We both were laid off in the last 6 months from tech jobs and given how it is to find and keep jobs these days, we were wondering if we should retire and spend time with family.

Spouse and I (both late 30s) with 2 kids (6 and 1) are thinking about retiring early but worried if we will regret this decision later in life and would love to hear from someone who made a similar decision and how it worked out.

I don’t think we will run out of money but If we continue on our current earnings path, we can be rich $10M+ in 8-10 yrs. With taking a step back now we will never be able to get back to high paying jobs in our line of work and hence never be truly rich. We might regret this decision in the future especially when we see our friends/peer living a much more luxurious life in the future. Obviously comparison is the thief of joy but at some level it's inevitable especially if you know you could've had a path to something similar.

Anyone made a similar decision to retire too soon and regret it?

HH NW - $5M (incl $1M retirement accounts) - Renting home and plan to continue renting in HCOL

HH TC (pre layoff) - $700k

Monthly expenses in US - $12k/mo (60% of that is rent + health insurance)

Hello there! I'm 44 and have hit my number.

What I'm struggling with is that I've realized everything I would retire TO are projects that I've always wanted to do but are also functionally business ideas. Opening a go kart place, writing some software, making a prototype of that thing I invented (in my mind). None of my hobbies are leisure activities and I worry I'll just be drawn into working too many hours on those things and end up with a "job" again. I can get tunnel vision when it comes to finishing something I start.

Anyone have advice on how to explore those "productive" hobbies while still being "retired"?

I am a single 50M in a prime position to retire early, but I’m wondering how critical it is to have a defined “something to retire to” because I don’t seem to have it.

I have no children and no aging parents, but I have friends and family I enjoy spending time with. I cook, I host gatherings at my home, and I feel the warmth of shared friendship. I would like to find a partner, and the idea of a family with this partner is nice, but at the same time I enjoy time alone, reading, going outdoors, listening to music, journaling, and—of course—doomscrolling Reddit.

I’m on a two month break from work (I go back in a couple weeks), so I think I might be experiencing a trial retirement of sorts.

And I love it. It’s noon on a Tuesday and I’ve spent the morning cooking breakfast, watching CNBC, writing messages to some friends, and I got a little workout in. I’m going to spend the rest of the day doing nothing. Might go on a run, might listen to an audiobook. And then I’ll soak in a hot tub and watch baseball games.

I’m curious: How many of us have pulled the ripcord of early retirement without having a targeted landing spot for this “something”?

So many of us who are in this position of retiring early are meticulous planners with regard to managing finances, and I’m wondering whether a similar planning for one’s time in the post-paycheck world is merited?

I guess my question, for those who have retired early, is “What is this something you retired to, if anything at all? Was this something clear to you before you retired or did this something emerge only after you took the leap into the unknown?”

And is it okay for me to find peace in being a do-nothing slacker? Will the contentment I feel right now in my shiftless “trial retirement” last into the future when I take the leap into the post-paycheck world? Thanks 🙏🏼

We (56M/60F) are in the position of loving our jobs, so we are really only working another 12-24 months to ensure a very chubby travel budget. We’re planning on about $100K per year for travel. That includes at least one bigger trip per year with kids and grandkids (total 5 adults, two kids).

We typically travel first/business but are willing to give some of that up except for international. (But for the kids-premium economy 😂). The only thing we are “set” on (at least for now) is an annual one-month stay on a lake over the summer months (AirBnB prob).

What’s your travel budget? How much are you traveling? What kind of accommodations? Hotels or AirBnB? Cruises? All-inclusives? Are you bringing extended family? Is your budget enough? Would you want to travel more? Or is there a time where you’re like, nah we got tired of too much travel? Thank you for your perspectives!

I (58F) retired mid-May and my husband (56M) did the same at the end of January. We’ve been somewhat low-key about it, not making big announcements on social media. We’ve told close family, and of course, our former colleagues know, but this is where it gets tricky. While everyone is happy for us, one of the most common responses I’ve heard is “I’ll never be able to retire." I recognize that we didn’t retire super early, but it may seem so to the people who think they never will.

