For those whose FIRE'd in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York City, what does your monthly budget look like? Is $9500 a month sufficient for one person?

Thanks for reading and helping a fellow member out!

Life Situation: Single, 44M

FIRE Progress:  Started late and playing catch up. Luckily, I'm able to play the game nonetheless. My end game is to retire by 55 with $2.5+ million in asset. My job in education allows me to retire at age 55 with 60% of my final 3 year-average-salary which I'm thinking will be $140,000. My annual pension will be 140,000 •0.6 = $84,000.

Gross Salary/Wages: $130,000

Yearly Savings Amounts: 

Roth IRA: $7,000

Job's 401K: $23,500

Brokerage: $10,000

Other Ordinary Income:  I do overtime and some tutoring on the side so that's an extra $3,000

Rental Income, Actual Expenses, and Depreciation: No loans, car payments, only a mortgage of $150,000 left with a 3.5% interest.

Current monthly expenses: 

Mortgage $1,400

Food/Transportation/Utilities $1200

Dining Out $200

Extra expenses $600

Assets: 

My job's 401k - $450,000 with 80% of it in a fixed rate of 7%

HSA/FSA - none

Roth IRA - $12,500 (I started two-half years ago)

Brokerage - $125,000 in mutual/index funds and 50% of it is in vtsax

Cash/High Yield Savings/Emergency funds - $15,000

Specific Question(s):

Based on my calculations, I won't be able to reach my goal of $2.5 million unless I invest more annually into my brokerage account. I recently discovered that I could invest in a 457 plan so I'm wondering if I should stop adding more money into my brokerage but instead investing it in the 457 plan. Anyone familiar with this and can help determine the pros and cons to it? Thank you!!

I know options in a private start up are a lottery ticket.

That said, wondering how yall approach purchasing vested options. 1/4 of mine just vested and the strike price is still close to the fmv. So AMT would be minimal. The rest of my options also start vesting monthly in equal increments. So I’m wondering if I should be committing roughly $5k right now and $15k over the next 3 years to exercise them.

I have the money to do this. And if it goes to $0 then oh well. But hoping to develop a slightly more rigorous way to evaluate next moves here.

Thanks.

Preparing to FIRE in another few years, and hopefully this is simply a hiccup in the journey.

Just experienced low six figure in losses over the last 2 day, so I was wondering if the 2 day market route, which is alteast one of the biggest I've seen, substantially changed someone's FIRE plan.

Thanks!

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A lot of people say these moments in the stock market are great to build wealth

Problem is that most people don’t have dry powder lying around. And now, with tariffs (if they mostly continue at the levels mentioned) likely to push prices up even more 20-30% for most things, very few people can buy the dip.

The dip’s not fun when you can’t buy.

It’s just painful.

This is my first major post on Reddit. I appreciate everyone's patients and guidance.

The purpose of this post is to prepare for retiring early and make sure I have thought through as much as possible to mitigate risk and maximize the chances of success. Sorry, it is long.

Background:

I am 35m and my wife is 36f. We have 2 kids (5m and 7f). I am an Equity Portfolio Manager currently managing about $1.3 billion and my wife is a retired registered nurse that still has her license for family employment insurance purposes (i.e. if I lose my job and/or we get hit hard by markets she can mitigate those losses by going back to work).

We have $2 million in liquid investible assets (After the current drop) and 3 investment properties with an asset value of about $650,000 and an equity value (after debt) of about $300,000. So, the total investable assets is $2.3 million. The investment real estate cash flows (after taxes, which should decrease in retirement) is about $20,000 annually. Total expenses assuming FAT FIRE is expected to be $120,000 annually. These expenses can be taken down to just normal FIRE of around $105,000 and LEAN FIRE of $95,000. These expense numbers have reserves built in for car replacement/maintenance, house maintenance, etc. In anticipation of recent volatility, we are 70% short term treasuries/cash and the rest in equity (liquid investible assets).

Additionally, the company I work for is being acquired and since I am an equity holder, I will be paid out in May (this is included in liquid investible assets). A $8,000 bonus is coming in June or July, post-acquisition.

