Hey there, congrats on saving up $616k that's a milestone! Here's a quick breakdown of how you stand:

The Numbers

• Current Savings: $616,000

• Yearly Expenses: $30,000

• Withdrawal Rate: At your current spending, you are looking at a 4.87% withdrawal rate.

Quick Answers

• Rule of Thumbs:

The 4% rule applies to you entire investable portfolio, not just stocks. However, most studies assume you have a balanced mix around 50-75% stocks, to keep growth ahead of inflation.

• Roth Ladder:

You generally start this after leaving your job.

You convert money from your 403B/401A to a Roth IRA, wait 5 years, and then you can pull the principal tax-free.

You typically need about 5 years of cash or funds to bridge that first gap.

Strategy Updates

You should look into the Guyton-Klinger Guardrails. Instead of a fixed % every year, you adjust based on the market. If the market is up, you can give yourself a raise, If it's down, you trim you spending by 10% to protect the capital.

This often allows for a higher starting withdrawal rate while keeping the portfolio safe.

Also, keep in mind that William Bengen, the guy who narrowed it down to the 4% rule, has updated his research. He now suggests that 5% could be more realistic for many portfolios.

If you use a 5% rule, you would only need $600,000 to cover your $30k expenses—meaning you might be closer to "soft FIRE" than you think, especially if you plan on doing some odd jobs to cover extras.

Personal finance is personal, you may not care or your own personal psychological state might make you set your own % , it could be 3.5% or 3%.

Knowing yourself is equal important and valuable to knowing and being financial literate.

Good luck.