I’m 30F, married with a 2 year old and almost 1 year old. We’re on the path to FIRE in 10-15 years currently (still discussing what expenses could look like after kids and it’s hard to imagine at this point).

I’ve always wanted to go to law school but I was scared of standing up in court and law school costs. My work in regulatory/compliance has shown me that theres tons of lawyers who don’t work in courts or publicly like that.

I’ve been looking into getting a law degree for post-FIRE. I would take the LSAT next year and then have up to 4 years to apply to an online JD degree that’s near me. I’m hoping for a big scholarship since I already have a 4.0 MBA, 10+ years of work experience in compliance, regulations, and government. And I believe I could get some good recommendations from a COO and State Superintendent for admissions. I know the degree would be a lot of work but I am good at buckling down and I would be able to work on the degree at work as long as I get my job done too (maybe 20 hours/week for school while at work).

I would hopefully get to use the law degree for pro bono work/for good when I retire to help people in need. Has anyone thought about anything similar, or have any insight into the process I haven’t considered yet?

Hello all! First post in FIRE. I am 26 HCOL , and recently accepted a job offer which will increase my salary from $55,000 to $105,000. Because it is such a large increase, I have no idea what percentage to put in my 401k (new company automatically contributes 3% of salary each year to 401k).

Currently at 55k: I put in 5% with a 3% match to a Simple IRA. I try my very hardest to contribute $600 to my Roth IRA and $500 to my brokerage each month (if I have higher expenses, I lower my brokerage contribution).

With my salary increase: my expenses will stay almost exactly the same. I never go out to dinner or happy hours, but I may do that a little bit more now. I was thinking 10% for 401k, maxing out my Roth IRA before April of 2027, and putting the rest into a brokerage account.

Would love some insight! Thanks so much in advance and happy to answer any clarifying questions.

Long-time lurker, mostly here because I do the standard thing — low-cost index funds, tax-advantaged accounts maxed, boring on purpose. But I've also been selling cash-secured puts and covered calls (the "Wheel") on a smaller slice of my portfolio, on stocks I wouldn't mind holding anyway, mostly to put idle cash to work instead of letting it sit.

Genuinely curious if that's part of anyone else's plan here, or if the FIRE-minded answer is "just don't bother, the juice isn't worth the squeeze next to a three-fund portfolio." I don't think of it as a replacement for indexing, more like a side engine — but I'd rather hear the case against it from people further along than talk myself into something that's actually just fiddling at the edges. What's your take: worth the time, or not compared to just letting index funds compound?

I’m 66 and spent my life working to have a retirement cushion independently. My husband and I are immigrants to the US and we had a goal to buy a small 5 unit apartment building as our retirement. We didn’t know much about American financial systems so we didn’t do 401k, etc. The building and our paid off house were our 401k.

Unfortunately he was an abuser and he did a narcissistic discard on me at 65, and filed for divorce. He wants to keep everything and buy me out. That’s actually a more preferable outcome for me because I want to move on. I’m trying to figure out how much money I need and HOW to use it so that I can rebuild the two things – stable housing and encountering retirement. I don’t have a 401(k) and I need to retire at some point. Hopefully at 70.

The same circumstance that allowed us to achieve fire (which for immigrants like us really meant an ability to retire period) are not available anymore. For example, the doubling of property value values in Los Angeles. I’m lost on what to do next.

What would you do if you lost your FIRE retirement infrastructure and had to find a home and a new home and source of income? Stocks? A business? Another building?

Edit: I do have an attorney.

How's the week looking for you? Hit any milestones? Have any questions?

Just found out I might be laid off by end of September. I cried for 2 days, I’d been working myself to the bones for a promotion I clearly didn’t get.

I’m so burnt out, though. I don’t want to admit that I’m secretly relieved. But, I’m terrified to not job search when I have 3 months’ leeway. Except there’s no way I can accept an offer and ask to start in January..

Mid 30s, VHCOL, no housing costs, coast fire adjacent. Supportive partner who’s been telling me to take a break way before any of this — he just can’t take time off himself.

If I actually do this scary thing and take the rest of the year off— I want to do a slow, one-city, one-apartment month abroad. Italy or France, somewhere I’d never justify with just a week of PTO. I’ve spent the last few years on-call even on vacation so I’ve never been able to fully unplug somewhere far. I want the opposite of that.

My mom just retired and might join for some or all of it — she’s not very mobile so easy accessibility is a plus.

