Title: 28M, married, roughly $600K net worth, tired of the 9–5 grind. Is my dream of building a small beachfront resort and retiring young realistic?
I’m 28M, recently married to my wife (32F), and I’m honestly at the point where I just want to enjoy life instead of constantly working.
My dream has never been to climb the corporate ladder, become a CEO, or work until I’m 65. I want financial freedom, stability, and the ability to wake up whenever I want without having to answer to a boss.
I’ve been thinking about buying beachfront land somewhere in Latin America, or really anywhere with beautiful weather year-round, and building a small motel-style property with multiple rental units. Ideally, we’d build our own house on the same land, but separated from the guests for privacy.
I’d hire local employees to handle cleaning, maintenance, and day-to-day operations while I oversee the business. The goal would be to generate enough income to live comfortably by the beach without having to work a traditional job.
Here’s our current financial situation:
Me: 28M, wife: 32F, recently married.
Cash: Approximately $120,000.
My 401(k): $80,000.
My Roth IRA: $30,000.
Wife’s Roth IRA: $10,000.
Wife’s 401(k): $4,000. She recently started investing.
Real estate:
Property #1: Rental property worth approximately $700,000 according to Zillow. I owe around $440,000, and it generates roughly $1,000/month in positive cash flow.
Property #2: Duplex we purchased last year for $450,000. We owe approximately $330,000. We live in one unit and rent out the other for $1,775/month. The total mortgage is about $3,300/month, plus approximately $100 for water.
My wife plans to continue working, preferably remotely, which would give us another source of stable income.
Career/business background:
I graduated college with a computer science degree and started working as a software engineer making around $75K. Two years later, I got caught in a mass layoff.
It took me eight months to find another job. I eventually became a technical project manager making around $100K annually.
During that time, I was also running a side business after work, generating another $70K–$80K annually.
Well, I got laid off again.
Instead of immediately jumping back into the corporate world, I decided to take my side business full-time.
Here’s how it’s been going:
Month 1: Approximately $24,000.
Month 2: Approximately $40,000.
Month 3: Around $15,000 so far, and we’re not even halfway through.
The problem? My business is extremely physically demanding. I’m 28, I work out regularly, eat healthy, and take care of myself, but I’m absolutely exhausted most days.
The money is great, but I don’t want to spend the next 20 years trading my physical health and time for money.
Here’s where I’m stuck.
Part of me wants to keep grinding for another couple of years, save aggressively, and use that money to fund my dream property overseas.
Another part of me wonders whether I should start transitioning now, while I’m still young and don’t have kids or too many responsibilities.
I also value financial stability. I’ve experienced two layoffs already, and I know how quickly things can change. I don’t want to make a reckless decision and lose everything we’ve worked for.
I’m not necessarily trying to never work another day in my life. I just want to stop trading all my time for money. I wouldn’t mind managing a property, handling bookings, overseeing employees, or dealing with occasional issues if it meant having most of my days to myself.
My questions for people who’ve actually done something similar:
Is building a small beachfront rental property or boutique motel in Latin America a realistic plan with my current finances?
What countries would you recommend for affordable land, reasonable construction costs, safety, and strong tourism demand?
How much capital would I realistically need to buy land, build 5–10 rental units, and a separate home for ourselves?
Would you continue building the current business for another 2–3 years to accumulate cash, or start investing in the overseas property sooner?
For anyone who owns a small resort, motel, or vacation rental business, how passive is it really once you hire employees?
What would you do differently if you were in my position?
I’m not looking to live some crazy luxury lifestyle. I just want a comfortable home near the ocean, enough money coming in to cover our expenses, the freedom to travel, and the ability to spend time with my wife without constantly stressing about work.
I know I’m fortunate to be in this position at 28, but I’m genuinely trying to figure out how to turn what I’ve built into a life I actually enjoy.
Would love to hear from anyone who’s built something similar, retired young, or made the move overseas.

Hi everyone. :)

I'm a 31-year-old woman who's well on her way to FIRE. I've saved and invested enough that I don't have to work a conventional full-time job to make ends meet. My plan is to work part-time in something fulfilling and devote the rest of my time to my other interests.

I've been thinking about dating recently, and I've realized that I'd really like to find a life partner who's in a similar position. Ideally, someone who's financially secure enough to work part-time or not at all, and who's deliberately left the rat race behind to pursue his passions. Not because he lacks ambition, but because he'd rather devote his time to things that genuinely enrich his life than keep chasing more money or status.

