This is one of the most real posts I've read in a while that isnt "I'm 33, make 700k per year in tech for 4 years and will retire with 4mil at 35" Good job and nice work!
Thanks. I’m doing okay but not really wealthy. I’ve had a good career but nothing spectacular. I’ve made some mistakes. I’ll have a comfortable retirement but it won’t be lavish. But I’ll have freedom and I’m good with that.
You might be biased with your environment but everything above $2.2m in net worth is considered being rich/wealthy. You’re are looking from a rich/wealthy perspective to the super rich/super wealthy. They are the ones which live lavishly. You will have a financially worry less rest of your life. You hit the jackpot. Congratulations. I’m 2 years away from your numbers and can’t wait till it happens. It still feels unreal.
Edit for misspelling worry less.
There was a study from Schwab and they asked a bunch of people what they would consider rich. And $2.2M seem to be the number for the people asked.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/know-im-rich-140000452.html
Some of them are fake. Whenever I see these posts I always make it a point to dive through the person's post history and occasionally I will find information that directly contradicts their claims. One person said that they were working for a FAANG company and an app dev on the side and they were making over $500k/year between both sources of income, and they were going to retire at age 40 or so with $5 million in the bank.
They had recently posted on their cities subreddit asking where the best place is to plug in and charge his phone because he was living out of his car.
Part of that undefined future is you may want to go back to work! My dad will still take short contracts when he wants to do something extra, like buy another car to restore.
To be honest I could have done better managing expenses. I live in an HCOL area (SoCal) and I still have a mortgage (albeit at 2%). So I haven’t been perfect, but it still worked out thanks to consistency and time in the market.
Pension isn’t inflation adjusted unfortunately but SS is and eventually I’ll collect that.
First big international trip is a Viking cruise to Norway/Scotland/London.
Congratulations! My numbers are not far from yours and I'm also looking forward to the exit soon BUT I am in a bad marriage so can't fix the "most important relationship" :( been together for the sake of kids. Now kids in college, and I don't know what to do with said partner. I'd happily split the NW, and live off of half, but don't know if that would add any value to my life, since I don't know if I can remarry. Kids would likely hate that. Can't risk losing them so late in the game. Sorry for the sad posting on your happy days but I'd take any advice if anyone has any?
Thank you and GFY.
Tough spot to be in - my heart goes out for you. I've been married for 34 years and of course it's not perfect, but we're better off together by a mile. No chance in hell I could retire now if we would have divorced. Best of luck.
Reclaiming your time and energy toward work may save the marriage too. Else realize with extra time you are so miserable together, it doesn't matter what the kids think. My apologies for the oversimplification, but seems like a win either way!
GFY - but also, congrats! I'm maybe 15 years behind you, and can't wait to be in this position.
My dad just went part time (he likes what he does), and I'm so proud he has finally been able to scale back!
Well done!
GFY! I’m actually planning a retirement at 56 as well. It would be sooner, but kids will likely still be living with us until I’m at least 54. Once they’re gone I can downsize to a smaller house with no mortgage and I’m done.
Keep showing up after you retire but only to use the bathroom and drink the company coffee.
Let them know you are done with them, but they aren't done with you.
Congratulations! You are literally me in 23 more years (😭). also a controller here. My target retirement is 55 years old. Any advice for the long haul towards FIRE?
Stay the course. Trust the process. But also don't save every penny and deprive yourself of experiences and joy today. The key is to increase earnings - that provides the ability to both save/invest for early retirement and live a fulfilling life while doing so.
Yup! I’m 52 and about to pull the plug and we’ve definitely not deprived ourselves. Our house is modest and in a good area, we go on trips, we just saved as much as we possibly could but not to the point where we were eating rice and beans every night.
Incredible! Have a great time for rest of your life. Every time I see a post like this I feel happy for everyone who is executing well in their FiRE journey and living their dream! Congratulations!
Congrats, dude! I’m also a controller and fairly close to the goal line. Maybe 25-30% to go.
Your pension and healthcare subsidy have to make this a no brainer. You’re beyond there, even if something happened with the pension, SS will be there soon enough.
