Our $2.9 million nest egg is growing, but my stress is through the roof – how do I stay motivated for 7–9 more years of this?

For some who are in the final stretch of their careers, retirement cannot come soon enough. For those over-stressed individuals who are feeling burnt out, the final few years can feel like a real slog. And while it can be easy to lose motivation as one stumbles in the final few steps en route to that retirement finish line, I do think it’s worth the while to explore the wide range of options one currently has available to them.

Indeed, there’s no perfect answer for everyone. That said, a financial advisor with more nuance could serve up potential solutions to those who are having a hard time maintaining their rapid pace now that the finish line is in sight.

Someone with a nest egg worth nearly $3 million has a wealth of options available to them. Undoubtedly, $3 million seems like more than enough to retire, in my books, unless we’re talking about an opulent lifestyle that entails non-stop luxuries. Additionally, there are other ways to stay the course if an individual is keen on achieving a certain figure before calling it a career.

In this piece, we’ll look into the options for someone in a similar pair of shoes as this burnt-out Reddit user who’s aiming at a figure that’s incredibly high, perhaps too high (they want to hit the $8 million mark before exiting the workforce), given the price one will ultimately end up paying — not just time, but the mental health impact from another decade of high stress.

Know when to say enough. When FatFIRE makes less sense than Chubby FIRE

Achieving “fat” FIRE (the early retirement that entails a high six-figure annual income) is the ultimate goal for many financial overachievers. However, it’s not always practical to go for the highest tier of early retirement, especially if it means not being able to obtain a good work-life balance in the final years before sailing off into a happy retirement. Indeed, foregoing luxury goods and extravagant spending is just one way one can open up new windows of opportunity en route to a comfortable retirement.

Whether we’re talking about taking on fewer hours, embracing remote work opportunities, or moving into meaningful employment that’s less tolling, one doesn’t have to keep sprinting ahead as they begin to lose their balance. Indeed, continuing to race forward while ignoring symptoms of burnout may not be the recipe for putting the finishing touches on one’s career. 

As someone in the Reddit comments astutely pointed out, $8 million really does seem like “overkill,” even for someone looking to achieve fat FIRE. In any case, I’d consider taking a sabbatical so that one can consider the broad range of options (and they’re all really good ones, given the colossal size of the nest egg) while prioritizing self-care. Indeed, in the final few years of one’s work, self-care ought to come before all else.

What if one is keen on fat FIRE?

If one has an insatiable appetite for the finest things in life, fat FIRE is the only option. However, one will pay the price to achieve a sustained annual income that’s enough for splurging.

Arguably, the extra splurges to be had in a “fat FIRE” kind of lifestyle, I believe, are not conducive to the greatest happiness. In any case, if there’s no other option but to push for that $8 million, perhaps getting a support system in place can help one stabilize their footing as they race ahead over the next seven to nine years or so.

At the end of the day, one should seek to find a way to put their net worth on the ascent as they simultaneously find ways to put their stress levels on the descent. Sitting down with a financial advisor and maybe a counsellor could be a good move for such an individual who may be trapped in a pair of golden handcuffs with a propensity for raising the bar. 

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