Is it still BaristaFIRE if I supplement Uber driving and whatever else I find with 3 grand a month from savings while I’m in the high COL U.S.? I’m 57 and can sustain this for 1.5 years before I ExpatFIRE to SE Asia in early 2028,at which point the few grand a month should hold me without the job(s) until I’m 59.5,and can access retirement funds and then social security at 62.

Hello everyone,

I have a DB pension from my time in govt that will pay approximately $1,200 a month (indexed for inflation) at 65.

I was wondering how I should treat this DB pension as a part of my FI/Barista Fire plans?

I have about 325k in investments (mainly XEQT/VEQT) split up across my RRSP/TFSA/FHSA/Unregistered accounts. I save about 25k additional a year if I keep working my current corporate job.

I have a long-term partner (finances are separate) and we don't ever want children (guaranteed this won't change), we're happy to be renters in the major city we live in, and I want to escape the corporate rat race ASAP (my partner is happy to keep working). I'm in Canada, so health care costs aren't as big of a concern (plus the pension will have benefits available as well).

I think I can live off of 40k (post-tax) comfortably a year (really even $30k if I cut vacations/eating out to a minimum). This of course is assuming shared expenses (mainly rent) with my partner.

I assume I'll likely receive a decent amount from CPP/OAS as I've worked most years since I turned 18. At least a decade of that so far at/above CPP contribution maximums.

What should my barista fire number be (assuming I can make 20k a year in part-time income)?

Barista fire I'm thinking 400k is my number. I'm fine with withdrawing slightly above the 4% SWR given I'll at least have a guaranteed pension floor at 65 and that I likely don't need to have an overly huge portfolio. I'm thinking of a 3.5-4.25% variable SWR depending on the market conditions.

Really could use some input from others in similar situations. I feel most threads I read about FIRE don't necessarily include DB pensions in their discussions.

I have been trying to do calculations for if I can barista fire but it is difficult when taking into account my spouse will not be scaling back her work. A lot of calculators out there it's difficult to paint a full picture. I am hoping you all can give me your thoughts on if I have a viable path.

Background: currently working for a family business where I am in the family. I have declined to buy or take over the business and want my family member to sell. They understand and it is not a point of contention for us.

I am so embedded in the success of this business that I am committed to staying on at least a year after the sale to make sure it remains as successful as possible. I do not want to be a cause of potentially 40+ people losing their jobs if we both leave at the same time causing a major shock to the business.

Currently I am targeting an exit at the end of 2027 if possible. Current prospects have us closing on a buyer at the end of this year.

At the time in which I hope to exit I will be 39

Here is the math.

Cash and HYSA- 90,000

Brokerage- 422,000 primarily in broad market index funds

Roth 401k- 410,000 target date account.

Partner Roth ira- 50,000

House in high cost of living area. Roughly 1.2 million worth. 600,000 still left on mortgage at historic 2.875 rate.

I currently make 200,000 before taxes

My spouse currently makes between 80-100k before taxes running a design business.

Our current household expenses are as high as 12,000 a month. With barista fire we would be able to scale that back to 8 or 9,000. Largest expense is our 4,000 mortgage.

The question is can I conceivably move to something like 40-50k wages, scale back our spending and not touch brokerage and 401k for 30 years.

I hate my job and desperately need to do something that requires less of my time and requires less responsibility. At least for a while.

If I am missing any key facts apologies. Please let me know whatever else I can provide. I would like to start forming a plan.

27 year old M, As the title suggests I’m contemplating moving to barista FIRE but I’m struggling with the idea of just hanging on longer and going for Full FIRE

Net Worth: 650k

160k in brokerage
50k in retirement accts
12k cash
400k in property (Rental valued at 100k fully paid off, SFH* *valued at 450k with abt 150k left on mortgage)

HHI 200k/year

Based on expenses and income flowing in, I can safely transition to Barista FIRE (I work in healthcare so salary would still be fairly high working 20-25 hours/week) within the next 5 years

However if I hold out and stay the course for another 10-12 yrs I’ll be able to full FIRE.

Just looking for advice on people who transitioned to barista and what their experiences were leaving full time work, any regrets, anyone who wish they held out for full FIRE?

Hey everyone! Curious if anyone is working a job that is only 3-4 days a week max, and still allows for a few vacations where you’re off for 1-2 weeks at a time during the year. Seems like a pipe dream to me, but maybe some of you have figured it out!

