3 Years Later - FIREd for 18 Months - 10M NW

It’s been a few years since my last post and I figured people might enjoy an update.

2020: https://www.reddit.com/r/fatFIRE/s/mWtSZR541X 2021: https://www.reddit.com/r/fatFIRE/s/i79O4vGfXh

At the end of 2021 our net worth was 7.9M and had risen from 3.4M at the start of 2020. Our original FI Number was 6M, but lifestyle creep and inflation encouraged us to push that number a bit higher. The market pullback in 2022 dropped our NW back into the 6.5M range and then recovered to 7.2 when I finally pulled the trigger and retired early in 2023! The stress of my job had finally pushed me to the limit and my wife and I decided we were good for me to pull the trigger. She continues to work, but with our expenses around 220k/year, we were in pretty safe withdrawal territory.

18 months later, our net worth just crossed 10M for the first time. No real concerns about our finances at this point. From a lifestyle perspective, things have been pretty great. I’m effectively a “stay-at-home” dad, as I’ve taken on all of our shopping/cooking and most of the kid-related duties. Having only one parent working has been awesome for our overall stress level. If a kid is sick, I’m already home. Need to pick someone up from school early, no problem. Doctor appointments, homework, really everything is much easier to manage.

I’m finally able to focus on a giant list of hobbies that I really wasn’t able to spend time on before. I’ve also committed to working out and it’s become a regular part of my day, I’m in the best shape of my life in my early 40s.

If anyone has questions about challenge of transitioning from working to early retirement, with a family, with a still working spouse, or anything else. I’m happy to answer what I can (while keeping this anonymous).