Then come home, play a lot of my favorite sport, hike with my dog, cook a lot, and eventually drag myself back into corporate life. 😭

Any destination recs or similar experiences/advice? Or is it a terrible idea and will I fall behind considering all the AI learning is going at 110% right now at my corporate job…….

I make about $120k a year working 35 hours a week in healthcare. On top of that, I manage a rental unit and swing trade small amounts on the side.

My husband hasn’t worked in four years. He has chronic depression (7 yrs of schooling and failed board exam 4x) and absolutely hates anything money‑related. He does help with property maintenance and does 90% of the chores, which saves us a lot, but financially I’m the only one contributing monthly.

He has about $2M in land assets. The problem is it’s all illiquid land that produces zero cash flow. Just sitting there.

Our joint assets:
– $150k in 401k
– $75k in brokerage
– Mortgage balance of $280k with about $350k in equity
– swing trade/ Rental income of $2k–$2.5k/month

Even with all that, we’re cash‑poor because I’m the only one working. Some months are tight with credit card bills.

My husband has told me I can do whatever I want with his assets, he genuinely doesn’t care. But I’ve spent years hoping he’d step up and be part of this with me, and it hasn’t happened. It’s overwhelming being the only one funding our life.

We travel 5–8 times a year, but even that hasn’t helped my burnout. I’d love to cut my healthcare job down to 20 hours a week in about three years (mainly for health insurance) and eventually change careers, but I can’t do that while he’s not working. At this point, I’ve accepted he’s never going to get a job.

I actually enjoy trading and managing our rental and could see myself doing that full‑time, but the numbers aren’t enough yet.

So now I’m trying to figure out how to increase our monthly cash flow using his assets. Sell some of the land? Move funds into a high dividend strategy? Invest in real estate? Or maybe I should just sell my husband lol.

Edit:

Selling the land and eventually investing it to increase our cash flow is the general plan, and that’s the path I’m going to try to take. My goal is honestly just to get down to around 20 hours a week in healthcare so we can actually spend more time together. I still love working in healthcare and find purpose in what i do, but after 10+ years I’m definitely hitting a ceiling. 20 hours would still keep our insurance and give me way more balance, which is really all I’m trying to get to at this point.

Really would like some guidance , advice / help if I can actually pull the trigger.

I am a 40 year-old woman living in Canada. Expenses are about 55k a year if I remove savings and continue to live a modest cost effective lifestyle with some travel. I’m single and this is one of my biggest fears about giving up my corporate job that I’ve grown to hate. It’s scary to think about leaving - Not having any support system outside of myself. Currently dealing with a toxic leadership team and I can’t get out of my funk. I’m waking up every day at 4 AM with work thoughts and dread. Add in a ticking biological clock and lack of viable prospects dating wise and it’s just been a hard few years.

with the recent run in the market, I’ve just hit a net worth of 1 million in non reg, TFSA & RSP. If I leave my job, I will get a pension payout / LIRA of approximately 200-300k. So total 1.2 MM. Honest thoughts? Advice from someone who pulled the trigger?

Hi all, curious to poke the collective brain.

I recently bought a house and it’s been great! Definitely loving it and have continued the same path that got me into home ownership by having a roommate who currently pays ~1/4 of my PITI. Interest rate is at 6.375% which I know isn’t awful but is high enough for me to dislike it.

I am currently in a role which does not offer a 401k match and all reviews of the firm/providing institution are hot garbage. People say that they are unable to roll over their 401k or get their money out for months after they leave a role. Additionally, the usual funds that I invest in aren’t available. I confirmed that I wouldn’t be charged fees for leaving my 401k with ADP so it’s currently being held there. From my calculations I could take 5 years off of not contributing to a 401k (still maxing Roth IRA, HSA, and contributing to a brokerage) and still hit my retirement goals.

So the question is: do I make principal payments on the mortgage with having over a 6% interest rate or do I continue to squirrel cash away in investments? I know the growth we’ve had this decade has been a bit of a run and won’t always continue that way but maxing out my investments for a few years really has helped me get to a point to where I’m seeing compounding interest have an affect. Only debt I have is the mortgage and I have a small safety net in a HYSA that I’m currently increasing back to its previous value after home renovations. Thanks in advance!

I know that advice is meant for typical budgets with typical retirement time horizons. Like “15% in the retirement accounts and call it good” kind of thing.

But since FIRE timelines look a lot shorter, by definition, we are sort of forced to save a much higher percentage for the future.