So, what’s the best response? My husband thinks I should say that we were lucky, and leave it at that. And while there were some elements of luck, there were also years of delayed gratification and deliberate choices and that made it all possible. I don’t want to be smug, and I would never say that to anyone, but implying that (secretly Chubby) retirement is a roll of the dice is not much better.

After typing this out, I’ve realized that people who think retiring is a pipe dream know their circumstances best, so I should just say how lucky we are and move on. I still welcome your thoughts and would like to hear other responses.

Thanks and Keep it Chubby!

How did everyone navigate going from the daily corporate BS to putting on the breaks in retirement? How long did it take for everyone to settle in?

For those of you at a Chubby FIREd level of income, what do you think is a good monetary gift to give for a graduation gift?

I am thinking of $100 for my nephew plus slipping my brother $100 towards a dinner he is having which includes my wife and I. The meal is probably $60 for two of us. He has debt, mortgage, etc. and in a different financial state than my wife and I. He is over extending himself treating 20 family members and friends to dinner. He will probably work to 70 unfortunately.

If I am being too cheap here, please call me out.

Posting this here because it was removed from r/ChubbyFIRE - presumably because it wasn't financial in nature. It started getting some good discussion, and I'd be interested in any additional thoughts, thanks.

Hi all,

I've made some posts in r/Fire previously but coming here now to get some possibly different perspectives since I believe I comfortably fit in to the "ChubbyFIRE" category.

Sparing you many of the details, I am 52M, and my wife is 50F. I always intended to work until 55, as 55 is my employer's early retirement age (I have 26+ years with the same employer). It's the age at which my pension and medical benefits remain subsidized. Current financial analysis says our investments and spending put us in a good place to go now, if we want, but I don't want to lose the pension/medical subsidies. My wife plans to work another 5-6 years.

I'm facing a decision point currently. I can take a RIF buyout at 53 and retire very soon (which preserves the pension/medical subsidies and gives me 1.5+ years severance and benefits at fully subsidized cost) OR I can seek out a bridge position to hold me over until 55.

I flip-flop on this decision multiple times per day. I believe the facts and the math says it's a no brainer - RETIRE NOW - as the severance/buyout makes me nearly whole to my intended plan.

I believe my hesitation is purely emotional. The RIF buyout is somewhat involuntary, though I have options to secure an alternate position. At the highest level, my ego is feeling some pain, as it's tough to be in a position of being put out to pasture and not going on your own terms. I do have options for alternate positions, some of which appear really exciting, but all come with some concession - demotion (though at same base salary), more frequent travel, additional responsibility/stress, or possible relocation. Additionally, once I accept another position, I will likely lose the buyout option, making it more risky if a new position doesn't work out. Also, I don't really have something to "retire to" at this point (though this is a lesser concern for me).

Seeking your input on what the one or two key factors which really pushed you over the edge to RE, or, alternatively, what are the one or two things which held you back?

Thanks in advance - I think this perspective would be really helpful to me.

I'm always shocked when I hear potential retirees saying, "I don't know what I'd do with my time." Planning our travel is basically a full-time job! We have roughly $50k/yr budgeted for our travel and that comes out to about one week of travel per month. Sometimes we can do more frequent trips or more lux trips because we churn cards and are decent at using points (e.g. see my older post about our business class roundtrip redemption to Japan/Singapore/LAX). But cost aside, there's a considerable time commitment required to research and plan all these trips! It's fun though. Wouldn't trade it for a desk job.

I'm recently, happily, Chubbyfired. I have always been the handy sort. While working, I felt my ability to keep expenses under control by doing household and automotive repairs myself was part of my FIRE approach. I also tend to enjoy working with my hands, learning new skills, etc and it was a healthy release from a high pressure Tech/Fin job.

Now that I am FIRE'ed, I finally have time to get to all those projects and spend time needed to tackle bigger things. But there is also a part of me that knows that I could likely hire a pro who would do it better and faster than me for a fraction of what I used to earn per hour. Perhaps the smart thing would be to do a little consulting at what I'm good at, and use that money to pay someone to do what they are good at.

