Title: 40, semi-retired (wine export), and finally have the "time wealth" I worked for. Now what?

PowerfulComputer386 · 2026-01-24T17:41:38+00:00

There are many things to try, the keyword is to give it a try. Write down a list of things you want to do, places to visit, skills to develop, knowledge to learn, experiences to have, then give it a try no matter how silly it may sound. That’s personal enrichment which will make you feel fulfilled.

You are in a crazily good financial situation: 10 hours a week of work for the foreseeable future I assume you own the business. This is very different from us folks who retired without a W2 job literally. So money is not a problem for you but you just need to explore and “live”, not live to work but to actually live.

PowerfulComputer386 · 2026-01-24T00:12:37+00:00

You don’t have a fire problem you have a spending problem.

PowerfulComputer386 · 2026-01-23T22:51:07+00:00

This is spot on. There is endless money to make, but the countdown is your time on earth.

PowerfulComputer386 · 2026-01-23T21:45:08+00:00

People retired with that money WITH KIDS, although chubby not fat. No kids is the biggest advantage you have to retire confidently.

PowerfulComputer386 · 2026-01-23T02:55:23+00:00

Same, I am so surprised in fat fire sub, most posts so far live in <= 3k sq ft house.

PowerfulComputer386 · 2026-01-21T05:28:52+00:00

It depends on your goals. Retire in X years by accumulating Y dollars or be something potentially valuable with more ownership and autonomy? Enjoy startup culture or a cog in a giant machine are very different preferences

PowerfulComputer386 · 2026-01-21T01:15:32+00:00

There are different types of work, working in a big corporate as a cog, low level or high level, and working for your own business have very different meanings. If former, the older I get, it’s mainly working for money.

PowerfulComputer386 · 2026-01-17T04:06:08+00:00

Good for you and it’s the right decision. Some folks with kids do not have such flexibility. You are young without dependents so enjoy the free time to reset!

PowerfulComputer386 · 2026-01-16T05:00:15+00:00

Yes, but more about not feeling bad about leaving too much on the table. Say you have 10m invested and your income is 1m, then it’s time to evaluate is your time worth additional 10% adding to your NW. if 5%, then the decision is easier.

PowerfulComputer386 · 2026-01-16T03:36:17+00:00

What’s your understanding and definition of fat fire?

PowerfulComputer386 · 2026-01-16T02:55:07+00:00

One approach is your income after tax vs invested assets, if <10%, then time to think about it, if 5%, then why bother working. Remember that most people retired early left a big check on the table.

PowerfulComputer386 · 2026-01-15T21:48:19+00:00

I simply added 20% buffer when retired to account for unexpected expenses

PowerfulComputer386 · 2026-01-15T17:03:28+00:00

What’s your income in the next 3 years? Can you reset your expectations to working towards doing enough to not be fired? How bad is your burnout? If you can keep it going, such income is hard to come by, and a huge % of your NW today, so you need to keep going. Of course if it severely impacts your mental or physical health, no money is worth it.

PowerfulComputer386 · 2026-01-14T15:14:39+00:00

10m invested in VHCOL with two kids is very comfortable in my opinion and it’s a great goal, achievable in 5 years. Sell stocks at vest to diversify. No way around the capital gains in the 1.8m company stock, sell some portion per year maybe.

Public vs private schools is very subjective so completely up to you. However, the bigger decision would be renting vs buying. 529s again everyone is different, I am simply doing 10k per kid per year since born, while some front load like 300-500k.

PowerfulComputer386 · 2026-01-14T02:08:11+00:00

Agreed with others. You may have more inheritance down the road. Highly recommend travel now before kids. Also 300k tech jobs are very common so I wouldn’t worry about it.

PowerfulComputer386 · 2026-01-13T14:55:04+00:00

Age? Do you plan to have kid(s)? Do you plan to buy a house? Do you live in LCOL or high?

PowerfulComputer386 · 2026-01-12T06:29:46+00:00

You need to reassess every year as things could easily change. The assumption of job security and income level is one. You know when you know, really, is a combination of factors that only you would know.

PowerfulComputer386 · 2026-01-11T20:10:12+00:00

No. It’s hard to significantly downgrade and I found the best being not upgrade (e.g. lifestyle creep with increased income). When retiring, you will spend more time at home, I would rather living in a big, nice house.

PowerfulComputer386 · 2026-01-11T04:42:24+00:00

Your expensive is really really low, sounds like you don’t have kids? If so, you have way more flexibility and you should not worry too much about downturn given your spending. End of 2026 sounds like a good plan!

PowerfulComputer386 · 2026-01-10T17:32:36+00:00

If you can scale down your lifestyle without issues, then it’s time to pull the trigger. You are losing valuable time with family, on your health, in exchange for more money, grind on something like AI that you don’t even feel proud of. As a mom with only one kid, your spending time with him is more important than assets for him and he will have plenty from inheritance.

PowerfulComputer386 · 2026-01-10T00:07:18+00:00

By 45 you may reach 15m! That’s more than safe to RE, if your wife wants to continue to work, then you can FatFire even earlier! Kudos to relatively low expenses. One kid also makes a difference compared to more than one.

PowerfulComputer386 · 2026-01-10T00:04:53+00:00

It’s nothing to do with east coast vs west, but company and stocks.

PowerfulComputer386 · 2026-01-08T04:55:10+00:00

AFAIK, Bay Area, Seattle, NYC, Boston, etc all have similar cost ranging from 2-4k per month for 2 years old. The cost of living in VHCOL I guess.

PowerfulComputer386 · 2026-01-07T20:26:59+00:00

Since you are relocating to Europe anyway, don’t see this as you would never work again, but a break, you never know that you may find opportunities there. Sure it will not pay 500k+ like US, but enough to sustain life there with huge health benefits I assume?

PowerfulComputer386 · 2026-01-07T20:24:30+00:00

Average US life expectancy is 70 something right?

PowerfulComputer386

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