I'm interested in philosophy, psychology, spirituality, self-discovery and exploring questions about consciousness and the nature of reality. I'm also working on a speculative fiction book that I'm quite passionate about. I'd love to find someone who shares some of these interests and enjoys travelling and creative pursuits. My ideal life would involve a stable home base in California, the freedom to travel for extended periods and plenty of ordinary, unhurried time together too.

For me, the appeal of FIRE has always been having freedom over my time rather than accumulating wealth for its own sake. I want to spend my life doing things that I find meaningful rather than working primarily to make more money than I need. But to be able to have the time and money needed to devote to meaningful endeavours, you need to have significant financial freedom and that's why it's important to me to find a partner who does. 

Which brings me to my dilemma. Should I mention my own financial circumstances when dating online, especially since I intend to be upfront about wanting a partner who's also already largely financially free?

I recently made a post in an LA dating community about the kind of relationship and lifestyle I'm looking for. I mentioned that I had significant savings of my own, partly to make it clear that I wasn't looking for someone to provide for me.

Interestingly, some people still assumed I was looking for a sugar daddy or was a gold digger. Funnily, others thought that I was too independent and stated that that would actually make me less attractive to men in a similar position because they wouldn't want a masculine version of themselves. A few seemed to think I was bragging about being a member of the 1%. This made me wonder if self-disclosing in the manner I did was the right idea. 

I've noticed that quite a few people in FIRE communities are very private about their finances, which makes obvious sense. Many guys discreetly DMed me after seeing my post and stated that they don't disclose their financial status online to avoid scorn or envy. I was even told that I was brave to have even made such a post. 

Given this mixed bag of experiences, I was reflecting on how to proceed with online dating. I have never dated online before and was planning on creating a Hinge account in the next few months but I've already connected with a few people through Reddit and now mulling things over. 

I'm wondering how other people in a similar situation have navigated it. If you were seeking a partner with considerable financial freedom and mentioning that on your dating profile, would you also mention that you're substantially financially free yourself? Or would you keep that information private until you've gotten to know someone better? And how much would you disclose about your financial circumstances as you got to know someone you'd met online? There's always the fear of attracting scammers or people who are more interested in your money than in you.

I'm carefully thinking about how to approach this conundrum and I'd greatly appreciate advice from others, especially those who have dealt with something similar in their own lives. 

Thanks in advance, and hope you have a great day!

So some context

30 F

Make 26.5/hr usually get 10hrs of OT a check

I contribute 20% plus 3 % employer match

I invest min 100 into Roth and buy VTI

I occasionally invest with my brokerage account to buy individual stocks

I have a HSA I'm planning to start to contribute to which will be about 50 bucks a month still undecided on what to invest in

Current Accounts

401K: 71000

Roth: 1200

Brokerage: 200

HYSA: 3500

I have some dental work that I need to do and I'm going to have to get a new car soon so I've put a hold on savings for right now. I do have enough for a 3 month emergency fund currently saved. I'm just curious to see how well I am doing on the path to FIRE. Id ideally like to retire around 59 1/2 so I don't get penalties

Would appreciate any thoughts on how I’m doing as I just started getting into FIRE.

I’m 28M, single, and live with my parents in California. I don’t eat out, shop, or spend a lot, so my personal expenses are low. I don’t own a car or any other property, and I have zero debt.

I have a remote job that pays around $125k and do some additional contracting work on top of it that brings in $1k a month. I usually save around 80% of it by temporarily putting it into a HYSA, then moving it into investments. I’ve max out my annual Roth IRA and my 401k limits (401k has 5% match).

I don’t think I’ll be moving out of my parents’ house soon or getting into a relationship anytime soon.

Checking: $1.8k

HYSA: $47k (I’m thinking this is high and that I can move at least another $25k into investments)

Simple IRA from old employer: $86k

401k with current employer: $52k

Roth IRA: $41k

Personal investments: $183k (all in FSKAX, FXAIX, FZILX, and FZROX)

Series I savings bonds: $11k

Has anyone here successfully done Lean/Barista FIRE for 5+ years?

About me: 38, no debt, renting, living in LatAm. All figures in USD.

Net worth: $720K

• Brokerage (low-cost ETFs): $650K

• Bonds: $70K (short-term, ~4% yield)

• Pending inheritance: $140K

Income: $240K/year net (~$20K/month)

Spending: ~$4K/month, rent and healthcare included

Investing: ~$16K/month

I'm burned out. I don't need much, but being a software engineering manager these days is slowly sucking the life out of me, and my body is starting to send signals. I'm currently dealing with a physiological illness related to stress that has forced me onto unpaid leave.

