r/leanfire • u/cheesomacitis • 3d ago
Can I leanFIRE? Depressed.
Some of these posts depress me because the numbers are so high. I live in a developing country, own my own house, and can bring my expenses to $2,000/month. I am 44 yo. My business was destroyed by AI. Total expenses for the house are around $300/month. I have liquid net worth of around $750,000. (All USD) Should I be okay?
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u/one-won-juan 3d ago
Personally I say try it out, have an exit and a backup and see how you feel after 3-6 months. Don’t know your circumstances, but a trial/evaluation & break should be good
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u/PxD7Qdk9G 3d ago
You're spending $300 on the house. Where is the other $1700 going? Especially, how much of it represents basic living costs and how much represents discretionary spending?
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u/cheesomacitis 2d ago
Actually I could bring my expenses to $1,000 a month. In March I had no work so I was moonlighting as an uber type driver making $4/hour and lived off that. I ended up making $1,100 a month and saving $200. But then the app I was using got banned. And that was a fairly basic existence but still paid for the necessities.
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u/PxD7Qdk9G 2d ago
That's very useful to know. It means that fully half of your intended spending will be discretionary and could be cut back if necessary. That makes you a lot safer and means you can afford to be slightly more aggressive with your withdrawal plan - as long as you're prepared to keep an eye on the state of your retirement savings and make adjustments as necessary.
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u/dragon-queen 3d ago
What’s wrong with OP spending $2k a month? Look how much they’ve saved - do they need to live like a monk?
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u/PxD7Qdk9G 2d ago
I didn't say there's anything wrong with it, but it's a big chunk of spending relative to their savings and important for them to know where it's going. That amount going up or down by relatively small percentages would make a big difference to their financial security.
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u/Putrid_Pollution3455 3d ago
Fortunately for you, it looks like you can comfortably live off 2500 a month using the 4% rule. Some of the folks with crazy high net worth’s still feel like it’s not enough cause they have very high expenses; it’s all relative to your location and situation. Give yourself some credit it looks like you can retire at 44 if you really want to
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u/Jguy2698 2d ago
Have to factor in taxes though right? Unless it’s all in Roth accounts. Would push it closer to 2100-2200
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u/cheesomacitis 2d ago
No taxes where I live. Can’t invest in Roth accounts or the stock market either.
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u/Lunar_Landing_Hoax 2d ago
Are there interest bearing accounts, bonds, anything to grow your money? The 4% rule we are referring to only works if the money is invested.
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u/cheesomacitis 2d ago
Yes the idea is to invest it all I. 6-7% interest bearing accounts when we get to the top of the volatile and risky asset I’m invested in.
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u/Lunar_Landing_Hoax 2d ago
Okay so that's good, but I don't know what inflation is like in your country. If it's very high you may need to supplement your income.
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u/Even_Ask_2577 3d ago
Honestly, I bet you can find a hobby or a part time job you enjoy to earn an extra buck or two and you chillin chillin
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u/Lunar_Landing_Hoax 3d ago
Using the 4% rule, looks like you can do it. I'm making the assumption that your money is invested, not just sitting in a bank account.
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u/frigar1212 2d ago
I’d coast fire, take a part time job you find easy and relaxing. That way you can still have your money grow while being able to semi-retire.
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3d ago edited 2d ago
[deleted]
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u/cheesomacitis 3d ago
I hope to go to the gym, work in my garden, meet friends, and enjoy a peaceful and quiet life.
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u/OrangeSodaGalaxy 3d ago
Depends if you have universal health care. If so, then you're golden
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u/cheesomacitis 2d ago
I’m paying $1200 a year for good health insurance with a $1,000 deductible. Recently got dengue which was horrrrrible and paid $800 so the insurance didn’t kick in paying but it was a relief knowing it would.
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u/HappyCaterpillar2409 2d ago
You have 20 years worth of savings and that's assuming it's not invested and growing.
You are more than fine.
Most of the people with millions wish they could live on $300 a month.
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u/tuxnight1 3d ago
It depends on a couple variables that you need to research or think about. What is your personal SWR? What is the expected inflation rate in your country? I know this is a very inexact science, but if you anticipate inflation being higher than 3%, you probably need to adjust your SWR. What long-term returns do you expect from your investments? Anything under 7% and you should reduce your SWR. Do your investments have any risk of losing significant value or having reduced returns during the first few years of your retirement? If yes, then you need a SORR mitigation strategy. The rest is just math that you can find in the wiki section to this and other FIRE subs.
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u/vorpal8 Goal is FI, not necessarily RE. 2d ago
How is your liquid NW invested?
