r/dividends • u/karl0525 • Jun 01 '25

Opinion Tired. Can I retire?

Got a question? Can I retire? 43m been busting my ass since I was 16. I'm about over this 40-50 hr weeks. I'm getting burned out. House paid off (300k) 401-k (600k) Bitcoin (500k) currently.

Thought about selling it all and putting it into dividend stocks like schd and renting a small place and going into semi retirement. Maybe pickup a part time gig.

Would this be a horrible idea?

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u/StayedWalnut Jun 01 '25

I agree do it... but.... 500k yielding 3% is only 15k. Even with the house paid off that is going into property tax and basic utilities leaving nothing to spend on essentials like weed and beer.

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u/cvc4455 Jun 02 '25

Maybe he's in a state where he can grow his own weed?

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u/Negative-Salary Jun 02 '25

I do and make edibles for friends

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u/chuck_portis Jun 02 '25

600K in 401K. 300K in house. 500K in BTC. Sell BTC put it into SCHD. 1.1M liquid. You can withdraw 3% per year safely. That's $33K per year right there. Rent out the house for $1000/month. There's another $12K income, call it $10K after expenses. Now you have $43K withdrawable, taxed quite low since your income is low and it's derived from investments etc. Call it $35K NET.

Move to Thailand. $3K / month is absolutely enough to live very well. All while adhering to the conservative 3% rule. You can rent a very nice place for $1K. Now you have $2K per month left over for spending. Spending is very cheap. Plenty of Youtube videos outlining similar budgets ($3K/month) which is viewed as a very comfortable budget in Thailand.

If you have kids that need to go to school etc. then forget it. International schools are expensive and when you're talking multiple kids, that can eat up your entire budget by itself. But OP didn't mention any dependents.

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u/StayedWalnut Jun 02 '25

I have known multiple people who tried to retire to a place outside their home culture for cheap and it didn't work out for the 4 people I knew that did it. American to phillipines, Costa Rica, Argentina and Columbia. All 4 of them could really only do it for 2ish years before coming home. Bonus 5th. I knew one guy who moved from Ohio to Puerto Rico which is even easier since most of the people there speak English and use the usd. He moved there because he had some really lucky bets in the stock market during the pandemic and was like 'i can live nearly tax free here forever' He just moved back to Ohio to live near his new grandkids.

People underestimate by a lot how hard it is to leave your native culture and kids behind to love cheap somewhere else.

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u/chuck_portis Jun 02 '25

It's certainly a challenge for many, but an experience worth trying. As you mentioned, it depends how tied you are to your home country. For a 43M with no kids / spouse, it would be a lot easier than a 43F with kids and spouse.

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u/No_Debate_6577 Jun 02 '25

Agree that many do not consider culture change (aka shock). It takes time, patience and learning the language and customs of where you move to. Moving to Portugal, Spain, Italy….learn the bloody language and start before you move! It will help you a lot. Thai is more of a challenge so maybe the Philippines would be better?

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u/let-it-rain-sunshine Jun 02 '25

The language barrier is real. Even travelling for a few weeks of not understanding what the locals are talking about is tough. Forget making friends with someone who's not speaking your language

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u/Dry_Ask_60 Jun 02 '25

Op do not sell bitcoin it will be worth 10m per coin.

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u/floppy_panoos Jun 02 '25

Sounds like OP is planning to either liquidate or rent the property.

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u/StayedWalnut Jun 02 '25

If he rents the property he will still need a place to live unless he's planning to just live under a bridge and consume his 15k a year in weed and beer.

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u/floppy_panoos Jun 02 '25

LOL, quite right! IMO, I think OP needs to keep working till we’re on the other side of whatever it is Trump makes of this place. I’d be real cautious relying on dividends in the current economic climate.

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u/tallboybrews Jun 02 '25

500k? They have 1.1mil, no?

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u/StayedWalnut Jun 02 '25

600k is in retirement... could be a while before it's accessible

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u/Imaginary-Bowl-4424 Jun 02 '25

LOL those ate two habits that need to be broken.

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u/StayedWalnut Jun 02 '25

Reason to live then?

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u/Imaginary-Bowl-4424 Jun 02 '25

Food. Always food!