FI friends—looking for some perspective on whether to stay in corporate a few more years or pivot sooner.
Age: 32
Job: Tech sales (city commuter)
W-2 income: $290K
Net worth: $1.2M
• Rental equity: $580K
• Stocks: $504K (60% tax-advantaged / 40% taxable)
• Cash: $82K
• Privates: $30K
• Crypto: $2K
Rental RE Debt LTV: ~63%
Monthly inflows:
Corporate net income: $12.5K (ex-bonus)
Passive income: $2K
Monthly Investments: $2.5K (401k) / $3.5K (taxable brokerage) / $4K HY cash (used for RE down payments mainly)
Expenses: $5K/mo
Newly married spouse loves her $300K job and has ~$960K NW (keeping hers separate from my NW calcs for the sake of this example). Planning first child in 2026, considering what I want to do after that. Forecasted NW will be >$1.5M by end of parental leave.
Started FI journey five years ago with a 12-year real-estate acquire and payoff plan. But with the 4% rule, I could hit $1.5M within ~18 months which Is enough to cover current expenses.
Do I:
- Stay 5+ years & fatFIRE – keep compounding while the job is easy and the snowball grows fast
- Pivot early – exit in around 1.5 years after >$1.5M to pursue something energizing (real estate expansion, small-biz acquisition, startup, etc.)
I’m comfortable, not burned out, but commuting/rat race is eventually not for me and definitely will feel this more post-kids. Entrepreneurial projects excite me more than coasting in corporate.
• Would you leap once lean-FIRE is reached, or stack a bigger buffer?
• Thoughts on my portfolio mix or other moves to de-risk first? Would the 4% rule even be valid for my allocation structure?
• Anything you wish you’d known at this stage?
Age 32, $1.2M NW, Good Income/Lower Expenses — Keep Snowballing or Take the Leap?
byu/No-Spot-7803 infinancialindependence
Posted by No-Spot-7803
3 Comments
You’re better off with option 1. Keep building and compounding while things are easy and you’ll be able to establish yourself for when the unplanned happens, especially as a new parent. You’re still very young and parenthood will bring a lot of lifestyle changes.
This seems like a conversation best had with your wife. Is she cool with you being a SAHD? Does she want the fatFIRE lifestyle or is she happy with your current expenditure? What are your plans for your kid’s college expenses and/or support afterwards? Financially, you’re fine to quit (slight caveat depending on how secure that passive income is)
Fat Fire for me. Babies are cute and all, but kids hit their mark around 4 or 5. I would aim to retire around that time.