So I just hit 275k net worth which feels pretty wild for someone my age but Im starting to wonder if Im making the right calls with my work situation

    Quick breakdown of where Im at:

    – 28M single retail manager making about 68k base plus bonuses that usually add up to another 12k or so

    – Net worth sits at 275k with most of it split between my 401k at around 180k and taxable accounts at 85k plus keeping about 10k as my emergency buffer

    – Yearly spending runs me roughly 42k including my apartment

    – Saving about 46% of what I bring in

    My target for FI is somewhere around 950k so Im looking at maybe 11-12 years if everything goes smoothly. The thing is retail has been absolutely brutal lately with all the corporate restructuring happening everywhere. My company just went through another round of management cuts last month and everyone keeps talking about more changes coming

    Ive got this opportunity to move into a district manager role that would push my total compensation up to around 95k but it comes with way more headaches – traveling between stores constantly managing problem locations dealing with way more corporate pressure. Part of me thinks I should grab it and maybe cut my timeline down by 3-4 years but another part thinks the extra stress might not be worth it since my current gig lets me have actual weekends

    What bugs me is seeing all this talk about retail continuing to struggle for the next few years which makes me wonder if jumping to a higher pressure role is even smart right now. But then again having district manager experience might make me more valuable if things really go sideways

    So Im torn on a few things:

    1. Should I take the promotion even though itll probably mess with my work life balance pretty badly

    2. Is 950k enough or should I be aiming higher since Im still young

    3. Anyone else in retail feeling sketchy about the whole industry right now

    I know Im lucky to even have options when so many people are struggling but this constant worry about company changes is wearing me down. Some days I think about just staying put and accepting that my FI journey might take longer and other days I feel like Im wasting my prime earning years by not being more aggressive

    Reached 275k NW at 28 but questioning my career moves in this market
    byu/NoPosition96 infinancialindependence



    Posted by NoPosition96

    1 Comment

    1. There’s no right or wrong answer regarding your promotion. If you actually like your current job, then staying where you are makes sense to me, so long as you will continue to get pay raises with inflation.

      Personally, I’d aim a bit higher than 1 million, but that’s also a personal choice about your risk tolerance. At least if your plan is to completely stop working.

    Leave A Reply
    Share via