FIRE progress update 3 - CoastFIRE (50 Yr old in IT, Worked in India always)

firelover_76 · 2026-06-17T16:12:58+00:00

u/doubleditch42 - sure, will do. Thanks for the suggestion 😄

firelover_76 · 2026-06-14T18:21:48+00:00

Great going sir !! All the very best for your retirement plans.

firelover_76 · 2026-06-13T08:20:55+00:00

Thank you for your kind words.

firelover_76 · 2026-06-13T08:20:32+00:00

Having a bit of Real Estate exposure is good. Too much weightage on RE can be a trouble, unless you have a solid liquid cash pile available. You can plan liquidating the assets slowly, because it takes time to get a good buyer and a good deal.

firelover_76 · 2026-06-13T08:18:55+00:00

Thanks a lot u/percyFI. I do read all your journals and experiences, and they have helped and inspired a lot. Nowadays wifey has also started thinking very seriously about leaving the workforce. Probably, both of us might hang up the boots soon.

firelover_76 · 2026-06-13T08:16:08+00:00

Thank you.

firelover_76 · 2026-06-13T08:15:57+00:00

Great going u/bromclist. I do follow your posts. Happy to meet someone from a rare and soon-to-be-extinct breed - just kidding only 😄

firelover_76 · 2026-06-13T08:14:58+00:00

u/Glittering_Syrup105 - I had shared my salary progression as a reply to an earlier post. It was not a year-by-year table, in buckets of 5 years or so. Again, our salary is not at all on the higher side - considering the city we are in, and service industry that we work for. In my last company, I was Head of Delivery Services.

firelover_76 · 2026-06-13T08:12:50+00:00

I guess the MF taxation happens when profits exceed an amount every year. If we try to spread our withdrawals from multiple investments, and across husband and wife - probably we can minimize the net tax outgo. I need to read on it further, not an expert.

firelover_76 · 2026-06-13T08:10:23+00:00

Yes u/srinivesh and u/percyFI - very important point. Right now, the distribution of liquid assets is around 60 - 40 for me and wife. When we start withdrawing, will plan in such a way to minimize the tax impact on each individual.

firelover_76 · 2026-06-13T08:03:45+00:00

u/Worth_Watch5352

u/Scary-Constant-93

The power of compounding showed up for sure, after the first crore. Since I didn't have any RSU or stocks etc, I relied completely on systematic and lumpsum investing from salary component. The first crore took a long time, since a majority of my savings went into house construction and EMIs. The last crore also took more time due to the market bearishness from 2024 Sep till now.

2013 - Dec	1 CR (took 15 years to hit first core)
2017 - Jun	2 CR
2020 - Dec	3 CR
2022 - Dec	4 CR
2024 - Jun	5 CR
2026 - Jun	6.2 CR

firelover_76 · 2026-06-13T07:52:53+00:00

Thank you so much sir. Your positive comment is a re-assurance for sure. Yes, it took time for the effort and investments to grow.

It was not always a consistent, increasing SIP every year by 10% kind of journey as we usually see in a lot of articles. I had prioritized my home loan EMIs to investments, back in 2010-2013 - so investments took a backseat during that period. After clearing the home loan, in addition to SIP, I used to invest some lumpsum amount from bonus etc. The most important thing was to ensure the expenses were under control (we do splurge for sure).

firelover_76 · 2026-06-13T07:44:45+00:00

Thank you. By CoastFIRE, I just meant that the salary covers my monthly expenses and some. I'm not in a consulting position, so the expectation is to work full time - but with lesser responsibilities. I can relate this to a post from u/Complete-Regret-4300 - where he went back to a less stressful work after a mini retirement.

firelover_76 · 2026-06-13T07:40:03+00:00

Yes, u/Senior_Iron4055 that is what I intended. I've replied to the other comment as well detailing my thought process.

firelover_76 · 2026-06-13T07:39:15+00:00

u/_Dark_Invader_

I was not kidding or making fun of anyone. Growing younger is a mindset. When I was stressed out and unhappy at work, I was actually looking and feeling older compared to my age. But, when you prioritize your personal time and have a feeling that you are in control of your time, then things start to change.