My son was diagnosed with Medulloblastoma (brain cancer) in 2022. He went through chemo and then he relapsed in 2023. The second treatment (radiation) was completed at the end of 2023. Treatment was at St. Jude which is completely free (St. Jude is amazing). He has been cancer free for 1.25 years. After 2 years of being cancer free the chance of relapse declines to under 5%. Going back to the acquisition of the company I work for, my health insurance is transitioning to the new companies likely at the end of May, so it is my understanding that COBRA for the old plan will not be available, though if I leave after the transition to the new insurance I would be able to get COBRA for the new insurance. There is an HR meeting next week that may provide me with some more details. Obviously, I want zero lapse in health insurance and am willing to have double coverage just to ensure no lapse. So my plan is COBRA or the ACA marketplace. I estimate for the balance of the year $3,000 a month for family insurance and starting in 2026 $1500 a month (previous expense estimates utilize $1500. I have $10,000 in extra cash to bridge the gap during 2025).

Thoughts:

I am planning on retiring in May or June of this year. My thought process since my sons diagnosis is time with my kids is fleeting especially if god forbid the worst case scenario happens to him. So, though I am not quite at the 25x rule, I am willing to take the risk of my wife or I having to go back to work in a decade because we ran out of money, to spend time with my kids and family now. My fundamental belief at this point is that the risk of missing out on spending time with my kids and family is higher than my risk of having to go back to work because my wealth starts to dwindle.

Questions:

Are there opportunities to optimize my health insurance plan? This part of my plan is the most important and also the part of my plan I am the most uncomfortable with.

I plan to negotiate a severance (though I have no idea the probability of success or the potential payout). I am willing to stay on and transition a new employee and train them for my role (my leverage) but would need significant flexibility via continual work from home and decrease in ancillary responsibility, etc. Any thoughts, ideas, advice on severance?

Here are some of my timing challenges. Ideally, I want to be done at the end of May to have the whole summer off with my kids. However, insurance does not cut over to the new insurance until the end of May and if I want to offer a transition period for severance, I need to give them notice. So, if I start the severance negotiations in the beginning of May (post-acquisition), I risk being let go immediately and missing the new health insurance COBRA. I am not sure how detrimental that scenario would be as I am in the dark on what the new insurance is and how that compares to the ACA marketplace. My son’s next MRI scans are at the end of June and every 3 months. Since the scans are going to be at St. Jude it will not cost us anything with or without insurance. Also, I am risking the $8,000 bonus if I start any negotiations prior to it being paid. So, with that said, any ideas on how to improve my thought process around timing or anything I am overlooking?

Is there anything I am not thinking about that I should be?

What are my blindspots?

Feel free to ask, if you need me to clarify anything.

Ok, if the market is down 40%, living off cash or bonds is the obvious choice. But what about 15%? When does that transition from equities to cash/bonds happen? Answer is probably "it depends", but I'm curious to see what everyone says

Situation: Planning to FIRE this year

• US resident
• Family of 4 (myself: 40, spouse: 40, kids: 9 and 11)

Assets: Investments in Total Stock Market Mutual Funds

• Taxable investments $1.1M
• Roth IRA $430k
• IRA $580k
• 401k $2.5M
• HSA $60k
• Building up a 2 year supply of non-invested cash for emergencies

Withdrawal Plan: Spending $50k indexing with inflation

• Age 40-59.5: Withdrawal from taxable investments
• Age 59.5-67: Withdrawal from retirement funds
• Age 67+: Social Security and other funds as needed

Questions:

• Does the withdrawal plan sources make sense?
• Does doing a Roth ladder make sense? It would raise my income and push me into higher health insurance costs.

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My gf(F32) and I(M30) have been together for over 2 years. Our relationship is great. Recently i got laid off and it’s been a bit of a struggle finding a job the past 4 months. My gf has been great and supportive and thankfully i have a good emergency fund so i havent been too stressed about money.

This week i finally caught a break and got 2 sets of interviews with 2 really good companies.

Either job is offering me like 140k in salary where i was making 110k before. Im not trying to count my chickens before they hatch but my gf and i were talking about finances.