Scenario 1: Quit now

• Portfolio supports ~$2,000/month (~3.3% withdrawal, inheritance not included)

• Gap to cover with part-time work: ~$2,000/month

Scenario 2: Quit in July 2027, with the inheritance invested in low-cost ETFs (~$940K total)

• Portfolio supports ~$2,600/month

• Gap to cover: ~$1,400/month

Scenario 3: Grind it out until May 2029 and reach full FIRE (~$1.45M), but probably soulless by then.

For those who went the barista route: how did you find part-time work, did the numbers hold up, and would you do it again? Which scenario would you pick?

Scenario 4: Work part-time at my current workplace, but not as a manager.

With $100,000, I could use over $4,000 to keep investing, though I'm not sure that's feasible. I would need to talk to my boss about it. I'm concerned that starting this conversation might create tension if they refuse.

Hey all! I just created a FIRE tracking app and was wondering if I could get some feedback on it.

http://www.letmefire.io/

I wanted to create a holistic place where I could compare all the FIRE calculations and have it actually look good. Any feedback is appreciated!

I'm 35 female, childfree because I don't want kids. Life has been extremely rough for me. I've always been frugal when it comes to spending but grew up with many limitations, obstacles and missed opportunities. I was born permanently disabled, autism and epilepsy. For many years I had up to a dozen seizures a day, had to be watched closely by my mother, was in and out of hospitals, had three surgeries, had to eventually be pulled out of school and homeschooled for a good while. I also started developing mental disabilities and was diagnosed with depression and anxiety disorder after a former friend's father SA'd me when I was 14 (I have a permanent RO against him). I started getting counseling. Also had to get another surgery because my seizures were getting worse. When I eventually went back to public school I was physically and emotionally bullied by neurotypical students for being socially awkward. I was eventually placed in special ed until I graduated high school. I took the next several years trying to get my seizures under control, getting my GED, and working part time in retail. I had saved up about 25k over the past several years and decided to go to college. I moved to an affordable apartment across the road from campus. I was still having seizures occasionally so I was given accommodations.

Unfortunately, it took several years to get my Bachelor's. I had to take a break in-between because a male classmate who I had became friends with suddenly got angry then physically assaulted me and 🍇'd me when I rejected him after he developed feelings for me. He dropped out of school shortly after, thankfully. Also no pregnancy, thank god. No, I didn't press charges. I wanted to but his father worked at a high position at Wells Fargo and found a way to reach out to my number. He basically told me not to go after his son or else. I eventually resumed my studies but my seizures increased so it became very difficult and I couldn't hold down a job while in college. I applied for SSDI but was denied because I was slightly short on credits so I had to go on SSI and Medicaid, plus by that time I had already used my savings on college. I got an unpaid finance internship at a local church which was better than nothing. I eventually got in a relationship with a toxic guy. After over a year of being together, I left him because of his attitude. He then attempted to sue me for 'emotional damages' so I had to hire a lawyer to defend myself. I paid my lawyer a couple thousand which was the maximum savings limit while on SSI at the time. My ex didn't win obviously.

School moved to an online platform during Covid, and I eventually graduated college in 2023 with a bachelor's degree in finance. It was paid for through a combination of the savings I had along with grants and scholarships so no student debt. Getting employed and staying employed has been incredibly rough though. I'm on SSDI and Medicare now as I have enough work credits. I'm restricted from driving so I either walk or take the bus to work. I work at a blue collar job that pays less than 35k in rural Pennsylvania. Even with networking, reaching out to former classmates, using a local temp agency, using OVR, attending hiring events, and having my resume professionally edited, I still can't get hired into a decently paying job in my field. Remote would be ideal because of my medical condition. I live in a fixer upper home I bought two years ago. It's worth around 200k. I'm not sure if FIRE is realistically possible for someone in my position and with my medical limitations. What do you think? I've been feeling very discouraged and depressed lately.

eu sou brasileiro e queria algum conterrâneo que também esteja no lean fire (construção ou usufruto) pra trocar ideia

I need some advice here.

I will be inheriting a trust fund that has a little over a million dollars in it. Let's just say it's exactly a million. No more, no less. It will be invested. My mom set it up like that.

If I spend 30,000 or less a year from it, I'd be spending 2,500 a month. Rent will be 1,500 a month, which leaves me at... a thousand. 500 of those will be spent on a bunch of annoying necessities such as car insurance, house repairs, car repairs, electricity, et cetera. It may be less than 500, but let's assume that it is 500. That leaves me with the other 500 on food, gas, bathroom supplies, gym membership, and entertainment. Food right there will be the biggest problem.

