why I'm not going back to the 9-5 and rat race. settling back in Toronto, my C$0.53 cabbage soup

[@luckylz6417]

Great thoughts here! Thank you for sharing. Wish you all the best in the Lunar New Year!

[@andrewxu]

Thanks, happy lunar new year to you too!

[@vivian198]

A lot of your reasons for choosing fire resonated with me

[@andrewxu]

my tribe ❤️

[@Jshudkpw]

Thx for the video! How long did you work before quitting?

[@andrewxu]

at a full time professional job capacity, about 10 years or so, but I've been working much longer before that with several part time jobs at a time, even during university day 😅

[@Haniyehhhh]

I actually love my job but hate the 5 day commute (dealing with the general public) and the heinous creatures that I work with/general toxic office environment. Your environment is everything. If it's not right, neither will your mind be. Inner peace is priceless.

[@andrewxu]

couldn't agree more, have to protect that inner peace at all cost!

[@conorrichard9829]

Love this video style! I'm also very interested in the FIRE movement, but still have a ways to go (currently in early 20s). Do you have any advice as it relates to balancing putting $ in retirement accounts (traditional 401k/mega-backdoor roth 401k, roth ira) vs. more liquid accounts (HYSA/taxable brokerage)? Have a small concern as it relates to liquidity for RE (retire early) since majority of current funds are in retirement accounts, but plan to start building up liquid accounts.

[@andrewxu]

hey Conor, glad you enjoy this new style I'm trying out! Honestly, your future self will thank you for starting your FIRE journey at such a early age! A part of me wish I had only started earlier, but that's life, the journey is never linear and it's all about learning :) As for balancing the amount of money in retirement accounts, I'm from Canada so my knowledge of the US is rather limited. This is not financial advice, but I always maximize my tax-advantaged accounts (like retirement/tax-free accounts) first to let the growth compound in an tax advantaged environment, and then put whatever money I have left into non-registered/taxable accounts. Unlike the US, in Canada our retirement account (RRSP) actually does not have any additional penalties withdrawing early (other than just paying income tax on the amount withdrawn), which made it much easier to plan in my case. I should learn more about the US side of things sometime, I find it very interesting, but currently learning about the Netherlands side of things (as I'm planning to move there). I know there's another strategy called "Roth Conversion Ladder", so look into that. But I think if I did live in the US, I'd definitely set up a system in which can provide me a source of income to bridge the time for when I would "early retire" until when I can withdraw (without penalties) from retirement accounts. However, this quickly turns into a game of hyper-optimization and "guessing" when you'd retire, how much you will need then (which changes & hard to guess as I've learned), and how long you will live (life expectancy), so try not to get too deep into this game and remember to live a little 🙂, especially in your 20's and it'll go by in a blink of an eye. I think you're already doing great at such a young age to pay so much attention to your finances, and you're already doing all the right things (filling up your tax-advantaged accounts, mega backdoor ROTH conversion etc.), just keep doing what you're doing, so happy for you man!

[@letscreate489]

FIRE videos works well, check the engagement 🤔. Looks like need to make FIRE videos to reach FIRE 🧠

[@andrewxu]

haha FIRE-ception?

[@k10158]

I’m surprised you eat the mushroom stems haha aren’t they tough?

[@andrewxu]

oh they are not tough at all, super delicious and nutrient packed. I try not to waste food, you should give it a try next time ☺️

[@masoiaXL]

Why don't you work for a non profit ? :)

[@andrewxu]

I think the "working with people" part still traumatizes me, I actually applied to several of them a few years back. For now I'm enjoying what I'm doing (making youtube videos, building tools for people etc.), so I'll just keep on swimming :)