Mini retirements?

Hi all, I’m 40M and accumulated $1M+ in NW not including my home equity. Of that amount, I have about $400k and the remaining $600k in retirement. My job isn’t stressful and it’s a regular 40 hours/week but it’s getting boring and I just want something new.

I could technically retire early but I really don’t know what to do with the time. Instead I’m thinking of doing mini retirements of 2-3 years to do something else like travel and possibly live abroad where it’s cheaper than the US.

For those who did a mini retirement, how did you do it, what did you do with your time, what amount of $ did you spend and how did going back to work feel like?

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u/Head-Fold-6653 — 1 day ago

Growing bridge fund

I reached coastFIRE with $1M ($600M in retirement accounts and about $400k in my personal brokerages, savings and bonds). I’m the first in my family to graduate college (paid for my own college and masters) and not expecting any inheritance.

I didn’t learn about personal finance until my mid-20s and started investing in the 2020s thanks to Reddit and YouTube. I literally started with $900 in 2017 🤣🤣🤣. Screenshot for proof.

Currently 40 and aiming to take a mini-retirement possibly next year (lasting a few years and up to 10). Before I do, I want to grow my brokerage to $500-600k for my safety cushion. Currently I have $350k across my two brokerages mostly in tech and AI stocks.

To reach my goal, I’d have to invest more of my savings AND find some other stock picks. What would you do in my situation?

u/Head-Fold-6653 — 7 days ago

How to cut back on saving

My 401k and personal IRA and Roth IRA combined with my taxable brokerage have put me over $1M. Age 40 without kids or debts besides my mortgage. I want to cut back on saving (in general) or at least reduce my 401k contributions as the balance is nearing $600k and I could just let it compound until I’m 60.

I’m naturally frugal (not cheap) and love to travel budget (mostly in basic economy and okay hotels). A lot of people including my partner and friends say I should splurge on business class seats but part of me would rather save the money towards my retirement and brokerage accounts.

How have you all forced yourselves to cut back on saving when you don’t have to? Again, not cheap but frugal and mindful about my spending.

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u/Head-Fold-6653 — 9 days ago

ChillFIRE

I’m 40 yo and planning to stop working in a few years. I’ve saved nearly USD $600k in my government 401k and Roth IRA and thinking I’d cut back from $24k to $10k a year in contributions in January 2027.

The difference would go to my taxable brokerage which has about $300k. Ideally I’d like to live in a low cost city in Spain for a few years (via the NLV or digital nomad visa) and eventually find an easy online remote job where I earn $1k a month. I ran my scenario using Claude and wanted some human feedback

-Stop contributing to government 401k at age 42-43. Balance should be around $650-675k depending on the market. Let this compound for 18 years and it should be $1.5-2M by age 60.

-Add an additional $75k to my brokerage and the balance should be near $400k. Shift $400k to something less volatile like ETFs, bonds or a combination of both. Earning 3-4% should offset inflation.

-Live off $40k for the first 5 years. The average salary in Spain is close to this and I’m a pretty frugal person. No debt besides my mortgage and house will be rented out.

-During my 5 years I should be able to find an online remote job or start my own consulting business. I don’t want to work full time and just need to earn $1k/month to offset my living expenses.

-Chill until age 57 when I can start using my government pension and age 60 when I can draw down my 401k. Social security at age 62 or 65 is gravy.

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u/Head-Fold-6653 — 1 month ago

ChillFIRE

I’m 40 yo and planning to stop working in a few years. I’ve saved nearly USD $600k in my government 401k and Roth IRA and thinking I’d cut back from $24k to $10k a year in contributions in January 2027.

The difference would go to my taxable brokerage which has about $300k. Ideally I’d like to live in a low cost city in Spain for a few years (via the NLV or digital nomad visa) and eventually find an easy online remote job where I earn $1k a month. I ran my scenario using Claude and wanted some human feedback

-Stop contributing to government 401k at age 42-43. Balance should be around $650-675k depending on the market. Let this compound for 18 years and it should be $1.5-2M by age 60.

-Add an additional $75k to my brokerage and the balance should be near $400k. Shift $400k to something less volatile like ETFs, bonds or a combination of both. Earning 3-4% should offset inflation.

-Live off $40k for the first 5 years. The average salary in Spain is close to this and I’m a pretty frugal person. No debt besides my mortgage and house will be rented out.

-During my 5 years I should be able to find an online remote job or start my own consulting business. I don’t want to work full time and just need to earn $1k/month to offset my living expenses.

-Chill until age 57 when I can start using my government pension and age 60 when I can draw down my 401k. Social security at age 62 or 65 is gravy.

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u/Head-Fold-6653 — 1 month ago

Early expat retirement at 45. What to plan for?

Seriously contemplating retiring in Spain or Southeast Asia in 4 years at the age 45. I have $300k saved in my taxable brokerage account and anticipate to add more to get to USD $500k.

My 401k balance is over $550k and I anticipate it’ll grow to $2M by age 60. I’ll receive my government pension around then too.

I just need a 15 year bridge fund of $500k that generates a conservative 4-5% return. I’m thinking USD $50k/ year in Valencia, Spain for maybe 5 years - I hold citizenship with a country which qualifies for Spain’s 2 year citizenship route. For the remaining 10 years I could stay in Spain, relocate to another EU country or in Southeast Asia or move back to the US where I have citizenship.

Besides high Spanish taxes and visas, what else should I be considering and planning for? No kids and no plan to have any.

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u/Head-Fold-6653 — 2 months ago

Cut back or continue maxing?

40 yo with almost 10 years of federal service. Previously worked for a nonprofit organization and rolled over a measly $45k to my TSP as a new fed at the age of 30. I crossed $500k in my TSP earlier this year and now at $565K. ChatGPT says I’ll have $2.2M at 6%, $3.4M at 8% or $4.7M at 10% in 20 years. This is an insane amount - I don’t plan to retire in the US and instead of thinking somewhere in Southeast Asia or Spain. I really only need $60k/ year plus FERS and SS to be comfortable. No kids and don’t plan on having any.

I keep going back and forth on if I should continue maxing my TSP for another 5-7 years or just cut back to $10-15k. If the former, I get to “shield” more of my income from the fed govt and state. If the latter, I can save the extra $ in my personal investments. Yes I understand the market will drop and inflation - have advanced degrees in economics and policy.

u/Head-Fold-6653 — 3 months ago

First-gen graduate, 1M+ net worth age 40

I don’t really want to share this with friends or family for the obvious reasons so sharing it here. I surpassed $1M in net worth this year. This includes my retirement accounts, personal brokerage, and equity on my home - about $600k is retirement $ so I could technically stop contributing the full max.

I turned 40 last December and I make $143K working in the government, have a mortgage with a 2.5% rate and I don’t come from money. First in my family to graduate college. I had student loans which I paid off 10 years ago and went to grad school without loans. Car loan is paid. Gay and married but no kids and probably not having them.

I could retire early in a few years but I don’t really hate my job and it’s not difficult or stressful tbh. It’s just getting boring. I’ve pivoted from finances and started focusing on my health and nutrition since I want to enjoy my $ in the future lol. Other than that, I don’t know what else to do from here.

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u/Head-Fold-6653 — 3 months ago