Cash Cushion, Career Conundrum - Holding onto a career and a commute that I don't find sustainable but is a path to FI.
Life Situation: Single, 25 years old, live with parents in NYC area
Gross Salary/Wages: $85,000
Pre-Tax Deductions in 2020:
401k: $19,500
Traditional IRA: $6,000
HSA: $3,550
Mass Transit: $2,160
Medical & Dental: $390
Adjusted Gross Income: $53,400
Taxes:
FICA: $6,500
State: $3,000
Federal: $5,000
Current expenses (per year):
Gym Membership: $252
Train Pass: $2,480 ($310 a month with $270 deductible but only 8 months for quarantine)
Subway Fare: $1,200
Healthcare: $390
Discretionary: $12,000 (~$1,000 month depending on travel and when there's no quarantine)
Assets:
Pre-Tax 401k: $6,000
Traditional IRA: $18,000
Roth IRA: $19,500
CDs: $70,000 (2.2% average rate)
Car: $9,000 (paid off 2 years ago)
Inheritance: $150,000 (incoming one time check)
HSA: $1,000
Liabilities:
Credit Card (Sapphire Reserve and Freedom Unlimited) that I pay off in full every month
Specific Question(s): How does career happiness fit into the FIRE equation and which is my best option? I never went into my first job thinking I would stay in this career. After 3 previous jobs and 3 sabbaticals (1 granted, 2 self created) within 4 years, I finally feel like the career is just good enough. I have great coworkers and good projected growth, but I am still struggling to convince myself that this career is for me. I always intended to go back to school for a JD/MBA hence why I only contributed to my IRAs and saved cash (401k contributions here and there) in my first 3 years working. I went to a state school for undergrad with no debt incurred when I had better options which always made a graduate degree an ego need. Now, resetting my net worth and potentially working more hours sounds like the last thing I need now. Still, I fear this career isn't my true calling and I will only be mediocre at it (hurting my earning potential). I lived on my own for a year and half and feel like the moment I move out again, the more I have to commit to this career and will not be able to save much more than my pre-tax contributions (rent on my own will be at least $1,700 a month). On my own, I felt like I was truly living my life but it also felt like a hamster wheel. I see marriage and kids getting in the way of the flexibility I currently have and it's why I'm anxious to figure this out now.
A family member recently died so I have another $150,000 of cash on the way. Especially with what I think will be a second leg of market decline, I really want to put the $150,000 and another $30,000 into a taxable brokerage in 2020. I could move to a cheaper market with this job and a similar income but I am afraid any move further pigeon holes me. Part of me wants to career change, stay at home, and open my own business with this cash. I am relatively new to the FIRE community and it sounds like a career is simply a vehicle to get to FI and not something that is to be enjoyed which is where I am right now. Thus, I am starting to think I should hold on, live at home as long as I can, and sprint toward financial independence, but I also see the merits to a fulfilling career. I see my options as:
1. Keep living at home with this job and stacking money until I either commit to the career and move out or move away from the career.
2. Move to a cheaper market with the job right now to fully live my life right now and only slightly increase my expenses ($1,300 a month rent, no state income taxes, minimal commuting costs).
3. Pivot to a different career and make less money while living at home.