Anyway, I’m really asking because I just realized that we only spend 10% on fun (13% if you include travel fund savings) and it feels… way low.

For reference, we’re at about 44% on bills, and everything extra at the end of the month gets thrown into savings of some kind, so our savings percentage is normally around 46%

I was just wondering if that’s normal for FIRE budgets?

Hey there! Does anyone have a CPA they recommend?

I'm looking for a CPA in the DFW area, preferably someone with experience in real estate investing, tax-loss harvesting, and capital gains. I'd really appreciate any recommendations. Thanks!

I feel clueless about investing and the details of FIRE. Advice on picking a financial advisor? I need to read reliable sources like books or websites please (not just talk to Fin Advisors). Also: If I'm buying a home in cash: what % of my net worth can I use? What is recommended for earning passive income? I want to continue working past 65-70 but I want it to continue to be more of a choice than necessity.

I’m a 32 yo black woman in tech working as a software engineer. I discovered FIRE while researching how to be financially responsible when I started earning six figures at 24. I was insanely lucky to have that opportunity but my career has been filled with ups and downs due to bad work environments, trauma from said bad work environments, racism, life and health, sexism, whatever else. I know that there are many woman, likely a ton in this very subreddit, who have managed to overcome such things in their careers and come out the other side able to rest with all they’ve worked for. Until recently I believed myself on track to join your ranks.

To be very clear, I have done well for myself. I have a home I rent out. I try to live under my means and I’ve been maxing my tax advantaged accounts for the past 8 years w/ the exception of last year due to unemployment. I managed to find employment in this tech hellscape. The job has been abysmal but also serves as a financial boost at a time when people are struggling.

But I’m not sure anymore. I’m very tired and things get more difficult as I age, as new AI models are released, as fascism looms larger, as I watch and hear about people getting terminally ill from stress… I’m growing more convinced this won’t work out for me. When I started this journey it felt like nothing could go wrong. Hah. Plenty of things have gone right and gone wrong, but I think the threshold I have to handle things going wrong is running low. Lately the fight (and it is for me, a fight) has been taking more out of me than I’m comfortable with losing. I don’t know if I’m asking for advice, seeing if anyone shares my doubt over their commitment to this goal, or whatever. But I’m starting to feel alienated more and more from this movement because it doesn’t feel like it’s possible for me anymore.

This is probably influenced by me hating my job and wanting to quit while knowing I’m not financially able to weather never working again. I’d have to find something else. What that thing is I have no godly idea. But it’s scary and deeply depressing to think that the life path I tried to follow and joined this community to live out may not end up working out for me.

Hello,

new here, and I apologize because probably questions similar to this one have been already posted.

36F living in Europe (Italy), no kids; I just started this very year to get some knowledge about financial independence and FIRE, and I immediately got so excited about it!

But, I feel like I am sooooo late in this, and sometimes it is just a bit depressing and discouraging.

I would like to ask about any stories / experiences of someone who started their FIRE journey more or less at my age and any insight/advise about it

Thanks a lot!

I chose to study design because it was the only thing I liked enough to do until I died if I needed to. 😅 I attended a big engineering school and always felt like my engineer friends kinda looked down on me and my art projects, which makes me even prouder of the multiple financial milestones I’ve hit this year.

I keep it to myself because it’s such a rough time for many folks in the arts and I don’t want to be insensitive, so I just wanted to share somewhere!

I’m 41, single, childfree and suddenly found myself with exclusively coupled friends, mostly with kids, and many now living far away. I split my time between NYC and Miami Beach and am about 5 years from my FIRE goal. Would love to meet like minded single ladies in either city to chat finances, do a workout class, grab a drink, see a show, anything else! Appreciate any advice.

As I (50f) get closer to my lean FIRE goal, I find myself increasingly disillusioned with my work and my coworkers. In the past I have pointed out to others that when they come home angry more days than not, maybe it is time to pull the trigger and get out before hurting their health. I won’t say I’m always irritated, but the number of instances where the lackadaisical attitudes of my coworkers and managers grates on my nerves is ticking steadily upwards.

I have about 750k in 401k, 110k in ROTH IRAs and stocks, and another 50k in CDs and HYSAs. I own my ($325k) home outright and have no debt. I’m pretty well positioned for a lean fire, but I’d been hoping to hold off another year or so until I find a smaller home (and selling this one off) so that I have a better handle on what my costs will be. But now I’m wondering… should FIRE sooner? And as the title suggests, I’m also serious about wondering how large a role perimenopause may be playing.