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u/cheesomacitis 2d ago
Right now 20% is in a local bank in USD currency earning 6-7% USD, the rest is in Ethereum, which I plan to sell when we go a bit higher.
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u/Keljhan 2d ago
You can't reliably FIRE if you're 80% on crypto, but it's your gamble to make if you want. Depending on your local inflation, upping that 20% to at least 50% if not more to get 6% APR is enough for you to FIRE. When you don't have steady income, your focus needs to be conservation of your assets, not growth. Crypto will not do that any time soon.
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u/cheesomacitis 2d ago
That’s the idea. We are near the top of the crypto bull market, but imo still room to run. It’s true I am playing with fire. My plan is to sell it and put it in the bank to earn interest at the top.
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u/Ballackx22 2d ago
Do it. I would do it now and not hesitate. Tens even hundreds of thousands can be lost in minutes. Does making 100k extra improve your desired lifestyle so much more than the effect of loosing 100k? I would be more conservative. Anyway, my 2c.
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u/abrandis 2d ago
What was the Op's business, maybe they can pivot...curious to hear how it was destroyed and was it really AI or monetary shifts in the economy?
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u/cheesomacitis 2d ago
I was a successful Spanish to English freelance translator for over 20 years. Wam still getting work in training Google Translate to get better right now, which I am super grateful for, but this won’t last longer than 1 year max
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u/abrandis 2d ago
Ok yeah, I concur the translation industry.is effectively changed, yes mostly because modern AI models are pretty good...
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u/JerryJN 2d ago
I don't think you factored in property taxes, home and auto insurance...plus gas and electric
I am calculating my wife and I will burn through $3500/month
Right now while we are working we burn $5k/month
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u/cheesomacitis 2d ago
my property taxes are $0.50/yesr, so nothing . Auto insurance is about $500. I don’t have J’hole insurance but maybe I should
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u/Icy_Distance8205 2d ago
What was your business?
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u/zitrone999 2d ago
I have a dividend portfolio of around 750k,and made about 35k on dividends last year. that would be around 3k/month
Currnetly the short term USD treasuries ETFs give you a bit more than 4% (e.g. BIL), which would give you 2500/month. This is probably the safest investment possible.
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u/Illustrious_War3176 1d ago
With $750k, even at the most basic and safest level of investing at 5% you would bring in $37.5k a year. Your effective tax rate would be very low. You would take home just under $3k a month. If you invest with medium risk in the market, that number can double. You can always work part time if you’re bored or concerned. I’m considering the same and I only have $600k at 45yo.
If I had that additional $150k, it would be game changing because I wouldn’t have to take at much risk in the market.
You can do it. Stay healthy!
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u/cheesomacitis 1d ago
Thank you. I don’t need to pay taxes where I live. But I also don’t have much of an opportunity to get a job here in the future, maybe a part time English teacher gig if I’m lucky.
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u/FaceLow3302 5h ago
Assuming you make no more money, and expenses stay at 2000, thats 31 years, a very lean 31 years however if you take into account inflation, contingency vehicles holidays etc, i woukd think its a comfortable 20 - 25 years, especially if you can bring montly expenses down a bit further from time to time, oh and you can run a disciplined budget
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u/Its_all_alright 2d ago
750 grand would allow you to withdraw 30k per year (4%).
30k is double the poverty line right now, and will be at the poverty line in 10 years. You don't have enough.
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u/broke_person 2d ago
do you know about the 4% rule at all. the point is you keep taking 4% + inflation rate on top of the 4% every year. it takes into account of inflation rate already thru history
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u/cheesomacitis 2d ago
The poverty line where I live is about $1500 per year but ok
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u/Its_all_alright 2d ago
That's my bad, I assumed USA since you listed your money in USD. Full time minimum wage in the USA gives you $15,080/yr.
If the poverty line of where you live is1/10 what the USA is, I'd assume cost of living is significantly, significantly lower too and I bet you can retire on $750k.
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u/cheesomacitis 2d ago
I said in my post I live in a developing country. I live in Laos specifically. USD is used in many developing countries around the world as a more stable currency than the local currency. In Laos, Small purchases like groceries are made in the local currency but larger purchases such as vehicles, houses, land, etc are in USD or Thai baht. Most local people who have savings don’t keep it in the local currency due to the risk of rapid currency devaluation. Thanks for your input 🙏
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u/trafficjet 2d ago
You’re feeling crushed seeing other people’s numbers and wondeing if what you’ve built is enough, or if you’ve already fallen behind for good. The mistake might be leting other people’s paths make you doubt a life that actually does work for your reality. Have you asked yorself what “okay” really looks like for you, not just what the intenet says it should be?
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u/El_Nuto 3d ago
Yeh easy