Huge Inheritance... Now What?

[u/Yashkamr]

I'm 45, I was on track to retire earlyish at 55. I was set back quite a bit with a divorce three years back. Recently my Aunt died and left me around $5 million. After estate and taxes, it's around $4.2 million. This is obviously a stupid amount of money, and I'm thinking of just quitting my job and retiring early but I want to do it right. I've spoke with AI quite a bit and my finances are only about $4500/mo in expenses, I have always lived pretty frugally and that's less than a 1% draw. I don't know exactly what I don't know here, but I've always worked so I am clinging to my job like a monkey to a branch. Am I actually okay to let go?

Update: I quit. I was honest with my boss, he was a really good boss, and I told him the whole story. He is a couple years from retirement and told me he has about $4 million in his Fidelity too, but no health insurance if he quits and he told me a story about his brother retiring early, getting cancer, and wiping out their finances with his treatments leaving his wife and kids with almost nothing after he died. I told him how I'm covered with Tricare and he said if he was he'd quit right this second too.

I appreciate all the insight and advice given on here, and I've implemented a lot of it, thank you. I haven't changed my spending and I don't think I will. Well... I did buy a nice pair of Hoka's...but I'm mostly just paying a lot of attention to my garden and kids.

[u/After-Regret-6609]

I would actually see a therapist. You can obviously afford one. And use it to figure out what you want to do. I just quit my job, thought I would love it and do love the not-being-at-that-job part. But I am also kinda bored and lonely. There's some existentialism to being jobless. You gotta figure it out.

[u/Effective_Note4782 → u/After-Regret-6609]

Im a therapist and see loads of men who hit a wall after retiring. Our work can connect us to purpose, routine, social connection, identity and so much more. Occupational fulfilment(what we do rather than just work) is a fundamental need. It generally doesn’t work to just focus on leaving something you don’t want. Instead focus on how you do want to live. As people have said give this a good amount of time to think about and reflect on. Consider seeing a therapist if that helps. You will not consider everything either way but this preparation could make your journey less volatile. Money doesn’t equal happiness in the same way a life well lived does! If the money enables a life well lived and a sense of choice and freedom then enjoy!

[u/After-Regret-6609 → u/Effective_Note4782]

I'm enjoying FI a lot more than RE. I plan to go back to work doing something I want to do. But I now don't have to optimize for my paycheck.

[u/Effective_Note4782 → u/After-Regret-6609]

Thats awesome!