FIRE Path - Golden Handcuffs - Severance or Stay
Throwaway Account
I've learned a ton from this subreddit and would appreciate all of your POVs.
33 yo DINK living in HCOL area. Currently make $500k HHI between my partner and I. We've been good on spending and come out to around $11k/month and have done so for the last 3-4 years. This comes out to around $120-130k/year in spend with the rest going into savings or investments.
$2.5m Net Worth with total assets of $2.72m (house - 2.25% interest with $200k in debt). Fire number that we have in mind is $5-5.5m. $1.5m in taxable brokerage, $150k in cash, $100k crypto, rest is 401k/Roth or equity in home.
I was asked to move from a role I enjoyed, managing people, to a role that I could do but feels like a step back in time being an individual contributor. The severance package would essentially cover our next years worth of bills, or around $150k. Healthcare is covered for the near future so I am not worried about that.
Partner makes $220k/year, enjoys their job and wants to continue to climb the corporate ladder. I am feeling burnout from 10 years in tech working at a FAANG company and the direction that this one is going just feels gross. Feels like the writings on the wall that we're going to continue to experience rolling layoffs moving forward.
If I took the severance I would immediately start looking for a cash flowing small business to purchase. I'm looking at this as an opportunity to use the $145k package to essentially fund my next move.
Do I play it safe and stay in my good paying job or take a risk and bet on myself? Am I crazy for leaving a company that pays me $275-300k year to instead chase a dream of being a small business owner in this market?