She mentions how great that im smart with my money because i want to save a decent percentage of the 140k and invest.

i say how my goal is to have enough that when im in my 40s i dont feel the need to have a job that stresses me out, something that i can either retire or just get a less stressful job. My gf looks at me and with a somewhat upset voice goes “what about me? We are in this together and that retirement money should be for us”.

She basically claims that because i will make almost “double” she makes that i should be more considerate. (I’ll explain why i put double in quotes).

I tell her that if we are still together it will obviously be for us and i wouldnt retire until we can both retire and enjoy it. But i also tell her that the retirement money shouldnt just come from my salary it should come from both of our salaries. That she should save for retirement and not expect that my money will be there for her to retire especially since we arent married yet. She says how she has been working on being better at finances and putting into her retirement account. The thing is i dont make double what she makes. She makes barely over 6 figures. We both comes from families of poor financial literacy and even her dad distrusts the bank. I i come from a family of immigrants who were factory wrokers she comes from a family of small business owners (her mom is a trust fund baby). Her dad made a good amount in his business and he is the type that hides all his money in the walls. Really it’s within the last 3 years that she has started to put money in roth IRAs. I’ve been putting money in retirment accounts and my own personal stock accounts since i was started working at 22 making 70k in a HCOL state.

When we first started dating she expressed more interest in retirement so i gave her some tips. She did follow it for a bit but then complained her check was too “small” now.

She is an admitted shopping addict, she does return everything she buys. The way she made that comment worried me a bit because it came off to me like she wants to use her money to support her shopping addiction but doesnt want to use it to support her future. If she was making 50k and i was making 140k i would completely understand her POV. But she makes like 105k and i will start making 140k (that’s the assumption) soon. She is a physical therapist at a really small company, she says she has reached the height of her career unless she gets into more leadership roles and her company has no real career growth and is poorly managed. Where in my career im considered a mid-level and in 10 years time (maybe less time) id likely make 200k. I have no issues sharing my retirement money with whoever im with when that time comes but i also feel if she makes 6 figures as well that we should both be building that fund so it could be a bigger pot and i feel like the expectation is that i build that pot while she “doesnt have to”. I could be reading too much into it.

Obviously we need to talk more about this but as i guy this raised a few small red flags. I feel like i hear stories of people having to give their spouses or even domestic partners half their salary even when they never had kids together so it does give me a bit of worry that ill be one of those people if this doesnt work out. I dont think she’d ever do that but i also have friends who thought the same thing of their spouses before they broke up. We live in a state where if you date (especially if you live together) you can be considered common law married. Im thinking of getting a cohab agreement to protect my money just in case.

How do i approach this financial discussion with her?

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My Details

• Ages: 38, 38, 4.5, 1.5
• Household Income: 360,000
  • Me: 200,000, own my own business
  • Spouse : 160,000, work for government
• Household Expenses: 160,000 per year
• Saving: 200,000 year
• Current Portfolio: 2,000,000
  • Me: 1,600,000 VTI
  • Spouse: 400,000 TSP 

FIRE Targets

• Target Retirement Spending: 200,000
• Target Retirement Portfolio: 5,000,000 at 58
• Target Retirement Age: 58 (when the kids are grown and adults)

Question:

Need some help deciding which path I should take. I want to sell my business and do something else. However the income is hard to replace and the time flexibility is hard to beat. I do spend at least 40 hours in the business and it's a very high stress type business. My goal is to retire completely at 58 since kids will be grown. I can’t really travel the world or retire with my spouse as spouse wants a career and wants to continue to work. And kids needs our support and parenting. I want the kids to have a solid stable homebase. 

Should I?

Path 1 - Suck it up and grind it out

• Continue to run business and grind it out till 58? I Believe I will hit my CoastFI in 1-2 years and can maybe decrease time spent in my business and make less? However I dont think it’s likely as I will not be able to ignore items on my off day and stuff always happens. 
• According to FIRE calculator, I will hit my FIRE number in 8-10 years.  (Using 7% annualized ROI and between 3-4% SWR)
  • https://engaging-data.com/fire-calculator/?age=38&initsav=2000000&spend=160000&initinc=360000&wr=3&ir=0&retspend=200000&stockpct=80&fixpct=18&cashpct=2&graph=fix&secgraph=0&stockrtn=8.1&bondrtn=2.4&MCstockrtn=0.081&MCbondrtn=0.024&tax=7&income=0&incstart=50&incend=70&expense=0&expstart=50&expend=70
• Pros: Having a purpose and something to do. Income can grow if i work harder, income keeps coming in. My portfolio should be bigger at 58 with more retirement potential.
• Cons: Stressful, I worry about everything, I just want clients to be handled perfectly. Current industry conditions suck, vendors cutting commission, pulling out of market, clients complaining about prices, etc…It will pass but getting negative energy from all sides. 

