r/FatFIREIndia

38M, family of 4. Worked in the US for ~12 years at FAANG companies. Moved back to Bangalore 3 years ago and haven’t worked since.

Current NW is ~30 Cr, largely in equities. Expenses are ~5L/month including kids’ schooling, travel, lifestyle, etc.

My question is not about whether this corpus is “enough”.

The issue is that I currently have zero cash flow. All expenses are funded through stock sales. Markets and USD appreciation have helped over the last few years, but psychologically it still feels uncomfortable because there’s no incoming money.

That creates two problems for me:

1. Even though mathematically I can afford the lifestyle, mentally I hesitate to spend because there’s no cash flow replacing what goes out.

2. I also realized I don’t actually enjoy complete retirement. Waking up every day without something meaningful to build/work on is reducing my energy levels over time.

So I’m looking for ideas where I can stay occupied, work maybe 5-6 hours/day, manage people/operations, and potentially build a cash flowing business over time.

Not looking for another high stress corporate job.

Also not very keen on traditional rental real estate since I don’t want to liquidate a large equity position for relatively modest yields.

Have been exploring ideas like:
• Franchises
• Vertical farming/hydroponics
• Small operating businesses
• Semi-managed businesses with decent unit economics

Would love to hear from people who’ve solved for:
• meaningful engagement post FIRE
• predictable cash flow
• moderate involvement without lifestyle takeover

Especially interested in ideas that are realistic in Bangalore/India.

I’m 33M and trying to understand whether true FatFIRE is achievable staying in India as a salaried employee, especially in tech.

Current situation: I work as a software engineer in a semiconductor company with total compensation around 3 Cr/year, out of which roughly 2 Cr is RSUs. I’m in a single income household, married with one 2-year-old kid. My current net worth is around 6 Cr, all liquid. I don’t own any real estate and have no loans. Net worth went from around 1 Cr to 6 Cr within 1 year mainly because company RSUs appreciated significantly and I booked gains during that period. Unfortunately STCG taxes also took away a sizable chunk of the gains.

The thing is, I’m not sure whether this is:

A lucky temporary phase due to stock appreciation

Or actually a realistic path toward FatFIRE

Most discussions I see are either:

People moving to US and building wealth there

Dual high-income couples

Business owners

For someone staying in India on salary alone:

What number do you consider true FatFIRE in India today?

10 Cr? 20 Cr? 50 Cr+?

Does having a kid completely change the equation because of education/international exposure expectations?

How much annual spending do people here target post-retirement?

I also feel compensation in India hits a ceiling unless RSUs massively outperform. Base salary growth alone doesn’t seem enough to compound into very high net worth quickly.

Would love to hear from people who achieved or are pursuing FatFIRE while remaining employed in India.

My spouse and I (both late 30s) are at a crossroad. We’ve been in Bay Area tech for 15 years and have been incredibly lucky, especially coming from lower-middle-class backgrounds in India. This life is something we never imagined growing up.

However, the way the industry is shifting with AI has us questioning if the "juice is worth the squeeze" anymore. The burnout is real, and I find myself dreaming about passion projects rather than grinding another decade in Big Tech just to hit a higher number.

The Numbers:

• NW: ~$4M (₹37 Cr) all-in.
• Split: 70% liquid (brokerage, 401k, etc.) / 30% real estate equity.
• Estimated India Spend: ₹5L/month (covers rent, International Schools, and vacations).
• The Alternative: If we stay in the US, our "Fat" target is $8M, which likely means another 10 years of the grind.

The Dilemma: Our twins turn 5 soon. We feel like the R2I window is closing; if they get rooted in the US school system, moving them in middle or high school feels unfair. We want them to have that connection to family and culture, but we’re also wary of "one more year" syndrome. We feel $4M provides a very comfortable, upper-middle-class life in a Tier-1 city (Bangalore), allowing us to work on what we actually enjoy.

A few questions for the group:

1. For those who R2I’d with a similar corpus, does it feel truly "safe" given inflation (education, healthcare for aging parents, etc.)?
2. Is the "quality of life" trade-off (pollution/infrastructure) as bad as people say, or does being close to family (we have parents in the same city) make up for it?
3. Did you actually stop working, or did you just end up in the same high-pressure grind for lower pay in India?

Additional Context: We are not US citizens yet, but we expect our Green Cards in the next 1–2 years. Does it make sense to wait for the GC as a "safety net" before leaving, or is that just another form of the golden handcuffs?

Would love to hear from anyone who moved with young kids or decided to stay and grind for the $8M mark.

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Background : Male 54. Live in T1 city. Moved away from a high paying IT corporate job last year. Kid already working and not dependent on me. Own house. No loans. Diversified portfolio to take care of any ups and downs in future.

Past 1 year : Working with a friend in an early stage startup. Even though I am not working to earn money, noticing that my role demands lot of efforts and is causing me ownership stress - practically defeating the purpose of quitting corporate. Thinking of quitting altogether.

Need advice :  How best to quit without letting others in social circle/relatives know ? As @throwaway_mg1983 replied to my last post ‘define your “job” post retirement. Everyone is poky and if you have free time, you sort of start losing respect/ taken for granted.’ It’s a real challenge - I can see my RWA pulling me in to take up society position, my relatives expecting me to be available for all occasions :(.

