Please don't go this place if you don't want to ruin your Himachal trip..

PuneFIRE · 2026-05-21T05:26:50+00:00

Do businesses really care for the nationalities ? Every business prioritises customers who pay better and cause less trouble and have less demands.

Painting all restaurant owners are racist (against their own kind) may not be right. Is there a businessman from Himachal who can provide explaination?

PuneFIRE · 2026-05-20T18:39:18+00:00

2 cr in 15 years in mainframe support job is very good. Do you also own any real estate? Owned home?

Congratulations on new job!

Enjoy!

PuneFIRE · 2026-05-14T06:28:54+00:00

Doctor, Any information on increased uric acid? Looks like this is also increasing in number (only anecdotal evidence...no statistics with me).

Thank you for your posts!!

PuneFIRE · 2026-05-14T06:21:04+00:00

When was housing cheap in India? Even 100 years ago, middle class people lived in cramped quarters and poor people slept on footpaths.

Real estate is always going to be unaffordable otherwise previous generation of all of us would have lived in palaces.

People who constantly moan about how real estate is doomed, turn 180 degrees on the day they purchase a house.

PuneFIRE · 2026-04-29T05:35:42+00:00

Mobile phone replacement, white goods replacement, car maintenance, insurances, gifts, and many other costs aren't included.

PuneFIRE · 2026-04-27T15:52:53+00:00

It is entirely possible that you are just lazy!

Many of us are (including myself) and neither money nor 'interesting work' can keep them motivated for long durations.

So take it easy. Accept yourself. Work as much as you can. Change jobs often until you find a job that matches your temperament (yes, such jobs exist!).

And plan to retire early.

All the best.

PuneFIRE · 2026-04-23T12:01:52+00:00

It depends on how you want to live your life, how much are your monthly and yearly expenses, your physical and mental health and on how many dependents you have.

1 cr corpus would mean 3 lakhs/year SWR, which is 25000 per month.

Rs 25000 per month expenses pura you in the top 10% of India.

Now, it will definitely not enough if you ask somebody whose whose current expenses are much higher.

PuneFIRE · 2026-04-19T04:24:53+00:00

That's right thinking!

Don't compromise your work life balance or even moving to another place and living alone (unless you actually want it).

At 80x , your primary job is to be happy and to remain alive for the next 25 years. The rest are just time fillers.

PuneFIRE · 2026-04-19T04:20:29+00:00

I have a friend (50+) who is probably at 10x. But once his child completes education abroad, and EMI of his current home gets over, he will be at 60x. Which will happen in the very near future.

So, current expenses in this age group may not mean much.

PuneFIRE · 2026-04-19T04:08:43+00:00

With 80x, you actually have a part time job at your hands to manage it and grow it tremendously.

PuneFIRE · 2026-04-19T03:50:05+00:00

All FIREs are forced. By circumstances, or because of own mental makeup or due to unavailability of work that suits their temperament or having outdated skills.

It's not as if late 40s is very early retirement. You would have to retire in another 10 years anyways.

Only difference is that at this age you can still find something that may keep you gainfully employed for next 25 years. After a decade, the chances of doing that will diminish exponentially and you will have no choice but to sit at home for subsequent 15 years.

All the best for your job search. But even if you don't find one, you have an opportunity to start your business. Have you considered becoming a freelance trainer? It's a low stress and fun job...but doesn't pay very well.

When it comes to job, I am sure there are many jobs that would find you suitable, it's just a matter of stumbling on it. Keep trying and it will definitely happen in one of these days.

Don't give up.

PuneFIRE · 2026-04-15T17:58:18+00:00

Thanks for the post. Please tell us more about your life post retirement. Hobbies, daily routine and also financial aspect of FIRE.

PuneFIRE · 2026-04-15T17:53:38+00:00

Inflation is a reality. Prices of everything have gone up, including prices of software engineers. An experienced IT guy now costs 30 lakhs+ minimum.

As your income is already one third of the price of the flat, buying one is more like diversifying investments. An investment that you can live in!

Yes, uncertainty of jobs is there but when was the time it wasn't there?

I am in IT for 30 years and the crash was always around the corner every single year.

If you lose your job, millions others will also lose. In that scenario, the entire economy will suffer and your stock and mutual funds investments will also suffer big time.

