Key Points

• A Reddit poster is feeling unhappy with his life and finances.

• On the one hand, he makes $250,000 per year.

• Yet, he feels like he does not have a good work/life balance.

As always, The Motley Fool cannot and does not provide personalized investing or financial advice. This information is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional financial advice. Always seek the guidance of a qualified financial advisor for any questions regarding your personal financial situation. If you'd like to submit your question for feedback, you can do so here.

What happens when you're earning a lot of money, but still feel stressed all the time and are coping with money worries?

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This is the situation that one Reddit poster is facing right now. The Redditor has a corporate job and has aggressively pushed himself to become successful, achieving in 12 years what it takes most people 20 years to achieve. He's making a lot of money, but he also hasn't enjoyed life for a long time. He doesn't know what to do, since his focus his been on increasing earnings, not on making a path to ever get out of the rat race.

I think I need help; 35, $3M, never been more miserable.
by u/Informal_Rope7509 in Fire

So, how can he figure out a better work/life balance that still allows him to support his family and pursue financial independence, while also finding a way to enjoy life and stop worrying so much that he stays up tossing and turning at night?

Image source: Getty Images.

Making a clear financial plan can help to solve a lot of money woes

First things first: The Reddit poster is clearly in a good financial position.

He's the sole breadwinner in a family with two kids, earns $250,000 per year in pre-tax income, and has a three-year-old start-up that he's predicting will make him $90,000. He has a home with $350,000 in equity and a $300,000 mortgage with a 2.25% interest rate. He also has $2.5 million in a personal brokerage account, $200,000 in an IRA, and $30,000 in personal savings -- and his three cars are almost paid off. He and his wife are also frugal and spend 50% or less of what he earns.

While those credentials on paper should make anyone extremely happy, the poster said he's "never been more miserable." He doesn't enjoy his hobbies, he can't sleep, he worries he is wasting the best years of his life making money, and he doesn't know what to do about it because he never created a plan to get on the off-ramp and stop hustling.

The good news, though, is that his own post provides the answers to what he needs to do. He simply needs to make that plan he was talking about doing.

You need end-goals for your money in order to achieve success

Ultimately, the point of making a lot of money is to be able to live the life you want -- and the OP clearly is not achieving that aim.

With the savings he has already and the income his business is producing, it seems like he could easily cut back on the work he's doing, especially given that he and his wife are already living on much less than he earns. But the OP may not be aware he has that option. He may not know what any of his options are if he doesn't have an idea of what he is working toward.

The poster should make a detailed financial plan, including:

• How much income his family needs to live on
• How much more money he wants to save to hit his retirement goals (based on his spending needs as a retiree)
• Whether early retirement or working solely for his own business is something he wants to pursue.

Once he knows those things, he can see if his business will provide enough money for him to quit now, or if he's actually got enough saved to retire entirely -- or will in a few years at his current pace. Some posters suggested talking to a financial advisor to create this path forward, and the poster can do that if he isn't comfortable doing these calculations by himself.

Once he has defined what financial success looks like, he won't have to worry so much about whether he's accomplishing his goals. He'll likely find that he's soon going to have achieved the financial independence he needs to live a life solely based on what he wants to do, not what he needs to. This could help him find a much more balanced approach, so he can start enjoying the fruits of his labor.

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Key Points

• A Reddit poster is retiring at 45.

• The poster shows the steps involved, including making sure you have a plan for health insurance when retiring young.

• Preparing for emergencies and having some money in cash is also helpful to withstand economic uncertainty.

As always, The Motley Fool cannot and does not provide personalized investing or financial advice. This information is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional financial advice. Always seek the guidance of a qualified financial advisor for any questions regarding your personal financial situation. If you'd like to submit your question for feedback, you can do so here.

Most people retire in their 60s, and some plan to work even later because they have concerns about their future financial stability and their ability to make their nest egg last. Some dream of early retirement, though, and are able to make it happen and buy themselves the freedom to live the life they want for many more years.

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One Reddit user is in this situation. The poster has indicated being on track with her husband to retire at the very young age of 45. The poster also shared some details about personal finances to demonstrate the actions taken to be ready and the steps taken to ensure enough confidence to leave work young and rely on savings for many years to come.

Posts from the fire
community on Reddit

Here are some details on how the original poster (OP) in the Reddit thread is making the dream of early retirement that so many aspire to a viable reality.

Image source: Getty Images.

Getting your finances ready for early retirement

The OP provided a lot of insight into personal finances and discussed feeling ready to retire. According to the OP, family spending typically amounts to around $8,000 a month, but the couple is planning for $10,000 to give themselves a cushion. Their plan is to live off the cash savings they have, as well as to make withdrawals from their brokerage account and potentially convert some traditional retirement accounts to Roth accounts in order to optimize their tax situation.

The couple has $1.3 million in taxable brokerage accounts, the equivalent in several other retirement plans, and $500,000 in accessible cash. College and cars for their children are also taken care of. They have only a small mortgage with $400,000 in home equity, and they recently converted some stock to cash in order to give them more of a financial buffer if they need it because if it comes time to make withdrawals and the market is down, they don't want to be forced to sell stocks at a loss to do it.

Based on all of these details, it seems clear that the couple is in pretty good shape. They seem to have thought ahead to prepare for bigger expenses, such as cars and school for their children; they've paid off debt and are giving themselves a buffer in spending to have wiggle room in case they end up spending more on hobbies, travel, or other indulgences in retirement. And they're getting tax help, so they're obviously not afraid to ask a professional if needed.

They've even made plans to ensure that the family's health insurance needs are covered once an employer is not available to subsidize coverage. The family has health insurance under the Affordable Care Act and is paying $1,226 monthly but expects that subsidies will reduce that cost to $300 monthly after their income declines. This will free up some more wiggle room in their budget and will help to ensure that the family's funds last.

A lot goes into retiring early -- but it's doable

As this Reddit poster shows, taking the right steps can make it possible to live your dream of early retirement. This includes things like:

• Starting to save early and aggressively build a large nest egg, as this couple already has several million saved.
• Anticipating as many big future expenses as possible before retiring. For example, the OP here thought ahead to the fact that her teenage children will need cars and budgeted for this in her retirement preparations.
• Making a plan for healthcare, as early retirement means you become responsible for covering insurance without assistance.

A number of other Reddit posters praised the OP for the careful planning and for being ready to retire. Some also shared their own early-retirement experiences and urged looking into health insurance coverage options carefully to get a full understanding of what types of expenses will be necessary and how comprehensive the coverage will be.

With thousands in cash, the OP is also well prepared for emergencies without having to sell stock, and with a tax professional to help, the family will look to minimize the amount they're sending to the government. Of course, the couple will likely want to make a budget to ensure they stick to the $8,000 spending limit they have set. Since they are young and healthy with lots of spare time, they must ensure they don't fall into the overspending trap.

Others can follow the steps this Redditor took to try to achieve their own early-retirement journey as well, but it will require some discipline and diligent saving to make it happen.

The $23,760 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook

If you're like most Americans, you're a few years (or more) behind on your retirement savings. But a handful of little-known "Social Security secrets" could help ensure a boost in your retirement income.

One easy trick could pay you as much as $23,760 more... each year! Once you learn how to maximize your Social Security benefits, we think you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we're all after. Join Stock Advisor to learn more about these strategies.

View the "Social Security secrets" »

The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.