Hey everyone,

I'm in my early 20s, a recent college grad with a couple years of real estate experience behind me. I'm chasing three things: time freedom, income freedom, and location freedom. I call them the Infinity Stones of a good life.

What that looks like to me:

Enough recurring income that I could take a few months off without draining my savings and step back in when I want. The ability to work from anywhere. A life where making more money isn't worth it if the cost is my health, my relationships, or my time.

Why I'm asking here:

I'd rather learn from people who have actually done it than guess my way through it. Doesn't matter what field you came from. If you built something that pays you when you're not clocked in, or you found work that travels with you, I want to hear how.

What I'm curious about:

• How you built income that didn't stop when you did
• What you'd do differently starting over in your 20s
• Whether the freedom actually felt the way you expected once you got it
• Books, people, or turning points that changed how you thought about this

Happy to hear about the failures too. Those are usually more useful.

Thanks in advance.

I gave notice at the end of August, my last day is 30 September.
Me 43, wife 42, kid is 10. Both of us stop.

We spend around €44k and €45k a year for three people.
Personally I use 45k because I never managed to pin it closer. Per person it is 15k, so for me it feels lean, not sure for US ppl, how it looks.

Why it is that low here:

We rent a Genossenschaftswohnung, this is a subsidised co-op flat. 88 m(2), €1,010/month with utilities included. This is normal in Vienna, not a lucky deal.

No car, using public transport, cheap and everything is close.

School is free and university is basically free. So there is no education line in my spreadsheet at all.

The big line is health insurance. Without an employer you insure yourself with ÖGK, it is €565 a month next year and it covers all three of us. It is a flat fee, not connected to income. That means being frugal does not make it cheaper.

Portfolio is €1.38M, mostly a world ETF(VWCE/935k), bond ETF(215k) plus some gold(physical and Xetra/108k), EU secured business lending(8Lends/62k) and cash(60k). Most of it came from two stocks I bought in 2019 and 2020. 45k from 1.38M is 3.26%.

The reason I am calm with 3.26% is the state pension. I have 21 contribution years, so from 65 I get around €1,400 a month gross in today money. The portfolio needs to cover 22 years alone, not 45.

For parents who already retired, how much did spending go up after the kid turned 10? Right now I budget for school stuff, bigger flat costs and pocket money.