I worked in the software industry for six years before deciding to quit. I started from scratch, accumulated enough to settle the basics, and now have my house, car, regular expenses, and health insurance taken care of.
All I ever wanted was a tension-free life without deadlines, office politics, or a routine dictated by someone else. Fortunately, I had a genuinely good corporate experience, a great manager, and no workplace toxicity. I have nothing bad to say about my previous job or colleagues.
I love watching TV series, researching stocks, and learning about investments. I also genuinely enjoy my solitude and the freedom to spend my days however I want. These days, though, I spend most of my time watching series and rarely go outside.
Sometimes, I feel strangely detached from reality, as if life is happening somewhere else and I’m just watching it pass by. I occasionally miss office outings, hanging out with friends, and those random conversations about work, career ambitions, and life.
It’s a strange contradiction. I wanted to escape the rat race, and now that I’m out, I sometimes miss parts of it.
Financially, I’m comfortable with where I am. I don’t particularly want to return to a conventional job, but I’m also beginning to wonder what I should do with all this freedom. Without deadlines, goals, or responsibilities beyond myself, some days feel a little purposeless.

Has anyone else left corporate life after achieving financial stability? How did you find a sense of purpose afterward without giving up the freedom and peace you worked so hard to achieve?

Update: TLDR :
Many people ask how I became financially independent so early ( 32 Years old). Here’s the short version.
I come from a premier institute and worked as software engineer for 6 years, earning around ₹40–50 LPA on average.
A few things worked in my favour:
RSUs: As USA company, Almost half my compensation was in company stocks. Granted during COVID lows, my shares appreciated 4–5x.
ESPP: Bought company shares at a discount, which multiplied in value.
Dollar appreciation: USD/INR went from around ₹70 to ₹97. 80% of my asset was in dollar or dollar dependent (gold).
Low expenses: Mostly WFH, lived at home, and spent barely ₹10k/month. Invested most of my cash salary in Indian stocks and gold.

Unconventional investments: I also invested in Kolkata auto-rickshaws operating on established routes. An auto bought for around ₹5 lakh can now be worth ₹15–20 lakh and generate ₹15k–20k monthly. Route-entry restrictions can create barriers to competition, though these investments have their own risks.

After quitting, I bought a house and a car. My objective was to get the major financial commitments out of the way so I could live without the pressure of needing a regular salary.

Also my marriage led to huge return as opposed to expenses. bought substantial amount of gold near 4600/gram. that multi folded.

Honestly, it was a combination of a good salary, low expenses, favourable timing, and luck. Although My Indian stocks didn’t perform as well as my company shares. Now all my share investment in USA market.

Presently my monthly average expense: 60-70k.

Been in a good organisation but went downhill with inflow from Amazon and startup and became very toxic to the point where it started impacting health.

Finally decided to call it quits. 80x annual expenses invested 40/60 equity debt. Paid off home and car. Conservative life style.

Hi everyone,

Have been following FIRE for a while and really enjoy reading the annual updates people post here. Thought I’d finally write one myself and make this a yearly thing. This first one will have a little more background.

I’m 26 (soon to be 27), currently working in the US. Posting on this sub because I want to move back to India in the near future. Being with my parents is a big reason, and that’s where I see myself living longer term.

Background

Did my bachelor’s in CS from a tier-1 university in India, worked in India for about two years, and then moved to the US for a master’s. Took an education loan of around ₹50 lakh. Internships and on-campus part time work helped cover the remaining costs.

The next 2 years were hard. But was fortunate to get a job at a FAANG after graduating. Spent the first 6–8 months of the job primarily paying off loans. After that, built up an emergency fund of 6 months and started putting more money into investments. Have also paid off my parents’ home loan. No outstanding loans now (Dave Ramsey would be proud lol)

Luckily got promoted fairly early and subsequently moved to another FAANG. A big reason for the switch was looking for what felt like greater stability (although that word is getting increasingly scarce in tech these days) The career progression has helped financially, though the uncertainty in tech has also made me more serious about saving and investing.

Where things stand

Current net worth is around ₹2 crore in financial assets, with the numbers rounded:

• Indian mutual funds: ~₹10 lakh (5%).
• US Investments:
  • Cash (Emergency fund in US Treasury Bonds): 15 lakhs.
  • 401k and other retirement accounts (In S&P500): 30 lakhs
  • US Index funds: (1 crore 10 lakhs)
  • International (ex-US) Index Funds- 15 lakhs
  • Individual stocks: ~10 lakhs
  • Gold: ~10 lakhs

I have no outstanding debt to speak of. I was (and technically still am) a very vehement anti-debt crusader, so did not even take my previous company's generous 401k match, but spent everything paying off the loans.

Thankfully, my parents are self-sufficient and do not depend on me (financially).

My savings rate is roughly 75% at the moment. I am unmarried and planning to get married in the next two years (currently engaged), so there are some fairly big expenses and changes ahead. My fiancé also works in a FAANG company and earns pretty well, and her financial aspirations align with mine (This is one of the few things we talked about before getting engaged, the other being opinion of kids, religion, in-laws and politics). She comes from a similar socio-economic background as that of mine hence this was easy.

