r/SwissFIRE

Hi there, I'm a 28M Spanish guy, and my wife and I recently decided to move within ~2 years to Switzerland for good (already started learning German and so on).

I know that there's no such a thing as a magic undisputed wealth number to be considered as ChubbyFIRE, but I'm curious how this approximate level can vary from canton to canton because of taxes, cost of living, home prices... Has someone any data about it?

Danke und LG.

How big emergency fund I should have, considering that I would get RAV if unemployed? Currently I have 12 months of my household expenses, and it is that high because I am the one who makes the most in a household and also I have been thinking about starting to freelance and wanted to be secure when I do that. Is it too big?

Can I withdraw 3a fund to buy property abroad (in EU) before retirement? Or will I be able to do that only if I would leave Switzerland?

I wanted to share something that I don’t see discussed enough in FIRE communities.

For years, FIRE was the goal. The number was clear in my head. If I could reach it, I thought I would finally feel free, safe, relaxed. I thought the anxiety would disappear.

I reached around 2 million.

And yet, I don’t feel free.

I reduced my working time, so on paper I achieved a big part of the dream. But mentally, I’m still not there. I keep moving the goalpost. I keep thinking: “Maybe 2 million is not enough.” “What if the economy changes?” “What if markets crash?” “What if inflation destroys the plan?” “What if something unexpected happens?”

The strange part is that by the time you reach FIRE, your brain may be so rewired by years of saving, optimizing, investing, and worrying about risk that you can’t simply switch it off.

You spend years training yourself to be careful. To not waste money. To think long-term. To distrust stability. To assume that anything can go wrong.

Then one day you technically have enough, and everyone expects you to relax.

But your brain doesn’t believe it.

The goal just moves forward.

At first I thought FIRE would mean freedom from work. Now I wonder if the harder part is freedom from fear.

I’m not saying FIRE is bad. I’m grateful to be in this position. I know it’s a privilege. But I also think there’s an illusion in the way FIRE is sometimes presented. Reaching the number does not automatically make you feel secure. It does not automatically make you happy. It does not automatically undo years of anxiety around money.

Maybe for some people it works exactly as planned. For me, it feels much more complicated.

I’m curious if others have experienced this. Did reaching your FIRE number actually make you feel free? Or did you also just move the goalpost higher?

- No increase in official retirement age (65 stays)

- More incentives to work after 65 (higher allowance and income counts more toward your pension)

- No cap on deferring AHV (currently 70) as you can boost your pension longer if you keep working.

- Early retirement gets harder by rising min. age in 2nd pillar from 58 → 63 (with exceptions).

- More / broader AHV contributions that include benefits and higher rates for some self-employed.

- Dividends partially treated as AHV-relevant income if considered “excessive” (to prevent avoiding contributions).

- Possible higher VAT or contributions depending on funding of the 13th AHV pension.

I'm curious to know what you all think about the impact of this reform regarding our plans to retire early in Switzerland.

I (25F) am swiss and am just getting staaaarted with investing - i just graduated in Paris and will be doing an internship there too and hopefully find a job there even though i KNOW the pay there is diabolical. The whole jobmarket at the moment is just a shit show everywhere.
However, my quality of life is just so much better there still. I do eventually want to come back though , hence why I am asking and inquiring here. Next month i will do my Abmeldung in Switzerland officially and i heard I cant contribute to my 3rd Pillar anymore once I’m no longer a citizen living primarily in Switzerland. I “tried” my best the last year and managed roughly 6K in my 3rd Pillar.
My emergency savings are at 11K.
Mind you, i wish i had started this a lot earlier but i was never taught about money, my parents didnt know this, hence i just stumbled upon this last year. Please be kind.

Now i want to invest some money that I will receive from my grandpa. I also want to invest monthly a tiny small amount to familiarize myself with the investing world.
My mom suggested investing into the CHF with UBS since her bf worked there for over 40 years and gets some good perks. But i also would love to invest in an ETF. Some people said its ok to just put some of it in one all world etf and call it a day - some said keep it more diversified.

Realistically, with my mere humble salary of my internship in Paris, i will most likely only be able to contribute about 25 - 50 CHF a month to my ETF.
So my question is to everyone who is on their way to FIRE , who maybe had had experience living abroad etc.
If you were me, knowing what you know now, what would you do?

I know this is a broad question but what do you think would be good BaristaFire jobs that might pay round 5k for 60%?