29F & 31M reality check am I being naive about wanting to stop working?
Hey all, looking for a quick pulse check on our trajectory.
We’re 29F/31M in a VHCOL area, no kids/not planning to have kids.
Financial snapshot:
HHI: $330k, both maxing 401k (edit: current combined $150k in 401k)
Brokerage: ~$300k, mostly index funds (adding ~$50k/year)
Cash: ~$20k (intentionally keeping this lean)
Home equity: ~$1M
Annual spend: $150k (80k all expenses + ~$70k mortgage)
No other debt/loan.
Additional 2 questions beyond progress check:
- My husband has said I could step back from working if I wanted, which I’m really grateful for — but I also don’t want to make a short-sighted decision. I’m trying to understand what would actually need to be true financially for that to be sustainable long-term, or if we’re still far from that point.
- given our “Die With Zero” mindset and no plans for kids, how do people think about home equity? It feels like a big chunk of net worth that’s not really being “used,” and I’m not sure what the right long-term strategy is there.
Would really appreciate any perspective! I’m still learning and just trying to make sure we’re thinking about this in a grounded way.
Edit: income split (pre-tax): I make $120, he makes $210k. We also each get like 10% bonus annually but depends on company revenue performance so I didn’t include that in the HHI.