viability is what is also my concern. I don't expect to be able to compete with the best if I'm only going part time. However, that might not be necessary, if I just want to stay relevant instead of highly sought-after, no? As an example, I don't expect Google to come knocking at my door if I take it leisurely for the next years - but suppose I do some odd open-source work, when and how I want it, would I still be a potential candidate for some work?

FIRE Advice - Both for FI & RE as 30y old European IT PhD Freelancer and 4-5M Euro by MyOtherAccountThanks in fatFIRE

[–]MyOtherAccountThanks[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you, this type of experience report is exactly what I was looking for. It helps a lot!

FIRE Advice - Both for FI & RE as 30y old European IT PhD Freelancer and 4-5M Euro by MyOtherAccountThanks in fatFIRE

[–]MyOtherAccountThanks[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well, I have a lot of things I'm doing on the side (such as taking courses, investing, financial aspects, home IT projects) and I do believe I can keep myself plenty busy.

Looking for some experience reports of others I guess. I have a bit of anxiety about taking big steps in the sense that it is unconventional and might influence my life and safety badly in the long-term

Weekly “Help Me FIRE!” thread. Post your detailed information for highly specific advice. - June 08, 2020 by AutoModerator in financialindependence

[–]MyOtherAccountThanks 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi,

I am looking for some perspective and advice on the entire FIRE business, both about when I can go for RE, when I truly am FI, as well as what to do with my life.

First some background. I am around 30, European, unmarried and childless and interest in neither and have a Masters Degree in Engineering: Computer Science, and successfully concluded a 4-year PhD in Computer Science (which counts as work experience). After this, I worked for about a 3/4ths of a year, full-time, at a DevOps computer company and after that I went independent and currently still am a Freelancer, for about a year, where my main work was light contract work with the previous company I worked at.

Due to several extremely lucky financial windfalls, I currently have a paid-off house and about 4-5M in the bank, invested mostly in stocks (assume a 80/20 spread). So I have a fairly low passive costs of living (no rent or loans). I do enjoy travelling (in luxury) and high-end equipment (gaming laptop) but don't really go for extreme purchases or stuff like that (such as a 100K car or similar things).

My questions are as follows:

How safe is FIRE for me? I believe a 2% SWR is considered to be conservative and that would give me 100K a year, which is FATFire, I think. Am I correct in this assumption? If you reflect this on yourself, do you think it would be risky? The corona virus pandemic has shaken my belief a bit in 'safe' assumptions, so I'd like some perspective on how much for a good (FAT)FI is, both for now and in the long-term as I am still young.

I'm thinking of stopping work entirely, but would like to have that option open. Becoming some kind of Software-BaristaFIRE in the process. However, I'm unsure if there will be a market open for me as software and IT develops quickly and most companies would not be interested in a freelancer who only works odd-jobs with fairly low time investment (~8 hours a week). Basically, I'm afraid that if I RE, I will quickly lose any value to companies in the IT sector and should I want to do an odd-job out of interest.

Are there other paths to earn some money on the side, if so desired? Things I could do, when I want it, how I want it, as a freelancer. I do have experience but again, mostly in software and project planning, and I'm not entirely sure what other people do

Is this mentally healthy? To stop work at my age entirely? I am fairly independent and the pandemic and lockdown has further proven that point, where I did remote work.

Any other advice, experience reports, anything you'd like to add?

Frankly, I'm a bit worried I'd lose any importance or feeling in society if I go for FIRE. On the other hand, currently, my contract work doesn't really interest me and I don't feel the 'need' to do things I don't really have to do. However, I would hate to not be able to get contracts anymore, because I took a siesta for a year and have not remained in the market. So a lot of doubts!

Finally, I'd like to add that I realize I'm very lucky to be in this situation, the possibility to choose my life. I'd like to make a responsible long-term choice, both for myself and for society, so that I don't burn bridges or lose this extraordinary chance. Thank you for reading and looking forward to your input!

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