I’m 52 with a government job and am worth $5 million – here’s how I did it

24/7 Wall St. Insights

• This Redditor is retiring at 52 after working for the government since he was 23. 
• Strong financial discipline undoubtedly played a role in this FIRE story. 
• Not having children also played a role in keeping spending in check. 

If there is one thing we can hopefully all agree on, it’s that we want to work less and earn more. Well, in the case of one Redditor, they are doing precisely that by retiring at 52 with a net worth of $5.2 million. Jealousy aside, what this Redditor discusses in this r/fatFIRE post is eye-opening, as it shows how those who aren’t earning CEO-level salaries can still find a way to save big and retire early.

What caught my attention about this particular post is how well this financial success came together and whether others can realistically duplicate it. This is an example of someone who just did everything right, at least on paper, to get to the point where he could stop working and enjoy life at an age where you still want to travel and check off your bucket list. 

The Scenario

There is no question that this scenario isn’t easy to duplicate, as many of the specifics are solely applicable to this Redditor. More importantly, nothing in this article should be considered financial advice, just my personal opinion. However, much of what I learned here can be applied if you have a sound financial plan. This said, there is no question there were a few lucky breaks here for this Redditor that helped everything else fall into place. These lucky breaks included: 

• An undergraduate degree without any student loans.
• Receiving a $135K inheritance from a grandmother.
• Never having any children.
• Working overseas for the government and living entirely in subsidized housing.
• Doubling the value of their home and investing everything.
• Retiring with a $90K/year pension that includes health insurance.

Top Observations

Beyond the few lucky strikes that came this Redditor’s way, it wasn’t all dumb luck, as smart investing also played a part in it. This Redditor did very well as he got a government job at 23 and immediately started putting the maximum amount into his government-run 401K. At an age when many college graduates are still finishing their degrees and possibly living at home, this Redditor took full advantage of a government investment opportunity. 

The next was when he married and how they could best use his wife’s income. Putting all her income into the market was a stroke of genius looking back as was living off one income. This meant they were putting the maximum into a 403(b)/TIAA-CREF, again setting themselves up for a great future. The same can be said for when he received a $135,000 inheritance from his grandmother, which was entirely put into the market.  

With a sudden windfall and growing savings, people setting themselves up financially might think they can splurge here and there to enjoy some things. Well, not this Redditor, who bought a small house with his wife and only put 20% down. After living in the house for three years, it was rented out for ten years, covering all expenses. They waited until the home value doubled and then sold it. Putting the entire house profit into the market was another stroke of financial genius. 

The same can be said for not owning more than one car and even going multiple years without a car. Having never bought a car that cost more than $21K, they avoided the one purchase that seems to trip up many other Redditors with disposable income. 

Have The Right Job

So here’s where things get a little specific to this Redditor’s scenario. While many other decisions, like buying inexpensive cars or renting a home, are something anyone can make, government work is not. In this case, they lived overseas for 15 years, likely in a military capacity, as he mentions hardship pay. As assigned housing from the military is subsidized, they took what could have been a mortgage payment and invested it in the market. 

Of course, it also didn’t hurt that he went to business school at night and that the student loan that paid for business school was repaid as part of the hardship assignments and a loan repayment incentive. In other words, they accumulated debt but didn’t need to stop any of their investments to pay off this debt because of the government work incentives. This is why having the right job undoubtedly played into this Redditor’s FIRE success. 

Key Learnings

If there is one big lesson here, you shouldn’t overspend. I can joke that not having kids also made this easier because your financial situation changes with children, but they kept their spending in check even as their investments grew. There’s a definite lesson for the fatFIRE subreddit: even if you are not making $500,000 a year, you can still accumulate wealth with proper financial discipline.

If it were me and I had $5 million, a $90K annual retirement pension, and health insurance, I’d be kicking back on the beach somewhere, living the good life. Of course, I’d first consult a financial advisor and see precisely how aggressive I need to be in the market to live off dividends and interest. 

 

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