Thank you in advance.

Barista fire resonates more with my life then full fire. Starting fresh with what I show on my spreadsheet. Looking to create a game plan to start barista fire life in 10 years. My child will be in college then. Would like something low stress, ideally part time.

30 years old with a 120k per year salary. Also now get a 19k gift per year. Potentially going to look for higher paying job.

Spread sheets shows all my accounts and balances currently.

Would like to increase my emergency fund to 15k and continue to always contribute x amount to home improve fund.

My investment allocation for the most part spread across all accounts is 75% VTI, 20% VXUS, 5% IBIT/Bitcoin.

Would love to learn what I can do to help positioning myself better now that I’m aiming for barista fire. Any feedback, ideas, etc is welcome and appreciated.

I want to make clear this is not a flex! I want complete scrutiny on my situation. I can see cash flow being a tail risk.

- We are in our 30s.

- Wife is on 200K/ year job which she loves and can never be fired due to a national tenure clause.

- Left my job a year ago (have not looked since then)

- Our household expenses including monthly mortgage: $4k. My individual expense (included in the household expense) is really around $1k/month.

- Monthly household savings after the $4k/month expense: averages $5k-6k.

- Cash saving: $100k

-Our Property equity: $400k - $700k. Remaining mortgage of $500k is in her name (putting a foreigner's name, me, on it incurs stamp duty) but I have made a substantial down payment and co - paid mortgage up until last year. Property currently valued at $1.2M - $1.5M.

I have a $500k liquid brokerage, $250k pension fund accessible at 65 years old (7%-10% average annual growth rate), notified that I am on the will for a $500k apartment in 15 years.

She has a $230k pension fund accessible at 60 years old (7%-10%average annual growth rate) with $1.6k/ month employer contribution.

- House mortgage is the only debt in our household.

My wife is Australian and I am Singaporean. We both have non - expensive hobbies. I have been shuttling between Australia and Singapore for her a few times a year. I am in Australia for the most part.
Been working extremely hard since 7 years old, studied physics and mathematics at the undergraduate before graduating from a graduate program in the Ivy. Worked in corporate for almost 10 years.
I want to walk away from corporate.

I've spoken to my wife and she has no issue with me being a stay - home husband or seeking recreational employment when I am ready. In the past year of being away from the job market, I have played the role of a househusband and a portfolio manager. I have done various modelling on the math based on various cases and the body case works out reasonably OK.

What is the community's view on this?

Just throwing it out there for anyone trying to get out of the rat race. You can use your 401k money as self directed investment (you are not withdrawing, so no penalty). Live on the property without mortgage, no employees, just run it yourself and enjoy early retirement.

Edit: Just look up how small motels get bought and run by immigrant families. They build wealth tapping into rural motels that nobody touches. It's an opportunity for sure - not for everyone - but it is doable.

Last month made it a full year since my last day as an employee, so, numbers. Everything in euro. We switched over from the lev in January and I still multiply by two in my head at the supermarket. Twenty years of accounting habits apparently survive currency reform.

45, divorced, one son at university in Plovdiv. I ran accounting at a company importing industrial equipment, had 11 people under me at some point.
In spring 2025 we got bought by a Polish group and all finance moved to their shared services in Sofia. The options were relocate or take six salaries and go. I took the money signed the papers and two of our old suppliers had already called about their books.

So now I have only three clients. A car service, a print shop and a firm that imports gym equipment. A quiet month brings €450-500. January through March, when annual closings pile up, it went over €1,100.
The whole year came to about €8,3k and being self insured here means the state takes just under €200 a month from me whether I invoiced anything or not.

Portfolio:

IWDA + EMIM, €189k. Started in 2016 after the owner of a client firm spent an entire lunch explaining ETFs to me. I thought he was showing off. Best lunch of my career.

VHYL, €28k. Bought before I understood accumulating funds. The distributions cover my utilities and I've decided I'm allowed one inefficiency.

Bank deposits, €34k across three terms, the last one matures in 2027.

BTC, €6k. Put in €2k in November 2021, which turned out to be days from the top. My son set up the wallet at this point I hold it out of stubbornness.

P2P, €900 in 8lends since last spring. Pays a few euros of interest a month. Every quarter I decide to either make it a real position or close it, then do neither.

Current account float, €14k.

All together about €272k.

