afterFI/RE Life after FI/RE
People
Selected life timeline 2025—2026

A frightening first year gave way to contented home days

An unexpected job loss brought retirement forward. The Ohio household’s first year included market anxiety and home improvements; sixteen months in, gardening, cooking and dog walks felt sufficient even as their investment balance grew.

Finances
Investments at retirement2025-01 · Household
$1,620,000

Investments; excludes roughly $350,000 paid-off home.

Source
Reported spending2025 · Household
$41,700 / year

Actual household annual spending.

Source
Reported investments2026-05-10 · Household
$2,030,000

Investment portfolio only, excludes home; not total net worth.

Source
Posts2
2025At departure
Post 01Recalled in 2026

An earlier exit tested their confidence

“I was anxious about RE last year”

u/Widget248953Read original post (opens in a new tab)

Life at the time

  • Retired after losing a job rather than working the planned extra year.
  • Made home improvements while severance and other funds covered most expenses.

How it felt

  • Felt anxious about early retirement. “I was anxious about RE last year”
  • The year’s market decline frightened the author despite a workable financial margin. “shaking in my boots”
EnoughHome
u/Widget248953 (opens in a new tab)
Notes

Explicit retrospective in dated source; year approximate from stated elapsed years.

Departure, 2025 withdrawals/home improvements, final anxiety paragraph

Editorial summaries with short, attributed quotations. The original contains the full story.

2026Year 1.33
Post 02

Enough in the house and garden

“Mathematically, I know we can spend more, but we have everything we want right now.”

u/Widget248953Read original post (opens in a new tab)

Life at the time

  • Cooks from scratch with a spouse and walks the dog twice daily.
  • Tends berries and vegetables, trying to grow the garden from seed.

How it felt

  • Feels more comfortable with retirement. “more comfortable with it now”
  • Sees little reason to spend more when current life already feels satisfying. “we have everything we want”
EnoughHome
u/Widget248953 (opens in a new tab)
Notes

Dated publication describing current life.

Day-to-day life and closing reflections

Dated publication describing current life.

Editorial summaries with short, attributed quotations. The original contains the full story.

See how these posts compare with other people’s experiences.

Research

Last checked Sep 2026. The accounts are self-reported. This timeline follows selected accounts, including recollections where labeled; it is not a complete archive.

  • Source says “end of2026” for a prior-year portfolio figure despite a May2026 post; that inconsistent figure is not used.
  • Departure age is not inferred from current rounded age.
  • Selected public self-reports, not a complete archive or independent verification of finances.

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