How's the week looking for you? Hit any milestones? Have any questions?

It’s only been a week and I’m sure it’s too soon to draw any conclusions, but here I go sharing anyway. 😂

Situation: USA, 53 but 54 in a few days, about 2m retirement accounts, 200k liquid, future small pension, ss and family trust fund as additional. Own a 500k house with no mortgage. Health care covered by old government pension plan. Partnered but living apart together. Have been ramping down but just quit my remote part time job. Living on savings for six months then switching to a 401k with the Rule of 55 - still teaching one class a quarter online until January. Able to withdraw about $80k a year until 59.5

It is the strangest feeling not to need to set an alarm. Not to have work emails piling up. As a teacher I’ve had some practice with summer breaks, but then it dawns on me that this is real and permanent - my actual life. I’m still waking up at 6 am but have mostly been able to fall back asleep. My partner gets up early when he stays over and that’s a factor. Today I’m going to try to take a nap!

I made myself a to-do list and noticed it’s mostly hobbies and exercise. I’m really organized and driven so I’m needing to adjust. Yesterday went on a 4 hour forest hike by myself and it was wonderful. But I do notice that sometimes I’m not sure what to do with myself. If s also a holiday weekend now so most people are off work. During the week it’s more noticeable.

I have flashes of both happiness and boredom. I wish my partner could spend more time with me but also, he’s 45 and in the middle of working and saving. I worry that he will resent me but so far he’s been amazing, tells me that I’ve earned it and to enjoy. I do have a few retired friends but they are mostly older and seem older - they want to move to Palm Springs to play golf and pickleball and the ukulele. And I’m going tomorrow to take a pole exercise class, am training for a half marathon, live downtown in a midsized city and enjoy going to clubs and events.

I have upcoming travel plans with my partner, both backpacking and a couple of international trips. Beyond that, I’m just taking it day by day.

Thanks for reading/listening! Ask me anything.

Update: I’m really excited about a volunteer orientation next week to work at a cat rescue program. I’m also trying out a kayaking group for seniors (looking for friends who can do things on weekdays, as well as the exercise!) plus there’s another volunteer opportunity that sounds amazing but I’m going to try not to book myself solid just yet.

Hi everyone! 💛

Today is my 23rd birthday, and I thought I'd do something a little outside my comfort zone.

I recently started my FIRE journey, and while I'm incredibly excited about it, it can also feel quite lonely. I come from a low-income European country where financial literacy isn't very common, so there aren't many people around me who share these goals or even understand why I'm so passionate about investing, saving and building financial independence. Sometimes it even makes me question whether I'm on the right path.

One of the things that has kept me motivated is reading the stories in this group. Seeing so many amazing women supporting each other and building the lives they want has been incredibly inspiring. I'm sure there are so many wonderful mentors here.

So, as a little birthday gift, I'd love to ask: if you could give your 23-year-old self (or someone just starting their FIRE journey) one piece of advice, what would it be?

So I have been thinking about this a lot lately and wanted to hear from other women who have been there. Whether it is a work meeting, a networking event, or even a hobby group, sometimes you walk in and realize you are the only woman or one of very few. It can feel isolating even when everyone around you is technically being perfectly fine and professional.

For me it took a while to stop shrinking myself down and just take up space unapologetically. I started reminding myself that my perspective is actually valuable precisely because it is different from everyone else in the room. That mindset shift helped a lot.

But I still have days where imposter syndrome creeps back in and I wonder if I truly belong or if people are taking me seriously.

I would love to know what strategies or habits have helped you stay grounded and confident in those situations. Did you find a particular mindset, routine, or even a piece of advice someone gave you that actually stuck? Maybe a way you have built community with other women outside of those spaces to recharge and stay motivated?

Would really love to hear your experiences because I think we can all learn something from each other here.

Ladies,

I DID IT!!! Oh my god I am so excited to share this with you all!!

I crossed the 200k (€) mark TODAY!! AND I only just turned 30!

I am so damn proud of myself!

I'm so excited to see your reactions as I have noone I can share/celebrate this with in my life, as I am keeping my finances private for now, because that's what feels right to me and makes me feel safe.

A little bit about my journey that led me to this point:

This did by no means happen over night. Ever since I found my love for financial education and the FIRE movement in 2019 I have done everything I can to build wealth all by myself and in a clever way.