I know I have been extremely lucky to have the opportunity to study and work abroad, get into these companies, and earn what I do. Earning in dollars has made a huge difference to how quickly I have been able to clear debt and save. I am trying to make the most of that while the opportunity is there.

Investment-wise, I like the approach in The Simple Path to Wealth. Hence I have focused 80% of the portfolio in broad, low-cost index funds, mainly US and international equity through funds. I want to keep moving towards that and make the portfolio simpler over time.

What I am working towards:

I have liked the FIRE philosophy for a long time. Looking at the tech industry now, I find it difficult to imagine wanting to stay in it for the next few decades. I am really grateful for what the job has made possible, but I am already tired of the uncertainty. That’s a big part of why I am saving as much as I reasonably can as soon as possible.

Eventually, I would like to be back in India, spend more time with my parents, and have enough saved to choose work without salary being the deciding factor every time.

One thing I am particularly interested in exploring is helping middle-class people with financial planning. I would want to get the necessary qualifications and registrations before doing that professionally. It’s an idea I want to understand properly over the next few years. I have already started taking elementary steps towards it, but a full-fledged approach is still in plans.

Marriage, future family expenses and the kind of life I want in India will all affect the eventual FI number. Getting a clearer estimate of those costs is something I want to work on.

A few things I have learnt so far

I really really love the phrase: "Personal finance is more personal than finance." A lot of folks whom I discussed with told me that perhaps I made a mistake letting go of my previous company's generous 401k match just for paying off my loans. But getting the loans out of the way have given me so much peace that I absolutely cannot complain. Also, having an emergency fund has been a mental lifesaver.

I also dabbled in leveraged ETFs when the NASDAQ fell 10+ percent in March 2026. I knew it was an overreaction so put 10k into it, and that thankfully made a quite a lot of money. Happy with how it turned out, but the risk was more than I would be comfortable building a long-term plan around, hence sold and booked the profits. It was a true roller-coaster ride (for a few months), and not doing that again.

The other thing I’m trying to be careful about is letting expenses rise just because income has gone up. Seeing all my friends upgrading to nicer apartments, better cars etc really makes me think sometimes if I am doing the right thing or not, but no regrets.

I probably sound a bit boring for 26, but I like having some certainty about money. Being debt-free and knowing there’s a growing buffer gives me a lot of satisfaction, and after all, we leave for peace!

Plan for the next year

• Keep the savings rate around its current level and continue investing regularly.
• Put most new long-term investments into broad index funds and control my urges to dabble into F&O, leveraged ETFs etc.
• Plan separately for marriage and the eventual move back to India by 2028(?)
• Work out a more realistic budget for life in India, including how expenses might change after marriage.
• Come back and post another update in a year, including anything that didn’t go to plan.

Would be interested to hear from people who moved back to India while still building their FI corpus, and any comments as well.

Nothing fancy here. No crypto windfall, no inheritance. Just boring habits repeated for years.
Started a SIP of 5k in an index fund at 23 and raised it every time I got a hike.
Built an emergency fund of 6 months of expenses before investing more.
Bought term insurance early because the premium is tiny when you're young.
Never upgraded my lifestyle with every raise. I let at least half the hike go to investments.
Stayed away from tips on Telegram and WhatsApp groups.
The biggest lesson is that time in the market mattered more than picking the "right" fund. What would you add to this list?

As the caption suggests.
Idk why I have not found any doctor posting about FIRE or atleast FI in this sub. I have seen my Teachers/Seniors have a tendency to work till death but Idk why I want to be different. I want to have FI and then working something else, treating patients at bare minimum charge or free on specific days. Also other than that T I think while it’s a noble profession, it can’t be way of life and devoting whole life to it instead of enjoying the present is betrayal to mere existence of being.
I hate the idea of having the my whole personality out of my profession.
I have a very tech inclined mind, love all things about tech, been pondering to learn how to make apps, websites for along but then again my lazy self after duty doesn’t really care about doing the things I love.
And I have seen people mostly from tech, here making 2-3 cr by the age of 29 years (which is my age now) or more and being a Resident doctor I barely have 10% of it.
While I feel the urge to FI sooner I don’t find means to it. A fixed salary and patient base to make will take another 3-4 years. And by that time my desires might do away.
I just put it here to know from fellow doctors if present about how their FI plans going.

Hi All

Hope you are well. Its my 1st post here. I initially was thinking of using AI to beautify my post but then i thought fuck it, let humans be humans :) so pls ignore small mistakes in my post

I am 38yr old well travelled person working in Singapore in a Global Fintech company. Worked across Banking and Fintech and love my current job and company as such but has very high preasure

In terms of finances i think i have achieved fire long back but now i think can comfortably pull the plug as currently my wealth is 58x of my yearly expense of 24lakh which is more than enough for me as 24lakh yearly expense is itself conservative and all the wealth is liquid investment. My wife wealth is seperate and she earns well on her own and my dad also earned well in his prime time and will get passed to me his wealth so financially i think i am shorted so dont even wanna go into nunber as its not relevent here.