Path 2 - Reduce hours and live early

• Find someone to take over or grind toward stepping away as much as I can. Hard for me to do, always want to be in control but learning to let go.
  • I believe I hit my coast fire goal to FIRE at 52 using the coastFI number 1,479,320 at 4% swr & 7% roi. or FIRE at 56 using the coastFI number 1,972,426 at 3% swr. I can start another business but don't have to worry about making money first but more about passion and start taking care of my health and fitness level. Spend more time with my kids and raise them more. I do have to continue work  to make up the expense differences or to have some extra money in case kids expenses go up
  • CoastFI doesnt have link
• Pros: No longer need to worry about the business, spend time with kids, do what I want early. Any income we make can be spend on living early or fun. Stress of making income is not really there since my business is in a stable industry that *SHOULD* be consistent
• Cons: If spouse loses jobs, I wont have a backup plan. Need to have some sort of paying job to make up for extra expense years or rising cost of kids

Path 3 - Sell the business now, FIRE soon? 

• I have a business that can sell pretty easily, I can sell it for 2,000,000 today and have offers but never considered it. 
  • If I put 2,000,000 into my portfolio, I can hit my FIRE goal in 4.3-8.6 years, but have no money to spend on “fun” . It will be paycheck to paycheck for these years. 
    • https://engaging-data.com/fire-calculator/?age=38&initsav=4000000&spend=160000&initinc=160000&wr=3&ir=0&retspend=200000&stockpct=80&fixpct=18&cashpct=2&graph=fix&secgraph=0&stockrtn=8.1&bondrtn=2.4&MCstockrtn=0.081&MCbondrtn=0.024&tax=7&income=0&incstart=50&incend=70&expense=0&expstart=50&expend=70
  • If I put 1,000,000 into my portfolio and seller finance the other 1,000,000 at 9%, and put 50k toward VTI annually and spend the 40k on whatever. I can hit my FIRE goal in 7.3-11.1 years
    • https://engaging-data.com/fire-calculator/?age=38&initsav=3000000&spend=160000&initinc=210000&wr=3&ir=0&retspend=200000&stockpct=80&fixpct=18&cashpct=2&graph=fix&secgraph=0&stockrtn=8.1&bondrtn=2.4&MCstockrtn=0.081&MCbondrtn=0.024&tax=7&income=0&incstart=50&incend=70&expense=0&expstart=50&expend=70
• Pros: achieve FIRE the fastest, no more stress from business
• Cons: paycheck to paycheck, different kinds of stress if spouse loses job?

Path 4 - Recommend me a path!

I see a lot of posts outlining future market strategies. Mostly plans to stay in the market, some say to buy the dip, others to short.

Do you investors ever entertain the thought that the entire marker could collapse, negating any strategies you have?

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34M, single. No kids, but supporting elderly parents (immigrant family).

Current NW: $2.96M (was hoping to be at $3m by now, but that orange fellow has made it difficult)

• Cash: ~$400k (this will probably be invested shortly)
• Liquid Investments:~ $2.2m (all index funds, no individual securities)
• Rental Property Real Estate Equity: $350k

Expenses: $90k per year (HCOL area) - this includes what I spend on myself and my family.

Passive Income Last Year (RE, Dividends, Rental Income): ~$150k. RE is responsible for maybe 55% of this (but obviously this is not guaranteed).

I've been beyond lucky, but have had to grind hard to get here. It has taken a real toll on both my physical and mental health. I'm also concerned about job security, as my industry has gotten hit due to the current macroeconomic climate.

Would appreciate any views on my current situation. Thanks in advance!

