My Plan to Invest Over $60,000 in 2025 for FIRE

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About Me:
I'm Raymond - a gen Z worker that's on the path to financial independence and retiring early. I make videos about personal finance, from news all the way to talking about my own net worth and budget. If that interests you, feel free to stick around.

[@raymondwzeng]

Starting off the year on a rough note both financially and tech-wise accidentally recording in 1080p/30fps. oop
Some other thoughts that I forgot to put in the video:
- I am (slowly) getting back into interview preparation! A promotion is still in the cards for the year, but it's never guaranteed. The worst case scenario is that I'll make my own promotion with a career move internally or externally.
- This Sankey Chart intentionally leaves out my employer match because of the above bullet point - I do receive a 7% match, but it is locked behind a 3-year hard vesting period (I get literally nothing if I leave before my 3rd year of service). I am still unsure about the length of my tenure - although I do count it as part of my liquid net worth for now.
Create your own Sankey Chart here: sankeymatic.com/

[@tannerdriscoll6699]

Good plan. I'm not optimistic about returns this year with how absurd 2024 was

[@aaronquadd3019]

My goal is to gain over $70k putting me at $200k in savings and investments. This has been a slow month for me and with buying a car and getting an apartment this year 70k feels like a lofty goal but we shall see!

[@raymondwzeng]

Oof, best of luck in the car and apartment search! Hoping you reach your goals - keep me posted :-)

[@aaronquadd3019]

@raymondwzeng Thanks Raymond!

[@Jack-gl2xw]

This is impressive! But, it looks like all your money is going into accounts that you cant access until 65. Does this get in the way of your plan for FIRE (retire early) or is there something im missing?

[@raymondwzeng]

Thanks for the question! There's actually a path to pull money out of retirement accounts penalty-free (though not tax-free) - at least on the 401k side - prior to 65. The process is generally known as the Roth Conversion Ladder in case you're interested in learning more.
There's also the 72(t), although that is generally less popular among the FIRE crowd

[@Jack-gl2xw]

@@raymondwzeng Oh interesting, thanks! Was unfamiliar with this strategy

[@fonz-ys6xu]

Don't forget the rule of 55 as another option

[@tannerdriscoll6699]

You can move 401k funds to a roth ira, but you have to pay income taxes on it and have to wait 5 years

[@jamesdavis4296]

Saving for FIRE. I'm new to this term FIRE. What is it?

[@raymondwzeng]

Thanks for the question!
FIRE stands for Financial Independence and Retiring Early. It generally involves saving very aggressively (>50% is not uncommon) + investing that amount to be able to retire earlier than 65.
I'm aiming for a retirement age of mid-late 30s-early 40s with about $1.5-2.5M invested. At that point, I can live off of my investments (there are a few ways of doing this) without *needing* to work for money. I'll probably end up spending my time on my hobbies, and maybe working for money if I really wanted to.
The obvious note is that it's *much* easier to save for FIRE when you're earning a higher income like I am. And FIRE isn't necessarily a path for everyone - just the one that I've decided to go down.

[@jamesdavis4296]

@raymondwzeng thanks for the explanation. Keep up the good work on your journey. 👍

[@garydownes6769]

Where are your degrees from?? Very technical. 😊

[@raymondwzeng]

I have a bachelor's degree in computer science. Was going for a master's degree (also in computer science), but put that on hold for a while 😅

[@IronKingify]

is it just me or is the video and sound ever so slightly off?

[@raymondwzeng]

@@IronKingify Might be on my end. I usually record in 1080p/60FPS for a more smooth experience, but my settings got reset this time around and I didn't catch it until I was done with everything.

[@IronKingify]

@@raymondwzeng no worries, great video regardless.

[@RafyqDesign]

Good luck 👍 whats your FIRE number?

[@raymondwzeng]

@@RafyqDesign Thank you! My FIRE number is somewhere in the $1.3-1.5M range at a 3.5% withdrawal rate, though depending on how things go I might hit the "one more year" button for a little bit longer 😅

[@PillowVase]

@@raymondwzengare you planning to have kids?