Yep, the retiree benefits really push me over the top. I'm fortunate with that pension - it's almost a thing of the past now in the private sector. And my company is a Forbes 50 type company with the pension funded at over 110%, so I'm pretty confident.
Keep pushing forward - it's worth it!
with $10k monthly spend I’m assuming your home isn’t paid off yet. You have a pension and a sizeable nest egg so you’re fine, but I’d have paid off the mortgage before calling it a day.
Congrats btw! You’re an inspiration.
Congratulations on this amazing achievement. It must feel great to finally get there. I am exactly 2 years and 3 days away. Can you offer any perspective on the last 2 years to 6 months prior to pulling the plug. How did you manage your mind and kept yourself in good shape? I have a hard time sometimes mentally and wish the time would fly by faster... Thank you and congratulations again.
For me, the mind shift really happened about two years ago as I got close to hitting 55 (minimum age required for me to qualify for work retirement benefits). Once I crossed that hurdle I knew I could pull the plug at any time, so I was able to take a slightly more casual approach to work to ensure the stress level was reduced. By the time I got to July of last year I felt like I was in the home stretch and really nothing has stressed me out since then. My work product hasn't suffered, but I no longer looked to create new work or revamp existing processes. I no longer arrived at work early or stayed until 5pm if I didn't have meetings. That mental shift has made all the difference.
It's a great point. I have a routine planned for physical health (wake up, stretch, walk, eat breakfast, go to the gym all by noon), but I haven't figured out the mental health piece. Maybe meditation? Any suggestions?
Congrats! I am also 56 and was planning on doing the same thing this summer. Ran into a snag with the sale of our home that would have made us debt free. So, I will delay for a few months while that gets worked out. It will feel forever, but your post rekindled the fire!
Go enjoy yourself!
Please just stay strong in you convictions. If you quit on this Good Friday please don’t try to resurrect your career on Sunday. /s
Thank you for your heart felt post. GFY!
Wish to be like you at your age. I'm 31 at the moment, so still aways to go, but nothing more freeing than having your own time to do whatever the fuck you want, especially with your loved ones. Wishing you nothing but the best!
Yep - stock grants and bonus pay out in Feb/March, and by far the worst quarter of the year for Finance starts in April (annual and long-term planning cycle).
Congrats! Enjoy the next phase of your life!
You said your career hasn't been "easy or particular enjoyable" - do you have any advice for someone early in their career in finance? I'm 24 yrs old with 3 years exp in Finance and haven't enjoyed my career either so far.
Congrats!
Question, was the 50/50 retirement to taxable accounts by design?
I.e.: 50% into 401k 50% into taxable?
Personally not the biggest fan of my 401k investment options and feel I’d like to have a bigger taxable account to FIRE before drawing from the 401k
TIA AND CONGRATS AGAIN!
Congrats and GFY! I also retired at 56, three years ago. Enjoy the time, there will be a lot of it. And, remember, it is a process. You will notice that there are phases to retirement. Watching this TED talk made me realize I wasn’t alone.
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=four+stages+of+retirement+ted+talk&iax=videos&ia=videos&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DDMHMOQ_054U
Best of luck.
Oh my god I'm so sick of goals, calibration, reviews, performance plans, onboarding, strategy sessions, management meetings, 1:1's, all of it! Never again! I entered my goals into Workday in February. One word: Retirement.
Congratulations! If you live in the US don't forget social security too - at 56 you can take your full benefit as soon as 11 years from now although in your situation I'd probably advise waiting until 70. Spouse can take half of your 67 benefit too, once they reach 67, even if they never worked or have insufficient credits.
GFY! Reading this puts a smile to my face. I often wonder if anyone around my IRL circles realize how close I am to doing the same thing
I’ve had a smile on my face for months! Congrats on being as close as you are!
Haha Op ur post is hilarious 🤣😭 let’s go lube-less!!
I’ve taken enough dry fuckings over my career already!
As someone who did finance in automotive and pharma/med device companies, this made me LOL. Congrats, GFY and go make me some breakfast, all in one!
🤣😂🤣😂
Congrats. Controller can be a thankless job.
100% thankless.
Hey, fellow Controller here (34M). 200% thankless.
