Hello,
We're at a crossroads and are wondering when we can FIRE. I'm in my mid 30's and DW is in her late 20's. Our combined household income is over $550K, mostly due to my income. My job can be demanding at times, but I've figured out how to make the system work for me at this point. Plus, I'm in more of a leadership position now so I'm not the one grinding anymore. My wife hates her job and I'm encouraging her to explore her options. We rent and live in an expensive part of the country -- we'll probably move somewhere cheaper when we go FIRE. No kids (yet). We might have kids in the future, but are undecided. Part of me would rather travel the world. Although some here might not find the two to be mutually exclusive, I think DW might feel that way. While our income has gone up a lot over the past few years, we have tried to keep our spending down. Here's a snapshot of our financial position.
Retirement accounts (401k/Roth): $375K
Taxable accounts (checking/investments): $1M
We spend $45K to $50K a year depending on how frugal we decide to be, not including health insurance premiums. This year was higher because we went on a 2 week trip to Europe where we spent $7K or so. Here's a rough monthly breakdown:
Rent (likely below market for one bedroom within walking distance to my office in a very, very nice area) $1950
Groceries $325
Restaurants $450
Travel (includes several weekend trips and a 2 week trip to Europe) $500
Transportation (includes 1 car and commuter rail pass) $350
Other - according to Mint (entertainment, personal care, ATM, etc.) $200
Shopping (clothes, electronics) $175
Gifts $150
Utilities (includes electricity, phone, internet) $150
Health (includes co-pays, pharmacy, gym) $150
I'm sure there are areas we can cut, but we're not dying to be FIRE. It's something we'd like to achieve and be comfortable there. Don't want to go FIRE and have regrets because the door to a $500K+ job will likely be closed at that time. Anyways, we're shooting for a 3% withdrawal rate, given our age, which at our current NW will cover $41K of our expenses. If we move somewhere cheaper, then maybe that'll cover all of our expenses. Health insurance is a big question mark. I'd hate to plan for only needing a subsidized amount based on "income" in FIRE and have the subsidy get repealed. Plus, we might have kids too. Given these question marks, what would you guys plan to do? Again, not a fan of cutting as we'd want more flexibility than less. We're saving about $300K a year right now after taxes and that does not include investment gains and dividends.