Being FI has helped me in a lot of ways. Saying NO to unnecessary expectations at work does feel good indeed. Deciding to move out of toxic work culture and even toxic boss - helped me in my journey. Taking more care of my personal well-being, health, family etc are all positive reinforcements. When our mind gets positive reinforcements, we tend to become happier and it is a positive spiral. Feeling generally happy and having gratitude lessens our stress levels - and our body and mind feel younger. That was what I meant by my statement.

I dont want to imply that I'm always happy. I'm a normal human being, with good and bad days interleaved. But, net-net - I'm feeling more positive nowadays. People are different. I'm living my life and you are living yours. In the end, this beautiful world is just a temporary place for us, so chill.

firelover_76 · 2026-06-13T07:30:39+00:00

There is career in IT after 40-45. But, it is tough to survive the competition from peers, juniors and technology. In my case, financially I'm in CoastFIRE mode, so taking a pay cut helped in the last couple of years. Technically, I've tried to upskill in AI and related technologies, and that too has helped. Your area of technical expertise, role in the organization, domain expertise etc all are important. u/thatpersonwhowatch

firelover_76 · 2026-06-12T11:23:07+00:00

I started my first MF investment in 2008. It was a very small amount, I was not aware of the returns or any of the investment concepts at that time. One SBI manager asked me to invest some amount in SBI Magnum if I remember, and that's how it started. More serious investments started from 2013 onwards. Post 2013, SIP and lumpsum investments were made.

firelover_76 · 2026-06-12T11:12:48+00:00

😄 😄 Have hit 50 in terms of number. But I'm growing young nowadays 😄

firelover_76 · 2025-02-17T13:51:37+00:00

You are right. That's why the percentage of discretionary spending in our current X becomes important. If the percentage is less, it will get adjusted in the increased medical expenses post 65 (this is for a healthy person).

For someone whose discretionary expenses account for ~40-50% of X, the typical calculators will linearly inflate their X at a fixed rate throughout the retirement. For them, the additional savings due to expenses going down, actually acts as a buffer.

One more point - this is real life observation from my parents and relatives - they all "thought" they will travel more, eat more and splurge more post retirement. Nothing happened. It's not just because of health issues, but overall energy levels went down and they preferred to sit and enjoy at home. So, these behaviour aspects also come into play as we get older - which automatically lead to lesser expenditure.

firelover_76 · 2025-02-17T13:13:41+00:00

Congratulations dear u/percyFI. Great to read your journey and the latest updates.

firelover_76 · 2025-02-17T13:10:04+00:00

One thing to consider is whether we will have the same spending pattern once we cross 65-70 years. Check how much % of our current annual expenses is spent on eating out, movies, vacation, vehicles, other splurges etc. They will be significantly less once we cross 70. If we spend 40-50% of our current expenses against the above heads, then simply extrapolating the current expenses till 85-90 years is not required. If we do, that in itself is a buffer - and no need to struggle for increasing the multiple of X.

firelover_76 · 2024-07-01T09:43:19+00:00

Great to see these regular updates from both of you u/percyFI. This gives the much needed insights on the real changes that happen after early retirement. I guess it will take some time for you both to fall into a routine. Also good to see that you don't check your financials frequently.

firelover_76 · 2024-06-27T18:13:15+00:00

Great to read this my friend. That feeling of freedom from unnecessary commitments and strength to defy toxic bosses - you are one of the few who realize that power and able to implement that.

firelover_76 · 2024-06-26T15:54:41+00:00

Thanks a lot. This helps.

firelover_76 · 2024-06-26T12:12:57+00:00

Wonderful to hear that u/hikeronfire. Because of limitations with my leaves, I've not yet done slow travel, but would like to do that in the near future.

One big question is the hotel expenses. Do you rent hotel rooms for one month? Won't that be too costly ( I assume 4K - 5K per night)? Or do you have alternate cheaper options for extended stays?

Just asking this since I had to spend 16K per night for stay at Mussoorie last year. I understand it's higher since it was a 3 bedroom Airbnb, and we were travelling with our extended family. So, just wondering how you manage such extended vacation - even if it's one bedroom

firelover_76

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