With a mortgage free $4.2 million home and $9.5 million net worth, what’s next ?

One of the great things about the FIRE movement is that once you achieve a certain level of success, you don’t have to worry about finances ever again. The challenge is that once you stop working, something that has likely given you purpose for many years, finding other ways to feel fulfilled can be a real challenge.

This is precisely the feeling one Redditor posting in r/fatFIRE is experiencing right now, and they are just not sure how to find purpose in their own life. With a paid-off home and growing net worth, from the outside looking in, they have the perfect life, but we all know that looks can be deceiving.

Trying to Find Fulfillment

By all accounts, this Redditor should be feeling satisfied and content with their life. With a current $9.5 million net worth, married, young kids, and a mortgage-free home worth around $4.2 million, this Redditor has not only achieved what many in the FIRE community believe to be success, but is still working.

The hope of this Redditor, who started a small business five years ago and then used their profits from this company to invest in start-ups, is that they are on track to earn approximately $20 million by the time they retire. This would mean that in under 10 years, they would double their net worth and far and away surpass the goals they originally set for themselves and their business five years ago.

At this point, it doesn’t even matter how their own investments are set up, as everything else seems to be on cruise control. The business is earning around $500,000 annually, and they have reinvested some of these earnings into the company, which means the annual income could also grow in the future.

All of this success brings us to the crux of this Redditor’s story, and that is their internal feelings about what they want their work life to look like in the future. The good news is that they love what they do, but they are also finding themselves increasingly unmotivated.

Consider Yourself Lucky

Let’s be honest, this Redditor is living the financial independence, retire early dream. Not only have they made a small fortune, but they are on pace to make more, all while having a family and kids to keep them grounded. Still, it’s not uncommon for people who find themselves no longer needing to hustle to look for something else that they can sink their hooks into.

The hope is that the Redditor doesn’t lose sight of the fact that, given their good fortune, they should be spending a lot more time with children. This might mean volunteering as a coach in some of the kids’ activities or doing something else to remind your kids that you were an attentive parent from a young age.

Of course, until the Redditor actually achieves this $20 million number, making any decisions should be held off. There are a number of things that can happen over the next 10 years that could impact their goal. On the plus side, it could mean that they could make more money, but there is just as much of an opportunity that things don’t work out as planned.

Slow Down and Enjoy, Or Keep Working

Short of starting another business and growing their net worth even more, this Redditor needs to set a date on a calendar when they are going to start slowing down. The hope is that since they are looking to retire in their 40s, they will have time to travel and spend time with family.

Family may be the exact sense of purpose they need, and that’s to turn what was once spent grinding into a sense of home-life purpose. The alternative is to volunteer somewhere, work part-time as a rideshare driver, or start a whole new business. Unfortunately, for someone like this Redditor, slowing down might sound good, but it’s also one of those things that sounds better on paper than in reality. The reality is that they should likely just keep working and push their retirement age to 50 years.

While pushing their retirement age, it might be an opportunity to bring on someone who can help run the business and alleviate some of the day-to-day stress. The Redditor mentions they’ve never had a single career break, so maybe it’s time to take that summer trip they have been promising.

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