Why not? IF your retirement goal is super duper high, work 30-40 years also cannot. RSU also just introduced like 20 years back.

Die with zero is just taking on a different mindset. And it's die with zero, not die with nothing.

Basically it's targeted at those people that blindly overestimate the need of retirement that they eschew experiences and comfort for sake of future.

Like not willing to take your family for the occasional nice vacation because it's expensive. You save a few hundred ringgit yes, but missed out on a memorable experience for you and your kids.

Or keep putting off travelling until you retire then realise you are too old to enjoy that holiday.

Another one is on inheritance which is bit more western orientated. Some parents will have millions in inheritance for their child, but only giving it when they die and when their kids are already grown up.

But during the period when the kid could have used some financial help e.g to buy a house, pursue university education or etc, the parents refuse to help. I think it's more particular on western society when kids are expected to be independent when they are 18.

thats why must read that book - people still keep misunderstood what the main messages are.

being frugal works well during wealth accumulation phase.

then you hit a point in life, where you want to expand a bit, and not restrict yourself too much in life. enjoying life, living the experience, than counting cents and find the best value (time is money too).

15% of your salary per month and yes, includes the bonus too.

Well, have a kid recently and there's a certain lifestyle I am looking to maintain at least. Nothing too crazy but working towards living off just dividends/rentals without touching capital. So, have to get abit more as I am not looking to burndown the retirement funds towards death.....just in case I live till 100 but end up with no moneh. lol

Back then RSU was not that much and currency wasn't in our favor.

ya, i think his company lucky to have him coz, he put INTL like his life LOL
Work for company, use own money to buy company share, use company product, wear company T-shirt when going out, die hard fan.

And now the company makes him financial freedom, i guess he will even die hard from now.


This post has been edited by Haloperidol: May 2 2026, 01:06 PM

I noticed inteliers tend to purchase more properties with the hope of renting them out. Btw, there are few days the daily gain is almost equal to at least 6 figures local currency.

This post has been edited by jasontoh: May 2 2026, 02:39 PM

But what happened to these Inteliers when share price dropped below usd20?
Or when DT wanted to move semicon back to US?

This post has been edited by MGM: May 2 2026, 03:04 PM

Previously when the price drop, (but when price drop the ESPP become attractive) I think Intel also have like 1-2 years laying off, so some might get prune. Some still in Intel, while some laying off getting higher grade job outside of Intel - at least those within my knowledge. But I know many also stuck with the high price properties in island. But nowadays new development also is getting more expensive.

This post has been edited by jasontoh: May 2 2026, 03:00 PM

Chances are, I might know him if he's in the D&D area and not manufacturing since he's been in Intel for a while but kudos to him.

Prolly the prev gen of Intellers. The current gen, whe nthey can afford to buy properties the rental is not longer lucrative. I personally don't have any in PG apart from my own stay. I do have in other states though which has been treating me pretty good.

Let's hope the gain continues but Intellers are pretty weak hands, they tend to sell the stock quite early cause they got scarred from back then where it hit highs and crash after that without being able to exit so for those who are not following the market and trend, they would have already offloaded at 50s or 60s thinking that it's clsoe to the all time high and will never break through.

i mean, do you know someone that use Intel GPU ?
He does .

He say Intel GPU yes not the best performance, but best for the bang of buck.
Intel CPU + Intel Arc series GPU , hardcore LOL
I asked him about recent hike, he say he wanna hodl but ... he say it's more rational to offload half of the share, and lock in profit and let the rest run its own.

So technically he is working in INTL coz he likes it, not because he requires that job.
I mean, for someone to find joy in working their life, it's good.
Ikigai is real for him

-----

aaaaaand as usual, we are deviating out of topic now, let's just focus on FIRE as per the topic.


This post has been edited by Haloperidol: May 3 2026, 07:57 AM

Each person gotta find their own yardstick to the retire; some ppl want frugal, some ppl want chubby/fat. Within each, frugal items might seem as chubby/fat for some, just like, spending on expensive oils to cook your own meals vs eating out everyday, which can lead to similar budgeting somehow. then, there's the travelling... and so on.

in the end, I got to be honest with myself the life I want to lead; choices to be made, and live with discipline

I think, the hardest things to do is to choose things that mattered - healthy choices (food, lifestyle), vanity (luxury items, new things, toys, gadgets, etc)

I understand the saying, you gotta be healthy to enjoy the wealth otherwise the money goes to foot hospital bills

Or, the saying that vanity items is for show off or instant gratification

right now, I like new things, new SLRs, new cars, new tech, new phones... if I try so hard convincing myself I don't want to buy those things then it defeats the purpose of enjoying things I like

then, the saying goes, live with fulfillment not just the materialistic part... and so on

then, come the biggest moment, I feel, is to be able to leave the comfort zone of quitting my day job
after all, this is the biggest motivation to FI/RE... to me, I just want to stop working

the Financial part also, a lot of knowledge; personally, I'm inclined to be a buy and hold type
How to manage the funds? Trinity study etc. This one, I dunno yet because I'm just holding and holding and whenever got funds to invest, I go shopping for ETF's to buy

Summary of FIRE Principles from Books:
Reduce Expenses: Live well below your means to maximize your savings rate.
Invest Wisely: Invest in low-cost, broad-market index funds (e.g., \(S\&P 500\) or Total Stock Market).
The 4% Rule: Generally, you can retire when your investment portfolio is \(25\times\) your annual expenses.
Mindset Shift: Focus on financial freedom rather than consumerism.

This post has been edited by alexei: May 4 2026, 03:52 PM

More and more people in Western starts Lean fire
or even Oversea modest FIRE


Normal FIRE is absolutely viable in Malaysia
you have subsidied petrol
you have access to social protection network (assume for normal working class, when retired no more work = no active tax income = SARA/Bantuan is all yours)
All the senior citizen benefit
Subsidied healthcare if you really need it
low-medium spending taxation (SST, compare to other country GST)

We are living in blessed nation

I don't think those benefits would still be around in 20+ years time. Better to plan FIRE without them.

Deleted

This post has been edited by MGM: May 5 2026, 08:17 AM

I'm actually of the opposite view. I think these benefits, in one form or another, will persist... most prob even evolve into some kind of UBI style system over time. Esp with increasing automation and potential job displacement due to AI.

That said, I do agree with your point. Anyone on the FIRE path, this is ultimately a numbers game. So it's better to build a plan that doesn't rely on such benefits/UBI, and treat them as upside rather than a base assumption. like how many of us here have medical cards although we all could have just put on paper that we can rely on kkm 1rm when sick...

I think sometimes when planning for FIRE, we see our expenses, then, we assumed inflation is flat... but, if we are a bit more meticulous, like, breaking down to fuel, phone bills, internet, what we can do with, or without... the projection can be more realistic and perhaps to some, better peace of mind

take for example, paying for car loans now, vs buying a car after FIRE, is very different

then, fuel prices, Malaysian fuel prices at ~RM2/L had been unrealistic
once we masuk SG or Thai, we can feel it. So, I would project that into a near future

in fact... I need some pointers

before I quit the workforce, what are the things I should get first?
- car loan? house loan? secure them before I can no longer apply for these since I'd be without payslip and zero EPF deduction

- insurance items?

- bank accounts?

I've always include inflation into the calculation, but things like phone bills and internet should be lower.

Credit cards, with very high limit, then housing loan.