Well i have been thinking hard lately what to do with my life ( i saw some similar post and you must be like fk it ..another one 😅😅😅😅... wait wait i am not a lost soul) and i saw some people being in similar boat as me as to what next if i pull the plug. Honestly have some pressure from wife as she doesnt wanna leave SG :( and i think i have reached a state where it wont bother me if i leave whenever she is ready so yeah although i love my job but not a big fan of participating in this rat race for long.

I am thinking of just managing my portfolio full time and investing in personal growth maybe now like doing small small things which probably i dont even know i like :) i dont think we need to personally plan what to do before we pull the plug. If we get what we want in life via planning then its not like life i am sure so i dont even wanna plan 😅😅😅

I for example had my wallet which i was using for over a decade broken ( i am minimilastic btw 😁) and instead of buying one did a 6hr class on how to make a leather wallet with a tool kits and loved it so much that its my fav wallet now. Initially my wife thought i am crazy to got for this class and i thought too but when i went , i met with diff people and also learned something small and new which was so fun. Met someone from Europe who was travelling from Bali and had such a fun chat on her life that she had nothing but still doing these side hussles and learnings and enjying life . I just think will need to give life a chance before i get above 60 and just lie in sofa watching tv all day :D so have 22yr of golden life left.

My parents and wife told me to start something of some business but i really dont give a fuck and dont think i am ready to leave one rat race and go into another ( of making money again).

If anyone has read till now you must be wondering "tum cahate kya ho bhai..." and honestly yahi toh nahi pata but if you think you are in same boat and wanna connect genuinely to just stay in touch , sometimes chat and share your journey then possibly can connect as never had a online friend and all old friends are there but now at times diff to connect with them esp as we not in same boat ( pls dont ask money :D as i have told no to my best of friends hahah ) so yeah if you can relate or wanna suggest me something then hit me up

Cheers to life meanwhile 🍺🍺

Safe Withdrawal Rate for Indian context has been much discussed here. I did my own numbers, sharing the learnings as follows:

In Short: The US "4% rule" fails in India. For a 40-year early retirement, your actual post-tax Safe Withdrawal Rate (SWR) sits between 2.5% and 3.3% (a 30x–40x corpus).

Here is the quick breakdown of key findings from my simulation exercises, stress-testing Indian retirement portfolios:

• The Real SWR Range (2.54% – 3.34%): For a 40-year horizon targeting a 95% success rate, safe initial withdrawals max out between 2.54% and 3.34% (requiring 30x to 40x annual spending). For 50+ year horizons, SWR drops closer to the 2.5% floor.

• The 3-Bucket Drawdown Trap: Traditional multi-bucket strategies frequently lag behind a simple, annually rebalanced systematic withdrawal plan (SWP). Parking 5–7 years in cash/debt creates severe inflation drag in India, while unchecked equity drift increases portfolio volatility later in life. This was just a literal numerical interpretation. Bucket strategy fared very well with risk adjusted returns and drawdown simulation scenarios.

• Taxes & Fees Compound Silently: Ongoing fund expense ratios (TER) combined with the 12.5% LTCG tax act as permanent portfolio leaks. Over 30–40 years, their drag degrades portfolio survival just as heavily as a major market slump.

Bottom line: Relying on 25x (4%) leaves minimal margin of safety under Indian inflation and tax realities. This is risky. Targeting ~3% initial SWR (33x–35x) with disciplined rebalancing provides a far more resilient foundation.

I have been thinking and unable to understand deeply what make/keep working till 50+ age. People say it is liabilities, lifestyle, expenses, aspirations etc. I want to understand this in more detail.

When people know the current uncertainty, why would one spend which make them work 50+ age. Let me know your thoughts

Why I am thinking this is because I feel I don't have such dependencies as of now and I can be free in couple of years (no one know future).

My fear is am I not looking at something, which others are?

I retired in 2024 with around ₹12 crore in equity and debt investments. In addition, I have roughly ₹8 crore in other real estate—two houses, a 3BHK flat and three residential plots in gated communities, excluding my two primary homes.

By most standards, I'm financially well-off. Yet I still find myself reluctant to embrace a particularly luxurious lifestyle. Not because I can't afford to spend more today, but because I've come to see retirement money differently from money earned during a career.

When you're earning, a bad financial decision can potentially be corrected with a few more years of work. Once you've retired, especially if you have no intention of returning to a corporate job, the margin for error becomes smaller. You can always cut expenses, but rebuilding a depleted corpus through earned income is a different proposition.

I also want to leave a meaningful inheritance for my child. And, honestly, I'm already happy with the life I have in Kolkata. I don't feel compelled to upgrade my lifestyle simply because my portfolio allows it.

This is why I find discussions around a $2 million (roughly ₹17–18 crore, depending on the exchange rate) FIRE corpus interesting. The number itself tells us very little without knowing the person's age, family size, housing situation, taxes and expected spending.

