‘Never Planned For FIRE’: 44-Year-Old Engineer With Rs 6.5 Crore Portfolio Explains Why He Finally Quit His Job

Tech jobs can be demanding, but for one 44-year-old engineer, years of long hours and workplace stress eventually became too much. After building a Rs 6.5 crore investment portfolio, he decided to leave his job and focus on his health instead.

The engineer shared his story in a Reddit post titled, “My FIRE Journey: Walking Away at 44.” He explained how years in startups, careful investing, and a change in priorities helped him step away from work much earlier than most people.

He Chose Health Over Work

The Reddit user said he is 44 years old, married, and has an 11-year-old son. He completed both his undergraduate and postgraduate engineering degrees from a Tier 1 college and spent almost his entire career working at startups.

“I’m 44, married,

with an 11-year-old son. I completed both my UG and PG engineering from a Tier 1 college and spent almost my entire career in startups. There were even months when I worked without a salary because I believed in the company,” he wrote.

He added that his wife has always been a homemaker, making him the only earning member in the family. The techie said he never planned to follow the Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) lifestyle. However, his last job changed the way he looked at work. He joined a startup through a referral but said the work environment turned out to be unhealthy.

“The culture was toxic, politics was everywhere, and I was working 14-hour days, six days a week. My sleep collapsed. I ended up with borderline diabetes, high blood pressure, and a huge belly,” he shared.

He said 2023 became a turning point when he decided to take a hard look at both his health and finances.

How He Built His Investment Portfolio

The engineer admitted he did not always focus on investing. That changed in 2018 when he started investing regularly through SIPs after speaking with a financial advisor.

A year later, the startup where he worked was acquired, and he received around Rs 1.4 crore through ESOPs. Instead of spending the money, he continued investing it. By April 2026, he said his portfolio had grown to Rs 6.5 crore.

Around 60 per cent of the money is invested in equities, while the remaining 40 per cent is spread across debt funds, liquid investments, and provident fund savings. He also shared that his family’s yearly expenses are around Rs 14 lakh and that they already own a house in a Tier 1 city.

“The math was simple. I had enough. So I quit. Three months later, I don’t miss work,” he wrote. The techie said leaving his job has improved his health. He has lost weight, is sleeping better, and his blood pressure is under control.

These days, he spends time meditating, exercising, being with his family, learning about LLMs, and contributing to open-source projects. “I didn’t retire from engineering. I retired from burnout,” he said.

My FIRE Journey: Walking Away at 44
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u/Capable_Influence157 in
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What He Learned Along The Way

The Reddit user also shared a few lessons from his journey. He advised young professionals to decide their FIRE goal early in their careers, saying he wishes he had done that himself. He also regretted never negotiating his salary, believing that decision may have cost him crores over the course of two decades.

According to him, avoiding lifestyle inflation helped him invest consistently, while owning a home reduced the amount he needed to retire. He also said he was fortunate that both sets of grandparents plan to pay for his son’s higher education, reducing a major future expense.

“I may work again if I find something meaningful. or choose not to. Right now, I’m finding more meaning in spending my time on my own terms- with my family, learning, building, and contributing to open source,” the techie concluded.