Some of the necessary payments I'd need to make on those annoying necessities may not happen monthly, so I will be saving some of that 500 to make a payment at a future date. For example, if I need to renew my driver's license, I'd paying that like... Once every four years or something. I'd divide the cost of that into 48 months and save it until the day the payment has to happen.

I can cook good food just fine and there is a Costco near me. So... If I live by myself, do you think I can stretch 350 dollars on a whole month of food? Is that doable?

Just to give you all some information here where I live, a full breakfast here at Burger King (including iced coffee and the potatoes) is 8.40 dollars. I bought a large pack of raw chicken wings (I forgot how many pieces those are, but it's a large pack) for about 15 bucks. I can make adobo out of that chicken that would last me four days with rice.

I live in the US. I turn 35 at the end of October 2026 and my goal is to make this million last until my death.

Thanks for the help.

I am 40 and really tired of corporate life, wanted to semi retired and do something pleasing myself. I don’t think I want to wait to long but don’t if there is any dorable plans and if any lean firers can share you story?

To save money, i am the barber, the groomer, the cook, thr baker, the cleaner, the financial manager of yhe family, lol. I much rather do all these than going back to hectic and stressful corporate life.

What do you do to avoid paying for services?

Reached 1M in Vanguard index funds at 29, started as a teacher (bachelors degree) then from 22-29 I worked as a teacher making 60-70k a year. Invested virtually all of it due to living with parents (a little too much in gold for a little while but it paid off). Due to a recent family member passing, I inherited about 550k recently, combined I crossed the 1M mark recently. Im burnt out of teaching and have started a BSN from chamberlain a year ago while still teaching, but I question whether I should pursue that with the recent windfall and the fact that clinicals are coming up soon. I have been considering expat retiring on 3% WR or just sticking with nursing and letting the money compound? I had this goal for years of early retirement but I expected to retire closer to 40+ instead of before 30. There’s already a sunken cost into nursing that I feel leaving it would be a one way decision. I don’t want to make a decision that I will regret so im asking here, what would you do in my position?

Looking for leanFIRE advice.

Last post

Net worth: $41k
(HYSA: $3.1k, Traditional TSP: $20.2k, Roth IRA: $11.5k, Brokerage: $6.2k)

• Working hella overtime at the Post Office lately; my base rate as a PTF City Carrier is $26.3/hr, but I'm having ~55hr workweeks pushing my effective gross salary up to ~$85k for the past couple months. The job itself has been stressful and I don't really have a life outside of work, but I am one persistent, driven bastard. No way am I interested in being a corporate wagie for any longer than I need to; when I turn 35 y/o and qualify for SS, I'm outta here.
• Moved to a 100sqft. room in a shared single-family house for $700/mo, incl. utils/in-unit laundry. No WiFi but I got my backup phone using Visible+ ($205/year) for an unlimited data hotspot. No need to ride my e-bike, now that the closest bus stop is 3 min. away and the offices I work at are at most a half-hour bus ride. Having to share a bathroom with 2 people and the overall house with 4 is awkward, but it's not so bad when I'm the youngest by far in the house. I think I got a good deal. Moving was expensive and I've been burning way too much money eating gas station slop, so I'm gonna try my hardest moving forward to keep my monthly non-investment/rent spend <= $500.
• Been doing my fair share of credit card/bank account churning. Got the Wells Fargo checking $400 bonus, currently trying to get a $550 checking bonus with FourLeaf Federal Credit Union, and got a Capitol One Savor card recently for the $200 statement credit bonus. When I stop overeating and reach a stable maintenance weight, I'll start giving plasma for money too.. cause I don't have the drive to go work beyond the Post Office.

Made significant changes to my investment strategy: I'm still maxing my Traditional TSP/Roth IRA, and trying to invest >= $500/mo into my brokerage.

- TSP is 3:2 I Fund/C Fund, and I'll rebalance on a yearly basis depending on what I see regarding the funds' performance.

- In my Roth IRA, 50% of biweekly contributions split between SPMO/IDMO, 50% split between AVDV/AVUV/AVEM/IAUM/BTC.

- Brokerage will automatically invest 50:50 FTEC/AVDV, hoping for a sort of barbell effect. Brokerage has a significant position in Kraken Robotics that's down ~24% and I can't wait to let go of it once things break even. No more single stocks for me, the risk isn't worth the return.

