Personal Finance

I have a net worth of $2.5 million and have to choose between my high-income job and spending time with my young children. What do I do?

Joey Frenette

Published: November 30, 2024 11:52 am

A net worth of $2.5 million at the relatively young age of 43 is nothing to sneeze at. Though it may not be enough to fund the most lavish of early retirements (think the ones that involve very frequent luxury vacations), it is more than enough to help a burnt-out worker take some time off for themselves and their families. Indeed, even the highly-paid top executives at the world’s largest companies step back to spend more time with loved ones.

When you’re all about work and less about finding the perfect work-life balance, I’d say it makes sense to reflect on things and consider the different pathways one can take moving forward. Indeed, the optimal pathway doesn’t always have to be the most profitable one, especially if you want to minimize regrets at a later date. Arguably, spending more quality time with friends and family is worth more than having more digits in a bank account if you’re already well-positioned financially, as this poster from the r/ChubbyFIRE subreddit is.

Key Points About This Article

• A big net worth and plenty of passive income could make early retirement a reality far sooner than one thinks.
• Sometimes, it’s hard to see just how financially well-off you are without the perspective of an adviser.
• Also: Are You On Track to Retire? Take This Quiz and Find Out (Sponsored)

Is a net worth of $2.5 million enough to step away from one’s job?

Undoubtedly, if you’re seeking advice from others from a high-achieving early retirement subreddit, you have quite a bit of financial flexibility to step back or even retire immediately. Indeed, $2.5 million may not be a nest egg that funds the most extravagant of early retirements, but it is large enough to fund a reasonable, comfortable retirement. As always, though, there will be a long (and perhaps growing) list of fears that could rear their ugly head (most of them have a low probability of happening) at the worst possible time to drain their nest egg at some point down the line.

Indeed, making the move to retirement, especially early retirement, can be like walking to the edge of a diving board before making a cannonball into the pool. Sure, it’s a pretty safe leap you’ll make, provided you don’t belly flop, but nonetheless, there will be jitters presenting themselves. That’s why I think it’s so vital to get the approval of a financial adviser or wealth planner before you make the leap into the early retirement (FIRE) waters for the very first time.

The option to retire early is there.

Though I’d normally suggest sticking things out in the workforce (perhaps negotiating remote work or part-time options would make sense) if one’s still more than willing, I do think that having young children at home would make the case for retiring sooner rather than later makes the most sense.

Of course, the right level of passive income will be necessary to fund an enjoyable retirement starting in one’s early 40s. Fortunately, the poster has passive income coming from pensions and investment properties, which further bolsters the case for making the jump into early retirement.

Whether that entails shifting out of high-growth tech stocks and into steadier dividend payers or downgrading one’s lifestyle to better fit with incoming passive cash flows, there are options that a prospective early retiree can take before they retire.

The bottom line

With a $2.5 million net worth and plenty of sources of passive income (a dividend portfolio could be yet another if the poster isn’t already invested in such), the poster seems financially sound enough to make family their primary focus. They’ve worked hard for a long time and deserve the well-earned time off they’ll get in early retirement.