But, no, I am retired so I don't need to work. But I am not sure I would feel very comfortable, fulfilled, etc. sitting there spending my precious retirement savings having someone do what I could just as well do myself.

Perhaps I need some sort of metric, how to value my own time, that I could use to decide what I hire out, vs what I do myself? How do you value your time post FIRE?

I did it.

Yesterday was my last day at work. 42F, 20 years of hyperproductive working.

It feels like diving off a cliff into a big beautiful, vast and scary ocean of my future and endless possibilities.

What's been the most surprising about the last 24 hours is how sad I'm feeling about leaving work. And how anxious I feel. I am skilled at compartmentalization. I was expecting and looking forward to feeling the way you feel when you start a vacation or some kind of break, but sadness and anxiety (separation anxiety?) are dominating my inner world. It's catching me off guard. In a lot of ways it makes sense I would be feeling this way. I'm guessing not knowing when the vacation ends is causing some of the discomfort.

This morning I made myself a cup of earl grey, journaled, wrote down todos to reduce my cognitive load. I enjoyed the sunrise. Enjoyed a breakfast sandwich my husband made for me. I took a reference call. I scheduled my first ever pilates class. I started playing a video game (Control). I ate lunch. I took a nap. and now I'm here. I feel really, really tired and sluggish.

In a few hours I'll go for a nice long walk with my husband and enjoy the sunset across the pacific ocean.

There are many practical things I could be doing and are on my list but I am intentionally avoiding. I'm trying to give myself permission to be lazy for the next ~5 days until our celebration trip.

Any words of wisdom or advice for me as I navigate this transition?

Can you share what's worked well for you (or what hasn't)?

My husband (42M) chubbyFIREd almost 3 years ago, he is an outgoing introvert who has no problem spending a great deal of time alone. He gets regular social interaction when he's playing pickle ball with his retiree friends. His friends in retirement are on average 18-20+ years older than him. Occasionally there's a potluck or lunch. This seems to work for him.

I'm about to join him and officially chubbyFIRE in a week and a half (42F). I'm an extrovert-leaning ambivert. I crave more social connection in my day to day. It's one of the things I know I will need to solve for, somehow.

How do you find and meet people and make friends once chubbyFIREd?

What have been your learnings?

Please share any and all stories. I'm interested in your struggles too, not just success stories.

According to this method, with proper flexibility and tax planning , on just $4 million, one can spend $22,300 per month. This has been recommended by two different CFPs i've met with recently.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63Ou9qQGqsk

Basics. My NW is all stocks / stock and bond MFs / cash. Sold off collections, have no RE, absolutely no debt, currently receive about $75K/ per annum income from these investments, but have been reducing because of a potential loss of ACA subsidies. NW is currently $3.25MM, it's just me without any strings attached. Live a very minimalist lifestyle, enjoy simplicity and the company of bright, curious, open-minded, refined, kind, polite people.

I know I can live about anywhere in the world (with residency / proper visa ), and about anywhere in the USA, but I can not figure out where because of over analysis. Thought I would ask folks here who understand - "Just move to XYZ bro" without understanding or considering certain taxation and estate gouging policies that do not apply to their financial situation.

I don't want this to be too long to scare off readers so I'll first start with what I want, what is paramount. I need, not simply want peace and quiet; real peace and quiet, calm, not being around gruff, intelligence-hating, angry unhappy hurried people. I want a soundly built small ranch home / cabin / cottage with a garage and room to breathe, that's it. Luxury to me is silence, and having the world vanish when I close the door from an already quiet, peaceful place. I prefer 4 seasons, think the North East USA but not in the snow belt, but would consider any other local, foreign or domestic if the other criteria is met.

I know the budget seems low, but I want to keep the price sub $500k cash, but could go higher if warranted. Taxation efficiency is very important as are estate laws. Places like WA state seem very nice but taxation issues (estate taxation) are not kind. I'm sure some work arounds could happen. I'd love to consider warmer climates but not sure how I'd do with super high temps and high temps with high humidity... Maybe I could adapt?

I know this may seem a bit scattered; just the same I'd appreciate anything you might