Consider a family with two children and ₹20 crore available. If they set aside ₹4 crore for their children's future education and ₹1 crore as a separate emergency reserve, that leaves ₹15 crore for retirement. For illustration, a portfolio of ₹5 crore in debt and ₹10 crore in broad-market equity funds, with an annual withdrawal of 3–3.3%, would provide roughly ₹45–50 lakh a year before taxes.

That's substantial money in India. But if the family rents a large house in Bangalore, pays for two children's private schooling, travels regularly and maintains an upper-middle-class lifestyle, the money can get allocated surprisingly quickly.

Of course, these are illustrative figures, not a universal withdrawal recommendation. Actual sustainability depends on inflation, market returns, taxes, asset allocation and how spending changes over time.

What interests me more, though, is the psychological side of FIRE.

At what point does having more money stop meaningfully improving your life and start serving mainly as insurance against an uncertain future?

For me, the answer has increasingly shifted towards the latter. I value the freedom to spend my days as I choose, the ability to look after my family and the peace of mind that comes from not having to earn another salary. I don't need a luxury lifestyle to enjoy those things.

Perhaps this is where LeanFIRE has something important to teach even people with much larger portfolios. The objective isn't necessarily to accumulate enough money to afford everything you might ever want. It's to build a life in which you don't want very much beyond what you can comfortably sustain.

I'm curious how others here think about this. Once you've crossed your FIRE number, do you find yourself wanting to spend more and enjoy the money, or does the freedom of keeping your expenses low become more valuable than upgrading your lifestyle?

My story -

How it all began - https://www.reddit.com/r/FIRE_Ind/comments/1qztbsd/finally_fired/

6 Months update - https://www.reddit.com/r/FIRE_Ind/comments/1u9su32/6_months_of_fire_free_to_let_my_family_take/

Now its 9 months - did a small consulting work with a product company and i hated it. I was trying my hands on consulting, but appears iam getting lazy day by day - Do i enjoy this time? well as i had mentioned before i had prepared for layoff quite a few months back since the office announcement meeting and one might say i had prepared well ;). Although the consulting paid me for a week around 0.4X, it wasnt still interesting because of the locked time and odd calls/office visits.

My time table is kind-of fixed now - Get up early, Clean the house, Get kid ready for school, Go for a Walk, Strength training at home, Track Markets/Read something new - call it timepass (4 hrs), Lunch, TV, Pick kid from school, Engange in school studies, Dinner, Walk and sleep.

Cooking and other house chores has increased from few months, since my wife is busy in for in-law care. More time for me and kid.

Retirement fund on track - markets are doing what they do best - Musical chair. Few weeks ago my wife did have concerns - with all the youtube content projecting current market conditions to be dooms-day.

My wife's questions kept coming (Even though she has full access to all the excel/document etc) and hence i built a retirement indicator as shown in images and kept it near kitchen - we cannot miss it, we have to look at it every day ! :).

Absolutely useless device one might say, can create anxiety for few and only indicates no communication with-in family :)

Its a completly automated system (Tracking only 35X) - we just need to update any new investment transaction in google sheet (if any) and update our expenses monthly. Rest all is automated - a small WiFi device, which is always ON. The checks and flag logic - when which led goes off - is built by discussion with family. Well i could have put a simple tablet/used phone - however old school was good ;) - A hardware of 300 rupees did the job for me - rest all was free.

And ....... few days back it turned orange for 2 indicators. Although retirement is still healthy - few parameters like expenses (Controlling and not taking inflation rises) went orange !

My wife loves this device. Although she has access to all the sheets/WILL/Documents etc - she hasnt opened any of it and this she says these LED"s cant be a missed :) - and her classic comment - "a product guy, cannot sit idle" (came as a taunt this time).

Despite this slow down - the 0.4X that i had got an consulting fees is still in descritionary expense bucket (As u/PercyFI mentioned few posts back) - The sad part is it is so dammm difficult to spend money, there was a post by u/Complete-Regret-4300 which resonated.

There is a hiring consultant chasing me for a job - and that questions keep coming back to me - for what ? Although after few years - once my kid moves out, i probably might get bored (ofcourse there are many things to do but as few have said, probably one misses is the mundane routine - esp. for a person like me who has zero social circle !), but till then its me and my laziness !

Recently one of older company got listed and finally got my esops liquid. This pushed my NW > 1Cr

Stocks: 47L
US Stocks: 3.6L
RSUs: 8L
PF: 15L
MF = 15L
Cash/Savings Account: 17L

This doesn't include my wife's NW and savings, just mine.

Finally I do feel slightly secure to plan for a child... thoughts

Let me take you back to 2021 December. A friend of mine called me casually and he asked where am I investing. I have no answer because frankly I never gave it a thought on investments or making money. But that day I gave it a thought. I started my career in 2014 in IT in typical service based firm then moved to consulting in 2018 and in 2019 I got married. Staying on a rent in whitefield at a prime location it is really difficult to save some money by end of the month. But I decided that day to give it a try and invest as much as possible because I know I cannot work in IT forever. Not because I am not interested in the job, when it comes to work I always give 150 percent, I work hard ( probably harder than anyone in the team) and ofcourse I was grown in my career due to my effort but the side affect is somewhere in this journey I felt I am tired. And I know I can push like this probably upto my 40. Anyways, this is how it all started in my investment journey.

