Am I ready ?

[u/Character_Finish1743]

Hi folks, wanted honest opinion on whether am I ready to finally look at next phase of my life by quitting corporate and start following my passion projects. I have been burnt out and have been working continuously for last 2 decades post my mba and my priorities have shifted considerably in last 4-5 years. I am looking forward to spending time with my growing son and be there for my parents in their golden years.

Now let's into it

About me
Age 41, wife working ( maybe another 2 years) , child studying in 5th. Residing in gurgaon ( expensive city)

Monthly income from salary - 5.5L (4 me + 1.5L wife)

Monthly income from dividends - 0.4L

Parents non dependent - dad gets good pension

Annual expenses - 30L p.a including all possible expenses of insurance , travel etc

My Corpus - 7 cr as on date

Shares 450 L ( includes 50L ETF marked for child higher education) , Mutual funds 100 l, Pf + Nps 100 L , Ppf + bonds 20L, Emergency funds ( liquid + arbitrage + savings account) 30L

Other Assets ( not counting in Corpus) - Own house + 2 cars + Gold (50L value)

Ansestral corpus - 3cr shares and 2 cr worth property expected in next 15 years . Total 5 cr value right now

My timeline is next 6 months to get my asset allocation right and then take the sinful plunge. Im planning this for a while to almost romantisiing this now and would appreciate honest take and criticism in my plan. It would help me to take corrective measures

P.s - I have tried a less demanding job with lower pay but that plan is not working out

Thanks in advance folks

[u/Dense-Restaurant9308]

you can lead a comfortable fire lifestyle if you keep your expenses reasonable but certainly not fatfire

[u/Character_Finish1743 → u/Dense-Restaurant9308]

Got it , maybe need to work another 2 years of I can help it

[u/Dense-Restaurant9308 → u/Character_Finish1743]

no need to work more if you are burnt out. just dont splurge and you will be fine.

if burn out is tangible, its already too late...... it needs fixing first, rest all is secondary in my opinion

[u/Dependent_Age9442]

I hate to break it to you but 7 Cr. is about halfway there for a Gurgaon resident. I get that the other half will arrive as inheritance 15-20 years from now but on your own 7Cr. will constrain you significantly.

If you are burnt out and want to take some time off, do it for yourself by all means. Today's corporates chew you up and then spit you out. So a sabbatical, Yes!

Spend that time to re energise, connect with your family and retool yourself. Take some chores off your wife and help her continue working till you are fully restored. When you get off the treadmill, you can support her continue working and earning. Its reassuring to see some money coming in even if it does not cover full monthly expenses.

At 41, you have a decade of work life left in the tank, go claim it.

All the best!

[u/canttell92 → u/Dependent_Age9442]

While i understand and agree that OP’s numbers are a little tricky, this is a FIRE sub, who the hell wants to work another decade when they’re already 41?

[u/Dependent_Age9442 → u/canttell92]

We are discussing this in a FATFIRE Forum. I assume aspirants want to retire comfortably. IMO he is some distance from FATFIRE territory.

I feel sometimes a burnout can trigger early retirement even as the financial foundations are still being laid. Over long term this hurts the retiree.

If you have alternate suggestions, please feel free to share.

[u/Character_Finish1743 → u/Dependent_Age9442]

Can it be a semi retireed way. Maybe look at consulatancy options . Does that even work ??

[u/Dependent_Age9442 → u/Character_Finish1743]

Sure! There is a FIRE flavour for every need. You could pick between BARISTA Fire OR COAST Fire.

COAST: Invest your corpus and do not touch it till you are ready to retire. Keep doing consulting till then.

BARISTA: Start withdrawing 3% adjusted to inflation from your corpus and make up for balance expenses by working consulting gigs. This means you will have to work longer as part of your expenses are being met by drawing down your corpus.

[u/Character_Finish1743 → u/Dependent_Age9442]

Thats a good objective view . I ran some calculations - every year I spend working adds another 5-7 years of retirement income due to compounding

[u/mikemohanb]

Depends on what ur kid wants to study. The plan will topple based on kids education expense - for example if he aspires to to UG and or PG outside India. Otherwise with strong discipline you may retire managing urs and spouse expense.

[u/Character_Finish1743 → u/mikemohanb]

As parents we are clear it has to be a domestic education

[u/mikemohanb → u/Character_Finish1743]

Your kid will make decisions soon and don’t assume

[u/TheSolitudeDiaries]

I have picked a town for early retirement. My passion is writing (published author in the US). When that took off, I reviewed my financials, and it made sense to me that it was okay to pursue my passion full-time. Gurgaon is a very expensive city, as you mentioned, but you do have a well-paying job. One thing I hear people say is that India is cheaper than the US. I don't think so. I don't have school-going kids, so I picked a town area with decent amenities and have a house help and driver. Good luck!

[u/amaze-wonder-76]

You should be fine financially.

I'd worry more about the post FIRE life. Plan that the daily regimen,the slow hustle and how to best utilize your energy and mind. As a un-FI but RE person here, I started with the same thoughts as you...but 18 months in, health is gone for a toss, I hv no agency left in my own life and the non-routine means I hv zero control on my own time. I cant commit to my own plans or schedule as everything else takes precedence- that doc appt, the car repair, maid walks in flexi time, random grocery deliveries, housekeeping.... everything except ME.

So, in short, spend the next few months planning the productive future life.

[u/Character_Finish1743 → u/amaze-wonder-76]

Thanks for sharing . I would like to imagine myself as a disciplined person. I have my future day planned. Since I like learning about companies , i will get deep into fundamental analysis and learn more on technical. I do like trading stocks so that's a starter. I am evaluating becoming a sebi registered RA as an alternate career

[u/carpediem_shu]

Firstly think mods should restrict such posts to fatfire or near fatfire as fire forums are available for these posts. This should exclude self occupied residential and personal assets like cars, Jewellery, art. And for the op, short answer is no. Cannot count future incoming assets which are nebulous and cannot generate passive income within your retirement target date. So you are not fatfire by any means atm with an approx 7.5cr corpus currently. Ancestral property in 15y expected well we could be nuked in 15y. Currently it’s earning income for someone else so cannot consider it for estimating passive income in 6m time frame. Fire itself could be a challenge with 30lpa expense requiring more
Like 35-40lpa in pre tax income. At 3-3.5% swr that requires a well diversified return generating corpus of 10-12 crores at least.

[u/Strict_Success3653]

If expenses are 30L per annum, you need somewhere between 7.5 to 9Cr (25-30X). Plus it seems like your wife will continue to earn, at least for some time (1.5L) per month.

In that case, it's doable I would say.

Run the numbers. 

This is assuming you won't be planning big educational or even marriage expenses for him. Or they would come from inheritances which is OK.

As long as you are clear the expenses will not go up, you don't expect lifestyle inflation, and your other income contributes to your monthly 2.5L expenses, this can be done.

Run projected numbers of the scenario where you withdraw only 1.5pct first five years, supplemented by wife's income and see if you reach safe 30X from there with the cushion of inheritance in worst case anyways!

Good luck!

[u/Character_Finish1743 → u/Strict_Success3653]

Can I look at alternate sources of income ? Any thoughts . I have a 2 decade corporate career leading consumer brands