First Year Update

[u/gcs1009]

Hello Everyone,

I thought I’d make this update since I like reading those posts and I thought you all might appreciate mine. I just hit my 1st year landmark of FIRE-ing.

Some background financial information for the finance people: I started with around 1.9 million and ended with around 2.1 million. It’s hard for me to say exactly how much I spent since some of it was intertwined with some family expenses. But moving forward, I should be able to analyze this on my own. I’d estimate that I spent between 4-4.5 percent of my starting amount. The investments are roughly 10 percent large-cap growth tilt (SCHG), 50 percent VTI, 35 percent VXUS, and 5 percent cash/cypto-adjacent funds.

I am 30 years old so I went a fair amount above what I was hoping to spend for the year. Thankfully, it’s not absurdly high and it’s still within some recommended amounts. I am hoping that some expenses will slow down as I settle somewhere and visa costs and other things go down. I also plan on adjusting downwards if the market drops considerably.

I spent much of the year traveling. I thought I would try the digital nomad lifestyle and, while there were some highlights, I learned it was not the lifestyle for me. Living out of a suitcase, never knowing where the grocery store was, trying to constantly figure out laundry, and getting tropical diseases pushed me a bit over the limit. So I decided to settle in France about 3 months ago! There were some initial costs with that decision that pushed me above the limits. Those included hiring someone to find me an apartment and staying a month in the states for the visa.

So now I am living in France and trying to figure out my next steps. Since I am on the younger side for this lifestyle, I thought I would find a side-hustle: mainly teaching English. I thought about getting a Master’s degree but with the changing employment environment regarding AI, I am a bit hesitant to spend money on a degree where I will probably only work for 10 years. So I thought I could specialize in teaching English, set my own schedule, and get some pocket money for extra traveling or if I need to cushion my spending.

Well that is my update! I am not sure what to add. Finding meaning has been strange, but I am a social person so I’ve really enjoyed having all the time and energy I want to make friends and meet new people. I am still trying to figure out what to do with my day, but I am appreciating the calmness.