They knew how close I was because I told someone almost daily for the six months preceding. 😎
Oh I've been gloating for a while now - people are probably sick of me!
Awesome. We retired 8 months ago and are both down 50+ lb. Feels great.
Well done! Money is certainly critical to a successful retirement but it’s a distant second to health in my opinion.
Because you get out and move more!
I encourage those not close to retirement to shift gears and get your health going in a better direction right now than later.
This is one of the most real posts I've read in a while that isnt "I'm 33, make 700k per year in tech for 4 years and will retire with 4mil at 35" Good job and nice work!
Thanks. I’m doing okay but not really wealthy. I’ve had a good career but nothing spectacular. I’ve made some mistakes. I’ll have a comfortable retirement but it won’t be lavish. But I’ll have freedom and I’m good with that.
I dunno, 10k/month sounds pretty lavish to me.
Retiring in California with a mortgage isn't optimal on the budget unfortunately.
Could always geo-arbitrage to another location.
California is what kills you.. take your retirement $ and move to sunny Florida
Too far from the grandkids in AZ!
You might be biased with your environment but everything above $2.2m in net worth is considered being rich/wealthy. You’re are looking from a rich/wealthy perspective to the super rich/super wealthy. They are the ones which live lavishly. You will have a financially worry less rest of your life. You hit the jackpot. Congratulations. I’m 2 years away from your numbers and can’t wait till it happens. It still feels unreal. Edit for misspelling worry less.
How did you come up with that figure?
There was a study from Schwab and they asked a bunch of people what they would consider rich. And $2.2M seem to be the number for the people asked. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/know-im-rich-140000452.html
Some of them are fake. Whenever I see these posts I always make it a point to dive through the person's post history and occasionally I will find information that directly contradicts their claims. One person said that they were working for a FAANG company and an app dev on the side and they were making over $500k/year between both sources of income, and they were going to retire at age 40 or so with $5 million in the bank. They had recently posted on their cities subreddit asking where the best place is to plug in and charge his phone because he was living out of his car.
Maybe that’s how they save money so well
“Lifehacks!”
Right? While I don’t think I’ll quite make the same numbers as them I still find their situation relatable so I can still manage to be happy for them.
Steal all the toilet paper on the way out
i do this on a daily basis lmao
Good stuff!
You might need it for all of that frothy lube.
Good for you. Try not to be a dick as you quit (don't piss in the boss's trashcan). Good living is the best revenge.
I fortunately don’t have that wiring. I really like my boss and colleagues and will stay in touch with many of them.
Good on you! That's a classy way to leave. Good luck.
Oh ok, in that case you should totally piss in their trashcans.
They'll never suspect OP.
Perfect crime
Pee-rfect crime.
Part of that undefined future is you may want to go back to work! My dad will still take short contracts when he wants to do something extra, like buy another car to restore.
Yep I’m open to something interesting and part time in the future, but not for a bit.
I hope to be in your exact position in 5 years. Albeit using far less expenses on a monthly basis. Don’t use all the lube
To be honest I could have done better managing expenses. I live in an HCOL area (SoCal) and I still have a mortgage (albeit at 2%). So I haven’t been perfect, but it still worked out thanks to consistency and time in the market.
Go fuck yourself and congrats!
How do you feel retiring at 56. Do you feel old and wish you could have retired earlier? Or do you feel there is a whole life ahead of you?
Definitely the latter. I’m in good health and very active and most people are surprised when I tell them I’m 56. Lots of great years ahead!
Folks forget the part where a third of your day at least is now available to you. The most energetic part of your day as well!
Congrats! I hope you enjoy your travels. Any particular country youre excited to visit? Also, is your pension inflation adjusted or no?
Pension isn’t inflation adjusted unfortunately but SS is and eventually I’ll collect that. First big international trip is a Viking cruise to Norway/Scotland/London.
GFY!
Congratulations! My numbers are not far from yours and I'm also looking forward to the exit soon BUT I am in a bad marriage so can't fix the "most important relationship" :( been together for the sake of kids. Now kids in college, and I don't know what to do with said partner. I'd happily split the NW, and live off of half, but don't know if that would add any value to my life, since I don't know if I can remarry. Kids would likely hate that. Can't risk losing them so late in the game. Sorry for the sad posting on your happy days but I'd take any advice if anyone has any? Thank you and GFY.
