My spouse and I are 40 and 42 respectively. We both work in Big Tech and live in a VHCOL area and make a HHI of about $1.5M split as $1.2M (me) and $300k (spouse). I am completely burnt out at the moment due to work, family and being a caregiver for a terminally ill family member, and want to take a break for a few years to spend time with my kids. We have two young kids who are 6 and 8. From a finances perspective we have $7.6M invested across brokerage and our retirement accounts which includes about $400k in cash equivalents. Half my liquid assets are in my employers stock hence I am worried about SOR risks. Our primary home is worth $2.7M is completely paid off. We have one car loan for $70k @2.99% and yearly spend of $180k. The fear is that I won't find a good job again and my spouse thinks we should make as much as we can while the bubble exists. Our FAT FIRE number is $11M. Should I grind away till the eventual layoff / reaching FAT FIRE or take a break now and worry about the rest later ?

First post. Long time lurker. The math said we're ok to retire but with the recent stocks tumble, not really sure. Also I have a scarcity mindset because I grew up really really poor from a third world country. So I'm scared to take the plunge and don't want to leave money on the table so to speak.

I'm an IT manager and maybe a year ago, I was planning not to retire "early". I said I can work till 62 or 65. Fast forward, my job is getting a little too much for me and I have a health condition that surfaced early this year. If I'm younger and healthier maybe I can still continue to grind. Planning to go FMLA or STD (if approved) then see if I'm ok after that. If not maybe I can retire "early".

House is paid off.

Elder kid graduated college few years ago, married and financially independent. Younger daughter will graduate in June (remaining tuition/expenses are covered via 529). Both went to elite colleges full pay so I spent a lot on their college education.

Wife is willing to work for maybe till 60 so we are ok with medical insurance till she retires. and maybe cover about 90% of our estimated yearly expense.

Am I missing something? Any suggestion on how to allocate my money and withdraw in the future?

Current HH income - 377K

Estimated Annual expense with travel allowance - 140k

Current Portfolio

Cash/CDs/Certificates/HYSA/Money Market - 300K

Bonds - 200K

Brokerage - 883K

ROTH IRA - 240K

Non Deductible IRA - 89K

401k - 1.428M

403b - 490K

401a - 444K

Total Investable $4.074M

Primary Home Equity (paid off) - 1.4 M

HH NW - 5.474 M

Planning to collect SS when we are 65 (or earlier if needed).

Safe Withdrawal Rate for Indian context has been much discussed here.

I did my own numbers, sharing the learnings as follows:

**In Short: The US "4% rule" fails in India. For a 40-year early retirement, your actual post-tax Safe Withdrawal Rate (SWR) sits between 2.5% and 3.3% (a 30x–40x corpus).**

Here is the quick breakdown of key findings from my simulation exercises, stress-testing Indian retirement portfolios:

* **The Real SWR Range (2.54% – 3.34%):** For a 40-year horizon targeting a 95% success rate, safe initial withdrawals max out between **2.54% and 3.34%** (requiring **30x to 40x** annual spending). For 50+ year horizons, SWR drops closer to the 2.5% floor.

* **The 3-Bucket Drawdown Trap:** Traditional multi-bucket strategies frequently lag behind a simple, annually rebalanced systematic withdrawal plan (SWP). Parking 5–7 years in cash/debt creates severe inflation drag in India, while unchecked equity drift increases portfolio volatility later in life. This was just a literal numerical interpretation. Bucket strategy fared very well with risk adjusted returns and drawdown simulation scenarios.

* **Taxes & Fees Compound Silently:** Ongoing fund expense ratios (TER) combined with the 12.5% LTCG tax act as permanent portfolio leaks. Over 30–40 years, their drag degrades portfolio survival just as heavily as a major market slump.

**Bottom line:** Relying on 25x (4%) leaves minimal margin of safety under Indian inflation and tax realities. This is risky. Targeting **~3% initial SWR (33x–35x)** with disciplined rebalancing provides a far more resilient foundation.

feeling burnout, and mentally don’t think I can work in corporate much longer, been feeling extremely unmotivated especially with AI

NW 3.6m, all investments/retirement

VHCOL, early 30s, no plans for kids

I earn 200k, husband earns 600k. Unsure how long he would stay in current role but if he leaves, would likely end up in a role ~200k+/yr

Ultimate goal is 10M but think we would be fine with 5-7M, expenses ~120k/year

I have a side hustle consistently earning (~40k/year) but I’m quite confident I’d be able to increase it significantly if I have more dedicated time. though it is not guaranteed

Do I coast now? Quiet quit? Or grind it out some more…

Has anyone been in a similar situation?

Throwaway account. I follow this sub but not enough to really know what I'm doing. I'm exhausted right now and I'm considering retiring for mental health purposes, tired of the stress and grind in tech. My spouse is a homemaker. No kids.

Of the $4.4M:

$1.2M is in short term bonds

$1.8M is in employer stock which I did not diversify out of early enough (mag 7)

$900k is in various stocks & funds with a tilt towards AI power

$300k is in metals and gold funds

$125k is in bitcoin

Rest is in miscellaneous

Also:

$125k in cars which can be cut in half

$100k (maybe) in home equity with $1.1M mortgage

I bought at a horrible time and my mortgage in VHCOL is $7700/mo, with another $2.5k in HOA fees. Mortage can be lowered to $5500/mo if I pay down $350k, which at this point is a smart decision I think.

My expenses are way too high mostly to satisfy my family situation and short commute. Annual spends are roughly: personal $165k + mortgage $92k + HOA $30k.

A big portion of my annual spends (maybe half) are for health related reasons and can be cut back if I'm not working. I also have the option to sell my condo and move to a family property and live for free.

I probably need to shift my portfolio around somewhat. of the $4.4M:

$100k in HSA

$120k in Roth IRA

$820k in 401k

$3.38M in taxable

I don't know how much I can count on spending annually if I make this move or how best to find out. Thank you for help.