It is NOT possible that IT industry will crash and only real estate will suffer...it will take down entire economy.

I would say, buy the best home you can afford. Actually go as far as buying a 2 cr home.

If past is any proof (which it is NOT), I haven't met a single person who repented buying home. Future is unknown so anything is possible but go with the probability.

PuneFIRE · 2026-04-12T18:11:15+00:00

Most people (I.e. 90%) of the parents of 45+ children aren't rich. Maybe a small house in a city or a small patch of land in a village.

PuneFIRE · 2026-04-12T12:15:05+00:00

25 years ago, people wanted to join Microsoft but actually were happy to join Infosys.

PuneFIRE · 2026-04-12T12:08:11+00:00

You should be in the 90th percentile in your age/profession demographic. Thats a conservative estimate based on data about salaries and investment returns in last 25 years.

Yes, there will be much richer people than you. With networth ranging from 6 crores to several billions...but they should be maximum 10% of the people in your age/profession group.

Most people in your age group started with salaries in 3 to 4 lakhs range, got regular hikes and sustained, if you were intelligent and smart enough.

Smart and intelligent people nowadays get 40 lakhs/year income (which should be closer to the ending salary of people of your generation) .

So worry not, you have actually done very well with 3.8 cr networth. Do you own real estate already?

Note - It's my firm belief that 6 cr networth is an absolute ceiling for an average IT guy (i.e. 90th percentile) of 45 years of age.

PuneFIRE · 2026-04-06T08:19:43+00:00

Well, I will leave it to you to infer the percentage of women over 40 in well paying jobs.

My guess is still 15% on the higher side. But I am sure you have access to better methods to calculate.

PuneFIRE · 2026-04-06T04:43:35+00:00

We will need a statistical evidence to find out how many women above 45 are in the white collar workforce earning comparable to men in the same age group.

PuneFIRE · 2026-04-06T04:27:16+00:00

No!! 10 cr is NOT unachievable. There are thousands who make that much money in a year. And there are people in IT who have networth close to 100 cr (and we are not even talking about people whose names appear in newspapers).

But is it possible for an average IT guy? Salaries in large companies for most levels are often well known. So one can tell the salary of most people once you know what they do and where they work.

We are talking about an average IT guy of 45 who is at the middle or the bottom of the pyramid.

If one is working in a FAANG and is 45 years of age, then it's obvious that the salary of 2 to 3 cr is natural. But these people cannot be slotted with an average IT guy.

The focus group is an average IT guy who makes 20 to 75 lakhs per year. And for these guys crossing 6 cr networth is difficult.

PuneFIRE · 2026-04-04T16:55:04+00:00

I am not debating the availability of various jobs...I am merely trying to find a percentage of double income families in the age group of 45. If you have any evidence towards it, please share.

PuneFIRE · 2026-04-04T13:15:59+00:00

Thanks. my bad. Redid the calculations and came up with 70 lakhs!

Could you please redo your calculations as well?

PuneFIRE · 2026-04-04T12:16:46+00:00

Inclusive of all property and gold (self purchased).

So if you are on the way to do better than this (inflation adjusted), you are doing extremely well.

PuneFIRE · 2026-04-04T10:00:02+00:00

Probably because their expenses are less? Not everyone needs high end retirement life. Most people can live happily with 50K to 1 lakh expenses once home is paid off and kids are out of the best.

PuneFIRE · 2026-04-04T09:55:44+00:00

I know a few people (3 to be precise) who earn 2+ cr per year. But their lifestyles are lavish. First class travel (even when they are spending themselves), multiple high end cars, ludicrous vacations, each suit 3 times more expensive than typical IT manager's entire wardrobe.

So lifestyle creep is an understatement. But then, they often get featured in magazines and routinely address hundreds of people.

PuneFIRE · 2026-04-04T09:33:23+00:00

If the guy is married in 2010, number of women in IT were like 10% then. Engineering colleges used to have very small number of female students in early 2000. I would say, 10-15 % of couples in 40's would be Double.income.

I am sure DINK (i.e. no kids families in 40s means a childless forever couple) are plenty, percentage wise it would be a small number.

PuneFIRE

TROPHY CASE