Per general suggestions - open a company and update LinkedIn as investor/advisor/self employed - any other thoughts as this looks as good as ‘retired’ for suspecting eyes.

Appreciate your inputs.

Im faced with two options given my 154 crores worth of real estate inheritance

1. Monetize 154 Crores worth of real estate using SBLC via DBS bank and make a profit while retaining ancestral assets in india.

Or

2. Sell assets and invest in the US and start new life

My goals are

1. wealth compounding
2. steady cash flow
3. liquidity
4. US immigration
5. Surety and peace of mind

Your suggestions would be invaluable.

Much like the title, I'm curious how much you are willing to put into a single fund or a single AMC.

For example, if you had 5cr to invest into arbitrage funds, do you put that into a single fund, or split it between 2, 3,5 different funds?

Do you take into account how much you have invested into a particular AMC overall?

I'm in the process of rebalancing my portfolio and these questions are on my mind. So, I thought I'd seek some input and see what other people are doing.

There are so many people on this sub with incredible stories. Post ‘FIRE’ing, have you ever thought of turning your story into a book?

It need not be published, if you don’t want to, but at least as a legacy book, for you, your children, or your grandchildren?

Whether it’s for publishing or not, many stories here can act as a huge inspiration for people desiring this kind of lifestyle.

Also, for most of you, this didn’t come easy, I’m sure. There were struggles, sacrifices, and many challenges along the way, which you faced head-on and came out stronger.

And many times, the process itself is very therapeutic. I’ve had people cry, contemplate, and become better because of sitting and reminiscing their story during discussions.

So, has anyone thought of this path? I’m curious to know.

PS: I genuinely feel this is one of the best subs to interact with the highest number of people with incredible and resilient success stories, so I’m posting this here. Still, if someone feels this doesn’t belong here, I’m sorry, and please feel free to delete it. Thanks!

Hi all.

I joined this sub a few months ago and I’m incredibly inspired by everyone here. As I’m starting my journey I’d love any advice I could get here.

About me: I’m 26(M) about to be 27 in a few months. I have a wife and we’re a DINK household and plan to stay that way throughout. I work in life sciences consulting in the US and my wife is a researcher. I have about $40K saved, $10K in IRA (I rolled over my 401(K) from my previous job ; and $20K invested in ETFs, bonds and stocks, and about $10K liquid for emergencies. We are both Indians, I’m on H1B and she is on OPT. I have an education loan of $34K which I hope to clear by September 2027. We plan on moving to India right after the loan is cleared. Post that I’m fairly confident I’ll be earning about 30LPA post taxes in India. I also hope to start something of my own in India, eventually hoping to transition full time to this for income (not sure yet what I’d do, but would continue with my job until I know for certain. My job would also let me work on my own thing during that day as I would be working in the evenings)

What number should I am for? Planning to retire in Mumbai, Hyd, Pune. Would also be open to lower expense cities like Goa (I’ve also lived there for most of my childhood)

Would appreciate any advice, esp from folks who came back to India early in their careers and managed to achieve FIRE. Happy to provide more details as needed in the thread!

Long-time lurker of this sub posting now to get some advice.

I (26, BTech from an NIT) work as a hardware engineer in a good semiconductor company. I have 4 YoE and make about 40L a year before tax. With the upcoming promotion this year, my base pay will increase, and I will also get more RSUs.

I got admission to a master's program in ECE at Texas A&M in the US for Fall 2026. My intention in pursuing MS is to land a good job in the US, save as much as I can while I'm there, and return to India. I also wanted to explore and experience the US life.

I don't have any scholarship, so I'll have to pay full tuition from my pocket, which is around 35k USD (living expenses not included).

But looking at the current job market in the US, I'm not really sure if it's worth risking leaving my current job and spending that much. In the worst-case scenario, I would have exhausted my 4 yrs of savings and be jobless after 2 years, which is kind of scary (I'm really not sure how probable this is). But my gut says I should take the leap, so I'm really torn.

I got mixed opinions from my friends who have walked this path. Some say that people with decent profiles are still landing jobs, while some say it's very risky.

Will it be a wise move? Am I thinking about it the right way? Are there any other factors that I should be considering in making my decision? Any advice from you guys would be really helpful..

Thanks!

I am 34, wife, no kids and parents but we do want kids sooner. I have ancestral land of 17 acres, out of which 2 acres are near a city, tier 3, north India.
These two acres alone are getting a lot of interest from buyers lately and they can fetch us 12 cr. at current rates. Now I am tempted to sell the 2 and get another 20 acres which are adjoining to my other 15 acres, these are about 30 minutes away from city and this way I will have a 35 acre farmland which in itself is enough to fund a good life. The other option is to invest the proceeds of sale, this most likely wont happen as my father is not very supportive of this.
Third option would be to do nothing and hope the 12 cr. offer will turn into 18-20 cr. In next 4-5 years.

And the very real question I am struggling with is do I need to do a job which I am burnt out of honestly. We do have about 1 cr in savings including gold and investments. We are middle class for most part but the land value gives me a lot of confidence to FIRE, what would you guys do in this scenario?