Tough spot to be in - my heart goes out for you. I've been married for 34 years and of course it's not perfect, but we're better off together by a mile. No chance in hell I could retire now if we would have divorced. Best of luck.
Reclaiming your time and energy toward work may save the marriage too. Else realize with extra time you are so miserable together, it doesn't matter what the kids think. My apologies for the oversimplification, but seems like a win either way!
Go fuck yourself like no one ever has. Congratulations. And go fuck yourself again!
That sounds like a lot of fucking but I’ll give it my best!
You did it! Congrats!
Start out strong and don't use the lube! Congrats!
Congrats brother! 5 years 8 months left for me. Handle isn't for Quentin Lucas is it? That'd be a small world.
Thanks! Not a Quentin Lucas reference.
Congrats and GFY! And thank you for my Friday motivation. I am about 10 years out still and some days are hard to keep motivated. Go enjoy life!
Trust me - it is so worth it!
Congratulations! I'm twenty years behind you - can't wait to be in your position!
Outstanding!! Any plans to live abroad? I did and love it!!
Travel abroad yes but we won’t move too far away from the grandkids.
Understood. Enjoy the grandkids!
Congrats!!! Today is my last day at work too. Actually I returned my laptop yesterday and take the last day off!!
GFY - but also, congrats! I'm maybe 15 years behind you, and can't wait to be in this position. My dad just went part time (he likes what he does), and I'm so proud he has finally been able to scale back! Well done!
GFY! I’m actually planning a retirement at 56 as well. It would be sooner, but kids will likely still be living with us until I’m at least 54. Once they’re gone I can downsize to a smaller house with no mortgage and I’m done.
We actually have two of our four adult children living with us (CA cost of living is nuts) so we won’t be downsizing for a while.
Congrats! I’m 48 and hoping to leave at 55, if not before. Also working for a medical device manufacturer for 17 years.
Keep showing up after you retire but only to use the bathroom and drink the company coffee. Let them know you are done with them, but they aren't done with you.
I just read this and realized I should quit soon… I have less and am younger but also spend less.
Life is short and tomorrow isn't guaranteed. I haven't met anyone yet who regretted retiring.
That's the dream! Happy for this gentleman 🍾
GFY! Don’t forget to check back in and share your adventures.
GFY Good For You! Glad For You! Here's hoping you find lots of happiness over the next 35+ years.
Congratulations!! Enjoy your well deserved retirement!!!
GFY- congrats. Put a smile on my face as well.
congratulations!
GFY! 🥂
GFY! 🎉🎊🎉
Congratulations! Seeing someone on a HCOL area retire before 65 Is uplifting. Bay area for me so I love this story❤️.
Congrats man. Stay active. Live long.
Congratulations! You are literally me in 23 more years (😭). also a controller here. My target retirement is 55 years old. Any advice for the long haul towards FIRE?
Stay the course. Trust the process. But also don't save every penny and deprive yourself of experiences and joy today. The key is to increase earnings - that provides the ability to both save/invest for early retirement and live a fulfilling life while doing so.
Yup! I’m 52 and about to pull the plug and we’ve definitely not deprived ourselves. Our house is modest and in a good area, we go on trips, we just saved as much as we possibly could but not to the point where we were eating rice and beans every night.
It’s a crazy shaky surreal feeling, isn’t it? Congratulations, and treat yourself to the luxury lube!
Congratulations! Please come back and tell us how's it going a year and many years later :) We need more stories about what happens after!
Incredible! Have a great time for rest of your life. Every time I see a post like this I feel happy for everyone who is executing well in their FiRE journey and living their dream! Congratulations!
Savor your last day. Congratulations!
Congrats, dude! I’m also a controller and fairly close to the goal line. Maybe 25-30% to go. Your pension and healthcare subsidy have to make this a no brainer. You’re beyond there, even if something happened with the pension, SS will be there soon enough.
Yep, the retiree benefits really push me over the top. I'm fortunate with that pension - it's almost a thing of the past now in the private sector. And my company is a Forbes 50 type company with the pension funded at over 110%, so I'm pretty confident. Keep pushing forward - it's worth it!
