r/leanfire•
rolliejoe

Anyone hit their leanfire target and then YOLO'ed a huge raise?

Wondering if anyone else here is thinking about or has actually gone through with asking for a large raise once you are financially able to retire/leanfire?

Going to be hitting my leanfire target soon - I had planned to just retire at that point, but in recent years I've become a high earner. Psychologically it feels harder to walk away from the income now that "one more year" means a large % increase in net worth.

As a mental compromise I'm thinking about asking for a large raise (~50%) so that if they accept, I'll be happy to work another 2-3 years to go from leanfire to regular fire, and if they decline then I've lost nothing and will just be going with my original plan. I'm in a rather specialized role so while I think it is unlikely they would accept, it certainly isn't outside the realm of possibility.

Seems like a "nothing to lose, a lot to gain" approach but curious if others here are thinking about or have tried the same.

Posted Mar 6, 2026, 4:02 AM UTC

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