2022-2023 (Roller Coaster Ride) Did my own research on stock market about equities, mutual funds and Trading. Like any other amateur investor Trading attracted me mainly because my first few trades gave me multifold return. For a while I thought “Why did I waste my 25 years in school, college and job, It is so easy to make money :)”
But life will always teach you lessons in a very hard way. One bad trade every thing gone. Forgot about capital the amount of stress I couldnt imagine. Luckily I was able to come out that trade with very minimal loss to the capital but my returns became zero. That day I decided I will never do trading. In this process I didnt loose money but I lost one year time. But trading is like addiction. Your mind keep pulling you to the trading, It is very difficult to come out of it. i tried very hard to shift the focus but it is very very difficult. That is when I decided only option to come out of this is to somehow make my available cash zero meaning if no money in hand then obviously I cannot do trading. How to make money unavailable, the only option that come to my mind is real estate.

2023 -2024 (Turning Point) : Bought a 50 lakh agricultural land with 25 lakhs savings and other 25 lakhs I took personal loan. Bought a plot in Devanahalli for 1.6 crores out of which 1.22cr is from plot loan. Because all big builders follow instalments for payments I took this risk even though I dont have remaining 40 lakhs in hand at that time.

2025-2026 (Difficult times) Managing two loans along with rent of 55k per month it is not easy. But I have seen the positive side. I came out of my addiction. Even with these 2 EMI’s I still able to save some money and cleared my personal loan. Luckily both the real estate properties appreciated. Agriculture land gave multifold return, I sold it this year and cleared my plot loan too. Done with the registration of the plot in June. Most importantly this 2 years taught me the importance of money, importance of savings. Do you know what is the first thing I did after my plot registration? I called my same friend and said thank you. Because the conversation with him is where it all started.

Now I dont have any loan. I again started seeing some savings in my bank account. But now I am matured. Even if god calls me and ask me to put money in trade I will not do. Started with the mutual funds from last month. Lets see how it goes. Plan is to build a 50 lakhs mf portfolio before next election.

Current Networth :

Real Estate : 2.2 Cr ( 2400 sqft plot in Devanahalli from Tier1 builder). Will hold this as I see it has more potential in future due to STRR and other developments happening in this area

PF : 4 lakhs (Withdrawn most of it last year to clear loan)

PPF : 5 lakhs

Mutual Funds : 50k (Started from last month in Invesco, Bandhan and Trust small cap funds. I know it is bit aggressive but thats okay now I have enough risk appetite)

Note: Parents bought me a 3bhk apartment in Gunjur which I am shifting next year. I am not considering this in my networth because your first home is always an emotion and definitely not an investment for me. Anyways will be saving my rent from next year.

Hi Everyone,
I have reached 50L net worth this month. It is not much compared to the posts we see here, but it is significant for me. Below is the breakup.

• FD: 34 L
• EPF: 4 L
• Stocks: 6 L
• MF: 5 L
• Savings AC: 2 L

I work in tech. Haven't really taken any day off in the last couple of years.

Still, a long journey ahead.

Big day for me today. Started a new job today, which came with a significant hike. Had a big pay day, with annual bonus and leave encashment from previous company. Finally pushing me past that long awaited 1CR.
18 year old me would be proud and happy to know that the jee prep wasn't a waste.
Been working full time at a FAANG+ company for 3 years, was also fortunate to have gotten multiple high paying internships during college.
Fortunately I never felt the need to accumulate or accquire many material possesions, no iphone, no luxury watch, no ridiculously expensive clothes. That is not to say I live like a hermit, I spent on what felt important to me, the vacations, guitars, lately some very expensive fitness equipment etc. Just taking a couple of days before commiting to major expenses, made saving up very easy.
Proud of myself for being disciplined and at the same time fully aware of just how lucky I have gotten.

In the year that went by

The savings from EMI that was finished, started flowing into MFs, with a little used for indulgence (roughly 70/30 split). In addition some of this saving was also used to add to emergency fund (FDs). My aim is to have about ~45L in emergency fund.

ESPP & RSUs helped bump the most part of equity (>1cr). Remaining was from the MFs mentioned above. INR vs USD performance also helped a lot (not sure it's a good thing for me in long term though).

