Should I take a break for a few years?
45M, 3 kids and a spouse, lives in MCOL. Monthly expense 8k. 3M+ investments (brokerage + IRAs + Solo 401k) Paid off house. Kids education fully funded through 529 (separate from 3M above). No debt. Can I afford to take a break for few years? TC: 480k #personal finance
Great job man! How much did you save for 529 plan per kid
300k for the oldest. 8 years away from college. 150k for the youngest ones. About 15 years away from college
Oh that’s solid! Congrats!
Tech or finance role?
Tech
You can take a break forever if you want.
I don’t believe so. I am still 45. At 3% SWR, I am still short my monthly goals for a permanent FIRE. Somebody pointed out healthcare costs above and that’s one of my worries. Being unemployable if I want to rejoin the workforce later is another worry.
Life is short, you seem to be in great position to enjoy a break , I would say definitely go for it
Take a year. Test the water and go back if u want a job again.
How much is your house worth?
work another 4-5 years and retire. you have great tc.
Do you qualify for a sabbatical? I say look for a volunteer job abroad and take the entire family for the summer or do 6 months off work/freelance jobs. Alternative might be work for 3-5 more years and do a soft retirement at 50.
Take a year or two. Decompress and refill. Getting back in will not be that hard, and you will live longer.
No because health insurance. Get to work, wageslave!
That’s one of my worries. Here is what I am hoping - 20 more years before Medicare kicks in. ACA has plans for 1400/month. For 20 years it equates to 336,000. Assuming my investment growth matches the healthcare inflation (~4%), I should be good, no?
1400 a month for the entire family? with a reasonable deductible? that actually seems low for 4+ person family.