Here we go...
I need some advice at the end. 52, married.
2.5M in brokerage accounts:
- 1.6 in FXAIX which I bought at 32 dollars a share. In my current tax bracket I don't know how to get this diversified. While is S&P 500 based, FXAIX is 26% deep into AI companies (nvidia, microsoft, alphabet, etc..). Working in AI for the past 3 years and watching the round robin of financing between companies gives me the willies.
- 165K in a 2 year and building out the 3rd year bond ladder.
- 500k in dividend fund which pays about 52k/year right now.
- misc everything else trying to diversity away from S&P 500 (fxaix)
2.1M in retirement accounts diversified away from FXAIX
If I add last years spending + planned ACA health care + entertainment + or - travel in there I get yearly spend of between 126 and 146k.
Over the past year, My job changed from being really fun to ensuring we don't get sured as we lay people off and replace them with AI. I was told i was done with AI in Jan 2026, but my leadership went back on the deal so I'm planning on getting my equity in March of 2027 and being done with them (~120k, enough to fund my 3rd year bond ladder).
Two questions:
- Have any of you with the part time way to switch jobs into something totally different that was more fun? I'm considering going and working for a hotel chain to get discount hotels (the 140k included 14k of travel last year). Working for a non-profit someplace? I roast my own coffee was was also considering the SCA coffee buyers certification as well but don't know how to turn that into a job.
- I've been trying, but I get 0 hits on linked in. Since 2004, the only way I've gotten a job is through networking and all my professional networking is in the IT space which - since the advent of AI and me having to do AI governance, I hate.
- 52k will be non-qualfied dividends, 20k will be qualified dividends, 50k will be w-2 (wife), rest will be capital gains to make 180. Based on last years deductions that puts me at 152 take home.
152-146 puts me at 6k to spare. I have 20k for travel, 8k for house maintance, so there's some wiggle room in there.
I want to do something, but don't know how to get there, the numbers are pretty tight.