Is 34 too old to start on FIRE journey? I have about 400K in assets and about 70K in loans. Paid off 200K in education loans this year. Want to get rid of all bad debt and build investments so I can live off my investments. Context, moved to US from India and had a lot of education loan payments.

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Yes. Way too late. You're doomed to be a wage slave forever. Sorry.

funnylike

Aww thanks

Starting from $330k, if you contribute $1000 a month for next 16 years and compound at 8%, that’ll net you ~$1.5m by 50 years old. That’s $60k a year at 4% withdrawal rate which is feasible for a lean FIRE lifestyle, especially if you own your own home outright, don’t live in a HCOL location and/or do occasional projects/consulting jobs you find interesting.

likehelpfulsmartfunny

No thanks!

funny

What's the alternative? Wait another year??

Start where you are.
Do what you can.

likesmart

Never too late. Be disciplined and consistent…you will get there

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I’d say, you need to figure out how much is enough for you to be able to FIRE. Once you have that number you’ll know how much more you need and when can you retire (realistically)

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It’s never too late to start. Early retirement may not be as early for you as others in this bowl, but if you follow the strategies talked about here and avoid lifestyle creep, it sounds like you can ramp up your savings significantly if you paid off 200k in student loans on one year.

One question for you. Why did you define those loans as bad debt? Were the rates high or is it something else?

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Got it. The way you phrased it made it sound like it was a one year payoff to me. Still, that’s 50k a year you can divert to savings now! I agree that high interest debt is bad but I’m sure your student loans where nowhere near CC rates.

likehelpful

Well the alternative is just normal retirement. What’s early to you ?

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Same question so following (less assets than you but similar loans). Awesome that you paid off so much in loans! Great job OP

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I was 36 when I started mine 🤣🤣

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You can retire at about 1 million in India if you are planning to go back.

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Nope. Although many start at low to sometimes mid six figures depending on specialty, medical doctors in the United States start maybe at age 30 and a little later, to get a paycheck where some of it can actually be saved for retirement. And their education loans can easily be $200k or more.

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Check out the YouTube channel “Our Rich Journey”. Inspiring couple that achieved FIRE while living in SF and having 2 kids

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