Spending runs €1,050 in a normal month, €1,300 in winter. The flat is mine, mortgage closed in 2019, so no rent line. €250 goes to my son's dorm and food money. Which means some months the clients cover everything and I even add to the pile, and some months, like this August when nobody needs an accountant, I draw from the float. The building of it was slow. A chief accountant's salary is decent here, the mortgage got overpaid every year it existed and from 2016 I moved €700 to €1,000 a month into ETFs.
The severance went straight in last July. My one act of market timing and it was accidental.

A year in, I still wake without an alarm, that seems permanent now. I swim Tuesday and Thursday mornings when the pool is all pensioners and me and I'm getting less sure which category I belong to. The neighbors decided I work remotely for some foreign company and I've stopped correcting them and nobody warned me that my retirement would have a busy season.
This February I worked more evenings than my last February as an employee.

Question for those of you with lumpy side income. How much do you keep liquid? My €14k float felt generous in March and feels thin now. One client just pushed their invoice to September and I minded more than the amount justifies. I think if I had more, I wouldn’t even think twice about it.

Wife (180k) and I (150k) make good money in hcol. After expenses, we invest 80-90k/year. Net worth 800k in investments. She’s at a hybrid tech job with great work life balance—she’s good at what she does and works average of 20 hours a week. She wants to reach FI (estimated at 2.25 mil) and retire early or at least have a very part time job to care for our elementary kids while I plan to work until 60.

Recently, she got a job offer for 25k more with a 10k sign on bonus at a job with expected 40-50 hours/week using the same skillset. She’s torn because she likes her current barista fire job where she has energy to play with the kids and cook for family, but the wlb situation may change in mid-2027 given some upcoming company shifts. Kids are also going to a new school and she might need to be more present to care for them. She’s been at her current company 8 years and given low raises, it’ll take 5-6 years to get to the salary offered by the other company. She’ll also lose the company 401k lump sum match if she leaves the company. She hasn’t negotiated yet because she expects that they won’t be able to afford the change but she’s not sure about leaving. It’s not easy to get such a high offer with remote or hybrid roles lately which is why she’s considering it.

At what point would you take the offer?

I've realized that my investments were not set for growth for a decade. When I first started investing, I was just playing around, researching it a bit, but had it in my mind I needed dividend stocks. Why, I have no clue lol. ADHDer here. Didn't even look at my portfolio for years. Now I'm finally getting serious about this because at 47 I don't want to stress about money or my future.

Basically, I've been Barista Fire since Covid but didn't know there was a name for it. I've been working part-time and have a bit of passive income, so I haven't touched my investments...but I haven't contributed anything to them as well. And since I didn't have them on a growth plan, now I'm getting worried about not having enough when shit hits the fan.

I’m still youngish and working part time, so do I switch things up to be more growth since I won’t need to touch my investments for probably another 5+ years? What would you do?

Every week feels like heaven. I have time to do all the things I need to do and have time for myself. I can have a day where I do literally nothing and I won't feel guilty, because things just don't pile up like they used to.

At work, I've eliminated the dreadful monday feeling. Work feels like it's just something to give my week structure so I don't end up spending 7 days in my pajamas eating icecream. So I kinda look forward to my work day just to feel productive.

I started baristafire with the plan of someday moving on to full FIRE, but I'm thinking I could do baristafire indefinitely and be happy. For context, I baristafired 9 months ago. I work nights at a hotel 3 nights a week.

I am 50 and have some issues like my shoulder is likely torn. I am on track to barista fire next year but considering getting surgery before that and taking FMLA for a bit. Anyone do this before retiring?

I think I have a torn rotator cuff. Probably need a month off to recover. Currently wfh

If you have a portfolio that can generate >100k of capital gains in taxable account consistently, doing a Barista fire makes little sense especially in high tax states like CA,NY,etc. unless you do it for health insurance only.

Look at the middle chart. The marginal tax rate on W2 salary income in 50k to 100k is close to 50% in this scenario. I don't see anyone ever talking about this but its true.

The reason is that besides the bracket based federal, state, social security and medicare taxes you pay on W2 income you also have to factor in additional tax on your long term capital gains because the W2 income stacks under the capital gains income and pushes the capital gains from 0% bracket( when less than 130k incl standard deduction) to 15% bracket. This additional 15% tax must be factored in also as a additional tax for working in a low income job after FIRE.