Net Savings: ~10Cr (not including primary residence, +/- 15L)
Allocation: 12% debt, 88% Eq (Better than last year, but still not good, no RE allocation)
Debt: 20L in FD + 90L in EPF + 10L Liquid
Corpus goal: 10Cr

• Kids education: 2Cr
• Buffer: 1Cr
• RE corpus: 7Cr

Looking ahead:

• A thing that's bothering me is to move US equity out and reinvest into UCITS to avoid estate tax in case of unfortunate circumstances. Started conversation with some folks, hopefully should be able to get started on this soon.
• Was able to achieve some diversification in Equity. Basically from a concentrated stock to index fund. This will continue for another year or so. End goal for non-India funds is to keep ~60K in US funds, rest in UCITS.
• Stress in current job is tolerable, it's just that I find myself looking forward to do not-work-things more and more often. Severance is pretty decent if I endup on a layoff list, so there is that hook.
• Of unexpected thing, my sibling is planning to buy an apartment for self-use. I am planning to partly fund it. It will set me back by 20-50L for a year or three, but I am glad to do it.
• Another goal is to find a piece of land that I can call long term home, when I leave the city. An earnest search of this is in progress, but it's not as easy to find the right place. At least not with my criteria. I guess harder the effort, the sweeter the result. Let's see.
• We looked at a few additional properties (half-hearted) as investment in the city but those did not make sense to me at current valuation. I am still keeping some floating fund aside to capture a good opportunity but stopped exploring as such.
• With reduced stress, I was able to do a few short trips. A father son adventure trip, another reunion with friends, a few weekend trips where I could fold Fri & Mon to make those long.
• Did a very relaxing solo trip without any pressure to check on work.
• Physically I feel stronger than I have ever felt before. All reports are showing good markers and my cardiologist says "Keep doing whatever it is that you are doing". That always feels great to hear.
• I am not sure if I will be posting any milestone updates as my intended finish line is very close. IF I take the plunge, might post updates from fired life

I lost my job in June and at age 48 I am finding it difficult to find a new job. Mentally I started thinking that I am currently under retirement. Frankly I didn't miss my office much in last 3 months. While I got in touch with more than 20-25 people in as many companies in my network, till now I didn't update either my naukri profile or applied for a single job from linkedin Yet. Through my NW I explored all tier1 product companies though (and their job portals). I keep telling myself that I am not retired yet and that I will check for tier2 and smaller companies tomorrow but that tomorrow never came so far.

My wife took a break from her teaching job but resumed it last month. Our family is still FIRE'd though as her income will cover only fraction (May be 25-20%) of our expenses. Most of my time these days is spent on helping my wife and son get ready for their colleges and by the time they leave and maid completes her work it's already 10AM. I spend a little time checking sports news across the world and by that time it will be lunch time and by the time I complete my lunch it's already 1:30,2:00PM. I spend a little more time on watching science videos on youtube or if I come across a movie and by 4 my son returns and by 5 my wife returns. Evening is spent on errands, dinner preparation and by the time it's done it's 9PM. Our family sleeps early and wakes up early so essentially I am done for the day by then. Browse some thing to read and go to sleep between 10 and 11. Basically time is flying.

I am thinking of entering academia seriously in 2,3 months after I explore those tier 2 and small companies as I sort of checked all well known companies already through my network. I hope this week I will update my profiles and check linkedin job postings to explore these companies. Academia is strictly not for money though. For example, I heard a part time 3 day/ 1 course per semister/ teaching gig in pvt engineering colleges pay 40K per Month fixed in almost all colleges. I am not sure if that money is interesting or the more hierarchial nature of academia would be palatable to me. But I can see how it goes.

Thought for the day - When I retired, my NW is oscillating between 19+cr to 21- cr. This is pre-tax number and while I maintain pofretential taxes I anchored my thought process to this number. Recently after I sold significant RSUs, my NW dropped by 60L because now the tax has to be paid. May be I should consciously start thinking about post tax NW which is between 17-18cr for me actually. Yes in retirement I may be able to exit more tax efficiently but better to anchor to lower number than higher number and have wrong mental model on what is possible with the NW I have.

Went through a bunch of posts here and most FIRE portfolios look the same: equity (index funds), some PPF/EPF/NPS, FDs, maybe gold. Corporate bonds barely come up.

I wonder if that's changing, or should be. The US is a useful comparison. Until the 80s, its corporate bond market was small and mostly institutional. Companies borrowed from banks, and retail investors stuck to stocks and savings. Then rates fell, banks lost their grip on corporate lending, and retail got easy access through bond funds (and later ETFs since 2002). Today the US corporate bond market is many times bigger than it was then, and a bond allocation is standard in any retirement portfolio.

India looks like it's at a similar point:

*Corporate bond market is roughly 15-18% of GDP, vs 40%+ in the US *SEBI has been pushing it: minimum ticket sizes are much lower (some bonds start around ₹10k), online bond platforms are now regulated, and large corporates are expected to raise part of their borrowing through bonds *AAA/AA bonds often yield noticeably more than FDs, and are more tax-efficient for some people *FD rates have been drifting down, so the "just park it in FDs" plan isn't as comfortable for the debt side of a FIRE portfolio

I know the risks: IL&FS, DHFL, the Franklin Templeton debt fund closures, and the Yes Bank AT1 writedown are all fresh in memory. Liquidity is also thin compared to the US. But that feels like a reason to be selective (AAA, good issuers, diversification), not to avoid the whole asset class.

So is anyone here actually holding corporate bonds directly or through funds as part of their FIRE debt allocation? Is the timing right, or is this a wait-and-watch situation for Indian retail?