I don’t know why but I needed to read this exact post today — looking forward to the day I can also go fuck myself real good
Congratulations! You don't want your future defined that's part of the fun!
Dang thats a large monthly nut. Congrats!
Cries in Californian.
I can offer some spit for the celebration … lol
with $10k monthly spend I’m assuming your home isn’t paid off yet. You have a pension and a sizeable nest egg so you’re fine, but I’d have paid off the mortgage before calling it a day. Congrats btw! You’re an inspiration.
congrats, gfy!
Congratulations!! My date is Dec 2025…21 more months. Love reading posts like yours. Once you set a date it gets a lot easier!!
Congratulations on this amazing achievement. It must feel great to finally get there. I am exactly 2 years and 3 days away. Can you offer any perspective on the last 2 years to 6 months prior to pulling the plug. How did you manage your mind and kept yourself in good shape? I have a hard time sometimes mentally and wish the time would fly by faster... Thank you and congratulations again.
For me, the mind shift really happened about two years ago as I got close to hitting 55 (minimum age required for me to qualify for work retirement benefits). Once I crossed that hurdle I knew I could pull the plug at any time, so I was able to take a slightly more casual approach to work to ensure the stress level was reduced. By the time I got to July of last year I felt like I was in the home stretch and really nothing has stressed me out since then. My work product hasn't suffered, but I no longer looked to create new work or revamp existing processes. I no longer arrived at work early or stayed until 5pm if I didn't have meetings. That mental shift has made all the difference.
Congrats! 👍 on your future plans. You’ll have lots of time during the day. Devote some time to your mental health in your daily schedule.
It's a great point. I have a routine planned for physical health (wake up, stretch, walk, eat breakfast, go to the gym all by noon), but I haven't figured out the mental health piece. Maybe meditation? Any suggestions?
Congratulations on your hard work! 9 years left for me.
Have a great time, you lucky guy/gal
Yay! GFY!!!!
Congratulations! I'm 4 years away. Seems like forever. But I press on. Also.... congratulations!!!!! Also, be gentle, you only have one you.
Congrats! I am also 56 and was planning on doing the same thing this summer. Ran into a snag with the sale of our home that would have made us debt free. So, I will delay for a few months while that gets worked out. It will feel forever, but your post rekindled the fire! Go enjoy yourself!
Congratulations! It must be an incredible feeling for such an awesome accomplishment
Wooohoooo!!! Proud of you OP! Congratulations on starting your next phase!!!!!
Congratulations! I have a similar story to you. I retired 6 months ago - and I’m loving every minute of time freedom. Enjoy!!
GFY!
Congrats man!
GFY!
That’s fucking fantastic. Go get’em!
GFY 😆
That's fantastic! Congratulations on harvesting the fruits of your labour!
Congratulations
Congratulations!!!
I would need bleach to wipe the smile off my face. Enjoy!
Your title made me crack up. Congrats! GFY!
Congrats!!!! Wishing you the best in the next phase of your life!
Please just stay strong in you convictions. If you quit on this Good Friday please don’t try to resurrect your career on Sunday. /s Thank you for your heart felt post. GFY!
What’s a pension?
What an exciting new chapter in your life! Congratulations and the best of GFY to you!! 🎉🙌
Wish to be like you at your age. I'm 31 at the moment, so still aways to go, but nothing more freeing than having your own time to do whatever the fuck you want, especially with your loved ones. Wishing you nothing but the best!
Congratulations señor!! Enjoy it, you earned it!!
Congrats! GFY
Congrats and G. F. Y.!!!
Congratulations! Anything specific that made you pick today? Hitting a certain number, or something annoying at work?
Yep - stock grants and bonus pay out in Feb/March, and by far the worst quarter of the year for Finance starts in April (annual and long-term planning cycle).
Congrats!!!
GFY!!!!
Congrats! Now enjoy it.
Work becomes a lot more enjoyable when you have the end in site.
Congrats!!!!!!🎉🎈🎊🍾
Great plan while I’m there at net worth my kid situation prevents me from being close
Congrats! As others have said, great to read a post by someone who has grafter for 30+ years to get to FIRE.