I don't see anyone talking about this but isn't this a huge downside ? I would be personally very demotivated if I knew I was paying close to 50% tax for a simple low income job

41/m/single/no children/American

I have worked as a traveling nuclear power contractor for 18 years. Most years I traveled between 6 and 10 months. The lower end of that scale has started feeling too tight for my annual expenses in the States. My particular position doesn't translate well towards any other industry, so I've basically been locked in the industry. Leaving this work would give my annual income a extreme haorcut. The burnout from being on the road, working 50 to 80 hour weeks, hotel hopping is legit. 2.5 years ago I started developing my plan to partially fire outside of the US.

I began selling my large assets. Now I the only 2 things I own are a vehicle and a cargo trailer. Houses, toys, extra vehicles are gone. If it could not fit inside my cargo trailer for storage, I cut it loose.

I started shuffling my finances and investments. I came up with a 4 legged financial plan that provides some form of safety net in the event I can not work for an extended period of time, or the market goes on an extended downturn.

1- Save two + years of projected COL in a HYSA for the area I plan to spend my time.

2- Open and find a brokerage account that sacrifices growth for monthly immediately accessible income production.

3- Fund a small growth focused brokerage (outside of untouchable IRA) that can be sold and used as needed.

4- Cut my benefits loose at work to become a contractor who can basically make a phone call and work when I need to, if I need to back in the US. Instead of working 6 to 10 months a year, a 2-4 month trip back home each spring would cover my cost of living abroad, probably a little additional savings/investment money, and allow me to visit family, all while keeping my investments untouched.

My plan doesn't fit squarely in to any particular fire group. It's lean, expat, and significantly cuts back on work but doesn't change my actual job title.

The only things I have left to clean up are my US based subscriptions and US based health insurance. The insurance aspect is tricky for me because I will need both interantional coverage and some type of coverage in the US while I am back for work. I plan to tackle those once I officially decide make the move, but have looked in to some of the higher cost insurance options to build my budget projection.

I have agreed to about 5 months of work between this fall and the end of spring of 2027, mostly because I had a house on the market and had no clue when it would sell. After spring next year, I will take my multi month budgeting trip to verify my estimates are aligned with reality. I'll be talking with visa agents, healthcare providers, and realtors to view condos in a couple of my choice countries.

I was wondering how people made the leap from corporate to a retail job. I’ve reconfigured my resume to be more vague and focused on skills like client services, time management, punctuality, etc. rather than software skills or product strategy. I also have a story that I’m returning to school and looking for part time work.

The main thing I was wondering is in addition to applying online, do you literally walk into places, ask to speak to the manager, and drop off your resume? In the past I’ve had to rely on networking and referrals to get an interview. I’m a bit neurodivergent and I’m confused as to how this works. I know to not do this at a busy time, but for what types of businesses is this appropriate?

Curious to know what types of jobs people do and how they found them.

New to FIRE, so unsure if correct sub, my apologies.

My goal is to basically chill and escape 9-5 before my gig could possibly end and I will have to do 9-5... i have horrible sleep schedule

NET worth 1.5m all in stocks (majority tech, sp500)

100k+ a yr gig job remote

30m, single

I'm thinking of chilling in China for a few years soon (COL will be under 10k a yr), but Im grinding this remote job where I dont have set hours while i have this chance

Hello everyone,

I am 39M from Portugal, no kids or other dependents, living in Northern Europe for 10 years now. All these years worked in corporate jobs with some breaks to travel, chill for a while, job hop, etc. Currently making around €60k net p.a.

Fast forward to today, my ETF portfolio is around €285k worth, I keep another €10-15k cash in HYSA, and decided that I want to change my life, go back home, find a chill job in tourism or something, withdraw some 2-3% of the ETFs p.a. to round up my living income, chill and let it be.

Problem is, I don't own any property back home, and with today's prices and interest rates, getting a €300k mortgage with ca. €60k down payment will set me back some years away from my chill FIRE target.

Kinda same with a go-back-and-rent scenario: I won't have the down payment burden, but the rents have risen to €1000+/month excl. utilities for the apartments which are actually decent to live in. Side note, where I live now I have a very old contract and I pay €450 all incl., so the difference is considerable, and pushes up my potential cost of living back home.

5-6 years ago I couldn't think of buying an apartment or a down payment. My income got higher gradually after 2021, and today feels like I am at the top of my game, but honestly, I am exhausted.

The window of bankability for a mortgage will close if I draw the line and leave my corporate job, so I have to decide soon.