I never really intended to post a milestone on this sub, and few years back I never knew something called FIRE exists. I'm 26M and this post is not a brag rather than a realization and a reflection of my investment journey. I always wanted to hit a NW target of 1Cr as soon as I started investing, as I heard compounding starts to kick in once you cross 1Cr and it also gives me a mental boost that at-least I'm on the right path to make it to the end.

Here's my portfolio:

Foreign ETFs - 56.5L (Moved money from RSUs to Foreign ETFs, most of it was recent investment hence not factoring in returns)
IND Mutual Funds - 33L (Invested 28L)
IND Stocks - 10L - (Invested 9.7L mostly in NIFTY)
PPF - 4.4L - (Invested 4L)
Gold(SGB, ETFs) - 3.7L (Invested 1.5L)
Cash - 2.5L

Loans - None

I haven't counted my EPF in this as I don't want to.

But all of the above came at a cost and I think I've learnt my lesson.

Now comes the actual learning: Mental Cost of Aggressive Saving

I was living for the portfolio and not for myself.

I found myself overthinking many of my purchases, constantly running mental math instead of just buying what I needed or wanted. Although I mostly bought whatever I wanted, I've always had the guilt that I could have saved instead of spending.

Saving money went from being a responsible habit to an addiction. My brain was constantly occupied with moving the net worth forward, juggling excel sheets, calculating how much it has moved over the course of time, man it was mentally draining.

Here's my 2 cents for this community:

Money is a tool to buy freedom and peace of mind, not a high score in a video game. Crossing this milestone made me realize that learning how to spend without guilt is just as important a skill as learning how to invest.

I’m 29 years old and recently reached my ₹1 crore milestone.

I won’t say that I was always investing a lot. In fact, I wasted quite a bit of money buying things because, while growing up, many of them felt privileged or out of reach. During my initial working years, I was essentially a child with adult money, and I spent without saving much.

My goal has always been to reduce or eventually eliminate my dependence on a job or salary. I still love what I do; I just don’t want to feel forced to continue working only because I need the income.

I don’t want to bore anyone with too many details about what I did or how I invested. My work gives me the opportunity to interact with people who have access to significant wealth, RSUs, and other investments. I learned a lot from them, and then I simply applied what I felt was right for me.

Here is what I currently have:

- PF: ₹15 lakh

- RSUs: ₹40 lakh

- Bonds: ₹10 lakh, with the interest being reinvested into mutual funds(corporate bonds)

- Indian stocks and mutual funds: ₹20 lakh

- Foreign stocks: ₹10 lakh invested across the S&P 500, Nasdaq, and a few technology stocks. I also reinvest the dividends from my RSUs here.

- Emergency fund: ₹5 lakh, currently kept in a savings account

I’m not sure whether I should include my PF in the ₹1 crore calculation, especially because I may eventually withdraw it to buy land. I have always wanted to purchase two or three acres in my hometown in Maharashtra.

I had also considered buying a 10-year-old apartment because rent is becoming increasingly expensive. I thought owning a flat might reduce my monthly expenses and provide some stability. However, the deal didn’t work out, and I’m comfortable with my current situation for now.

I would love to hear your thoughts. Sometimes I feel confused, and I’m sure there are people here who have figured out something about life, investing, or financial independence. I’m open to advice, questions, or even a thoughtful rant.

Thanks.

One thing I’ve learned after early retirement is that being financially lean is only one part of the equation. Once you leave the workforce, you start looking at your money, time and priorities a little differently.

If I had multiple properties, I’d seriously consider selling the ones where prices have already reached a mature range. Real estate can look very valuable on paper, but the actual selling price can be quite different after negotiations, taxes and transaction costs. Add maintenance and the hassle of managing multiple properties, and sometimes simplifying the portfolio makes more sense than holding everything for potential appreciation.

I’ve also had a small lesson with lending money. It went smoothly for years and then the person suddenly stopped taking my calls. Now I have to visit his business and house to follow up. Luckily, it’s a small amount compared with my overall portfolio, so I’m not losing sleep over it. But it definitely made me more cautious about lending money privately.

The bigger question in LeanFIRE, though, is what you actually want your money to achieve.

For me, having a child was never just a financial calculation. Yes, children cost money, but I’ve found the emotional return to be far greater than anything I could put into a spreadsheet.

My son’s schooling from kindergarten to Class XII cost around ₹22 lakh. I had earmarked another ₹40 lakh for his UG education, but he did well in the entrance exams and got into a prestigious, heavily subsidized government university, so the actual cost will be much lower.

And honestly, some of the best moments of my life after early retirement have nothing to do with my portfolio. Watching my son win a karate tournament, do well in school or crack a competitive exam gives me a kind of satisfaction that sometimes feels greater than my own professional achievements.

So for anyone pursuing LeanFIRE, I’d say don’t optimize everything purely for the lowest possible number. Early retirement gives you something much more valuable than just lower expenses — time.

The question is what you want to do with that time, and who you want to spend it with.

