Opinion needed on (un)intended break from IT career grind. FIRE readiness assessment
.Throwaway account.
About me: Early forties, metro city, single income earner, two kids about to go to college in 3 and 5 years
Resigned from a well paying IT job due to high stress and unrealisable expectations last month. Tier 1 education (UG + MBA from a top IIM)
Kid 1 wants to do UG in medicine from India and then pursue masters / specialization from the US. Kid 2 wants to do engineering from India. Our aim is to fund only UG education for both of them. We don't want to provision for their marriage expenses (except 20 lacs each in today’s money whenever it happens)
Earned Assets, no liabilities
| Type | Approx value |
|---|---|
| Metro City 1 flat (fully paid) | ₹1.9 Cr |
| Metro City 2 flat (fully paid) | ₹2.2 Cr |
| Smaller / legacy flat (fully paid) | ~₹15 L |
| Indian equity / mutual funds | ~₹1.1 Cr |
| US equity / stocks | ~₹1.7 Cr |
| Gold | ~₹1.3 Cr |
| EPF + PPF | ~₹50 L |
| Cash / bank balance | ~₹15 L |
What is NOT included in these assets?
- Pre-IPO company stocks ~3 Cr. This value is post-tax. IPO is expected to happen in 2-3 years for both start-ups. I have mentally written-off this money
- Agricultural land worth 8-9 CR, area ~7 acres. We will pass this as inheritance to kids, and will never be sold in our lifetimes. I do have this land in my own name, so hopefully no title disputes in future
- The wife received a plot worth 50 lacs, from her parents in a tier 2 town. Not included in any calculations
- One vacant plot in my village (600 sqm). We plan to build a house to live in here in ~5-7 years
- Luxury car worth 30 lacs (fully paid)
Expenses and cash flow
- Current Expense: 18 lacs per year including kids’ school and tuition. Should reduce to 10 lacs per year after kids leave the nest
- Rent of 40K per month from metro city flat 1
- Rent of 20K per month from leasing agricultural land
- Rental yields are low because land prices have shot up 3X since Covid in my native place due to land being road-facing (~2 acres) and corrupt money chasing any available agricultural land. This land is in Doab region, very fertile
Expenses not accounted for: travel and medical expenses for the parent. I do have medical health insurance for my family (wife+kids) with a base cover of 30 lacs and 1 crore top up. We maybe do one international travel every 18 months and one domestic every year
I wanted to get the community's perspective on my financial situation. I am seriously assessing a 6 months to 1 year break to reset my career. The senior-level job market in IT is really bad as you know. It’s possible that I may never get a job OR I don’t want to do the job again. I plan to either pivot to a low-stress job in the same industry or move into part-time consultancy or plan to get qualified as a registered investment advisor (SEBI). I don’t know at this point. I need objective and diverse opinion on how far am I from sustained financial independence? What risks am I could be underestimating?
Genuine post, no trolling please.