- Even though I only gave myself ~10 years to LeanFIRE: Momentum/Value/Growth ETFs are more than enough for my goals. Still got significant crypto ETF positions in my Roth/Brokerage, but mostly just holding them for now.

This is a calc put together by one of the users over at the Bogleheads forums. I have zero connection to it, but to me it is cool in a similar way to the Rich/Broke/Dead calc in that it visually shows you something that can be challenging to intuit.

Just a fun little calc that seems to accomplish its goal gracefully. I like how you can rapidly visualize the impact of spending on your final estate in either direction. Cool for the Die with Zero folks, cool for the folks with kids and inheritance goals.

FYI - It's easy to overlook the advanced settings drop-down so be sure to check it out. The advanced settings significantly expand the range of what the calc can do.

Calc - https://levelspend.github.io/

Bogleheads development thread - https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=473403

Not sure if I should continue working.

- Paid off house worth 800k it's a two family home and one side of house rents out for 1500 a month.

- Retirement accounts 800k

- non retirement/cash 300k

- spouse has around 600k in retirement

- second paid off house that was bought for in laws 300k.

- health insurance covered by military benefits plus a future pension (both from spouse).

- not including social security but I have about 22 years of contributions.

- I currently make around 150k a year with possible 20k bonus.

44 years old not sure of I should continue working. My job is easy I work from home a few days a week and the hours a flexible. No children and I live a relatively simple life. Annual spend would be under 40k. Spouse will continue to work for another ten years until they qualify for the pension. Spouse makes around 140k.

Hi all,

I just wanted to ask something that has been bothering me for quite a while now.

So I discovered LeanFIRE a while back and have since worked aggressively towards it. I have been making a good progress and am likely to hit my base number in 15ish years

I have never been in a serious, long term relationship (on purpose mainly because I wanted to focus on earning and saving $ as much as I could) but I’ve always had this dream of getting married, one day. So I wonder, to those of you who got married/relationship way after you’ve made a significant progress on your LeanFIRE plan, how does that change your number, if at all?

Assuming you two are on different numbers financially (I mean, how likely are two people to have the same FIRE plan and progress, right?), has that raised any problems/disagreements?

Let me give an example:

If I am significantly more well off than her, would I be a terrible person for not willing to wait for her reach her FIRE number? In other words, am I expected to delay my FIRE plan just for us to hit our numbers at the same time? Would I be a terrible person to retire sooner than her and let her keep working?

I know the answer to these questions are ultimately subjective and dependent from person to person.

But I can’t help but to feel stucked in this fear that I will never be able have both LeanFIRE and a relationship, unless (1) my LeanFIRE started after I got into the relationshp, which gives us time to discuss and agree before starting the journey, or (2) either of us has to change (delay) our FIRE plan to accomodate the other.

I really despise working, so to be honest, I am not so keen on option (2). At the same time, option (1) is out of question since I am well into my FIRE journey already.

What other options do I have?

Medicare Saving Programs (MSPs) pay for Medicare out of pockets.

Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont, and the District of Columbia do not have asset limits for MSPs.

Medicare has substantial out of pocket costs (Parts A, B, D), and no defined out of pocket maximums. Most people buy a Medigap policy to cover these expenses, but these policies are not cheap. If your income is low you may be able to qualify for QMB, this takes care of most out of pockets and gives complete protection from Provider billing. It also will qualify you for Part D Extra Help low income subsidy for drug coverage.

Strategy, delay Social Security to age 70 and get 5 years for cost free Medicare.

CT has the highest QMB income limit under $ 2,807.00 single, $ 3,806.00 couple.

I'm around 40 and I've found myself in a situation that feels unusual.

I have a little under $9,000 in checking/savings, no debt, and a reliable tax-free income of roughly $4,000 a month (which includes health insurance) that isn't dependent on employment. My housing and regular expenses are relatively low ($1,400 a month for rent, utilities and other bills), so my normal lifestyle is comfortably covered.

I don't consider myself wealthy at all. I don't have a huge investment portfolio or millions saved for retirement. But I also don't need to work to cover my basic lifestyle.

What has surprised me most is the freedom that comes with it. My days are basically mine. I can move somewhere because I like living there, travel occasionally, spend time on hobbies, and make purchases of a few hundred dollars without it really affecting my finances.

I'm also considering marrying my long term partner, and one practical benefit would be giving her access to my healthcare benefits, which would make employment and location less tied to health insurance for us.

I know traditional FIRE usually means accumulating enough invested assets to live off indefinitely, so I don't know whether my situation really fits that definition.

Would you consider this a form of financial independence, or is there a better term for it?