High net worth, but low relative income. Are my only logical options to retire early or swing for the fences?
A lot of the posts I read here are from people with much higher incomes than I have, but they often have lower net worths. I've got the opposite "problem". I've got a high net worth of $10.4M but a low relative income of ~$300k, and as the years have gone by, I wonder whether I should just retire early because my income hasn't helped grow my net worth over the last half-decade. Right now, my income "just" pays the bills and gives me the (false?) sense of security to hold more concentrated positions in tech stocks, etc., because I know I'm living off my income and don't need to draw on my assets. Obviously, paying the bills is nice, but my only net worth progress comes from asset appreciation, and I even stopped contributing to retirement plans years ago because I think I've got too much in pre-tax accounts, and I feel like the contributions don't meaningfully change anything in my retirement accounts relative to my desire to use that money now.
- My current net worth is $10.4M, with 35% of that total in 401k and SEP IRA accounts
- Annual spend is around $250k (but I have had occasional years where this is much higher)
- I work from home ~30 hours a week and make about $300k a year (some years are better, and of that time in front of a computer, it's probably more like 15 - 20 hours of real work)
- I am 41 years old, married with three kids (7, 10, and 13)
My work is great at times, and while I can work from home, it can be stressful and sometimes requires me to be available at any time of the week (sometimes on the weekend). I believe others would say I have an easy job and that it's pretty great compared to commuting to a high-stress office.
Has anyone else been in this situation where they've got a high net worth relative to their income and felt like it is a little pointless to keep working when the pay is so low relative to their net worth? It feels like if I'm going to work, I should be swinging for home runs only (e.g., starting another business) because that's the only thing that will financially move the needle. Right now, I feel like I'm coasting, and I don't want too much of my life to pass me by when I could make a different choice.
EDIT:
I should add that my asset allocation would likely need to change if I were to stop working. Right now, it's heavy US tech equities. (Of course the argument could be made that my asset allocation should change now either way)