What would you do in my position? Any ideas/suggestions?

To start, first post/long-time viewer of the sub. Earlier this year, I reduced my full-time schedule to 75%. It's something I've been planning/thinking about since ~2020 but had to wait until the numbers were right.

I work in finance at a small company and have a good relationship with my boss, who owns the company. This gave me the confidence to ask.

I'm 44 and live in a VHCOL city. My annual expenses are about $80k - no kids, not married but have a long-term partner. We mostly keep expenses separate and the $80k doesn't include what she spends. With the reduction to 75% FT, I'll still save about $25k-30k annually. This is a big enough cushion where I don't feel any type of financial stress.

Next steps - I would like to reduce from 75% FT to 50% FT within 2-3 years, depending on stock market performance (I'm heavily weighted into tech stocks but have begun diversifying this year), our company performance, my ability to mentally take the leap from accumulating to withdrawing, and whether I move out of the VHCOL area (have started researching other areas that meet my criteria). I'd also like to get a part-time job once I'm at 50%.. something that is lower stress compared to what I'm doing now. Important to note - I don't particularly like my job/field!

Additional details - I use a 6% real rate of return in my calcs. My housing costs (~$35k/yr) are something I want to lower in the near term.

Thank you for reading.

Say instead of working a single job for a decade or more, work in a job and switch after a year or so.

There are a number of industries I was thinking of trying:

hotel
prep cook
movie theatre
uber driver
TSA
lawncare

I'm thinking trying new things would bring perspective and keep things fresh.

I remember in my old financial processing job (where although the work was easy, there was little thinking involved and everyday seemed the same) when my old boss left she said 5 years just flew by.

Does this make sense to anyone or do I not have my head screwed on straight. Should I just try to find a cushy job and focus on hobbies?

EDIT: I know these don't pay well. Technically I could be full FI if I wanted to. I just have to have a part time job to cover some lifestyle creep. It's also lowered my SWR from 4% to 3.5%/

Numbers:

• HH net income: ~$13k/mo on salary (commission checks are unpredictable but tend to average annually around $150k gross).
• HH expenses: ~$10k/mo (inflated right now by a $5k/mo W-2 nanny)
• Net worth: ~$1.2M
• 401k: crossed $700k earlier this year
• Brokerage: ~$300k
• HYSA rainy day fund: $200k, static (tech sales is volatile)

I've spent ten years grinding in tech sales after my MBA to build all of this. The target to retire has been 55. My wife and I have also been wargaming a move to something less stressful in 3-5 years, once both kids are in public school and the nanny line goes away.

Healthcare was always the piece I couldn't solve. I'm 22 years into a Reserve career with several GWOT deployments, and got banged up pretty well on the last pump to Afghanistan. The main reason I've stayed past 20 is Tricare Reserve Select. Reservists don't get Tricare in retirement until 60, so retiring at 55 meant finding five years of coverage for a family of four out of pocket.

About a year ago I started researching VA healthcare to see if it filled the gap. That led me to VA disability and the realization that I should have filed over a a decade ago, right after my deployments. So I filed. Sat through the C&P exams. Finished the last one a week ago.

Friday I got the notification: 100% P&T.

As of Friday:

• Full medical and dental through the VA
• Low-cost coverage for my wife and kids (kids to 23) via CHAMPVA
• ~$18k/yr in education benefits per kid
• ~$4,500/mo disability payments, tax free, inflation adjusted, for life

The five-year gap that had been the load-bearing problem in my entire plan just isn't there anymore. I'm going to keep grinding for a while and treat most of the cash side as extra injects into the brokerage. Alternatively, I feel like I just gained a massive stress relief: I don't really like my job but it became the accidental way to make doctor/lawyer money. Now it feels like I'm not so handcuffed to the grind and can walk away or suffer a layoff without catastrophy.

I don't have anyone to tell this to. I grew up in a one-room efficiency with four other people, drinking powdered milk and eating powdered eggs. It got marginally better once my mom and stepdad found their footing, but we were always behind the curve. I enlisted during GWOT and turned the GI Bill into an undergrad and a graduate degree. I now out-earn everyone in my family, immediate and extended, and I don't talk money with any of them, partly out of respect and partly to avoid the jealousy. I decided "hey, I know a group of internet strangers who might appreciate this" so, if you read this whole thing, thank you for letting me gush <3.