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Hey everyone,

I’m a 30-year-old male looking for some financial advice on how to best allocate my bi-monthly paycheck. Here’s a bit of background about my situation:

• I have a girlfriend, and we rent an apartment together. Our lease is up for renewal in November and plan on doing at least another year of renting.
• I don’t plan on proposing for at least another year, so my financial priorities might shift down the line.
• Currently, I’m putting $5,000 into my online savings account each month.

Unfortunately, I’m unable to contribute to a Roth IRA since my salary exceeds the limit. However, my employer plans to offer a 401(k) later this year, which I’m looking forward to.

Here’s a snapshot of my current assets and debt:

• HYSA $7,511
• Fidelity Roth IRA $31,425
• Brokerage Account #1 (Index Funds) $28,375
• Brokerage Account #2 (Stocks) $31,573
• 401K from previous employer $89,062
• Student Loans $5,000
• CC Debt $1200

With that in mind, I’m wondering whether I should focus on saving heavily right now or contribute that money into my brokerage accounts. Should I be putting more into long-term investments, or is it better to keep saving for now?

I’d love to hear everyone’s thoughts and advice on how to best manage my finances moving forward!

Thanks in advance!

Hello,

I am self employed over the last few years. I have been contributing to a traditional IRA and my SEP IRA. These amounts have grown but I figure with the market downturn maybe now is a good time to convert them. On vanguard both of them had the option to convert to my Roth IRA.

1. Is it as simple as converting them both over now through there?
   
2. Do I need a different account for the SEP IRA?
   
3. Is the pro rata rule going to affect me?
   
4. What should I expect to pay in taxes for it this year?
   

Thank you

Hey guys

With the recent downturn in the markets , this got me revisiting our family finances and I feel like we are not in the best position.

For background, I have always been big in saving and not spending when I don't need to. Last August we decided to bite the bullet and purchase a long term home to set roots in. However ever since we purchased, i have been constantly anxious about our finances and now I feel like we have to pinch pennies. I just feel we aren't in the best cash flow situation...

I had a goal of trying to coast in the next 10 years and retire in my 50's

Background: - sf bay area - 36(m) and 34 (f) - 2 kids 5 and under - base salary (175k) + annual bonus 45k / wife has own business, last netted $50k profit - we have a rental in the bay area netting around $9k / year after expenses - net worth: $740k combined in ira, brokerage accounts, crypto - property equity : roughly $400k on rental after mortgage, and $160k on primary - cash - $40k

Critical Expenses: - mortgage on primary residence $4,800 month - $12k annual property tax - $180/month on home insurance - $200/month auto - $500/month life insurance - $380/month after school care - $620/month car payment (1 car) - gas try to stay under $300/month - swimming for kids $300/month - phone $280/month (i pay for me, wife, parents and brother, wife's business and i get a $100 /month work reimbursement)

Investing - Currently maxing out 401k (split between roth and trad 401k), wife maxes out traditional IRA

Other expenses: I also cover my mom's mortgage in exchange for lookig after my younger kid ($728/month)

Food - still figuring out a rhythm on groceries (we were staying with my parents last few years to save for a house downpayment) so we split groceries, but it's so far netting out to around $700- $1k a month for a family of 4

We now rarely eat our (maybe 1 time a week, nothing fancy)

After expenses, I feel like we basically have no money left over for anything else... my last bonus ($23k after taxes) went straight into savings or paying off bills from our move and house repairs we had to do, and we potentially have more!

When i look at my future monthly cash flow projections, everything looks so tight with no wiggle room and that makes me super anxious, and unable to enjoy our new life.

Basically to do anything we used to be able to do (travel, home improvements) will mean selling stock potentially.

I used to be able to just set savings/investing on auto pilot and not worry about tracking spending with fine tooth comb, but now I have to track every penny and i can't even save anything (outside of 401k)

Did my wife and I just put ourselves in a hard position? Or are we overthinking it?

Thanks for your advice!

(Edit) forgot to mention that we are considering selling our rental. Cashflow is wver declining (increase repairs and insurance ). House is in Oakland and not really appreciating anymore. Tenants may all leave this summer when leases expire . I am considering putting proceeds into the market and pad emergency fund, and put more money toward home repairs and the mortgage.