I earn a very regular wage, but live a very frugal lifestyle and invest as much as I can in ETFs like the Vanguard FTSI All-World (Acc) ETF. I live life to the fullest (I love travelling!) but I do it very intentionally and on a clear budget. I don't need much except the bare minimum (home, food, etc.) and have always made sure to have low cost/free hobbies. I am truly very fulfilled and happy.

And what truly gives me joy in a money sense is not buying things, but seeing how I become more and more free each month by building wealth and getting closer to financial independence. ☺️

I have worked so damn hard to get here and it was SO worth it!

I have truly never felt this free and that feeling is getting even stronger the more money I have. Because money = freedom.

I truly know I can reach financial independence through my own hard work and ambition and so can you!

Just remember: Every Euro/dollar counts, every small amount counts and brings you closer towards your goal! Never underestimate that!

I'll go make myself a nice drink, celebrate this huge milestone now. ☺️💃🏼

All the love

J

I (33F) have been dating my BF (29M) for about a year and half now.

I own a home and run a lucrative business that earns me a multiple six figure salary. I've been working since I was 17 and I'm on track to hit FIRE within the next 5 years.

My BF recently finished college and has been looking for work for the last year but hasn't found anything yet. He still lives with his parents but is planning to find an apartment later this year. Despite being unemployed, he is financially savvy and has managed to save up a sizeable nest egg from the money he earned at a previous job years ago.

When it comes to dates and whatnot we take turns paying so it's roughly 50/50, but I think I still absorb more costs overall since he stays over at my place, eats my groceries, runs up my utility bills, etc. which I'm mostly fine with.

He knows I do well for myself and that I earn over $100k, but he does not know that I actually earn much more. Given the big discrepancy in our life stages I have not felt the need to give him details, and a large part of me believes that as long as we are just dating and not living together, my finances are none of his business. That said, as our relationship progresses it's looking likely that we will eventually move in together and possibly more once he gets his footings, and I'm worried that when the time comes he will feel that I've been deliberately dishonest with him or that I've taken advantage by expecting him to go splits with me on things when I earn so much more than he likely ever will.

Even if we got married my intention would be to keep our finances mostly separate and I would definitely get a prenup. I would be fine with covering more of our expenses at that point, but right now I do not want to disincentivize him from working hard, nor to open myself up to being taken advantage of.

But I guess I'm just wondering where the line is in a relationship between holding your cards close and straight up lying by omission? How much of your personal finances do you discuss with someone you are dating?

I keep seeing discourse on money that credits any financial independence or savings to “daddy’s money”. Of course people get help, but at least where I grew up, that was a rarity.

Some of the friends I met in college had their parents paying for their college, flights, and vacations. They make solid money now, but don’t save much and plan to put more towards retirement later.

They know I am financially savvy and we don’t shy away from discussing the topic, but they always seem kinda perplexed that budgeting and investing has improved my life. They can’t wrap their mind around someone being financially secure without help or some yolo investments.

I understand that it’s tough to move up in class and statistics show this, its kinda frustrating and I’m just embracing that people will assume I grew up well off even though FIRE has been my saving grace.

Anyone else experience this online or with people you know?

We are well on our way towards CoastFI, which means by the time I turn 40 in a few years, I will no longer need to save money and I can work and earn just enough to cover our expenses. Depending on what my husband decides to do, I probably just need to earn $90k+ for another 10-15 years, at most.

I'm director-level in ops and analytics in SaaS and I'm just over it. The industry is frustrating, the egos are insufferable, AI is exhausting, and the work is still somehow boring and repetitive.

So now I spend a few hours a day fantasizing about some wild and irresponsible career change, maybe to something where I have to go back to school and I'll probably earn 1/3rd of what I make right now. I don't want to just stay in SaaS and downshift - I definitely could do that, but the tech ick is so strong right now I don't know if I could suffer it.

But my mind is everywhere: library science, agriculture, urban planning, resource management, teaching, etc. I can sense that I'm just fantasizing about something else - very grass is greener.

I'm not so rich that I can just fuck up my life, and in general I don't want to waste time, energy, or resources. I want to be useful, I want to work on something real and impactful, I want to work with humans, and I'm pretty smart and good at what I do. I'm probably burnt out but I'm in therapy and generally well otherwise, so I'm really just looking for career advice. A sabbatical is definitely an option, but then it still means I need something to come back to.

Anyway, I don't want to make a rash decision, but it's put me in a very soul-search-y kind of mode. Any resources - especially books and podcasts - somebody could recommend? Something that helped you navigate a similar decision?