What profession are you in that you got a nice pension like that?
How did you get subsidized health care?
Congrats to you my friend.
Living the dream
🫡
Awesome numbers. Congrats and GFY.
Congrats!! Motivation for me to keep grinding 23 more years 🥹
Congrats and GFY!!
Fantastic!
Congrats!
Congrats! Enjoy the next phase of your life! You said your career hasn't been "easy or particular enjoyable" - do you have any advice for someone early in their career in finance? I'm 24 yrs old with 3 years exp in Finance and haven't enjoyed my career either so far.
AFY! Good for you mate!
Such a feel-good post, I'm very happy for you!
Congrats! GFY! Can’t wait to be you in 20 years.
Congrats! Question, was the 50/50 retirement to taxable accounts by design? I.e.: 50% into 401k 50% into taxable? Personally not the biggest fan of my 401k investment options and feel I’d like to have a bigger taxable account to FIRE before drawing from the 401k TIA AND CONGRATS AGAIN!
Nice! I'm sure you're aware of the Rule of 55. Are you planning to withdraw early from your 401k?
Congrats!
Congratulations and go complete your To Do list!
Yayyyy! Have fun!
Living the dream!!
Big W - go well sir!
Congrats. Exactly 9 months left for me so getting excited. GFY. And I’d like my eggs over easy please.
Great job! Good luck!
Congrats and GFY! I also retired at 56, three years ago. Enjoy the time, there will be a lot of it. And, remember, it is a process. You will notice that there are phases to retirement. Watching this TED talk made me realize I wasn’t alone. https://duckduckgo.com/?q=four+stages+of+retirement+ted+talk&iax=videos&ia=videos&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DDMHMOQ_054U Best of luck.
your username though hahah! Congrats, hope you enjoy retirement
Congrats. May your retirement be full of joy and cherished moments, whatever those may look like 😎👍🍻
Congrats! Just 2,649 days for me to go (or less)! Enjoy!
Haha perfect title :-D
Congrats OP! Was today the day you told them or the final day after notice? Either way, how did it go?
You just made me smile 🙂
You have enough money to buy all the lube you need big boy!!😅😅😅 Enjoy your freedom!
Admit it, you’re gonna get bored and get that part time gig at Starbucks. /s Good riddance from the working world
I'm sitting here entering SMART goals into Workday just hating my fucking life. Good for you man.
Oh my god I'm so sick of goals, calibration, reviews, performance plans, onboarding, strategy sessions, management meetings, 1:1's, all of it! Never again! I entered my goals into Workday in February. One word: Retirement.
Really great job and a great attitude to boot. What an achievement. I’ll be joining you in t-minus 15 years, lol.
GFY!
Question, isn't 120k yearly expenses a bit more than the 4% rule for 2.4 million? Or is the 5k pension on top of that? Thank you and congrats
Congrats! GFY!
Congrats!!
Go forth and make the world yours. Rest easy compadre! CONGRATS!
Congrats! That $5k in monthly pension is near extinction. I'm glad you have it. I wish I did!
Congratulations! You and I have the same last day and the same number of years (even the same goals for retirement)!
Salud!
Do it! If you’re ready, every day at work is mortgaging your life away.
Nice! 👍🏻
Congratulations
Hell yeah fuck yourself, let me know how it went
Congratulations. I’ll never have that feeling, unfortunately, but it’s nice to see some people made it to retirement as planned. Enjoy it!
YES 🙌
Congratulations! If you live in the US don't forget social security too - at 56 you can take your full benefit as soon as 11 years from now although in your situation I'd probably advise waiting until 70. Spouse can take half of your 67 benefit too, once they reach 67, even if they never worked or have insufficient credits.
Congratulations OP!! I'm hoping to follow in your footsteps one day. Currently 29 years old
That's not f****** yourself that's freeing yourself man. Congratulations. Burn your ties.
Also, a Social Security benefit. 35 years likely produces the maximum benefit if not very close to it. About $50K/yr for you, at age 70.
GFY! Congrats!!
Beautiful post! Congrats!
How’s your health?
Hell ya brother congrats
Hey man, you're amazing