Tech Workers Grappling with FIRE

“After a decent stint in tech, I have enough to support about $60k/yr in spending, which is workable. Should I try to stick around to get that up to $80k? I have no dependents, I'm unmarried (though in a long term relationship), and I live in a HCOL area. It would probably take me another 3 or 4 years. submitted by /u/FearlessPark4588 [link] [comments]”

“I'm 46 with $2.8M invested and making $850K in tech, but I completely hate my job and I'm burned out. AI has ruined it for me. My wife is starting her own career and won't have benefits. Portfolio today is 71% stocks (mostly VTI/VXUS), 18% cash (\~$660K in 4% savings), 5.4% bond ladder (Treasuries), 4.5% gold, 1.1% Bitcoin. I know y’all are gonna tell me I’m nuts having that much cash. Being the sole provider feeling like my career is ending has resulted to this. Annual spending is \”

“Hey all, I'm 30 and have been at the same tech company for ~10 years. Earlier this year in 2026, I sold some of my shares and exercised some options, which will of course trigger large tax and AMT. Currently looking to pay ~1.1-1.3M in April 2027 (some of this will be recoverable since AMT) and have about ~1.1M remaining cash afterwards. I am currently putting the cash allocated for taxes fully set aside right now in a 3% interest free tax managed account. I have quite a bit left at this tec”

“40M, single, no plan on having kids. I recently hit my fire number that can support a 3.5% SWR with an additional 3 year SORR buffer in HYSA. I am trying to decide whether to quit now or work another year at a toxic job. I'm kind of at peak earnings right now - and if I stay and work another year, I calculated I can hit a fire number that then supports 3.25% SWR plus additional 3-year SORR. So basically 1 more year of working to go from 3.5 to 3.25. Maybe it's more of a psychological rea”

“40M, single, no plan on having kids. I recently hit my fire number that can support a 3.5% SWR with an additional 3 year SORR buffer in HYSA. I am trying to decide whether to quit now or work another year at a toxic job. I'm kind of at peak earnings right now - and if I stay and work another year, I calculated I can hit a fire number that then supports 3.25% SWR plus additional 3-year SORR. So basically 1 more year of working to go from 3.5 to 3.25. Maybe it's more of a psychological rea”

“Hi there, I am a recently retired tech executive in VHCOL location. Married and in our early 50, with my spouse still working happily with ~1M/year income. NW: ~30-35M (depends on how much I include commercial RE assets) Liquid Asset (23-25M): ~10M - Concentrated 2 tech stocks (plan to convert 80% to VOO gradually) 6M - EFT in VOO and equivalent 4M - VTEB 2M - small holdings in GOOGL, BERK.B, NVDA etc. ~1M - Cash in money market ~1M - kids 925 & custodian accounts (both kids in high school)”

“Hi everyone, I’m looking for feedback from anyone who has experience with Fidelity’s Tax-Loss Harvesting SMA (Direct Indexing) . My situation: Married filing jointly Household income: ~ $300k Realized about $470k in capital gains this year, resulting in a significant tax liability. Fidelity recommended moving $500k into their Tax-Loss Harvesting SMA to improve tax efficiency going forward. A few questions: Has anyone used this strategy? How much tax savings did you actually see? Is it worth the”

“I’ve done well in tech, but not enjoying my current job so I’d like to quit. We are close to a safe retirement at current assets, but it’s cutting it a little close. I’m undecided on whether I have the desire for another run at a different company. If I was laser focused on fatFIRE, I’d probably give it another year or two and then hang it up. But as my position wavers on whether I’d like to go back to work after taking a break, it seems OK to quit and decide later, but it’s hard to walk away fr”

“Hello, I am currently in a situation where I have a large amount of company stock. I am looking to sell most of this and diversify this concentration. If I sell what I am thinking of selling I will end up with somewhere between 4 and 8 million dollars in taxes owed over the next 2-3 years. I am wondering for those who have used SMA and specifically these leveraged accounts how much tax savings did this defer for you? Very rough plan would be to use the 200/100 plan for the next 2-3 years as I se”

“40M, $9M portfolio, 80% concentrated in one stock, buying my first house. Curious how others would think about this: Two years ago, I left a career at a public company where most of my wealth came from stock compensation and the appreciation of a single stock over many years. Today my portfolio is worth about $9M and it’s still heavily concentrated in that stock. It’s been life changing for me, so I’m naturally hesitant to sell too much of it, but I’m also aware that a single day’s move can swin”

“I sold a company I created when I was young and thought I would enjoy my fat retirement or could restart something. I decided to fatfire 15 years ago. The first years were awesome (travelling, being in shape…). But I started to suffer from depression (boredom and health issues). Did some angel investing out of boredom. I took a board position and realised I’m FAR less sharp that people that are still in the game. The gap is now massive. After many years out of the business world, I’ve realised t”

“I am enjoying writing these updates now. It is somewhat stimulating in my understimulated but very busy life. A few more months have passed since my last update, and our lives have changed quite a bit. Unfortunately, the boredom is still the same. Background: Last year, I quit my job — roughly $400k cash + $2mm startup options per year, though I considered the options “paper money” and did not count them — to retire with 8 figures in my mid-30s. My partner still works, we keep”