Any recommendations on tax advisors in the sf bay area are welcomed! Doubt we will do a 1031 exchange

Hi everyone
I'm 33M based in San Francisco, working a senior role in tech with flexible hours. I’ve just crossed what feels like my first major milestone on the path to financial independence — ~$890K net worth — and I’m now focused on building a smart, resilient long-term plan.

Current Financial Picture:

• Net Worth: ~$890K
  • ~$740K in vested company equity (post-IPO, tradeable)
  • ~$55K in BTC/ETH (long-term hold after a volatile cycle)
  • ~$72K in 401(k) (6% pre-tax contribution + employer match)
  • ~$10K in cash
• Salary: $163K + 15% bonus (expecting a raise soon)
• Debt:
  • $29K 401(k) loan (used during the last bull market)
  • $47K in equity-backed lines of credit
  • $0 credit card debt (recently paid off $15K)
• Monthly Expenses: ~$2.6K rent (split with partner), HCOL lifestyle
• Partnered, no kids (yet)

What I’ve Learned So Far:

• Took on more risk during the last crypto run than I should have—learning from that.
• Shifting from a “chase returns” mentality to a more disciplined wealth-building plan.
• Index funds will form the core of my portfolio, with some thoughtful exposure to crypto, real estate, and (eventually) angel investing.
• Starting to explore financial advisors, but want to be strategic about who I work with and what value they provide.

What I’m Doing Now:

• Prioritizing debt payoff + cash buffer rebuild
• Modeling scenarios using personal planning tools and ChatGPT
• Consistent DCA into BTC + index funds
• Researching Roth conversions, mega backdoor 401(k), and HSA usage
• Thinking through best use of equity post-blackout for long-term compounding

Where I’d Love to Learn from You:

1. How did your mindset or strategy shift between $500K and $1M+ net worth?
2. Did you go Lean FI first and then shift to FAT FIRE, or push for FAT FIRE from the start?
3. Has anyone here used equity-backed loans or lines of credit to fund other investments? Worth it or too risky?
4. Tips for avoiding lifestyle creep in this phase of the journey?
5. If you were 33 again at this stage, what would you focus on?

Thanks in advance for any insights! This community has been a huge influence over the years and I’m finally starting to feel like progress is being made. Excited to keep learning from all of you.

I’ve technically been at a coast fire / fully fired for a few years, but kept working because my job wasn’t bad or especially hard despite how being an underperforming corporate cog made me feel. And making less from salary than 4% rule would pay me.

Long before I knew about FIRE I was raised in a scarcity mindset house where you saved everything and any expenses beyond what’s needed came with a guilt trip. Really understanding money has somewhat pushed me to spend more, and I was always worried that not working might be time freedom but flare up my upbringing to an unhealthy level of frugality.

Well the choice was made for me, as my years of quiet quitting secured me a spot in the 2025 layoff lottery. Woohoo! I think… because I’m youngish & healthy, and have the time and money (ish) to do whatever I want.

For the first time ever, I plan to really budget….but to keep me living up to the amount I have from passive income so I don’t over-save as my default.

I just hit 40, single no kids, with very little chance I find a life time partner or have kids solo.

I’m willfully choosing to ignore the current market and willing myself to trust the math. My expected drawdown is 0% which can and should of course change overtime.

Beyond the uncertainty of sequence of return risk, my passive income (although it’s actually fairly active) comes from managing a coastal vacation rental I purchased right before the area had a huge pandemic boom. At 2.75% interest and high rental demand, I can live off this indefinitely…except that there is a medium likely chance in the next 10-30 years it becomes a victim of climate change and instead of appreciating to be with $2M in that timeframe instead becomes 0.

My parents are 70 and networth is 7.5M and while I know nothing is guaranteed it would be nearly impossible for me to receive less than $1M of this.

Spending more money the next 10-15 years would make sense for my age/lifestyle then when I’m in my late 50s/60s.

Do others include such possibilities in their projections or just plan to pivot if and when needed? Many many other things could also happen, like me getting another job, or getting hit by a bus.

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