Hi, r/financialindependence. I posted about quitting my job in 2018 when I was 38 - I'm 42 now - to travel the world via air and the country via van after living frugally since I started working in my early 20s. Retired with about $2.3 million net worth. Here's the story so far ...

Year 0 https://old.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/comments/8pv2yd/38msingle_23_million_submitted_my_resignation/

I started working in my early 20s after getting out of grad school. Salary varied anywhere from $70,000 to $130,000 during those 14 years or so. I live in a state with low cost of living and no state income tax, so I knew when I started that I could save a majority of my income if I stayed frugal and resisted lifestyle inflation. I live in the same starter home I bought around 2010 and drive an old Camry. I did a bunch of set-it-and-forget-it buying of large cap US index funds and Berkshire Hathaway and I did some individual buying of large cap bank and technology names before and after the Great Recession

Year 1 update - I came home after volunteer work in SE Asia https://old.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/comments/bk1rco/1_year_update_38msingle_23_million_submitted_my/

I FIREd and quit my job in the US last year, then moved to Thailand to volunteer at a non-profit teaching English to former prostitutes and low-level criminals for tourism industry jobs. I'm an American, ethnically Chinese.

My apartment and utilities were provided for free by the non-profit and I lived with my fellow expat volunteers. Some were older couples who wanted their privacy, so they booked their own apartments. Costs ranged from as low as $200 a month for a cheap, non-furnished studio apartment to $375 a month for a furnished studio in a newer building near a Skytrain station in the center of town with security. I was pleasantly surprised that because I was in the country on a sponsored work visa, I was eligible to buy health insurance there as a local. It came out to about $150 a month. Getting international expat health insurance here in America would have cost me up to $500 a month, so a huge savings. I also rarely ate at home and never cooked, since Bangkok is one of the great street food capitals of the world. All kinds of Thai, Chinese, Malay, Indian and Arab food served on the street for about 35 to 70 baht each entree (~1 to 2 bucks USD). I ended up not getting a local cell phone or local cell plan, my Sprint plan included international roaming and the 2G data was okay for Google Maps and web/email use when I was away from wifi, which was rare. So monthly fixed expenses came out to

$100 7-Eleven (drinking tap water actively discouraged by authorities due to corroded pipes. Bottled water is substantially cheaper there than here, thankfully. My problem is that when I went into 7-Eleven every day to get the cheap water, I would get sidetracked by whatever tasty unfamiliar snack I would see at the hot food counter that I would then have to try, hence $100 a month blown. Seriously, 7-Eleven in Thailand is amazing, I highly recommend getting lost in one. All kinds of hot noodle soups and baos and sticky rice snacks and cakes.)

See the rest here:

Financial Independence / Retire Early - reddit