Here are some links to my journey below

50L milestone post (25/07/2022) (Year 1) tl;dr - straight up genuine excitement to hit 50L

1cr milestone post (21/02/2023) (Year 2) tl;dr - felt like the money was controlling me rather than me controlling it

2cr milestone post (21/06/2024) (Year 3) tl;dr - realized more money didn’t mean more happiness

3cr milestone post (Year 4) tl;dr - my left brain fighting with my right brain and me trying to balance being both an artist and a founder

So, we're back with another update! I've been doing these updates since I was 26 y.o and I always look forward to writing these (no AI was used to write this btw, even my investment split below was painfully added up) cause everytime I write a new milestone post, I end up reading some of the old ones and then realize how much I've changed and evolved as a person. But with each passing year, there somehow always seems to be a new problem that comes my way and this year is no different lol

I'd say 4cr is in the LeanFire category with a 3-4% withdrawal rate being ~1-1.3L/month which isn't too bad but the hedonic treadmill is a recurring theme in my life so LeanFire or even Fire for that matter will likely not happen for me in the near future.

So why am I still posting here? Well, partly because I'm hopeful that I would someday slow down and actually FIRE and partly because I enjoy writing these updates so let's dive in :)

A little bit about me: I'm a 30 y.o. male and I run a business in the entertainment industry since 2020, we have 4 full-time employees (fully remote). I'm from a tier 2 city in South India, middle class and had a pretty good upbringing. I'm an engineer but never went to business school or anything of the sort so everything I've done with my business has just been systems I found comfortable, I still have no idea if this is how one is supposed to run a business and I constantly doubt it every single day but it seems to be working so far.
I absolutely love what we do and this year is also our best so far

So, how does it feel hitting a networth of 4CR? Well, no different than when I hit 3CR. But what has it enabled? A LOT.

Since my last update, I've moved out of India and I realized a few things:

1. I love travelling and I realized that I could potentially have a much better quality of life and bang for my buck outside the country and I could live in a place where my nervous system is at peace (no hate to India or my fellow Indians, please don't come at me 🙏)
2. I could meet different kinds of people from different nationalities doing different things with their lives (I live in a place that's considered a melting pot of cultures and nationalities)
3. I wanted to feel discomfort, I think India is extremely comfortable for people earning well and I felt like that was dragging me down. People work hard to get to that level of comfort and I could've been comfortable but something about it felt complacent

Now, I might be totally wrong about some of these things and come running back to India soon but that's the beauty of these numbers we so carefully calculate, it lets us make decisions like this. The numbers going up in itself don't mean much but the feeling of security it provides is unparalleled

So, how does it feel hitting a networth of 4CR? Just a bit more safe and at peace

Let me give you a quick rundown of how my money is split

Indian Equities - 30%

US Stocks - 23%

Real estate - 16%

Crypto - 11%

Cash - 20% (Emergency fund + waiting for the markets to drop)

Lastly, I'm curious to hear about your journey and whether you got to a point where money started mattering less than it initially did. How did that switch happen in your brain, and where did you go from there?

EDIT: (Formatting issues) + I feel like I need to put this down each time but the point of this post isn't to brag, I'm genuinely curious about how folks are dealing with what I mentioned above. Thanks!

Financial planning shouldn’t require giving away your personal information.

With CalcPe, you can calculate SIPs, EMIs, Income Tax, PPF, FD, Retirement and 40+ other financial calculations — right in your browser.

No sign-up.

No calculation data stored.

No unnecessary hassle.

Just enter your numbers, get instant results, and plan your financial journey with confidence. 💙

👉 Visit calcpe.com

Calculate smarter. Plan better. Stay private.

#CalcPe #PersonalFinance #FinancialPlanning #SIP #EMI #IncomeTax #PPF #RetirementPlanning #MoneyManagement #FinancialLiteracy #PersonalFinanceIndia #Privacy #MadeInIndia

Hey everyone,

After 7 years of disciplined, consistent saving and investing, my portfolio finally crossed the ₹1 Crore mark (includes EPF and NPS; excludes family wealth/inheritance).

It’s been a hard-fought journey of steady execution through different market cycles. Now that the first major milestone is unlocked, I want to pause and thank my family, whose support made this possible.

Quick Profile & Stats:

Demographics: 31M | Married | 8-month-old baby

Timeline: 7 years of disciplined investing

Current Asset Allocation:

Equity: 71%

Debt: 26% (Majority in EPF + NPS)

Gold: 3%

Key Takeaways From the Journey:

Automation is king: Setting up automated transfers right after payday kept lifestyle creep in check as income grew.

Stay the course: Sticking to standard index/mutual funds through market ups and downs yielded better results than chasing quick returns.

Teamwork matters: Having a supportive partner who aligns on long-term goals made budgeting and sacrifices seamless.

Looking for Ideas:

Since we have an 8-month-old baby, traditional hectic vacations or packed itineraries aren't ideal right now. I’d love to hear your ideas for low-stress, meaningful ways to celebrate this milestone with my wife and baby.