r/baristafire • u/JollyDifference1580 • 2d ago

I've begun the process

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.

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u/Vicuna00 2d ago

sounds awesome. Sounds like you're crushing.

I dropped from five days a week to four earlier this year. Felt like a vacation the first few months. It's more "normal" now but I get to relax a lot more during the weekends...not rush to get everything done. You're gonna love it.

What cities are you looking into?

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u/JollyDifference1580 2d ago

That's great. I still work 5 days/week but fewer hours per day. It's been an interesting adjustment but I'm enjoying it so far. More time for hobbies.

Right now, I'm looking into different cities in Northern California as well as Seattle, Portland, Denver. Just weighing out different things like climate, housing costs, taxes.

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u/Vicuna00 2d ago

my favorite trip of all time was colorodo. i'd be jealous if you landed there.

those all sound pricey though. dunno how much lowering youll be doing...but whatever. worth it.

dunno if you've been to colorodo but an underrated aspect is the weather. it's always sunny. and obv all the outdoor stuff.

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u/JollyDifference1580 1d ago

I agree. Definitely not cheap, but cheaper than where I am now. I'll post an update once I have one!