I've also retired early after saving and keeping a simple lifestyle. I don't understand why more people in tech don't do it. My mental and physical health are both better than the last time I was working.
Sometimes I'm tempted to get another job on the basis that it would be all disposable income. But then I think, what could I buy that would be more valuable than the 40 hours a week I'd be giving up? Maybe I'm just lucky that I have no interest in fancy things.
Lifestyle creep and tech hubs have expensive real estate. I am super lucky in that I have a FAANG job in LCOL area and will most likely be FIRE by I am 40 with a fully paid off single detached home, but you cannot do that in the bay area where almost all your income will go to paying your mortgage.
I also know a co-worker who lives in a LCOL area and just bought a Porsche 911 GT3…
Sometimes I'm tempted to get another job on the basis that it would be all disposable income. But then I think, what could I buy that would be more valuable than the 40 hours a week I'd be giving up? Maybe I'm just lucky that I have no interest in fancy things.